pdf of irish insider for friday, nov. 14, 2009

Photo and Graphic Illustration by Ian Gavlick and Andrea Archer

There may not be a moreimportant game in years inimpacting the stability of theNotre Dame football pro-gram.

What was once a promisingseason with realistic BCSgoals was turned upsidedown lastweek with acrushingloss to Navy.And whilethe Irishhave lostthree gamesby a totalof 13points thisyear, manyhavealreadywritten itoff as a failure.

It’s been an odd season tobe sure — nine games in it’sstill very hard to tell if thisteam is good, bad, lucky orsomewhere in between.Statistically Notre Dame is13 points from being unde-feated, and also 17 pointsfrom being 2-7.

But Saturday, Notre Damehas a chance to reverse amajority of the negativitybuilt up by the loss to theMidshipmen. While losing toan unranked Navy teamwhile ranked for the firsttime since FDR was presidentwill sting for a long time, itcould be just a bump in theroad if the Irish can beatPittsburgh and finish 9-3.

It was my freshman yearwhen Charlie Weis and NotreDame firmly stated that 9-3wasn’t good enough. Threeunexpected years later, 9-3suddenly is good enough. Notanywhere near good enoughto accomplish the goals thehistory Notre Dame footballshould demand, but enoughto keep his job another yearand get one more shot atproving the program is onthe road to recovery.

And it wouldn’t shock mefor the Irish to take outPittsburgh Saturday. It alsowouldn’t shock me in theleast if this team collapsed,as it did at the end of lastyear.

This Notre Dame team,however, has become expertsat changing direction andmomentum. The early yearwas filled with fourth-quar-ter comebacks; lately, they’vecome up short. The defenseoriginally couldn’t stop therun, then the pass, and nowmaybe it’s just up to whatev-er the opposition is mostcomfortable with.

Could they just reversethese trends again? I couldeasily see it happening, and I

don’t see a team this talentedlimping to the finish lineagain.

Despite this, the margin forerror after last week hasbeen effectively reduced tozero. The vultures that cir-cled Charlie Weis throughout2007 and reappeared afterthe Syracuse game last yearare back, and grow in num-ber with every loss.

Negative speculation sur-rounding Notre Dame’sfuture in the media only putsmore pressure on the team,Weis and for Jack Swarbrickto make a decision. And themedia loves nothing morethan to cover struggles atNotre Dame. The two ESPNreporters at Tuesday’s pressconference were no accident,and they’ll be back afteranother loss.

This game can go a longway towards reversing allthat though. Not a complete180, but at a lot can changewith a win at Heinz Field.

The game would demon-strate that Weis and the Irishare still fighting upward andimproving despite last week’sevidence to the contrary. Itwould go against many of thedamning tendencies thathave plagued the team andcoach over the last fiveyears.

For example, 1-13 againstranked teams. Or 8-19against teams that finish theseason with winning records.Beating the Panthers won’tmake those statistics anymore acceptable to thosewho are calling for Weis’head, but it could go a longway towards beatingConnecticut and Stanford.Which would be enough, giv-ing the Irish the 9-3 recordmost reasonable fans expect-ed this season.

Weis deflected questionsabout the big picture and hisfuture by maintaining he’sfocused only on Pittsburgh.While I think this is nothumanly possible, Pittsburghis his tipping point. With ateam that has thrived on themomentum of close wins, Idon’t think Notre Dame willlose again if they come awaywith the upset Saturday.

With a loss, the window onthe Weis era becomes inchesaway from closing, if notclosed. 9-3 may havechanged from 2006 to 2009to become good enough; 8-4or 7-5 certainly have not.

The opinions expressed inthis column are those of theauthor and not necessarilythose of The Observer.

Contact Michael Bryan [email protected]

The Observer ◆ IRISH INSIDERpage 2 Friday, November 13, 2009

Irish need win toregain stability

Michael Bryan

AssociateSports Editor

COMMENTARY

RecycleThe Observer.

Desp i t e the f a c t t ha tR i cky Dobbs and VinceMurray, Navy’s proverbialb i g guns , b l ew ho l e s i nNotre Dame’s armor andplunged it into the depths,the Irish pulled off one vic-tory last weekend.

Marquis Flowers, a run-ning back and safety fromGoodyear, Ariz., came awayfrom his official visit veryimpressed wi th the I r i shprogram.

“I th ink that they did areally good job with him,”said Mike Frank, a NotreDame rec ru i t i ng ana l y s twho runs the ESPN-affiliat-ed Web site irishsportsdai-ly.com “Obviously the gamedidn’t turn out like they’dhoped but Marquis real lyenjoyed his t ime at NotreDame . I t h ink i t r ea l l yopened his eyes.”

Flowers, at 6-foot-2 and195 pounds, has rushed for1,024 yards and 13 touch-downs on only 103 carriesat Millenium High School inGoodyear. He also has 49tackles, two interceptionsand a blocked field goal ondefense.

Flowers is also consider-ing USC, UCLA, Arizona andArizona State.

Frank sa id Notre Damedid three things successful-ly to impress Flowers: makehim feel wanted, show hecould fit in and make himfee l comfor tab l e . S t i l l ,Frank sa id , F lowers w i l l

take official visits to otherschools before deciding.

His father accompaniedhim on the visit.

“His dad is very pro NotreDame and I think he likes alot of what he saw as wellwith Marquis,” Frank said.“… I think [the Irish] aredefinitely the team to beatright now.”

Shocking considering themanner i n wh i ch No t reDame lost, 23-21, to NavySaturday, i t ssecond loss athome t o theM i d s h i p m e nin th reeyear s . Bu tf r e s h m a nl i n e b a c k e rMan t i Te ’ o ,who v i s i t edfor last year’sl o s s t oSyracuse onSen io r Day,chose theIrish, so lur-ing a recruit in after a lossremains doable.

“I think the most impor-tant th ing i s they le t therecruit know that this is thefuture, and ‘look at the tal-ent they brought in the lasttwo c l a s se s and l ook a twhat we have,’” Frank said.“’Obviously we’re having amuch be t t e r s eason . Wejust need a couple playersto get us over the edge.’”

The problem with a losslike this one, Frank said, isthere is no way to explainwhat happened — it is whatit is.

“It’s just a game where all

kinds of bad thing happen,”Frank said . “You fumble,you trade turnovers, falsestarts. It seems almost likean unrealistic.”

The f ac t t ha t ha l f t healumni already have visionso f Urban Meyer, JonGruden o r Br i an Ke l l ydancing in their heads hin-der s the p roces s . Therumors circulating aroundIr ish coach Charl ie Weis ’job status may have already

hurt the pro-g r a m ’ sr e c r u i t i n g ,Frank said.

“ I f t he reweren ’t a l lt he se uncer -tainties I thinkNo t re Damewould have alot of commitsright now, bigtime players,”he said.

Yet all is notlost.

“Really the best thing thatCharlie Weis can do is beatPi t t at th is point ,” Franksaid. “That will give a lot ofpeople with a lot of uneasyfeelings some reassurancethat last week was a blip inthe radar.”

For more on Notre Damerecruiting, check out MikeFrank’s irishsportsdaily.com.

E-mail Mike at [email protected] andtell him The Observer sentyou.

Flowers enjoys visit to Notre DameFOOTBALL RECRUITING

By BILL BRINKSports Writer

Contact Bill Brink [email protected]

“Obviously the gamedidn’t turn out likethey’d hoped, butMarquis [Flowers]really enjoyed his

time at Notre Dame.”

Mike FrankIrish recruiting analyst

On a Notre Dame defense,and particularly in a second-ary, that has shuffled on analmost weekly basis in 2009,one piece of the puzzle hasremained intact.

And does it come as a sur-pr ise to anyone that thatp iece i s f ree safety KyleMcCarthy?

“It’s been very important [tohave him back there],” Irishdefensive backs coach CorwinBrown said. “ I th ink whathe’s done more than anythingelse is be able to keep theguys fairly settled, no matterwho has been in there withhim.”

Ironically — or appropriate-ly — enough, the same couldbe said about McCarthy’s rolein his off-campus home lastyear, when he l ived wi ththree o f h is teammates ,including current fifth-yeartackle Paul Duncan. In anOct. 19, 2008, Irish Insidercover story, McCarthy calledhimsel f “ the dad” o f thehouse, where it was his job tokeep his teammates in line.

It’s not a perfect analogy —no analogy i s — butMcCarthy ’s ro le on thedefense has been comparablethis season.

“He understands the biggerpicture better, and he’s takenon more of a leadership role,”Brown said. “He’s the olderguy back there , and heunderstands where he’s at.”

Old ReliableWhenever the Ir ish have

struggled and have been inneed of a big play, it seemslike McCarthy’s been there,with game-clinching intercep-t ions in wins againstMichigan State and BostonCollege contributing to histotal of five picks for the year.

Of ten the las t l ine o fdefense, McCarthy leads theIrish in solo (44) and total(72) tackles this season, and

i t i sn ’t c lose . Junior l ine-backer Brian Smith placessecond in both categor ieswith 28 and 51, respectively.

And as the capta in andunquestioned leader of theNotre Dame defense , i t ’sMcCarthy who is o f tenresponsible for making defen-sive calls and arranging histeammates in accordancewith offensive formations andaudibles.

“He makes a lot of cal ls .He’s really football smart,”senior defensive back DarrinWalls said. “That’s one thingthat we need out there. Hedirects people , te l l s themwhere to go and how to lineup. When you have a guy likethat who you can trust, that’salways good.”

McCarthy’s persistence inhaving to wait until 2008 toearn a full-time starting spotmake him a good example foryounger players to follow aswell, Walls said.

“I think the whole processfor him, coming here behind[former Irish standout andcurrent Bal t imore Ravenssafety Tom Zbikowski] andthen finally having the chanceto play and making the bestof it — that’s the kind of guyyou want leading your team,”Walls said.

Family affairLike any of his fellow fifth-

year seniors, McCarthy hasbeen around long enough tosee just about everything,from back-to-back BCS berthsto the worst two-year run inschool history.

McCarthy has even beenlong around long enough toplay two seasons wi th h isyounger brother, Dan, who asa sophomore has climbed thedepth chart to become hiso lder brother ’s backup.Looking at the ir resumescoming out o f CardinalMooney H.S. in Youngstown,Ohio, it’d be hard to tell theMcCarthy brothers apart.

Both were two-way stand-outs that won state titles as

quarterbacks and also postedgaudy statistics at defensiveback while gaining state andnational recognition for theirindividual efforts.

After earning al l -confer-ences honors as a junior widerece iver, Ky le became theteam’s starting quarterbackas a senior in 2004. McCarthypassed for 557 yards and fivetouchdowns and rushed for1,273 yards and 14 touch-downs on just 135 carries toearn all-state recognition. Asa defensive back, he recorded70 tackles and made f iveinterceptions, returning twofor scores — inc luding arecord-setting 93-yard pick-six in the state title game toearn the game’s MVP award.

McCarthy also displayed hissupreme athletic ability onthe baseball diamond, wherehe set a school-record with20 stolen bases as a seniorand also posted seven winsand a sub-4.00 earned runaverage.

As for younger brotherDan? He was the GatoradePlayer of the Year as a seniorin 2007, and a finalist for theprest ig ious Mr. Footbal laward in Ohio, earning sec-ond-team All America honorsfrom USA Today, according tound.com. He rushed for over3,000 yards and 36 touch-downs in two seasons atquarterback whi le post ing249 tackles and 16 sacks inhis f ina l two years ondefense.

“It’s been great playing withhim. He’s a real good player,”Kyle said of his brother. “Theguys on the team all thinkhe’s their little brother, too.”

But Dan isn ’t the onlybrother Kyle sees on a dailybasis at Notre Dame. Afterthe craziness of his house lastyear, Kyle opted for a morequiet alternative this year, hesaid.

“I’m living with my olderbrother, who’s also a gradstudent,” Kyle said, referringto his brother Brian, 2006Notre Dame graduate. “It’s

def in i te ly been a lot morelaid-back. It’s been great.”

Growing as a leaderFollowing in the footsteps of

NFL-cal iber safet ies l ikeZbikowski and David Bruton,a Denver Broncos draft picklast season, McCarthy hasimproved not only as a player,but as the leader of thedefense — a part icular lyimportant trait because of hisrole as a veteran and his posi-tion in the defensive back-field.

“Kyle’s grown to be a greatplayer and a great leader, andour players notice that,” Wallssaid. “He’s taken control inthe weight room, in the lockerroom, and when you have aguy like that you can dependon, it really helps the team.”

Walls said McCarthy is moreof a “lead-by-example” typebut knows the right time tostep up and address the team.

“He doesn’t always speakmuch, but when he doesspeak, people listen to him,”Walls said. “They do what hetells them to do. He leads byexample and everyone followsbehind him.”

Brown said the type of per-son McCarthy is makes him agood leader.

“Kyle is a classy dude, and Ithink the best thing aboutKyle is he’s not se l f ish,”Brown said. “He’s trying tohelp out others . I bel ievewhen you put others f irst ,when it’s not always aboutyou, everybody else appreci-ates that … That’s why he’splayed the way he’s playedthis year.”

Bouncing backAfter last week’s 23-21 loss

to Navy, the second straight athome to the Midshipmen, the

Irish season reaches a cross-roads at Pittsburgh Saturday.And with big-picture ques-t ions abounding about thestate of the Notre Dame pro-gram f ive years into theCharlie Weis era, one mightthink McCarthy and his fellowcaptains would have a tought ime keeping their teamfocused on a ta lentedPanthers team.

That ’s not the case,McCarthy said.

“It has zero effect on howwe go about doing things,”McCarthy said. “That ’s a l lgoing outside the locker room.Inside the locker room, there’sno questions or anything likethat. We just go out and pre-pare everyday with trust inthe guys in this locker roomand trust in the coachingstaff , and we’re excited toplay Pitt on Saturday.”

Weis declared after the Navyloss that the theme this weekwould be “accountability,” andMcCarthy said Tuesday thatearly in the week — beginningMonday, when the playershave the day off but it wasreported a larger numberthan usual came in to workout and watch extra film —the returns were positive.

“As far as preparation andprepping for the game, ourguys need to be accountablefor the job at hand,” McCarthysaid. “The coaches are goingto put us in the position tomake plays, but it’s up to theplayers to go out and executeand make plays. Last week westruggled a little bit, so wejust need to maybe prepare alittle harder, pay attention todetail, and hopefully get itcorrected this Saturday.”

The Observer ◆ IRISH INSIDERFriday, November 13, 2009 page 3

Last defense

Contact Matt Gamber at [email protected]

Safety Kyle McCarthy becomes unquestioned leader of defense in fifth and final yearBy MATT GAMBERSports Editor

Observer File Graphic

Senior safety Kyle McCarthy poses with three former teammatesand housemates for the Oct. 19, 2008, Irish Insider cover.

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Junior linebackers Harrison Smith, left, and Brian Smith congratulate senior safety Kyle McCarthy, cen-ter, after his interception during Notre Dame’s 35-0 victory over Nevada Sept. 5.

HEAD TThe Observer ◆ IRISH INSIDERpage 4 Friday, November 13, 2009

Irish Offense vs. Panthers Defense

Charlie Weishead coach

5th season at Notre Dame

career record: 35-24

on the road:12-9

against Pittsburgh:3-1

Notre DameFighting Irish

Record: 6-3AP: NR Coaches: NR BCS: NR

Remember that last touchdown drive againstNavy? That showed heart, intensity and execu-tion. That showed who Notre Dame can be if itso chooses. It’s just gotta so choose, and it did-n’t, for the most part, against Navy. Losingtwice in three years at home to Navy and hear-ing rumors your coach is done ought to do it.The Irish can’t cover Jonathan Baldwin andthey can’t stop Dion Lewis. But they can winthis game. Mr. Clausen and Mr. Tate have someexperience with close victories, and Mr. Floydshould pick up the idea quite nicely. I’m usuallythe pessimist of the group, and it’s tough toignore the logical and statistical reasons whythe Irish will lose, but to lapse into coachspeak,

this game is about “want to,” and right now Notre Dame wants to. FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 37, Pittsburgh 34 (OT)

Jimmy Clausen said before the season thatCharlie Weis wouldn’t get fired because ofhim. And while you certainly can’t faultClausen for his play this season, he mayhave to save Weis’ job with a win at HeinzField. The Panthers are extremely talentedon both sides of the ball, and can pickwhether they want to run with Dion Lewisor pass with Bill Stull against the strugglingIrish defense. Offensively, the Irish must runthe ball to have a chance to win. ArmandoAllen's return could be big both in the runand passing game. These are two very tal-ented teams, but Pittsburgh’s strongerdefense gives them the advantage to make a

stop in overtime and get the win.FINAL SCORE: Pittsburgh 33, Notre Dame 30 (OT)

Even though the rest of theteam may have faltered in lastweek’s loss to Navy, juniorquaterback Jimmy Clausen con-t inued to put up impress ivenumbers.

The loss of sophomore tightend Kyle Rudolph will undoubt-edly hurt the passing game, butjunior Mike Ragone showed last

week that he should be able to fill inwell enough.

Sophomore wide receiver MichaelFloyd should be even closer to fullstrength after another week of restand recovery. Floyd appeared toshake the rust off quickly againstNavy last weekend with 10 catches,and wi l l be even more ef fect iveSaturday night.

The real test will be up front forthe Irish, as Pittsburgh leads thecountry in sacks with 39. NotreDame’s offensive line has improvedthis season, but still gave up two cru-cial sacks to an undersized Navydefensive line last weekend. KeepingClausen clean will be essential if theIrish want to come out winners.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Notre Dame’s leading rusherArmando Allen returns to actionthis week after missing the pasttwo games with an ankle injury.When healthy, Allen has lookedlike the most effective Irish rush-er this season, and his return tothe lineup should mean a bigboost in the Irish rushing attack.

That being said, Robert

Hughes also established himself withstrong games against WashingtonState and Navy. Freshman TheoRiddick also had a breakout gameagainst the Midshipmen, rushing fivet imes for 35 yards against theMidshipmen despite receiving limitedcarries in the second half.

On the other s ide of the bal l ,Pittsburgh boasts one of the strongest

defensive lines in the country andheld Navy, which gashed the Irishdefense last week, to only 129 yardsrushing.

It’s possible for the Irish to run theball against Pittsburgh, but it willtake a real commitment to theground game that was absent againstNavy.

EDGE: PITTSBURGH

The loss of Kyle Rudolphwill affect the play calling,and new starter MikeRagone will probably stayin and block more thanRudolph would.

Last week, Irish coachCharlie Weis showed theflaws that have plaguedhim his entire career. Goal

line plays such as atoss to Robert Hughesand an end aroundplayaction pass leftfans scratching theirheads. Weis needs tokeep i t s imple thisweek with his job onthe line.

EDGE: EVEN

Freshman kicker NickTausch missed his firsttwo field goals since thesecond game of the sea-son last week, butthere’s no reason tothink that Tausch won’treturn to form thisweek. Heinz Field isnotorious for the diffi-

culty it presents kickers, butthe freshman’s body of workindicates that there should benothing to worry about.

Eric Maust, who didn’thave to punt at all last week,will take over from freshmanBen Turk for the puntingduties.

EDGE: EVEN

Sept. 5Sept. 12Sept. 19Sept. 26Oct. 3Oct. 17Oct. 24Oct. 31Nov. 7Nov. 14Nov. 21Nov. 28

Nevada — W@ Michigan — L

Michigan St. — W@ Purdue — W

Washington — WSouthern Cal — L

Boston College — WWashington St. — W

Navy — L@ PittsburghConnecticut@ Stanford

2009 Schedule

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Statistical LeadersND OFFENSEQB JIMMY CLAUSEN

209-308, 2770 yds., 20 TD

RB ARMANDO ALLEN

104 rush, 514 yds., 3 TD

RB ROBERT HUGHES

71 rush, 331 yds., 5 TD

WR GOLDEN TATE

65 rec., 1059 yds., 10 TD

WR MICHAEL FLOYD

23 rec., 499 yds., 6 TD

PITT DEFENSEDB DOM DeCICCO

44 solo, 1 TFL, 2 INT

LB MAX GRUDER

35 solo, 3 TFL, 0.5 sacks

DL MICK WILLIAMS

23 solo, 13 TFL, 3 sacks

LB ADAM GUNN

28 solo, 5.5 TFL, 5 sacks

LB GREG ROMEUS


Head-to-HeadND OFFENSEScoring: 30.11 ppg (36th)

Total: 463.67 (6th)

Rushing: 138.11 (71st)

Passing: 325.56 ypg (5th)

Turnovers against: 9 (7th)

Fumbles lost: 5 (12th)

Interceptions: 4 (11th)

Sacks Allowed: 19 (69th)

T.O.P. for: 32:41 (9th)

PITT DEFENSEScoring: 17.11 ppg (19th)

Total: 310.89 ypg (29th)

Rushing: 106.78 ypg (26th)

Passing: 204.38 ypg (38rd)

Turnovers for: 17 (47th)

Fumbles rec.: 7 (61st)


Sacks: 39 (1st)

T.O.P. against: 29:28 (45th)

Jon TenutaDef. Coordinator

Assistant HC

Corwin BrownCo-Def. Coord.Associate HC

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Michael Bryan


O HEADThe Observer ◆ IRISH INSIDERFriday, November 13, 2009 page 5

Panthers Offense vs. Irish Defense

I can see two very different things happen-ing in this game. I can imagine the Irish com-ing out with that deer in the headlights lookwe saw last season at USC after a dishearten-ing loss to Syracuse that raised the samequestions about the program’s future that arecirculating now. We all know how that turnedout. But I can also picture the Irish comingout angry, motivated and prepared to playtheir best game against arguably the bestteam on their schedule. As a lifelong sportsfan, I’ve seen these kind of stories end bothways. But as a Notre Dame fan, in recentyears it seems like Door No. 1 has been theone most likely to be opened. I’ve been wrong

plenty of times about this team. I hope it happens again.FINAL SCORE: Pittsburgh 31, Notre Dame 20

It would make absolutely no sense for NotreDame to win this game. Of course, over thepast three seasons, Notre Dame football has-n’t exactly made a ton of sense. Expect theIrish to come out with an “us against theworld” mentality, fighting for their season, aswell as their head coach’s job. Even thoughlast week’s loss to Navy was bad, this is stillthe same team that took USC down to thewire. Pittsburgh is good, for sure, but theirbiggest win so far this season was over aninconsistent South Florida team. MichaelFloyd should be closer to 100 percent after anextra week of practice and recovery, andCharlie Weis will finally get his first win over a

top ten team. Unfortunately for Weis, it may be too little, too late.FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 31, Pittsburgh 27

Dave Wannstedthead coach

5th season at Pittsburgh

career record: 33-24

at home: 22-10

against ND: 1-1

PittsburghPanthers

Record: 8-1, 5-0 Big EastAP: #8 Coaches: #9 BCS: #12

Sept. 5Sept. 12Sept. 19Sept. 26Oct. 2Oct. 10Oct. 16Oct. 24Nov. 7Nov. 14Nov. 27Dec. 5

Youngstown St. — W@ Buffalo — W

Navy — W@ N.C. State — L@ Louisville — WConnecticut — W@ Rutgers — W

South Florida — WSyracuse — W

Notre Dame@ West Virginia

Cincinatti

2009 Schedule

Statistical LeadersNAVY OFFENSEQB BILL STULL

148-219, 1879 yds., 17 TD

RB DION LEWIS

203 rush, 1139 yds., 12 TD

WR JONATHAN BALDWIN

35 rec., 698 yds., 4 TD

TE DORIN DICKERSON

39 rec., 450 yds., 10 TD

RB RAY GRAHAM

52 rush, 279 yds., 3 TD

ND DEFENSESS KYLE MCCARTHY


MLB BRIAN SMITH


WLB MANTI TE’O

16 solo, 4.5 TFL, 1 sack

SLB DARIUS FLEMING

19 solo, 11.5 TFL, 3 sacks

DE K. LEWIS-MOORE


Head-to-HeadPITT OFFENSEScoring: 34.56 ppg (16th)


Rushing: 187 ypg (26th)

Passing: 221.44 (61st)

Turnovers against: 9 (7th)

Fumbles lost: 5 (12th)


Sacks Allowed: 9 (12th)

T.O.P. for: 30:32 (45th)

ND DEFENSEScoring: 22.89 (49th)


Rushing: 148.78 ypg (67th)

Passing: 237.44 ypg (88th)

Turnovers for: 17 (47th)

Fumbles rec.: 6 (80th)


Sacks: 18 (55th)

T.O.P. against: 27:19 (9th)

Frank Cignetti, Jr.Off. Coordinator

Phil BennettDef. Coordinator

Panthers quaterback Bill Stull hasbeen solid, if not spectacular thisseason. All the Irish coaches praisedStull’s poise and decision makingunder pressure. Stull has indeedbeen effective, throwing 17 touch-down passes with only four intercep-tions. He ranks fifth nationally inpassing efficiency, only two spotsbelow Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen.

On the receiving end, sophomorewide receiver Jonathan Baldwinstepped up after a promising fresh-man season. At 6-foot-5, Baldwin hasthe ability to outjump opposing cor-nerbacks and come down with diffi-cult catches. Senior tight end DorinDickerson leads the team with 39catches and 10 touchdown grabs.

A game against run-happy Navy

made Notre Dame’s pass defensestatistics look a little bit better,but it’s no secret that the Irishsecondary has struggled this sea-son. They’ve shown flashes oftalent in the past, but will needto turn in their best game of theseason if the Irish want to winthis game.

EDGE: PITTBURGH

After what looked like weeks ofimprovement, the Irish run defensetook a step back last weekend, givingup 348 rushing yards to Navy’s tripleoption attack. It’s possible that the Irishwere simply foiled by Navy’s uniqueoffense and will return to form againstthe Panthers’ more traditional style.

For Pittsburgh, redshirt freshmanDion Lewis has exploded onto the scene

this season, running 203 times for1,139 yards and 12 touchdowns. Lewisis seventh in the country in terms ofrushing yards, and leads the Big East.

The Irish have certainly slowed downgood running backs this season.Nevada’s Vai Taua, USC’s Joe McKnightand Boston College’s Montel Harris allrank in the top forty rushing nationally.

Freshman linebacker Manti Te’o has

improved against the run, andshould continue to rack up thetackles this week. However, If mostof the leading Irish tacklers aredefensive backs, as is often thecase, Notre Dame could be in trou-ble, as that means Lewis was ableto break through the Irish frontline often.

EDGE: PITTSBURGH

Four seasons ago, DaveWannstedt went againstCharlie Weis in both coach-es’ collegiate debut. Bothhave come under some fireduring their tenures at theirrespective alma maters, butWannstedt seems to havebounced back and has ledthe Panthers to their first

top ten appearancesince 1982.

The Panthers run abalanced offensiveattack, and Wannstedthas shown over thecourse of the seasonthat he knows what ittakes to win.EDGE: PITTSBURGH

Junior kicker DanHutchins has made 13 of16 kicks on the season,and only missed oneinside of 40 yards. As apunter, Hutchins is aver-aging 41.2 yards perkick, and has had 13punts down inside the20-yard line.

The Panthers are stillsearching for the answerreturning kicks, as eight dif-ferent players have at leastone kick return on the year.Against the Irish, look forfreshmen Ray Graham andCameron Saddler to line updeep.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

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Sam Werner


The Observer ◆ IRISH INSIDERpage 6 Friday, November 13, 2009

Do you have a favorite singer or band?I would have to say probably Springsteen.

Q: What’s your prediction for the OhioState High School playoffs and your almamater, St. Ignatius? I have to say [we will

win], but it will be a good game. We are

playing well.

What is your favorite place on campus?Probably Alumni Hall or the Grotto.

Do you have any favorite movies? Disney

Channel original movies.

Any favorite songs? “Party in the USA” by

Miley Cyrus.

Kanye West or Taylor Swift? Taylor Swift.

Do you have any pet peeves? Guys who wear

KSwiss shoes.

Saturday n ight ’s gameagainst No. 8 Pittsburgh isundoubtedly a big game forevery member of the Ir ishsquad, but for senior corner-back Darrin Walls, the gamewi l l mean just a l i t t le b i tmore.

Walls, a Pittsburgh native,will be playing in his home-

town for the first time in hiscollegiate career. Inundatedwith ticket requests through-out the week, Walls said hewas try ing to f igure outexactly how many friends andfamily members would be inattendance Saturday.

“I’m not sure as of now,”Walls said. “I’m estimatingaround 25.”

For a good number of thosefriends, i t wil l be the f irsttime they see Walls play.

“ I t ’s rea l exc i t ing go inghome and playing in front ofsome of my fami ly andfriends that haven’t seen meplay before,” Walls said.

Senior defens ive backRaeshon McNei l sa id thatWalls had been talking al lweek about the chance toplay in his hometown.

“His mom’s going to be inthe stands, and she hasn’tbeen out here to see him play.So that will be a big opportu-

nity for him.”Walls has played in all nine

games for the Irish so far thisseason, and recorded 17tackles as well as an inter-ception.

Ir ish coach Charl ie Weissaid that, as good as Wallshas been th is season, heexpects even more Saturdaynight.

“I think that this is going tobe an excitinggame forDarrin,” Weissa id . “And Ith ink morethan any gamethan he’sp layed th isyear, I th inkthat th is i sgoing to be oneof those oneswhere I fee lpret ty conf i -dent that whatever his bestis, we’re going to get it.”

In addi t ion to be ing infamiliar territory, Walls saidthat he is friendly with sever-al players on the Pittsburghroster. He named senior tightend Dorin Dickerson, sopho-more wide receiver AaronSmith and junior offensivelineman Jason Pinkston asPanther players that he knew.

“We hung out a lot and didcamps and stuff,” Walls said.

Walls also said that this ishis first time playing in HeinzFie ld s ince a h igh schoolplayoff game his senior year.

What makes this week’s tripeven sweeter for Walls is thefact that he missed all of lastseason for personal reasons.Even though he wasn’t on theteam, McNei l sa id that hekept Walls abreast of every-thing going on inside the Irishfootball program.

“I kept in touch with him allthe time, kept him up to dateon the funny stuff going on inthe meeting rooms,” McNeilsaid. “We’re always clowningin the meeting room, so hedefinitely missed some classicmoments, but he was alwaystalking about how he couldn’twait to get back.”

Even though it may havetaken Walls some time to get

back in theswing o fDivison I col-lege football ,McNeil said hethought theyear of f u l t i -mately helpedhis friend.

“Him miss-ing a yearkind o fbrought thingsinto perspec-

tive for him,” McNeil said.As exc i t ing as the tr ip ,

home may be, Weis said thatWalls is sti l l aware of howimportant this game was forthe team.

“I think that Darrin’s goingto be very excited to play inthis game,” Weis said. “And Ithink that that’s a good thingbecause he ’s go ing to getchallenged in this game aswell.”

Walls, too said that he wasmostly focused on getting abig win this weekend.

“I mean, the coaches, theyexpect everyone to play wellthis weekend,” Walls said.“We expect to play well. It’sjust another motivational fac-tor that we’re playing againstthe No. 8 team in the coun-try.”

He’s a little guy, but he runsscary big.

Even scarier, he’s a fresh-man.

The 5-foot-8 Dion Lewis hasshown no mercy to opposingdefenses this season. The No. 8Panthers’ (8-1) leading rusherhas 1139 yards, seventh inDivision I FBS, and 12 touch-downs so far this season.

“Our offensive line does agreat job, those guys workhard all the time,” Lewis saidafter Pittsburgh’s 37-10 winover Syracuse on Nov. 7. “Theydeserve all the credit. They justkeep pounding and blockingguys, clearing the way. I’m juststaying patient, lett ing thegame come to me.”

His body of work rests on203 rushing attempts, good for5.6 yards per carry. In compar-ison, former Pittsburgh run-ning back LeSean McCoy,whom the Philadelphia Eaglesdrafted in the second round ofthe 2009 NFL Draft, averaged4.9 yards per carry last season,when he rushed for 1403yards.

Lewis rushed 18 times for110 yards and a touchdownagainst the Orange. His worstrushing game of the seasoncame against Navy, when hecarried the ball 23 times for 71yards and a touchdown. InPittsburgh’s only loss, a 38-31defeat from N.C. State on Sept.

26, he still managed 98 yardsand two scores.

“We’ve faced a lot of goodbacks,” Syracuse coach DougMarrone said after Saturday’sgame. “I think from an overallscheme, [Lewis] is one of thebest backs we’ve faced all sea-son.”

How’s this for proof of howconsistently spectacular Lewishas been this season: AllPittsburgh coach DaveWannstedt said of Lewis’ per-formance after the Syracusegame was, “Dion Lewis did agreat job. He had his runs.”

Ho-hum.Lewis represents the latest in

the tough running backs NotreDame has faced this season.Nevada running back Vai Tauahas rushed for 880 yards thisyear, Purdue’s Ralph Boldenhas 855 and Boston College’sMontel Harris has 930.Washington’s Chris Polk, USC’sJoe McKnight and Navy’s VinceMurray have all had productiveseasons as well.

The best may remain, howev-er; after Lewis, Connecticut’sJordan Todman has rushed for826 yards and 12 touchdownsand Stanford’s Toby Gerhart issecond in the FBS with 1,217yards and 14 touchdowns.

Bad news for a Notre Damedefense that allows 148.8yards per game and just gaveup 348 to Navy.

Lewis, especially, presents achallenge because of his versa-tility.

“He’s got quickness. He can

make you miss,” Irish coachCharlie Weis said in his pressconference Tuesday. “He hasgood balance. He catches theball out of the back field. He’sbeen very impressive.”

Despite Lewis’ youth, he’smade an impression on histeammates as well as his oppo-nents.

“Dion, just look at him, he’sone of the leading rushers inthe country,” Panthers seniortight end Dorin Dickerson saidafter the Syracuse game. “I liketo pat him on his back whenev-er he gets those runs becausehe really deserves it. He runshard.”

Lewis called the last fourgames of the season “crucial.”That’s especially true becausethe Panthers are fighting for aBCS birth with No. 5Cincinnati, which leads the BigEast at 5-0 (9-0 overall). At thesame time, Saturday’s gamebrings a new level of impor-tance, especially since the lasttime Charlie Weis broughtNotre Dame to Pittsburgh theIrish dismantled the Panthers42-21 on Sept. 3, 2005 andespecially since the two teamsplayed each other so close inlast year’s game, a 36-33 over-time Pittsburgh win in NotreDame Stadium.

“Everybody is excited aboutNotre Dame,” Lewis said.“Everybody’s going to be readyand fired up for this game.”

Pittsburgh game a homecoming for WallsBy SAM WERNERAssociate Sports Editor

The Observer ◆ IRISH INSIDERFriday, November 13, 2009 page 7

Freshman Lewis breaks into starting role for Panthers

Contact Sam Werner [email protected]

By BILL BRINKSports Writer

Contact Bill Brink at [email protected]

AP

Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis turns upfield during a gameearlier this season. Lewis currently leads the Big East in rushing.

VANESSA GEMPIS/The Observer

Irish senior cornerback Darrin Walls leads the defense onto the field during last weekend’s game againstNavy. Walls will be playing in front of around 25 friends and family in his native Pittsburgh this weekend.

“It’s real exciting goinghome and playing infront of family andfriends that haven’t

seen me play before.”

Darrin WallsIrish cornerback

Friday, November 13, 2009The Observer ◆ PAID ADVERTISEMENT

pdf of irish insider for friday, nov. 14, 2009

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