Notre Dame 2008 Hawaii Bowl Highlights

For those of you who may have missed last night’s Hawaii Bowl due to Christmas Eve obligations, here are some highlights from the 49-21 win over Hawaii. The Irish lit up the Rainbow Warriors like a Christmas tree thanks for a near perfect night for Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausne. Clausne’s partner in crime, wide receiver Golden Tate, put on a show as well. And, Armando Allen finally broke free for a touchdown on a kick-off return for the Irish.

All in all, Notre Dame delivered a very Merry Christmas to fans after a rough season.

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14 Comments

  1. @bleednd82,
    I’ve been a fan of Aaron Taylor, at least listening to his fire. I think he’d be a great offensive line coach.

    Offensive coordinator is tricky. Everyone is correct in saying we need a “no man” someone to balance Weis. But who would that be. You also need harmony and comfort among the staff in having that conflict. Your guess might be better than mine on that one.

    QB coach, again hard to know. Weis could still do that while head coaching.

    What Weis really needs is to learn to teach coaches.

    Look at how good he was in the booth in the bowl game. Why can’t he find talent and teach that person to see what he sees.

    I also think Weis needs to read the book Carroll read. Like Patton reading up on Rommell, Weis needs to adopt what has made Carroll successful, while not selling out, like I believe Carroll did.

    Bleed, Who do you see as good assistants? Does anyone stand out?

  2. C-Dogg
    I agree that I want to see Haywood take Paulus. I havent seen him do much with JC. Latina has to go also. That is 3 vacant spots open. Soooo who to fill them with?

  3. @chris,
    I agree. If you do what it takes to establish a good running game, while still nurturing that passing threat, you are VERY hard to defend. I’d like to see a rushing average of around 180 – 200 per game. The passing average could still be close to 300. You’d realy light up the score board and probably psych out most of your opponents.

    @bleednd82,
    That’s a good question. I’d like to see a new offensive line coach first. Then I’d like to see Haywood take Paulus with him. Then, if there was a young offensive coordinator, who was sound OK. That’s going to be a mystery until next seaason because they’ll spin it like the guy walks on water. Chemistry with Weis, the players, other coaches make that a lot more complicated. I’d also like to see that strength and agility coach get another step out of the running backs and linemen. After watching Allen’s runback in the bowl, I think they all have more if developed.

    I’m skeptically hopeful.

  4. Hey Jim,
    “The running game remains abysmal. Not to be lost in the otherwise-satisfying 49-21 thrashing of the Warriors in Honolulu was the net 73 yards gained by Irish players on the ground during the contest. While an 85 percent completion rate for your quarterback is a great thing, it’s also not something dependable or even usual, and less than 100 yards on the ground against a team of UH’s caliber does not bode well.

    It’s time for Charlie to truly become the leader a head coach needs to be. Leaders hire other leaders, and what Notre Dame needs now is a leader on offense not afraid to tell Weis it’s time to run the ball well and not give up on it at the first sign of trouble. By all means, continue to utilize the weapons at QB and WR and TE. But an offense that is not a threat to run eventually falls because teams can sell out to stop the pass, as we saw to our chagrin down the stretch this season.”

    ——NDNATION.COM

    It’s good to see I am not the only one who thinks this way.

  5. I too think the o-line needs work. They got bigger over the spring and offseason. Was it to big? Maybe work on more quickness this year. With the skill players we got we should be a run and pass team. Great win to get the thunder rolling and the echoes screaming again in a positive direction.

  6. I’m not predicting a return to glory next year just from the bowl win. It is a very positive step and one that good football programs build off of. We will see if ND can do that. The value to winning a game like this is it instills confidence in the younger players that they can beat anyone.
    The two best takeaways for me were that I do not believe that Clausen made a single poor decision passing into impossible coverage. At least I did not see any. The other one was the defensive performance, particularly E. Johnson and D. Flemming. They have been improving with each game.

    Chris, please. The running game was not to be dominant in this matchup. The game plan was apparently designed around the pass because that is what the defense was yielding. I can’t argue with putting up 49 points and then complain that we didn’t do it running the football. By the way, it is ok to be critical of a program or coach. The objection that I have is when it degenerates into no intelligent thought, just whining and idiotic criticisms like the weight of the coach. At that point there is no value to engaging in dialogue. Hope that does not include you.

  7. BOYS:
    NOTRE DAME WON!
    LET’S JUST CELEBRATE IT!
    A post season WIN is worth it!
    For those of you who may have forgotten, 57% of the nation favored Hawaii while the “expert odds makers” said ND would win.
    I thought we might.
    I am just glad to see ND play with EMOTION!
    I think Weis is a football scientist. However, it takes passion and emotion to put some spark into 18-22 year olds. Is he capable of doing that? The intangibles have hurt Notre Dame this year. Like it or not, that is the truth. BUT——-
    The IRISH finished with a WIN! That is better than a loss any day!
    As far as Hawaii being “outmatched” this was exactly the place ND needed to be to build up.
    We DO need a running game–ND was always known for it.Combine that with GREAT passing from Clausen and some not so bad receivers and there is cause to reflect for a great season.
    The best thing is that ND played a FULL game!
    A win is better than a loss and 7-6 is better than 6-7 by a mile or better.
    Return to glory?
    Eventually.
    For now—-IRISH WON and that is a relief in and of itself. ( Now the ESPN analysts can look at the losing streak in the post season of somebody else!)
    GOOD LUCK IRISH NEXT YEAR!
    ND # 1 in the hearts of many.
    Let’s just enjoy it!

  8. I never stated anyone specifically. I realize that we are all fan’s of ND football and ND the University. We just do it in differnt ways. Doesnt mean we are not fans or one is “more” or “less” of a fan. I never returend anything to glory either. I am just excited for next season.

  9. By the way, 9-3 it not big time next year, 12-0 is, however, 11-1 is acceptable and in the discussion, yep, you heard it hear 1st.

    Or if you prefer: revisit the Ad’s comments.

  10. woah there bleedingnd, dont you think one game against HAWAII is a bit premature to claim ND’s return to glory. The weather was great, the team was way outmatched, and hawaii was undersized. Golden tate basically decided to outrun everyone, and Jimmy Clausen hit wide open targets.

    One thing i would like to point out, the team played with more emotion than i have seen from this squad. Maybe that has something to do with charlie being up in the booth? – I dont know.

    I am very thrilled with the win, but it hardly signals a return to greatness. Because remember, as simple math functions will help me display:

    Hawaii < USC

    The team needs to use this as a confidence booster and a springboard into spring ball. Not a sign of what will come next season.

  11. Well, Mr. Eat that, atleast I predicted a 35-7 win in writing on this site. Don’t recall you sticking your neck out for anything other than a bitter lecture.

    Feel better Urban!

  12. I’m still a “nay sayer” as far as the O-line goes. So if Jimmy had 401 yards passing out of 478 total yards, what does that say about our running game???????? I’m still convinced we need a new O-line coach. And we need a new RB coach but that will be addressed with the hire of a new OC.

    Before you blast me, I loved the game and the offensive production. I can’t understand why Hawaii did not do what everybody else did to shut our offense down. It just goes to show we need to address this one-dimensional offense because it it so easy to stop.

    Anyway, congrats ND! Wow, can Jimmy place the ball or what! Thank you Armando for finally running one back!

  13. Note to ND fans. You didnt want to go to a bowl game ehhhh. Well, here is to CW and Jimmy C and all the nay sayers. Eat that. We destroyed them. Big time next year.
    Go Irish

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