Hello Rock Bottom
Frank Vitovitch
November 14, 1999

Pittsburgh, Penn - Living in Pennsylvania I heard it, did anyone else living the great state of PA hear that loud thud around 7:00 PM EST time last night?  What was it you may ask.  It was the sound of Notre Dame's football program hitting rock bottom.  After fooling us all with a four game winning streak in the middle of the season, the Irish football team followed it up with their second straight loss Saturday night to the hands of the Pitt Panthers, a team that hadn't beat ND since 1987.

Lets just take a quick recap of the past two plus season before the recapping the game.  Prior to 1997 Michigan State hadn't beaten ND since 1986, Purdue hadn't beat ND since 1985, USC hadn't beaten ND since 1982, and PItt hadn't beaten ND since 1987.  Since 1997 however, ND is 0-3 vs Michigan State, 1-2 vs Purdue, 1-2 USC, and now 2-1 vs Pitt.  That's a combined 4-8 in three years against teams ND plays every year, but its ok because the program is headed in the right direction or so we are told by head coach Bob Davie.

The game itself showed a lack of enthusiasm from ND.   The players were out there and going through the motions the first half, but didn't seem like they were completely there, and it is the job of the head coach to get the team fired up and ready each week.

The defense let Pitt scored 37 points on them.  37 points?!?! Against Pitt?!?  Yes Pitt played Virginia Tech and Penn State tough, and that is a credit to Walt Harris the head coach.  Pitt has 65 scholarship players, 20 less than what the NCAA allows and what ND has, and yet it was Pittsburgh who was going strong at the end, not Notre Dame. 

Jarious Jackson had a pretty stats game with 317 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, but in the final minute with no time-outs he was passing over the middle?  What's wrong with that picture.  Jarious is a 5th year senior and should no better than to throw over the middle with no time-outs.  I still think ND is 2-8 now instead of 5-5 if Jarious isn't the quarterback, but this is the first game I think he really hurt ND's chances.

The running game was non existent again this week.   Julius Jones and Tony Fisher combined for 55 yards on 17 carries.  The problem with the running game lies in the offensive line.  The line missed the presence of Jordan Black who is gone for the season while not opening up anything for the backs to run through. 

So is there a silver lining in all of this? Well - yes, sort of.  Notre Dame was missing 9 players who were expected to make an impact this year against Pitt.  Lee Lafayette, Brock Williams, and Tony Driver are all gone due to suspensions.  Ron Isreal, Jordan Black, Terrence Howard, Mike McNair, Jason Murray, and Jason Ching were all missing with injuries.  Add on the fact that Weaver, Irons, Julius Jones, and Joey Getherall were all playing in some pain and there is some solace, but there is still no reason ND should have lost this game.

There is a TON of talent on the team next year with the potential for a truly explosive offense.  New offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers has shown flashes of being a great coach, but for the most part this season he seems as if he is clueless.  There is a reason for that.  His entire offense is not installed in.  The basics are installed which is why his play calling looks simplistic and clueless.  Give him some time to inclement the rest of the offense and maybe there is some hope.

While the team can't get any lower this year (even if they loss to BC and/or Stanford because both schools are better than Pit and they are both bowl bound), there is some hope for the future.  The entire offensive line may be back, the offensive backfield is back, there is speed at wide receiver for a change, the linebackers who have been the most consistent part of the defense are all back, and there will be a lot of athleticism in the secondary.  Is the coaching going to be there?   We can only hope.