2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Rec. Class

2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Coach: Charlie Weis

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2008 Recruiting Class

Star of the Class

Dayne Crist QB 6-5 225 Sherman Oaks, CA (Notre Dame)
Selected to play in U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio ... one of six finalists for the 2008 U.S. Army Player of the Year Award  ...  one of seven finalists for the Joe Montana Quarterback of the Year Award  ... selected to the Parade All-America team as one of 58 players and seven quarterbacks named to team  ...  named to the Scout.com All-America second team  ...  one of five future Irish players placed on the EA Sports All-America third team  ...  one of 20 players selected to Best in the West first team by the Long Beach Press-Telegram S only player projected to play quarterback in college who was named to the Best in the West first team  ...  named second-team all-state by CalHiSports.com as a senior  ...  placed on all-Southern California team by Southern California Football Coaches Association and Orange County Register  ...  completed 57.8 percent of passes for 2,178 yards with 16 touchdowns and one interception in 10 games in 2007 ... also rushed for 454 yards and scored four touchdowns in 81 rushing attempts  ...  against Saugus, completed 18-of-27 passes for 314 yards with three touchdowns and also rushed for a score while leading the Knights to a 38-35 win  ...  passed for 253 yards and four touchdowns while completing 17-of-25 passes and also gained 50 yards on six rushes in a 33-6 win over St. Francis  ...  rated by SuperPrep the 48th-best prospect in the nation, fourth-best quarterback in the country, eighth-best player in the far west and top quarterback in the far west  ...  ranked the seventh-best prospect in California and third-best quarterback in the nation by Scout.com  ...  played in seven games as a junior, passing for 1,270 yards with 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions while completing 52.9 percent of his passes  ...  also rushed for 230 yards and four touchdowns  ...  against Bishop Arnat as a junior, completed 6-of-11 passes for 236 yards and five touchdowns in 49-0 win  ...  over his final two seasons, passed for 3,448 yards in 17 games with 33 touchdowns  ...  completed 56.1 percent of his passes with only four interceptions in 351 pass attempts S amassed a 14-3 record as a starter for the Knights as a junior

Potential Instant Impact Players

Michael Floyd WR 6-3 200 Saint Paul, MN (Cretin-Derham Hall)
Picked to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio ... chosen Gatorade Player of the Year for Minnesota as a junior and senior ... named Minnesota Player of the Year as a junior and senior by the Associated Press ...  named first-team All-American by USA Today following his senior season ... placed on Parade All-America team as one of the 58 best players in the country and one of four all-purpose players ... one of 30 players named to the EA Sports All-America first team ... named a second-team All-American by Scout.com ... earned first-team all-state accolades from the Minnesota Associated Press as a junior and senior ... recipient of 2007 Minnesota Mr. Football award ... named the state¹s Player of the Year by St. Paul Pioneer Press ... ranked the top wide receiver and the third-best player on the Detroit Free Press¹ Best of the Midwest Top 20 list ... labeled by Scout.com as the top player in Minnesota and the fifth-best wide receiver in the country ... recorded 59 receptions for 1,247 yards (21.1 avg.) and 17 touchdowns as a senior and added 497 rushing yards on 43 carries (11.6 avg.) ... returned 16 punts for 373 yards (23.3 avg.) and four touchdowns ... helped lead his high school team to a 13-1 record and appearance in the state championship game ... averaged over 24 points per game as a senior for his high school basketball team.

Kyle Rudolph TE 6-7 235 Cincinnati, OH (Elder)
Chosen to play in the  U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio ... named first-team All-American  by USA Today after totaling 37 catches for 673 yards (18.2 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns as a senior ... placed on the Scout.com All-America first team ... lone tight end among the 11 finalists for the high school Maxwell  Award ... ranked 21st in the country and No. 2 in Ohio by Scout.com ...  received first-team all-Southwest Ohio as a senior after being named second team as a junior ... named second-team all-state by the Associated Press following his senior year ... caught four passes for 57 yards including two touchdowns to help Elder defeat Charlotte (N.C.) Independence, 41-34 in overtime, to end Independence¹s 109-game winning streak (at the time, Independence was ranked No. 3 in the nation) ... gained 111 yards receiving and a touchdown to help the Panthers knock off Moeller ... caught five passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns in Elder¹s 49-34 victory over Cleveland Benedictine ... helped lead team to the playoffs where they lost in the first round to the eventual state champions ... as a junior, caught 30 passes for 400 yards and seven touchdowns en route to earning first-team all-city and all-conference honors San accomplished basketball player who plays center for his high school team and was the conference player of the year and all-Southwest Ohio in 2007 ... is the second-leading scorer in school history and earlier this season became just the second Panther to surpass 1,000 career points ... set the school record for most career rebounds when he corralled his 568th rebound on Jan. 11 S against Moeller (No. 1 in Ohio, No. 9 in the nation) on Jan. 25, scored 25 of Elder¹s 52 points as the Panthers almost upset the top-ranked team in Ohio, 58-52

Rest of the Class
Blanton, Robert DB 6-1 175 Matthews, NC (Butler)
Cave, Braxston OL 6-3 292 Mishawaka, IN (Penn)
Clelland, Lane  OL 6-5 265 Owings Mills, MD (McDonogh School)
Cwynar, Sean  DL 6-4 283 Woodstock, IL (Marian Central Catholic)
Fauria, Joseph  TE 6-7 250 Encino, CA (Crespi Carmelite)
Filer, Steve  LB 6-4 220 Chicago, IL (Mount Carmel)
Fleming, Darius LB 6-2 230 Chicago, IL (St. Rita)
Golic Jr., Mike OL 6-5 265 West Hartford, CT (Northwest Catholic)
Goodman, John WR 6-3 186 Fort Wayne, IN (Bishop Dwenger)
Gray, Jonas  RB 5-11 214 Beverly Hills, MI (Detroit Country Day School)
Johnson, Ethan DL 6-4 265 Portland, OR (Lincoln)
Lewis-Moore, Kapron DE 6-4 230 Weatherford, Texas (Weatherford)
McCarthy, Dan DB 6-2 190 Youngstown, OH (Cardinal Mooney)
McDonald, Anthony LB 6-3 220 Sherman Oaks, CA (Notre Dame)
Newman, Brandon DL 6-1 305 Louisville, KY (Pleasure Ridge Park)
Posluszny, David LB 6-2 214 Aliquippa, PA (Hopewell)
Robinson, Trevor OL 6-5 304 Elkhorn, NE (Elkhorn)
Slaughter, Jamoris DB 6-1 180 Tucker, GA (Tucker)       

- 2007 Irish Preview
- 2006 Irish Season

2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2007 Record: 3-9

Sept. 1 Georgia Tech L 33-3
Sept. 8 at Penn State L 31-10
Sept. 15 at Michigan L 38-0
Sept. 22 Michigan St L 31-14
Sept. 29 at Purdue L 33-19
Oct. 6 at UCLA W 20-6
Oct. 13 Boston Coll L 27-14
Oct. 20 USC L 38-0
Nov. 3 Navy L 46-44 3OT
Nov. 10 Air Force L 41-24
Nov. 17 Duke W 28-7
Nov. 24 at Stanford W 21-14

2007 Recap

Recap: While most everyone figured Notre Dame would be rebuilding in the post-Brady Quinn era, few expected it to be so painful and profound.  The Irish became a national punch line in 2007 with a historically ugly campaign, losing nine games for the first time in school history, including an unthinkable six straight in South Bend.  The offense, head coach Charlie Weis’ domain, was a particular calamity, averaging a mere 16 points a game, while finishing last nationally in total offense and sacks allowed.           

Offensive Player of the Year: TE John Carlson

Defensive Player of the Year: DE Trevor Laws

Biggest Surprise: Shocking UCLA at the Rose Bowl, 20-6, on Oct. 6.  Yes, the Irish were aided by the Bruins’ lack of healthy quarterbacks, but at the time, Notre Dame was 0-5 and reeling out of control.  Despite managing just 140 total yards, the Irish used seven turnovers and a touchdown from LB Maurice Crum to mercifully break into the win column.    

Biggest Disappointment: Losing to Navy, 46-44, on Nov. 3 in an epic triple-overtime thriller.  Throughout the good times and the bad, handling the Middies had become a given for the Irish for more than four decades.  Until this fall.  Navy went toe-to-toe with Notre Dame before foiling a potential game-tying two-pointer for the long-awaited victory.  For the Irish, the loss was more symbolic than anything else, a sign of just how far the program had plummeted.   

Looking Ahead: At least the Irish will have momentum heading into next year, courtesy of season-ending wins over Duke and Stanford.  Notre Dame played a ton of kids this fall, including true freshman QB Jimmy Clausen, so the program should be in a better position to compete in 2008.  How much better is a question that’ll be answered under a blue and gold microscope.

Nov. 24
Notre Dame 21 ... Stanford 14
In an ugly game, Notre Dame got a six-yard scoring dash from Robert Hughes with just over six minutes to play, and then the Irish defense came through, sort of, with Stanford stalling on the Notre Dame six in the final minute with two dripped passes. Anthony Kimble ran for two touchdowns for the Cardinal for a 14-7 lead, but the Irish scored 14 unanswered points to pull out a second straight win. The two teams combined for six turnovers and five missed field goals.
Player of the game: Notre Dame RB Robert Hughes ran 18 times for 136 yards and a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Notre Dame - Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 19-32, 196 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Robert Hughes, 18-136, 1 TD. Receiving: Duval Kamara, 6-93
Stanford - Passing: Tavita Pritchard, 10-24, 102 yds
Rushing: Anthony Kimble, 20-80, 2 TD. Receiving: Mark Bradford, 7-111
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Considering the way things have gone, coming away with two wins to close out the year means a lot. This wasn't the first ten-loss season in school history, Jimmy Clausen started to make strides at the end of the year, and Robert Hughes appears to be a big-time talent to build a rushing attack around. There are still way too many problems, but the nightmare is over for now. Now it's time to go back and figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

Nov. 17
Notre Dame 28 ... Duke 7
Notre Dame finally had an easy win with Jimmy Clausen throwing three touchdown passes with 25-yard plays to David Grimes and Duval Kamara in the second quarter and on a nine-yard pass to John Carlson in the fourth. Robert Hughes ran for 110 yards with 13-yard dash in the third quarter. Duke finally got on the board with a six-yard run from Zach Asack with 1:12 left to play. The Irish held on to the ball for 35:35.
Player of the game: Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen completed 16 of 32 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Duke - Passing: Thaddeus Lewis, 16-33, 121 yds
Rushing: Justin Boyle, 8-45. Receiving: Jomar Wright, 5-11
Notre Dame - Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 16-32, 194 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Robert Hughes, 17-110, 1 TD. Receiving: George West, 4-24
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Beating Duke doesn't exactly save the season, or does it? Now, after Jimmy Clausen's excellent performance, there's hope for next year and will put the spotlight on the Stanford game to see if the team can keep the positive momentum going. There was an actual living, breathing running game with Robert Hughes moving well, but the real key was Clausen. He kept the chains moving, kept the Duke defense on the field, and he started to look like the players he's expected to become.

Nov. 10
Air Force 41 ... Notre Dame 24
Air Force outgained Notre Dame 285 yards to 58 on the ground in a tougher win than the final score might indicate. After getting down early on a Ryan Harrison field goal and a 19-yard John Robold fumble recovery for a score, the Irish tied it up with a 28-yard Brandon Walker field goal and a two-yard John Carlson catch. And then the Falcons took over with a 21-point run on two Shaun Carney touchdown passes and an eight-yard Spencer Armstrong run. Jimmy Clausen threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 21-yard play to David Grimes, but the Falcons were able to put it away with a one-yard Carney touchdown run with less than two minutes to play. Trevor Laws came up with 17 tackles for the Irish.
Player of the game: Air Force RB Chad Hall ran 32 times for 142 yards, and caught two passes for 31 yards
Stat Leaders: Air Force - Passing: Shaun Carney, 10-16, 120 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Chad Hall, 32-142. Receiving: Mark Root, 2-36
Notre Dame - Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 22-40, 246 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: James Aldridge, 14-62. Receiving: David Grimes, 6-67, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Notre Dame stinks, yeah, yeah, that's nothing new. However, there was a glimmer of sunshine in the loss to Air Force thanks to Jimmy Clausen. For the first time all year, a Notre Dame quarterback made everyone around him better. Clausen started to bomb away in the second half and he actually started to lead the Irish to scores. This is a lost season anyway, so it's important to use the Duke and Stanford games to keep developing the young star. He's the key to getting the program out of the doldrums next year.

Nov. 3
Navy 46 ... Notre Dame 44 3OT
In the third overtime, Notre Dame's Travis Thomas ran for a five-yard score, but after a pass interference call on the two-point conversion, the Irish's second attempt, a Thomas run, was stuffed, and Navy broke the 43-game losing streak to the men from South Bend. The Irish had an apparent shot to win it in the final minute of regulation, but chose to go for it on fourth and eight on the 24 rather than try the field goal, but Navy came up with a sack. Eric Kettani ran for two scores, including a one-yarder in the first overtime, Joey Bullen nailed a 32-yard field goal in the second, and Reggie Campbell caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in the third, along with a two-point conversion catch. Thomas and James Aldridge carried the Irish running game for  235 yards, with Thomas running for three short scores, while Evan Sharpley and Duval Kamara hooked up for two touchdowns in the see-saw game.
Player of the game: Navy S Wyatt Middleton made 14 tackles with a tackle for loss.
Stat Leaders: Navy - Passing: Kaipo Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, 6-5, 81 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Eric Kettani, 20-70, 2 TD. Receiving: O.J. Washington, 2-19
Notre Dame - Passing: Evan Sharpley, 17-27, 140 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: James Aldridge, 32-125. Receiving: Duval Kamara, 5-44, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... How in the world did Notre Dame only throw for 140 yards on the Navy secondary? The Midshipmen are giving up mega passing yards to everyone. To have two weeks off to prepare and not be able to generate more yards through the air is inexcusable. Yes the running game worked for the first time all year, and yes the plan is to normally use the stronger offensive line against the smaller Midshipmen front to grind it out as the game goes on, but the plan didn't work, and now Notre Dame's miserable season becomes an all-timer of a clunker.

Oct. 20
USC 38 ... Notre Dame 0
USC had no problems rolling past Notre Dame, as Mark Sanchez threw two first half touchdown passes, a ten-yarder to Fred Davis and an eight-yard play to Allen Bradford, and two in the third quarter. Stanley Havili caught a scoring strike from five yards out, and Vidal Hazelton made the play of the game taking a Sanchez pass 48 yards for a score. Joe McKnight finished the scoring with a 51-yard dash in the fourth. Notre Dame gained just 165 yards of total offense.
Player of the game: USC QB Mark Sanchez completed 21 of 38 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Notre Dame - Passing: Evan Sharpley, 17-33, 117 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Armando Allen, 11-58. Receiving: Duval Kamara, 4-33
USC - Passing: Mark Sanchez, 21-38, 235 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Joe McKnight, 7-65, 1 TD. Receiving: Fred Davis, 5-40, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... It's still USC, so there's no real reason to be too upset about a loss, but once again the problem is the offense. There isn't any. Evan Sharpley did what he could to hold up against the Trojan pass rush, but there continues to be a stunning dearth of weapons to help him out. If the defense isn't forcing a slew of turnovers and making life easy for the offense, there aren't any points coming. Now the real season begins with Navy, Air Force, Duke and Stanford. The Irish have to win three of those, and it has to use the two weeks off to figure out something, anything to beat Navy and keep the 41-game streak going.

Oct. 13
Boston College 27 ... Notre Dame 14
Andre Callender ran for two short first half touchdowns and caught a nine-yard scoring pass in the third quarter to a 20-0 lead, but Notre Dame fought back with a 19-yard Evan Sharpley scoring pass to Robby Paris and a 25-yard Brian Smith interception for a touchdown. Matt Ryan answered with a five-play, 44-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Challenger, and then the defense took over. The Irish finished with just 193 yards of total offense and 28 rushing yards.
Player of the game: Boston College RB Andre Callender ran 23 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns, and caught ten passes for 91 yards and a score.
Stat Leaders: Boston College - Passing: Matt Ryan, 32-49, 291 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Callender, 23-90, 2 TD. Receiving: Andre Callender, 10-91, 1 TD
Notre Dame - Passing: Evan Sharpley, 11-29, 135 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: James Aldridge, 5-17. Receiving: Robby Parris, 4-94, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Basically, if the defense isn't forcing turnovers, or scoring, Notre Dame doesn't have much of a shot against anyone with a pulse. The running game was stuffed against BC, gaining just 28 yards, but the coaching staff never even attempted to make a commitment to pound the ball. Trying to find a consistent quarterback between Jimmy Clausen and Evan Sharpley has proven futile so far, and now they have to face the USC defense. On the plus side, the defense is doing a relatively strong job. It didn't stuff BC, but it kept the game from getting out of hand.

Oct. 6
Notre Dame 20 ... UCLA 6
In a game that might have set back offensive football 50 years, Notre Dame forced seven turnovers to pull off the win despite amassing just 140 yards. The Irish scored in the third quarter on a one-yard Jimmy Clausen touchdown run, and 50 seconds later, got a Maurice Crum 34-yard fumble recovery for a score. UCLA lost starting quarter Ben Olsen to a knee injury, and was only able to manage two first half Kai Forbath field goals.
Player of the game: Notre Dame LB Maurice Crum made seven tackles, one sack, forced a fumble, recovered two fumbles, picked off two passes, and scored a 34-yard touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Notre Dame - Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 17-27, 84 yds
Rushing: James Aldridge, 22-52. Receiving: John Carlson, 6-38
UCLA - Passing: McLeod Bethel-Thompson, 12-28, 139 yds, 4 INT
Rushing: Kahlil Bell, 18-64. Receiving: Joe Cowan, 5-69
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The win over UCLA doesn't really solve anything. The defense turned things up a notch, and it kept Ben Olsen in check when he was in, but as soon as McLeod Bethel-Thompson came in, it was a free-for-all on forcing turnovers. UCLA self destructed, allowing the Irish to overcome yet another putrid offensive performance. Basically, Notre Dame needs to win the turnover battle 7-0 to win games right now. At this point, a win is a win.

Sept. 29
Purdue 33 ... Notre Dame 19
Purdue added to Notre Dame's misery as Kory Sheets scored from one-yard out, Dorien Bryant caught an 11-yard touchdown pass, and Chris Summers nailed three field goals on the way to a 23-0 halftime lead. Notre Dame opened the scoring in the second half on Jimmy Clausen's first career touchdown pass, hitting John Carlson from five yards out, and got within seven on two Evan Sharpley touchdown passes. The Boilermakers got comfortably ahead with a 14-yard Dustin Keller scoring grab.
Player of the game: Purdue RB Kory Sheets ran for 141 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, and had a reception for eight yards.
Stat Leaders: Notre Dame - Passing: Evan Sharpley, 16-26, 208 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing: Armando Allen, 6-25. Receiving: Robby Parris, 7-93
Purdue - Passing: Curtis Painter, 22-37, 252 yds, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing: Kory Sheets, 27-141, 1 TD. Receiving: Dorien Bryant, 8-82, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Jimmy Clausen certainly tried to gut it out against Purdue, but even though he had a good game, Evan Sharpley moves the offense better. The offense has more of a rhythm, and appears to be far more productive when he's in. Without a running game to fall back on, the offense needs someone who makes things happen, and that's Sharpley more than Clausen at this point. Even so, if he's healthy, ND has to stick with Clausen. It's all about playing for the future and getting its star as much experience as possible.

Sept. 22
Michigan State 31 ... Notre Dame 14
Notre Dame scored its first offensive touchdown of the year on a one-yard Travis Thomas touchdown run for a 7-0 lead, and then MSU went on a 17-point run with two short Brian Hoyer touchdown passes and a 27-yard Brett Swenson field goal. The Irish marched 80 yards in five plays with Robert Hughes busting in a three-yard scoring run, but the Spartans owned the second half with two more Hoyer touchdown passes, highlighted by a fourth down 30yard touchdown throw to Kellen Davis, his second score of the day. The Irish ended up getting outgained 354 yards to 203.
Player of the game: Michigan State QB Brian Hoyer finished 11-of-24 for 135 yards, four touchdown passes, and one interception..
Stat Leaders: Michigan State - Passing: Brian Hoyer, 11-24, 135 yds, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing: Javon Ringer, 26-144. Receiving: Devin Thomas, 4-55, 1 TD
Notre Dame - Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 7-13, 53 yds
Rushing: James Aldridge, 18-104. Receiving: George West, 3-25
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The Irish might be 0-4 for the first time in its history, but there were positive signs against Michigan State. For the first time all season long, the offensive line was pushing someone off the ball. It didn't happen on a regular basis, but there were a few good pounding drives to provide a glimmer of hope for the running game for the rest of the year. The offense tried to diminish the role of Jimmy Clausen and the passing game, but to have a chance to stay with Purdue and UCLA on the road over the next two weeks, the offense will have to finally start getting something down the field.

Sept. 15
Michigan 38 ... Notre Dame 0
Michigan dominated Notre Dame on both sides of the ball, as Mike Hart ran for two first half touchdowns, Ryan Mallett threw touchdown passes to Greg Mathews, Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham, and the defense came up with eight sacks and held the Irish to -6 net rushing yards. Notre Dame only averaged 1.4 yards per play and turned it over four times.
Player of the game: Michigan RB Mike Hart ran 35 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 14 yards
Stat Leaders: Notre Dame - Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 11-17, 74 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: James Aldridge, 10-51. Receiving: David Grimes, 3-10
Michigan - Passing: Ryan Mallett, 7-15, 90 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Mike Hart, 35-187, 2 TD. Receiving: Mario Manningham, 2-35, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Broken record time; the lines aren't even close to playing well enough for the team to be competitive. This could be the softest team Notre Dame has had, well, ever, with no pass protection, no running game, and no ability to hold up on the defensive line. Worse yet, this looks like a horrifically coached team with bad snaps, poor execution, penalties, and general sloppiness all over the place. Step one to improvement is to ditch the passing game and run, run, and run some more. That might sound crazy considering this is the nation's worst running team, but the coaching staff has to try to force the front five to get physical.

Sept. 8
Penn State 31 ... Notre Dame 10
Penn State held Notre Dame to zero net rushing yards and 144 total, but it was a closer game than it might appear in the final score. The Nittany Lion offense finally started to put the game away late in the third quarter when Austin Scott ran for a one-yard score, and then close out with a five-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. The Irish started off the scoring when Darrin Walls returns an interception 73 yards for a score, but Penn State's Derrick Williams one-upped the play with a brilliant 78-yard punt return for a score. Jordan Norwood scored on a ten-yard catch midway through second for all the points Penn State would need.
Player of the game: Penn State LB Dan Connor had 12 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and one pass broken up.
Stat Leaders: Notre Dame - Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 17-32, 144 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Travis Thomas, 6-12. Receiving: Armando Allen, 6-38
Penn State - Passing: Anthony Morelli, 12-22, 131 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Austin Scott, 28-116, 2 TDs. Receiving: Jordan Norwood, 3-20, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Where are the lines? This might be a weekly beef, but the Notre Dame lines are stunningly awful. When Penn State wanted to pound the ball in the second half, it did. When Notre Dame had any desire to run the ball, it couldn't. There isn't any talent in the backfield to run the ball, there's a true freshman slinging it, and the defense isn't good enough to pitch shutouts. Other than that, everything is all good. Fortunately, Michigan is up next. If the offense can't score next week, then it'll truly be time to pack it in and work on next year.

Sept. 1
Georgia Tech 33 ... Notre Dame 3
Georgia Tech blew out Notre Dame in a game that wasn't even as close as the ugly final score might indicate. The Yellow Jacket defense held the Irish to -8 rushing yards thanks to nine sacks, while the offense got two Tashard Choice touchdown runs, including a 22-yarder off a direct snap. Travis Bell connected on four field goals for Tech. Notre Dame's only points came late in the third quarter on a 24-yard Brandon Walker field goal.
Player of the game ... Georgia Tech RB Tashard Choice ran for 196 yards and Jonathan Dwyer two touchdowns on 26 carries, and added three receptions for 22 yards.
Stat Leaders: Georgia Tech- Passing: Taylor Bennett, 11-23, 121 yds
Rushing: Tashard Choice, 26-196, 2 TDs  Receiving: Greg Smith, 3-31
Notre Dame - Passing: Evan Sharpley, 10-13, 92 yds
Rushing: Demetrius Jones, 12-28  Receiving: Robby Parris, 3-30
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Much will be made out of the quarterback situation and what'll happen next before facing Penn State, but it doesn't matter. As the Georgia Tech pass rush showed, the Irish offensive line will be in big, big trouble over the first eight games of the year. Yes, the quarterbacks have to make better decisions, and they have to hang on to the ball, but they never, ever got time to operate, and they had no running game to help out. The secondary didn't have a great game, even though the stats might not show it, and the run defense was non-existent. Basically, this is a team in big, big trouble.