Notre Dame Football Archives

October 7, 2004

Driving Miss First Mate

The First Mate and I will be off this weekend to South Bend, IN, to see the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take on the Stanford Cardinal at Knute's house. (The tickets are a Christmas gift from Vayapaso -- my mom.) It's our first trip ever to the hallowed stomping grounds of the Gipper, and I'll be taking along the digital camera while I'm there. I'll put up a couple of the best shots, and since this is October, I'm betting that the scenery will be gorgeous if the weather holds up. We'll be driving down to South Bend, a trip that Mapquest says will take a shade under eight hours if we can avoid gridlock in Chicago. Once we get there, we'll meet my godfather, Uncle Emilio, for a late dinner on Friday. (He lives in Southern California. We live in Minnesota. So it's only natural that we planned...

November 27, 2004

Fighting Irish Take On The Trojans -- Live Blog!

6:14 pm CT - I hear from my Uncle Ted and Aunt Judy, who are at the Colisseum for the Notre Dame/USC football game, which I humbly call the Annual Battle of Good Vs. Evil. On our visit to LA last month, Ted foolishly bet me a six-pack of a good regional beer on the outcome. I expect to be tasting the sweet nectar of Henry Weinhardt's Dark in the coming weeks. At any rate, they're sitting up in the nosebleed section, and they tell me that it's overcast, cold (for LA), and the field will likely be slippery. Sounds like great Notre Dame weather to me ... 7:01 - Keith Jackson, Dan Fouts, and Todd Harris will be working the game for ABC's broadcast. It's a great team for a great game ... 7:05 - You may ask why I'm allowed to be home on a Saturday night, watching...

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September 10, 2005

Shake Down The Thunder!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have exploded out of the gate to start the 2005 season. First they trounced Pitt on the road 42-21, and today convincingly beat #3 Michigan, 17-10. The Irish never trailed against the highly-regarded Wolverines and led by two touchdowns until the final three minutes: Charlie Weis' college coaching career is off to a big start. No. 20 Notre Dame stunned No. 3 Michigan on Saturday, making Weis 2-0 as a college coach. The former New England Patriots assistant outfoxed Dave Wannstedt's Pittsburgh Panthers last week and had the Irish well-prepared to face the rival Wolverines. It was the first time since 1918 that a first-year Notre Dame coach opened with back-to-back road wins. Brady Quinn ran a ball-control offense, completing 19 of 30 for 147 yards, or 4.7 yards per completion. He spread the wealth, connecting most often with running back Darius Walker, who...

November 13, 2005

The Second Annual Notre Dame Pilgrimage

With the Fighting Irish playing like national contenders again in the first season of the Charlie Weis era, the timing couldn't be better for the First Mate and I to make our second trip to see Touchdown Jesus, the Golden Dome, and the Notre Dame football team play on their home field. Last year, we made our way to our very first visit to South Bend by car, and we took 3 hours getting through the center of Chicago. Thanks to my brilliant navigation, I turned an eight-hour trip into a twelve-hour grueling marathon. This year, I received tickets to the Syracuse game for next Saturday from loyal (and generous!) CQ reader TJ B. Thanks to his generosity, I will be able to invite my father, the Admiral Emeritus, along for the trip, although he and his wife will fly in from SoCal rather than drive. I decided to drive...

November 17, 2005

Hitting The Road

The time has come to roll, ladies and gentlemen! The second annual pilgrimage to the Golden Dome is on its way. We will leave the house in a few minutes to start heading towards South Bend and our weekend at Notre Dame. Blogging will be light today, but this time our hotel has Internet access -- so I will be able to do some blogging over the next few days. Many thanks to those who offered better route options than trans-urban Chicago ... we'll try Joliet instead and see how we do. Shake down the thunder! UPDATE, 4:58 - Made it to Michigan City after about nine hours on the road, including an hour outside of Rockford for lunch. We're a bit stiff and it took us about an hour to get the energy to unpack and get settled, but now we're thinking about finding a bite to eat. The...

November 19, 2005

Game Day

I'm completely exhausted from my wonderful day at the nation's most storied college football stadium. After a cold and blustery day yesterday, Game Day turned out to give us beautiful weather, at least for most of the game: sunny, mid-50s, and light wind. The weather had kept us from touring the campus yesterday, but we got a chance to show the Admiral Emeritus the Golden Dome and other highlights today. After a strange first quarter where Holy Cross appeared to be wearing the Irish football uniforms, allowing the 1-7 Syracuse Orange to gather a 3-0 lead, the Irish finally showed and wound up winning a critical victory for the BCS-enabling win. The Irish topped the Orangemen, 34-10. Anyway, too tired to continue tonight. Thanks to CQ reader TJB for the kind gift of the tickets -- the FM, Admiral Emeritus, his wife, and myself enjoyed the day tremendously. UPDATE: I...

November 27, 2005

Irish Survive Inspired Stanford To Qualify For BCS

Rally, sons of Notre Dame ... The Fighting Irish finished their first season under Charlie Weis with a spirited comeback in the final minutes against Stanford to run their record to 9-2 and qualify for a BCS berth for the first time in years. The Irish put an exclamation point on an unexpectedly successful maiden season under Weis as the Golden Domers announced their return to national prominence: Darius Walker ran 6 yards for the winning touchdown with 55 seconds remaining and took a direct snap to run in for the 2-point conversion, and the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish became all but assured of playing in one the four marquee bowl games with a 38-31 victory over Stanford on Saturday night. Brady Quinn passed for 432 yards and three touchdowns but also threw two interceptions, and Notre Dame survived a wild final few minutes for its fifth straight victory since a...

December 4, 2005

The Irish Say 'Olé!'

The BCS has announced the game lineups for the major bowls this season, and the big news isn't that the USC Trojans will meet the Texas Longhorns for the national championship; that merely fulfills a foregone conclusion after yesterday's results. No, the big news is the return of Notre Dame to the ranks of the major bowls with an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl to face the Ohio State Buckeyes on New Years Day: In his rookie season as Notre Dame coach, Weis has the Fighting Irish (9-2) in the BCS for the first time since they lost the 2001 Fiesta Bowl 41-9 to Oregon State. They automatically qualified for a spot by finishing sixth in the BCS standings. "I think it's a great tribute to our coaching staff and our players that they were able to turn it around that fast," Weis said. While some complain that Notre Dame...

January 2, 2006

Fiesta Bowl Live Blog

I've started this a bit late -- I kept falling asleep waiting for the game to start when I was going to prep for this post. 4:10 PM CT - Two minutes into the game, and the Irish have driven the field for an impressive score. Brady Quinn got a couple of chances to air it out, and the Irish topped it off with a long run off-tackle for the score. 7-0 Irish, 12:59 left in the first quarter! 4:15 - OSU picks up a first down, but only after all the receivers got covered ... 4:17 - Troy Smith hits a wide-open receiver (Ginn) for six points. Tied up at 7-7, 10:02 left Q1. Looks like a shooting match here today, folks. 4:27 - So far, the difference to me is that the Irish have been able to run the ball -- and they've stopped the Buckeyes on the...

September 3, 2006

A Narrow Escape

Notre Dame started its 2006 campaign with a near-stumble against Georgia Tech, a team regarded as a test for the pre-season #2 team in college football. The Fighting Irish escaped with a 14-10 win and likely a lower ranking: The best thing you can say about Notre Dame's game against Georgia Tech is that it's over. And if the Fighting Irish don't figure how to play more like the No. 2-ranked team in the country rather than something from the Also Receiving Votes agate, then they can pucker up and kiss the Holy Trinity of college football goodbye. We're speaking, of course, of the national championship, the Heisman Trophy, and Lee Corso wearing your mascot's headgear near Cardinals Stadium come Jan. 8. Notre Dame remains in the team picture for all three, but only because ND's 14-10 victory came in the first week of the season, not the last. ......

September 9, 2006

Fighting Irish Lion-Tamers

Brady Quinn broke out with a 25-for-36 effort and three TDs while the ferocious Irish defense kept consistent with another outstanding effort as Notre Dame easily dispatched the Penn State Nittany Lions, 41-17. The score doesn't accurately reflect the rout as JoePa's team added two touchdowns late in the game to take the sting off the beating: Brady Quinn and the Notre Dame offense were as good as advertised in Week 2. After an unimpressive opening game, Quinn, Jeff Samardzija and Co. returned to their fantastic form of last season in a 41-17 victory over No. 19 Penn State on Saturday. Quinn, the Heisman-hyped quarterback, was 12-of-16 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter alone as fourth-ranked Notre Dame opened a 20-0 lead. The defense and special teams chipped in, too, breaking the game open in the third quarter by scoring one touchdown and setting up...

September 16, 2006

When Irish Eyes Are Crying ...

Well, that certainly hurt! Notre Dame got an old-fashioned butt-whupping from the Michigan Wolverines at South Bend today, losing 47-21 and looking poor in almost every facet of their game. Even Fighting Irish head coach Charlie Weis had to admit it: No. 11 Michigan finally put a Big Blue bruising on the second-ranked Fighting Irish in a 47-21 rout Saturday -- the most points scored against Notre Dame at home in 46 years. "They deserve their just due," Irish coach Charlie Weis said. "I think it's important to understand that team just came and whupped us pretty good." Indeed, they did. Chad Henne threw three touchdown passes to Mario Manningham, and Michigan intercepted Brady Quinn three times, forced him to fumble and shut down the rest of the Irish offense. Michigan ended a two-game losing streak against the Irish and a three-game slide at Notre Dame Stadium. The win likely...

September 23, 2006

When Irish Eyes Are Blinking In Disbelief

After the drubbing Notre Dame took from Michigan at home last week, we wondered how the Irish would respond on the road against Michigan State tonight. For the first half, the answer was: more of the same. The Irish could not move the ball and the smaller defense could not stop the Spartan offense. Michigan State put up 17 in the first quarter while the Irish stalled repeatedly, and had the same lead at halftime when Brady Quinn began to find his rhythm again, 31-14. However, Charlie Weis sent his troops back onto the field with something ringing in their ears, and from the way the Irish played in the second half, I doubt it was Have A Nice Day. Notre Dame suddenly started playing ferocious defense and Quinn's offense gained real traction. After trading touchdowns in the third quarter, the Irish scored 19 unanswered points in the fourth, one...

November 22, 2006

Scarce? Expensive? Count Me In!

According to ticket brokers, this weekend's matchup between USC and Notre Dame (hereafter known as the Dark Forces and the Holy Warriors, respectively) has broken records for demand. Only two other games have created this kind of demand in the last six years, and it may not be over yet: So, you're not a big-time USC athletics donor and you still need tickets to Saturday's USC-Notre Dame game at the Coliseum for less than the down payment on a luxury SUV? Steve Lopes has three words for you: "There aren't any." Lopes, the USC senior associate athletic director who oversees ticket operations, said the school has only a handful of tickets left — and they are reserved for athletics donors with last-minute needs. Fighting Irish fans don't have it any better. Notre Dame officials say this game is the most-requested road game in school history. Josh Berlo, director of ticket...

November 25, 2006

Off To Watch The Irish

I'll be leaving in a few minutes to drive to the Colisseum to watch Notre Dame take on USC in the biggest football game of the year. Somehow in the last 24 hours, this turned into an early-morning trek, as my uncle and I will spend the day tailgating before we stagger up to our seats in the stadium. I'll take plenty of pictures and have more reporting for you later ......

November 26, 2006

Actually, I Had A Fabulous Time ...

... marred only by the butt-kicking that came at the end of the day. As CQ readers know, I went to USC -- to enemy territory -- to watch the Fighting Irish get swamped out by a charged-up Trojans football team that may have an outside chance at the national championship, and might just deserve it. If you watched the game, you'll already feel my pain, but let's just say that the Irish have executed better on both offense and defense, and that these Trojans may not. But a funny thing happened to me in my incursion into enemy territory -- I made a few friends. My uncle and I spent all day at USC and the Coliseum, wandering around campus and taking in the sights. We watched the Trojan band practice at the track & field stadium for about an hour or so, went to the sports awards hall,...

December 7, 2006

Can Brady Quinn Pull Off The Upset?

The Notre Dame quarterback didn't manage to score an upset against USC last month, but Brady Quinn has an opportunity to score one for the Heisman. The celebrated senior received word that he was selected as one of three Heisman finalists, but he faces stiff competition from another senior QB: Troy Smith booked his trip to the Heisman Trophy ceremony before the invitations went out. Why wait? Smith, the heavy favorite to win college football's most prestigious award, was selected as a Heisman finalist Wednesday, along with Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. ... The senior quarterback entered the season with plenty of Heisman hype and then backed it up with brilliant play for the unbeaten Buckeyes. Smith is fourth in the nation in passer rating (167.9) with 2,507 yards, 30 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He might be the biggest reason No. 1...

January 4, 2007

Tears, Tears For Old Notre Dame

In the end, the prognosticators got this one correct. Notre Dame didn't have the speed or the strength to match up against LSU, although they made it interesting in the first half: JaMarcus Russell thoroughly outplayed Brady Quinn and made a compelling case that the mammoth quarterback's next pass should come in the NFL. As for Notre Dame, it was a familiar meltdown at bowl time. The Sugar Bowl returned to New Orleans with a Cajun-style party put on by No. 4 LSU, which dominated college football's most storied program in a 41-14 rout Wednesday night that had the Superdome rockin'. It also gave the 11th-ranked Fighting Irish a most unwanted spot in the record book. The school of Touchdown Jesus and Knute Rockne now has a more ignominious distinction: nine straight bowl losses, breaking a tie with South Carolina and West Virginia for the most in NCAA history. And...

September 16, 2007

Rebuilding?

The Fighting Irish have to come up with an explanation of a nightmare start to the 2007 season. Last year Notre Dame got exposed as an overrated football team, but this year they look like they belong in Division I-AA, as they have gone winless in three starts -- and outscored by 89 points. Winless Michigan threw off the schneid in Ann Arbor, pounding the Irish 38-zip: The Wolverines humbled the Fighting Irish, 38-0, today in an unprecedented matchup of major college football's winningest programs -- without a win or ranking between them. Mike Hart ran for 187 yards on 35 carries and scored two touchdowns to back up his guarantee of a victory, and freshman Ryan Mallett threw for three scores in a game that seemed over soon after it began. "I like being in the spotlight. For the wrong reasons? No," Hart said. "Hopefully, we'll be in the...

October 7, 2007

College Football Season Finally Started Yesterday

After Notre Dame's longest exhibition season ever, the Fighting Irish finally started their regular season with a win over the UCLA Bruins, 20-6, at the Rose Bowl. Coach Charlie Weis remarked how well his team prepared through their extended preseason engagements, pronouncing it one of the most successful decisions he's made since taking the helm at Notre Dame three years ago. Well, that's not exactly the truth, but at least Notre Dame finally won -- in their sixth regular season game. It wasn't exactly a dominating performance, but it still counts as a W: Maybe this will stop the laughing. Jimmy Clausen scored on a quarterback sneak and Maurice Crum returned a fumble 34 yards for another touchdown during a 50-second span of the third quarter as Notre Dame fought its way out of one of the worst slumps in school history with a 20-6 victory over UCLA on Saturday....

October 25, 2007

Charlie And The Goose Egg Factory

I don't often agree with Jonathan Chait on politics, but his take on Charlie Weis and the historically bad Notre Dame Fighting Irish hits the nail on the head. The celebration of Weis as a football genius has ended in an ignominious season in which the Irish may only win the game in which they faced a walk-on quarterback. The lone highlight against UCLA came courtesy of seven turnovers in a game where the Bruins otherwise dominated, and Weis' squad has yet to show any signs of life: Weis' Fighting Irish now stand at 1-7. This record is only the faintest indicator of just how awful Notre Dame is. They have lost nine of their last 10 games, by an average of 24 points. None has been close. While Notre Dame has suffered very few injuries, three of its opponents have had to play the Irish without their starting quarterbacks....

November 3, 2007

Navy Sinks The Irish

It really looked like the Irish had their act together. They finally started running the ball, improving over their league-last 34 yards per game to well over 200 yards. They played ball control but managed to toss the ball as well. Unfortunately, despite playing against an undersized Navy team, the defense couldn't keep the Midshipmen out of the end zone, either, sending the game into three overtime sessions. The Fighting Irish simply couldn't keep their 43-year winning streak alive: It took 44 years and three overtimes for Navy to beat Notre Dame. The Midshipmen snapped an NCAA-record 43-game losing streak to the Fighting Irish with a 46-44 victory today in triple overtime. Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada threw a 25-yard TD pass to Reggie Campbell on the first play of the third overtime, then found him again in the end zone for the 2-point conversion. Notre Dame cut the lead to two on...