KLB's Weekend Review
UHND.com - Ken Britton
September 11, 2000

First off, Bob Davie and Greg Mattison deserves more credit than we can possibly imagine.  No one has been more critical of the head coach than I, but Davie is head and shoulders, three or four times the coach he was last year.   He has showed a stoicism that few would have predicted after the Stanford debacle last December.  He had the team ready to go after winning a big game the previous week versus a very good school (while Nebraska had to deal with that super power house...).  He took a defense that could not stop Pitt, Stanford, and Nebraska and stopped the Cornhuskers cold in the second half.  The statistics are shocking when looked at.  Take away Crouch's 62 yd run, and he rushed 15 times for a whopping 18 yds.  Watching ND stuff Crouch and Alexander time and time again had to bring pride to and ND fan who has watched repeated swiss cheese defenses over the years.  Not one of the "professional" analysts gave the Irish half a chance against Nebraska.   

But to borrow a line from Marshall Mathers: "Will the real Notre Dame offense please stand up?"

Who would have guessed that the defense would totally outshine and execute that much better than the offense?
Answer: Nobody.

This was supposed to be an offense that returned to the running game. Yes, it would have Rogers' wrinkles, but when you have three tailbacks who could start for most division 1 programs, and a QB who can outrun one of the best defenses in the nation, you NEED to run the ball.  I understand that the Nebraska D is one of the best in the country played a great game.  But there was no excuse for the way the offense played.  One has to ask; "If San Jose State could run the ball, why couldn't we?"

In typical fashion reminiscent of last season the Irish struggled to run the ball at key times.  On fourth and one - at a key juncture - a play fake is called which results in an incompletion.  Every Irish fan watching NBC had to deal with the reality that Jordan Black and Jim Jones could not block one man - together in OT.  The passing game was equally ineffective.

Yes, Battle is still somewhat Green (and now injured unfortunately).  And yes, the losses of Hunter (to injury, Taylor , and Witherspoon hurt, but was not Rogers supposed to be an offensive genius?  With all the talent ND has on offense, could we not score more than ten points?  SJSU had 13, in four quarters.  So Rogers thought we could pass the ball more effectively: Battle was 3/15 for 40 yds (However, he did play despite the broken left wrist, and should be commended for that effort).  At the end of the game, instead of trying to win it, the offense sits on the ball.  Yes, that might be more Davie's fault than Rogers'.   But would Davie have made that decision if the offense had played better?  Probably not.  Nebraska by the fourth quarter had to take notice of Battle's scrambling ability, which means at least two linebackers have to stay up front.  So why, with David Givens, Holloway, O'Leary, Getherall, and Jay Johnson to throw to could we not move the ball a tiny bit better?  Just a little?

If it's the lineman (which I do not think it is) up front, replace them.  This team had plenty of depth.  Brennan Curtin could fill in at left tackle, with Ryan Scarola at left guard.  John Teasdale or Sean Mahan (who played well at the position last year) can play right tackle.

Rogers and Davie have one week to fix the offense against a far inferior defense than the Huskers put on the field.  The loss of Arnaz Battle throws a nasty curve at the coaching staff.  Hopefully a solution can be found, and the offense can obtain some sort of identity.

Odds and Ends

Some excerpts of the AP immediate recap:

   -Congratulations to the players for their effort.  I know this is ND, but hold your heads high.  A 10-1 season might bring  a chance at redemption.

  Comments? Questions?  All email is appreciated: Manstein01@usa.net