Don't jump and keep your heads up.

[scooper]

First of all, last night hurt. It hurt real bad-especially to those of us living here in Ohio. They have a damned fine football team and a reason to be cocky, but that doesn't change the fact that the asshole-idiot quotient among Buckeye fans is higher than just about anywhere else. That said-hats off to Troy Smith and the Buckeye offense. And to that great defense.

Now-forget Ohio St. They are in the rearview mirror. It's time to move on.

Suppose after last year's 6-6 record and Insight fiasco someone told you a year later the Irish would finish 9-3 and would at least be in position to catch a top 5 team in the fourth quarter of a BCS bowl. Suppose they told you this team would break countless ND offensive records. And suppose they added to that an incoming top 5 recruiting class. You'd take it, right? Of course you would.

What happened was along the line this season expectations were raised, as well they should have. But at the end of the day, we still had a young, undermanned defense and not much game breaking speed on offense. 9-3 is an accomplishment and stepping stone.

Jim Tressel's first OSU team lost their first bowl as well-a second tier bowl to South Carolina-not to a top 5 team. Pete Carrol's first team was blown out by a mid major in a fourth tier bowl in which they rushed for something like 5 yards. Charlie's first team went 9-3 and kept fighting in a BCS bowl against a damned good team.

Sure, the haters will compare this year to Willingham's first. Let them. They have every right to crow today. But that doesn't mean they are right. Rest easy knowing that the big guy in charge is taking this loss worse than you are and that he'll take out his frustrations on the recruiting trail as opposed to on a golf course like some coach we know.

Keep your heads up, folks. We'll be fine. When a Buckeye fan gives you crap, congratulate them on a great team because they have one. Tell them we hope in a couple years to see them again, because we just might.

Now if a Michigan fan gives you crap, laugh at them and spit in their eye. The Big Televen didn't play in that game last night. This loss doesn't do squat for the skunkbears. Just remind them that we're loooking forward to haning that first "L" on LLLLLoyd next season. Or Petrino or whoever their coach may be.

We've got ours, and with the rest of the team, he's taking his lumps and learning along the way. But they're getting better. If you think this team was similar to Ty's first team, than you simply don't watch much football.

Rest easy and come off the ledge, Irish fans, the best is yet to come.

 

[jiggafini19]

Party's Over
Pete Sampson

TEMPE, Ariz. – In the immediate aftermath of Notre Dame's 34-20 loss to fourth-ranked Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, the Irish players tried to duck off the field as fast as possible, skipping their ritual salute to the band. Brady Quinn barked at his teammates to trek to the end zone with golden helmets held high.

Some traditions are worth keeping.

Notre Dame's bowl failures don't fall into that category. Nor does the Irish defense's trend of surrendering the big play. Against Ohio State, the Irish dropped their of eighth straight postseason game, a streak that dates back to the 1994 Cotton Bowl, while giving up 617 yards total offense, the most ever by a Notre Dame opponent.

Ending the year 9-3 might signal a step in the right direction under Charlie Weis, but it doesn't complete that return to glory theme that so many predicted would come by toppling the Buckeyes.

"You just remember this feeling," said a red-eyed Maurice Crum Jr. at his locker. "You work hard so it doesn't happen again."

What happened on Monday at Sun Devil Stadium in front of 76,196 had never happened before to Notre Dame, not with yardage coming in these Costco-proportioned quantities. Ohio State pushed Notre Dame's defense to its heels with Ted Ginn Jr.'s 56-yard touchdown reception, brought it to its knees with Ginn's 68-yard scoring reverse, then nearly left the Irish for dead with Santonio Holmes' 85-yard touchdown catch.

The Irish flirted with a rally for the entire second half, but the big-play bash, coupled with Troy Smith's scrambling ability, stripped Notre Dame's defense of its aggression. Smith, who won offensive MVP honors, finished 19-of-28 for a career-high 342 yards. He's the seventh quarterback this season to throw for more than 300 yards against the Irish secondary, which turned in its worst performance of the year.

Not only were Smith's throws on target, but Notre Dame also gave him margin for error. Ginn sprinted at least 15 yards behind Ambrose Wooden on his touchdown grab, and Holmes jogged past safety Chinedum Ndukwe on his 85-yard score. Ginn and Holmes combined for 13 catches for 291 yards.

"It was just a rough day," Wooden said.

When Smith didn't beat Notre Dame with his right arm, he frustrated the Irish with his legs. Ohio State converted all five of its third down attempts in the first half, two on Smith runs. Smith finished with 66 yards rushing while Antonio Pittman led the Buckeyes with a 136.

"It seems like if it's 3rd-and-10, [Smith] picks up 11 yards," said safety Tom Zbikowski. "He finds the sticks and picked up that yardage."

Notre Dame crawled back into the game in the third quarter after Weis scrapped his game plan that he admitted went stale before intermission. After going 72 yards on their first drive, capped by the first of three Darius Walker touchdowns, the Irish gained just 82 yards on their next five.

"I don't know if it was hype, atmosphere; I don't really know but you could tell that we were not on all cylinders when we were out there," Walker said. "I think we definitely weren't in-sync."

Linebacker and defensive MVP A.J. Hawk had a lot to do with that, finishing with a game-high 12 tackles and two sacks. Hawk showed speed enough not only to clog Notre Dame's ground game, but cover receiver Maurice Stovall too. Hawk sent Stovall flying out of bounds for a one-yard loss during one Irish drive in the second half.

"He showed up today and had a great game," said Quinn, whose sister Laura dates Hawk and wore a split Notre Dame-Ohio State jersey to the game. "He was playing in the Fiesta Bowl and playing against Notre Dame, he was amped."

Notre Dame nearly clawed back to even late in the third quarter when Tom Zbikowski returned an apparent Anthony Gonzalez fumble for a touchdown. The officials reviewed and reversed the call to an incompletion, although the touchdown would have been negated by a penalty during the return. Ohio State kicked a 40-yard field on the next play to move ahead 24-13.

Notre Dame pulled to 27-20 with Walker's third touchdown with 5:27 left, but Ohio State responded with Pittman's back-breaking 60-yard run down the Buckeyes' sideline with 1:46 remaining to sap what little drama the game still held.

"There's two ways you can go after a loss," Weis said. "One of the ways is you can sit there and feel sorry for yourselves. The other way is you can take that bitter taste in your mouth and say I don't want to have that bitter taste again next year."

Unfortunately for Weis, that taste is a Notre Dame tradition.

 

[scooper]

Quinn's a leader. I'm glad he made them stay out there. The fans that made the trek deserved the salute from the team. And the team deserved to get some love back. We've all come a long way in a year. There's a ways to go, but at least the program is headed in the right direction. Part of getting better is taking your lumps with class and learning from them. That's why it was right to face the music, so to speak and stay on the field.

 

[jiggafini19]

Great job of leadership by Quinn of getting them out there and saluting the fans.

This too shall pass.

617 yards is the most given up by ND in school history. Take this dose of medicine, swallow and move on. Learn from it.

I believe in my heart that this defense will get better. It HAS to. Despite the way they played, they closed to within 7 at the end. They've gotten a taste of how to be a good team, now they need learn how to be winners.

Took USC to the brink. Lost to Ohio State in a BCS game after losing to Oregon State in a December BS game. They're not moral victories. They're learning experiences.

 

[IndyND'03]

guys...i agree i think we just need to keep the faith and congratulate osu for this win. it was a hard fought victory. remember, however, even though this is charlie weis' team, he is still putting ty's recruits out on the field. yes the defense gave up over 600 yards but keep in mind charlie hasn't had a chance to get his recruits out on the field. i feel in a couple of years, the defense will be just as good as our offense once charlie has a chance to coach these guys up for a couple of years.

 

[bigdon]

Great job of leadership by Quinn of getting them out there and saluting the fans.
This too shall pass.
617 yards is the most given up by ND in school history. Take this dose of medicine, swallow and move on. Learn from it.
I believe in my heart that this defense will get better. It HAS to. Despite the way they played, they closed to within 7 at the end. They've gotten a taste of how to be a good team, now they need learn how to be winners.
Took USC to the brink. Lost to Ohio State in a BCS game after losing to Oregon State in a December BS game. They're not moral victories. They're learning experiences.

Good post, Jiggs. I believe everything to be said about the game HAS been said. It was obvious we lost to a better team. Retrospection is always flawless. I think we perhaps overestimated the power of the ND team. It is not in the OSU class at this time. Even if somehow we could have won this game the flaws in the defense have been evident all year. We MUST correct them. As I watched the game I kept thinking the OSU defense IS WHERE ND HAS TO BE if they want to be top tier.

Minter has been criticized for the defensive problems. While he is not perfect he was dealt a miserable hand. And unless ND gets substantial DL help with the recruiting He will have a difficult job next year and the year after. We simply don't have the horses.

It is my belief that Tommy Z is the ONLY first rate man on the defense. He may not have the quickness but has the necessary speed and is a super hitter. With the rest, they are all good players but not the ones who will win championships. Abiamiri and Talley are respectable and that's all. The DL is small. The LB's are not fast enough or big enough to shut off the outside.

These points are not new to this site. But realism must take hold at some time. Let's look forward to the new class and the help they can bring. But high expections for the next year or two may be unattainable.

 

[scooper]

I won't go as far as to say Minter doesn't deserve some of the blame. The defense lacks talent, but there is more talent here than the likes of Miami OH or San Diego St, both of which were among many teams to hold the Buckeyes to less than we did. There are some scheme and fundamental issues involved here.

 

[jiggafini19]

Abiamari and Laws are good football players. Hopefully Landri can add more bulk this offseason. He plays hard and maximizes his ability.

Abiamari needs help at the other end. Frome's injury kind of hurt them the second half of the season, despite all of the wins.

Minter played the hand he was dealt, but the lack of improvement from Pitt to Ohio State cannot be ignored. But neither can Minter's recruiting work in Ohio so far.

Wade and Ryan will be good players. If ND can land McCoy and/or Lewis, the defense will have a good class to start with.

 

[irish9331]

I am looking for the defense to change so that it doesn't seem that Zibby and Duke are playing man to man, and they are playing a two deep safety like the Bucs do. It seems to me that is where they get into trouble when the corners lose contain and there is no help over the top.

 

[jiggafini19]

Think of it this way: Saturday, Carufel will don the Irish cap. Butch Lewis could do the same. Momentum is going to turn around pretty quick.

Two great corners and some great safeties are on the way. Bruton and Herring are waiting in the wings.

2006 needs to be a better campaign, moving forward. Stay healthy, keep winning, get better individually and as a unit on each side.

 

[bigndfan]

If Lewis dons the Irish cap Sat. with Carufel---then you must think we don't get either Young or McCoy

 

[jiggafini19]

If Lewis dons the Irish cap Sat. with Carufel---then you must think we don't get either Young or McCoy

If Lewis has narrowed his list down to SC and ND, they must be in the running for him. If he goes ND, then yes, Young or McCoy is probably out.

I think Lewis is going Trojan. Their recruiting has picked up some steam as of late. They're going to get some kids on Saturday (Ausberry).

You never know, though.