Irish Set to Battle Boilermakers

Stand by Ar-man, and tell the world you love him...

Notre Dame is an eyelash from being 1-2 on the season after barely getting by Michigan State this past Saturday in South Bend. If you are an optimist you will say they are an eyelash from being 3-0 after being just one more first down away from victory in Ann Arbor. One thing I fully assume for this Saturday is that Irish fans won't have to sit through the duration of the second half chewing on their finger nails due to nerves caused by the game.

Losing Michael Floyd does no favors for the Irish, with his quick start to 2009 the national media has been all-over calling him a future first round pick in the NFL draft, something I have been saying since signing day well over a year ago. The hurt that this injury puts on this offense will not show its head this weekend however as the Irish will get off the bus running the football against Purdue and continue to do so until the Boilermakers adjust their defense.

Plain and simple, the Boilermakers can't stop the run. Notre Dame has some issues themselves but nowhere near as bad as Purdue has an issue with stopping the run in 2009. So far this year we have seen Akron, Oregon, and Northern Illinois average 181 yards per game on the ground against the Boilermakers this season, expect that trend to continue.

Armando Allen had a coming out party of sorts a year ago when Purdue traveled to South Bend, he put 134 yards on the ground while averaging 5.0 ypc. To that date, it was his best performance in a Notre Dame uniform. Expect another big game from the running backs this weekend as well.

Jimmy Clausen has moved his way up the ESPN Heisman rankings, checking in at fourth this week. He loses his favorite target in Michael Floyd but don't expect this to slow the passing game when the Irish deem it necessary to throw. The oh-so-present run threat will keep Purdue cheating up until they are burned on a deep ball, perhaps even afterwards.

Jason Werner leads the Purdue defense, expect the Irish to throw and run away from where he lines up on defense, much like they threw away from and ran away from Greg Jones of Michigan State a week ago. So far on the year Werner has 6 tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception. He happens to be a playmaker but is the exception to the rule for Purdue on defense.

The Boilermakers have given up an average of 32.3 ppg this year, I don't see the Irish having a major hurdle to jump over to reach that. This will easily be the best offense Purdue has seen to date, don't think Notre Dame won't make that a known fact by the end of the evening.

To Purdue's credit they have put up 36.3 ppg this year in three contests. Ralph Bolden leads the Boilermaker charge as he has rushed for 421 yards on the season while reaching the endzone 4 times. He currently holds a 6.8 average yards per carry, a number Notre Dame looks to bring down. The passing game is what Purdue offenses have become famous for but stop the run on Saturday and it turns into a very long evening for the Boilermakers. A big game from both Ethan Johnson and Ian Williams as well as a little help from the linebackers will be needed.

Joey Elliott will be doing the quarterback duties for Purdue on Saturday night, he has a strong arm but has had trouble in decision making this season, already throwing five interceptions three games in. His favorite targets are Keith Smith and Aaron Valentin who have combined for 33 receptions and have each scored a touchdown in 2009.

Purdue will be playing with a sense of urgency after falling to Northern Illinois in West Lafayette a week ago. Expect the Boilermakers to come out swinging, perhaps a trick play or two on their first series even.

At the end of the night it will however be another win for Notre Dame in a game that shows how far off track the two programs currently are with each other.

Predictions:

Nick (2-1): Notre Dame 38 Purdue 20
Mark (2-1): Notre Dame 42 Purdue 24

In the meantime, enjoy what happened when Notre Dame traveled to Purdue four years ago. Just happened to stumble upon this earlier, thought everyone would enjoy looking back on a very enjoyable night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js6RbB1fARw

2009 Battle for Megaphone Speaks Volumes

This was supposed to be a game where both Michigan State and Notre Dame proved they were back. One was supposed to be sitting pretty at 3-0 with the other at 2-1 after this weekend. After each falling in week one we know that won't be the case, now each team looks to stay above the .500 mark in seasons that were supposed to mark major turnarounds for both squads.

What's worse, losing at home to a directional school from your own state or falling at one of your biggest rival's stadiums when you are the only ranked team in the match up...and your rival was 3-9 a season ago? Easy to say Notre Dame lost to the tougher team but both losses sting the Spartans and Irish respectively.

Despite being an eleven point favorite in Vegas, the Irish have dropped six straight meetings in South Bend to Michigan State. Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and now Charlie Weis have all gone winless at home versus the Spartans. Here's what the Irish need to look out for in order to stop the streak.

Michigan State has a solid run defense, but another weak secondary. I don't expect anything out of the norm from whats been shown the first two weeks. The trifecta of Floyd, Tate, and Rudolph remains key for the offense. Opening up a passing game and allowing Armando Allen room to run. I am not usually a fan of pass-first offenses, but the heavy threat of passing has been the biggest key to why Allen has had a strong start to the season running the football.

Greg Jones is the major play maker on defense for the Spartans. The reigning Big Ten defensive player of the year has 29 tackles two games into 2009, that's good enough to lead the conference again at this point.

Jones and Michigan State are extremely strong in the run defense, that's why I expect Notre Dame to come out throwing the football. Opponents have averaged only 2.2 ypc vs. MSU this year while they've put up over 6 yards per pass attempt (225 ypg), easy to see why I expect Jimmy Clausen to come out firing again on Saturday.

The Spartans come into South Bend still looking for a full-time replacement to Irish-killer and current Tennessee Titan, Javon Ringer. Caulton Ray has compiled 122 yards on the ground and been the only Spartan to score running the football this year. Larry Caper has also seen 13 carries for less success but its safe to say the running game isn't the same as it has been in recent years for Sparty.

Michigan State enters Saturday still using two quarterbacks, all reports make it sound as if Mark D'Antonio isn't really feeling the need to name an exclusive starter just yet. Kirk Cousins has thrown for 347 yards and 4 TD this year while former Oklahoma recruit Keith Nichol has added 3 TD passes himself. Both are yet to throw an interception but it must be noted that Cousins has nearly a 20% higher completion percentage while attempting nine more passes.

Blair White is the target of choice for both quarterbacks Notre Dame will see on Saturday. White is the only Spartan with double-digit reception numbers so far (12) and has 2 TD receptions to boot. BJ Cunningham has 117 receiving yards on the year for MSU as he has also taken 2 catches for scores. On offense I see the Spartans trying to run the ball the majority of the afternoon as long as the score of the game allows them to.

Neither of the quarterbacks that the Irish will see threaten to do quite what Tate Forcier was able to do last Saturday in Ann Arbor. If d-linemen from Notre Dame kept their feet instead of constantly diving, Forcier doesn't do half the things he did. Credit the kid for making plays but don't let yourself think it was only him, the lack of defensive discipline helped the freshman quarterback out a ton.

Notre Dame will blitz the middle very much on Saturday, trying to make Michigan State throw the football. The Irish play well against the pass as long as they get a pass rush, like any team the secondary breaks down when the quarterback isn't being pressured. That is a key this Saturday for Notre Dame, get pressure up the middle and they will be in business.

The combination of Ethan Johnson and Ian Williams is huge for me on Sunday. Michigan State has talent at quarterback but not a lot to throw to, if Notre Dame can force them to pass it will catch up with the Spartans. If not then the Irish will be headed for 1-2 and a long fall.

This is an absolute must win for the Fighting Irish and Charlie Weis this weekend. I don't agree with an 11 point line that the Vegas oddsmakers have put out but this is a redemption game for Notre Dame. Not that it isn't for Michigan State but playing on their home field and without a conference affiliation, the Irish have more running on Saturday's end result.

I expect struggles early to move the football for the first time this season, perhaps even falling behind again. I do feel the home field comes back and saves the Irish in this one as they squeak by to 2-1. Its a must-win for Charlie and Company and they pick up the win.

Nick (1-1) Says: Notre Dame 31 Michigan State 27
Mark (1-1) Says: Notre Dame 34 Michigan State 24

Post your Saturday prediction on the Domer Sports Report Message Board! Remember, awards will be given out at the end of the year so stay with us all fall long for plenty of Notre Dame football chatter!

Preview Written By: Nick Shepkowski, add me as a friend on facebook or follow me and my random Irish thoughts on Twitter!

Return to Relevance for Notre Dame/Michigan Rivalry

Both Notre Dame and Michigan started their seasons on the right foot this past Saturday with home blowout victories. The Irish defeated Nevada 35-0 while Michigan blew out Western Michigan 31-7 in week one. Both teams started on the right foot in seasons they hope to turn heads and regain national respect on the football field.

Michigan is powered by a two headed monster at quarterback between Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson, both freshman who were brought to Michigan by Rich Rodriguez. Forcier is the throwing quarterback (13/20, 179 yds, 3 TD vs WMU) while Robinson is in as a run-first threat (2/4 for 18 yards passing, 11 rushes for 74 and a touchdown vs WMU). Both quarterbacks are freshman and didn't see pressure from Western Michigan like they will see from Jon Tenuta and the Notre Dame defense this Saturday. Because of this added pressure and inexperience at the D-1 level I fully expect to see multiple turnovers by this combo on Saturday, I also don't expect to see Robinson be quite the threat he was against Western Michigan just because the overall speed of Notre Dame's defense isn't even comparable to WMU's. Nick Sheridan should also see time for Michigan at some point but don't expect much put on him.

The target of choice for Forcier will be Junior Hemingway who took in five receptions for 103 yards and two scores this past weekend. Kevin Koger was responsible for the other touchdown reception for the Wolverines on Saturday.

In the passing game don't expect Michigan to be throwing deep like they did on Western Michigan. The speed of the secondary (or lack there of) allowed Michigan to throw deep with much success this past weekend, however watching the ball that Forcier throws it still takes a while to get to his WR's. Quicker safeties and corners will feast on Forcier all season if this continues to be the game plan of the Wolverines. Expect Michigan to throw into the flats and over the middle of the field Saturday, I can promise Notre Dame won't be getting beat on the deepball against Michigan.

Carlos Brown has emerged as the biggest running threat for Michigan early this year, he had 10 carries for 54 yards last week, also pulled in a catch for 14 yards. Brown has come on strong for Michigan after getting only 35 touches in all of 2008. Kevin Grady and Michael Shaw will also get touches out of the backfield for Michigan.

Michigan's offense will be to try and attack Notre Dame up the middle due to the amount of yards Notre Dame gave up there a week ago (Vai Taun 114 yards on 18 carries). Part of that was due to the amount and style of blitzing ND was doing, the other part is likely that this part of the defense isn't its strong suit.

The Wolverines will also attempt to the quick hitters to receivers because of the blitzing by Notre Dame. Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson will have to think a lot more on the fly than they had to a week ago against WMU a week ago, for that it plays into Notre Dame's favor. As long as the Irish keep contain when Robinson is in the game I am not terribly scared of his legs and would love to see him have to throw the football.

How Notre Dame will Attack on Offense:
Michigan's secondary was responsible for two interceptions a week ago and held the pass heavy Broncos to 263 passing yards a week ago (73 were on one play, late in the game). Charlie Weis and company know that the Irish's strong point is their passing game, especially after seeing what Jimmy Clausen was able to do with Michael Floyd a week ago.

Michael Floyd will attract extra defenders coming off his huge performance in week one, I expect the Irish to use Golden Tate in a bigger role this week. We should see routes where Tate uses his speed and awareness to catch the ball on shorter passes while in full stride. The Irish will try and get these plays towards Tate to go for big yardage, hoping Michigan will then have to lay off of Floyd a bit.

Also by getting Tate to run shorter routes over the middle it will cause a movement in linebackers, expect to see a miscommunication at least once that allows for Kyle Rudolph to get big yardage on a play. The Notre Dame passing game is downright scary and we will see that shown again this week.

The only thing that scares me this week is that Michigan was great against the run a week ago as WMU only put up 38 yards on 24 attempts (1.6 ypc). Notre Dame won't be this bad running the ball but I'm not expecting the running game to be a game breaker, either. James Aldridge is out and Robert Hughes will play in his spot at fullback on Saturday. Expect the Irish to run many screens and Armando Allen and Jonas Gray, this to try and free up space later in the game between the tackles.

To me Notre Dame has too much experience matched with talent to fall against Michigan this weekend. You can tell in watching the Wolverines that they will have moments in the sun in 2009 but they will have growing pains along the way. The overall youth of this team will cost them some games this season but they are headed in the right direction, no question about it.

Domer Sports Report Predictions:
Nick (1-0): Notre Dame 35 Michigan 20
Mark (1-0): Notre Dame 24 Michigan 14
Brian (1-0): Notre Dame 38 Michigan 21
Steven (1-0): Notre Dame 27 Michigan 14

Go Irish, Beat Skunkbears!

Nick Shepkowski works as a producer at 670 The Score in Chicago as well as a co-host of the Big Ten Network Football Podcast (right column on link). Random ND Fandom Fact: Nick has seen three ND/Michigan football games (2004, 2006, 2008) and the Irish are 2-1, he will not be in attendance on Saturday.

Irish Nearly Perfect in 35-0 Opening Win

Early, often, and all afternoon. That's the way the Notre Dame offense approached its season opener against Nevada on Saturday in South Bend and they walked away with an impressive 35-0 victory in the process.

Jimmy Clausen and Michael Floyd connected for three Irish scores on the afternoon while Kyle Rudolph and Armando Allen each also found the end zone. Nevada put together a decent drive to on their first possession but were held in check by the Notre Dame defense the majority of the afternoon.

Jimmy Clausen got things going early on as he found Kyle Rudolph on a post route midway through the first possession. The touchdown pass capped a 12 play, 67 yard drive that put Notre Dame in front six and a half minutes in.

Nevada started the following possession and began cruising downfield before a sack on Colin Kapernick did the Wolfpack in. Richard Drake in turned missed a 38 yard field goal for Nevada, the Irish responded quickly with a nice drive put together with multiple solid runs by Armando Allen. Michael Floyd made it 14-0 on the first play of the second quarter on a 24 yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Clausen. Floyd split the safeties beautifully and put the Irish up two scores.

Nevada needed to respond their following drive but were instead held to a three and out. Two plays later it was again Clausen finding Floyd, this time for seventy yards and another Irish score.

Goodnight, Wolfpack.

The teams traded possessions a couple of times before the Irish took control with 5:51 remaining in the first half. Leading by 21 Charlie Weis gave a steady dose of both Armando Allen and Jonas Gray before the drive was capped off with only 1:59 remaining in the first half on a one yard touchdown run by Allen.

28-0 at halftime, things couldn't have gone much better for the Irish.

Charlie Weis called a pretty vanilla second half as the Irish put it on cruise control. The one major highlight of the half was another connection between Clausen and Floyd, this time for 88 yards. Clausen and Floyd each picked up their two longest completions/receptions of the day on the two long touchdown passes.

Nevada threatened the shutout midway through the third quarter but running back Vai Taua fumbled on a pitch that would have scored a touchdown. Instead it was Kapron Lewis-Moore jumping on the loose ball and Notre Dame held the shutout intact.

All in all a successful afternoon for Notre Dame, your tell-all stats:

Jimmy Clausen: 15/18 for 315 yards and 4 TD.

Turnovers: Nevada 3 Notre Dame 0

Rushing Yards: 178 yards on 41 attempts (4.3 ypc) against what was supposed to be a solid rush defense.

So its 1-0 for now and time to get ready for the Michigan Wolverines, a 31-7 winner vs. Western Michigan in the Big House on Saturday.

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.

Why I Don't Want Urban

Brian Dascenzo, Domer Sports Report

Notre Dame Football
Editorial

This has nothing to do with Urban Meyer as a coach, that would be stupid. This has to do with where Notre Dame football is right now and what would be best for it. It has to do with the last two years and most of the years between Holtz and Weis. It has to do with not wanting a do-over on rebuilding and not wanting to lose underclassmen who bolt because of a system change again, although this time they might be pushed out by Urban instead of leaving of their own accord.

I want Notre Dame to be successful under every coach, I get sick and tired of losing, I get fed up with not being competitive with USC or Michigan and not being able to beat Michigan State. I want Charlie to succeed, I need Charlie to succeed. The last two years have to mean something to this program other then a waste.

The turning of inexperience to dominant is what I want to see. This is the programs last chance with who is in place, I believe Swarbrick would have made the change last year if Charlie couldn't talk a good game. I need to see it in action rather than just hear about it.

The offense will probably be a pass dominant issue again, whether it's because of Armando Allen and Robert Hughes not being able to carry the load or Michael Floyd, Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph (among others) just exploding for 150 yard games each consistently and that would seem to fit Weis' gameplan.

Notre Dame has to succeed next year because this is what we have been waiting for. As fans we are willing to look past the last two years (kind of) if this year means great success. As a fan who has seen the teams Notre Dame has lost too in person get worse and worse (from the Dowdell led Spartans to Air Force during the 3-9 debacle to Syracuse last year I personally have hit rock bottom) it has to be for something.

I have a belief in Notre Dame football that is insane, there is little reason to believe in Charlie. Sure, he's had some great recruiting classes and he turned a 6-7 team into back-to-back BCS teams, but there are questions about all of it.

Winning with Ty's players (wish Ty would have brought in players his last one and a half classes like he did the first two) or not being able to develop the players that came in during his first one and a half classes (one of those shared with Ty).

This is the show me year, Custer's last stand as you will or else we are looking at starting over again, and the cupboard won't be bare. Instead, people will be looking for Urban immediately but his contract isn't up until 2013 so the next coach will have Urban watch even worse then Charlie does. Tommy Tubberville could probably withstand that and build a program but could a less experienced coach like Brian Kelly? I don't know and the I don't know future could be worse then the Charlie past/present. Here's to hoping Urban isn't necessary to fix the last 12 and that the answer is right beneath our noses.

Follow me on twitter @dascenzo and see my thoughts on sports that don't involve UND at my blog.

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.

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.

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)

Notre Dame (0-0) vs. San Diego State (0-1) Preview

By: Nick Shepkowski

After a season that could not finish soon enough and into a season that could not get here quickly enough, its finally time for the Irish to open 2008. They will do so on Saturday (3:30 EST, NBC) with a home game against the 0-1 San Diego State Aztecs. Although there is not a whole lot known about either squad coming in, the Irish find themselves to be 22 point favorites in Vegas.

The Aztecs will bring in a very inexperienced team, a very similar build up to what Notre Dame has but with less talent. Youth, which was much of the reason for the Irish's debacle in 2007, will be looked on for veteran leadership in 2008. Yes, veteran leadership will be expected out of the vast number of contributing freshman and sophomores from a year ago. The Irish are expected to start fifteen starters from a year ago with the bulk of them having still another year or two of eligibility after 2008.

San Diego State brings in a fairly young team as well, having only 14 starters back from a 4-8 ballclub a year ago. The Aztecs dropped their week one contest against Cal Poly, being the only Division 1 team to lose to a CFS team this past weekend. Let's look at both sides of the ball and see what should be expected.

The Aztecs will bring a spread offense that likes to throw the ball around the field to Notre Dame Stadium and Saturday. In a game where the Irish defense should be far superior to the offense of SDSU there are a few things that I look for to happen:

1) Obtain a pass rush.
Corwin Brown, and his 3-4 being helped out now by Jon Tenuta, seems to be a group that will blitz more than we have seen in years past. It is important that we are able to get to the quarterback on a regular basis this Saturday - we sure as hell aren't going to be able to get to the quarterbacks of the Michigan's, Michigan State's, and North Carolina's of the world.

2) Force Turnovers.
This goes hand in hand with getting to the quarterback, but with a pass happy team coming to town, we already know that Chuck Long's gang is not planning on trying to run the ball down Notre Dame's throats. The Irish have a defensive line that nearly weighs the same on average as the SDSU offensive line. The Irish weigh in on average only 23 pounds lighter than that of SDSU (305 lbs to 282).

3) No long drives.
This is a team, that, for lack of a better term, is awful. If the Irish are to win more than five or six games this year the defense will be called upon. There is nothing that makes you feel worse than when your defense is stomped all over on an eighty yard, 15 play scoring drive. I do not want to see anything like that this weekend.

The offense for Notre Dame in this game should be given an asterisk before any snaps are taken. Would you expect to see them show a whole lot for coming opponents in a game where they are just trying to survive and win? No, absolutely not. Notre Dame is far more talented in every aspect of the offensive game than SDSU is on the defensive side. With ND's line weighing nearly 40 pounds more than what's up front for the Aztecs, Notre Dame needs to be able to dominate up front.

There are however three things I would like to see Notre Dame's offense be able to do on Saturday that would make me feel better when looking ahead to the coming weeks.

1) Stay out of third and long.
Last year was a pain as you sat and watched Notre Dame not pick up yards on a regular basis on first and second down. You can have the most talented teams in the nation and if they are given consistent third-and-eights or worse, they won't succeed. 1st and 2nd down production is a must for this Irish team.

2) Dominate the line of scrimmage.
I am not going to say that a 100 yard rusher is a must, because the way carries could be split between (Robert) Hughes, (Armando) Allen, and (James) Aldridge, you can't anticipate that one will get enough carries to do so. However, with Hughes running for 100 yards in the final two games of 2007, it would be nice to see him crack that 100 yard mark. As a whole though, I would like to see the offensive line pushing guys back and making holes and the running game to seem unstoppable.

3) A big pass play for a score.
The longest pass for a touchdown last season was a brisk 26 yards a year ago. This kind of shows how bad the offense was as well. But, against a weaker defense I would really like to see Jimmy (Clausen) connect on a deep pass with one of his multiple receivers and show the Irish have at least a threat of the deep ball this year.

Finally, on special teams, Notre Dame can restore a bit of the success it had with these in the first two Charlie Weis seasons. I'm not asking for a return for a touchdown, but on kickoff returns, I would like to actually see blocking take place and for Notre Dame to show even a hint that they may be able to bring a kick back for a score this year. The kicking game is going to struggle for the Irish this year. For some reason I get the feeling that something will go wrong during an extra point and the Irish will miss one of those.

Prediction Time:

Mark Says: Notre Dame 38, San Diego State 10
Nick Says: Notre Dame 37, San Diego State 6
Joe Says: Notre Dame 27, San Diego State 17

Diving Right In

By Mark Allen
Domer Sports Report

Charlie Weis, in his opening press conference before practice begins for 2008, let his theme be known. The theme for the 2008 season of Notre Dame football is "dive right in". What does he mean? More of that in a minute.

Weis opened his press conference with a couple of condolences. First, he sent out his condolences regarding this week's death of Notre Dame man, Joe Yonto. Yonto passed away on Monday morning. He also mentioned that his favorite restaurant, Mishawaka's Polito's, burned down.

Coach Weis compared what Notre Dame is doing to what the Green Bay packers and Brett Favre are doing - moving on. The Fighting Irish are moving on and will not discuss the 2007 season. As a matter of fact, when a reporter tried to ask him about 2007, Weis cut him off and told him he will only be discussing the upcoming 2008 season.

So what did Weis mean by diving in? Well, in a nutshell, he was talking about getting off to a fast start. He meant that on a couple of fronts. First, he meant getting off to a fast start in practice. Secondly, he meant getting off to a fast start for the season. Players, during the offseason, could be seen wearing "Dive Right In" tee shirts. Weis said he is looking for players to "make things go".

In his opening statement, coach Weis said that the Irish return 38 monogram winners. But, more importantly, is the experience in returning starters. Counting the kicker and punter, the Fighting Irish return 19 of 24 starters.

Everyone knows what a fiasco the offensive line was last season, giving up the most sacks in history. So, one emphasis was getting bigger and stronger. The first two offensive line units are now all over 300 pounds. Chris Stewart, perhaps overweight in his freshman season, now is down to 329 pounds. Sam Young now outweighs him.

Even the running backs, according to Weis have become stronger. According to the coach, all running backs can now bench press 100 pounds more than they could last season.

Finally, Weis, in his opening statement, addressed how well the captains have been doing. The captains, David Grimes, Maurice Crum and David Bruton, have all done "a great job in the off season".

Notes from the question and answer session:

Running backs:

Asked if the running back position would be ran by committee, Weis answered that it would be a 2-to-1 proposition. He said that Armando Allen would be a "changeup" style running back with his elusiveness and speed. On the other side, both Robert Hughes and James Aldridge would be battling it out for the most playing time between the power style running backs.

Resuming play-calling duties:

Weis was asked, predictably, whether or not he would ever resume the play-calling duties that he turned over to Mike Haywood. He responded that he "won't be studying the play sheet".

On team health:

Only Will Yeatman had any sort of injury. About a month ago, Yeatman pulled a hamstring muscle. Besides that, everyone is healthy, will practice and is in good academic standing.

Sam Young:

Besides the oft-mentioned gain in strength, Sam Young was mentioned as having become really matured. He is also a player that other players turn to. He has become a leader.

The Jimmy Clausen drinking situation:

Writer's note: Jimmy Clausen wasn't actually caught drinking. Rather, he was seen in photos where, in the background, alcohol was seen. Weis's first comment was that he thought it was "important to not condone underage drinking". With that said, he also comments, "give me a break, let's move on".

Interior defensive line:

Ian Williams and Pat Kuntz have both been defensive tackles. Weis hinted that he might slide Kuntz over. He said, "Ian has a low center of gravity. Pat can play inside-out". That can be taken two different way, though. Does this mean he is just stating that each has different facets of how they play nose tackle? Or, does that mean Kuntz could slide over?

The Corin Brown-Jon Tenuta dynamic:

Weis said, "Corin has welcomed Tenuta". He also mentioned to not forget that Jappy Oliver is part of it. Tenuta will be upstairs in the press box while Brown will be on the sidelines.

Jonas Gray:

Jonas Gray, for a freshman, is chiseled. He has good leadership skills. The players like him.

Goals for himself:

Weis wants to be more active in all three facets of the game (special teams, offense and defense). On off4ense, he wants to be a guiding influence, not involved in playcalling.

On Freshmen having a chance to play early:

Weis stated that "all have to earn their way up". The defensive line, particularly has opportunities due to graduation losses.

What he's most excited about:

He is excited that "so many guys have a second go around". The most significant jump in improvement, he said, was between the first and second year. The Fighting Irish have plenty of those types in 2008.

Punts and kickoffs returns:

The two names that Weis mentioned were Armando Allen and Golden Tate. His duties, on special teams, will be coaching punt and kick returns.

Competition for QB:

It is Jimmy's job to lose. During the first week, each quarterback will receive one-third of the reps. Initially, the depth chart is Clausen as one, Evan Sharpley as two and incoming freshman Dane Crist as three.

Clausen's leadership:

There is a "night and day" difference in Clausen between 2007 and 2008. He has gone from 194 pounds to a current 215 pounds. Due to a stronger body, Clausen will progress better throughout the season. Of course, it depends on the offensive line not getting Clausen killed. But, he should be able to handle more mentally as far as opening up the playbook.

New athletic director:

He has talked to Jack Swarbrick on several occasions. The relationship is "moving along nicely". They have common friends which makes it easier to know each other's credibility.

The offensive line:

Each player is bigger and stronger. That will make it easier to play at the point of attack.

Weis's changes:

That has already taken place. The emphasis will be how he handles it from now on. He "can't be phoney with the changes". He doesn't have it (being phoney) in him, good or bad.

Loss of Darrin Walls:

It opens up opportunities for those down the depth chart as well as for incoming freshmen. There will be a "trickle down" effect. Player's like (freshmen) Robert Blanton and Jamoris Slaughter will not be too far from the mix. He feels good about Raeshon McNeil and Gary Gray. He has a lot of confidence in McNeil.

Receivers:

Michael Floyd, according to feedback from Clausen, has been "through the roof". He does not look like a freshman. Weis needs a couple of more guys to make plays besides Kamara and Grimes.

So, Notre Dame and Charlie Weis are ready to "dive right in". Are you ready for some football?

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Notre Dame Football: What's Realistic for 2008?

By: Nick Shepkowski

An abysmal 2007 left the Irish faithful with their heads stuck lying in their hands—3-9...at Notre Dame...unbelievable.

What did Charlie Weis do? How could a team like Notre Dame only be able to muster up three wins in an entire season? Well, Charlie bit the bullet in 2007, giving several freshmen valuable playing time, which well aid in the future.

How much of an improvement will we see in 2008?

Expect the offense to start to show signs of why it will be scary in years to come. We now know that Jimmy Clausen was not 100 percent last fall and that there was a reason he looked nothing like what he was hyped up to be.

Note that he did add 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, so expect Jimmy Clausen to be a lot more like the Clausen Notre Dame thought they were originally getting.

The running backs of the Irish are a fearsome bunch, having power, speed, and strength all covered. The question is whether or not the offensive line will be able to block for them, something I covered a few days ago here.

If the offensive line progresses the way it likely should, the offense will be scary. I can not say enough about how important and how much of a question mark the O-line is this year.

The wideouts on the Irish are primarily young but have the talent to be amongst the best in the nation in a few short years. We saw flashes in a pan from Duval Kamara last year while David Grimes was also productive at times.

Expect Michael Floyd to work his way into the starting lineup before the end of the season. Also add in Golden Tate, who can hopefully learn to do a bit more than run straight down field, and Irish quarterbacks will be smiling with their options to throw to.

Tight end is a position where Notre Dame enters 2008 with yet another question mark. John Carlson, who has been an offensive threat for the past two years, is now a Seattle Seahawk, which leaves the Irish with Mike Ragone and Luke Schmidt at the position. Both were highly touted coming in, and the Irish will benefit if they can contribute immediately.

Expect one if not both to have big years with how much ND has used the tight end position as a target so far in the Charlie Weis era.

The defensive line needs to be able to penetrate the offensive line, otherwise the defense as a whole will suffer badly. Trevor Laws, ND's best run stopper up front a year ago, is gone to the NFL. The good news is that the youth that will be up front has talent, it just may be a bit green.

My prediction is that the Irish secondary and linebackers aren't the biggest concern on defense, instead it is the line. There is no doubt that Omar Hunter would have been playing right away had he not chose to attend Florida after committing to Notre Dame.

The linebackers are young as well for Notre Dame, outside of Maurice Crum, Jr. that is. Crum is the senior leader of this defense while others such as Toryan Smith and Kerry Neal saw valuable time a year ago. Factor in freshmen Darius Fleming and Steven Filer and the Irish have begun to add depth to the linebacking corps.

The secondary of Notre Dame will be a strong spot this season, even with the departure of Tom Zbikowski and unfortunate loss of Darrin Walls. Kyle McCarthy will lessen the blow of losing Zbikowski as McCarthy had a very strong spring season. Let's hope he can parlay that into a strong fall as well.

Sure Darrin Walls was Notre Dame's best corner a year ago and he is gone this year; however, Terrail Lambert is back and expect him to recover from what was a bad year for him last year.

Walls' replacement will likely be Gary Gray or Raeshon McNeil, both of whom will be entering their first years starting. Although they will be green in the defensive backfield, they should be strong as well down the road.

On special teams Notre Dame will need to find a solution to what was a major problem for them a year ago. Brandon Walker struggled a year ago kicking field goals and he may be replaced by Ryan Burkhart.

Practices will decide who the kicker is, while Eric Maust will do the punting.

The Irish struggled in the return game last year, not returning a kickoff past midfield. Zbikowski is gone as a return man but Golden Tate has the speed and quickness to one day be great there as well.

The Prognosis:

Notre Dame is still too young to be competing for a BCS Bowl this year. However, with a schedule that is very favorable to them, eight wins should not be out of the realm of possibility.

Notre Dame will finish 2008 with an 8-4 record and play in the Gator Bowl. That sets up a title run for 2009 with anything short of a BCS game being a major disappointment.

Instant Impact

By Radio Man

The Notre Dame 2007 youth movement proved to be a bad thing and a good thing. Stating the obvious, many talented freshmen and sophomores will be better prepared to play against upper echelon Division I competition. With that said, an even better recruiting class will joining the Fighting Irish this weekend, as the Class of 2008 officially enrolls for summer school at the University of Notre Dame. Here is a look at a handful of the players that should compete for playing time during the 2008 season.

Michael Floyd – Because wide receiver is one of the easiest positions for a freshman to learn, combined with Floyd's raw skills and Notre Dame's uncompromising need for playmakers not named Golden Tate, Floyd holds the honor as the most likely to start from day one at Notre Dame. Regardless of when Floyd makes his first start, he will play early and often. He's special.

Ethan Johnson – Despite missing his senior season to help further rehab a leg injury, Johnson will be ready to go this summer and compete for playing time come early August when the Irish open up fall camp. Johnson's father recently revealed on an Internet message board that his son was 6-5, 275-pounds and healthy. Few players that possess Johnson's size or strength can also boast his first-step quickness off of the snap of the football. And this just in: Notre Dame needs impact defensive lineman in a desperate way. Do not be surprised if Johnson is placed into the starting rotation or even the starting lineup at strong side defensive end before the end of September. As a side note, a certain Pete Carroll had Johnson as his no. 1 West Coast last year regardless of position. That's a good sign.

Steven Filer – How quickly Flier relates to the defensive packages from the 3-4 and 4-3 will determine the amount of playing time earned. Filer's athleticism and speed cannot be denied. A likely scenario finds Filer coming into games and being used as a blitzer from one of the insider linebacker positions.

Darius Fleming – Fleming comes off of the edge with more than just speed; he utilizes his hands well to ward off offensive lineman and tight ends. While it would be a stretch to write Fleming into the two deep at outside linebacker or defensive end, his pass rushing prowess cannot be overlooked. Therefore, he should play this fall.

Kyle Rudolph – 6-7 tight ends with the hands of a top-notch wide receiver do not come around often. Meet young Mr. Rudolph. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis often utilizes tight ends, and Rudolph can also be used as a big wide receiver. Look for Rudolph to become a prime target in the red zone on "jump ball" passes against smaller defenders.

Hafis Williams – One of the more underrated defensive linemen in the country, in large part due to the lack of availability of his high school film, Williams possesses excellent feet for a 285 pound defensive lineman. He could play nose guard in the 3-4, perhaps even the strong side defensive end in the 3-4, or defensive tackle in the 4-3. Notre Dame has little to no depth at nose guard behind incumbent Ian Williams. The door is open for Hafis to play.

Brandon Newman – Like Williams, the lack of nose guard depth will aid Newman's opportunity to play this upcoming football season. Built like a compact car, Newman utilizes strong legs to penetrate between offensive linemen. He truly fits the 3-4 nose guard role well.

Robert Blanton – Some guys just have a knack for blocking punts and field goals. Blanton goes beyond the ordinary, as he constantly penetrated protection schemes to find himself blocking another kick during high school games. Notre Dame has a plethora of cornerbacks moving into the 2008 season, but nobody on the Notre Dame roster can boast the type of kick blocking abilities Blanton provided during his high school career. In addition, Blanton fits the mold of a boundary corner, i.e. the short side of the field. Look for Blanton to compete for playing time by the end of this season. Blanton is a competitor.

The Year Of The Transition

Notre Dame finished the 2007 with victories over bottom feeders Duke and Stanford. Those two wins do not translate to the Irish becoming a juggernaut this upcoming season, but the Irish should swing its record more than 180 degrees due to the nature of College Football: opponents undergoing transition years.

Looking at the 2008 schedule game by game, there are trends serious Irish fans should not overlook. Here we go…

Sep. 6 San Diego State lost just about all of its offensive skill position talent, including its quarterback, a starter from his freshman season forward. Notre Dame rolls, 34-17, behind the powerful legs of Robert Hughes and his two rushing touchdowns.

Sep. 13 Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez to be its new head coach. That's great. Now let everyone watch as the Wolverines flounder with no running threat at QB. Notre Dame will throttle the Wolverines as their defense continually goes back onto the field after its offensive teammates either turned the ball over or punted after three plays. Notre Dame spikes the Wolverines, 35-14.

Sep. 20 @ Michigan State catches Notre Dame at a great time, after manhandling Michigan. Plus, the game will be played in East Lansing, at night, uh-oh. But wait! Michigan State's defense is rebuilding with both of its starting defensive ends now departed, and while its QB returns, and he's a Sr., is simply mediocre. Additionally, the lone big play wide receiver left for the NFL a year early. Notre Dame slips by the Spartans in enemy territory, 24-21.

Sep. 27 Purdue comes to South Bend much the same way as the Aztecs, but with its quarterback, too. It will not be enough to stop the Irish, as Notre Dame has more offensive skill position talent returning than the Boilermakers, and it will be the coming out party for freshman sensation Michael Floyd, as Jimmy Clausen makes him a prime target. Remember the name. The Irish prevail, 30-17.

Oct. 4 Stanford could be a threat in two or three years, but not right now. The Cardinal had a solid senior class last season. Too bad that class graduated. Notre Dame wins, but does not win impressively due to not being excited to play a porous opponent and playing for the fifth week in a row. Notre Dame survives for a sluggish, 27-16. victory.

Oct. 11 @ North Carolina makes a few big plays when necessary with its defense, and they send Notre Dame home with its first loss of the season, 23-13, in an ugly turnover-marred game. Notre Dame needed the off week to come one week sooner. Still, 5-1 trumps the 2007 disaster.

Oct. 25 @ Washington lost several key skill position players, most notably its tailback. Jake Locker can only do so much. The skill position talent surrounding Locker will not suffice against Notre Dame. The Irish win, 31-20, after a well deserved off week.

Nov. 1 Pittsburgh provides a stern test for the Irish rush defense, which will not shut down "Shady" and the power running game of the Panthers. Losing RT Jeff Otah to the NFL Draft, however, depletes the Panthers' rushing attack. Pittsburgh's inconsistent passing game will lead to turnovers and the Irish having an excellent third down conversion defense in a, 27-20, Notre Dame victory.

Nov. 8 Boston College lost Matt Ryan and still does not enjoy the wide receiver talent necessary to run a pro-style offense. But oh, wait, the Eagles are going to the spread. What? Boston College, that's right, Boston College and its traditionally huge OL will employ the spread moving forward. Bad move. The Eagles lost their top two running backs as well. Notre Dame hammers the Eagles, 42-14.

Nov. 15 Navy will play the Irish in Baltimore this year and there will be no holding back for the Irish after the streak ended last season. A new head coach for the Midshipmen will not help matters. A new streak begins for the Irish as the Irish roll up over 500 yards of offense and defeat the Middies, 45-14.

Nov. 22 Syracuse will be a little bit better, but not enough to defeat Notre Dame or for its head coach to save his job. Notre Dame blows out Syracuse, 35-6.

Nov. 29 @ Southern California defeats Notre Dame again as its overall team speed and superior depth in its fifth-year and senior classes does in the Irish. Notre Dame hangs tough, but loses, 31-21.

Minus the Trojans, every team the Irish face undergoes a major change or two or three…or more. Simply put, sans significant injuries to important contributors, Notre Dame should win at least nine games in 2008, and really ten wins should be the measuring stick against an underwhelming schedule. Notre Dame must take advantage of the situation, and it will.