SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It remains one of the lasting images in my mind's eye from last Saturday's loss in Ann Arbor. Michigan has just called a timeout on its final drive after quarterback Tate Forcier was sacked for a five-yard loss by Notre Dame defensive end John Ryan. The Irish defense huddles near the sideline, leaning in for instruction from defensive coordinator John Tenuta and head coach Charlie Weis.Except that it isn't just the Irish defense forming this tight scrum. Teammates, offensive players, marquee names are standing right with them. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, tailback Armando Allen and wideout Golden Tate are circling the huddle, exhorting on their teammates and patting them on the shoulder pads. It resembles a revved-up game of "Duck, Duck, Goose."
There was determination in those players' eyes. Hope. This time it would be different, and indeed, just seeing Irish offensive stars out on the field with their defensive brethren during a timeout was a novelty. Former Notre Dame defensive lineman Mike Golic, whose two sons are part of the Irish roster, stood a few feet away from me. He seemed to notice it, too.
The Irish, under their head coach who cut his teeth in the analytical NFL, looked like a high school football team at that moment. And I mean that in a good way. There was a sense of unity, of conviction, among the entire team that has not always been apparent in the past four-plus seasons.
It unraveled, of course, as Forcier completed passes on five of the Wolverines' next six plays (the exception being a dropped pass in the end zone, arguably the easiest catch of the six). And so, this week, as Michigan State visits, it will be worth watching if the Irish still have that sense of unity. If these players, who in all likelihood felt, as did so many of their fans, that if they could just get to the USC game with a 5-0 record that ...
"I believe that this is the most important game of Charlie Weis' career ... it'll be the most pressure-packed game at Notre Dame Stadium in years."
-- Kirk Herbsreit, SportsCenter, Tuesday
Herbie is correct. There is no more slack in the rope for Weis. Michigan State and Notre Dame may both be unranked. And last Saturday the Spartans' loss was in numerous ways more abominable: They lost 1) at home, 2) to a non-BCS team (albeit one with an NFL-caliber quarterback), 3) by allowing nine points in the final 32 seconds 4) by whiffing on an onside-kick recovery chance and then jumping offsides on an errant, game-winning field goal attempt.
But Michigan State is not Notre Dame. If the Irish had lost at home to Central Michigan in this fashion, we would not even be debating whether Weis merited a toe tag. It doesn't matter that, as one Spartan message board poster declared this week, "MSU has beaten (Weis) like a drum for 3.75 out of the four games they played."
In fact, as everyone on either side of this series is well aware, the last time the Irish defeated Michigan State in South Bend Dr. Lou was roaming the sideline. The year was 1993. The Spartans have won six in a row here since, the longest win streak any visitor has ever posted at Notre Dame Stadium.
Both teams are 1-1. It's the Bounce Back Bowl. But the stakes here, for an experienced squad facing a Michigan State offense with a new starter at quarterback and tailback, are far greater.
"Coach Weis will not get fired because of me."
-- Jimmy Clausen,"The Sporting News"
Clausen, the junior quarterback who has been nearly as polarizing a figure as Weis, has walked the walk. Through two games he has as many touchdown passes (seven) as he did his entire freshman season. He has yet to toss an interception or be sacked, and when reporters attempted to broach either of those points during his press conference Wednesday, Clausen and fellow team captain Eric Olsen, the center, knocked on wood. If you can find a more efficient quarterback after two weeks of the 2009 season, buy it.
No, Weis' future in South Bend, which most likely requires a victory against the Spartans, rests with the Irish defense. It was curious that the Irish lost 38-34 last Saturday, because 38 has been the magic number in the Irish's most ignominious defeats the past couple of seasons: 38-0, both at Michigan and to USC in '07 and 38-3 at USC in November.
Here are some more disturbing numbers regarding the Irish defense: 1) Defensive end Kerry Neal has started two games and has yet to make a tackle 2) It has been five games since Notre Dame's leading tackler was not a defensive back and 3) Notre Dame's four DB starters have combined for 47 tackles, while its front seven has just 41, and 4) safety Kyle McCarthy leads the Irish in tackles this season (18) and led them in tackles last season; no Irish DB has ever led the team in tackles two years in a row.
This week Weis and his staff made a concerted effort to address the shortcomings of his defensive front seven.
"First and foremost," he said Thursday evening, "you have to own the line of scrimmage."
To that end, Weis had his first-team offense ran Michigan State's plays against the first-team defense. And Weis took personal charge of the "scout team offense" as it were.
"I ran the show team, I held up the play cards," Weis said. "There was a greater sense of urgency than if a graduate assistant were doing it."
Weis, who took over calling offensive plays again this season after a one-year lapse, was asked if he has put in any more time this week than in previous weeks. "I work the same hours every week," he said. "You can come by the office and have coffee with me here at 4:35 in the morning. I'm the second guy in the building. The only one here before me is Chad (Klunder, the director of football operations) but that's because one, he wants to work out and, two, he brings me my bagel."
The routine may be the same, but the grim realization is that the Irish absolutely must win this game. And the next. And the next after that. Anything less than 4-1 when USC visits on October 17 does not bode well. All week long here the weather has been sublime beyond compare. The skies cannot be bluer, the soft breezes cannot be more invigorating. But make no mistake: storm clouds hover over this football program. And nothing short of a three-game win streak, beginning on Saturday, will make them disappear.
CRUISE WITH DR. LOU
It may only be September, but is it ever too early to prepare for spring break? Today's South Bend Tribune has just the elixir for your case of cabin fever: a Caribbean cruise with Dr. Lou! Hit this link to learn more about the seven-day cruise, embarking from Fort Lauderdale on March 13, that you can take with the former Notre Dame coach. Proceeds benefit the -- I'm not making this up -- Lou Holtz Hall of Fame.
