Wow, what a finish. Last week the University of Notre Dame and the University of Washington tangled in a game for the ages. Neither team was ranked, but both hoping to continue to step forward in their seasons and make a giant leap for their programs. U-Dub was coming down from their win against USC just a few weeks prior. While the Irish have played 3 straight defribulator games with a defense that was having trouble stopping people. It was a game on the Irish schedule that despite the Huskies record, might have made some Irish fans wince a little.
What I’m amazed at is that the media is talking about “how close” Washington is from really being a good football team and not that the sometimes swiss cheese-like Irish defense stopped them on 12 plays inside the 5 and 8 plays inside the 1. Now, I will say, Washington is extremely athletic and definately is a lot closer then people think. As usual, Ty Willingham didn’t leave the cubords empty and Steve Sarkisian just had to change the culture there. Coming off an 0-12 season, obviously isn’t a small task. In my humble opinion they are propbably 2 years away from really making noise in the Pac-10. As an Irish fan, I’ll be happy to see them leave the schedule. But I’ll challenge any fan that says they’ve seen 3 goal line stands in one game, by one team.
Now I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been extremely critical of the Irish defense. Especially their front 7. They have been soft on the run, and haven’t been able to control the line of scrimmage without having to send 7 or 8 guys and selling out the secondary. This game was totally different. The front 7 played as gutsy as I’ve ever seen a Notre Dame defense play in a while. John Tenuta shuffled guys in and out to keep them spelled, and they all worked to dominate. Leading the way was freshman phenom Man’ti Te’o, who lead them with 10 tackles in his first start. News flash to all of college football, this kid can flat out play. Kapron Lewis-Moore and John Ryan did a great job setting the edges and pursuing Jake Locker all day. The linebackers almost never seemed out of position and were hitting people all day long. If you didn’t see the double goal line stand I’ve left the link above. My hat goes off to that crew for not giving up despite the offenses early sputters and continuing to play hard.
So what about Jake Locker. I’ll maintain that he’s one of the best 
quarterback’s that no one is talking about. He had three throws in the game that were big time. Two before the half and one in the third quarter that showed touch and power. Locker also showed some ability with his legs that was impressive.
Speaking of impressive, let the Jimmy Clausen Heisman campaign begin. Clausen proved to me that he is deadly accurate, a leader, and tough. His 422 yards were filled with big plays to Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph. He also showed a shifty abilty and pocket presence that bought his receivers time to get open. I’m sorry, but no defensive back can run with a receiver for more then 4 seconds, and certainly not if that receiver is Golden Tate. Clausen has proved that he can be cool under pressure and lead his team through tough times. More impressively, he’s shown that he is tough and can play through pain. The turf toe injury did cause him to slip a few times since its on his plant foot. Clause was still able,even in the rain to stay composed and deliver the football. If the past three weeks haven’t put him in at least the Heisman conversation, then its a crock. Right now, the top front runners have to be Tebow, McCoy and Clausen.
Overall, I think that this is a marquee win for Charlie Weiss. Up to this point, everyone would say that the “Bush Push” game was the Weiss marquee game, but it was a loss. This was a fantastic environment the entire game and the crowd was electric. Although I will say for the first time ever I did have an empty seat next to me. Don’t get me wrong, for anyone who has been to Notre Dame Stadium, it was wonderful to have the extra room. A few folks in my section and I were able to get groups of people up to cheer on the defense all day. And thanks to my $.97 poncho that I bought at Meijer the night before, I was dry the entire time.
Posted by jfrank1529 
and the gang are going bowling this year, and they could even give the Buckeyes fits. Tate Forcier has proven to be a force to be reckoned with.
really, really loaded. Brandon James, Chris Rainey, and Emmanual Moody give Tebow a ton of speed in his running scheme. Let’s not forget 18 returning starters.
Colt McCoy is really good. On this very site I have mentioned that he should have taken the money and jumped to the NFL. He’s proving my point so far this year. McCoy is a for sure heisman finalist(forshadow), and he and Mack Brown have a national title lined up in their sights. I look for his main weapon and roommate Jordan Shipley to be ripping people all year for the horns. He averaged 11.9/catch and had a long of 68 yards last year. He can flat out fly.
The Big East sucks, so I’m not even going to waste my time. Cincinnati’s QB, Tony Pike is phenomenal. He has a big time arm, and that team is going to be good for a while.
Frank-ly Sports 