Notre Dame Football Fans

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports...arly-december/

John Taylor, NBC Sports, has an article today qouting Jerry Swarbrick, AD for ND, who said that the decision to retain or fire Weiss would come within a week of the end of the season. Swarbrik admitted, according to Taylor, that the Navy game was the biggest disappointment of the season. No kidding.

It's a short read.

Rumors are swirling concerning Weiss' future at ND. first, there was the quote by Swarbrick, ND athletic director, that Weiss' buyout won't be an issue in determining his fate. The buyout is reportedly somewhere between $18-33 million. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and Brian Kelly of cincinnati have been mentioned. There was a rumor that Stoops ahd confided ina friend that he would be interested in an offer. Stoops called the report "ridiculous". All rumor and speculation, but if there's smoke, could there be fire? Still, I feel for the Weiss family. It can't be easy dealing with that and the ever present pressure to win.

Not sure what you mean. BTW, this is not a political group.

Perhaps ND has fallen under the Obama curse !!!???!!!

Obama!

The Fighting Irish will meet the UConn Huskies (4-5) for the first time in it's storied 121 year history, on Saturday, Nov. 21st, at 2:30 pm, in South Bend.

The Irish have emerged victorious over the last 12 teams to play their inaugrual game, against ND, in Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish are fellow members of the Big East in other sports and play the Huskies regularly, except in Football. Saturdays contest should be the biggest audience UConn has played in front of to date. One interesting connection to ND is UConn Quarterback Zach Frazer. He originally attended ND. His position on the depth chart lead him to seek a better opportunity at UConn.

Coach Randy Edsall is in his 11th year at UConn and has coached more games than any other coach in UConn history. Thus far, he has lead the Huskies to the 2007 Big East Championship, three bowl games in five years, including two victories. He has coached against ND twice and won each time. As Georgia Tech defensive coordinator in the 1998 Gator bowl and again as part of the Boston College staff in 1993.

UConn has struggled on the field this season, but it was an off-field event that has created the most emotional pain. On Oct. 18, Jasper Howard,a Junior Cornerback, was stabbed to death outside of an aftergame party. The sad and violent ending of this man's life has no doubt been a distraction to players and coaches alike. The investigation continues and arrests have been made, but the cause or motivation for the killing is unclear. My heart and my prayers go out to the Howard family.

more to come....

A few final thoughts on the Saturday debacle. Four things stick out as I look at the final box score.

True to form, turnovers played a major role in the loss. The Irish lost the turnover battle once again. It's not like the Panthers didn't offer up any opportunities. They fumbled the snap three times!! We should have scooped up at least one of those. More important, the defense has failed to generate a single turnover. There's a lack of aggression at going after the ball. ND is famous for creating their own luck in this department and it seems lost.

Second, the kicking game was just pitiful. We averaged 24.8 yards per punt. This gave Pitt good to great filed position. It puts a lot of pressure ont he D line, which has not been playing well as it is. Punting is critical. We have to be able to flip the field whern the offense stalls. This si especially true when the other teams defense is as tough a Pitt's.

Third, the penalties have to stop. It seems that an O line as experienced as ND's should be able to avoid drive killing penalties. I don't like to complain about the officiating, but two weeks ina row ND has had the ball taken away on very questionable booth reviews. Still, the team should be ina position that allows the zebras to decide their fate.

The rushing game probably figured most int he loss. The numbers are striking. We managed only 66 total yardsa nd averaged a mere 2.7 per yard. Pitt, conversely, got 193 total yards and averaged 6 yards per rush. In college football at least, a good running game is key. ND's poor rushing game puts an inordinate amount of pressure on Clausen and Tate. It also makes things easy on the opposing defensive coordinator.

Enough of the past. Onward to UConn!! Last home game of the season.

Go Irish!! Tame the Huskies!!

I think we need more than luck! LOL. All credit to Pitt though. They played a great game. We were definitely outcoached. They stopped the run and that put so much pressure on Clausen. To his credit, Clausen was game. Although, I think Tate makes him look good. I can't say enough good things about Tate. To say he's electric is an understatement. I've been a ND fan for a long time and I think he ranks right up there with Tim Brown, etc. If he wasn't on this team he would be walking away with the Heisman, IMHO. Still, Clausen is a tough as nails competitor. He's got a bit of the Gipper in him, but not enough to wake the echos, unfortunately.

Tough game. Better luck next week.

Well, I finally got it on PPV in the second half. Looking the box score, I didn't miss much. To say this loss is a disappointment is an understatement. I think it may have sealed Coach Weiss' fate. I think Weiss is a very good man and would like him to succeed, but he hasn't. His win-loss record is now the same as Bob Davies. He was let go. His win percentage is now the same as Ty Willingham. He was summarily dismissed. The writing is on the wall.

Disaster of disasters!! I have Dish and the game is not showing on the guide. I think my head is going to explode.