Notre Dame (1-0) vs. Michigan (1-1) Preview

By Nick Shepkowski
Domer Sports Report

Who: Michigan (1-1) at Notre Dame (1-0)

Where: Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, Indiana

When: 3:30 p.m. est

Television: NBC

In a series that has offered many great moments such as Rocket Ismail's two return day in the Big House to Desmond Howard's "catch" two years later, Notre Dame and Michigan have turned in multiple classic games. Remember just two years ago, the two teams met in South Bend and, after Michigan dominated ND all afternoon, both teams still went on to qualify for BCS games. Or remember last year, the first time in history both teams were 0-2 in the same season? It seems that these two programs are not headed for any BCS games anytime soon, but both will prosper once again in given time. Saturday will likely not be this day.

So what will 2008 bring in the storied matchup? Notre Dame is coming off of a come from behind win at the expense of San Diego State in the Irish's season opener a week ago, while Michigan enters 1-1, fresh off of a 16-6 win over Miami of Ohio. Based on those scores alone you can tell these aren't your father's traditional Irish and Wolverine teams.

Michigan will enter Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday with a spread offense attack, just lacking real spread offense type players. Despite the lack of overall speed on the Wolverines, Rich Rodriguez decided to go with the same offense he found great success with at West Virginia with the likes of Pat White and Steve Slaton. Fortunately for the Irish, there is nowhere near the talent of those West Virginia teams on this Michigan squad.

The Irish should match up very well with Michigan when the Wolverines have the football. Led by quarterbacks Nick Sheridan (15 of 24 for 138 Yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Steven Treet (14 of 32 for 132 Yds, 1 TD, 0 INT), the Wolverines have struggled to move the ball offensively this season. Successfully blitzing either of these two quarterbacks will be a big key in deciding what exactly happens on the field Saturday. With the lack of experience upfront (one starter back from a year ago on the offensive line) do not expect Michigan to take to much blitzing very kindly.

Kevin Grady was supposed to head this backfield for the Wolverines, but an off season DUI has slowed his time this year. He was suspended for the week one contest vs. Utah and rushed for only six yards on three carries against Miami (OH). In his place the Wolverines have inserted freshman Sam McGuffie, who has carried the ball 25 times and averaged only 3.3 yards per in that time. Once again, the weak offensive line of Michigan will not do any favors for the running game and Notre Dame should be able to control this aspect of the game.

Gone from a year ago are the likes of Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington and in their places are Martavious Odoms, Junior Hemingway, and Michael Shaw. Odoms leads the bunch with eight receptions for 64 yards in two games, but Hemingway and Shaw are the only Wolverines to bring down a touchdown reception so far in 2008, having one apiece. None of the three supply the same kind of deep threat that Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington both did and there won't be any Michigan wide outs donning a #1 jersey anytime soon in Ann Arbor.

The bottom line is that this offense is not your typical Michigan offense. The Irish were able to rush the quarterback a week ago and for the most part slowed down the San Diego State running game as well. Especially after already seeing a spread offense that is likely just as good, if not better than Michigan's, I really expect to see Notre Dame control this aspect of the game.

When Notre Dame has the ball I ask for the Irish to be able to do one thing this Saturday: Avoid third and longs. That is a key to almost every game, but against Michigan it comes out to be that much more important. If the Irish can get any sort of ground game going and force the defense of Michigan to keep guessing, Notre Dame could very easily put a lot of points on the board.

Unfortunately, with what I saw against San Diego State, I do not feel that Notre Dame will be able to run the ball as well as Irish fans would like. Although Robert Hughes and Armando Allen both showed good things at times this past Saturday, the offensive line will have their work cut out for themselves against the front seven of Michigan, anchored by Brandon Graham and Terrance Taylor.

Where Notre Dame will likely find success on offense on Saturday will be in the short yardage passing game, much like they did late in the game as Jimmy Clausen found Golden Tate on a pretty regular basis. According to my prediction that the running game will struggle, if that holds up I would expect to see the Irish start to work in short pass routes to try and pick up some yardage. After a few short passes is when the inexperienced safeties of Michigan in Stevie Brown and Artis Chambers will cheat up a bit or try to help out a bit too much. Expect to see the Wolverines burned deep over the middle at least once for a big play in Notre Dame's favor through the air this weekend. The safeties aren't a strong point for Michigan, but the corners (Donovan Warren and Morgan Trent) are. That's why attacking the safeties deep off the bat will be almost too predictable of thing to do.

Overall this match up of Notre Dame offense vs. Michigan Defense turns up being quite the draw. If Notre Dame can establish a running game it will be a rout in Notre Dame's favor. However, don't count on that and expect the Irish to have to pass in order to be able to pick up consistent first downs.

The special teams on Saturday may go a long way in deciding the winner of the ballgame. Notre Dame showed great discipline as they allowed very minimal returns each time against San Diego State in both the punting and kickoff teams. Michigan offers a better kicker and punter in Zoltan Inekso and KC Lopata than the Irish. Slight advantage to the Wolverines in Special Teams.

Finally its prediction time...

Notre Dame will be able to blitz Michigan fairly well most of the afternoon. Early success means an extra back or tight end staying into block. Expect the Irish to maybe not have a pick-6 but at least one touchdown set up by way of turnover which will be the difference in the end.

Notre Dame over Michigan, 17-7 - Nick (1-0)
Notre Dame over Michigan, 24-14 - Mark (1-0)
Michigan over Notre Dame, 21-20 - Joe (1-0)

Irish Hoops Faces Tough Schedule

Mark Allen
Domer Sports Report

Notre Dame Men's Basketball


Be careful what you wish for, they say. You just might get your wish. That applies to Notre Dame basketball fans' cry for a tougher schedule. You asked for it; you got it!

The 2008-2009 edition of the Notre Dame men's basketball team returns its' top eight players from last year's team. They will need every bit of their experience against the schedule that awaits them. Not only will they face the usual murderer's row of Big East Conference competition, but they will also face a tough non-conference schedule. They will also do it on television - a lot!

Speaking of televised games...the Irish will appear on the ESPN networks no less than 14 times this season. In addition, Notre Dame will play on CBS two more times. If you are even mediocre in math, you see that that makes a total of 16 games that are guaranteed to be on television. That should satisfy your Fighting Irish hoops fix.

The non-conference schedule has been upgraded, to say the least. Sure, the Irish still will play games that are virtually guaranteed to make it into the win column (Can you say South Carolina Upstate? If you have ever heard of that school, you deserve some sort of prize.). But, they also play some very tough teams. Consider that the Irish face Big Ten power Ohio State in Indianapolis (December 6). The Irish are also in the EA Sports Maui Invitational. They drew Indiana in ghe first round. But, after that, they have the chance to play Texas and North Carolina. The latter of which appears in many polls as the number one team in the nation. Then, after getting into the Big East Conference schedule, the Irish "take a break" by going out to Los Angeles to play another top team in UCLA (February 7).

Many have Notre Dame in the top 5-10 in the country. The Irish do return some experienced talent. But, will a tougher schedule make it tougher for the Irish to get to those lofty expectations? Notre Dame, in theory, could have a better team (than last season's team), but not have as good of a record (25-8 in 2007-2008). However, should the Irish win some of those tough games, look for their best finish in years!

The full schedule has been posted on Domer Sports Report. You will find it just below the football schedule in the right margin.

Did You Notice?

By Joe Pierce

- Long hair must be en vogue in northern Indiana - Jimmy Clausen and a bunch of his teammates had Kevin Green-like manes coming out of their helmets.

- The Irish defense had to hit the brakes about a dozen times when trying to time their blitzes. Losing your running start is a blitz-killer.

- The NBC announcing team was both clueless and pushy. As several replays were running on TV, they were talking about the play having a completely different outcome. Also, Jimmy Clausen was pestered during his post-game interview and missed half of the Alma Mater.

- Five true freshmen hit the field for the Irish Saturday: TE Kyle Rudolph, WR Michael Floyd, DE Ethan Johnson, LB Darius Fleming, & OL Braxton Cave.

- Charlie Weis deferred the coin toss. That's only the second time he's done it, with the first being against Southern Cal last year.

By the Numbers vs. SDSU

By Joe Pierce

0: Number of sacks given up by Notre Dame's offensive line. Nice work, boys.

1: Number of sacks registered by Notre Dame's defense. San Diego State did a nice job of running quick-hit plays to render Irish blitzes irrelevant.

100: Well, 105, really - Notre Dame rushed for over 100 yards on opening day. They didn't accomplish that until week 4 last year.

14: Number of tackles by Kyle McCarthy, who played a terrific game.

2: Number of tackles registered by the entire Irish defensive line. Take notes from Kyle McCarthy, please.

9: The number worn by both TE Kyle Rudolph and DE Ethan Johnson. Steel cage match for #9!

200: Number of consecutive sellouts at Notre Dame Stadium.

400: Total number of games played at Notre Dame Stadium.

Irish Report Card vs. SDSU

By Joe Pierce

QB A: Jimmy Clausen lived up to the hype Saturday, engineering two 4th quarter scoring drives that clinched the game for Notre Dame. He threw two interceptions, but I blame those on Duval Kamara, not Clausen.

RB C-: Armando Allen showed flashes, but he fumbled once, as did Robert Hughes, who ran without confidence all day. Work needs to be done here.

WR/TE B+: Golden Tate played like a superstar, and David Grimes & Michael Floyd contributed with a TD each. Duval Kamara started the game with a nice catch, but made several mistakes throughout the game. TE Kyle Rudolph is a star in the making.

OL A: They didn't give up a sack and made holes all day for the running game. I'm impressed by the big guys.

DL D: They didn't get gouged, but they only registered two total tackles as a unit. That's unacceptable.

LB C: They were solid, but Crum took a couple bonehead penalties on one drive and Brian Smith blew a coverage to allow a huge SD State gain, putting them on the goal line. I think they'll be fine as they mature as a unit.

DB A+: They paced the defense and made several big plays. Even without Darrin Walls, this is a huge strength for this team.

ST D: There were big mistakes here, mostly by Braxton Cave snapping the ball all over the place. They need work. Walker missing an admittedly hard FG didn't help, either.

Overall B-: There were some definite signs of life not seen since Brady Quinn wore a gold helmet, but there's a lot of room to improve. Let's hope it was simply a case of opening-day rust.

Tin Can Opponent Proves to be Made of Cast Iron against Irish

By Joe Pierce

I hope Saturday’s performance by the San Diego State Aztecs was a case of South Bend Fever inferior teams sometimes get when visiting South Bend. It’s a funny virus, that South Bend Fever – it makes teams play over their heads for three hours, only for them return to being whipping posts for the rest of their conference. Without David Bruton’s timely strip and recovery at the Irish goal line and Jimmy Clausen’s late-game heroics, there’s no way Charlie Weis would be using phrases like “I’ll take an ugly win any day of the week…”

However, the Irish did win, and while they didn’t win any style points Saturday, they’re 1-0 heading into a showdown with archrival Michigan. They can also hang their hats on some terrific individual performances. Jimmy Clausen, new surfer ‘do and all, has officially arrived as the leader of Notre Dame’s offense. He rebounded from two Duval Kamara mistakes that gift-wrapped interceptions for San Diego State to have his best quarter of football since he laced them up for Oaks Christian. In the 4th quarter, Clausen was 5-5 for 76 yards & 3-4 for 22 yards with touchdowns on both drives, clinching the win for the Irish. Clausen’s poise and confidence, I’m sure, reassured all Irish fans that the program’s in capable hands moving forward.

Golden Tate also proved that he’s ready to be a full-range WR for this team. Even during slow patches, Tate showed the skill and determination of a #1 receiver. Tate finished with 6 catches for 93 yards and a score. If Duval Kamara can rebound from his poor game and Michael Floyd continues to emerge, the Irish receivers should give defensive coordinators something to worry about.

Saturday also proved to be a coming out party for safety Sergio Brown, who finished with 6 tackles and 2 pass break-ups. Even though Kyle McCarthy was the star statistically with 14 tackles, Brown’s presence and big-hitting ability set the tone for a very good outing by a much-improved Irish defense. Though they only managed one sack and had a hard time syncing their blitzes with the snap count, they were stout through most of the game and didn’t give San Diego State a whole lot to exploit.

The Irish offensive line also made itself known to the Aztec defense, keeping Jimmy Clausen clean for the first time in his career. In fact, there wasn’t a game at all last season where the quarterback wasn’t sacked at least once. Let’s see what they do against the talented Wolverine front seven next week.

I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention the fine game by San Diego State QB Ryan Lindley. Though his stats don’t pop out at you (29-59-1-1), the redshirt freshman showed great maturity, leadership, and a quick release that nullified most of Jon Tenuta’s blitzes.

Mistakes seem less important when your team wins, but I’m sure Charlie Weis will be drilling them into the heads of his players as he prepares them for a visit from Rich Rodriguez and 1-1 Michigan. He’ll be smart to.

Scoring Summary
San Diego St.: RYAN LINDLEY 1 YD RUN (LANE YOSHIDA KICK)
Notre Dame: MICHAEL FLOYD 22 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
San Diego St.: DARREN MOUGEY 15 YD PASS FROM RYAN LINDLEY (MISSED KICK)
Notre Dame: GOLDEN TATE 38 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)
Notre Dame: DAVID GRIMES 6 YD PASS FROM JIMMY CLAUSEN (BRANDON WALKER KICK)

Brey Gets Third Commitment

By Mark Allen
Domer Sports Report

Notre Dame Men's Basketball
Recruiting

Notre Dame received its' third verbal commitment for the incoming class of 2009 over the weekend. He is Mike Broghammer out of Orono, Minnesota. The other two verbals for 2009 are 6-8 Jack Cooley from Illinois and 6-5 Joey Brooks out of Texas.

Broghammer is 6-8 and 215 pounds. He is considered a 3-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout. Last season he averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds per game. However, recently, his stock seems to be rising due to the AAU summer basketball circuit.

Broghammer was at Notre Dame over the weekend for his official visit. He mentioned that Notre Dame just felt like the right place for him to be. According to scout.com, "I really liked the players, and I really liked the coaching staff", Broghammer said. "I loved the campus, and it just felt right to me."

Broghammer will be visiting Notre Dame again in January. He also plans to enroll during the summer school session at Notre Dame.

The power forward has some good lineage. He is the nephew of former Duke standout Christian Laettner.

I had the fortune of watching Broghammer scrimmage at the Joyce Center prior to the San Diego State-Notre Dame football game on Saturday. Physically, he is lean, but muscular. He could use a few more pounds before entering Big East play for Notre Dame. During the scrimmage, I didn't see him do much down low as far as banging. But, he did have a very good outside shot, which seems to fit the mold of recent Notre Dame forwards.

What effect will Broghammer's commitment have on another targeted big man? One of the highest rated Notre Dame recruits comes in for the Michigan game. His name is Ryan Kelly. Will Mike Brey secure another commitment from another big man for the class of 2009? That would bring the total of big men verbals to three. Kelly, who is also being recruited by North Carolina and Duke, would be a huge get.

Stay tuned!

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