Notre Dame once again loses this weekend against Michigan State. This makes the Irish 0-4, the worst ever in the schools history. I mean really, how bad do you have to be to come from being a powerhouse last year, into a horrible team. Is it the coaching? Is it the players? Is it just bad luck? Well, I think its a combination of all three, mostly being inexperience and lack of confidence with the players.
In the first quarter, the game was thought of as a turn around for the Irish, coming out and drawing blood first with the touchdown of Travis Thomas. I thought that the Irish were finally going to get a win on the board. If a team that is normally a top 25 in the nation caliber starts out 0-3, you know the players are going to be at eachothers' throats trying to figure out why they are losing. And if the team happens to be a collegiate team, you know those players are going to turn that negative atmosphere around and break their backs to get a win on the board. Anyway, about the first quarter, Michigan State has a drive and with 7:05 in the first quarter left, they put 7 points on the board. Then with only :22 seconds left in the first quarter, the Spartans score again.
In the second quarter, Michigan State kicks a field goal making the score 17-7. Then Notre Dame decides to put their game face on and move the ball down field to score putting them within striking distance. Going into half time with the score being 17-14, everyone is thinking will Notre Dame come out and be the powerhouse they are known through the years of being, or will they come out and choke?
Well come to find out, the Irish come out after half time and choke letting the Spartans score twice in the third quarter. The final score of the game was 31-14, although the scoreboard doesn't say the truth. The truth is, Notre Dame's performance really wasn't that bad one offense with Jimmy Clausen throwing 7/13 and James Aldridge rushing for 104 yards. The problem with the Irish today was the defense.
The defense could not stop the Spartans from scoring, especially when the offense worked so hard before halftime to cut the lead to three points. Michigan State only were stopped 5 times the entire game while the Irish were stopped 9. For a team to convert all but 5 times in an entire game is ridiculous. There is a slim chance of winning if a team can put points on the board all but 5 times they have the ball, especially when they hold the other team to punting the ball 9 times.
Overall the game had potential although Notre Dame doesn't have a defense. Notre Dame's defense may possibly be compared to high school defenses around the state. Next week Purdue faces Notre Dame which for Purdue is a lose lose situation because if Purdue wins then the talk is big deal, you beat an 0-4 team. Although, if they lose, then the hype about Purdue is they had three weak teams, and they could not even beat an 0-4 Notre Dame.
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The decline of Notre Dame looks like it started a few years back. They have been overrated for the last couple of years. They should not have been in the Sugar Bowl last year as they proved with lack to competitiveness in the game. They also only have inexperienced players this year. If you look at their rosters most of their starters are sophmores or freshman. I can't say that the lackluster play of Notre Dame this suprised me.
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