Notre Dame Vs. Nevada - Opening Weekend in South Bend

Written By:
Nick Shepkowski

Finally. It's as simple as that for not only Notre Dame but college football fans in general. This Thursday offers an appetizer to opening weekend with Saturday being the full course meal. The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame start their campaign with a 3:30 EDT kickoff against the University of Nevada in South Bend.

It is the first meeting between the two schools, for those unfamiliar Nevada had an electric 2008 where they went to their fourth straight bowl game with an appearance in last season's Humanitarian Bowl against Maryland.

To know the Wolfpack, you must know their quarterback, Colin Kaepernick who alone was responsbile for supplying the Wolfpack with just under 4000 total yards a year ago, 11oo of those yards came on the ground. Kaepernick is the first of several mobile quarterbacks the Irish will face in 2009 but he also could very easily be the best of the mobile ones. Also helping in the running game will be Luke Lippincott who missed all of 2008 with a leg injury, he did however put up 1420 rushing yards in 2007 to lead the Wolfpack.

Kaepernick and Lippincott will line up together in the pistol formation which allows the quarterback to receive the snap quicker than in the regular shotgun set. As a result the defense must react quicker to things and because of the proximity to the line of scrimmage often times play action and counters set themselves up in this formation.

Throwing the ball Kaepernick put up 2849 yards a year ago while tossing 22 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions. Some good news for the Irish comes with the fact that Kaepernick's two favorite targets from a year ago have graduated leaving the Wolfpack with many questions in the passing game, don't expect Nevada to try much of passing until they are absolutely forced to.

I expect to see the Irish come out playing their base 3-4 defense with the defensive backs in straight man-to-man coverage until they are proven incapable of doing so. The talent differential in the passing game both ways tilt to the Irish, expect Corwin Brown and John Tenuta to do everything they can to get Nevada to have to pass the football. Man defense with an extra man sneaking in towards the line of scrimmage is an excellent way to do just that.

Defensively the Wolfpack have their issues, especially in defending against the pass where they had the worst pass defense in college football last season, allowing 311 yards through the air per contest. If you are wondering, Central Michigan had the second worst pass defense statistically as they allowed 287 yards a game, a whopping 24 yards less than the Wolfpack. Nevada wasn't bad against the pass last year, they were downright awful.

You know what that means...Jimmy Clausen, find your targets and get ready to feast, right? The last time Clausen was seen in actual game action he was busy carving a WAC defense and having a career afternoon in the Hawaii Bowl. That should be the case again here but I am not sure how much the Irish will want to have to use the aerial attack in the Nevada game.

Don't get me wrong, Notre Dame has more talent than Nevada and will be able to score at will through the air. I do feel that Charlie Weis and company will be interested in trying to establish a running game early on. Imagine what Clausen and Co. would be able to do if a running game is established and Nevada begins to even hint at slowing it down, the Irish will then attack over top.

I fully expect Notre Dame to come out running and see what they have going on in the running game. Will the Irish be able to run the ball down the throats of Nevada? We shall see in time but keep this in the back of your mind for the time being, Notre Dame's starting offensive line checks in averaging 6'4" and 316 pounds per starter. Nevada's defensive front? 6'3" and 261 pounds is your average. Don't think for a minute that Charlie Weis won't try and exploit this differential.

As I stated before, the more the Irish run the ball well the more Nevada will try and play men up in the box. Well, that's when Jimmy will take over as his targets in Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Duval Kamara, and Kyle Rudolph should be far too much for the Wolfpack to handle.

Nevada will move the ball early on before the Irish figure out how to properly defend against the Pack. In this game I like the scoreboard to be lit up a lot and the Irish offense to really shine, something we failed to see a year ago in the season opener against San Diego State.

My prediction: Notre Dame 41 Nevada 21 with Armando Allen getting the game ball.

Other DSR Staffers Picks:

Mark: ND 41 Nevada 20 (This wasn't discussed between the two of us, great minds just happen to think very much alike)

Steven: ND 28 Nevada 14

Brian: ND 41 Nevada 20 (See comments after Mark's prediction...)

Reminder, if you are interested in getting in our Domer Sports Report message board pick 'em go ahead and head to our message board and sign up for an account if you haven't already. Simply post a prediction in the proper thread during each week and we will track how close everyone is throughout the course of the season. Who knows, the winner just may get something pretty cool at the end of the year!

GO IRISH, BEAT WOLFPACK

-Hoping to be there on Saturday...

Nick Shepkowski is an avid Notre Dame football fan who lives and works in the heart of Big Ten country as he holds a job at the Big Ten Network in Chicago. He also is a radio producer at 670 The Score in Chicago. Random Notre Dame fanhood fact: First ND game attended was in 2000 against Stanford which was also Irish legend Matt LoVecchio's first start at QB for the Domers.

WWR 2.0

By Nick Shepkowski

A few short years ago the campus of Notre Dame was blessed by the presence of the likes of Maurice Stovall, Jeff Samardzija, and Rhema McKnight, forming WWR (Weis Wide Receivers) 1.0 . My fellow followers of football, under the watch of Touchdown Jesus, a new core of receivers has shown its face on Notre Dame's campus and in my eyes looks to be even better than the aforementioned names. That's right, Duval Kamara, Michael Floyd, and Golden Tate will not only equal what Stovall, Shark and McKnight offered, they will be better.

How scary this young group of wide outs has to be for opposing defenses can't be fun to think about. We saw flashes in the pan of what Kamara can do in a jump ball situation against a cornerback in the endzone, with notable catches against Navy last year and Michigan this past week. Need someone to go to in one-on-one coverage? Kamara is amongst the best in the business in the college today, as a sophomore.

What Jeff Samardzija was able to do in a Notre Dame uniform is unbelievable considering how unknown he was a very short time before bringing on his stardom. Samardzija is the kind of receiver I expect to see Michael Floyd be one day. As a freshman Floyd was shown the awareness and leaping ability you expect to see from a veteran, not a player who has now seen the field in only two career college football games.

Michael Floyd already does many things very well, but has time to get even that much better. Floyd has shown his ability to go up for a jump ball much like Kamara is able to do, but he also shows the ability to run away from defensive backs just like we saw from Samardzija. Already seeing valuable playing time as a freshman, expect Floyd to turn into amongst the best wide outs in the nation before his tenure under the Golden Dome is complete.

The biggest play maker of the youthful group so-far in 2008 has to be none other than Golden Tate. Whether it has been a late fourth quarter drive where the Irish face an obvious passing down while needing a first down, or in a surprise deep fly route, Golden Tate has continued to impress early in 2008.

When Tate came onto the scene against Purdue last season he seemed like he was plenty capable of running a fly route, but what scared me was how he struggled in getting open if he wasn't trying to run right by a defender. It is safe to say that Tate has figured out how to go about doing just that.

Whether it was being a key cog in two fourth quarter drives against San Diego State or the receiver of the third touchdown in the win against Michigan, Tate has turned the corner. Not only has he improved in his ability to run routes, he has become the best route runner on this Notre Dame team. He has caught on very quickly, learning proper separation techniques that are even more key because of his lack of height compared to others.

Notre Dame fans have cried about not having anyone to throw the ball to since the departures of Samardzija and McKnight at the end of 2006. Led by Golden Tate, Duval Kamara, and Michael Floyd it is my true belief the wait is over. WWR 2.0 is currently in development and will be even better than its original in due time.

Report Card vs. Michigan

By Joe Pierce

QB: B+
Jimmy Clausen lead the team well, and made some key passes to put Michigan out of the game. However, you can't ignore the fact that he threw two pretty bad interceptions. One thing's certain, though - Jimmy Clausen's the real deal.

RB: B+
Notre Dame's RB-by-committee trio played pretty well, lead by Robert Hughes' two TDs. James Aldridge contributed with some tough running in the red zone, but Armando Allen played sparingly and poorly, mustering up only 4 yds on two carries. I want to see someone emerge as the featured back.

WR/TE: A
Golden Tate is a star, Michael Floyd is a star in the making, and Duval Kamara rebounded from his poor game last week to score a touchdown on a beautiful jump ball in the end zone. The TEs were quiet in the receiving game, but must be contributing in the blocking game by helping keep Jimmy Clausen clean two weeks in a row.

OL: A+
The big guys didn't allow a sack for the second week in a row, and imposed their will on a very tough Michigan front seven. Trevor Robinson made his Notre Dame debut, spelling Chris Stewart at RG.

DL: D
They were more active than last week, and Pat Kuntz played well, but they were gashed all day by Michigan RB Sam McGuffie. Michigan State will destroy them next week if they don't get it together.

LB: B-
They made some nice highlight reel plays, including Bryan Smith's fumble recovery for a TD, but they need to take some blame for the poor run defense.

DB: A+
David Bruton, Sergio Brown, and Kyle McCarthy pace the defense and are true playmakers. I also believe that Saturday was Raeshon McNeil's coming out party. I haven't seen him play this well his entire career at Notre Dame.

ST: B+
A punt was tipped, but they recovered a muffed kickoff and pinned Michigan deep most of the day. Mike Anello is one of the best gunners I've ever seen.

Overall: B+
This was a terrific and fun game to watch, but there were mistakes made, too. If Notre Dame makes the same mistakes against Michigan State next week, the outcome will be significantly different.

Irish Win Revenge, Respect Against Wolverines

By Joe Pierce

Who knows what is was - Lou Holtz & the 1988 National Championship team on the field yelling support to the current players after being honored in the first quarter, the thirst for revenge following a 38-0 shellacking in The Big House last year, or this young Notre Dame team coming of age; whatever the cause, Irish eyes were smiling as they watched Notre Dame force two early turnovers, score on four of their first five drives, and outclass Michigan in all three aspects of the game en route to a 35-17 tour de force Saturday in a swampy Notre Dame Stadium.

Sophomore WR Golden Tate proved to be more than a one-week wonder, as he caught four passes for 127 yds and a touchdown, as well as being on the receiving end of a 60 yd beauty by Jimmy Clausen that split double coverage up the seam. Tate's jump from being a deep threat-only last year to being one of the most dangerous receivers in college football (yes, I said in all of college football) is remarkable. Now that the secret's out, we'll see how he responds to double coverage and how Duval Kamara (1-10-1) and Michael Floyd (2-10-0-2 key pass interference penalties drawn) do with having some open real estate to work with.

Jimmy Clausen (10-21-147-2-2) was impressive, even though the stat sheet says otherwise. He threw two picks he shouldn't have, but he made some key throws, including the long pass & touch pass TD to Tate, as well as a nicely-placed jump ball TD to Kamara. Even though he's a sophomore, you can tell that he possesses the intangibles needed to be a top quarterback - poise, control of the team, leadership ability, and a cool as the other side of the pillow demeanor. If he stays through his senior year, there's a good shot he'll be Heisman Trophy winner #8 (#9 in you count Rocket Ismail being robbed).

The Irish running game turned in a fine, but unspectacular performance Saturday. Robert Hughes is establishing himself as the Irish's primary back, rushing 19 times for 79 yds (4.2 ypc) and two scores. James Aldridge made his 2008 debut, moving the offense well in the red zone while rushing 9 times for 28 yds (3.1 ypc). Armando Allen played poorly, gaining 4 yds on 2 carries. While the running back by committee plan has worked thus far, I'd like to see someone step forward to be the featured back before Cierre Wood comes to South Bend and takes over in 2009 or 2010.

If I'm being impartial, Notre Dame's defense scares me a little. Yes, they caused five turnovers (plus another on special teams), and the defensive backs are playing amazing football, lead by David Bruton's 15 tackles and interception, but the defensive line was weak, allowing true freshman RB Sam McGuffie (131 rushing & 47 receiving yds) to look like Philadelphia Eagles RB Brian Westbrook. Also, they didn't register a sack against a very young Michigan front five. Either Jon Tenuta's blitzes are being figured out, or the Irish need to shake up their personnel, like they did by benching Justin Brown in favor of freshman Ethan Johnson. The LBs played fairly well, but part of the run defense blame falls on their shoulders, too. One thing I'm certain of is that they need to tighten up before next Saturday, when they travel to East Lansing to take on a Michigan State team that thoroughly enjoys pounding the football.

Overall, it was a great win for Notre Dame. They proved that the can handily beat a major conference team (I don't care if Michigan is "down" this year - they're still an arch rival and the winningest program in college football history) and jump on a team early and often. Charlie Weis ended up leaving the game on crutches after tearing his ACL & MCL when John Ryan took him out after being pushed out of bounds by a Michigan player. It's unknown when Coach Weis will get surgery, as he may put it off until the offseason. What can I say, the man's Jersey-tough. Michigan State will be their toughest opponent to date, so we'll see how good this team really is next Saturday.

SCORING
Notre Dame: ROBERT HUGHES 2 YD RUN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Notre Dame: DUVAL KAMARA 10 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Notre Dame: GOLDEN TATE 48 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Michigan: SAM MCGUFFIE 40 YD PASS FROM STEVEN THREET (K.C. LOPATA KICK)
Michigan: K.C. LOPATA 23 YD FG
Notre Dame: ROBERT HUGHES 1 YD RUN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Michigan: KEVIN GRADY 7 YD RUN (K.C. LOPATA KICK)
Notre Dame: BRIAN SMITH 35 YD FUMBLE RETURN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)