QB Position Key for Irish Offensive Success
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
October 24, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - As the quarterback position has settled into place, the Irish offense has began to prosper.  After the first four to five games of the season the Irish offense was pretty much stagnant.  The Irish couldn't have moved the ball on most high school defenses.  With Matt LoVecchio taking over at quarterback however, the Irish offense has became productive as the LoVecchio has settled into place.

Matt LoVecchio has not only lead the Irish to three straight wins, he has brought stability to an offense that was ranked second last in total yards in the entire country.  The Irish had to rely on their defense and special teams to carry them through their first five games.  In the last two games however, the Irish offense has put up 66 points in the last two games (Notre Dame scored 87 points in these two games, but 21 came from defense and special teams).  This is after the Irish's previous high scoring game was 24 points in week one against Texas A&M.

Since taking over LoVecchio is 32 of 55 passing for 420 yards with six touchdowns to only one interception.  The most important stat for LoVecchio is his record as a starter, 3-0.  The last Irish quarterback to start 3-0 was Kevin McDougal.  LoVecchio has showed coolness under pressure and has not let the situation of being the starting quarterback for Notre Dame overwhelm him.

With LoVecchio as the starting quarterback the rushing yardage has also increased from 151 yards a game to 204.  Yes, LoVecchio has started against Navy, Stanford, and West Virginia, but the 50 yard increase is significant.   The Irish couldn't run at all the first four games and averaged a mere 3.8 yards a carry, this too has increased to 4.1 yards a carry.

While the level of competition that LoVecchio has faced is not nearly what Anraz Battle or Gary Godsey saw, he has done what they couldn't - move the offense.  Battle clearly had the two toughest games - Nebraska and Texas A&M.   Godsey played two tough teams, but neither is known for their defense this year in Purdue and Michigan State. 

While the quarterback position was unstable, so was the offense.  Now that the Irish are set with their starter the offense has slowly began to gel.  No matter what happens the rest of the season with USC, the USC game will be a tough contest for the Irish.  USC will be jacked for the game since it could mean spoiling ND's season.

While LoVecchio might not be the long term answer at quarterback for Notre Dame, he is doing more than an average job.  People forget he was playing against high school teams at this time last year.  He has been able to step in and play as well as he has with no experience what so ever coming.

It will be very interesting to watch the quarterback battle in the spring with Arnaz Battle being healthy and Jared Clark and Carlyle Holiday itching to see playing time the Irish will have the most interesting quarterback battle of anywhere in the country. 

For now however, LoVecchio is the man.  If he falters in the next few games he will most likely remain the starter, a role he has earned the last three weeks.  LoVecchio also has the chance to start his career 7-0 before the season ends if he can guide the Irish to wins over Air Force, Boston College, Rutgers, and USC.

The offense still has a ways to go before it can be called a truly productive unit, but it has come a long way since the first week of the season.  Notre Dame will have to start coming out of the gate however.  They have been sluggish to say the least early on in games this year.  Notre Dame will have to come out firing in the rest of its games if it wants to be playing in a BCS game.