Notre Dame at Washington – 3rd Quarter Notes
- I like Notre Dame coming out in the five wide formation with an empty backfield. Clausen struggled in the first quarter and can use some work to get back on a track and ready for next week’s visit from Pitt.
- While he’s struggled with his accuracy today, Clausen hasn’t struggled with velocity at all – he’s had some great zip on the ball.
- Anyone else find it funny that Todd Harris reported that “Coach Ty” was very encouraged with what they were able to establish with the inside run? Washington has 38 yards of offense. How the heck can anything offensively be encouraging?
- Aldridge continues to run impressively this year and just got his second touchdown of the season.
- First play of the second half for Washington results in a 12 men on the field penalty. I’m shocked that a Willingham coached team would make such a foolish penalty.
- Offensive line hasn’t handled the pass rush well at all tonight. Washington had just 3 sacks coming into the game and have been getting good pressure on Clausen all night.
- Loved the fake punt call. This is the second time the fake has worked for a big gain this year. Doesn’t bother me that it was called up 24 points. It’s still midway through the 3rd quarter and it shows future opponents that it’s in the arsenal which will slow down the rush. Considering Maust takes a bit of time to get the ball off – that is a good thing.
- And to anyone who wants to complain about Weis faking the punt and call him classless, is it classless for Weis to stop throwing the football in the 3rd quarter with a pass first offense?
- Aldridge keeps running hard and has been getting most of the carries in the second half. It is great to see Aldridge running this well. We haven’t seen him run as hard as he’s been the last couple weeks since he got to Notre Dame.
- Clausen just can’t take sacks that lose 15+ yards so close to the end zone. Luckily
- Nice to see Walker hit another 42 yard kick. He seems much more comfortable kicking from the right hash. When he kicks from the left, his kicks have a hook to them that is much more pronounced than anything he kicks from the right. He is 2 for 2 tonight and is 3 for his last 3 now. Confidence is huge for place kickers and his confidence has to be higher than it’s been since he’s got to Notre Dame right about now.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
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