The Irish opened 2009 with a resounding 35-0 defeat of Nevada. While the Wolfpack offense turned the ball over three times—twice in potential scoring position—the game was a fairly one-sided affair. Notre Dame ran the ball well, controlled the clock, and displayed a dynamic downfield passing attack. Since then, games have been anything but one-sided. […]

After Saturday’s loss to USC, Clashmore Mike staff writer Anthony Pilcher conducted an interview with Chicago’s 670 The Score (670am). The audio of the interview itself can be found at the bottom of this article. What follows are some further responses and elaboration on topics from the interview itself. On The “Must Win” Game For […]

With the offensive analysis out of the way, it’s time to focus on the mid-year statistical review of Notre Dame’s defense. But before getting to the numbers some logistical details must be outlined. As was the case with the offense, the individual game performances (Nevada, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Washington) tell part of the […]

Bye weeks are good for many things. For head coach Charlie Weis this week was an opportunity to rest key personnel with injuries, self-scout the first five games, and get the reserves meaningful practice repetitions. For fans it is a chance to reflect on (and potentially readjust) their season expectations and, this year, to get […]

I’m usually an optimist concerning most things. I’m the guy who sat in front of the television every Saturday afternoon during the 2007 football season yelling obscenities and screaming that the football team wasn’t playing as well as I thought they should. They weren’t playing up to my expectations, even though the expectations I had […]

Based on pre-season expectations, most Irish fans are starting to grumble about the state of the football program at Notre Dame. Some people are waiting to see if the two previous close wins will catch up to the Irish, similar to the Michigan game. Around the nation, Irish fans are starting to ask themselves “Are […]

Notre Dame fans need treatment for hypertension. The last three games have been decided in the waning moments, with the the last two needing gifts from the opposing team to secure a victory. Against Michigan State it was quarterback Kirk Cousins overthrowing a wide open Larry Caper in the back of the end zone followed […]

Notre Dame takes on annual foe Purdue in West Lafayette this weekend. After consecutive nail biters, many Irish fans just hope the game won’t be decided in the final seconds. From a talent perspective Purdue doesn’t figure to present the same challenge as Michigan or Michigan State. But talent may not mean much when a […]

Now that the voting is over, it’s time to present the results. First, thanks to all who participated. At the time of this analysis better than 200 people cast votes. For each game on Notre Dame’s 2009 schedule voters were asked to select their confidence in a win. Predicting the outcome of the 2009 season […]

Whether you saw the Blue-Gold game live or followed along with the reviews, the Irish have had a relatively eventful off-season. A solid recruiting class headlined by defensive stalwart Manti Te’o preceded three coaching changes. Rumors emerged from Spring practice sessions highlighting quarterback Jimmy Clausen’s continued development, defensive lineman Ethan Johnson domination of one-on-one drills […]