Notre Dame Has a Sloppy Victory Over Purdue Which Leads to More Questions Than Answers

I was so afraid of it going into the Purdue game. It happens to almost all programs after a big win. That is a let down. All week the Fighting Irish just listened as the country patted them on the back for their great effort against Michigan. Purdue on the other hand got manhandled by Central Michigan and had a quarterback controversy. Notre Dame was supposed to blow them out and it seemed like the Irish players had that mentality at times.

The defense did not tackle well in the first half although they did pitch a shutout in the second half. As exciting as Brian VanGorder's defensive philosophy with all his blitz schemes is, there are a couple problems with it. One being that a team can screen pass you to death with it. The Boilermakers did that in the first half. The other thing is that coaches tend to be more vanilla with it when they play lesser opponents. The Irish brought the house against Michigan but really seemed to be holding back against Purdue. The reason coaches do that is because they want to save their good packages for the premier match ups. While there is logic to that, it does give lesser offenses more of a chance than they need.

There are questions on offense as well. Everett Golson had another great game with 259 yards passing with 2 touchdowns and once again no turnovers. He was also the leading rusher with 56 yards and a touchdown. However, the line really did not help him today as he was sacked 4 times and really was running for his life all day. He had to make great plays with his feet and scrambling more than the coaches want to see. The line needs to do better with a tough schedule that includes Stanford, Florida State, and USC.

Another question I have is with the rotation at running back. It seems that Tarean Folston, Cam McDaniel, and Greg Bryant all have really good potential but it seems that none of them can really get into a groove because of the three way rotation. That makes me wonder if it is in the best interest of the team to have a headed monster or just decide who of the three is the best and primarily feature him.

Notre Dame has a lot to work on in this bye week and another question is whether or not any of the 5 suspended players will be back. The team had injuries in the secondary as well and how deep they are is a question as well. Hopefully, Austin Collinsworth can come back soon.

Although I am excited to be undefeated heading into the bye, I can't help but question how good is this team really. So far they have not played a ranked team. Earlier in the day Central Michigan who blew out Purdue got blown out by our next opponent Syracuse. Michigan was also not impressive in beating Miami of Ohio who has not won a game in two years and has Andrew Hendrix aka the guy who could never beat out Tommy Rees as their quarterback. Rice also got blown out by Texas A & M. So it is great to be 3-0, but being honest we have not beaten anybody who is worth writing home about yet.

Purdue Is Not Notre Dame's Opponent This Weekend

Let's just be real about this. We have Everett Golson leading our team, and they have Danny Etling. No comparison there. Etling could not get his team moving against Central Michigan. Brian Van Gorder's unit is about 10 times better. CMUs Thomas Rawls ran all over them. Imagine what Tarean Folston, Cam McDaniel, and Greg Bryant will do. Purdue is totally outmatched and there is no way they can beat the Irish.

Notre Dame's biggest problem this weekend this weekend will not be the Boilermakers. Notre Dame will have to battle Notre Dame. Whenever a program has a big and emotional win like the Irish did against Michigan, the risk of a let down is always a worry. The first thing that comes to mind is Pittsburgh two years ago when Notre Dame played them the week after their big win over Oklahoma. And Purdue always plays Notre Dame tough regardless of their record.

That is what scares me this weekend and not Purdue. The good news is that Notre Dame has traditionally played really well in the Shamrock Series aka Home away from Home.Purdue cannot beat Notre Dame, but Notre Dame can beat themselves. Let's just hope that there is no let down and the Irish come ready to battle.

Shamrock Series: A New But Great Tradition

One thing Notre Dame fans take a lot of pride in is their traditions. Anything from the Play Like A Champion Today sign to all the traditional rivals the Irish play. There is so much history involved with all these traditions.

But one tradition that I personally love is the Shamrock Series which is only a few years old. Every year Notre Dame moves a home game away from South Bend and plays in a professional stadium. This tradition started on Halloween night 2009 in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamo Dome. In that game, the Fighting Irish crushed Washington State 40-14. The following year, this new tradition relived an old one by having the Irish play Army at Yankee Stadium. Since that time, Notre Dame has been to NFL stadiums Fed Ex Field, Soldier Field, and AT & T Stadium. That streak will continue this Saturday as the Irish will stay in state and go to Lucas Oil Stadium.

There are a couple of things that are really cool about this new tradition. It is a chance for the Irish players to play on a bigger stage than they are used to. It also gives the program a chance to showcase Notre Dame in other parts of the country. It is great for recruiting.

The other thing that is cool about this game is the uniforms that come out each year for it. Some of the old school traditionalists don't like it but the new aged fans do.

Notre Dame is undefeated in this game and has only been close against Arizona State. All other times, the Irish have dominated. This year is expected to be the same as a clearly inferior Purdue team who couldn't even beat Coach Kelly's old team (Central Michigan) will meet the Irish in Indianapolis.

Irish Defense Dominates Michigan to End Rivalry with First Ever Shut Out in Series

The last time Michigan came to South Bend, Everett Golson was pulled in the first quarter. He knew he had only one shot at redemption as this great rivalry was set to end. Golson answered the call just fine. He threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns. He also had no interceptions. Golson distributed the ball well but his primary receivers were William Fuller who had 9 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown and Amir Carlisle with 7 catches for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns.

But as good as Golson was, it was the defense that stole the show. After being torched a year ago in Ann Arbor by Devin Garder, the defense was after some redemption of it's own. Not only did they intercept Gardner three times but they also held him to less than 200 yards passing.

The Irish front just dominated the Michigan line. Brian VanGorder has a much more aggressive style than Bob Diaco did. Watching the Rice game, I got the feeling that he was holding back a little. He saved some blitz packages for Michigan. The Irish defenders were coming after Gardner from all angles.

In a series that has historically been close especially in recent years, the final meeting was all Irish. This is the first time Michigan was shut out in this series. Imagine having to live ending the series like that.

Now Notre Dame can put this rivalry behind them and move on to bigger and better things.

College Football's Oldest Rivalry Ends on Saturday

There was nobody more excited to hear about Notre Dame's agreement with the ACC two years ago. The idea of playing teams like Florida State, Viriginia Tech, Clemson periodically as well as occasionally renewing an old rivalry with Miami was awesome news. But with that news, the Fighting Irish knew they would have to give something up. They couldn't not play Navy. That honors the WWII veterans. There was no way they were giving up USC. And since Stanford is kind of the team that alternates with USC, the Cardinal was going nowhere.

So that left Notre Dame no choice but to get rid of their Big Ten rivals. That left Michigan as the odd team out. As happy as I am that we have that agreement with the ACC, it is hard for me to imagine not playing Michigan. When I think of this game, I remember being a kid in a small Michigan town with a family full of people yelling "Go Blue!" This was the game opened the season every year. There was no tune up game. But while my family was all rooting for Michigan, I remember Notre Dame blowing them out every year. So I told them that I like the team in the gold helmets better.

Now here we are at the last time these two natural enemies will face. As with all of Notre Dame's rivals, there is so much history in this rivalry. It was Michigan who actually taught Notre Dame the game of football.

So what will happen in this last game? It will be exciting to see. Last year Devin Gardner exploded for a great game. You know that the Irish defense will be out for revenge. Two years Everett Golson was pulled for Tommy Rees and now he has one shot for redemption. Of course, neither side will want to end this with a loss.

So that would lead you to believe that the game will be really competitive. However, it is really still early to gauge how good either team is. Both teams blew out their opponents last week. I would think that Rice is a little tougher opponent than Appalachian State based on the fact that they are at least in an FBS conference and are the defending champs in Conference USA. Having said that, you can never tell after one game who is better. This is a tough one to predict so I will go with the home team. GO IRISH!

Everett Golson Steals the Show in His Return Against Rice

After missing a full season due to poor academic judgement, Everett Golson looked like he never left. All he did was throw for 295 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for 41 yards with three touchdowns. The stats don't even tell the whole story. He made throws that you would have to see to believe. He also should have had another touchdown pass as it was an easy catch that was dropped.

There is nobody who is a bigger Tommy Rees fan than me, but the playbook was much thinner with him in there. The offense is a lot less limited now and Brian Kelly can finally implement his style of offense. The only thing that makes me nervous about Golson is that the reckless style he plays with puts him at higher risk of injury. Michael Vick always had a hard time staying healthy.

Golson's favorite target was William Fuller who caught 4 passes for 85 yards. Golson distributed the ball around quite well as Ben Koyack, C.J. Prosise, Amir Carlisle, Corey Robinson, and Chris Brown all caught passes.

Notre Dame also had a group of solid runners. Greg Byrant gained 71 yards with a touchdown. Tarean Folston also had 71 yards and Cam McDaniel added 40. Even back up quarterback Malik Zaire gained 58 yards in some mop up duty.

The defense under new coach Brian VanGorder was solid for the most part. They but have a few breakdowns in spots but the Irish only gave up one touchdown that actually mattered. I expected to see a lot more blitzing, but maybe VanGorder is saving it for Michigan.

I was really pleased with the special teams especially the punt returns which has been a problem in recent years. Bryant and Cody Riggs both looked good returning punts. Only a missed field goal by Kyle Brindza was a blunder.

Irish Set to Kick Off Tough Schedule with Rice

After an off season that saw Everett Golson return only to have four other players get investigated for the same thing, it is finally here. Notre Dame is set to start off another season. 2014 is a significant year for the Fighting Irish as it is the inaugural year in their agreement to play ACC teams. In this first year of that agreement, it will not be easy. Their first game against the ACC will be Syracuse at Met Life Stadium. The next ACC opponent is North Carolina who is nationally ranked. The following week is against Florida State in Tallahassee. Their last one is against ACC newcomer Louisville who should still be tough despite losing Teddy Bridgewater and Charlie Strong. This agreement is a  significant moment in modern Notre Dame history and the idea behind this blog.

On top of the ACC games, the Irish have some other tough games. Let's start in the Big Ten. They are not playing Sparty this year, but they end the rivalry with Michigan in week two. There is no doubt that both teams will want to go out a winner. The Irish are unbeaten in the Shamrock Series but this is the first time they face a regular rival in that game. Although the Boilermakers are inferior on paper, they always play the Irish tough and there is just something about a game that features Notre Dame and Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium that spells tough battle. Then they have a late season meeting with Northwestern who is tough to predict on a year to year basis.

Then looking at the PAC 12 has three really tough games. Stanford is always a physical battle. There is not much more that needs to be said there. Then the Irish have two late season road trips to Arizona State and arch-rival USC. The Sun Devils will want revenge after that epic battle in Dallas last season. Then whenever the Irish and Trojans play, you can throw away the records and know you are in for a battle.

Of course there is the traditional battle with Navy whose wishbone offense seems to always give Notre Dame fits.

It all starts this weekend against Rice who is no walk over either. I know they play in Conference USA but they are the defending champs. They got crushed in the Liberty Bowl by Mississippi State. It is fair to say that the level of competition in Conference USA is not comparable to what Notre Dame plays. However, for a team like Rice, playing in Notre Dame Stadium is a once in a lifetime experience and they will want to make it count.

Bottom line is that Notre Dame's schedule is flat out brutal. If they win 10 games they deserve to be in the playoffs. I don't care what the experts say.