Everyone who jumped on the Notre Dame bandwagon early last year quickly
abandoned ship at the end after blowout losses to USC and LSU. Most
ignored the horrible secondary and the potential for a bad year from the
offensive line when setting the national title expectations; it was
almost like many were trying to will Notre Dame to greatness. Now the
hype and focus has swung the other way. Now it’s become fashionable to
rip on the Irish.
Yes, Notre Dame was overrated, however, it just couldn’t beat the best
of the best of the best teams in America. Of the six losses in the two
years under Weis, one came in an overtime stunner to Michigan State in
2005, while the other five (USC, Ohio State, Michigan, and LSU) came
against national title-level squads that would’ve beaten roughly 110
other teams like a drum.
Now Notre Dame wants to be one of those national title-level good teams.
It’s not going to have one this year.
Patience hasn’t been a virtue for Irish fans, but that’s what they’ll
need after losing Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight, Darius
Walker, most of the defensive front seven, and most of the benefits of
the doubt from the voters. Now the Irish will have to prove it belongs
in the BCS talk rather than just be handed the spot after a few decent
wins.
Weis has recruited like gangbusters with some of the top classes in the
country over the last two years. The talent level is quickly improving,
the coaching is still going to be peerless, and the money will keep
flowing in to make sure all the periphery things are in place. While the
team will be good this year, it’ll take at least one more season before
it actually deserves to be a BCS team.
What to watch for on offense: Will the new starting quarterback
get any time to work? Whether it’s Jimmy Clausen, Demetrius Jones, Evan
Sharpley, or someone else under center, he’ll need room to breathe and
to figure out what he’s doing. The line allowed 31 sacks last season,
and it would’ve been a whole bunch more had Quinn not been great, at
times, at getting the ball out of his hands. With new starting receivers
and a new starting tailback, the last thing the new starting quarterback
needs is to be on his back every other play.
What to watch for on defense: The front seven will have to invent
ways to get into the backfield with all the big losses at end. The D
will switch to a 3-4 under new coordinator Corwin Brown, so that means
more pressure will likely have to come from the outside linebackers. The
secondary, still a concern after two lousy years, needs all the help it
can get, meaning the linebackers have to be able to hang back as much as
possible to deal with the short to mid-range passes. That’s why …
The team will be far better if … the defensive front can throw a
passer off his game. Everyone remembers the Notre Dame secondary getting
ripped apart by Michigan’s Mario Manningham, USC’s Dwayne Jarrett, and
any receiver wearing an LSU jersey, but the real issue throughout the
season was the back seven’s inability to stop accurate passers. Part of
the problem was an inconsistent pass rush, part of the problem was a
mediocre group of defensive backs, and part of the problem was the
defense’s design that occasionally tried to bend but not break. With an
improved Anthony Morelli at Penn State, along with Chad Henne at
Michigan, Curtis Painter at Purdue, Ben Olson at UCLA, Matt Ryan at
Boston College, and John David Booty at USC to face before November, the
coaching staff has to come up with a new wrinkle to keep its defense
from being picked apart by all the veteran quarterbacks.
The Schedule:
As bad as it
gets early, it’s a breeze late. The first two months are a nightmare for
a team looking to rebuild in a hurry with four road games against Penn
State, Michigan, Purdue and UCLA to go along with home games against
Georgia Tech (one of the favorites to win the ACC), Michigan State
(always tough for the Irish), Boston College (another ACC contender) and
USC. Fortunately, the games against the Eagles and Trojans kick off a
five-game home stretch before finishing up with Stanford.
Best Offensive Player:
Senior TE
John Carlson. Was Carlson a Mackey Award finalist because he had Quinn
throwing to him, or was he really that good? It was a little of both. At
6-6 and around 260 pounds, he has tremendous size and surprising
quickness for a player of his size averaging 13.4 yards per catch last
season on 47 grabs with four touchdowns despite missing time late with a
knee injury. Now he’ll be a vital safety valve for the new starting
quarterback.
Best Defensive Player:
Senior LB
Maurice Crum. Actually, the best defensive player is safety Tom
Zbikowski, and underappreciated lineman Trevor Laws is second, but Crum
is the defense’s most productive player and a rising superstar. Able to
play inside or out, he found a home in the middle using his speed to
make plays all over the field while also growing into a strong pass
rusher.
Key player to a
successful season:
Sophomore OT Sam Young.
The one-time superstar recruit had a decent season being thrown to the
wolves, but he made several freshman mistakes and struggled in pass
protection. Now he’s one of the few returning offensive regulars and
joins center John Sullivan as the only starters back up front. Likely to
move from right tackle to left tackle, he’ll have to be the one the rest
of the line revolves around and a key to keeping the new quarterback
upright.
The season will be a
success if …
the Irish win eight games. A double-digit win season would be just as
impressive as anything Weis has pulled off over the last two years, but
the team is too green and the schedule is too tough. Eight wins in the
regular season is a more manageable goal. Anything more would be
amazing.
Key game: Sept. 1 vs. Georgia Tech. It took everything in the
bag, and the Yellow Jackets forgetting to throw to Calvin Johnson
enough, for the Irish to get out of Atlanta with a win last year. A win
in the season opener is a must to not just show how good the team is,
but to also possibly avoid an 0-3 start with trips to Penn State and
Michigan to follow.
2006 Fun Stats:
- Average yards per pass: Opponents 7.8 – Notre Dame 7.3
- Fourth down conversions: Notre Dame 19 of 33 (58%) – Opponents 7 of 19
(37%)
- Red zone touchdowns: Notre Dame 37 of 49 (76%) – Opponents 23 of 43
(53%)