Irish Need to Start Season Running
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
May 11, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - With offseason boredom setting in, I thought it might be a good time to post an article on the upcoming season to get interest going again.  One aspect of the upcoming season I can't stop thinking about is the running game.  Notre Dame will have three great backs, all of whom can be starting, on the field in 2000 and need to utilize them if they want to be successful.

With Tony Fisher, Julius Jones, and Terrence Howard in the backfield, Notre Dame has one of the most talented backfields in the nation.  Fisher may lack Jones' pure speed and elusiveness, but what he lacks there he makes up with power running ability.  Howard has great speed and makes nice cuts.  The point here is that all three backs possess talent in different areas and need to be used.

I can remember the 1998 Army game when the Cadets nearly upset the Irish in South Bend and did so by only passing a few times.  If memory serves me correct, Army didn't even attempt a pass until Notre Dame took the lead late in the game.  They pounded and pounded away at Notre Dame.  Why can't Notre Dame do that this season?

With the three aforementioned tailbacks to run behind a line that lost one starter and gained a future All American, this seems possible.  The offense line took a while to gel last year and suffered from a rash of injuries.  If they can play together as a unit in 2000, what is wrong with running the ball 40 times a game and taking pressure off a first year starting quarterback who is still looking for touchdown pass #1?

Notre Dame only lost John Merandi from last year's squad and will have the services of the freshman five from the 1999 recruiting season (Neal Ambron, Brennan Curtin, Jeff Faine, Ryan Gillis, and Sean Milligan).  Faine will take Merandi's spot and should do fine.  With experience and a lot of young talent, Notre Dame should, in theory, be able to pound the ball down opponents throats.  In fact, if they can't, it could spell disaster for Arnaz Battle.

What is the worst thing that a young, inexperienced quarterback can go through?  Having to be the man right away and being forced to throw the ball often.  In most cases where this occurs, the young quarterback is forced into a lot of mistakes and losses confidence.  If Notre Dame can run the ball well however, it would take a lot of pressure off Battle and he could use the play action pass to his advantage.

One of Notre Dame's toughest opponents in 2000, Nebraska, is known for pounding the ball down opponents throats and have been very successful doing so in the 90's.  Notre Dame doesn't have to strictly run the ball all year, but doing so early will ease Battle's transition to the starting quarterback.  The Irish will have a ton of talent at wide receiver so the tools will be there for Battle to use.   Establishing a dominant running game early in the season however would allow for Notre Dame to open up its passing attack later in the season.

With Fisher, Jones, and Howard at running back, the Irish have three potential 1000 yard rushers.  People are quick to say that Julius is going to win a couple Hesiman's but let's not forget that Fisher did a great job as the starter in 1999.  All three showed flashes of brilliance last year.  The problem this year could be evenly distributing the carries and getting all three to perform well while being part of a rotation.

The offense will only go as far as the running game will carry it early in the season.  If the Irish are forced to rely on Battle and the passing game early it could be a long season since in theory, a young, inexperienced quarterback should have trouble against the killer early season schedule that the Irish will be facing.