How about that alliteration? Good stuff. Notre Dame's effort against Army on Saturday night in New York was good stuff as well. The Irish recovered from a tough opening sequence, and put forth another strong game. The defense held the bad guys to just 3 points for the second straight game, and the offense did their job as well. In the end, the wet Yankee Stadium crowd went home happy (assuming they were Notre Dame supporters), with a 27-3 ND victory.
To open the game, the Irish had a nice drive end by getting picked in the end zone. Army responded to that with an 8:45, 77 yard drive that resulted in a field goal. With about 2 minutes left in the opening quarter, things weren't looking good. I looked over at my Dad on the couch across the room and cringed. Luckily, we weren't in for the long, scary night that we imagined. Notre Dame would shut Army out for the remainder of the game with some unbelievable defense, and the offesne under freshman Tommy Rees responded as well. Early in the second, we tied things up with a field goal, and the half closed out with drives ending in a Robert Hughes TD run and a Tyler Eifert 31 yard TD pass (Eifert almost scored the first one too, but was ruled to have had his knee down at the one after laying out for the catch). We were happy with that, but it just got better. An interception by Walls, just one minute into the second half, was taken 42 yards back for a TD. The game would kind of play out slowly from there, with Army getting stuffed, ND getting one more field goal, and Nate Montana getting in for one play to kneel the game out. All in all, it was an impressive victory for our Irish.
The win also secured at least a 6-6 record, which makes us bowl eligible after the season. Good news for us. The better news, though, is that this team is playing so much better as of late. 8 for 14 on third downs. 369 yard of total offense, with 155 of it coming on the ground. 2 more minutes of possession. A +1 turnover differential. It all maps out to a good game for ND. Freshman Tommy Rees was 13/20 for 214, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He looked pretty on par with his Utah game, and I was happy to see him make solid decisions when things didn't go well (one really low snap, and a play where there was no RB to hand the ball off to in the backfield). He looked smart and calm out there. Of course, it helps that Cierre Woods was just awesome again. 88 yards on 14 carries, complimented nicely by 39 yards from Robert Hughes, and 22 by Jonas Gray. Even Floyd had 9 ground yards on a sweet little reverse play. Eifert led with 78 in the air, and was joined by Floyd (63), and Toma (63) as Rees' top targets. But, the defense was the story, again. Army was held to just 174 total yards of offense, and just 39 of that was through the air. Despite breaking his nose, Te'o led the team with 9 tackles (and should still be able to play against SC). And, despite not getting any sacks, the ND pressure was enough to cause two INTs. It was a great defensive game.
Now at 6-5, Brian Kelly's first year is completely up in the air. It all depends on next week's clash against USC. Beat USC, and your 7-5 start is hailed as a turning point for the school. Lose to the Trojans, you finish 6-6, and fans are left wondering why we didn't just keep Charlie Weis. The stakes are high against USC this year, and I sure hope to see my Irish pull off the shocker while stuffing down some leftover stuffing.
Usually at this point, I'll highlight a player and focus on some stats to get my point across. However, I think I have to address the off-the-field issues of the Irish this time around. While plenty has been said about Notre Dame's season being somewhat disappointing, not much (or should I say, not enough) has been said about our off field issues. First was the death of Declan Sullivan back on October 27. The school has admitted complete responsibilty in his death, and Brian Kelly has publicly stated that the time following Declan's death has been the most difficult time of his life. He, personally, felt responsible for his death, after deciding to hold practice and have it filmed despite high winds. It was a truly horrible situation.
Now, there are reports that a recent suicide by a freshman at near by St. Mary's College was brought on because of a sexual assault perpetrated by a Notre Dame football player. The player's name has yet to be released, because he hasn't been charged with a crime yet, but this is really awful news. And, Brian Kelly isn't handling it as well as he did the previous tragic situation. He hasn't even looked into the issue, has stated that it is a "University" decision to investigate, and seems rather dismisive about the whole situation. Now, reports are out that the female student, age 19, had suffered from depression in the past. However, it seems pretty clear from reports that the sexual assult pushed her over the edge, and led to her overdosing on prescription medication, which took her life. This is a horrible, horrible situation, and the ND player responsible for the assault, if it is true, should not only not be playing, but should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. This is just another awful situation, hurting this wondeful University. If we can't get good character players on this team, we shouldn't be playing at all. So, Coach Kelly, do the right thing. You know who the player is. Don't wait for the University to force you to do something. Sit him for the USC game, at least. I don't care if he's innocent, or guilty. Some action needs to be taken to show compassion for this serious situation.
For now, I'll get off my high horse, and just start praying that we can beat that Trojan Horse next weekend.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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