Luck of the Irish: John O'Farrell and Notre Dame (TCY/FOF)

[Big Six]

My Roger Allen dynasty has died, the victim of a problem of some sort...the game loads and loads and loads, and never finishes loading. I've enjoyed playing TCY so much lately, however, that I've decided to start a new TCY dynasty story here. I hope all of you who enjoyed my first story will like this new one just as much.

This time, I'll follow the saga of a smart, personable young coach who has just landed one of the highest-profile jobs in all of American sports: head football coach at the University of Notre Dame.

I'm locating the Solecismic Eight in Ohio, which is the home state of our featured coach, and renamed it the Buckeye Conference.

Coach movement is set "on," meaning if our title character can't "wake up the echoes" or "shake down the thunder from the skies," he'll lose his job. I'll handle all decisions regarding recruiting, roster issues, and staff hiring, and leave the details of game planning to the assistants for now.

I'll be following the story on a fairly regular basis. I'll do a season preview every fall, and I'll update the story at the midpoint and end of the regular season. I love recruiting, so I'll take a look at the Irish recruits each year. If the Irish earn a trip to a bowl, I'll include a writeup with a summary of the bowl game, too.

Since I have a copy of FOF: The Fourth Edition, I'll run a parallel NFL universe so we can follow Notre Dame alums as they pursue their professional careers.

I'm sure some of you are big fans of the Fighting Irish. I also suppose some of you hate Notre Dame with a passion. I hope you'll all enjoy the story, even if you hope the Irish get the shamrocks beat out of them every week. :)

[kobe360x]

hate Notre Dame but i'll follow:)

[Big Six]

hate Notre Dame but i'll follow:)

Excellent, kobe360x. The teams I grew up rooting for tend to be invoved in intense rivalries and generate love/hate relationships: the Boston Red Sox, Duke basketball, Notre Dame football. The only exceptions seemed to be the Boston Bruins (most of my friends weren't into hockey until the 1980 Olympics), the Baltimore Colts, and Penn State football.

BTW, I decided to change the name of my main character. I realized I'd picked the same last name as the real Irish coach, and besides, I decided to incorporate another story line. :)

[Big Six]

From the "Irish Eyes" blog, May 18, 2004

Not sure what they're thinking

Any of you who have read my blog for more than a few weeks know that I'm as devoted to the traditions of Notre Dame as anyone. I hum the Victory March in the grocery store, collect (and watch) every DVD about the Fighting Irish that I can find, and enjoy every aspect of the football program's long and glorious history.

Even I am at a loss, however, to fully understand what the powers-that-be were thinking when they hired Johnny O'Farrell to be the head football coach. (I suppose I have to get used to calling him John now, right?)

We all, myself included, appreciate the fact that few players have played as hard, represented themselves as well, or been as fun to watch and root for as O'Farrell was. He was a decent athlete who made himself into a special player through learning his craft and working at it relentlessly. He took his classwork as seriously as he did his football, and I think we all thought he'd make a fine coach one day.

But O'Farrell's only been out of college for nine years, and he's never held a full-time position on a collegiate coaching staff! He's apparently worked wonders as a high school coach in his native Ohio, but it's a long. long way from Wooster High School to the University of Notre Dame.

O'Farrell is reportedly a tremendous motivator and a thorough administrator. He's not known for being an X's and O's geek, but he supposedly has attracted assistants who are. And he's supposedly an engaging fellow who should be a fine recruiter.

But we have no way of knowing how well his skills will play at the collegiate level!

I'm all for the idea that a Notre Dame man should coach at Notre Dame. And John O'Farrell's credentials in this area are impeccable. His father, Jack, was a hell of a halfback for the Irish in the 60s. His grandfather, also John, was one of the most beloved sportswriters of his day. His great-uncle, Mike, was one of the most dynamic two-sport stars the university ever produced, a star at baseball and football.

And his great-great grandfather was, of course, Pat O'Farrell, one of the greatest players in major league baseball history. The name recognition Coach John enjoys for these reasons is impressive, and it certainly opens doors to him.

But will that be enough?

I'm not convinced, yet, that it will. Far more experienced coaches applied for the Notre Dame job, coaches with resumes that spoke of their ability to get it done in the competitive world of big-time college football.

John O'Farrell's resume speaks of promise, and that's about all.

Believe me, I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid we might have hired the wrong coach.

--Taylor Hughes

[Big Six]

RE: Busy yet?

From: John O'Farrell ([email protected])
To: Mark Carson ([email protected])
Date: 24 July 2004

Mark,

Yeah, I'm busy. Practice starts next week. Of course I'm busy. In fact, I'm busier than I ever was. The closer we get to the season, the more demands I have on my time. So far, I think I'm handling them well, and I know that's part of the job, so I do it whether or not I happen to feel like it at the time. The fact that I don't have a family makes that part of the job a little easier right now.

I suppose I knew, intellectually, that people are interested in everything the Notre Dame football coach does. Now, I'm seeing exactly what that's like. I filled my gas tank on Monday night, and apparently someone reported about that on his blog the next morning. That's almost creepy.

You asked what I thought about the team's talent. Let's just say that I wish we had more of it, but then again, what coach doesn't? We're weakest at offensive tackle, where I don't think we're much better than the teams in the Buckeye Conference. In one case, it's because the guy is young; in the other, it's because he's just not very good.

Our receivers are very good, and our quarterback is very good on all the throws except the deepest ones. I'd say that's the greatest strength of our offense, which might mean I'm going to have to throw the ball a little more than I'd like. On defense, I really like our linebackers, and even better, none of the starters at LB are seniors.

If you've seen our schedule, you'll realize that we can't afford to have "average" talent. Between you and me, I hope everybody will be patient with me, at least at first. I think we might be good enough to make a bowl game this year, but not much better.

It might end up coming down to how well I can recruit. I can't say anything, even to you, about what we're doing there until a player signs his letter, so you'll have to wait along with everybody else.

Tell Trish and the kids hello. You'll have to make it out to South Bend for a game--maybe even the Michigan game.

Take care,
John

[Big Six]

Here are the key players for the 2004 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: the team Coach John O'Farrell will inherit and lead onto the field for his first season in South Bend.

First, the offense. I've listed the projected starters and the key reserves. CE is the current estimate of the player's ability; FE is his projected future ability.



POS NO NAME HT WT CL CE/FE HOME TOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
QB 19 Thurman Lykins 6'2" 219 Sr 52/52 West Terre Haute, IN/West Vigo
RB 40 Ronnie Schulz 5'9" 199 So 59/79 Elkhart, IN/Central
FB 31 Kyle Chandler 5'8" 203 So 38/67 Kentland, IN/South Newton
SE 89 Jackie Blanchard 5'10" 184 So 72/88 Jackson, MI/Jackson
FL 6 Howard Purnell 5'10" 186 Sr 85/85 Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem
TE 85 Archie Ward 6'1" 240 Sr 67/67 Noblesville, IN/Noblesville
LT 62 Desmond Mullis 6'4" 274 So 38/70 Sparta, NJ/Sparta
LG 69 Jamal Lomond 6'4" 290 Jr 85/100 Chicago, IL/Young Magnet
C 53 Rick Rice 6'4" 302 Jr 60/91 Winchester, IN/Winchester Community
RG 67 Gary Keith 6'4" 309 Sr 71/71 Orlando, FL/University
RT 64 Terry Hagen 6'6" 316 Sr 44/44 Goshen, IN/Goshen

RB 21 Tyrone Greene 6'0" 216 Jr 53/67 Gary, IN/Calumet
FB 42 Britt Moss 5'9" 208 Jr 38/67 Clayton, IN/Cascade
WR 8 Ralph Borders 5'11" 180 So 37/57 Aberdeen, IN/Aberdeen
G 77 Freddie Burton 6'3" 284 Jr 52/89 Huntington, IN/North
C 52 Artie Clotfelter 6'4" 291 Sr 59/87 Fort Branch, IN/Gibson Southern


Purnell and Lomond are studs, genuine All-American candidates. It's a shame Coach O'Farrell will only have Purnell around for one year. Keith and Blanchard are very solid, and Rice has great upside. Hopefully he'll reach his potential, much of which remains unfulfilled.

On the other hand, Lykins isn't nearly as good as the QB for a national title contender should be, and neither Schulz nor Greene looks like a true feature back. And the situation at tackle is pretty dismal. Mullis has the potential to be good one day, but it looks like he's going to get the crap beat out of him in the meantime.

[Big Six]

Sorry about the delay. With no further ado, here are Notre Dame's key defensive players and kicking specialists:



POS NO NAME HT WT CL CE/FE HOME TOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
LE 75 Floyd Benton 6'3" 243 Fr 25/71 Libertyville, IL/Libertyville-Butler Lake
NT 76 Robbie Morrison 6'1" 265 Sr 67/74 Delphi, IN/Delphi Community
DT 72 D.J. Hanks 6'4" 267 Sr 68/75 Wabash, IN/Southwood
RE 70 Renaldo Samuels 6'6" 273 So 54/69 Hagerstown, IN/Hagerstown
WOLB 97 Mercury Goffee 6'1" 218 Jr 63/82 Greenwood, IN/Greenwood Community
WILB 57 Emmitt Hutton 6'2" 237 Jr 69/87 Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis
SILB 49 Lester Martinez 6'0" 208 Jr 69/87 Saint John, IN/Lake Central
SOLB 56 Dennis Gonzalez 6'2" 235 Jr 79/91 Denver, IN/North Miami
LCB 46 Maurice Rosenberg 5'10" 179 Sr 75/75 Manteca, CA/Sierra
RCB 20 Antoine Rivers 5'9" 161 Fr 45/83 Plainfield, IN/Plainfield
FS 41 Rufus Mitchell 6'2" 186 Jr 59/99 Elkhart, IN/Concord Community
SS 47 Albert Money 6'2" 199 Sr 50/50 La Crosse, WI/Logan

DE 79 Travis Edmonson 6'3" 221 Fr 21/78 Leopold, IN/Perry Central
DT 96 Dusty Barton 6'1" 268 Jr 58/82 French Lick, IN/Springs Valley Community
OLB 51 Brett West 6'4" 234 Sr 47/72 Des Moines, IA/East
CB 36 Brock Cole 6'1" 192 Sr 50/68 Heath, OH/Heath
CB 35 Rob Garrett 5'10" 177 Sr 51/51 Kokomo, IN/Northwestern
K 5 Earl Shah 6'1" 184 Sr 67/76 Chesterton, IN/Chesterton
P 10 Cole Sherman 5'10" 183 Sr 62/71 Indianapolis, IN/Southport


The key to the Irish defense will be the linebackers, all of whom can flat-out play. Gonzalez can do it all, and has NFL scouts salivating. Rosenberg is the team leader, an athletic shut-down corner. Morrison and Hanks are both very good at tackle. Samuels is a vicious pass rusher. Rivers and Benton have upside, but they'll undoubtedly endure some growing pains. Shah and Sherman are both reliable.

[Big Six]

Nobody can say Notre Dame has a bunch of cupcakes on its 2004 schedule:



Week 2 at Brigham Young
Week 3 MICHIGAN
Week 4 at Michigan State
Week 5 WASHINGTON
Week 6 PURDUE
Week 7 STANFORD
Week 8 at Navy
Week 9 BOSTON COLLEGE
Week 11 at Tennessee
Week 12 PITTSBURGH
Week 14 at Southern California



Michigan is #1 in the preseason rankings, and Tennessee (#3) and USC (#5) are also in the Top Ten. The Irish will face the latter two opponents on the road. Purdue (#22) and Boston College (#24) are also nationally ranked. Navy is the weakest team on the schedule, and the Midshipmen are far from a pushover.

[Big Six]

Re: Hey, Coach

From: John O'Farrell ([email protected])
To: Paul Guthrie ([email protected])
Date: 17 August 2004

Paul,

Thanks for understanding why I need to keep this email account. I want to use my “official” ND account for “official” business only. I don’t think anyone’s monitoring my email, but I’d still hate for the things I write “off the record”to leak out somehow.

I’m concerned about the QB situation now, probably more than I am about any other aspect of our team. Thurman Lykins is a good guy—he’s smart and the players respect him. On the other hand, he’s frustratingly inaccurate on all but the shortest throws, and he’s not athletic enough to make things happen when he’s forced out of the pocket. It’s kind of a shame, because our wideouts are really good.

We have a couple spots on the O-line I’d like to see in better hands, too. In this case, it’s just a matter of the guys we have being inexperienced. In practice, they get their butts whipped unless they’re going against other inexperienced guys. They’ll really have to step up against the better teams we face.

My relationship with the media has been pretty good so far. It’s funny; in some ways being the head football coach in a town like Wooster is good practice for a situation like the one I face here. In Wooster, the high school football team is the biggest show in town. It’s like that at Notre Dame too, which means I’m being asked a lot of the questions I was asked back in Wooster. The difference is the fact that now, people all over the country care what I say.

One blogger has been giving me a hard time. His name is Taylor Hughes, and he writes for a blog called “Irish Eyes.” Check it out sometime. His stuff is pretty good, but he wasn’t really thrilled that I got the job in the first place and he’s not over it yet. I think I need to have a beer with him sometime and give him some stuff to write about, and maybe he’ll cut me some slack. I probably shouldn’t even read the blogs, but I find them entertaining.

It’s good to hear from you, buddy. I’ll stay in touch.

Later,
John

[JetsIn06]

Big Six, I'm RyanIVR over at the OOTP forums.

So glad to see another O'Farrell story. Was a huge, huge fan of the Patrick story and will certainly be reading this even though I'm not a huge college football fan (Although now that I live in State College, PA, I'm coming around...:))

[Big Six]

Big Six, I'm RyanIVR over at the OOTP forums.

So glad to see another O'Farrell story. Was a huge, huge fan of the Patrick story and will certainly be reading this even though I'm not a huge college football fan (Although now that I live in State College, PA, I'm coming around...:))

Thanks very much, JetsIn06. I remember you from the OOTP boards--it's good to see you over here, too!

If this story turns out to be half as much fun as The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell was, I'll consider it a success. I've been a Penn State fan since I was about eight, so I'm a bit envious of anyone who finds himself in State College on a football Saturday.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story.

[Big Six]

Week 2: #16 Notre Dame 31, Brigham Young 21
The Fighting Irish poured it on in the fourth quarter, breaking a 14-14 deadlock and earning coach John O’Farrell his first victory as a collegiate head coach. Ronnie Schulz rambled for 158 yards and a TD, Thurman Lykins threw two TD passes, and O-linemen Terry Hagen and Jamal Lomond threw 8 and 7 key run blocks, respectively. Unfortunately, WR Jackie Blanchard broke his wrist, and would be out indefinitely.
<O:p
Week 3: #1 Michigan 38, #14 Notre Dame 13
A capacity crowd of 80,800 filled Notre Dame Stadium for Coach O’Farrell’s home debut, and for a half, the home team kept the game close—they trailed the mighty Wolverines 13-10 at the half. It went downhill from there, however, and Michigan turned the game into a rout. Wolverines QB Bubba O’Neil completed 27 of 41 passes for 385 yards and three TDs. For the Irish, Dennis Gonzalez recorded 10 tackles and an interception, while Schulz rushed for 74 yards on 17 carries. And, to add injury to insult, two Irish defensive starters went down: Gonzalez with a hyperextended knee and CB Antoine Rivers with a broken leg.

[Big Six]

From the "Irish Eyes" blog, September 14, 2004

What went wrong?

OK, I suppose it's not exactly an upset when the #1 team in the nation wins a game, even against another ranked team, even on the road. So I also suppose nobody should be surprised that Notre Dame lost to Michigan on Saturday.

I think more than a few people were surprised that the Fighting Irish couldn't make the game closer than they did, however. Michigan had a huge advantage in terms of talent; their players were bigger, faster, and stronger than Notre Dame's, and that made a major difference--especially in the second half.

Nevertheless, Notre Dame fans don't expect their team to be blown out, especially not at home. It doesn't matter to them who the Irish are playing; they expect Notre Dame to make the game competitive, at the very least.

Are performances like this going to be the rule during the O'Farrell era at Notre Dame? If they are, the O'Farrell era will be a short one.

-Taylor Hughes

[Big Six]

Week 4: Notre Dame 32, #22 Michigan State 21
The banged-up Irish bounced back with another comeback victory, racking up 22 fourth-quarter points to upset the Spartans in Lansing. Thurman Lykins had a solid game (23-36, 283 yards, 3 TD), hooking up with three different receivers for scores. Workhorse Ronnie Schulz carried the ball 32 times for 97 yards. The ND defense, minus Dennis Gonzalez and Antoine Rivers, held the Spartans to 10 first downs and 237 total yards, and senior CB Albert “Cash” Money scored on a 59-yard pick six.
<O:p
Week 5: #21 Washington 27, Notre Dame 13
This time, the Irish lost a halftime lead, allowing the Huskies to score 24 of their 27 points after the intermission. The Irish allowed Huskies RB Alex Chandler to run over them for 153 yards, while their own offense never got going (216 total yards). Notre Dame did record five sacks, two by DE Renaldo Samuels. Senior DT D.J. Hanks suffered a season-ending ACL tear.
<O:p
Week 6: #15 Purdue 34, Notre Dame 24
The Notre Dame defense again had problems stopping the run, as Purdue’s David Hutton rushed for 175 yards. Too many of LB Emmitt Hutton’s 14 tackles came several yards downfield. Turnovers hurt the Irish, who lost two fumbles and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a Boilermakers TD. Lykins was otherwise effective, hitting 18 of 33 attempts for 295 yards.
<O:p
Week 7: Notre Dame 30, Stanford 27 (OT)
A 34-yard field goal by Earl Shah gave the Irish an overtime victory that evened the team’s record at 3-3. Stanford took a 20-7 lead in the first half, but Notre Dame rallied to force overtime when Shah hammered home a 35-yarder with 4:02 remaining in regulation play. Shah was just about the whole story for the Irish offense, while Samuels terrorized the Cardinal passer all day and sacked him five times. Unfortunately, the stands at Notre Dame Stadium weren’t quite full, as 79,000 fans attended the game.

[Big Six]

Week 8: Notre Dame 38, Navy 0
The Fighting Irish flexed their muscles against the outmanned Midshipmen, outgaining them 410-166 and recording their first shutout of the season. The Notre Dame offense featured a good balance between the run and the pass; Ronnie Schulz gained 108 yards on 18 carries, while Thurman Lykins went 17-25 for 217 yards and a TD. The recipient of the scoring toss was Jackie Blanchard, finally back from the injury he suffered in the first game of the season. Backup QB Michael Dukes saw his first significant action of the season, completing 6 of 9 passes. Renaldo Samuels racked up two more sacks, Unfortunately, the injury bug bit the Fighting Irish hard once again. This time, G Jamal Lomond, the team's best O-lineman, suffered a severe ankle sprain that ended his season.
<O:p
Week 9: #6 Boston College 24, Notre Dame 14
If a team turns the ball over five times and takes it away only once, it usually has a hard time winning the game—especially if the team they’re playing hasn’t lost all year. That’s what the Fighting Irish found out when they lost at home to undefeated Boston College, 24-14. The Irish defense held the Eagles to eleven yards rushing, but their offensive teammates kept turning the ball over and making their job incredibly tough. BC also returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown. The Irish scored on two TD passes by Lykins, one to Blanchard and one to freshman WR Mario Scott.
<O:p
Week 11: #2 Tennessee 38, Notre Dame 7
For the second time in the 2004 season, the Fighting Irish found themselves thoroughly overmatched by one of the nation’s top teams. Before 104,100 fans at Neyland Stadium, Tennessee reeled off 38 straight points after allowing the Irish to score the game’s first touchdown. The Vols sacked Lykins six times, and held RBs Schulz and Tyrone Greene to 48 yards on 27 carries. Again, the Irish did a good job stopping the run, but Tennessee quarterbacks threw for 303 yards and three scores.

[Big Six]

Week 12: Notre Dame 48, Pittsburgh 7
The Irish came into the game with a 4-5 record, needing two wins to remain bowl eligible. On Senior Day, the Irish rolled over Pitt behind four touchdown passes by Thurman Lykins in his final game at Notre Dame Stadium. His classmate, Howard Purnell, caught three of them, good for 9, 45, and 47 yards; he also hooked up with Mario Scott on a 45-yard score. Notre Dame amassed 626 yards of total offense. Ronnie Schulz rushed for 123 yards, Greene for 74, and junior Randal Giles, who had carried the ball only once all season, busted loose a 52-yard TD run. Lykins went 20-29 for 374 yards, but he also threw four picks.
<O:p
Week 14: #7 USC 41, Notre Dame 34 ( 2 OT)
Coach O’Farrell’s first season as Notre Dame’s head coach ended with a heartbreaking loss in one of the greatest games in the history of the long rivalry between the Irish and the Trojans. Both teams scored on long plays; the Trojans on a 95-yard run by Julio Roberson and the Irish on a 75-yard pass play from Lykins to Isaac Leiter, whose redshirt was burned when WRs Jackie Blanchard and Howard Borders got hurt earlier in the year. USC kicker Brett Daniels sent the game into overtime with a 25-yard field goal with 19 seconds left. The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime period, with Lykins throwing a TD pass to TE Archie Ward. After the Trojans punched in another score to open the second overtime, their defense sacked Lykins on fourth-and-one from the 16 to clinch the victory.

[Big Six]

TCY Today, February 5, 2005

Irish gridiron recruits rank tops in the nation

Notre Dame coach John O'Farrell might have finished the 2004 football season with a losing record, but he's a big winner in this year's recruiting sweepstakes.

O'Farrell's first recruiting class has been selected as the best in the nation. Leading the list of top-notch players who will be making their way to South Bend next fall is Herman Fisher, a cornerback from Sterling Heights, Michigan who is considered the nation's top recruit.

"Fisher is a real shut-down cornerback," said O'Farrell. "He has all the qualities he'll need to be a major impact player at the collegiate level. What's more, he's an outstanding student, too."

Notre Dame has commitments from two more of the nation's top ten players: DT Greg Ungerer of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania (#6) and ILB Dixon Tyler of Saint Johns, Michigan (#10). Thirteen of the Fighting Irish's 16 recruits are listed among the top 100 players in the nation.

"Notre Dame has certainly upgraded their talent with this incoming class," says recruiting guru Brad Keller. "They've signed some outstanding linemen, and three excellent wide receivers. And Herman Fisher looks like he could be a star from Day One."...

[Big Six]

Here's the 2004 Notre Dame recruiting class:



Name POS HT WT Home Town/High School
Courtney Cadrez WR 6'1" 187 Milford, OH/Milford
Benjamin Cloude G 6'5" 284 Opelika, AL/Opelika
O.J. Doser FB 6'2" 231 Saginaw, MI/Saginaw
Sean Fields S 5'11" 173 Corinth, MS/Corinth
Herman Fisher CB 6'0" 178 Sterling Heights, MI/Henry Ford II
Freddie Husak T 6'5" 269 Newark, OH/Newark
Harold Kinney ILB 6'1" 213 Tucson, AZ/Flowing Wells
Tyrus LaFlamme T 6'5" 283 Ottawa, IL/Ottawa Township
Cornell Mayes DE 6'3" 248 Honolulu, HI/McKinley
John Turner WR 6'1" 177 Tarboro, NC/Tarboro
Greg Ungerer DT 6'4" 273 Coraopolis, PA/Moon
Jerome Urbina TE 6'4" 229 Oak Ridge, TN/Oak Ridge
Ian Von Hagel DT 6'2" 254 Edgar, WI/Edgar
Mickey Washington WR 6'0" 175 Hinesville, GA/Liberty County
Andrew Webb C 6'1" 257 Eliot, ME/Marshwood
Dixon Tyler ILB 6'2" 221 Saint Johns, MI/Saint Johns

NAME NRank ByPos StRank ByPos GPA SAT Major
Courtney Cadrez WR 121 5 4 2 3.21 1380 Jurisprudence
Benjamin Cloude G 17 3 1 1 3.65 1530 Architecture
O.J. Doser FB 529 17 27 1 3.57 1360 Medicine
Sean Fields S 37 1 1 1 3.54 1530 Dentistry
Herman Fisher CB 1 1 1 1 3.23 1360 Business
Freddie Husak T 32 4 1 1 2.87 1100 Algebra
Harold Kinsey ILB 22 2 1 1 3.52 1250 Social Work
Tyrus LaFlamme T 83 12 3 1 4.00 1440 Jurisprudence
Cornell Mayes DE 33 2 1 1 3.59 1470 Differential Equations
John Turner WR 215 13 4 1 3.76 1330 Art
Greg Ungerer DT 6 2 1 1 3.44 1350 Differential Equations
Jerome Urbina TE 72 2 2 1 3.91 1480 Jurisprudence
Ian Van Hagel DT 55 7 1 1 4.00 1520 Electrical Engineering
Mickey Washington WR 71 4 3 1 4.00 1550 Economics
Andrew Webb C 67 3 1 1 3.62 1430 Medicine
Dixon Tyler ILB 10 1 2 1 3.53 1310 Latin

[Big Six]

From the Irish Eyes blog, February 9, 2005

It was clear that John O'Farrell's first Notre Dame team lacked the talent to compete with the top teams in the nation, which made it just as clear that Coach O'Farrell will have to prove himself able to recruit top-drawer talent if the situation is going to improve.

O'Farrell's first recruiting class is, without a doubt, a strong one. Every one of the 16 players who will arrive on campus this summer has been identified as a potential college starter by one expert or another. The Irish won hard-fought recruiting battles against powerhouses like Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, as O'Farrell pleasantly surprised Irish fans with his ability to close the deal.

Before we get too excited, however, one or two things should probably be remembered:

O'Farrell failed to sign a quarterback, which--as he mentioned more than once--was one of his highest priorities. The Irish went hard after Gerald Whitted and Walt Atcherson, and lost them to Ohio State and Wisconsin, respectively. The Irish are now frighteningly thin at the most important position of all, without a promising young player to develop.
The Irish offered scholarships to three kickers, all of whom signed elsewhere. It looks like there will now be an open audition this spring, when some lucky walk-on will win the job. It's one thing to recruit outstanding players to play for your school, as O'Farrell undoubtedly did this year. It's yet another thing to develop that talent. We'll see if O'Farrell and his staff can manage to turn recruits into bona fide college players. And if Notre Dame doesn't start reeling off winning seasons, the stream of top talent will soon run somewhere else.

--Taylor Hughes

[Big Six]

Here are the statistics for the 2004 Notre Dame Fighting Irish:



PASSING ATT COM YDS TD INT
Lykins 163 338 2348 21 17
TEAM 169 347 2413 21 17

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD
Schulz 252 967 3.8 6
Greene 86 292 3.4 2
Lykins 37 -137 -3.7 0
TEAM 393 1215 3.1 9

RECEIVING
Purnell 40 678 16.9 6
Ward 28 393 14.0 3
Schulz 21 155 7.3 2
Scott 21 416 19.8 3
Moss 19 183 9.6 2
Leiter 8 169 21.1 1
Blanchard 8 169 21.1 1
Borders 3 42 14.0 1
TEAM 169 2413 14.2 21

DEFENSE TCK AST SCK TFL INT PD
Hutton 64 23 2.0 11 2 6
Goffee 58 20 0.5 14 0 6
Mitchell 46 24 0.0 13 6 3
Morrison 46 17 4.0 14 0 1
Martinez 37 14 0.0 7 1 0
Rosenberg 37 9 1.0 6 2 6
Samuels 32 17 12.5 18 0 0
Gonzalez 30 11 0.0 2 1 2
Cole 28 9 0.0 2 0 3
Money 24 12 0.0 2 5 5
Garrett 23 5 0.0 4 0 5
West 15 4 1.0 2 1 1
Danko 15 3 0.0 0 0 1
Edmondson 14 2 3.0 6 0 0
Hanks 14 4 2.0 4 0 0
Barton 13 5 2.0 4 0 0

KICKING FG FGA LNG XP XPA PTS
Shah 17 22 44 31 31 82

PUNTING NO YDS AVG LNG In20
Sherman 58 2119 36.5 61 10



Graduating seniors and their statistics are highlighted in blue.

One Notre Dame player earned post-season honors. Junior safety Rufus Mitchell earned a spot on the national Academic Team. A Differential Equations major, Mitchell earned a perfect 4.0 average. Rufus' other classes included History, Philosophy, Physics, and Business.

[Big Six]

Re: Checking in

From: John O'Farrell ([email protected])
To: Mom & Dad ([email protected])
Date: 21 February 05

Dad,

Thanks for the email today. I was feeling a little bit down and hearing from you picked me up some.

Thanks for reminding me that there's more to being a college football coach than winning games. I know that, but sometimes the pressure to satisfy all the people who want to see the team win gets almost unbearable. It's very easy to buy into their mentality.

I'm really glad you mentioned you had read the news release on our web page about our team's academic performance. We're all proud of the fact that our guys had the second-highest GPA of any BCS school (3.10). Any time you come in second to Stanford in that competition, you have a lot to be proud of. That's something I'm going to continue to emphasize, too. I'll probably catch some heat for not going after certain high school players, but we have access to information fans don't have. They won't know what a guy's grades are like or what his SAT scores are, unless he reports them. If he's a question mark academically, we'll pass on him.

And the answer to your other question is no. I won't take you to find Taylor Hughes so you can punch him in the mouth the next time you come to visit. Yeah, he's critical of me sometimes, but that's what a lot of bloggers do. If all they do is praise, they lose their credibility with their readers. And even you have to admit Hughes knows his football.

Give Mom a hug and a kiss for me, and stay in touch.

Love,
John

[Big Six]

The final grades are in for the Notre Dame football program's 2004 season:


Team Performance 28/100
Academic Performance 82/100
Recruiting Performance 76/100
Television Revenue 20/100
Alumni Donations 2/100
Attendance/Stadium 82/100
Overall 45/100



Professor Laertes stuck it to Coach O'Farrell in a couple of categories. If signing the top recruiting class in the nation is only good for a 76 in Recruiting Performance, what will he have to do to improve? Sign the top 16 players in the country? And hopefully the alumni will stop being so miserly in 2005.

[Big Six]

April 2005
NFL Draft

Four former Notre Dame players took one more step toward making their dreams of playing professional football come true, as NFL teams selected them in the annual rookie draft.

Two Irish players heard their names called on the first day of the draft. Safety Maurice Rosenberg was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round (#79 overall). Rosenberg, who received the highest grade from the NFL scouting combine (6.8), was the 79th player chosen.

Six picks later, the Houston Texans called the name of defensive tackle D.J, Hanks. Despite missing most of his senior season with injuries, Hanks was considered a good NFL prospect (6.4).

Hanks' partner at defensive tackle, Robbie Morrison, was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in Round 4 (#129 overall). Morrison received a grade of 6.1 from the scouts.

The Philadelphia Eagles used their seventh and final pick on placekicker Earl Shah (#214 overall). Shah, like Morrison, graded out at 6.1.

Among the more talented Irish alumni who were not drafted were WR Howard Purnell and TE Archie Ward. Perhaps they'll sign free agent contracts before the 2005 NFL season begins.

[Big Six]

August 2005
NFL Training Camp News


Three Notre Dame alumni have signed free agent contracts and appear to be on their way to winning jobs with NFL teams.

WR Howard Purnell signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears for the rookie minimum, $260,000. He's been given jersey #87, and his current and potential ratings are 29/54. He looks like he might stick as a return man and a special teams player.

TE Archie Ward signed a similar deal with the New York Jets. His ratings stand at 28/50. Like Purnell, he has a shot at making the team as a special teams player, at least for now. The Jets are weak at Ward's position, so there's some opportunity for him there. Archie will wear jersey #83.

Coach O'Farrell was pleased to hear that G Gary Keith signed a one-year, $260,000 contract with the San Diego Chargers. His ratings (38/38) imply he doesn't have much upside, but the Chargers will give him a shot anyway. Gary has been given jersey #76.

Maurice Rosenberg appears to be on his way to a promising, rewarding NFL career. He's already emerged as the leader in the Bills secondary, and has formed an affinity with several of the veterans. Maurice is slated to start at CB, and will probably also return punts. He'll wear #34, and he's signed a three-year contract that will pay him
$260/400/520 K per year. He'll also receive a bonus worth $280,000 each season. His ratings: 36/58.

D.J. Hanks signed a four-year deal with the Texans ($260/400/520/670 K), but he'll probably begin the season on the practice squad. His ratings (25/49) imply he's not quite ready for NFL stardom, but that he does possess some upside.

Robbie Morrison will wear #94 for the Rams after signing a two-year contract for $260/400K. His deal was sweetened with an annual bonus of $40,000. He, too, will probably start the season on the practice squad. His ratings: 22/49.

Unfortunately, Earl Shah was cut by the Eagles in training camp.

[Big Six]

Let's meet the 2005 Fighting Irish offense:


POS NO NAME HT WT CL CU/PO HOME TOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
QB 14 Junior Turnbull 6'0" 200 Jr 45/45 South Bend, IN/Clay
RB 40 Ronnie Schulz 5'9" 200 Jr 73/79 Elkhart, IN/Central
FB 42 Britt Moss 5'9" 211 Sr 43/68 Clayton, IN/Cascade
FL 89 Jackie Blanchard 5'10" 184 Jr 70/88 Jackson, MI/Jackson
SE 81 Isaac Leiter 6'0" 180 Jr 51/74 Culver, IN/Culver Community
TE 88 Kurt Carpenter 6'2" 232 So 52/72 Curwensville, PA/Curwensville Area
LT 62 Desmond Mullis 6'4" 280 Jr 47/70 Sparta, NJ/Sparta
LG 69 Jamal Lomond 6'4" 280 Sr 93/100 Chicago, IL/Young Magnet
C 53 Rick Rice 6'4" 302 Sr 75/91 Winchester, IN/Winchester Community
RG 77 Freddie Burton 6'3" 286 Sr 65/89 Huntington, IN/North
RT 74 Levon Thomason 6'3" 266 Fr 31/75 Lagrange, IN/Prairie Heights

QB 2 Nathan Brodhead 5'11" 192 So 33/59 Gridley, CA/Gridley
RB 32 Oscar Sowers 5'6" 181 So 58/61 Indianapolis, IN/Decatur Central
FB 31 Kyle Chandler 5'8" 205 Jr 46/67 Kentland, IN/South Newton
WR 8 Ralph Borders 5'11" 184 Jr 39/57 Aberdeen, IN/Aberdeen
C 59 Doug Thomason 6'3" 264 Fr 38/96 Bedford, IN/Bedford-North Lawrence
G 71 Preston Flannery 6'5" 287 Jr 36/85 Glendale, CA/Herbert Hoover
T 68 Jeremy Gaylor 6'4" 276 Jr 22/74 Milford, PA/Delaware Valley



This unit looks better than it did last year, with only a few real question marks present. How will Turnbull, who didn't play a single down last year, respond to the challenge of leading the offense? Will Levon Thomason, raw but talented, be able to hold down the fort at tackle? Schulz, Blanchard, Rice, and Lomond all look like they're ready to reach the next level; Schulz, in particular, has really improved. His backup, the fireplug-like Sowers, is a fan favorite. Several promising O-linemen make the future look bright.

[Big Six]

Here are the key players for the 2005 Notre Dame defense:


POS NO NAME HT WT CL CU/PO HOME TOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
LE 75 Floyd Benton 6'3" 251 So 30/79 Libertyville, IL/Libertyville-Butler Lake
NT 96 Dusty Barton 6'1" 268 Sr 59/82 French Lick, IN/Springs Valley Community
DT 92 Ian Von Hagel 6'2" 267 Fr 19/78 Edgar, WI/Edgar
RE 70 Renaldo Samuels 6'6" 274 Jr 58/69 Hagerstown, IN/Hagerstown
WOLB 97 Mercury Goffee 6'1" 218 Sr 70/82 Greenwood, IN/Greenwood Community
WILB 57 Emmitt Hutton 6'2" 237 Sr 70/87 Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis
SILB 49 Lester Martinez 6'0" 211 Sr 53/70 Saint John, IN/Lake Central
SOLB 56 Dennis Gonzalez 6'2" 235 Sr 84/91 Denver, IN/North Miami
LCB 22 Herman Fisher 6'0" 183 Fr 44/81 Sterling Heights, MI/Henry Ford II
RCB 20 Antoine Rivers 5'9" 165 So 42/83 Plainfield, IN/Plainfield
FS 41 Rufus Mitchell 6'2" 189 Sr 62/99 Elkhart, IN/Concord Community
SS 38 Norbert Bensen 5'11" 186 Jr 34/65 Ooltewah, TN/Ooltewah

DE 79 Travis Edmondson 6'3" 229 So 29/78 Leopold, IN/Perry Central
DT 91 Cory Cameron 6'3" 253 So 26/56 Bastrop, TX/Bastrop
ILB 48 Kevin Schwartz 6'0" 216 Fr 34/79 Monroe, IN/Adams Central
OLB 43 Colin Carpenter 6'3" 234 Jr 40/52 Grand Rapids, MI/Kelloggsville
CB 37 Derek Foster 5'8" 162 So 18/68 Tulia, TX/Tulia
CB 23 Riddick Danko 5'9" 173 Jr 37/57 Oklahoma City, OK/U.S. Grant

K 15 Gabe Baxley 5'9" 190 Fr 7/7 Albany, GA/Westover
P 12 Dale Collins 5'11" 173 Fr 22/76 Greenfield, IN/Central


With so many starters returning, Coach O'Farrell has every reason to believe his defense will be much better than it was in 2004. NFL scouts are looking at all four linebackers, plus Barton and Mitchell. Hopefully O'Farrell will have opportunties to get some backups onto the field, because there are a lot of seniors playing key roles on this side of the ball.

Walk-on Baxley is the best of a poor lot of placekickers. Collins is promising and will have to step up.

[Big Six]

Here's Notre Dame's 2005 football schedule:


Week 1 RICE
Week 2 MICHIGAN
Week 3 LSU
Week 4 at Purdue
Week 5 at Connecticut
Week 6 WESTERN MICHIGAN
Week 7 at Temple
Week 9 at Brigham Young
Week 12 NAVY
Week 13 USC
Week 14 at Boston College

[Big Six]

Week 1: #25 Notre Dame 31, Rice 7
Making his first collegiate start, QB Junior Turnbull threw three touchdown passes to lead Notre Dame to an easy victory over Rice. Ronnie Schulz rushed for 118 yards and caught one of Trumbull’s scoring passes. Isaac Leiter caught 7 passes for 114 yards and scored, and he recovered a fumble and raced 69 yards for another TD. The Irish defense held Rice to 184 total yards.
<O:p
Week 2: #17 Notre Dame 32, #24 Michigan 22
The Irish scored 29 of their 32 points in a fourth-quarter flurry that secured a big win over Michigan at Notre Dame Stadium. Turnbull barely completed half his passes (12-23), but hooked up with Howard Borders four times for 130 yards and a TD. Schulz and his backup, 5'6" fireplug Oscar Sowers, each ran for touchdowns. Safety Rufus Mitchell was all over the field, making 14 tackles.
<O:p
Week 3: #19 Notre Dame 32, #9 LSU 7
Coach O’Farrell’s boys made it three in a row with a big win over powerful LSU. Freshman kicker Gabe Baxley, a walk-on, kicked six field goals and added two PATs for good measure. Turnbull connected with Schulz for a TD pass, and Leiter scored on an end-around. Jackie Blanchard caught six passes for 124 yards, giving the Irish at least one 100-yard receiver in three straight games. However, the biggest story of the game was the overpowering performance turned in by the Irish defense. Led by ILB Lester Martinez, they held LSU to 104 total yards and only four first downs.

[Big Six]

An idea

From: John O'Farrell ([email protected])
To: Taylor Hughes ([email protected])
Date: 20 September 2005

Taylor,

First, let me say that I've been a regular reader of your blog since I arrived in South Bend. While I might not always agree with what you post, your comments always reflect a knowledge of college football that many bloggers don't possess, or at least don't demonstrate. You're the exception here.

For that reason, I'm going to go out on a limb. How would you like to have a beer with me sometime? I think an actual face-to-face conversation might help you understand a few things about our program a little more thoroughly. I won't be revealing any "secrets" about the program; I value my job more than that. At the very least, it might be a lot of fun to simply sit down and talk some football.

If you'd like to get together, let me know.

Looking forward to hearing from you,
John O'Farrell

[Big Six]

Week 4: #17 Purdue 24, #14 Notre Dame 7
On a stormy afternoon in West Lafayette, the Boilermakers completely shut down the Notre Dame rushing attack and defended their home turf in front of a national TV audience. Ronnie Schulz gained 37 yards on 26 carries, and that was all the Irish could manage on the ground. Linebackers Dennis Gonzalez (14 tackles) and Emmitt Hutton (10 tackles) were busy all afternoon, as Purdue controlled the ball for almost 37 minutes.

<O:p
Week 5: #21 Notre Dame 38, Connecticut 0
The Fighting Irish defense pitched a shutout, limiting the Huskies to 43 yards rushing and only 170 total yards, while the ND offense produced almost 500 total yards and its highest scoring output so far this season. The Irish attack was remarkably balanced: 244 yards rushing, 241 yards passing. Junior Turnbull threw five TD passes, two to Isaac Leiter, and MVP Ronnie Schulz gained 153 yards on 27 carries.


Week 6: #23 Notre Dame 33, Western Michigan 6
The Chippewas got on the board first with a field goal, but Rufus Mitchell took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to the house, and the rout was on. The ND defense produced another dominant effort, keeping a second consecutive opponent out of the end zone and limiting WMU to a mere nine yards rushing. Renaldo Samuels led a ferocious pass rush that sacked Chippewa quarterbacks seven times; Samuels finished with 2.5 sacks and DT Dusty Barton recorded two more, including one that resulted in a safety. Ronnie Schulz rushed for an even 100 yards and two scores, relying heavily on the bulldozer blocking of Jamal Lomond (7 key run blocks).


Notre Dame's record: 5-1.

[Izulde]

Amazing what a #1 recruiting class can do already. :D

Between Rosenberg and Fisher, the Irish might start developing a tradition of elite CBs under Pat O'Farrell's.. grandson?

[Big Six]

Amazing what a #1 recruiting class can do already. :D

Between Rosenberg and Fisher, the Irish might start developing a tradition of elite CBs under Pat O'Farrell's.. grandson?

Actually, Coach O'Farrell was able to redshirt most of the guys who made up his first recruiting class. Herman Fisher is, as you've noticed, starting at corner as a true freshman. Ian Von Hagel is also starting as a true frosh, mainly because the team is so thin at defensive tackle right now.

The other freshmen you see mentioned in the season preview are redshirts and, as you see, some of them are very good players who should become even better.

Don't overlook the other starting CB on this year's team when you're mentioning potential stars at that position. Sophomore Antoine Rivers is the real deal, too; he's good in both man-to-man and zone coverage schemes, and he's tough against the run, too.

John O'Farrell (1973 -) is Pat's great-grandson. He's actually John O'Farrell III. His father, John O'Farrell, Jr., (1946 - ) known as Jack, earned three letters as a halfback at Notre Dame in the late '60s. John O'Farrell (1915-1982), played collegiate hockey and spent several decades as a sportswriter in his native Boston. His father was, of course, Patrick O'Farrell (1886-1978).

Thanks for the comment, Izulde. :)

[Big Six]

Week 7: #21 Notre Dame 38, Temple 0
Establishing their credentials as one of the best defenses in the nation, the Irish recorded another shutout against an overmatched Temple team. The Owls managed only 49 yards rushing and six first downs, and for the third straight week, the Irish D held their opponent to under 200 total yards. Renaldo Samuels racked up another 2.5 sacks, giving him five in two games. Veteran defensive coordinator Ed Helm was gaining accolades throughout the college football world for the performance of his unit. Meanwhile, the offense remained productive, as Oscar Sowers busted loose for 115 yards on seven carries, including a 62-yard TD romp. Ronnie Schulz contributed 83 more, and caught two of Junior Turnbull’s four touchdown passes. Turnbull finished 21-31, for 297 yards, and Isaac Leiter and TE Kurt Carpenter also had TD receptions.
<O:p
Week 9: #18 Notre Dame 49, Brigham Young 21
Although they gained only 126 yards from scrimmage against the air-tight Notre Dame defense, BYU managed to do what no team had done in the three previous games: score a touchdown against the Fighting Irish. In fact, the Cougars capitalized on Notre Dame turnovers and scored three times, but it wasn’t enough; the Fighting Irish racked up 49 points and won easily. Ronnie Schulz was the game’s biggest star, rushing for 235 yards on 31 carries and scoring three touchdowns. Junior Turnbull and his backup, Nathan Brodhead, both ran for scores, and Turnbull threw to Jackie Blanchard for two more touchdowns. Blanchard caught seven balls for 106 yards. The hero of a balanced defensive effort was Renaldo “Big Daddy Sack” Samuels, who added 3.5 more QB takedowns to his record.
<O:p
Week 12: #15 Notre Dame 63, Navy 0
An odd scheduling quirk gave the Fighting Irish two off weeks before their annual clash with Navy. The Midshipmen probably wished Notre Dame had taken a third week off instead. The Irish rolled all over the Middies on a rainy afternoon, outgaining them 574-98, amassing 36 first downs to Navy’s five, and stopping the Midshipmen eleven times in 12 opportunities on third down. Oscar Sowers earned MVP honors with 127 yards rushing and three TDs; Ronnie Schulz contributed 79 more. Three ND quarterbacks threw touchdown passes: starter Junior Turnbull threw three, while reserves Nathan Brodhead and Gabe Tucker connected once each. Fullback Britt Moss caught two TD passes, while Schulz, RB Billy Joe Lang, and WR Ralph Borders hauled in the others.


Notre Dame's record: 8-1.

[Big Six]

You won't believe this...

From: John O'Farrell ([email protected])
To: Paul Guthrie ([email protected])
Date: 8 November 2005

Hey Paul,

Do you remember me mentioning a blogger named Taylor Hughes to you? I'm pretty sure I wrote to you last year about what Hughes was writing about me and the job I was doing. As you might remember, I wasn't too crazy about it, but I mentioned how I might invite him to go out for a beer and talk a while.

Well, I emailed Taylor a few weeks ago and suggested we do that, and I got a reply back a week later saying "Sure, let's." We made plans to meet at this little pub, but we had to reschedule twice. We finally got together on Friday night.

Taylor isn't a he. Taylor is a she.

I suppose I shouldn't have assumed Taylor was a dude, just because she was blogging about ND football. Plenty of women are huge fans, and lots of them know a hell of a lot about football. I've always thought Taylor was one of the more knowledgeable, less obtuse bloggers out there.

I had no idea she was about 5'4", brunette with freckles, and really, really attractive!

We hung out for about 2 hours, talking about football and other things, and had a really good time. We exchanged nujmbers and we're going to get together again. I wouldn't call it dating, but who knows what's going to happen?

Anyway, I thought you'd be interested in hearing that. Life's funny, isn't it?

Later,
John

[bbgunn]

Taylor isn't a he. Taylor is a she.

:lol: Nice.

By the way, excellent job with the Fighting Irish!

[Big Six]

:lol: Nice.

By the way, excellent job with the Fighting Irish!

Thanks very much, bbgunn. I'm glad to see a few people commenting here. I think any dynasty writer feels good when his/her work's being read, and we feel especially good when "fans" take the time to post and let us know.

[hoopsguy]

Congrats on piling up wins against the "Little Sisters of the Poor" part of the schedule. Hopefully Taylor is maintaining some journalistic integrity when it comes to reporting the doings of the Blue and Gold, even after your chummy drinking session.

Is USC ranked? Does BC have a good team this year? Hopefully there is someone out there who can keep the Irish out of the top ten ...

[Big Six]

Congrats on piling up wins against the "Little Sisters of the Poor" part of the schedule. Hopefully Taylor is maintaining some journalistic integrity when it comes to reporting the doings of the Blue and Gold, even after your chummy drinking session.

Is USC ranked? Does BC have a good team this year? Hopefully there is someone out there who can keep the Irish out of the top ten ...

Coach O'Farrell would have to agree that several of ND's victories have indeed come at the expense of some patsies. However, the wins over LSU and Purdue appear to be quality wins.

Since losing to the Irish, LSU has won the rest of its games, including victories at #4 Florida and at home over #8 Georgia, and are ranked #8 now themselves. Purdue has one more loss, to #10 Ohio State, and is currently ranked #20.

USC is currently undefeated and ranked #3, behind Tennessee and Wisconsin. And Boston College is #22, so they're good too. I'd be surprised if ND beats the Trojans, so you might very well get your wish, hoopsguy.

Thanks for the post. :)

[hoopsguy]

Nothing personal - you run the Irish, this comes with the territory :)

Would be enjoying the read even more if it was pretty much any other team you were guiding to greatness.

[Big Six]

Nothing personal - you run the Irish, this comes with the territory :)

Would be enjoying the read even more if it was pretty much any other team you were guiding to greatness.

No problem. :) I certainly didn't take it personally. I realize when you say "Notre Dame," a lot of people cringe. In fact, that's one reason I picked the Irish for this dynasty. The Irish have fans (and foes) all over the country, and their passions run hot.

I've seen the very same thing when I've done basketball dynasties featuring Duke and Kentucky, and with baseball stories based on the Red Sox.

[Big Six]

Week 13: #3 USC 24, #13 Notre Dame 7

Once again, the powerful Trojans proved too much for John O’Farrell’s Fighting Irish, spoiling Notre Dame's Senior Day. USC quarterback Larry Gustin threw three TD passes, and the USC defense did to the Fighting Irish what the Irish had been doing to their opponents all year long. Ronnie Schulz rushed for only 50 yards, far below his usual production. He did surpass the 1000-yard barrier, but that was the only offensive highlight for the home team that day. Rufus Mitchell played well in his final home game, recording nine tackles and an interception, and teaming with “Big Daddy” Samuels for a sack.

<O:p
Week 14: #19 Notre Dame 31, #14 Boston College 14

The Irish got double revenge the next week, bouncing back from their loss to USC and avenging last season’s defeat at the hands of Boston College. An angry Irish defense swarmed all over the Eagles, allowing them only six yards rushing. Defensive end Floyd Benton racked up 2.5 sacks and seven tackles to earn MVP honors. Offensively, the star was Junior Turnbull, who threw for 361 yards and hooked up with three different receivers for scores. Ronnie Schulz ran for 94 yards and a TD.
Notre Dame's record: 9-2.

[bbgunn]

Charlie Weis who? 9-2. Nice.

[Big Six]

Charlie Weis who? 9-2. Nice.

Thanks, bbgunn. The Irish defense has been, in a word, fantastic, and that's been a pleasant surprise. The offense has struggled a little bit against the better teams ND has played, but it's been generally good enough to get the job done.

Next up for the Irish will be the Aloha Bowl. We'll see who their opponent will be very shortly.

[Big Six]

South Bend Tribune, December 3, 2005

Irish to face Nevada-Las Vegas in Aloha Bowl

As expected, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will go bowling in Hawaii this year. The Aloha Bowl Committee announced yesterday that the Fighting Irish (9-2) and Nevada-Las Vegas (6-5) have accepted invitations to participate in the Aloha Bowl, which will be played in Honolulu during Week 18.

"We're excited about the opportunity to play in the Aloha Bowl," said second-year Notre Dame head coach John O'Farrell. "It's a great reward for our players, who have worked hard and played very well this year."

The Rebels are the top defensive team in the Mountain West Conference this year. End Clarence Durham and tackle Malcolm Logan lead the defensive front, while cornerback Lance Morton and safety Adrian Vargas are the biggest stars of their outstanding secondary.

Senior quarterback Duane Doesburg will face the daunting task of trying to move the ball against the tough Irish defense, but Doesburg, an NFL prospect, has the ability to make game-changing plays. His favorite targets are wideout Edward Wretzky and tight end Brant Brock...

[Izulde]

UNLV sounds like a team that could pull off an upset if the Irish aren't careful.

[Big Six]

UNLV sounds like a team that could pull off an upset if the Irish aren't careful.

UNLV reminds me more of Purdue than any other team Notre Dame has played this season. Purdue has a very good defense and an offense that can control the ball all day long.

UNLV's defense looks like it might be every bit as good; they shut out the BYU team that scored 21 points against the Irish. And with Doesburg at the controls, the Rebels offense has serious striking power.

We'll see what happens soon. I'll post about the bowl game tomorrow.

Thanks for the comment, Izulde. :)

[Big Six]

2005 Aloha Bowl
Notre Dame 63, UNLV 0

Given their performance throughout the regular season, the fact that the Notre Dame defense shut out the Rebels was impressive, but hardly unprecedented. Nobody, however, expected the Irish to hang 63 points on UNLV.

Sacking Rebels QB Duane Doesburg nine times, the Irish defense was as fearsome as it had been all season long. Reserve DE Cory Cameron recorded 3.5 sacks, while Renaldo Samuels added two. Partially because of the sacks, ND held the Rebels to minus-16 yards rushing and only 182 total yards.

Meanwhile, the Irish scored at will against the UNLV defense. Both Junior Turnbull and Nathan Brodhead threw three touchdown passes; backup wideout Ralph Borders caught three. Ronnie Schulz ran for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass, and his backups, Oscar Sowers and Billy Joe Lang*, each scored--Sowers on a reception, Lang on a one-yard plunge. Isaac Leiter scored the other Notre Dame touchdown.

Notre Dame's victory gave coach John O'Farrell a ten-win season in Year Two of his coaching career, and propelled the team to a final ranking in the Top Ten. The Irish came in at #8 in the final polls.

* I think "Billy Joe Lang" is a fantastic name for a tailback. However, it sounds like he should be playing for Georgia or Texas, rather than Notre Dame.

[Big Six]

Here are the statistics for the 2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Graduating seniors' names will be highlighted in blue.



PASSING ATT COM PCT YDS TD INT
Turnbull 358 205 57.2 2945 28 17
Brodhead 40 25 62.5 339 4 1
TEAM 407 235 57.8 3359 33 19

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD
Schulz 268 1143 4.3 9
Sowers 75 433 5.8 6
Turnbull 81 76 0.9 1
TEAM 450 1827 4.1 19

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG TD
Leiter 44 702 15.9 6
Blanchard 38 675 17.7 5
Schulz 37 437 11.8 7
Borders 33 541 16.3 6
Carpenter 25 365 14.6 3
Moss 18 153 8.5 3
Chandler 14 109 7.7 1
Sowers 12 164 12.6 1
Hughes 7 99 14.1 0
TEAM 407 3359 14.2 33

DEFENSE TCK AST SACK TFL INT DEF
Gonzalez 54 9 0.0 12 0 4
Goffee 44 15 2.5 10 2 4
Hutton 43 20 1.5 9 0 8
Barton 42 10 7.5 18 0 0
Rivers 36 11 0.0 4 0 7
Mitchell 35 20 0.5 5 5 8
Samuels 34 20 15.5 21 0 0
Bensen 34 6 0.0 1 2 7
Fisher 32 10 0.0 6 4 5
Martinez 31 6 0.0 2 0 2
Danko 22 5 0.0 3 0 4
Foster 21 5 2.0 3 0 1
Benton 17 7 6.5 9 0 0
Cameron 13 5 6.5 8 0 1
TEAM 604 170 50.0 131 14 60

KICKING FG FGA LNG XP XPA PTS
Baxley 11 17 39 50 50 83
Lynn 1 1 42 2 2 5
Washington 0 1 0 2 2 2
TEAM 12 19 42 54 54 90

PUNTING NO YDS AVG LNG In20
Collins 46 1744 37.9 56 10


Here are the team's national rankings in some categories:

Team Rankings
Completions 235 (20)
Pass Attempts 407 (23)
Passing Yards 3359 (15)
3rd Down Conversions 48.7% (4)
Points Per Game 35.3 (18)

Rushing Yards Allowed 610 (2)
Yards Per Carry Allowed 1.7 (2)
Completions Allowed 181 (6)
Passing Yards Allowed 1792 (6)
Yards per Pass Attempt 5.2 (4)
3rd Down Conversions Allowed 22.4% (3)
Points Per Game Allowed 10.6 (4)

[Big Six]

Professor Laertes was much more charitable toward the performance of the Fighting Irish in 2005. Here are the program's grades:



Team Performance 84/100
Academic Performance 84/100
Recruiting Performance 82/100
Television Revenue 80/100
Alumni Donations 70/100
Attendance/Stadium 70/100
Final Grade 78/100




That, and a #8 final ranking in the polls, makes for a darn good year.

[Big Six]

Here are the sixteen players who make up Notre Dame's 2005 recruiting class:



Harvey Duffy QB 6'0" 181 Muscatine, IA/Muscatine
Myron Drauch RB 6'2" 206 Gary, IN/Theodore Roosevelt
Johnny Brewer RB 5'9" 185 Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown
Clyde Stargell FB 5'11" 213 Queensbury, NY/Queensbury
Robbie Francis C 6'2" 262 Monticello, KY/Monticello
Nate Armstrong T 6'5" 272 Mishawaka, IN/Penn
Marco Mathis T 6'7" 294 Newark, OH/Licking Valley
Edward Robbins P 6'0" 198 North Las Vegas, NV/Rancho
Blaine Allen K 5'9" 167 Hilliard, OH/Hilliard Darby
Jeff Butler DT 6'2" 253 London, KY/South Laurel
Earnest Dunlap DT 6'4" 265 Terre Haute, IN/North Vigo
Arnold Hernandez DE 6'3" 276 Kent City, MI/Kent City
Alfred Sweeney ILB 6'4" 221 Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West
Nick Kressuk OLB 6'0" 226 Vernal, UT/Uintah
Rondell Bartley CB 5'9" 176 South Bend, IN/Clay
Cris Singleton S 6'2" 186 Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield




Name POS NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
Harvey Duffy QB 28 6 3 2
Myron Drauch RB 171 22 8 3
Johnny Brewer RB 9 1 1 1
Clyde Stargell FB 46 1 3 1
Robbie Francis C 7 1 2 1
Nate Armstrong T 761 69 20 3
Marco Mathis T 3 1 1 1
Edward Robbins P 229 3 2 1
Blaine Allen K 41 1 2 1
Jeff Butler DT 6 3 1 1
Earnest Dunlap DT 139 11 6 1
Arnold Hernandez DE 31 3 2 1


Unfortunately, I progressed to the end of the season before I remembered I hadn't entered the players' high school GPAs, SAT scores, or majors. I could look up their majors on the 2006 roster, but for now, I'll go with what I have here.

As I recall, the weakest student is probably Robbie Francis, but he still pulled close to a 3.0 in high school and approximately 1100 on his SAT, so he's far from a rockhead.

[Big Six]

Notre Dame Alumni in the NFL

CB Maurice Rosenberg ('04) was the first Notre Dame player chosen in the 2005 NFL draft, and he saw action in all 16 games for the Buffalo Bills (7-9). Rosenberg made two tackles and broke up one pass, playing mostly in the Bills' nickel and dime packages.

DT D.J. Hanks ('04) of the Houston Texans (7-9) appeared in eight games, recording one tackle.

DT Robbie Morrison ('04) was released by the Rams in training camp, and signed with the Indianapolis Colts He started all 16 games for the Colts, making 51 tackles and recording a sack. He intercepted a pass and broke up another one, and forced one fumble. The Colts went 9-7 and earned a wild card berth, and upset the New York Jets in the first round of the playoffs. They were then eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Morrison started both playoff games and made 12 tackles.

WR Howard Purnell ('04) participated in all 16 games for the hapless Chicago Bears (4-12). He caught five passes for 62 yards, averaging 13.2 yards per reception. Unfortunately, Howard also dropped three passes.

TE Archie Ward ('04) was also released; the Jets let him go, but he was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles. Appearing in all 16 games, Ward caught five passes for 50 yards.

G Gary Keith ('04) appeared in 14 games at guard for the San Diego Chargers. He recorded one key run block.

[Big Six]

Notre Dame recruits again among nation's best
Irish recruiting class ranked #5 by rivals.com

In his first two years as Notre Dame's head football coach, John O'Farrell is proving he can recruit with the best in the business.

Last year's Fighting Irish recruits were judged the best in the nation, and O'Farrell and the Irish followed up that performance with another strong effort this time around. Rivals.com recently ranked Notre Dame's incoming class the fifth-best in the nation. Perennial powerhouse USC ranked first, with Michigan, UCLA, and Penn State also placing higher than Notre Dame. Texas A&M, Texas, Iowa, Virginia Tech, and Syracuse rounded out the top ten.

The Irish signed four of the ten best players in the country, according to several sets of rankings. Offensive linemen Marco Mathis and Robbie Francis, defensive lineman Jeff Butler, and running back Johnny Brewer are all among the nation's most prized recruits.

"We brought in some players we believe will develop into impact players at this level," said O'Farrell. "We're very pleased with the depth we're building on the offensive and defensive lines."

Criticized for not signing a quarterback last year, O'Farrell made recruiting a signal-caller a top priority. The Irish landed Harvey Duffy, generally considered among the top ten players at his position in the class. "We think very highly of Harvey," O'Farrell commented. "If anything, we think he was underrated."

Fullback Clyde Stargell and placekicker Blaine Allen were also considered the best players at their position by several experts.

"What's more, the players we signed are all strong academically," O'Farrell added. "We're out to prove that it's possible to win without compromising on academics."

[Big Six]

A total of seven players from the 2005 Notre Dame team were selected in the 2006 NFL draft.

First to hear his name called was G Freddie Burton, who was drafted by the NFC champion Detroit Lions in the first round. He signed a five-year contract that will pay him $550,000 his rookie year, with a $1.6 million signing bonus.

Two former ND linebackers were chosen in Round Two. LB Dennis Gonzalez was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, and signed a four-year deal. He'll receive $440,000 this season, and he got a nice $2.16 million bonus.

The Dallas Cowboys selected LB Mercury Goffee, and inked him to a 3-year contract. Mercury received a $1.44 million signing bonus, and would earn a $480,000 salary as a rookie.

C Rick Rice was the Fighting Irish's last Day One selection. The third round pick of the Detroit Lions, Rick earned a $1.4 million signing bonus and a rookie salary of $270,000.

DE Dusty Barton went to the New England Patriots in Round Four. His three-year deal will pay him the league minimum salary of $270,000 as a rookie, and he received a $270,000 bonus, too.

The third member of Notre Dame's stalwart linebacking corps heard his name called in Round Six. Emmitt Hutton was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks, and received a $90,000 signing bonus. His three-year deal will pay him $270,000 this season.

Finally, the St. Louis Rams drafted S Rufus Mitchell in Round Seven. He signed a three-year contract, will be paid the league minimum as a rookie, and didn't get a signing bonus.

Somewhat surprisingly, LB Lester Martinez went undrafted. Perhaps he'll sign somewhere as a free agent,

[Big Six]

Here's the schedule John O'Farrell and his Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face in 2006. Home games are listed in ALL CAPS:



Week 2 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Week 3 at Michigan
Week 4 PURDUE
Week 5 MICHIGAN STATE
Week 6 at Western Michigan
Week 7 TEMPLE
Week 8 at Navy
Week 10 at Brigham Young
Week 11 at LSU
Week 13 CONNECTICUT
Week 14 BOSTON COLLEGE


TCY seemingly has locked the Irish in to yearly matchups against USC, Michigan, Purdue, Western Michigan, Navy, BYU, UConn, and Boston College.

[Big Six]

Here are the starters and other key players for the Notre Dame offense in 2006.



POS NO NAME HT WT CL CUR POT HOME TOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
QB 14 Junior Turnbull 6-0 203 Sr 51 51 South Bend, IN/Clay
RB 40 Ronnie Schulz 5-9 200 Sr 82 82 Elkhart, IN/Central
FB 31 Kyle Chandler 5-8 207 Sr 47 67 Kentland, IN/South Newton
FL 89 Jackie Blanchard 5-10 184 Sr 82 88 Jackson, MI/Jackson
SE 81 Isaac Leiter 6-0 184 Sr 68 74 Culver, IN/Culver Community
TE 88 Kurt Carpenter 6-2 234 Jr 64 72 Curwensville, PA/Curwinsville Area
LT 74 Levon Thomason 6-3 277 So 66 75 Lagrange, IN/Prairie Heights
LG 71 Preston Flannery 6-5 294 Sr 39 85 Glendale, CA/Herbert Hoover
C 59 Doug Thomason 6-3 273 So 48 96 Bedford, IN/Bedford-North Lawrence
RG 64 Benjamin Cloude 6-5 305 Fr 41 74 Opelika, AL/Opelika
RT 62 Desmond Mullis 6-4 283 Sr 57 70 Sparta, NJ/Sparta

QB 2 Nathan Brodhead 5-11 194 Jr 38 59 Gridley, CA/Gridley
RB 32 Oscar Sowers 5-6 182 Jr 65 65 Indianapolis, IN/Decatur Central
RB 33 Billy Joe Lang 5-11 195 Jr 57 64 Knightstown, IN/Knightstown
FB 26 O.J. Doser 6-2 256 Fr 30 77 Saginaw, MI/Saginaw
WR 8 Ralph Borders 5-11 187 Sr 46 57 Aberdeen, IN/Aberdeen
WR 80 Courtney Cadrez 6-1 199 Fr 52 70 Milford, OH/Milford
WR 1 Mickey Washington 6-0 183 Fr 55 94 Hinesville, GA/Liberty County
TE 19 Jerome Urbina 6-4 250 Fr 42 96 Oak Ridge, TN/Oak Ridge
T 65 Freddie Husak 6-5 285 Fr 51 88 Newark, OH/Newark


I thought Turnbull might just be a placeholder until the Irish brought in a hotshot recruit, but his 28 TD passes in '05 changed that perception. Ditto with Schulz, who has matured into an excellent player. Look for Blanchard to break out this year if he stays healthy.

The offensive linemen have potential, but with the exception of L. Thompson, and perhaps Mullis, probably haven't developed into impact players yet.

This unit is loaded with seniors, especially at the skill positions, so if the line jells, look for the Irish to put plenty of points on the board.

Sowers and Lang provide great depth at RB, and the backup WRs are even better. The first of O'Farrell's fine recruits are beginning to appear on the depth chart. One challenge O'Farrell will face is finding them enough playing time, so they develop their talents properly.

[Big Six]

The 2006 Fighting Irish defense has a lot to live up to, after the fine performance of last year's unit. Here are the players who will face that challenge, plus the kicker and punter.



POS NO NAME HT WT CL CUR POT HOME TOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
LE 75 Floyd Benton 6-3 260 Jr 50 79 Libertyville, IL/Libertyville-Butler Lake
LT 92 Ian Von Hagel 6-2 279 So 39 78 Edgar, WI/Edgar
RT 91 Cory Cameron 6-3 262 Jr 38 56 Bastrop, TX/Bastrop
RE 70 Renaldo Samuels 6-6 274 Sr 62 69 Hagerstown, IN/Hagerstown
SLB 45 Emmitt Boone 5-10 214 Jr 39 58 Amarillo, TX/Caprock
MLB 51 Dixon Tyler 6-2 246 Fr 58 81 Saint Johns, MI/Saint Johns
WLB 43 Colin Carpenter 6-3 238 Sr 45 52 Grand Rapids, MI/Kelloggsville
LCB 20 Antoine Rivers 5-9 171 Jr 76 82 Plainfield, IN/Plainfield
RCB 22 Herman Fisher 6-2 189 So 69 81 Sterling Heights, MI/Henry Ford II
FS 39 Sean Fields 5-11 189 Fr 54 100 Corinth, MS/Corinth
SS 38 Norbert Bensen 5-11 180 Sr 47 65 Ooltewah, TN/Ooltewah

K 13 Blaine Allen 5-9 174 Fr 47 98 Hilliard, OH/Hilliard Darby
P 12 Dale Collins 5-11 182 So 47 76 Greenfield, IN/Central

DE 79 Travis Edmondson 6-3 238 Jr 31 78 Leopold, IN/Perry Central
DE 73 Peter Banks 6-3 261 Jr 33 78 Pell City, AL/Pell City
DT 76 Greg Ungerer 6-4 300 Fr 28 79 Coraopolis, PA/Moon
LB 44 Kevin Schwartz 6-0 222 So 55 79 Monroe, IN/Adams Central
LB 58 Harold Kinney 6-1 235 Fr 27 99 Tucson, AZ/Flowing Wells
CB 23 Riddick Danko 5-9 177 Sr 51 58 Oklahoma City, OK/U.S. Grant


Samuels has developed into one of the most ferocious pass rushers in all of college football. He'll be the key member of a D-line that returns three starters.

Boone, Tyler, and Carpenter have huge, huge shoes to fill. Between the three of them, they've made exactly 10 collegiate tackles.

The secondary is clearly the strength of this year's Irish defense. Cornerbacks Rivers and Fisher are both rock-solid. If Fields lives up to his potential, look out, NFL.

Allen steps right in to the kicking job, and Collins should be just fine.

Again, the backups are mostly young players O'Farrell has recruited. Look for Schwartz to get a lot of playing time; he's too talented to keep off the field.

[Big Six]

Week 2: #6 USC 20, #17 Notre Dame 13

The Fighting Irish never got their offense going against the powerful Trojans. Ronnie Schulz gained only 39 yards on 17 carries, and things got worse for Ronnie and the Irish when he was diagnosed with torn knee cartilage after the game. It seemed likely that Schulz would miss most of the season. Notre Dame’s sole touchdown came on a pass from Junior Turnbull to RB Oscar Sowers. LB Dixon Tyler, playing his first collegiate game, was all over the field, making 20 tackles.
<O:p

Week 3: #3 Michigan 24, Notre Dame 11

Before a capacity crowd at the Big House, neither Michigan nor Notre Dame could move the ball on the ground. The teams combined for TEN yards rushing, as Notre Dame, without Schulz, amassed minus-6 yards on 25 carries. Michigan freshman QB Patrick Inzinna, whom the Irish had recruited heavily, threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Once again, Notre Dame scored once, on a short Turnbull-to-Sowers pass play.

Notre Dame's record: 0-2.

[Big Six]

From the "College Football Roundup" radio show, with "Cowboy Greg" Bowman:

Jake from Chicago: Hi, Cowboy Greg...thanks for taking my call. I'd like to hear what you think about this year's Notre Dame team. I'll take it off the air. Thank you.

"Cowboy Greg": Thanks for your call, Jake. I know there are a lot of Notre Dame fans out there who won't want to hear this, but I'm not ready to say the Irish are back. Yeah, they won ten games last year, but look at who beat them: USC and Purdue. They beat a pretty good Michigan team, and they had a good win against LSU. But that means they went 2-2 against ranked teams.

Now they've started the season 0-2...they've lost to USC and Michigan. I commend them for playing the big boys right away, but they simply haven't proven to me that they're ready to beat teams like that. They're not there yet.

Now their running back, Schulz, is hurt, and without him, it doesn't look like their running game can get going. They'll win some games, sure; they'll beat the Navies and Western Michigans on their schedule. But they're not looking like one of the best teams in the country.

John O'Farrell is a good young coach, but he's 0-3 against USC now. He's 1-2 against Michigan, and he's 0-2 against Purdue. If he doesn't start winning games against teams like that, he might have a hard time holding on to his job...

[Recoil]

Tough start. I'm sure ND will pick it up

[Big Six]

Tough start. I'm sure ND will pick it up

Yeah, it was a difficult way to open a season. I have to wonder if the Irish might have beaten Michigan if Ronnie Schulz hadn't been injured.

Notre Dame's next two opponents aren't pushovers, either. Purdue is ranked #16 in the country. The Boilermakers are 2-0, with wins over cupcakes Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette by a combined score of 122-10. And, as "Cowboy Greg" pointed out, O'Farrell's Irish teams have lost two straight to Purdue.

Michigan State is 1-1, but their loss was against #4 Texas on the road. It's conceivable that the Irish could end up 0-4 before they encounter the weaker teams on their schedule.

Because they'll play both Purdue and Michigan State at Notre Dame Stadium, I'm guessing they'll win at least one of the two games. If they don't, expect the bloggers (perhaps even Taylor) to come after Johnny O pretty hard.

Thanks for the comment, Recoil.

[Big Six]

Week 4: Notre Dame 17, #16 Purdue 14

Coach John O’Farrell’s Fighting Irish played their third consecutive game against a ranked team, and this time they defended their home turf and pulled out a victory. Junior Turnbull threw two more TD passes, a 71-yard bomb to Isaac Leiter and another short toss to Oscar Sowers. The Irish continued to struggle when they ran the ball. Reserve Billy Joe Lang led the team’s rushers with 33 yards; Sowers was held to 19 yards on 22 carries. Turnbull went 17-26 for 334 yards, with Leiter catching five balls for 154.
<O:p

Week 5: Notre Dame 40, Michigan State 20

The Irish finally got their offense going, raking the Spartans for 40 points and 433 total yards, while the Irish defense forced seven turnovers. Billy Joe Lang romped for 81 yards on 14 carries, while Oscar Sowers added 36 more and scored a touchdown. Sowers also caught another TD pass, extending his string of games with a touchdown reception to four. Freshman wideout Courtney Cadrez scored his first collegiate touchdown, catching a short pass from Junior Turnbull and racing 76 yards to paydirt. LB Colin Carpenter returned an interception 90 yards for a score, and the Irish kicked five field goals—four by Blaine Allen and one by Roosevelt Lynn. However, the game’s biggest star was CB Herman Fisher, who made ten tackles and intercepted three passes.


Notre Dame's record: 2-2.

[Big Six]

Week 6: Notre Dame 45, Western Michigan 23

In the days before the game, the Irish received more bad news from the team’s medical staff. Senior WR Jackie Blanchard, whose career had been plagued by injuries since he arrived in South Bend, learned he had a degenerative hip condition that would end his season and, most likely, his career. The Irish, even without Blanchard, had no problems with the outmanned Chippewas, who had lost four of their first five games. Oscar Sowers (124 yards, two TDs) and Billy Joe Lang (62 yards) split the tailback chores, and both played well. Junior Turnbull and Nathan Brodhead both looked good at quarterback, with Brodhead hitting TE Kurt Carpenter for a TD pass. Unfortunately, Turnbull sprained his wrist badly, and was expected to miss up to seven weeks. Now the Irish would be forced to play without their leading passer, rusher, and receiver.
<O:p

Week 7: Notre Dame 44, Temple 10

A sellout crowd was treated to a big Fighting Irish win on a beautiful autumn Saturday in South Bend. In a performance reminiscent of last year, the ND defense smothered the Owls, while the offense produced on the ground and in the air. QB Nathan Brodhead was nearly perfect in his first start for Notre Dame (15-17, 207 yards, 2 TD), connecting with Courtney Cadrez twice for scores and scrambling for a touchdown himself. Oscar Sowers darted for a career-high 188 yards and two touchdowns. Safety Norbert Bensen scored on a 26-yard interception return.
<O:p

Week 8: #21 Notre Dame 56, Navy 17

The Midshipmen were, once again, no match for Notre Dame. Four Irish running backs—Kyle Chandler, Billy Joe Lang, Myron Drauch, and Oscar Sowers—ran for touchdowns; Sowers scored twice. Kicker Blaine Allen shook off the effects of a lingering quad strain to boot eight extra points without missing. Twenty-four Notre Dame players recorded at least one tackle. MVP honors went to WR Isaac Leiter, who caught eight Nathan Brodhead passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns.
<O:p

Week 9: #19 Notre Dame 45, Brigham Young 20

Who would have thought that the Fighting Irish offense would bust loose, with three of its leading playmakers on the sidelines? For the fourth consecutive game, the Irish scored at least 40 points, as Nathan Brodhead ran his record as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback to 3-0. Brodhead completed 24 of 28 attempts for 365 yards, and threw TD passes to RB Billy Joe Lang and freshman WR Mickey Washington. Lang rushed for 109 yards and ran for two more scores, and Oscar Sowers rushed for 2 TDs for the fourth straight game. Renaldo Samuels led the defense with 2.5 sacks.

Notre Dame's record: 6-2.

[hoopsguy]

Lets go LSU!

[Big Six]

Lets go LSU!

Over 90,000 screaming LSU fans will be on hand in Death Valley to give Coach O'Farrell and the Fighting Irish a taste of "Southern hospitality," Bayou Bengal style.

I think what you really mean to say is "Let's GEAUX LSU," right? :)

[hoopsguy]

So how do the Tigers look this year? Have they been giving their 90,000+ screaming fans at Death Valley much to cheer about so far? Will they have a a chance to extend O'Farrell's anti-run against Top 10 competition?

[Big Six]

From the "Irish Eyes" blog, Week 10, 2006

Sure, it's a whole lot easier to find silver linings in the clouds when you look at a 6-2 team than it is when you're staring at 0-2. Still, before ND Nation convinces itself that the dark days are over, it might be smart to examine the sky a little more closely.

Coach O'Farrell has been fortunate to have a deep enough roster to weather the losses his offensive unit has suffered. He remained calm when Ronnie Schulz went down, refusing to burn Johnny Brewer's redshirt and trusting Oscar Sowers and Billy Joe Lang to carry the load. He trusted Nathan Brodhead to lead the team when last year's sensation, Junior Turnbull, got hurt. And he gave Courtney Cadrez and Mickey Washington a chance to demonstrate their big play-making ability after Jackie Blanchard's career reached its sad end.

However, O'Farrell could have another sort of problem on his hands. Turnbull, who was believed to be injured so badly that he wouldn't be back until the postseason. should be ready for action against LSU next week. In his absence, Brodhead has led the Irish to three victories, and he's completed 75 percent of his passes.

Turnbull, a senior, is highly respected by his teammates, and O'Farrell likes him. He's said several times that Turnbull's breakout performance was one of the biggest keys to Notre Dame's successful 2005 season. Nobody would, therefore, blame O'Farrell if he sends Turnbull back into action with the first offense against LSU.

However, the team has caught fire with Brodhead at the controls. In one sense, the safe move for O'Farrell would be to rest Turnbull one more time and go with Brodhead against LSU.

But, in another sense, starting Turnbull is the more conventional, less risky move. No coach in the country would blame O'Farrell for giving a senior quarterback the opportunity to return to the field as soon as he's physically able.

Is O'Farrell bold enough to roll the dice with Brodhead against LSU? Or, is he bold enough to go with Turnbull, whose heart might well be big enough to help him overcome his aching wrist?

Or, will he waffle, while a genuine quarterback controversy ruins what's left of Notre Dame's season?

-Taylor Hughes

[Big Six]

So how do the Tigers look this year? Have they been giving their 90,000+ screaming fans at Death Valley much to cheer about so far? Will they have a a chance to extend O'Farrell's anti-run against Top 10 competition?

At first glance, LSU looks a whole lot like Notre Dame. The Tigers bring a 6-2 record into the game, the same as that of the Fighting Irish. Like Notre Dame, LSU has whooped up on the inferior teams they've played and have struggled against ranked opponents.

The Tigers gave #6 Florida a decent game in the Swamp, losing 27-15. They lost at home against #20 Georgia. Their 37-10 victory over Alabama looks good, until one notices that Alabama has only won two games. Easy wins over teams like Vanderbilt and Mississippi State are just about equally impressive as Notre Dame's romps over Navy and Michigan State.

However, LSU possesses one weapon that will keep O'Farrell up at night: a stalwart defense that makes the '05 Notre Dame roughnecks look mild by comparison.

Opponents average 1.0 yards per carry against LSU. You read that right: ONE YARD PER CARRY. The Tigers aren't much easier to throw against, either. Only one team, #1 Texas, has allowed fewer points per game than LSU. Even without All-American DE Courtney Bailen, who is out with a torn ACL, the Bayou Bengals can put a hurtin' on people.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if, without Ronnie Schulz, Jackie Blanchard, and a healthy Junior Turnbull, the Irish can't score against the Tiger defense. LSU is favored by five points, and I think that's probably just about right.

LSU is the only Top Ten team the Irish have beaten under O'Farrell. Between us, I don't think the Tigers will let it happen again.

[Big Six]

Week 11: #15 LSU 24, #19 Notre Dame 22


Coach O’Farrell went with his veteran quarterback, tapping Junior Turnbull to start against the nightmare-inducing LSU defense in Death Valley. LSU’s star RB, Billy Joe Reilly, scored twice, and a TD pass from Kent Knight to Wendell Farmer and a short field goal gave the Tigers a 21-0 lead.

The Fighting Irish gamely battled back, as Turnbull connected with Courtney Cadrez on two TD passes. Both times, the Irish went for two and converted.

Early in the fourth quarter, Turnbull led Notre Dame on an 89-yard touchdown drive that culminated in a 4-yard TD pass to Ralph Borders. Two points down, O’Farrell again called for a two-point conversion attempt that would tie the score. However, as a capacity crowd rocked Tiger Stadium, the LSU defense stuffed Billy Joe Lang a few inches short of the goal line and preserved the lead.

The vaunted Tiger defense was every bit as good as advertised. They held Notre Dame to 21 rushing yards on 27 carries; would the presence of either Ronnie Schulz or Oscar Sowers have made a difference? Turnbull produced three TD passes, but the Tigers held him to 18-for-40 on the day and picked him off four times. Would Nathan Brodhead have fared better?

Notre Dame's record: 6-3.

[Big Six]

Week 13: #19 Notre Dame 49, Connecticut 17

QB Junior Turnbull redeemed coach John O'Farrell's faith in him, completing 30 of 48 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns in an easy Notre Dame victory over the Huskies. Turnbull, the game's MVP, also ran for a touchdown. True freshman RB Myron Drauch led all rushers with 89 yards on 11 carries, and walkon RB Louie Whipple will one day tell his grandchildren about the 10-yard touchdown run he made in front of 80,800 fans at Notre Dame Stadium.



Week 14: #19 Notre Dame 38, #14 Boston College 22

In his final appearance at Notre Dame Stadium, senior WR Isaac Leiter returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown and caught a TD pass from Junior Turnbull to spark the Irish to victory over a tough Boston College team. The Irish took the lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back. LB Colin Carpenter led the Notre Dame defense, who held the Eagles to 20 net yards rushing and recorded seven sacks. Carpenter earned 2.5 sacks himself.

Notre Dame's record: 8-3.

[Big Six]

Aloha

From: John O'Farrell ([email protected] ([email protected]))
To: Mark Carson ([email protected] ([email protected]))
Date: 13 December 2006

Hey Mark,

It was great to get your Christmas card the other day. Your sons are really growing up! Who knows? One day I might be recruiting them.

I'm happy to be going back to the Aloha Bowl, and I think most of the players are, too. Unless we finish the year as one of the top eight teams, it looks like the Aloha Bowl will be our destination every year we're bowl-eligible. I suppose if you're "stuck" going somewhere, Hawaii isn't such a bad place to be. :)

I know Kelly is probably asking you if you know whether or not I'm seeing anyone, since she asked me that question twice when you were in town for the Temple game. I'm not exactly sure what the correct answer to that question is, but here's the story, so you can come up with your own answer if you like.

Taylor and I have had dinner together twice in the past three weeks. They haven't been romantic dinners--we've had burgers and pizza--but we're enjoying hanging out. She's going to Hawaii for the bowl game, but we haven't made any firm plans to get together. Needless to say, I'll be kinda busy that week. One of her friends texted me and told me that Taylor's interest in going to the Aloha Bowl wasn't entirely related to her ND football blog. I'll let you know what happens.

On a more football-related note, I think we have a good chance to beat San Diego State. Their defense is young, and they've allowed some of their opponents to move the ball pretty much at will. They've won some shootouts, because their offense is balanced and productive. Honestly, I'm glad we're getting them now, because in a year or two they're going to be a very, very good football team. Right now, they're good, but I think we're better.

Again, thanks for the card, and please tell Kelly and the boys Merry Christmas for me.

John

[Big Six]

Aloha Bowl
#17 Notre Dame 38, San Diego State 0

The weather was perfect, and the Notre Dame defense was nearly so as the Fighting Irish shut out San Diego State. The Aztecs managed only 25 yards rushing, 91 total yards, and five first downs as Notre Dame played as well defensively as they have at any time in Coach John O'Farrell's three years at the helm.

The offensive stars for the Irish were RB Oscar Sowers, who racked up 119 yards on 20 carries and scored on runs of 10 and 2 yards. QB Junior Turnbull and WR Mickey Washington added touchdown runs of their own, and Turnbull threw a TD pass of 5 yards to freshman WR Courtney Cadrez.

The Irish MVP was redshirt freshman G Benjamin Cloude, who delivered key blocks on six running plays.

Notre Dame's record: 9-3.

[Big Six]

Here are the statistics for the 2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Graduating seniors will be highlighted in blue.



PASSING ATT COM PCT YDS TD INT
Turnbull 304 174 57.2 2404 15 16
Brodhead 96 73 76.0 1074 8 3
TEAM 411 251 61.1 3541 23 21

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD
Sowers 171 691 4.1 14
Lang 129 574 4.4 3
Drauch 23 165 7.1 3
Chandler 21 72 3.4 1
Schulz 21 52 2.4 0
Whipple 1 10 10.0 1
Turnbull 62 -11 -0.2 2
TEAM 466 1733 3.7 26

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG TD
Leiter 51 982 19.2 6
Washington 38 542 14.2 1
Carpenter 31 422 13.6 2
Sowers 26 211 8.1 4
Cadrez 25 428 17.1 7
Chandler 20 160 8.0 0
Blanchard 15 273 18.2 0
Lang 18 222 12.3 1
Borders 9 132 14.6 1
Doser 6 46 7.6 0
Urbina 4 45 11.2 1
TEAM 251 3541 14.1 23

KICKING FG FGA LNG XP XPA PTS
Allen 12 18 40 49 49 85
Lynn 1 2 28 0 1 3
TEAM 13 20 40 49 50 88

PUNTING NO YDS AVG LNG In20
Collins 41 1585 38.6 51 14

DEFENSE TCK AST SACK TFL INT PD
Tyler 60 20 2.5 14 0 7
Fields 55 22 0.0 7 6 12
Fisher 46 13 0.0 6 5 10
Samuels 37 13 11.0 17 0 0
Rivers 35 11 0.0 2 1 5
Boone 33 19 3.5 12 0 4
Danko 32 6 0.0 5 1 4
Bensen 30 15 0.0 3 4 9
Carpenter 26 9 2.5 6 1 3
Schwartz 23 7 1.0 4 0 2
Foster 21 2 1.0 1 1 3
Benton 20 15 9.0 9 0 1
Von Hagel 19 15 4.0 5 0 0
Cameron 18 7 1.0 5 0 0
Kinney 12 4 0.5 0 0 1
Banks 10 4 3.0 5 0 1
Kaplan 7 2 1.5 2 0 1
TEAM 582 198 43.0 110 20 61


It's a shame Ronnie Schulz and Jackie Blanchard lost so much of their senior seasons to injury. They both deserved a much better fate.

The defense will really miss Renaldo Samuels. "Sack Daddy" leaves South Bend with a three-year career total of 39 sacks, sixth-most among Division I-A players.

[Big Six]

Notre Dame Alumni in the NFL

Class of 2005

Despite the fact he'd started all 16 games in 2005, G Gary Keith was cut by the San Diego Chargers. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers, and once again started every game. Seeing action for a total of 990 plays, Gary delivered 18 key run blocks in 64 opportunities. Gary's 49ers were the NFC West champions, won two playoff games, and lost the NFC Championship game to the Super Bowl champion Carolina Panthers.

DT Robbie Morrison of the St. Louis Rams, who missed part of the season with an ankle injury, participated in 11 games and 147 plays. He recorded 8 tackles, 3 assists, and a sack.

WR Howard Purnell played in all 16 Chicago Bears games. He participated in 226 plays, and caught 7 passes for 92 yards (13.1 avg).

CB Maurice Rosenberg played in all 16 games for the Buffalo Bills, starting five times and recording 45 tackles, 16 assists, and 2 sacks. He intercepted two passes, one of which he returned 66 yards for a touchdown. Maurice also broke up 10 passes. He was on the field for a total of 574 plays. Maurice's Bills won the AFC East title, won their first playoff game against the Jets, and barely lost the AFC Championship game to the Jaguars.

TE Archie Ward remained on the New York Jets' inactive list all season long.

DT D.J. Hanks was cut by the Texans, and didn't sign with anyone else.


Class of 2006

DL Dusty Barton participated in four games and 82 plays for the Patriots as a rookie. He was in on three tackles, assisted on another, and was credited with half a sack.

G Freddie Burton, the Lions' first round pick, played in six games for a total of 31 plays. He delivered one key run block. The defending Super Bowl champions were the NFC's best team at 13-3, but were upset in the playoffs by San Francisco.

LB Mercury Goffee of the Dallas Cowboys started seven games, and appeared in all 16. On the field for a total of 478 plays, he recorded 43 tackles, 17 assists, and five sacks.

Atlanta Falcons LB Dennis Gonzalez was a key contributor as a rookie. He appeared in all 16 games, starting 12, and participated in 590 plays. Dennis was productive, with 60 initial hits and 27 assists.

LB Emmitt Hutton got in all 16 Seattle Seahawks games. In 255 plays, he recorded 20 tackles, 10 assists, and a sack.

G Jamal Lomond signed with the Rams as a free agent. His season began splendidly, as he started the first six games of the season and recorded seven key run blocks in 14 opportunities. However, an elbow injury forced him to miss the rest of the season. He was on the field for exactly 200 plays.

S Rufus Mitchell made the Rams roster, but spent the entire season on the inactive list.

Ray Rice saw action at center in three Browns games. He was on the field for 15 plays. At 12-4, the Browns had the AFC's best record. However, like Freddie Burton's Lions, the Browns were upset in the playoffs; wild card Jacksonville, the eventual AFC champions, eliminated them.


Here are the updated ratings (current/potential) for the Notre Dame alumni:



Keith 42/42
Morrison 24/45
Purnell 34/53
Rosenberg 38/57
Ward 31/49

Barton 26/54
Burton 33/73
Goffee 46/77
Gonzalez 42/78
Hutton 23/55
Lomond 50/54
Mitchell 42/46
Rice 41/71


The members of the Class of '06 clearly have more upside than the '05ers. Four or five of them could be on their way to long, productive NFL careers.

[Big Six]

South Bend Tribune, February 9, 2007

Notre Dame lands another top recruiting class
Only Michigan’s rates better, according to TCY Today

SOUTH BEND— Determining which high school football players have the best potential for collegiate greatness is, at best, an inexact science. Many highly touted recruits never realize their immense potential; many lesser-known high school players emerge into collegiate stars.

That being said, the ability to lure large numbers of the nation’s most prized recruits to your campus is a skill any college football team would love its coach to possess.

Right now, the hottest recruiter in the land might be John O’Farrell. TCY Today recently released its list of the top recruiting classes in the nation, and O’Farrell’s Fighting Irish placed second. Only Michigan’s class ranked higher.

In three seasons, O'Farrell has recruited classes that ranked first, fifth, and second in the nation.


O’Farrell landed five of the top ten players in the country, according to one set of rankings. North Carolina running back Edgar Pearson, Virginia receiver Ricardo Josephson, Pennsylvania defensive end Kirk Ferderer , and Maine linebacker Shane Lebow were all among the nation’s most coveted recruits. O’Farrell even lured quarterback Donovan Shelton out of the Wolverines’ backyard.

“Notre Dame is targeting a certain kind of player,” said recruiting guru Shane Richards. “They’re going after the best players in the country who are also outstanding students, and they’re landing almost everybody they’re pursuing.”

Notre Dame’s success on the recruiting front hasn’t yet paid off in the form of national championships or BCS bowl berths. However, it’s hard to argue with O’Farrell’s commitment to making sure Notre Dame football players are truly student athletes.

Here are the 16 members of the latest Notre Dame recruiting class:


NAME POS HT WT HOME TOWN/HIGH SCHOOL
Joe Bradley CB 6-0 169 Wadsworth, OH/Wadsworth
Roman Durham OLB 6-0 224 Wilson, NC/Beddingfield
Emmanuel Everett DE 6-3 240 Bedford, IN/Bedford-North Lawrence
Kirk Ferderer DE 6-2 236 Linesville, PA/Linesville-Conneaut-Summit
J.T. Grismore G 6-5 283 Rockford, IL/Auburn
Ricardo Josephson WR 6-0 192 Newport News, VA/Warwick
Shane Lebow ILB 6-1 224 Fairfield, ME/Lawrence
Devin Malek OLB 6-1 216 Oswego, NY/Oswego
Winston Oliver TE 6-5 219 Deming, NM/Deming
Ross Patterson G 6-4 289 Prince Frederick, MD/Calvert
Edgar Pearson RB 5-11 180 Kings Mountain, NC/Kings Mountain
Chris Petruzziello G 6-1 276 Quakertown, PA/Quakertown Community
Aaron Seaver DE 6-3 239 Duncan, SC/James F. Byrnes
Donovan Shelton QB 6-1 192 Centreville, MI/Centreville
Andy Terrell T 6-6 288 Las Cruces, NM/Onate
Zack Woolford QB 6-1 205 Hebron, IL/Alden-Hebron

Name POS NRank ByPos StRank ByPos GPA SAT Major
Joe Bradley CB 907 54 40 3 3.91 1280 Business
Roman Durham OLB 70 4 4 1 3.69 1390 Music
Emmanuel Everett DE 34 7 1 1 3.87 1510 Marketing
Kirk Ferderer DE 5 1 1 1 3.52 1430 Differential Equations
J.T. Grismore G 14 1 1 1 2.96 1000 Geology
Ricardo Josephson WR 3 1 1 1 3.81 1440 Jurisprudence
Shane Lebow ILB 7 2 1 1 3.51 1350 Art
Devin Malek OLB 30 1 2 1 3.20 1170 Medicine
Winston Oliver TE 183 2 2 1 3.52 1270 German
Ross Patterson G 25 2 1 1 3.52 1310 Nursing
Edgar Pearson RB 2 1 1 1 3.51 1410 Random Number Theory
Chris Petruzziello G 140 10 9 2 3.43 1400 Algebra
Aaron Seaver DE 36 8 2 2 3.56 1410 History
Donovan Shelton QB 4 1 1 1 3.35 1220 French
Andy Terrell T 16 5 1 1 3.66 1470 Jurisprudence
Zack Woolford QB 93 7 7 1 3.56 1450 Economics

[bbgunn]

This is shaping up to be a very very good Notre Dame team.

[Recoil]

Wow. 5 out of the top 10 players in the country. ND should be set for the future. Good luck in 2007.

[Big Six]

This is shaping up to be a very very good Notre Dame team.

I hope you're right, bbgunn. I've found, however, that some of the uberstuds I think I've recruited don't turn out to be game-changers once they reach the field. That's the way it is in real college football, though, so I think that's pretty realistic.

Wow. 5 out of the top 10 players in the country. ND should be set for the future. Good luck in 2007.

I always recruit the best players who have good grades and SATs, but I don't figure I'll sign nearly all of them. This time, I hit nearly every target I aimed at, which was really pretty cool.

I think one thing that made a difference was the fact that Notre Dame could offer this year's top players almost exactly what they wanted. For example, both Edgar Pearson and Ricardo Josephson wanted to get away from their home towns and attend schools with strong academic reputations. I was surprised I pulled Donovan Shelton away from Michigan, but the Wolverines are loaded at QB, and that might have made the difference.

We'll have to see how good some of these guys turn out to be. Looking back, I should have set the difficulty level higher. I'm playing at "Second String," the third most difficult setting, because I hadn't played TCY for a while before I started this dynasty.

By the way, is it possible to change the difficulty setting once a game has begun?

Thanks for your comments!

[Big Six]

Professor Laertes' grades are in, and here's how the Notre Dame football program did in 2006:



Team Performance 69/100
Academic Performance 82/100
Recruiting Performance 86/100
Television Revenue 37/100
Alumni Donations 57/100
Attendance/Stadium 78/100
FINAL GRADE 68/100

[Big Six]

The 2007 NFL Draft

Four Notre Dame players were selected in the 2007 NFL draft, two of whom had very little opportunity to showcase their skills as seniors.

Despite the fact that he was only on the field long enough to catch 15 passes, WR Jackie Blanchard impressed the Oakland Raiders enough for the Raiders to draft him in the first round (24th overall). Blanchard signed a three-year, $2.55 million contract and received a $1.14 million signing bonus that made him a wealthy young man in a hurry.

Blanchard was the only Fighting Irish player selected on the first day of the draft. In Round Five, the New Orleans Saints drafted another ND wideout, Isaac Leiter. His two-year contract will pay him a total of $720,000, and he signed for a $180,000 bonus.

In the same round, the Atlanta Falcons chose RB Ronnie Schulz who, like Blanchard, lost most of his final collegiate season to injury. Ronnie signed a three-year, $1.3 million contract, with a $120,000 signing bonus.

G Preston Flannery was drafted by the Washington Redskins in Round Seven. His contract was identical to Leiter's--two years, $730,000--but his signing bonus was only $80,000.