Photo Illustration by Pat Coveney and Blair Chemidlin

If you’ve been around SouthBend for the past five years,you’ve probably heard theterm “signature win” thrownaround a lot.While the definition of what

qualifies as a“signaturewin,” and theimportanceof earningsuch may bedebatable,the underly-ing premiseis not — tobe a qualityteam, youhave tobeat qualityteams.No, a win

against Boston CollegeSaturday night would definitelynot fall under that category,but that’s fine. Right now, theIrish — and, more importantly,Brian Kelly — don’t need a sig-nature win. They just need anywin.While one win certainly

wouldn’t turn the seasonaround, there’s a world of dif-ference between being 1-4with a four-game losing streakand 2-3 coming off a big roadwin against an annual oppo-nent. A win would quell, if notcompletely stop, the negativeenergy permeating the cam-pus.Despite those negative vibes,

this game is eminentlywinnable for Notre Dame. Yes,the Stanford game was ugly.The Irish were beaten physi-cally and mentally. Throughoutthe week, though, Irish playersand coaches have shown adetermined resolve to endtheir losing streak.It’s usually not smart to buy

into midweek talk, but NotreDame fans have seen plenty oflosing over the past few years,and this Irish squad is han-dling the tough times much dif-ferently than previous teams.All the clichés are still thesame — the players are stillpromising to “keep fighting,”“work hard,” and “not giveup.” The difference is thatinstead of hanging their headsand hoping things will turnaround, Dayne Crist and com-pany seem determined to actu-ally make things turn around.At their press conferenceWednesday, Harrison Smithand Manti Te’o seemed legiti-mately angry — not just upset

— about their losing streak.“What we’re dealing with

now is different than it hasbeen,” Smith said. “Whereeverybody’s excited and readyto come out to practice,because we have to win. Wewant to win. That is the onlyreason we’re here. It’s kind oflike life or death when it comesto winning, and that’s just howit has to be.”The difference between a

win and loss Saturday nightdepends more on Notre Damethan Boston College. There’sno question the Irish have thetalent to beat the Eagles, possi-bly by a wide margin. BostonCollege looked like a team indisarray in their 19-0 loss toVirginia Tech last week, andthe Eagles will likely be led bytrue freshman quarterbackChase Rettig, who will be mak-ing his first career start in ahigh pressure, prime-timegame. As porous as the Irishdefense has been, there’s noreason to think they won’t beable to fluster Rettig at least alittle bit.If Notre Dame can win the

turnover battle, maintain abalanced offense and not inex-plicably ignore field position,the Irish will win. Of course, asanyone who’s watched NotreDame’s first four games thisseason, none of those thingsare guaranteed.There are plenty of reasons

the Irish have struggled so farthis season and, yes, Kelly hasbeen one of them. I’m surehe’d even be the first person toadmit it. The biggest problemfor Crist — and several otherIrish players — is inexperi-ence, and there’s no solutionfor that except to just play. TheIrish are a better team thanthey showed last week, andthey should show that onSaturday night.Boston College may not be a

national title contender oreven a top-25 team, but a winon the road against a qualityteam is always a tough task.This won’t be Kelly’s “signa-ture win,” but this game canbe a starting block. It’s winninggames like this one that leadsto bigger wins down the road.

The views expressed in thiscolumn are those of the authorand not necessarily those ofThe Observer.Contact Sam Werner at

swerner@nd.edu

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 2 Friday, October 1, 2010

Irish simply need awin, any win, now

Sam Werner

Sports Writer

COMMENTARY

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Alumni Stadium:ndsmcobserver.com/sports/irish-

football/irish-insider-extra

Notre Dame secured its 20thverbal commitment for thehigh school Class of 2011Tuesday, when ESPN-150 widereceiver DaVaris Danielsannounced his plans to jointhe Irish next season.“He’s a real special talent

and can do a lot of things onthe football f ield,” Irishrecruiting expert Mike Franksaid of Daniels, who hasplayed quarterback, runningback and receiver for VernonHills (Ill.) High School. “He’s alittle bit raw because he’s notas experienced at the positionas some other guys, but he’s avery gifted player.”At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds,

Daniels already possesses thesize many coaches wouldcovet at a receiver position.That shouldn’t necessarilycome as a surprise, however,as Daniels is the son ofWashington Redskins defen-sive end Phillip Daniels.“He can really move left and

right and make people miss,”said Frank, who runs theESPN.com-affil iate IrishSports Daily. “Lots of guyswith his size can’t make peo-ple miss and create the bigplay, but his speed and sizeare a rare combination, andhe can do those things.”Daniels had appeared a like-

ly Irish commit for quite sometime, but before he could com-mit to Notre Dame, he had tocontinue his hard work in theclassroom, Frank said.“He’s shown he’s serious

about it. I think he’s just a guywho had a little bit of a hole tocrawl out of [after freshman

year],” Frank said of Daniels’academics, adding it looks likehe’s on track to enroll. “He’swanted to be at Notre Dame,he’s shown he’s will ing towork at it, and it’s nice to seea kid put in the effort andrealize a dream of his.”Daniels joins a group that

looks to have all the makingsof a top-10, or better, type ofclass. Healso joinsC a l i f o r n i ahigh schools t a n d o u tG e o r g eAtkinson asthe corner-stones of anexceptionallyt a l e n t e dr e c e i v e rclass.“ W i t h

[Daniels] andG e o r g eA t k i n s o n ,you’ve gotplaymakerswith pure speed who can playon the outside in this offense,”Frank said. “It’s a perfectoffense for them. They havethe speed to run by you, andthe athletic ability to makepeople miss. And in thespread, there are more oppor-tunities to make people miss,run after the catch, and makea lot of big plays.”While skill players like

Daniels and Atkinson are cer-tainly important, one areawhere Irish coach Brian Kellyand his staff have really madestrides has been their abilityto recruit a balanced classthat includes top players onboth sides of the ball, both upfront and on the back end.It remains to be seen exactly

how many scholarships arestill available due to uncer-tainty regarding potentialtransfers, early departuresand fifth-year players, but suf-fice it to say Kelly’s first classis nearly complete. “There are no real gaping

holes in this class. If you’relooking at positions whereyou’d love to take another guy,

I think you’dsay safety isimportant, witha guy likeWayne Lyonsout there who’sa dynamiteplayer,” Franksaid of thes o u g h t - a f t e rFlorida native.“If you can geta guy out ofFlorida who’splayed againstgreat players,it’s not a hugestep up [to thecollege level],

and he could contribute rightway.”With only a few spots left,

Frank said the Irish are in agood position to be selectiveand take special talents atother positions, like outsidelinebacker (Ishaq Williams,Ray Drew), running back(Savon Huggins) and offensivetackle (Antonio Richardson).

For more on Notre Damerecruiting, check out MikeFrank’s irishsportsdaily.com.E-mail Mike atmikefrank18@sbcglobal.netand tell him The Observer sentyou.

Daniels’ pledge brings class to 20FOOTBALL RECRUITING

By MATT GAMBERSports Writer

Contact Matt Gamber atmgamber@nd.edu

“[DaVaris Daniels has]wanted to be at NotreDame, he’s shown he’swilling to work at it,and it’s nice to see a

kid put in the effort andrealize a dream of his.”

Mike FrankIrish recruiting expert

When the 2010 version of“The Shirt” was released in thespring, Carlo Calabrese hesi-tated to believe he wouldappear on it without ever play-ing in a game for Notre Dame.“When it came out, I got like

20 text messages saying, ‘Youare on the back of The Shirt!’”Calabrese said. “I thought itmight actually be me, eventhough I hadn’t even steppedon the field yet.”The sophomore linebacker

soon discovered the image onthe back of “The Shirt” wasactually based on a picture ofIrish defensive lineman JimFlanigan from1993. In thatp i c t u r e ,Flanigan cele-brates a defen-sive stop dur-ing then-No. 2Notre Dame’s31-24 victoryover then-No.1 FloridaState.But in only

four careers t a r t s ,Calabrese hasdisplayed someof the same emotions Flanigandoes in the image: strength andemotion on every play.

Stanford souvenirThree plays into Stanford’s

first possession Saturday, theCardinal faced a third-and-oneand called a fullback dive upthe middle. Calabrese took theopportunity to display some ofthat strength and emotion,even if doing so drew hiscoaches’ ire.“I read it as coming straight

at me, so I played my runreads and clogged up thehole,” Calabrese said. “Ithought I hit him in the back-field, and it was a knock-backtackle, so I don’t think he madeit.”Nonetheless, the off icials

awarded Stanford a first downon the play, but it was

Calabrese’s action after theplay that was even more note-worthy: In tackling theCardinal ballcarrier, Calabreseripped off his helmet, and thenheld up the souvenir to thecrowd before tossing it aside.“It was a big play. I thought I

stuffed him so I was prettypumped, and I had the helmetin my hand so I just held it upand then threw it down. I was-n’t really thinking,” Calabresesaid. “[The coaches] got on mea little bit for it, just to makesure I didn’t get a personalfoul, but I think they liked it.”

‘Game time’ playerThroughout fall training

camp, Calabrese battled withjunior Anthony McDonald for

the startingl i n e b a c k e rp o s i t i o n .Shortly beforethe seasono p e n e r ,McDonald suf-fered a leginjury thatforced him into“questionable”status, accord-ing to Irishcoach BrianKelly at thetime, andCalabrese sud-

denly found himself preparingto start Notre Dame’s f irstgame of the Brian Kelly era.“Leading up to the start of

the season, not seeing[Calabrese] a lot in game situa-tions, we weren’t sure what toexpect,” Kelly said. “Game timehe plays really, really well. He’son things.”That game time presence

showed in Calabrese’s firstgame as a starter, when he ledthe Irish with nine tacklesagainst Purdue. His total isnow up to 27, third highest onthe team, and his starting posi-tion has been secured.“He has a great sense for the

football, and sometimes wedidn’t see that during prac-tice,” Kelly said. “[McDonald] isstill a really good player for us.When he gets his opportunities,he’s got to be productive when

he gets in there, because Carloright now has been so produc-tive.”

‘Everything I could possiblydo’Calabrese did not play a sin-

gle snap last season, and knewhe still needed to improve him-self, both mentally and physi-cally, to earn playing time.“I was watching everybody as

a freshman,” he said. “That’swhat you need to do whenyou’re being redshirted, sonext year you are going to hopright in and know what’s goingon, know the speed of thegame.”Once it became apparent that

he had a chance at significantplaying time this season,Calabrese became even morefocused.“I did everything I could pos-

sibly do — everything from lift-ing hard in the weight room torunning hard during condition-ing and getting in the f i lmroom to learn the plays,” theNew Jersey native said. “I pret-ty much did all I could do to bea great player.”When the time came to take

the field against Purdue, it wasnot the speed of the game orthe abundance of play callsthat overwhelmed Calabrese. Itwas, in fact, something hecould never have prepared for.“The first time running out of

the tunnel, knowing you aregoing to play, was just over-whelming,” he said. “After thefirst couple of plays though, itwas, ‘OK, let’s go.’”That “Let’s go” mentality car-

ries through the middle of theIrish defense with a passion —Calabrese and fellow sopho-more linebacker Manti Te’opush each other, and the restof the team, to always givemore, Calabrese said.“I feed off of his energy, and

he feeds off of my energy,”Calabrese said. “If he gets a bighit, I’m cheering him on, and ifI get a big hit, he’s cheering meon.”That being said, Calabrese

only earned his starting posi-tion days before the season,while Te’o was entrenched in

his since last season’s close.Calabrese’s 27 tackles may beimpressive after his first fourcareer starts, but Te’o hasalready doubled that tally forthe season with 54. The new-comer to the linebacker corpsrealizes the differencesbetween the two middle line-backers, and looks to Te’o fortips on improvement.“Manti is a great, great line-

backer. He makes me a betterplayer,” Calabrese said. “I justlook at him in film. I want to belike him, as good as him, so Ilearn a lot from him.”

‘Win nine more games’Calabrese, unlike many Irish

fans, sees a 1-3 record anddoes not think about whatcould have been. Instead, hetalks about what will be, begin-ning this weekend againstBoston College — a game withadditional motivation forCalabrese.“It’s a big rivalry, and Boston

College was my number twoteam,” he said. “So I want togive it to them a l itt le bitmore.”Indeed, Calabrese strongly

considered playing for theEagles before committing tothe Irish, a commitmentspurred by “the academics andtradition here.”“There is nothing like the

tradition at Notre Dame, foot-ball, classes and everythingelse,” he said.That tradition in years past

entailed winning — 11 nationalchampionships in all — but nocurrent Notre Dame under-graduate has seen a winningregular season. Hence, thecatchphrase on the back of“The Shirt” reads, “Rally sonsof Notre Dame.” Calabrese

knows the time has come torally, and that the Irish cannotwait much longer to do so.“It’s going to take a lot from

everybody, coaches, staff andplayers. Each practice thecoaches are getting on us andmaking us be the best we canbe, making the right plays atthe right time,” he said. “Weare all going to rally and winthe rest of our games.”Calabrese reiterated the

mantra of claiming victory inevery matchup through therest of the season when he dis-cussed the past three games,or rather, did not discuss them.“We just have to keep the

past in the past, and move onand keep getting better,” hesaid. “We can’t just have threelosses and die down. We stillhave the rest of the season leftto go win nine more games, sowe need to keep our heads up.”When Calabrese keeps his

head up, especially whenwearing the No. 44 featured on“The Shirt,” he draws a littleextra recognition — recogni-tion that he both enjoys andallows to motivate himself.“In the beginning of the con-

versation when people talkabout ‘The Shirt,’ I’ll let themthink it’s me, and they tell mehow awesome that is andstuff,” Calabrese said. “Then Itell them it isn’t really me. It’spretty funny messing with peo-ple.”In his next sentence talking

about his piece of clothingfame, Calabrese stops jokingentirely.“It motivates me, but I still

just play my game, and dowhat I do.”

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERFriday, October 1, 2010 page 3

Not just ‘The Shirt’ guy

Contact Douglas Farmer atdfarmer1@nd.edu

Carlo Calabrese’s number fills the student section, but he brings more to the field than clothing fameBy DOUGLAS FARMERSports Editor

SARAH O’CONNOR/The Observer

Sophomore linebacker Carlo Calabrese tosses aside a Stanfordhelmet after he tackled a Cardinal ballcarrier in the backfield.

“We can’t just havethree losses and die

down. We still have thherest of the season to gowin nine more games, so

we need to keep ourheads up.”

Carlo Calabresesophomore linebacker

TOM YOUNG/The Observer

Sophomore linebacker Carlo Calabrese chases down a Stanford running back during NotreDame’s 37-14 loss to the Cardinal Saturday. Calabrese has recorded 27 tackles this season.

HEAD T The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 4 Friday, October 1, 2010

Irish Offense vs. Eagles Defense

Brian Kellyhead coach

First season at Notre Dame

career record: 172-60-2

record at ND:1-3

against BC: 0-0

Notre DameFighting Irish

Record: 1-3AP: NR Coaches: NR

The Irish have put up statsthrough the air all season long,averaging 315.5 yards per game.Looking past that stat ist icthough, Notre Dame has beeninconsistent through the air, rou-tinely failing to convert manage-able third downs and lett ingdefenses relax in important situ-ations.

One cause of the Irish problems hasbeen dropped passes by nearly everytargeted receiver. Michael Floyd hasbeen a primary culprit of droppingCrist passes, and in order for theIrish to mount a consistent attack,Floyd will need to change that.Boston Collee has not held strong

against the pass this year, giving up238 yards per game. With Notre

Dame’s explosive receivers, BostonCollege cannot grant a cushion onany play.The Irish may drop a few passes,

but Boston College has not shown theability to keep athletes like Floyd andKyle Rudolph in check when they doget a grip on the ball.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

The Irish struggled once againto run the footbal l againstStanford, accumulating only 44yards on 23 carries. Senior run-ning back Armando Allen aver-aged only 3.3 yards per carry,and the Irish basically aban-doned the run in the crucialparts of the game.Sophomore Cierre Wood and

junior Jonas Gray have seen themajority of the carries besides Allen,but senior Robert Hughes has movedto No. 2 on the Irish depth chartagainst the Eagles. Perhaps Irishcoach Brian Kelly will look for the245-pound Hughes to prov ide apower boost to their rushing attack.The Eagles have been staunch so

far against the run. Led by sopho-

more linebacker Luke Kuechly, theyhave given up only 71 yards pergame. Stopping the run will be onlythe first step in stopping the Irishoffense, but it is Boston College’sbest chance of slowing down an Irishattack that could cause them someproblems.

EDGE: BOSTON COLLEGE

Kelly’s offense is still movingthe ball well, but red zoneoffense has been a concern sofar this year. The Irish need topunch the ball in the end zonebecause their drives do notlast long enough to makethree points consistentlyworthwhile.Boston College struggles to

defend the pass, howev-er, and that’s whereKelly’s play-callingthrives. Look for theIrish to throw it earlyand often, and try tojump out to an earlylead.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Irish kicker DavidRuffer is still perfectthis season, convert-ing seven field goalat tempts and n ineextra-point tries. TheIr ish have neededand wi l l need thatconsistency.Notre Dame a lso

has struggled on punt andkick returns , but Kel lywi l l try to f ind a sparkfrom junior JohnGoodman and sophomoreTheo Riddick, who havemoved to the top of thereturning depth chart.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Sept. 4

Sept. 11

Sept. 18

Sept. 25

Oct. 2

Oct. 9

Oct. 16

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov. 13

Nov. 20

Nov. 27

Purdue—W

Michigan — L

@ Michigan St. — L

Stanford — L

@ Boston College

Pittsburgh

Western Michigan

@ Navy

Tulsa

Utah

Army

@ USC

2010 Schedule

ND PASSING

Statistical LeadersND OFFENSEQB DAYNE CRIST

89-150, 1155 yards, 8 TDRB ARMANDO ALLEN

61 rush, 302 yards, 1 TDWR MICHAEL FLOYD

24 rec., 339 yards, 2 TDWR THEO RIDDICK

21 rec., 251 yards, 2 TDTE KYLE RUDOLPH

22 rec., 288 yards, 2 TD

BC DEFENSELB LUKE KUECHLY

20 solo, 37 total, 1 FRLB KEVIN PIERRE-LOUIS

18 solo, 23 totalLB MARK HERZLICH

16 total, 1.5 TFL, 1 INTDE ALEX ALBRIGHT

13 total, 5 TFL, 1 INTDL BRAD NEWMAN

3 solo, 8 total, 2 sack

Head-to-HeadND OFFENSEScoring: 23.0 ppg (78th)

Total: 426.25 ypg (37th)

Rushing: 110.75 ypg (99th)

Passing: 315.50 ypg (7th)

Turnovers against: 9 (104th)

Fumbles lost: 4 (79th)

Interceptions: 5 (84th)

Sacks Allowed: 8 (62nd)

T.O.P. for: 24:59 (117th)

BC DEFENSEScoring: 17.33 ppg (32nd)

Total: 309.67 ypg (35th)

Rushing: 71.33 ypg (6th)

Passing: 238.33 ypg (84th)

Turnovers for: 9 (20th)

Fumbles rec.: 4 (26th)

Interceptions: 5 (24th)

Sacks: 4 (88th)

T.O.P. against: 32:13 (99th)

Bob DiacoDef. Coordinator

Charley MolnarOff. Coordinator

ND RUSHING

NDSPECIALTEAMS

NDOFFENSIVE

COACHING

Last week, I was optimistic. I wentagainst the grain, and picked theIrish to win.This week, I am pessimistic.

Stanford outplayed Notre Dame inevery way last week, to the pointthat the Irish seemed to lack even acompetitive spirit.Until Notre Dame again shows a

competitive spirit, a fighting edge, itwill struggle to win, even against adisorganized Boston College team.Without that spirit, a difficult roadenvironment against a team withplenty to prove is a recipe NotreDame will not be able to overcome.

FINAL SCORE: Boston College 27, Notre Dame 24

If the Irish can’t beat a team with atrue freshman quarterback, who didn’thold an offer from Notre Dame, makinghis first career start, I may start tobelieve this team has actuallyregressed. That being said, I think theIrish can get the job done, especially ifthey can hold Montel Harris in check asthey did last season.The Notre Dame offense, and Dayne

Crist in particular, will have to reboundfrom its worst performance of the sea-son, and I think the unit will be pre-pared to do so against an Eaglesdefense that won’t have the same talentor schematic advantages Stanford held.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 28, Boston College 13

Just as Stanford had the clear on-paper edge last weekend, so do theIrish as they get set to face BostonCollege. The Eagles are weak againstthe pass, where Notre Dame isstrong, and have trouble running theball, which they’ll need to do to pro-tect an inexperienced quarterback.That being said, Boston College

takes the annual game against theIrish very seriously, and the homecrowd will be loud and ready for afight. A hostile environment is not thebest place to break out of a losingstreak, but the Irish have the talentto do it.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 34, Boston College 23

DouglasFarmer

Sports Editor

Matt Gamber

Sports Writer

Eric Prister

AssociateSports Editor

HEAD TO HEADThe Observer � IRISH INSIDERFriday, October 1, 2010 page 5

Eagles Offense vs. Irish Defense

Frank Spazianihead coach

Second season atBoston College

career record: 10-6

record at BC:10-6

against ND: 0-1

Boston CollegeEagles

Record: 2-1AP: NR Coaches: NR

Sept. 4

Sept. 11

Sept. 25

Oct. 2

Oct. 9

Oct. 16

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov. 6

Nov. 13

Nov. 20

Nov. 27

Weber State — W

Kent State — W

Virginia Tech — L

Notre Dame

@ North Carolina State

@ Florida State

Maryland

Clemson

@ Wake Forest

@ Duke

Virginia

@ Syracuse

2010 Schedule

Statistical LeadersBC OFFENSEQB MIKE MARSCOVETRA

8-13, 92 yards, 1 TD

RB MONTEL HARRIS

67 rush, 306 yards, 1 TD

WR CLYDE LEE

10 rec., 102 yards, 1 TD

WR J. COLEMAN

8 rec., 173 yards

TE CHRIS PANTALE

5 rec., 63 yards, 1 TD

ND DEFENSEMLB MANTI TE’O

26 solo, 54 total, 3.5 TFL

LB CARLO CALABRESE

13 solo, 28 total, 1.5 sack

LB DARIUS FLEMING

8 solo, 17 total, 2 sack

S HARRISON SMITH

20 solo, 34 total

CB DARRIN WALLS

15 solo, 23 total, 2 INT

Head-to-HeadBC OFFENSEScoring: 21.33 ppg (90th)

Total: 322.0 ypg (92nd)

Rushing: 115.0 ypg (93rd)

Passing: 207.0 (73rd)

Turnovers against: 8 (90th)

Fumbles lost: 3 (40th)

Interceptions: 5 (84th)

Sacks Allowed: 8 (90th)

T.O.P. for: 27:47 (99th)

ND DEFENSEScoring: 27.75 ppg (85th)

Total: 433.75 ypg (103rd)

Rushing: 189.75 ypg (98th)

Passing: 244.0 ypg (92nd)

Turnovers for: 6 (60th)

Fumbles rec.: 1 (98th)

Interceptions: 5 (24th)

Sacks: 8 (56th)

T.O.P. against: 35:01 (117th)

Gary TranquillOff. Coordinator

Bill McGovernDef. Coordinator

The Eagles have not been particularlygood passing the ball, and that promptedcoach Frank Spaziani to bring in sopho-more quarterback Mike Marscovetra partway through their game against VirginiaTech. Marscovetra completed eight of his13 pass attempts and threw for a touch-down, but also threw an interception,something the Eagles will need to avoid.Either Marscovetra or freshman Chase

Rettig will start Saturday, and either waythe starter will be very inexperienced andup against a hungry defense.The Irish pass defense has also strug-

gled so far this season, partially due toinjury. Veteran defensive backs DarrinWalls, Gary Gray and Harrison Smith needto take advantage of Marscovetra’s inexpe-rience and try to make some opportunisticplays.

Notre Dame’s pass rush could alsoplay a big role in keeping Marscovetraoff balance. Linebacker DariusFleming and defensive end EthanJohnson each have two sacks on theseason and could be the difference inthe game if they can get pressure onthe young Eagles’ quarterback.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Boston College is scoring only 21points per game, and its stuggles stemfrom the running game. The Eagles areaveraging only 115 yards per contest,and with an inexperienced quarter-back, a lacking running attack will onlygive the Irish defense more opportuni-ties to blitz.The Eagles run game begins and

ends with junior running back Montel

Harris, who has two-thirds of BostonCollege’s attempts so far this season.He is averaging 4.6 yards per carry,and the Eagles will need a consistenteffort from him if their offense is to besuccessful.The Notre Dame defense was com-

pletely out-manned by Stanford’s rush-ing attack, so Saturday will give it achance to prove their toughness and

resolve. Senior nose tackle IanWilliams is the anchor for the Irishrun defense, and his play will setthe tone for the defense’s.Sophomore linebacker Manti Te’owill need to keep up his consistentplay along with motivating the Irishsquad to attack the ball.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Redshirt freshmanNate Freese has convert-ed five of his six fieldgoal attempts so far thisseason, but missed hisonly chance over 33yards. An offense led bya young quarterback willneed consistent pointsfrom the special teams to

keep his confidence high.The Eagles should have an

advantage in the field posi-tion game, since juniorpunter Ryan Quigley is aver-aging almost 45 yards perpunt, good enough for sec-ond-best in the NCAA.

EDGE: BOSTON COLLEGE

BC PASSIN

G

BC SPECIAL TEAM

S

BC RUSHING

The bad vibes on campus concern-ing the football team are almost asbad as I’ve ever seen, and I was herefor 2007. That said, it looks like thisyear’s Irish squad has not allowedthemselves to get sucked into thewhirlpool of negativity. The Irish han-dled themselves well in their first roadtest against Michigan State, so don’texpect them to be intimidated byAlumni Stadium. Even though BostonCollege always play the Irish tough,the Eagles have had plenty of strugglesof their own this season. It might notbe pretty, but Notre Dame will finallyget another one in the “W” column.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 27, Boston College 21

Notre Dame and Boston College bothhave something to prove after theirrespective thumpings by Stanford andVirginia Tech last weekend. The Irish,though, have an advantage in that theteam is intact. The Eagles pulled quar-terback Dave Shinskie after their 19-0loss, and will start one of two inexperi-enced quarterbacks, Chase Rettig orMike Marscovetra.Notre Dame will have to avoid the jit-

ters it had at Michigan State, which ledto more penalties than the Irish canafford, but if the team can keep its com-posure in the hostile environment thisshould be a win for Notre Dame.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 27, Boston College 17

Sam Werner

Sports Writer

Laura Myers

Sports Writer

Offensive coordinator GaryTranquill will have his workcut out for him this week,and the playbook will likelybe reduced because of thechange at quarterback.Tranquill has had success inthe past training quarter-backs, and is known forbeing and excellent teacher.

Despite their past strug-gles, the Eagles will likely tryto establish the run to relievesome pressure fromMarscovetra or Rettig, and itwill be up to Tranquill to puthim in a position to succeed.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 6 Friday, October 1, 2010

While it was reportedWednesday that freshman ChaseRettig won the starting quarter-back battle for Saturday night’sgame, Eagles coach FrankSpaziani maintained in a phoneconference the same day that nodecision had been made.When one reporter began a

question that assumed Rettigwould be thestarter, Spazianicut him off, say-ing, “That has-n’t beenannounced. Wedon’t know whowe’re goingwith yet.”He later

added: “I knowthis, onSaturday nightat 8 p.m., we’llhave one ofthose guys out there. That’s thetimetable.”Following a 19-0 home loss to

conference foe Virginia Tech lastSaturday, Spaziani announcedhe would bench returningstarter Dave Shinskie, whothrew two interceptions, lost afumble and was sacked twice inthe defeat. Shinskie was pulledin the second half in favor ofMike Marscovetra, who com-pleted 5-of-7 pass attempts for50 yards, but was sacked fourtimes and fumbled twice.“We’ve made the change

because we weren’t satisfiedwith the production we weregetting at that position,”Spaziani said. “So we decided togo in a little different directionhere, and what we’re expecting

is winning performance.”Though signs may point to

Rettig getting the call Saturdaynight, Irish coach Brian Kellysaid Tuesday that regardless ofwho takes the Eagles’ snapsfrom center, the Notre Damedefense will be prepared todefend Boston College’s offense.“Well, I still think you’re going

to go with the concepts that arepart of your offensive scheme,because you don’t want toreteach everybody else as well,”

Kelly said.“You’re kind ofgetting thequarterback upto snuff, butyou’re notgoing to go farfrom what youdo.”The 6-foot-4,

2 0 5 - p o u n dRettig arrivedat BostonCollege fromSan Clemente,

Calif., in the spring semester.While he was expected to be theEagles’ quarterback of thefuture, it seems the future willarrive early for the freshman,who has yet to see a collegesnap.Still, Kelly said Wednesday,

the Irish staff has seen a bit ofRettig — albeit from a slightlyunconventional vantage point.“We’ve watched some high

school film on him,” Kelly saidWednesday. “He’s like the otherquarterbacks. He’s tall, he’s gota strong arm, he’s got escapabil-ity.”If the Eagles get their way,

their offensive success will likelyhave less to do with the quarter-back’s ability to throw the ballthan to turn and feed running

back Montel Harris, who hasamassed 306 yards rushing and4.6 yards per carry throughthree games. A junior, Harrisrushed for 1,457 yards last yearafter recording 900 yards on theground as a freshman.The Irish hope to duplicate

their success in halting Harris,who managed only 38 yards

rushing on 22 carries in NotreDame’s 20-16 victory overBoston College last season. Inthat game, the Irish committedto stopping Harris and allowedalmost 300 yards passing, albeitintercepting Shinskie threetimes in the process. “Harris is going to be featured

quite a bit,” Kelly said Tuesday.

“They’ve got a big, physicaloffensive line. They’ve gotreceivers that, in one-on-onematchups, can go up and get thefootball. So it’s not hard to con-nect the dots from that stand-point.”

BC enters matchup without naming starting QB

Contact Matt Gamber at mgamber@nd.edu

By MATT GAMBERSports Writer

“I know this, onSaturday night at

8 p.m., we’ll have oneof those guys out there.That’s the timetable.”

Frank SpazianiEagles coach

AP

Boston College quarterback Mike Marscovetra takes a snap during the second half of the Eagles’ 19-0defeat against Virginia Tech Saturday. Either Marscovetra or freshman Chase Rettig will start this week.

What’s it like playing in Boston, near your

hometown?

It’s really exciting. Obviously this game is

circled on my calendar every year.

What’s your favorite floor of the library?

Second floor. I’ve got a spot in one of those

rooms. Might as well have my name on it

because I’m there so often.

Do you have any former teammates on your

fantastsy football roster?

We’re actually not allowed to have fantasy

football, in case there’s money involved. But

if I were to have one, it would be stacked with

Notre Dame players.

Former Observer football writer Bill Brink

was a big fan of yours. Do you actually know

him or did he just cheer for you from afar?

I did meet him once, so I do know he’s a real

person. He interviewed me after the Michigan

game. I’ve heard great things about him.

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERFriday, October 1, 2010 page 7

Goodman picks up pace in practice, earns reward

As junior receiver JohnGoodman watched from thesidelines while Notre Dameplayed Purdue and Michigan tostart the season, he realizedsomething. “I thought, it’s coming down to

my junior year and I’m runningout of time,” he said. “There’s afreshman in front of me, there’sa sophomore in front of me, andthen obviously there’s [juniorMichael Floyd]. I just thought,I’ve got to come out and practicea lot differently.” So Goodman studied his play-

book and began to correct themistakes he was making in prac-tice. “It was … going out and catch-

ing every ball rather than justthe easy ones,” he said. “Makingevery block and running everyplay correctly. It’s not my physi-cal fitness; it’s just a block in myhead that I was messing up. AndI overcame that.” Goodman’s adjustments soon

paid off. He returned three puntsfor 27 yards against MichiganState on Sept. 18, his first play-ing time of the season. AgainstStanford, he got in the game as areceiver for the first time, andcaught five passes for 59 yards.

“You have to ask him whatclicked, but that’s how you’resupposed to practice,” Irish widereceivers coach Tony Alfordsaid. “He did some good thingsand got in and showed thecapacity to make plays.” Goodman, who did not play his

freshman year, played in ninegames in 2009 and started one,against USC. He caught six pass-es for 104 yards and a touch-down, a 64-yard grab againstWashington State on Oct. 31,2009. But freshman TJ Jones and

sophomore Theo Riddick wonstarting receiving spots overGoodman in 2010.“It was very frustrating,”

Goodman said. “And being ajunior … it was frustratingwatching guys that wereyounger than me get in there.But you know, they deserve it.They played really well through-out camp and throughout thefirst few games. But I just keptwith it, kept working, and that’swhat it takes.”Goodman also originally

missed out on the starting puntreturn job, as senior ArmandoAllen was the No. 1 returner tobegin the season. But Goodmanwas on top of the team’s newestdepth chart, which was releasedMonday. “My whole life I’ve always felt

comfortable at punt return,”Goodman said. “A lot of guys askme, ‘How do you do that? It’s soscary back there.’ But I feel likeit’s natural because you have thecontrol whether you get tackledor not. You just wave a hand andthey can’t tackle you.” Returning punts can be excit-

ing, too, he said. “It’s definitely exhilarating,

especially when you can make abig play and get a touchdownout of it,” he said. “Hopefullythat will come soon.”Goodman’s desire to play is

clear, junior quarterback DayneCrist said. “He’s just making steady

improvement,” he said. “I’m notsurprised by it, but I’m happyhe’s out there and contributing,and we’ll just continue to expectmore out of him. But I thinkthat’s what he wants as well, soit’s a good situation for him.” Alford said the reason

Goodman has earned playingtime is a straightforward one.

“Catching the ball,” Alfordsaid. “He’s done better and that’swhy he’s getting more reps.” Goodman’s new attitude

sprung from an uncomplicatedsource, as well. “Something as simple as some-

one playing in front of you,” hesaid. “It’s as simple as that. Ifyou really have the desire toplay, that’ll hit you easily. It defi-nitely hit me and I realized myposition on the team. I have the

potential to play a better role forthis team and that’s what I hopeto do in the future.” Alford said those feelings were

positive. “I’d hope he was frustrated,”

Alford said. “If you’re not play-ing it means you’ve got to workharder, get better — and he’sdone that.”

By LAURA MYERSSports Writer

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers2@nd.edu

SARAH O’CONNOR/The Observer

Junior receiver John Goodman breaks a tackle during Notre Dame’s 37-14 loss to Stanford Saturday.Goodman caught five passes for 59 yards in his first offensive action of the season.

page 8 Friday, October 1, 2010The Observer � PAID ADVERTISEMENT