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Buckeye513
Stable Genius
I would hate to have that bullseye on our chest going into Austin and Iowa City.
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OZone
1/4
Football
Irish About a .500 Team in Big Ten
By John Porentas
Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis turned some heads around the Big Ten this week when he characterized Notre Dame as a "national" team, explaining further how that was superior to being a "regional" team. And, according to Weis, teams with league affiliations (like those in the Big Ten) are generally thought of as regional powers, and therefore lack the "firepower" of a Notre Dame. For those reasons, Weis is against any league affiliations for the Irish.
That got us to thinking; how would the Fighting Irish have fared in the Big Ten this season?
Luckily, that question is half answered, because Notre Dame played exactly half of an eight-game Big Ten schedule this year. The Irish took on Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, and walked away from that demi-league schedule with a 2-2 record, scoring wins over Purdue and Michigan, and losing to Michigan State and Ohio State.
So what if the Irish had played four more? That outcome certainly depends on who they played.
If an Irish Big Ten schedule was rounded out by Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin (the teams that finished at bottom of the league that the Irish didn't play) there is some chance that the Irish would sweep through those four games and finish 6-2, though in our opinion, both Minnesota and Wisconsin would give the Irish enough problems to have a chance to win
That type of cupcake scheduling, however, isn't likely unless you are an independent. When you a league member, you play a schedule made by the league, and more likely than not, will have to face at least some real competition.
Notre Dame played two of this season's Big Ten non-bowl teams (Purdue and Michigan State), and one of the top teams in the league (Ohio State). We think it reasonable to put Penn State on our hypothetical Irish schedule, and we think the Lions would prevail in that game.
That would put he Irish at 2-3 in the league with three more games to play. Just for argument's sake, lets assume those games are against two of the lower finishing teams (Minnesota and Wisconsin) and fourth-place finisher Northwestern.
We know this is all guess work, but we don't believe the Irish would sweep those three. Their pass defense is suspect enough that Northwestern would score a bazillion points on them, and both Wisconsin and Minnesota have enough on both sides of the ball to make it a tough day for the Irish. We'll give then the benefit of the doubt though, and say that Notre Dame would win two of those final three games.
That would put the Irish at 4-4 in the league. To put that in perspective, that's the identical record that Minnesota managed this year, and that was good for a seventh place finish in the league. If they could sweep those last three, and we remain skeptical of that proposition, the Irish would finish at 5-3. Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Northwestern all finished with that league record this season to establish a four-way tie for third.
1/4
Football
Irish About a .500 Team in Big Ten
By John Porentas
Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis turned some heads around the Big Ten this week when he characterized Notre Dame as a "national" team, explaining further how that was superior to being a "regional" team. And, according to Weis, teams with league affiliations (like those in the Big Ten) are generally thought of as regional powers, and therefore lack the "firepower" of a Notre Dame. For those reasons, Weis is against any league affiliations for the Irish.
That got us to thinking; how would the Fighting Irish have fared in the Big Ten this season?
Luckily, that question is half answered, because Notre Dame played exactly half of an eight-game Big Ten schedule this year. The Irish took on Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, and walked away from that demi-league schedule with a 2-2 record, scoring wins over Purdue and Michigan, and losing to Michigan State and Ohio State.
So what if the Irish had played four more? That outcome certainly depends on who they played.
If an Irish Big Ten schedule was rounded out by Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin (the teams that finished at bottom of the league that the Irish didn't play) there is some chance that the Irish would sweep through those four games and finish 6-2, though in our opinion, both Minnesota and Wisconsin would give the Irish enough problems to have a chance to win
That type of cupcake scheduling, however, isn't likely unless you are an independent. When you a league member, you play a schedule made by the league, and more likely than not, will have to face at least some real competition.
Notre Dame played two of this season's Big Ten non-bowl teams (Purdue and Michigan State), and one of the top teams in the league (Ohio State). We think it reasonable to put Penn State on our hypothetical Irish schedule, and we think the Lions would prevail in that game.
That would put he Irish at 2-3 in the league with three more games to play. Just for argument's sake, lets assume those games are against two of the lower finishing teams (Minnesota and Wisconsin) and fourth-place finisher Northwestern.
We know this is all guess work, but we don't believe the Irish would sweep those three. Their pass defense is suspect enough that Northwestern would score a bazillion points on them, and both Wisconsin and Minnesota have enough on both sides of the ball to make it a tough day for the Irish. We'll give then the benefit of the doubt though, and say that Notre Dame would win two of those final three games.
That would put the Irish at 4-4 in the league. To put that in perspective, that's the identical record that Minnesota managed this year, and that was good for a seventh place finish in the league. If they could sweep those last three, and we remain skeptical of that proposition, the Irish would finish at 5-3. Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Northwestern all finished with that league record this season to establish a four-way tie for third.
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Boston Globe
1/4
Notre Dame not quite at elite level
Ohio State's Antonio Pittman (25) rushes for a touchdown ahead of Notre Dame defenders Mike Richardson (30) Ambrose Wooden (22) and Corey Mays (46) in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl college football game, Monday, Jan. 2, 2006 in Tempe, Ariz.. Ohio State won the game, 34-20. (AP Photo/Matt York)
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By Tom Coyne, AP Sports Writer | January 3, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. --Notre Dame showed it has the potential to become a national power again under coach Charlie Weis.
But the Fighting Irish's 34-20 loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday showed they can't rely on offense alone if they want to contend for a national title.
"We made some strides toward where we want to be, but when you end your season like this, it's taking a step backward," receiver Jeff Samardzija said. "We didn't finish like we wanted to."
The biggest obstacle facing the Irish (9-3) is a defense that gave up far too many big plays and too many big performances, including:
-- An average of 397 yards a game, the highest total in school history.
-- Forty-four points in an overtime loss to Michigan State, which didn't make a bowl game.
-- A 61-yard pass to USC's Matt Leinart on fourth-and-9 that set up the Trojans' winning touchdown.
-- Four touchdowns of 55 yards or more and 617 yards of total offense against fourth-ranked Ohio State (10-2) in the Fiesta Bowl. The 617 yards were the most ever given up by the Irish, seven more than the Trojans had against Notre Dame in 2002.
"We have a lot to do this offseason," cornerback Ambrose Wooden said.
The Irish did improve drastically on offense in Weis' first year, averaging 477 yards a game -- 132 yards better than the season before.
Brady Quinn set just about every school passing record and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, the best for a Notre Dame player since Rocket Ismail was second in 1990. The Irish haven't had a Heisman Trophy winner since receiver Tim Brown in 1987.
But the drought that bothers the Irish the most is the 17 years without a national championship -- the longest such streak in school history.
The loss to Ohio State not only kept Notre Dame from reclaiming from Michigan the title of the school with the best all-time winning percentage, it also showed the Irish weren't ready to reclaim their spot among college football's elite.
"I didn't expect that coming from this team," tight end Anthony Fasano said. "Losing three games and coming out here and working and not getting the job done, there are definitely some things we need to work on."
Quinn's school record of consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass was stopped at 17, and the team's streak of scoring at least 30 points in a game ended at nine. The 20 points scored against Ohio State left the Irish shy of breaking the school record of 37.6 points a game, set by the 1968 team. Notre Dame averaged 36.6 points this season.
Looking ahead, the Irish lose linebackers Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays, the team's top two tacklers, but the other nine starters on defense return.
Most of Notre Dame's key players on its record-setting offense return. The Irish lose right guard Dan Stevenson, right tackle Mark LeVoir, receiver Maurice Stovall and possibly Fasano, if he decides to turn pro. Fasano said he likely will make a decision in the next week.
The Irish used six players regularly on the line, with Bob Morton playing at guard and center, so they will need to find just one starter on the line.
Samardzija returns at one receiving spot. And Rhema McKnight -- the leading receiver the previous two seasons before injuring his right knee against Michigan -- returns for a fifth year, leaving the Irish with a strong passing game.
Notre Dame could also find some help from a recruiting class expected to be one of the school's best in years.
Weis told his players after the game that they have to decide how they're going to react to the loss. He said they could either feel sorry for themselves or they could use the disappointment as motivation.
"It's either one or the other, which way do you want to go?" he said.
In the locker room Monday night, the Irish already were talking about being back in Arizona for the national championship game next season.
"We're going to regroup come offseason, bust our butt, keep training with one thing in mind -- ending up back here," safety Tom Zbikowski said.
For the Irish to do that, they need to develop a defense to complement their offense. If they can do that, maybe then the Notre Dame will be able to prove it's back.
1/4
Notre Dame not quite at elite level
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By Tom Coyne, AP Sports Writer | January 3, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. --Notre Dame showed it has the potential to become a national power again under coach Charlie Weis.
But the Fighting Irish's 34-20 loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday showed they can't rely on offense alone if they want to contend for a national title.
"We made some strides toward where we want to be, but when you end your season like this, it's taking a step backward," receiver Jeff Samardzija said. "We didn't finish like we wanted to."
The biggest obstacle facing the Irish (9-3) is a defense that gave up far too many big plays and too many big performances, including:
-- An average of 397 yards a game, the highest total in school history.
-- Forty-four points in an overtime loss to Michigan State, which didn't make a bowl game.
-- A 61-yard pass to USC's Matt Leinart on fourth-and-9 that set up the Trojans' winning touchdown.
-- Four touchdowns of 55 yards or more and 617 yards of total offense against fourth-ranked Ohio State (10-2) in the Fiesta Bowl. The 617 yards were the most ever given up by the Irish, seven more than the Trojans had against Notre Dame in 2002.
"We have a lot to do this offseason," cornerback Ambrose Wooden said.
The Irish did improve drastically on offense in Weis' first year, averaging 477 yards a game -- 132 yards better than the season before.
Brady Quinn set just about every school passing record and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, the best for a Notre Dame player since Rocket Ismail was second in 1990. The Irish haven't had a Heisman Trophy winner since receiver Tim Brown in 1987.
But the drought that bothers the Irish the most is the 17 years without a national championship -- the longest such streak in school history.
The loss to Ohio State not only kept Notre Dame from reclaiming from Michigan the title of the school with the best all-time winning percentage, it also showed the Irish weren't ready to reclaim their spot among college football's elite.
"I didn't expect that coming from this team," tight end Anthony Fasano said. "Losing three games and coming out here and working and not getting the job done, there are definitely some things we need to work on."
Quinn's school record of consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass was stopped at 17, and the team's streak of scoring at least 30 points in a game ended at nine. The 20 points scored against Ohio State left the Irish shy of breaking the school record of 37.6 points a game, set by the 1968 team. Notre Dame averaged 36.6 points this season.
Looking ahead, the Irish lose linebackers Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays, the team's top two tacklers, but the other nine starters on defense return.
Most of Notre Dame's key players on its record-setting offense return. The Irish lose right guard Dan Stevenson, right tackle Mark LeVoir, receiver Maurice Stovall and possibly Fasano, if he decides to turn pro. Fasano said he likely will make a decision in the next week.
The Irish used six players regularly on the line, with Bob Morton playing at guard and center, so they will need to find just one starter on the line.
Samardzija returns at one receiving spot. And Rhema McKnight -- the leading receiver the previous two seasons before injuring his right knee against Michigan -- returns for a fifth year, leaving the Irish with a strong passing game.
Notre Dame could also find some help from a recruiting class expected to be one of the school's best in years.
Weis told his players after the game that they have to decide how they're going to react to the loss. He said they could either feel sorry for themselves or they could use the disappointment as motivation.
"It's either one or the other, which way do you want to go?" he said.
In the locker room Monday night, the Irish already were talking about being back in Arizona for the national championship game next season.
"We're going to regroup come offseason, bust our butt, keep training with one thing in mind -- ending up back here," safety Tom Zbikowski said.
For the Irish to do that, they need to develop a defense to complement their offense. If they can do that, maybe then the Notre Dame will be able to prove it's back.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
link
1/4/06
1/4/06
COMMENTARY
Now if Weis had Smith and Ginn going for him, ND might’ve won
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
ROB OLLER
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TEMPE, Ariz. — As the coach formerly known as His Royal Genius sat down to dissect what went wrong, the placard identifying him as Charlie Weis fell off the table.
"That’s OK, the name tag should go down," the Notre Dame coach said after the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State.
Give the guy credit for having enough humility to poke fun at himself, then wag your finger at those among us who made Weis out to be a football guru in the first place.
The genius label gets tossed around a lot in sports, when really it should be saved for people like Einstein and Newton. The theory of relativity trumps the theory of the nohuddle offense every time.
A coach such as Weis certainly seems to be smart, if you measure intelligence by the number of Super Bowl rings sitting in his junk drawer. But genius is genius 24/7. You don’t become a genius. You already are one. Likewise, you don’t suddenly forget how to be a genius.
Weis didn’t turn dumb at kickoff of Monday’s Fiesta Bowl. Just like USC coach Pete Carroll, who was considered something of a Jethro Bodine as an NFL head coach, didn’t increase his IQ by 100 points the moment he joined the Trojans.
When it comes to coaching, you’re only as smart as the talent you have on the field.
Weis was pegged as an offensive brainiac until he ran into an unsolvable math story problem: If quarterback Brady Quinn is running north at 5 mph and linebacker A.J. Hawk is running south at 10 mph, which one will end up with his face pressed into the turf?
Part of the reason Weis has been tabbed the second coming of (take your pick) Lindy Infante, Norm Chow or Bill Walsh is that he has won with teams at New England and Notre Dame that supposedly were not loaded with ability. But that’s misleading. In New England, Weis’ offense benefited from exceptional talent on defense. In South Bend, his offensive talent was every bit as good or better than that of the teams that Notre Dame beat.
The three teams that defeated ND — Michigan State, USC and Ohio State — all had superior talent. So now, of course, Jim Tressel comes off looking smarter than Weis. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. One thing is certain, Troy Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. would make about any coach look like King Solomon.
Texas coach Mack Brown, whose Longhorns take on USC for the national title today in the Rose Bowl, is a prime example of how the talent test works. For years, Brown was criticized as a blundering underachiever who consistently got outcoached in big games. Then he beats the Buckeyes in Columbus and finally polishes off Oklahoma and now he belongs in Mensa. What changed for Brown? Two words: Vince Young.
There is a danger, however, in having too much talent, as Carroll has discovered out West. A corollary to the less-is-more talent equation that bolsters Weis’ reputation is the more-is-less rationale that dogs Carroll.
The USC coach doesn’t get enough credit for guiding the Men of Troy to a 34-game winning streak and potential second straight BCS national championship (and third straight Associated Press title).
The logic follows a line of reasoning that says give any coach Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and he will contend for a national championship. There is some truth to that, but it also takes some mental prowess to keep an offense full of high NFL draft picks from turning into a team that pulls in five different directions because of the selfinterest of its stars.
There’s more to coaching than spending hours in a dark room plotting how an offense should attack the cover-2 defense. Carroll takes a more relaxed approach than either Weis or Tressel, both of whom are considered superior strategists. Carroll’s laid-back style — USC practices sometimes are interrupted by children running onto the field — works against him when members of the media dish out the genius label.
Like the Beatles turning to the Maharishi for enlightenment, we run to the "intelligent" coaches to understand how football is best done.
But as Weis can attest, losing like a genius smarts a lot worse than winning like a C-plus student of the game.
Rob Oller is a sports reporter for The Dispatch .
[email protected]
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smith403
The Man Who Started A Dynasty
Toledo Blade
Article published January 4, 2006
Taking the 2006 offensive
Smith, Ginn and Pittman all return for the Buckeyes
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=248 align=left bgColor=#f1f1f3 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and quarterback Troy Smith celebrate the Buckeyes' 34-20 victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday. Smith hit 19 of 28 passes for a career-high 342 yards and ran for 66. OSU had 617 yards of total offense.
( ASSOCIATED PRESS )
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
<CENTER></CENTER>
TEMPE, Ariz. - Quarterback Troy Smith made his final play of the Fiesta Bowl a good 45 minutes after the game had ended Monday night. After taking on a vital role in Ohio State's 34-20 win over Notre Dame, Smith took the opportunity to leap forward and set the table for OSU football 2006.
The BCS national championship game comes back to the Phoenix area next year when the Fiesta Bowl gets a new home in a state-of- the-art facility being built for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. Smith was already calculating Ohio State's chances of returning to the desert, where the Buckeyes have won three of the last four Fiesta Bowls, including the national title game following the 2002 season.
"The national championship is here next year, and we like that," Smith said. "And hopefully, next year it sets us up pretty good."
Wide receiver, kick returner and playmaker extraordinaire Ted Ginn Jr. said the familiar site of next year's title game serves as additional motivation for the Buckeyes to return for the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
"We're going to go out all through the offseason and work hard and go back to square one and do everything right, then come back and just try to make it out here," Ginn said. "That will be our goal and we have to practice and play ball and look forward to next year."
In Monday's game, Notre Dame (9-3) could not snare Smith or Ginn, and that failure sent the Fighting Irish to an eighth straight bowl defeat. Ohio State (10-2) won a fourth consecutive bowl as Smith outperformed Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, a Heisman Trophy finalist.
"I think as you watch Troy throughout his career, every day in practice he learns a little something and gets better, and every ball game he learns from the ball game and studies extremely hard," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He's very passionate about being a great quarterback. Each day he's taking a step."
Smith completed 19 of 28 passes for a career-high 342 yards, and ran for another 66 yards with a series of third-down scrambles that sealed Notre Dame's fate.
Ginn scored on a 68-yard end-around and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass for the Buckeyes, who were 8-of-12 on third-down conversions.
Tailback Antonio Pittman rushed 21 times for 136 yards, including a 60-yard scoring burst as the Buckeyes churned out 617 yards of offense.
Although Ohio State graduates a number of its defensive stars - linebackers A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel, and safety Nate Salley - Smith, Ginn and Pittman all return.
"You know, probably for the last four or five years, we have been known as a defensive team," Smith said. "I'm sure we will still be known as a defensive team, even though we lose key and major guys. But now it's hopefully going to be more of a balance, the defense and the offensive team."
Ohio State's offensive firepower in the Fiesta Bowl was not lost on All-American Hawk, who had a pair of sacks and nine solo tackles in a dominant performance that closed a brilliant career. However, Hawk was rankled that most of the pregame offensive hype focused on the genius of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and his ability to game-plan for the Buckeyes.
"I've been hearing a lot about, how are you guys going to beat a Notre Dame team when you give Charlie Weis four weeks to prepare for it?" Hawk said. "That kind of upset me because I thought, what about giving coach Tressel four weeks to prepare for you?"
Smith said the Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame sends Hawk and the rest of the Ohio State seniors, including end Mike Kudla, who had three sacks, out on a positive note. And it sends the Buckeyes into next season with plenty of momentum and a certain top-five ranking. "Going home on the plane - that's a long plane ride - I would rather go home happy than sad," Smith said. "You just go out and try to execute as a team. I don't like taking a lot of the credit for what goes on out on the field. It takes 11 guys, everybody on the field, everybody's effort to get this win."Article published January 4, 2006
Article published January 4, 2006
Taking the 2006 offensive
Smith, Ginn and Pittman all return for the Buckeyes
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=248 align=left bgColor=#f1f1f3 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
( ASSOCIATED PRESS )
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
Zoom | Photo Reprints</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Zoom | Photo Reprints</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
<CENTER></CENTER>
TEMPE, Ariz. - Quarterback Troy Smith made his final play of the Fiesta Bowl a good 45 minutes after the game had ended Monday night. After taking on a vital role in Ohio State's 34-20 win over Notre Dame, Smith took the opportunity to leap forward and set the table for OSU football 2006.
The BCS national championship game comes back to the Phoenix area next year when the Fiesta Bowl gets a new home in a state-of- the-art facility being built for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. Smith was already calculating Ohio State's chances of returning to the desert, where the Buckeyes have won three of the last four Fiesta Bowls, including the national title game following the 2002 season.
"The national championship is here next year, and we like that," Smith said. "And hopefully, next year it sets us up pretty good."
Wide receiver, kick returner and playmaker extraordinaire Ted Ginn Jr. said the familiar site of next year's title game serves as additional motivation for the Buckeyes to return for the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
"We're going to go out all through the offseason and work hard and go back to square one and do everything right, then come back and just try to make it out here," Ginn said. "That will be our goal and we have to practice and play ball and look forward to next year."
In Monday's game, Notre Dame (9-3) could not snare Smith or Ginn, and that failure sent the Fighting Irish to an eighth straight bowl defeat. Ohio State (10-2) won a fourth consecutive bowl as Smith outperformed Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, a Heisman Trophy finalist.
"I think as you watch Troy throughout his career, every day in practice he learns a little something and gets better, and every ball game he learns from the ball game and studies extremely hard," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He's very passionate about being a great quarterback. Each day he's taking a step."
Smith completed 19 of 28 passes for a career-high 342 yards, and ran for another 66 yards with a series of third-down scrambles that sealed Notre Dame's fate.
Ginn scored on a 68-yard end-around and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass for the Buckeyes, who were 8-of-12 on third-down conversions.
Tailback Antonio Pittman rushed 21 times for 136 yards, including a 60-yard scoring burst as the Buckeyes churned out 617 yards of offense.
Although Ohio State graduates a number of its defensive stars - linebackers A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel, and safety Nate Salley - Smith, Ginn and Pittman all return.
"You know, probably for the last four or five years, we have been known as a defensive team," Smith said. "I'm sure we will still be known as a defensive team, even though we lose key and major guys. But now it's hopefully going to be more of a balance, the defense and the offensive team."
Ohio State's offensive firepower in the Fiesta Bowl was not lost on All-American Hawk, who had a pair of sacks and nine solo tackles in a dominant performance that closed a brilliant career. However, Hawk was rankled that most of the pregame offensive hype focused on the genius of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and his ability to game-plan for the Buckeyes.
"I've been hearing a lot about, how are you guys going to beat a Notre Dame team when you give Charlie Weis four weeks to prepare for it?" Hawk said. "That kind of upset me because I thought, what about giving coach Tressel four weeks to prepare for you?"
Smith said the Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame sends Hawk and the rest of the Ohio State seniors, including end Mike Kudla, who had three sacks, out on a positive note. And it sends the Buckeyes into next season with plenty of momentum and a certain top-five ranking. "Going home on the plane - that's a long plane ride - I would rather go home happy than sad," Smith said. "You just go out and try to execute as a team. I don't like taking a lot of the credit for what goes on out on the field. It takes 11 guys, everybody on the field, everybody's effort to get this win."Article published January 4, 2006
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
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1/4/06
1/4/06
NOTRE DAME
Irish look to turn loss into wins in 2006
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Chinedum Ndukwe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
TEMPE, Ariz. — Notre Dame safety Chinedum Ndukwe and his teammates in the defensive backfield were burned for two long touchdown passes Monday, which stings enough. That it came against Ohio State figures to burn Ndukwe more.
"I’m going to have to hear from my buddies back home about how Notre Dame sucks," Ndukwe, a Powell native and Dublin Coffman graduate, said after the 34-20 loss to OSU in the Fiesta Bowl. "I was a little extra motivated for this one."
The hope in an otherwise gloomy Notre Dame locker room Monday night was that Ndukwe and his teammates can take extra motivation from the pain of the defeat.
In Charlie Weis’s first season as coach, the Irish rose from unranked to fifth in the Associated Press poll, and they restored some of the luster to one of college football’s premier programs. But they bring broken hearts into their off-season workouts.
Ndukwe and the defense allowed 617 yards to Ohio State, and the most prolific offense in the program’s history was held to about half of its season scoring average.
"There’s two ways you can go after a loss," Weis said. "One way is to sit there and feel sorry for yourselves. Or you can take that bitter taste in your mouth and say, ‘I don’t want to have that bitter taste again next year.’ It’s one or the other, which way do you want to go?
"I told them they can count on me; I’ll always be there for them. But they’re the ones that have to make the decision. . . . They know how bad this feels and how important it is to them. They’re the ones that are going to have to make the strides and take it to the next level."
When asked when he expected the players’ informal off-season workouts to begin, Ndukwe said, "I hope as soon as we get home."
There are plenty of reasons for encouragement, beginning with the expected return of junior quarterback Brady Quinn, junior All-America receiver Jeff Samardzija and sophomore running back Darius Walker.
The Irish scored a programrecord 440 points, and their final average of 36.7 points per game was just under the school record of 37.6 set in 1968. Quinn set school records for career completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns, as well as single-season completions, yards and touchdowns.
Quinn threw for 286 yards in the Fiesta Bowl and at one point completed 14 consecutive passes. Walker ran for 90 yards and three touchdowns.
"Not coming out on top, it doesn’t really matter what I did," Walker said. "We can take that two ways: It’s not how we wanted to send the seniors out, but it can prepare us for the offseason."
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ScarletBlood31
Buckeye in Blacksburg
Didn't someone here mention seeing alot of dropped passes in the Irish's bowl game practices?
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