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Notre Dame Football: How to Redeem a Season


All the Notre Dame football haters have had a field day with opening season losses to South Florida and Michigan, and yet, the Irish still have a fair amount of people--fans and otherwise--picking them to beat the Michigan State Spartans, a team that has beaten them three out of the last four times. Anyone who watched knows last year's game against the Spartens knows it was a lot like last week's game against that other school from Michigan. Both contests saw Notre Dame lose in the final seconds when a win had looked secure. For the Irish to salvage this season at all, they simply cannot lose this week's football game. Here is what the Irish need to do to redeem this deason.

5. Execute. Sounds so simple, doesn't it? And yet, it has looked so complex out on that field. I get the sense that preparation hasn't been an issue so far, although halftime adjustments (particularly on the defensive side) might have been last week against Michigan. When the Notre Dame offense marches down to the Red Zone, it must put points on the board, preferably in 7s more than 3s. It'd be great to see a team put away early. When the ball hits a Notre Dame receiver's hands, it should be caught. Hold onto the football, no excuses, and that goes for all skill players. As for the defense, no wide open opposing receivers streaking down the field alone. Which gets me to my next point.

4. The secondary unit must play better. The front seven has done a pretty decent job stopping the run, particularly against two strong dual threat quarterbacks (although the defensive line could definitely help out with a few more sacks). I imagine the team stats in this category will lower significantly as soon as Notre Dame plays against a few teams without agile quarterbacks. But safety Harrison Smith and cornerback Gary Gray must play better, as defenders against the pass and also as tacklers. Both had high expectations coming into the season, and neither has much of a capable substitute to replace them.

3. Stick with the run. Sure, quarterback Tommy Rees hits his target most of the time, and receiver Michael Floyd is a pretty good one to find. But the offensive line has been dominant, and Cierre Wood is making all the right cuts and averaging more than five yards a pop, having scored twice. Jonas Gray--minus that nightmarish fumble on the one-yard-line against South Florida--has been pretty good coming off the bench, averaging more yards-per-carry than Wood. I am suggesting balance, rather than defaulting to the pass, which seems to be the habit of the program in recent years. (Although, come to think of it, passing on third and short might be a good idea, given the recent lack of success running on that down).

2. Pray to the football gods for some luck and fortune. Fumbles and interceptions can only bounce directly into the other team's hands so many times, right? One would think. And hope. A little prayer from the mostly-Catholic faithful never hurts.

1. Win one game at a time. The old cliche remains true. With Bowl Championship Series hopes and a very difficult schedule, it is so tempting to look ahead and play mathematical games. But Notre Dame cannot beat USC or Stanford this week. They must focus on preparing and executing against a very talented Michigan State team.

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