SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- They won, but they looked awful. So don't misconstrue the following: The Fighting Irish survived down the stretch for a 33-30 come-from-ahead victory on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium against Michigan State.Even so, they are a mess these days in football.
I'm guessing the priests who run the University of Notre Dame aren't likely any time soon to clear space around the statues of Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz for one of Charlie Weis.
Weis still is in trouble. If not, he should be. In fact, he should be dropkicked by the leprechaun to the edge of the city limits if the Irish have another "victory" like this one. His fifth and most talented Notre Dame team just spent a second consecutive week fighting for its life against an inferior foe from the state of Michigan.
First, the Irish choked two weeks ago with much help from Weis' playcalling in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines. Then, against a Michigan State team that couldn't whip Central Michigan at home the week before, Notre Dame needed Michigan State's quarterback to throw a mindless interception in the red zone to help the Irish save themselves from themselves.
Whatever the case, Golden Tate was among the relieved around the home locker room in the aftermath. He recalled how he stretched high in the corner of the end zone with barely five minutes left in the game for a Jimmy Clausen pass that completed a touchdown catch of 33 yards. It gave Notre Dame its final margin of victory, and according to Tate, it also gave Notre Dame a bunch of other things.
"For one, we won and stopped that nine game or 10 game or whatever that losing streak was we had against them," said Tate, referring to what actually was a six-game winning streak for Michigan State on the Irish's home field. "We also showed that we don't stop playing, you know? We keep playing no matter what the score is, and no matter what the situation is."
That's true, but that's not saying much for a Notre Dame team that was considered formidable enough before the season to contend for a BCS bowl. There even was Holtz, the former Notre Dame coach turned ESPN analyst, predicting the Irish to go undefeated along the way to their 12th national championship.
Instead, the Irish are 2-1 with many issues.
They are undisciplined. This time, they had 11 penalties, including four personal fouls that contributed to two Michigan State touchdowns and one for too many men on the field, which always goes back to coaching.
They also can't stop anybody. I mean, how in the name of Gerry Faust did the Notre Dame defense relinquish 459 total yards to a young Michigan State offense that isn't expected to be much until later in its schedule?
Worse, they are underachieving on offense, and they are loaded, with Clausen as a future first-round draft pick at quarterback. Armando Allen Jr., is among the Irish's slew of quality runners, and few tight ends in the country are more gifted than Kyle Rudolph. Elsewhere, while Tate is good at wide receiver, Michael Floyd is flirting with greatness. The Irish also have an offensive line that can both run and pass block.
And wasn't Weis supposed to be a genius calling plays?
Said a visibly relieved Weis later, when describing Notre Dame's objective against Michigan State, "It was just win a game, period. No matter how you won it."
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The Irish won it, then they lost it, then they won it, then they lost it, then they won it, but Michigan State mostly lost it. For one, the Spartans used much of the sun-splattered afternoon doing what they pleased on offense. "Yeah," said Kyle McCarthy, chuckling to keep from crying. He is a Notre Dame safety who also is a team captain. More importantly for the Irish, he intercepted that pass of Michigan State's Kirk Cousins inside the final minute.
It was a needless pass. With the Spartans at the Notre Dame 18 on second-and-10 and with no timeouts remaining, Cousins tossed a floater toward the flat to nobody in particular, and McCarthy snatched it.
Still, it didn't erase thoughts of Notre Dame's defense getting shelled despite gifted players from Weis' previous recruiting classes. It's also a unit with noted defensive whiz Jon Tenuta calling the shots for the first time. "Um, it's concerning," said McCarthy, shrugging, wishing to stay out of the considerable doghouses of both Weis and Tenuta, but McCarthy's message was clear: This shouldn't happen.
It is happening, but it can't happen much longer.
Not without somebody getting fired.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
9-20-2009 @ 1:07AM
dhefu said...
These days in college football you have to play the game every week, just ask USC, you better show up if you want the W. Notre Dame has the players, but they need to learn how to win, not just play and today they took a step in the right direction. Let them enjoy the moment. Next week will be another challenge. After the dissapponting loss last week, MSU came out to play, but were let down in the last minute, they played hard and will do better down the road.
Reply
9-20-2009 @ 12:41PM
hockeydc said...
If Charlie's on the hot seat, it's taking a lot of energy to heat the size of his seat. Perhaps he should do the environment a favor and step down.
9-20-2009 @ 4:25PM
MeMan said...
Charlie Weis caused the potato famine
9-20-2009 @ 1:47AM
Rodney said...
Jerry Hinne said it best "Trust me, Terence Moore: it was never your job to make me think. It was your job to explain why I should think the same way you think. Forgive me, but I think the inability to understand the difference between those two objectives--why the first gets you only halfway to where you need to be, why not risking being right can only result in being wrong--goes a long way towards explaining why neither Terence Moore nor tons of other former sports columnists have their job at all anymore." No 1978 University of Miami grad should ever be allowed to review Notre Dame!
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9-20-2009 @ 1:57AM
J CHRISTOPHER said...
they wil win 9 games aginst slippery rock, teal, west carolina navy duke etc and go to bowl game and get KILLEd like every other year i m a grad of ND 2001 its just the truth!!
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9-20-2009 @ 12:47PM
weaponx24 said...
way to back your school douche!
9-20-2009 @ 3:03AM
george said...
as inconsistent and underachieving as they are ND would ranked in the top 10 this week if Charlie hadn't choked on his 2 passes against Michigan
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9-20-2009 @ 6:43AM
Lisa said...
Some of what you are saying is true, but no matter how good or bad either of these teams are, they always play each other this way. It's a rivalry. You can throw the statistics out the window.
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9-20-2009 @ 7:01AM
Hey their Boski said...
You hit it right on the nose, he is not a game coach, he is an offensive coodinator and nothing more. They can't stop anyone, and that should fall on the defensive coordinator, who the Head Coach oversees. This is two weeks in a row that you see them in a stretch defense in the final Michigan State drive, eating up yardage, and all they needed was a field goal. Charlie, I am afraid, is showing he is not the brightest bulb in the bag
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9-20-2009 @ 7:06AM
sheraleamarie said...
I am a life long ND fan and will always be. Yes Weis makes a few boneheaded calls, and they hurt us sometimes.. but he's still a good coach. I also agree that if he doesn't get the wins this year and possibly next, he should be out. There are very high standards at ND and he should be held accountable for his failures. But get this team in the Big 10 conference, and then they earn their way! They already play a mostly Big 10 schedule anyway. (I'm also a WI Badger fan!!) GO BUCKY!!
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9-20-2009 @ 7:07AM
klovetim said...
The worst Weis called game was the recent one against Michigan. How in the world with only a little over 2 minutes left he didn't run the clock out on the ground. Instead Weis calls two long passing plays, one to a receiver who had earlier dropped two touchdown passes. How in the world did he win any Super Bowls?
Reply
9-20-2009 @ 9:05PM
cjgdnight said...
The PATS receiver didn't drop the passes... you win more that games that way... and you look like a much better coach.
9-20-2009 @ 7:17AM
writer0224 said...
Holy smokes, you guys..get a life...I doubt any of you everplayed college ball, certainly not at this level...You guys need to focus your energy on community improvement, not rip college coaches all the time. My guess is most of you twitter mostof the day on your jobs, screwing your boss over all the time. Then you think you know football. Get a life.
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9-20-2009 @ 8:14AM
STEVE said...
its not bad enough charlie has to beat the other team he has to also beat the offials.look at last week the holds on tate that weren't called the overruling of allen's run and this week floyd's catch so why don't you people get off his back
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9-20-2009 @ 8:20AM
Phillip said...
The big fat pig needs to go !
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9-20-2009 @ 8:43AM
destin023 said...
All about the pointspread guys. Charlie looked sick in his post game interview saying it was all about the "win". He wants to let his horses loose but the money's telling him to hold back a few weeks. Get the controversy heated a little more about his firing then the program heats up. Stay tuned sports fans.
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9-20-2009 @ 8:50AM
larrywitness said...
I have no love for notre dame but the person who wrote this is coming off like a whiner because the Irish won. LOL Geez Florida did not look good when they won. bottom line is they got the W
Reply
9-20-2009 @ 8:52AM
papam11 said...
Perhaps he's just a bad judge of young talent. With a guaranteed contract worth millions, I doubt Weis would be broken up if he were tossed. He'd probably go to another college or back to the pros as an offensive coordinator. No biggy.
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9-20-2009 @ 9:01AM
beastrid2 said...
Simply, ND is overrated.
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9-20-2009 @ 9:02AM
mdallas331 said...
Charlie Weis better get his act together soon. Being a good Offensive Coordinator in the pros, doesn't necessarily lead to head coaching success at any level. I wish he would take one of the three vacancies in the NFL soon. He has the talent but the Irish can't get out of their own way. Penalties, dropped balls and play calling are killing them. How do you throw the ball around with 4:00 to play and the lead? Does Charlie think he can outsmart everyone? They have the talent to win the rest of their games, but????
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