5 Thoughts ...
2008 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Notre Dame 49 ... Hawaii 21
GAME
REVIEW: Clausen throws for five scores in blowout
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2008 Hawaii Bowl
Preview
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2008 Hawaii Bowl
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1.
They had to win 49-21 and they
had to get a record-setting,
perfect performance from Jimmy
Clausen. After all the drama and
all the issues for Charlie Weis
and Notre Dame over the last
several weeks, they got a
cathartic performance against
Hawaii in what amounted to a
road game. While it might be
easy to grouse where the
401-yard, five passing days were
from Jimmy Clausen throughout
the season, the bigger question
becomes whether or not this has
anything to do with the 2009
season. The call has come down
from up high that Weis had
better get the Irish to the BCS,
or come darn close, or there
will be a new coaching era
starting in 2010, but all the
blowout win over a mediocre
Warrior team did was jack the
expectations back through the
roof. If the team could play
this well with a little time
off, what's it going to do with
most of the key parts returning,
and with a not-that-bad
schedule, going into next year?
Expectations are what screwed
things up in the first place.
The two BCS teams in 2005 and
2006 weren't nearly as good as
advertised and masked the
problems (lack of developed
young stars) that proved to be
such a big problem over the last
two seasons. This win showed
what Clausen and the team are
capable of, and now the trick is
to do this against Nevada on
September 5th, and more
importantly, against USC at home
on October 17th.
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Pete
Fiutak
2. I don’t get it. Was this the
real Jimmy Clausen or was it the
young quarterback that was
clearly regressing toward the
end of the regular season? The
answer will dictate how far
Notre Dame goes in 2009 and
2010. The sophomore pretty much
pitched a perfect game, going
22-of-26 for 401 yards and five
touchdown passes. For one of the
first times since choosing the
Irish over a slew of suitors,
Clausen looked like a can’t-miss
prospect who’d someday contend
for All-America honors. Was it a
mirage built upon the back of a
really bad Hawaii pass defense?
Or has the light suddenly gone
on for No. 7? Welcome to a hot
offseason debate topic that
won’t provide many clues before
next September. -
Richard Cirminiello
3.
Clausen was brilliant, the pass
rush was dominant against an
awful Hawaii offensive front,
the return game was fantastic,
and the defense did what it had
to do to dominate. Going into
the off-season, Weis and his
staff have to work on one thing
above all else considering what
happened in this win: find a
running game. It's not like
Hawaii is a brick wall against
the run, allowing a mediocre 148
yards per game, but the Irish
ground game was awful all season
along and only gained 65 yards,
averaging 1.9 yards per carry,
against the Warriors. Even with
the Hawaii defense starting to
concentrate fully on stopping
Clausen, the running games
failed to find too much room to
move with Robert Hughes leading
the way with 55 yards on the
ground averaging 3.2 yards per
carry. As good as this passing
attack should be going into next
year, this team won't be good
enough to reach goals they
expect without a steady ground
attack
-
Pete
Fiutak
4. This was, by no means, on par
with the 1971 Cotton Bowl, 1973
Sugar Bowl, or 1989 Fiesta Bowl.
Still, it was big for the Irish.
As much as any of the 68
postseason participants, Notre
Dame needed something positive
to carry it into the offseason.
Ditto Charlie Weis, the
program’s beleaguered head
coach. Critics, and there are
plenty, will snicker and point
to the opponent and the event.
These days, none of that matters
to the Irish. The nine-game bowl
losing streak is over. QB Jimmy
Clausen has regained his
confidence. Notre Dame has won
its final game of the year for
just the third time in the last
15 seasons. It’s a classic
turning-lemons-into-lemonade
scenario. If the Irish happen to
raise the bar in 2009, it’ll
surely point to Wednesday’s
effort in the Hawaii Bowl as a
crossroads moment.
-
Richard Cirminiello
5.
Simply stated, it
would appear that Cincinnati
basically launched into
celebration mode when the Big
East champions went to Hawaii
for a very anticlimactic 13th
regular season game in early
December. The Bearcats, by
hitting the snooze bar for the
first three quarters, made the
Warriors look better than they
were. Notre Dame had a certain
amount of pressure heading into
this game, but not the quick
turnaround faced by
Cincinnati. By gaining rest, a
break from the USC finale, and
geographic separation from South
Bend, the Fighting Irish
evidently found mental
refreshment instead of stress.
There's your difference maker in
Aloha Stadium. -
Matthew
Zemek