Aldridge in the spotlight

UWIRE | Football: USC thrashes Notre Dame in rivalry game:

"Aldridge could play a big role in a potential bowl game for the Irish, who may be without their two other running backs for at least the first half. Sophomore Armando Allen suffered a leg injury early in the game Saturday and did not return. Weis said after the game that he was not certain of Allen's status.

Fellow sophomore back Robert Hughes will also miss the first half of his next game because he was ejected in the final minutes after getting in a scuffle with a Trojan defender."

I know a lot of fans don't like Aldridge very much, citing his failure to get a touchdown last year and his sometimes-unimpressive stats. I've always been a fan of the guy, if only for his dedication to the game. He received a lot of play time last year, but has seen fewer carries this year with the advent of Armando.This year he's averaged 3.97 yds/carry, a respectable number given the quality of our running game. Armando only has 4.4 yds/carry and they both have 3 TDs this year. I feel like Aldridge could be a great back if given the chance- and it looks like the bowl game might be that chance.

Thoughts?



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Laura is a current junior at Notre Dame. A political science major originally from Georgia, she loves cheering for and talking about all Notre Dame teams.

Irish Rout Huskies 33-7

By Michael Rubin, Domer Sports Report

Notre Dame Football
Game Recap



Notre Dame used a swarming defense, a five wide receiver look, and some trickery to dominate the Washington Huskies, 33-7, and improve to 5-2. The Irish, who were going up against former coach Tyrone Willingham, looked rusty on offense but played a relentless defense.

The Irish scored on their opening possession as Jimmy Clausen connected with Michael Floyd for a 51 yard touchdown reception to take a 7-0 lead. On Notre Dame's second possession, they went 65 yards on seven plays covering just over three minutes and capped it off with a 21 yard touchdown run by Golden Tate. Notre Dame took a 17-0 lead into the half and opened the third quarter with a five play 61 yard drive culminating with a James Aldridge four yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to 24-0. Aldridge scored his second touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a three yard run.

The Irish defense forced Washington to six three-and-outs and kept them off the scoreboard until the Huskies scored on a six yard touchdown pass with 2:56 to go in the 4th quarter.

Notre Dame dominated the Huskies in every statistical category. Notre Dame gained 459 total yards and held the Huskies to 124.

The defense continuously got into the Huskie backfield and sacked quarterback Ronnie Fouch four times.

Clausen finished the game a mediocre 14-26 for 206 yards an interception and one touchdown pass.

The majority of the Irish offense came on the ground as the Irish out gained Washington on the ground 252-26. Aldridge led the ground attack rushing for 84 yards on 13 carries. Armando Allen rushed for 62 yards on 15 carries and Jonas Gray ran the ball nine times for 61 yards.

Next week the 5-2 Irish take on the 5-2 Pittsburgh Panthers in South Bend. A victory over the Panthers makes the Irish bowl eligible.

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)