Notre Dame Loses Game to Syracuse, Snowball Fight to Fans

Notre Dame has had some bad losses in Charlie Weis' tenure. This was the worst.

Playing in South Bend and leading 2-8 Syracuse (with its lame-duck coach) 20-10 heading to the fourth quarter, the Irish collapsed. Syracuse put together two touchdown drives, Notre Dame missed a pair of field goals - including one on the game's final play - and the Orange pulled out a 24-23 win.

Let me repeat that: The Syracuse Orange. Won. At Notre Dame.

And if that's not bad enough, the Irish's own fans turned on them, pelting the bench with snowballs.

At first people started by throwing the snow in the air, but then began quickly tossing snowballs toward the Notre Dame sideline. Defensive lineman Ian Williams got hit in the helmet, defensive end Ethan Johnson was struck on the left cheek and a St. Joseph County police officer on the sideline looking into the crowd got hit in the chest.

Seriously? Who pelts their own team with snowballs? I mean, in Philadelphia they occasionally throw snowballs at the opposing team ... or at Santa. But this is a new one to me.

When the Irish defense held a meeting on the sideline, injured linebacker Brian Smith stood on a bench to try to shield his teammates. But when a snowball hit defensive tackle Pat Kuntz, he stood and faced the crowd and appeared to challenge whoever threw it to come down on the field.

Now that's just ridiculous.

Perhaps the friendly fire stemmed from the fact that Notre Dame football continues to find new ways to induce head shaking.

As always, you have to give credit to Syracuse for heading into South Bend and coming from behind. I mean, the 'Cuse are bad, but not as bad as people might necessarily think. The Orange quarterback Cameron Dantley has good athleticism and might turn into a pretty solid player eventually, and running back Curtis Brinkley would be a much bigger name if not for playing for Syracuse.

Still, this is pretty unacceptable for Notre Dame.

Less than a week ago, Syracuse fired head caoch Greg Robinson, effective at the end of the season. (Quick note to say that it's hard to not feel happy for Robinson. Watching him on the sidelines, you could see how much this game meant to him).

The Orange have two wins this season - over Louisville and Northeastern. They had not won a road game since beating Louisville on Sept. 22 of last year. They did the job on Saturday, though, despite Weis calling plays again. The Weis- dictated offense generated just 41 rushing yards against Syracuse, and spent its final drive running Hail Mary drills. One of those prayers connected to get Notre Dame into range for a long field goal attempt but, obviously, it missed.

If only kicker Brandon Walker had the aim of those snowball fighters.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

11-22-2008 @ 7:30PM

dave said...

The only thing sadder than Charlie Weis and his gutless bunch is the fact that very few of the people in the stands have any connection to ND. ND grads rarely come back ever; most "fans" at the game are high school grads or dropouts from Chicago or Indy who do not have a team of theri own to root for. How will Lou Holtz explain this debacle?

11-22-2008 @ 7:32PM

David Scott said...

I think the jury is in on Charlie W and he didnt cut the mustard as a college coach.

12-02-2008 @ 8:00PM

Nick Noe said...

Weis is just not a good college coach. He needs to go back to the pats and win some more super bowls there. He isnt worth anything here!!!

11-22-2008 @ 7:52PM

ATLANTIC8 said...

Not a Notre Dame fan. Not a Charlie Weis fan either. We are Penn State! 2008 BIG TEN Champions. Next up the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day!

11-23-2008 @ 8:44AM

Tommy said...

C'mon ...It's time to trim "THE FAT" and get rid of CHARLIE WEISS ( Charlie.. .."the real tuna" cause he STINKS!!) The Irish have six wins against teams with a combined record of 22-57 .. (21-57 before the loss to Syracuse) ..a winning Pct. of .269 1) S. Diego St. (1-10) who's only w came against 2 win Idaho...2) Michigan (3-9).....3) Perdue (4-8) who's wins came against such "powerhouses" as Michigan,Northern Colorodo,Central Mich. and Indiana...all who also suck!...4) Washington (0-11) , 5) Stanford (5-7), and 6) Navy (6-4) and they almost blew that one! Take away Stanford's and Navy's combined 11-11 records.... and they played teams with a combined record of 11-46 (Not counting todays game) ...that's a .178 winning Pctg. And they're bowl eligible!!! That's NONSENSE! And Clausen SUCKS TOO!!! This was once a proud program that deserves better for the fans..the legacy..and the TV schedule they get! They are truly laughing stocks in the press and in the eyes of the fans of college football (Hayden Fox from the old sitcom "COACH" could do better!!) No wonder theres so much praying being done at this catholic institute....we need all the help we can get!! FIRE CHARLIE NOW!!

11-22-2008 @ 8:43PM

randy said...

To Dave- You obviously do not know jack sh*t about Notre Dame, the school, the history, the fan especially, are you kidding me there is a club of Notre Dame in about 3/4 of the states in the U.S. I myself travel from california every year to South Bend to see a game. ND grads always go back I myself must meet at least 7-10 alumni every year. Believe me Lou will have somethin to say. I'd love to see what he ahs to say about your comment. Who's your team? why not mention it when clowing another. Represent FAN.

11-22-2008 @ 10:40PM

Bobby Dodd said...

Hey Randy,

Notre Dame sucks. You've sucked for years, and just gotten by on marketing hype. Welcome to the real world. Flaccid Irish fans are arrogant wannabees, and getting beat at home by 2-8 Syracuse is more of what you deserve. Time to pay for all those bowls and rankings you did not earn.

I hope you get another overrated bowl so we can watch you lose disgracefully again.

Weis is a clown, Claussen sucks, and so does Notre Dame.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

simon said...

Question.

If a player catches the ball and drags a toe inbounds the catch is complete, right?

Therefore if a catch is made and the toe touches inbounds before any part of the foot goes out of bounds does it matter that the heel then touches the line.

WTF. This game is officiated by a bunch of clueless morons who would probably be incapable of organizing a piss up in a brewery!!

11-22-2008 @ 9:08PM

JOE said...

THE SNOWBALLS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DIRECTED AT WEISE AND HIS COACHING STAFF. DOES IT GET ANY LOWER THAN THIS TO LOSE TO A 2-8 TEAM. APPARENTLY CUSE CAME TO PLAY AND WE LAID DOWN AGAIN GIVING UP POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF TO BLOW THE LEAD AND THE GAME. WEISE IS NOT COLLEGE COACHING MATERIAL AND I CAN'T DEAL WITH ANOTHER YEAR WITH HIM COACHING. OUR SEASON IS NOW OFFICALLY OVER SO THE BEATING USC IS GOING TO GIVE WILL BE WELL DESERVING TO WEISES CREDENTALS. AT THIS POINT I COULD CARE LESS IF THEY GET A BOWL BID. THEY SHOULD JUST REJECT IT. AT 6-6 WHO WOULD WANT THEM ANYWAY.FIRE WEISE AND FIND A WAY TO END HIS CONTRACT. HE OWES US AS FANS AND SHOULD QUIT ON HIS OWN AND NOT EXCEPT A BUY OUT. MAYBE HE CAN BE AN ASSISTANT AT WASHINGTON. CHANGE IS GOOD.

11-23-2008 @ 9:14AM

Tom said...

Poor article and the comments are even worse. I was at the game and the individuals that were throwing snowballs were not Irish fans. Let's use a little logic here...Would Irish fans really throw snowballs at their team? The comment above was correct in saying that the perpetrators were not ND fans. However, the comments that followed were incorrect. Notre Dame has probably the biggest Alum following in the nation. Penn Sate...enjoy playing for 5th place.

11-22-2008 @ 8:50PM

Doug said...

They weren't Notre Dame fans? How many Syracuse fans were sitting in the ND student section today?

How many Syracuse fans were in the stadium period? Come on ... open your eyes ... they were Notre Dame students.

11-23-2008 @ 3:10PM

mr c said...

and u enjoy watching us play for 5th place..on jan 1....in a bowl game....look for a better coach tom....notre dame gets the cream of the crop in high school players..maybe look for some that have heart...that would give there first born to play at notre dame....

11-22-2008 @ 9:49PM

ara parseghian said...

i am a notre dame fan. i live and die with the irish. i do not blame coaches, for they do not step foot on the field. i do not blame players; they're just a bunch of kids. i don't blame anybody for losses. it's a game; no one dies. the game is played and watched purely for enjoyment...any other reason--such as gambling--makes it something else that it was never intended to be. win or lose, i love notre dame. i support the school. and we will be back again next year.

11-22-2008 @ 10:55PM

You keep telling yourself that crap, Ara. I don't see how ND can schedule more teams with losing records than they already have, and now those wins aren't even a gimme.

Better put all 3 academies back on the schedule, and see if maybe the merchant marines have a team too!!

11-22-2008 @ 10:18PM

Randy,
I live in Indiana and routinely go to South Bend. You can get a room any Saturday during the season as most fans in the stadium are locals who live for the team but never attended ND. There is a large contingent of fans from Indy, even larger from NW Indiana and Chicago. Few grads come back for more than a game a year, and I know many people with tickets for all games who never attended ND. Tickets can now be bought for less than face value, as you well know. Don't be ashamed-that is reality for all losing teams.

I attended undergrad at USC in the 80s; would you like to wager on the game? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. If I remember correctly, it is 30+ points every year, and that is with calling off the dogs in the 2nd half. You might be a real fan, but accept the fact that the stadium is full of students pelting their own team with snowballs and people living in double wides from Angola.

11-23-2008 @ 2:19AM

Kim said...

Dave,

I LIVE in South Bend and have connections with ND, and a lot of people coming to the games are out of towners. I haven't been to a game, but I worked at the ND bookstore about two years ago when ND was winning more, and most of the people buying up all the ND fan stuff were visiting from out of town (not in state out of town). These people stay all weekend crowding restaurants and stores. I know, I live here.

11-23-2008 @ 12:36AM

Lakergregg said...

Yeah Dave!.
FIGHT ON!!!

11-22-2008 @ 11:17PM

Todd said...

Charlie needs to resign

11-23-2008 @ 9:18AM

Gary Weber said...

My two favorite teams are the Yankees and Notre Dame. You love them or envy them for being so good over the last century. This is the first time posting a comment. I came on because I was curious if people were calling for Charlie to be fired. Instead I see the comment section isn't for the smart people, but lifes hateful losers. I am more amazed teams like Ohio St, who play 3 junior colleges, and a bunch of lousy big ten teams, remains in the top 10. There seems to be more of a certain coaches, get all the favoritism while others get the door slammed in there face. Give a break to the Ball States and Utah's and Boises who make it to the end playing good football. Thank you Gary

11-23-2008 @ 10:08PM

Grant said...

Dear Gary

Don't forget you got beat by Michigan State! Oh yeah, you struggled against Big Ten heavy hitters Michigan and Purdue.

Take away Golden Tate and ND would struggle to beat the best team high school team in Indiana. Golden is a beast!

I am for keeping Charlie Weis. I love to hate him. As a real athlete and a coach I think he is a rodeo clown pretending to know how to coach football.

What a job. Play X-box football on Saturdays and get away with insulting wealthy, intelligent ND fans.

Sounds like a dream job to me.

Go Bucks! Hope we play ND again in a bowl game. We all know how that ended last time. Charlie show us his competitive advantage on the offensive side of the ball. Hey Charlie, When you play OSU again.....put the Krispy Kreme donut down and hit play on the video recorder so you can record Tressel's play calling. You may learn something. Must be hard to clean the donut glaze off your Superbowl rings everyday!