Quarterback:
Carlyle Holiday continues to improve as a passing quarterback and tied a school with 4 touchdown passes giving him 10 on the year to only 2 interceptions. On the day he was 13 for 25 for 270 yards to go along with his 4 TD passes. He hit short passes such as the bubble screen to Battle that went for 38 yards and a touchdown and had nice touch on a 37 yard touchdown to Omar Jenkins. He went deep with a 63 yard bomb to Arnaz Battle. The ball got away from Holiday a little bit and was wobbly, but Battle adjusted to it and took it to the house. Holiday is getting better each week and has a huge stage in front of him next weekend to shine again.
Grade: A

Runningbacks:
Ryan Grant went over 1000 yards for the season, but was not very consistent throughout the game. Grant had trouble getting going before running for a 28 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He only managed 68 yards on 18 carries on the day and wasn't a real threat most of the day. He will need to be a much bigger factor next week when the Irish battle the Men of Troy. Rashon Powers-Neal saw some action and was solid. One interesting note was that Powers-Neal lined up at fullback at one point which provides some credence to the thought that he may move their next season.
Grade: C

Wide Receivers:
Arnaz Battle was his normal play-making self against Rutgers gaining 108 yards on 3 catches with 2 touchdowns giving him 46 catches for 696 yards and 5 touchdowns. Maurice Stovall added another touchdown as a play broke down. Stovall ran with Holiday as he was scrambling and got open in the end zone. Rhema McKnight also played a bigger role this week catching 2 passes and being involved with others. McKnight and Stovall are gonna be big time players for Notre Dame and both will benefit from the extra practice time with a bowl game.
Grade: A

Offensive Line:
Jim Molinaro started in place of Jordan Black who sat out the first half for getting his car towed a couple times. Overall the line played ok. The pass blocking was pretty good after a shaky start, but the run blocking never got going. The holes really weren't there for the runningbacks and they will need to be next week. There is no reason that Notre Dame should not be able to run on Rutgers. The Irish ended up with 180+ yards, but many of them came late in the game. Early on the Irish had trouble running the game. With the continued improvement in the passing game, the running game should improve with defenses not keying on the run.

Defensive Line:
Rutgers managed just 14 yards on 28 carries and the the Rutger's QBs were under pressure most of the day. Without Cedric Hilliard, who missed his third straight game, the d-line played well. Greg Pauly is getting some valuable experience and is playing well. Hilliard is expected back next week and will be needed against USC. The Notre Dame defensive line played well and will be counted on big time next week to pressure USC quarterback Carson Palmer.
Grade: B

Linebackers:
Mike Goolsby played one of his better games of his career against Rutgers. He had 2 sacks and also nearly had his first pick of the season. Courtney Watson also played solid, as usual. He only had 2 tackles, but played solid in pass coverage since Rutgers never got their running game going. Derek Curry also caused a fumble in the first quarter when Rutgers was about to score after having a first and goal inside the 5 yard line. Overall, they played very solid against Rutgers.
Grade: B-

Secondary:
Shane Walton took a pick off the back of a Rutgers offensive linemen and raced into the end zone for Notre Dame's second touchdown of the game. The touchdown was Walton's second of the season. Walton also played very solid coverage all game long. He made sure tackles and showed excellent leadership. Garron Bible got his second straight start for the injured Gerome Sapp and showed that he could make an impact. He made hit after hit and showed he can be a punishing safety. Bible is showing that he can be a player for the Irish this year and can should be able to step in next year once Sapp is departed.
Grade: A

Overall:
After a slow start the Irish woke up and have some momentum heading into the USC game next week. The offense had its best showing of the season, putting up the most points it has in any game since they played Rutgers in 2000 when they scored 45. Notre Dame did not play perfect, but they played better than they have in recent weeks. Notre Dame has yet to play a full game from kick-off to the end. The Irish have yet to play a full 60 minute game at the level they are capable of. The closest they gave come was the Florida State game until the late game let down. Next week the Irish face USC in the biggest game that they have played in in a long time. The last time a game has had this much meaning was the 2000 USC game, but the following blow out at the hands of Oregon State makes that game seem less important at this time since it appears Notre Dame can only go forward from here.
Grade" B+