Notre Dame: the years of mortification 2004-2009 [Archive]

Roberto

04-12-2003, 04:02 PM

This is a continuation of the dynasty the first part of which appears at Roberto's TCY Dynasty: The Beginning (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5217)

Roberto

04-12-2003, 04:04 PM

FOR NEW READERS

This Dynasty Report is from my participation in daveneyfan’s TCY Challenge at the beginning of 2002. Years 2004 to 2007 were posted on the old board.

All participants coached Notre Dame, in a universe where Notre Dame played as part of a Big Ten with Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue (the game’s designated rivals for Notre Dame), Ohio State and Wisconsin.

The Challenge was to run over twenty seasons. Part of the challenge was to keep the job! Another part was to organize home and away matches against six of eight traditional rivals.

The Solecismic 8 were based in California.

It may interest someone to know how the local High Schools rate in this universe (though I didn’t use this information at the time). In South Bend itself are Lasalle (sports prep 7/ac prep 30), Clay (56/12), James Whitcomb Riley which breeds tadpoles (1/92) and Washington, which breeds all-Americans (90/42).

A little further afield are New Prairie HS in New Carlisle (31/31) (12 miles) and Perry Central HS in Leopold (44/49) (17 miles). In Elkhart (16 miles) are Concord Community HS which breeds wannabees (41/0), Memorial HS which breeds slightly less talented wannabees (35/1) and Central which is a scout-free zone (2/5).

Then come two more bases for sports jocks, La Porte HS at La Porte (58/5) (22 miles) and the far superior Fairfield HS at Goshen (100/5) (23 miles). Another school worth watching would be Westview at Topeka (78/18) (38 miles).

Not sure if all of these are real. No disrespect to any students at or alumni of those which are.

Of course, this universe used version 1.0c.

The story of the first three years, with a very detailed analysis of recruitment, can be found lower on the board (link as above). Overall results could not have been called good, at 10-34 overall. But worse was to follow. Much, much worse. As you will see.

Roberto

04-12-2003, 04:05 PM

CHALLENGE DYNASTY - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROCKNE 2004

Reminder: Initial Settings:

Everything on manual - in practice, I rely heavily on the coordinators’ recommendations for team selection and game plan.

Last Season

Results were 3-8 (down from 4-7 last season).
Overall rank 102.

The College

The one and only Notre Dame

Academic reputation now averages 55 (down from 52), which puts us 31 of 125 (up from 54). Subject rankings still range wildly from 17 (Astronomy) and 18 (Geology) to 64 (of 125) (Latin and Nuclear Engineering). This is marked improvement from last year, when the lowest was Latin at 93. Remember there are three subjects we don’t offer: Sociology, Social Work and Political Science. Undergraduate GPA is up to 2.95 (from 2.83). This is improving.

Community loyalty: Very Good
Alumni loyalty: Decent
Student goodwill: Pretty Good

No change from last year.

Some of the alumni have been heard to mutter that football money should not be used to provide academic scholarships. Certainly the stadium has not been full for home games - which for Notre Dame is a humiliation.

Season tickets sold continue to fall - down to 36,600 now. We have to get back to winning games.

Prestige is down to 66 (from 71).

At the start of the season we’re at 100 in the coaches’ poll, 75 in the fans’ poll and ranked 94 overall.

Must do better.

Ticket Prices

This is not a time to raise prices.

Start of Season e-mails.

Marc Milts, a wide receiver, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

Sad case. He had an E in Algebra, with A’s and B’s in his other subjects.

Timothy Fowler, a defensive tackle, has left your team as a senior to become eligble for the professional draft.

He was our best defenceman last year.

Lorenzo Marshall has retired from his position of scout, Southwest region.
Jay Riley has retired from his position of scout, New England region.

Butch Brown of Wisconsin has been named Coach of the Year for his performance this past season.

The good news is what isn’t there:

No demands for more free time - perhaps the squad need to sweat a bit more.
Nobody leaving due to lack of playing time.
No broken relationships (well, this is a Catholic college).

And the word on campus is that nine of the squad who had no girlfriends at the end of last season now do.

Roberto

04-12-2003, 04:07 PM

2004 COACHING STAFF

No retirements, no changes.

Syndicate Coordinator: Robbie Chorak
Age: 38
Academic Eligibility: Excellent
Syndicate Investigation: Lousy
Solicit Donations: Good

He’ll focus on what we really need.

Defensive Coordinator: Jimmy Neimeyer
Age: 29
Play Calling: Decent
Injury Avoidance: Terrible
Rehab: Fair
Congeniality: Terrific
DL: Pretty Good ( was Good)
LB: Good
Sec: Fair

It must be his popularity that makes the defenders drive themselves into hospital.

Offensive Coordinator: Morris Thornton
Age: 40
Play Calling: Terrific
Injury Avoidance: Poor
Rehab: Good
Congeniality: Fair
QB: Decent (was Good)
RB: Pretty Good
R: Terrific
OL: Fair
K: Terrible
Current Formation: Wishbone
Years With Offense: 8

Sticking with him. Just have to make sure to recruit K and P from good schools.

Great Lakes Scout: James McLendon
Age: 42
QB: Good
RB: Pretty Good (was Very Good)
REC: Very Good
OL: Terrific
PK: Very Good (was Pretty Good)
DL: Poor (was Fair)
LB: Excellent
Sec: Very Good

Sticking with him, too.

Scout Strengths Around The Country:
These are all the places where I have red or yellow scout ratings:
QB: South-east Mid-Atlantic
RB: Great Lakes New England
REC: North-west South-west Great Lakes South-east New England
OL: North-west Great Lakes Mid-Atlantic New England
PK: Great Lakes Deep South South-east South-west
DL: North-west Mid-west South-west Mid-Atlantic
LB: North-west Deep South Great Lakes New England
SEC: South-west South-east Great Lakes

Roberto

04-12-2003, 04:08 PM

2004 Freshmen



Player Pos Current Future Scouted

Reed, Roosevelt QB 15 61 55-
Myers, Ricardo RB 20 20 31+
McConnell, Brenden RB 25 43 36+
Gillespie, Cole TE 16 63 51+
Overby, Jim TE 16 49 39+
Cornplow, Bill WR 15 37 45+
Crockett, Daniel C 15 31 28+
Benson, Bo G 8 18 21+
Szilter, Malcolm G 3 28 20+
Godfrey, Brady G 7 22 25+
Necaise, Chuck DE 14 39 46++
Beyer, Duane DE 7 74 56+
Ford, Jessie DE 23 60 46+
Garcia, Deion OLB 18 39 43+
Gardner, Gino CB 11 24 28+
Mascorella, Mario CB 24 52 53+



No massive surprises. RB Myers is a small disappointment, DE Necaise a bigger one and DE Ford could be a pleasant surprise if we manage to develop him.

The three incoming G are as bad as was feared. Godfrey and Szilter are worse - all their strength is endurance, with next to no actual talent.

Roberto

04-13-2003, 02:45 PM

2004 ROSTER



Crossman, Lance # 19 QB Sr~ 35 +10 50
Boston, Doug 13 QB So 15 +5 51
Reed, Roosevelt 4 QB Fr 15 50



We’ve lost Sheldon, who led the line last year. None of these are as good. Crossman is the obvious starter; injuries permitting it may be possible to de facto redshirt Reed.



Holmes, D J 45 RB Sr* 29 +3 58
Drake, Brock 27 RB Jr* 41 +11 62
Francis, Jack 34 FB So 15 +1 23
Myers, Ricardo 32 RB Fr 20 20
McConnell, Brenden 29 RB Fr 25 43
Meadows, Maurice # 46 FB Sr* 20 +5 36
Jackson, Erik 21 FB So 31 +5 32



The list is pretty thin. We’ve lost RB Morris (and Levine) but Holmes was almost as good last year. Red-shirting Drake looks to have worked well. Will try to red-shirt the freshmen.

Still only two FB and they’re still not up to much.



Chandler, Donald 93 TE Jr 42 +5 60
Workman, Preston 89 TE So* 27 +10 43
Gillespie, Cole 98 TE Fr 16 63
Overby, Jim # 84 TE Fr 16 49
Meier, Al # 85 WR Sr~ 38 +0 38
Williamson, Wilmer 9 WR Sr* 48 +4 57
Milts, Marc 2 WR Sr* 40 +5 65
Alston, Irv 86 WR Jr* 43 +8 50
Worthington, Troy 8 WR Jr 22 +3 34
Tharp, Troy 80 WR So* 28 +12 61
Quinn, Morris 82 WR So* 20 +5 61
Cornplow, Bill 3 WR Fr 15 37



Of the outgoing TE, Everett will be missed, Cooksey not. Keeping Workman off the field last year has improved him a bit and he’ll be first backup. Try to redshirt the freshers.

All last year’s starting WR are still around, but no superstars. All except Meier should still be around next year, too. Meier is as good as he’s going to get and probably not worth starting (so much for seniority). Tharp developed better than Quinn in their redshirt year.



Fields, Lamar # 51 C Sr~ 28 -1 61
Crockett, Daniel 59 C Fr 15 31
Shelton, Brad 73 G So* 20 +4 36
Caldwell, Lester 68 G So 10 -2 46
Fisk, R J 75 G So* 12 +5 24
Benson, Bo 63 G Fr 8 18
Godfrey, Brady 65 G Fr 7 22
Gordon, Terry 66 G So* 1 11
Szilter, Malcolm 64 G Fr 3 28
Sawyer, Britt 60 T Sr~ 20 +6 53
Verdin, Jerald 69 T Sr 41 +11 91
Watson, Derek # 70 T Sr 29 +7 37
Herndon, Tracy 76 T So 28 +10 56



Oy, oy, oy oy! There’s a big hole where the Centres should be. Fields has developed a little skill, to go with his endurance, but not much. Crockett don’t have much of anything.

But for the Guards, it’s a hole the size of the Grand Canyon. Shelton is the best of a poor bunch (now up to 317 pounds), Caldwell and Fisk have next to no skill and Godfrey has none at all (2-1-42; how can a man 6-6 and 315 pounds be so useless?). Gordon walked on last year and he might make the academic team if a plague sweeps the rest of the Big Ten (asp 78; int 91).

The Tackles will have to cover for the rest of the OL. "Mighty Mouse" Verdin is now up to 275 pounds.



Spatz, Zack # 5 P Sr~ 43 +0 59
Stone, Randal # 17 P Jr* 9 +1 15
Schneider, Jonnie 6 P So* 29 +6 48
Long, Omar 15 K Jr* 38 +1 38
Porter, Brett # 10 K Jr* 12 +3 28
McGarrahan, Shawn 1 K So* 39 +11 47



Spatz is the best P. Stone is back after his year of academic probation just as much a waste of space as he was before it. Schneider will be the backup.

McGarrahan has improved a lot in his redshirt year; it’s a toss-up between him and Long. McGarrahan is best for accuracy, Long for kickoff distance so Long will kick off while McGarrahan tries for the field goals.



Porter, Todd 90 DE Sr~ 31 +4 39
Jamison, Aaron 96 DE Jr* 20 +0 21
Fuller, Ricky 79 DE Jr 30 +1 30
Gargaro, Edgar 74 DE Jr* 22 +0 67
Money, Rick 95 DE So* 25 -1 65
Ford, Jessie 78 DE Fr 23 60
Necaise, Chuck 92 DE Fr 14 39
Beyer, Duane 77 DE Fr 7 74
Pfingsten, Irv # 99 DT Sr~ 16 +2 35
Metzler, Gilbert # 71 DT Sr 28 +2 42
White, Aaron 91 DT So 11 -1 49



Have lost last year’s starting DE McCarthy (3 sacks) Judkins (5.5) and Hutchins. The others don’t look much; Porter and Fuller are the least bad. (For those who like human interest stories K Brett Porter and DE Todd Porter might be distantly related but since Brett comes from Chicago and Todd from Baltimore it’s very distant indeed.) Beyer is even worse than he looks, another specimen who’s all endurance and no skill (but a mind like a razor; asp 96, int 100).

With departing senior DT Fowler not replaced, some of the DE will have to backup the DT.

It’s not a pretty sight, but as GL Scout McLendon’s one blind spot is the DL, and DC Neimeyer is supposed to be pretty good at developing them, it may not be so bad.



Keeton, Brant 94 ILB Sr 44 +0 53
Moore. J T 44 ILB Jr* 28 +3 84
Zedalis, Les 55 ILB So 7 +2 43
Kelley, Deion # 50 ILB So 8 +0 8

Nails, Clarence 41 OLB Sr* 43 +4 71
Christmas, Tyrell 42 OLB Jr 24 +0 56
McWilliams, Duane 53 OLB So* 22 +3 41
Nixon, Rich # 48 OLB Jr* 6 +1 7
Ciszek, Graham 49 OLB So* 23 +13 55
Garcia, Deon 58 OLB Fr 18 39



Keeton looks to have got as good as he will; Moore improved a little in his year on academic probation and the other two ILB have nothing to offer on the pitch and are chalk and cheese off it (Zedalis (asp 80 int 76) Kelley (asp 9 int 29).

Again, the OLB will have to fill in - but the bast of them, Nails, has graduated (somehow…). Nixon’s year of academic probation didn’t improve his football skills any. Ciszek is the one bright spot for the future after his redshirt year. Will play him and try to red-shirt Christmas, in the hope he’ll improve this year as well as Ciszek did last year.



Price, B J 37 CB Sr~ 33 +2 54
Burgess, Ray # 40 CB Sr 17 +5 48
McCulley, Marc 36 CB So 22 +1 25
Mascorella, Mario 20 CB Fr 24 52
Gardner, Gino 35 CB Fr 11 24

Hampton, Terrance 43 S Jr 35 +0 36
Lundy, Burt 25 S Jr 34 +5 50
Norris, Blaine 31 S Jr* 15 +0 15
Budd, Thurman # 33 S Jr 10 +0 10
Maumau, Xavier 39 S So 14 +4 33



CB Meija has left, but nobody else. Price will lead. Try to redshirt Mascorella for the sake of his potential.

Hampton and Lundy are clearly the leading S, tho Hampton who’t get any better than he is. Maumau is the next best. Norris and Budd have nothing of any value to offer on the field. Norris is heading for honours (asp 97, int 98), budd is not (asp 25, int 17).

# non-scholarship walk-on

~ fifth-year senior

* has been red-shirted

Offensive Set: Wishbone Formation.

Defensive Set: Variable, depending on the opposition.

One more thing:Keep Practice at 25.

Roberto

04-13-2003, 02:51 PM

Roster Strength 2004



. Starters Reserves

QB 42 (was 44) 40 (was 51)
RB 43 (was 30) 44 (was 37)
FB 35 (was 27) 38 (was 31)
TE 44 (was 41) 44 (was 67)
WR 59 (was 30) 54 (was 45)
C 32 (was 32) 41 (was 68)
G 18 (was 56) 16 (was 33)
T 43 (was 22) 75 (was 45)
P 43 (was 40) 29 (was 35)
K 41 (was 37) 46 (was 31)
DE 38 (was 34) 45 (was 67)
DT 29 (was 37) 25 (was 34)
ILB 37 (was 29) 21 (was 14)
OLB 40 (was 36) 43 (was 33)
CB 37 (was 32) 33 (was 34)
S 40 (was 31) 30 (was 21)



Most of the starters up - massive rise in RB - but massive fall in G. Well the recruits may not be talented, but they’re too big to ignore. Need to look at playing allocations for C and T.

Roberto

04-13-2003, 02:52 PM

Gaps to be filled: upcoming Class of 2004

One QB
One WR
One C
Three T
One P
One DE
Two DT
One ILB
Two CB

Recruitment Priorities

Filling the upcoming gaps with the best talent we can get. For the spare spaces, try for a second QB and some good LB.

Recruitment Tactics

We need to keep the academics rising.

Last year taught that we still have no chance with the top 100. Concentrate on good prospects in the lower half of the top 1,000. Secondly, look for talent in and around Indiana. Thirdly, look for clever players needing a sports scholarship to make up the numbers.

Roberto

04-13-2003, 02:55 PM

Warning

To meet the Challenge deadlines, I had to play through the seasons faster, or give up the Dynasty (or the rest of my life …).

So the week-by-week recruitment detail had to go.

The game detail could be written in later, from the box scores and match summaries.

History records that I did complete the Challenge, and still have my day job.

Scheduling

Negotiated home with San Jose State in week 5 and a trip to the sun to play Central Florida in week 15.

Neither are designated rivals, but we should have a chance to beat both of them. That’s what we need.

First match is in Week 3

Week 1

#1 Indiana begin the new season with a 52-14 home win over Louisiana State on TV1.
On TV2 #16 Ohio State delight their home crowd with a 70-0 shut-out of unranked Ball State. Our schedule avoids Ohio State this year. Phew!

Week 2

On TV1 #34 Texas A&M score an upset 17-10 win at #13 Nevada.
On TV2 the natural order of things sees #33 Southern Mississippi go down 7-45 at #4 Georgia Tech.

Week 3

At North Carolina State. They are 1-0, having beaten Mississippi 24-7.

They prefer the Wing-T and their starting QB likes to run all the time.

For the new season:

Starting QB Crossman, then Boston then Reed.

WR Will,iamson, Split End Alston. First backup WR Meier.

FB (are weak), Jackson then Meadows. TE Chandler, then Workman. RB Holmes and Drake.

OL (is weak or inexperienced): LT Watson, LG Shelton, C Fields, G is T Herndon, T Watson .

The less said about the DL the better.

4-6 defence. Otherwise, follow the scouts’ tactical advice.

Raining, 49 degrees. And the stadium in Raleigh is nearly half empty (26,500 seats filled out of 50,000).

Lose 30-42.

Two touchdowns by TE Chandler, one by WR Williamson and one by QB Crossman after a 49-yard breakaway run, plus a field goal by McGarrahan.

It’s a pretty even game. They outrun us by 200 net yards to 121 but we outpass them by 301 yards to 187. They have 25 first downs to our 22 - but from that they visit our red zone seven times (for five touchdowns) but we only visit theirs four times (for three touchdowns and one field goal). Well, not such an even game.

All the QB get playing time. Starter Crossman is sacked once in three attempts for 56 yards (but that’s misleading, because it includes his 49-yard touchdown run) but succeeds with only 10 of 27 passes. Neither Boston nor Reed try to rush; Boston succeeds with three of eight passes, Reed with one of four.

QB Crossman’s 49-yard run puts him ahead of the RB in rushing yardage. Drake made 28 yards, Holmes 16.

The bad news lies in the passing analysis. Of Crossman’s seventeen failed passes, ten were hurried, three defensed and only two dropped. The weakness of the OL will have been obvious to any Big Ten scouts at the game. Contrast NCST’s QB Gardner, who succeeded with 15 of 22 pass attempts (with figures like that who needs to run? And he didn’t, with minus two yards in four attempts. So much for liking to run all the time!!!).

WR Williamson was the target for 14 passes. Five reached him (of which he dropped one). Split End Alston was only reached by the ball once in eight attempts; he was so surprised, he dropped it! TE Chandler caught five of eight.

One sack conceded, no sacks achieved. ILB Keeton lad the defense with fifteen tackles (three for loss), then OLB Ciszek with nine (three for loss) and ILB Moore with seven (one for loss).

QB Crossman makes the Players of the Week list.

No long term injuries.

On TV1 #23 East Carolina go down 10-38 at #8 Texas A&M.
On TV2 #25 Virginia pull off an upset 31-24 win at #11 Mississippi State.

Week 4

No game this week

On TV1 #4 Stanford win 28-10 at our opponents next week, #23 San Jose State.
On TV2 unranked Northern Illinois roll over 6-66 at #7 UCLA.

Week 5

Academics

Lowest grade is one D with seven more at D+

The Match

Hosting San Jose State. They are 1-1 having lost 10-28 at Stanford last week.

They like to play the Wing-T.

Change to a 3-4 defence, to be prepared for anything. Otherwise, same lineup and tactics as last time.

Fair, 48 degrees. Home crowd of 41,700.

Lose 14-19

Touchdowns by WR Williamson and TE Chandler in the first quarter. Until the middle of the fourth quarter, we hold them 14-10, then they score a field goal to make the scores 14-13. The final blow is a touchdown with 3:16 to go.

They outran us by 190 net yards to 127. We outpassed them by 151 yards to 126, but only succeeded in four of thirteen attempts (they succeeded in twelve of twenty-one). What betrayed us was discipline, conceding ten penalties (for 77 yards) to their four (for 30), after which it’s not surprising they won 20 first downs to our 8. Amazingly, we did not visit their red zone once, yet nearly won (they visited ours three times, for one touchdown and two field goals).

QB Crossman was sacked once in eight attempts for a pitiful total of eight yards and succeeded with four of thirteen pass attempts. Of the failures, three were hurried, three defensed, one blocked and one intercepted (and none dropped).

Best runner was RB Holmes with 75 yards, then RG Drake with 28.

Two of six passes reached WR Williamson, one of four TE Chandler.

Leading defenders were S Lundy with eleven tackles (one for loss), then ILB Keeton with ten (two for loss) and one sack and OLB Nails with eight. Special mention for freshman DE Necaise whose two tackles were both for loss and who made two sacks.

RB Holmes and ILB Keeton make the Players of the Week list.

Injuries

DE Money - probable - concussion - 5 weeks
ILB Moore - questionable - strained triceps muscle - 5 weeks

Roberto

04-13-2003, 02:58 PM

2004 Week 6

Hosting Iowa.

They are 0-4 - we are 0-2.

They prefer the Pro-Formation, but with a starting QB who likes to run.

Revert to a 4-3 defence.

Fair, 59 degrees. Crowd down to 39,200

Lose 21-45

This is desperate. It was 14-14 at the end of the second quarter. Iowa gained ten points in the third quarter, then ran three touchdowns in the fourth.

Notre Dame’s touchdowns by S Hampton (71-yard interception return), RB Drake and WR Williamson (93-yard kickoff return), so there are flashes of entertainment but it’s not a result.

We are outrushed by 274 net yards to 140, outpassed by 306 yards to 62 and won ten first downs to Iowa’s 31. We visited their red zone once (for Drake’s touchdown); they entered ours five times and scored a touchdown each time.

QB Crossman and QB Boston each attempted one run and each was sacked for his pains. Crossman attempted eleven passes and succeeded with four (Boston’s stats were one of one). Of the failures, two were hurried, one intercepted, three defensed and only one dropped. It’s that OL again!

RB Drake rushed 69 yards, RB Holmes 39 and WR Williamson 22.

Most active defenders were ILB Keeton with nine tackles, OLB Nails with seven and S Lundy with six (none of these were for loss). Most effective defenders were DE Fuller with 2.5 sacks, DE Gargaro with two tackles for loss from five and 1.5 sacks and S Norris with three tackles for loss from five from five.

But if it had not been for the interception and the kickoff return, we could have gone down 7-45 - and the crowd know it.

RB Drake and DE Fuller make the Players of the Week list.

New Injury

OLB Nixon - questionable - torn thumb ligament - 4 weeks.

Walking wounded

DE Money - probable - concussion - 4 weeks
ILB Moore - questionable - strained triceps muscle - 4 weeks

On TV1 #2 Texas establish a 4-0 record by beating #14 Kansas State 35-20 before a home crowd.
On TV2 #25 Illinois go down 10-37 to #30 Michigan State.

Week 7

Nobody visiting yet.

Hosting #39 Minnesota. They are 4-1 and 27-point favourites.

After last week, we are the worst team in the whole country at successful passing.

Try a new option - TE Workman (who can catch a bit) in at FB.

Stormy, 60 degrees. Crowd up to 40,800 - and they’re pretty stormy too.

Lose 15-30

Minnesota run up twenty points in the first quarter. After that, the game is pretty even (which is like saying Mrs Lincoln enjoyed the play).

Overall, they outrushed us by 199 net yards to 131 and we outpassed them by 202 yards to 189. They won 21 first downs and we won 17. The killer stat is the red zone profile. We did not enter theirs at all, they entered ours five times (for four touchdowns and one field goal)..

QB Crossman attempted three rushes and was sacked once, for a total of minus five yards. Fourteen of thirty attempted passes succeeded. Of the failures, four were hurried, one intercepted, five defensed, three downright bad throws, and again only one dropped.

RB Holmes rushed 94 yards, RB Drake 43.

The main target for the passes was WR Williamson, who caught seven of the fourteen headed his way.

Star of the defense was DT Metzler, with nine tackles, five for loss. Next were OLB Nails with eight (none for) and ILB Keeton with six (one for).

RB Holmes and WR Williamson make the Players of the Week list.

No new injuries.

On TV1 #1 Oklahoma are thrashed 11-56 at #2 Texas (who now go 5-0).
On TV2 #7 Virginia Tech are thumped 21-48 at #8 Miami of Florida.

Week 8

Recruiting

We have seventeen visitors: 2QB 2RB 2WR 2C 1T 1P 2DT 2ILB 1CB and 2S. Unfortunately, almost all of them are also visiting other colleges.

The Match

At #8 Michigan. They are 4-1 and 34 point favourites.

We are now 0-4.

Raining, 47 degrees. Capacity crowd of 107,500 fills the stands at Ann Arbor.

They like what they see …

Lose 3-42

One field goal to our credit.

Michigan dominate the running game by 193 net yards to 103 and the passing game more, by 255 yards to 90. They win 27 first downs to our nine and make themselves comfortable in our red zone, calling in six times for a touchdown each time. We reach theirs once.

All the QB see action. Starter Crossman is sacked once in three rushes for minus one yard, Reed once in two for minus six yards and Boston not in one attempt, but goes back one yard anyway. Of the passes, Crossman succeeds with six of fourteen and Reed with one of four. Of the failures none were dropped: three were hurried, two intercepted, two blocked and four defensed.

RB Drake rushes 74 yards, RB Holmes 27.

In the defence, OLB McWilliams led with none tackles (two for loss) followed by DE Gargaro with eight (one for), backup DT Pfingsten with six (three for!) and OLB Ciszek also with six (but none for).

Somehow, RB Drake makes the Players of the Week list.

New injuries

ILB Keeton - out for the rest of (his last) season - torn triceps muscle.
DE Mooney - probable - concussion - 5 weeks.

Walking wounded

ILB Moore - probable - strained triceps muscle - 2 weeks
OLB Nixon - probable - torn thumb ligament - 2 weeks.

On TV1 (and in the Big Ten) #2 Penn State go 7-0 with a narrow 10-7 win at #31 Minnesota.
On TV2 #13 Kentucky go 6-0 with a 19-14 win over visitors #27 Georgia.

Roberto

04-16-2003, 01:16 AM

2004 Week 9

Messages

Lance Crossman, a quarterback, expressed the opinion that he should receive a full scholarship given his current level of playing time.

Listen sunshine, you’re the starting QB in our worst start to any season ever. (And if he don’t like it he’s in his last year, anyway).

Mario Mascorella was caught committing a serious violation of team rules. Though the violation does not warrant Syndicate involvement, failure to suspend the player may cause unhappiness among teammates.

That’s an easy choice - he’s red-shirted anyway.

Walk-ons

TE Jay Farmer - not much talent (4/23) but a bright spark (asp 80, int 83)
TE Troy Matthews - some potential (13/35) but little up top (asp 28, int 9 classes include Bartending and Professional Wrestling)
DT Henry Murphy - all promise and no performance (1/33) but another bright spark (asp 84, int 74)
DT Casey Randle - will keep the bench warm (0/0) while concentrating on his studies (asp 84, int 67)
CB Charlie Douthit - complete waste of space (4/7 asp 10, int 5) but popular - perhaps it’s to do with the class he’s taking in Smile Therapy.

Academics

More grades out.

Two on D- seven on D one on D+. Time to dish out the extra time blocks.

Recruits

Jay Ferderer, a center from Streamwood High School in Streamwood, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 51+ Prest/Acad #4 C in Illinois Nat Rank #950

Darrin Coffman, a safety from Ottoville High School in Ottoville, Ohio, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 46+ Prest*/Acad #3 S in Ohio and will help space out the ages of the S.

The Match

At #2 Penn State. They are 7-0 and 38-point favourites.

The way this season is going, it might as well be 380 points.

Try another tactic. Short passes have the lease chances of going astray (and QB Crossman is least bad at short passing). So concentrate on that …

Stormy, 58 degrees.

Lose 14-52.

Penn State go 14-0 up in the first quarter and lead 38-7 at the end of the second. Notre Dame’s two touchdowns by WR Williamson and RB Drake are no more than tokens.

We are outrushed by 230 net yards to 123 and outpassed by 227 yards to 109. They win 25 first downs to our 10 and reach our red zone seven times (for six touchdowns). We only see theirs in the far distance.

QB Crossman is sacked twice in five attempts for a total of three yards. At least it’s positive! He succeeds with six of seventeen passes - of the failures, three were hurried, three blocked, two intercepted, two defensed and none dropped.

RB Drake rushes 45 yards, RB Holmes 30 and backup RB Myers 20.

In the defense, DT White made seven tackles (one for loss), CB Price six (none for) and OLB McWilliams also six (two for).

RB Drake makes the Players of the Week list.

Out for the rest of the season

ILB Keeton - torn triceps muscle
DT Pfingsten - torn achilles tendon (new)
TE Workman - broken clavicle (new)

Walking wounded

DE Money - probable - concussion - 4 weeks
ILB Moore - probable - strained triceps muscle - 1 week
OLB Nixon - probable - torn thumb ligament - 1 week.

On TV1 #18 Syrancuse score an upset 23-17 win at #9 Miami of Florida.
On TV2 #12 Mississippi State suffer a shock 21-37 loss at #30 Tennessee.

Week 10

QB Crossman still wants a scholarship. No, no, no.

Recruits

Harold Malone, a running back from Ravenna High School in Ravenna, Michigan, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 66- Dist*/Acad #5 RB in Michigan Nat Rank #539.

Billy Beckwith, a center from Nelson County High School in Lovingston, Virginia, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 58- Acad*/Prest #2 C in Virginia with GPA 3.91

Melvin Shelton, an outside linebacker from Xenia High School in Xenia, Ohio, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 40+ Dist*/Prest and may need some academic help (GPA 2.17).

The Match

At home to #40 Northwestern. They are 22-point favourites.

They prefer the double-wing with long passing.

Now the season is dead and buried, put Boston is as first QB and see if the experience will build him up for next year.

Rain, 42 degrees. Crowd of 38,700

Lose 7-10

One touchdown each in the first quarter (Notre Dame’s is from RB Holmes), then it’s all square until a field goal for Northwestern halfway through the fourth quarter.

The tide is turning. Or so we try to convince ourselves.

We outrush them by 192 net yards to 159, they out pass us by 121 yards to 26 and win sixteen first downs to our eleven. If there is a killer stat it is yards per passing attempt: Northwestern make 5.7, Notre Dame 1.7.

QB Boston is sacked once in five attempts but only achieves minus four yards. He succeeds with three of fifteen passes. Of the failed passes, three were hurried, two intercepted, one blocked, four defensed and two just bad. Well, I hope he’s gaining experience.

RB Holmes rushes 166 yards. Next closest is RB Drake with 29.

At the heart of the defense are ILB Moore with eleven tackles and OLB Ciszek with six, though none were for loss.

RB Holmes makes the Players of the Week list again.

No new season-ending injuries.

Walking wounded

DE Money - probable - concussion - 3 weeks
CB Price - probable - bruised ribcage - 2 weeks

On TV1 #7 UCLA go down 13-34 at #6 Stanford.
On TV2 #3 Georgia Tech are upset 10-23 at #11 North Carolina

Week 11

Messages

Derek Watson, an offensive tackle, expressed the opinion that he should receive a full scholarship given his current level of playing time.

He’s started every game this season, and it’s his last season. OK.

Recruits

Ben Taylor, a defensive tackle from Ackley-Geneva High School in Ackley, Iowa, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 55- Acad*/Dist #1 DT in Iowa (for what that’s worth) and in the Iowa All-State Team #32 DT in the nation Nat Rank #525.

Arnie Feugill, a safety from Eastern High School in Middletown, Kentucky, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 41+ Dist/Prest #2 S in Kentucky (but not in the All-State Team!) and may need some academic help (GPA 2.35)

The Match

Hosting #32 Wisconsin. Last home game of the year.

They prefer the Power-I and their record shows they prefer running to passing.

See if last week’s improvement will carry on.

Crowd of 37,100. That’s only 500 more than the number of season tickets sold for the year.

Raining (again), 49 degrees.

And it’s raining in our hearts …

Lose 6-38

Notre Dame’s only score is from a fumble and an 84-yard return by CB Price in the third quarter.

Otherwise, the traffic is all one way. They outrush us by 207 net yards to 59, outpass us by 184 yards to 78 and win twenty first downs to our eight. The real killer stat is tackles for loss: we make three but concede fourteen! We also concede twelve penalties (for 97 yards) to their five (for 46 yards).

QB Boston was sacked five times in six attempts, and driven back overall for 32 yards. He succeeded in four of fifteen pass attempts. QB Crossman came on and rushed successfully twice for fourteen yards, passing successfully in one of one attempts. Five of the eleven failed passes were hurried and two just bad. The weakness of the OL has been our undoing all season.

Only significant rusher was RB Drake, with 53 yards.

The burden of the defense was again taken by the LB. ILB Moore led with ten tackles (but none for loss), followed by OLB Nails with eight (one for loss) and one sack.

Nobody from Notre Dame made the Players of the Week list.

Season-ending injury for RB Holmes.

On TV1 #1 Texas A & M go down heavily 14-42 at #2 Nebraska.
On TV2 #19 Kentucky narrowly lose 14-21 at #18 Mississippi State.

Roberto

04-16-2003, 01:19 AM

2004 Week 12

Recruits

Marc Kincaid, a running back from Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 36+ Acad*/Prest #3 RB in Arizona.

Eight places filled now.

The Match

At Michigan State.

Although their record is 4-5, they’re 22-point favourites.

They prefer the I-Formation.

Raining (yet again), 48 degrees.

Lose 8-24

Notre Dame’s score is a converted touchdown by WR Williamson.

The score could have been far, far worse. They outrushed us by 236 net yards to 44, outpassed us by 189 yards to 122, won 25 first downs to our six but only made their way to our red zone four times for two touchdowns and one field goal (we reached theirs twice).

QB Boston was sacked four times in eleven attempts but only made four yards overall. He succeeded with seven of eighteen passes. Of the eleven failures only one was hurried. Five were bad throws, two were defensed and two dropped.

The only runner to make double figures was RB Drake, with 38 yards.

Preventing much worse were again the LB, led this week by ILB Moore with thirteen tackles (one for loss) and OLB Ciszek with nine (none for). Then came DT White with eight (two for loss), and the team’s one sack.

Once again, Notre Dame have no entrants in the Players of the Week list.

Out for the rest of the season:

ILB Keeton - torn triceps muscle
DT Pfingsten - torn achilles tendon
DT Metzler - broken arm
RB Holmes - herniated disk

Questionable

CB Price - probable - bruised ribcage - 3 weeks
TE Workman - probable - broken clavicle - 3 weeks.

On TV1 #21 Colorado are hammered 14-47 at #1 Nebraska.
On TV2 (and in the Big Ten) #20 Illinois go down 23-47 at #6 Michigan.

Week 13

Messages

Ray Burgess was caught committing a serious violation of team rules. Though the violation does not warrant Syndicate involvement, failure to suspend the player may cause unhappiness among teammates.

This is a tough decision. We need him in defence. But as the season’s well on the way to hell in a handbasket, how much worse could it become if we do the right thing? He’s suspended.

Academics

More grades in - and there are four with D- and five with D.

Recruits

Quinn Campbell, a wide receiver from Ottumwa High School in Ottumwa, Iowa, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 67- Prest/(Dist) #2 WR in Iowa and in the All-State Team, Nat Rank #621.

Lamar Wilkins, an offensive tackle from Fort Myers High School in Fort Myers, Florida, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 34+ and 309 pounds. Acad*/Prest #2 T in Florida.

Lester Hickman, an inside linebacker from Richmond High School in Richmond, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 50+ Prest*/Dist #ILB in Indiana and in the All-State Team.

Harvey Harrison, a cornerback from Trigg County High School in Cadiz, Kentucky, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 29+ Acad*/Prest, and can make up the numbers (though as a member of the Kentucky All-State Team he may do more).

Four places remaining but only two scholarships. Musical chairs?

The Match

At rivals, Purdue.

They prefer the Veer Formation.

After our atrocious season, even they are 19 point favourites.

We’ll start QB Reed to give his some experience.

Sunny, 57 degrees.

It’s worse than anyone had feared:

Lose 10-63

To the horror and disbelief of the visiting supporters among the crowd of 57,900, Purdue run up 28 points in the first quarter and another 14 in the second, to lead 42-0 at the break. Notre Dame’s only response is in the third quarter, with a 100-yard kickoff return by WR Williamson (after yet another Purdue touchdown) and, a little later, a field goal.

They outrush us by (only) 167 net yards to 96 and outpass us by 342 yards to 59, winning thirty first downs to our eight. They achieve 11.7 yards per passing attempt to our 3.2 and reach our red zone seven times, for a touchdown every time.

Starting QB Reed was not one of my better ideas. He was sacked twice in three attempts for minus nine yards and succeeds with one (yes, one!) of twelve passing attempts. QB Boston comes on and succeeds with one of five, then QB Crossman with one of one. Of the failed attempts, five were hurried, three intercepted, three blocked and four defensed.

Leading the rushing yardage are the junior (and distinctly second-string) pair of RB Francis with 43 yards and RB Myers with 39.

Taking the most lumps in the defense were S Lundy with eleven tackles (one for loss) and OLB Nails with ten (none for). Next was OLB McWilliams with six (one for loss).

Nobody from Notre Dame makes the Players of the Week list from this debacle!

Injuries

TE Chandler joins those out for the rest of the season, with a stretched knee ligament.

On TV1 #3 Stanford are shocked to lose 14-15 at #30 California.
On TV2 #20 Florida lose 24-30 at #21 Georgia.

Week 14

Recruits

Louis Levin, a punter from South Dearborn High School in Aurora, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 30-, but we need someone. Acad/Dist and the Punter in the Indiana All-State Team.

Jessie Arnold, a defensive tackle from West Davidson High School in Lexington, North Carolina, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 58- Acad/Dist #3 DT in North Carolina, Nat Rank 858 and 4.00 GPA.

We need a QB - and have no scholarships left to attract one.

No match this week.

In a huge game on TV1 #1 Texas win 28-16 at #3 Texas A & M.
On TV2 #18 Georgia are humiliated 10-52 at #2 Georgia Tech.

Week 15

Last match of the season, at Central Florida.

It was arranged as a post-season break in the sun. Now it seems a very long goodbye.

And it’s on TV3.

Follow all the scouts’ recommendations to the letter. QB Crossman comes back for a last hurrah.

Fair, 77 degrees. 21,600 spectators bouncing round a stadium which can seat 70,200.

It starts well. Touchdown from RB Holmes in the first quarter, a field goal and a touchdown from RB Drake in the second quarter put Notre Dame into a 17-10 lead at the break. But that is the last time Notre Dame score. Central Florida run up fourteen points in the third quarter and thirty-one in the fourth, to show all those watching how far Notre Dame football has fallen.

Lose 17-55.

Overall, they outrush us by 237 net yards to 187 and outpass us by an overwhelming 219 yards to 40, to win 21 first downs to our 13. Again, there is a stark contrast in yards per passing attempt - they achieve 8.4, we achieve 2.2. The real humiliation is that they only visit our red zone twice (for one touchdown and two field goals); everything else comes in from further out.

QB Crossman was not sacked in three attempts for thirteen yards, but only succeeded with five in eighteen passing attempts. Five of the failures were hurried, two intercepted, three inherently bad (and two dropped).

RB Drake rushes for 114 yards, RB Holmes 55. Can’t fault their effort.

Leading the defense is ILB Moore with ten tackles (one for loss), then OLB Nails with five (one for), backup CB McCulley also with five (one for) and S Lundy with five tackles (tow for loss) and two sacks.

In his farewell game, T Verdin makes six key blocks and appears in the Players of the Week list along with RB Drake. With only four games this week, there’s not that much competition, but it’s something to end his Notre Dame football career with.

Notre Dame’s season ends 0-11.

124th in the coaches’ poll.
124th in the fans’ poll.
Ranked 124th.

But there’s even worse to come.

Kirk May, a defensive end from Westview High School in Topeka, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Ben Simmons, a defensive tackle from East Noble High School in Kendallville, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Both of them idolized Notre Dame and are coming without scholarships.

May is 27-, Simmons 24-.

Which leaves no space in the class for a QB. Next season we’ll have to rely on a walk-on to fill up the bench - or convert somebody to pose there.

Roberto

04-20-2003, 03:21 PM

2004 Post Season

At the end of the regular season, there are no unbeaten teams, and only one team without a victory - us.

In the play-off semi-finals:

#1 Georgia Tech beat #4 Mississippi State 34-14.
#2 North Carolina were upset by #13 Virginia 13-28

And in the final Georgia Tech beat Virginia 28-21.

Player of the Year was Spencer Tate QB at Texas:
274-for-484, 4053 yards, 45TD, 12Int.

Notre Dame have one entry in the National Awards: OLB Ciszek in the Academic Team.

The Big Ten awards honour:

Brad Shelton Academic Team G
Edgar Gargaro Academic Team DE
Graham Ciszek Academic Team OLB
Terrance Hampton Academic Team S.

Roberto

04-20-2003, 03:22 PM

2004 Notre Dame Schedule

Rival: Purdue
Stadium Capacity: 52,400
Season Tickets Sold: 36,600



Week Opponent
3 at North Carolina State L 30-42 26,500 Rain, 49
5 SAN JOSE STATE L 14-19 41,700 Sunny, 48
$$6 IOWA L 21-45 39,200 Sunny, 59
$$7 MINNESOTA L 15-30 40,800 Stormy, 60
$$8 at Michigan L 3-42 107,500 Rain, 47
$$9 at Penn State L 14-50 94,000 Stormy, 68
$$10 NORTHWESTERN L 7-10 38,700 Rain,42
$$11 WISCONSIN L 6-38 37,100 Rain, 49
$$12 at Michigan State L 8-24 60,700 Rain, 48
$$13 at Purdue L 10-63 57,500 Sunny, 57
15 at Central Florida (TV 3) L 17-55 21,600 Sunny, 77



HOME GAMES IN CAPITALS.
$$ - Conference games.

Roberto

04-20-2003, 03:26 PM

2004 Season Standings, Big Ten



School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Michigan 9 3 0 .750 402 214 7 1 0 .875 285 116 ---
Penn State 10 3 0 .769 304 216 6 2 0 .750 171 146 ---
Illinois 8 3 0 .727 302 218 5 3 0 .625 189 179 ---
Northwestern 10 4 0 .714 362 229 5 3 0 .625 188 140 ---
Wisconsin 6 5 0 .545 280 184 5 3 0 .625 221 126 ---
Ohio State 6 5 0 .545 286 200 5 3 0 .625 206 142 ---
Minnesota 6 5 0 .545 253 228 4 4 0 .500 141 176 ---
Purdue 5 6 0 .454 269 267 3 5 0 .375 194 187 ---
Michigan State 5 6 0 .454 269 258 3 5 0 .375 156 200 ---
Iowa 1 10 0 .090 184 373 1 7 0 .125 144 263 ---
**Notre Dame 0 11 0 .000 145 420 0 8 0 .000 84 304 ---

Roberto

04-20-2003, 03:27 PM

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank GPA Scout

$$ Malone, Harold RB 5-9 197 MI 539 2.95 66-
## Kincaid, Marc RB 6-2 209 AZ - - 3.24 36+
$$ Campbell, Quinn WR 6-5 207 IA 621 2.73 67-
$$ Beckwith, Billy C 6-4 262 VA - - 3.91 58-
$$ Ferderer, Jay C 6-4 262 IL 950 3.29 51+
## Wilkins, Lamar G 6-5 309 FL - - 3.59 34+
## Levin, Louis P 6-3 193 IN - - 3.14 30-
## May, Kirk DE 6-3 246 IN - - 2.46 27-
## Arnold, Jessie DT 6-0 243 NO 858 4.00 58-
** Taylor, Ben DT 6-3 243 IA 525 3.41 55-
## Simmons, Ben DT 6-3 252 IN - - 2.84 24-
## Hickman, Lester ILB 6-4 235 IN - - 2.88 50+
## Shelton, Melvin OLB 5-11 203 OH - - 2.17 40+
## Harrison, Harvey CB 5-9 158 KY - - 3.70 29+
## Coffmann, Darrin S 5-8 174 OH - - 3.26 46+
$$ Feugill, Arnie S 6-1 198 KY - - 2.35 41+



$$ - likely interest. ## - almost certain interest. ** - bit of a stretch

Roberto

04-20-2003, 03:30 PM

2004 TEAM SUMMARY



Notre Dame Team Rank

Rushes 372 78
Rushing Yards 1254 86
Yards per Carry 3.37 89 (T)
Pass Attempts 214 119
Completions 73 125
Passing Yards 1240 125
Yards per Attempt 5.79 110
3rd Down Conversions 24.6 121
Points per Game 13.1 119
Turnovers 29 115
Turnover Margin -16 122 (T)



Opponents Team Rank

Rushes 490 120
Rushing Yards 2235 123
Yards per Carry 4.56 113
Pass Attempts 263 9
Completions 169 49 (T)
Passing Yards 2345 69
Yards per Attempt 8.91 122
3rd Down Conversions 42.8 115
Points per Game 38.1 125



All our figures have gone down, some badly, except turnovers and turnover margin (which we would want to go down). The inability to complete passes, leading to a reluctance to attempt them, screams out from these figures.

The OL may be able to pass water (thought I have my doubts) but they can’t create space for the QB to pass the football!

Roberto

04-20-2003, 03:31 PM

2004 INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY



Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Crossman QB 132 51 888 6.72 6 10
13 Boston QB 62 19 317 5.11 1 4
Team . 214 73 1240 5.79 8 16



Fall in attempts (from 244) and completions (from 102) but the yards per attempt are about the same.



Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
27 Drake RB 147 534 3.63 3 46 57
45 Holmes RB 106 515 4.85 3 38 81
32 Myers RB 32 82 2.56 0 8 10
19 Crossman QB 28 82 2.92 1 11 44
13 Boston QB 24 -39 -1.62 0 17 78
Team . 372 1254 3.37 7 137 307



The running game’s development has gone into reverse. Fall in attempts (from 410) and bigger fall in yardage (from 1759) leads to dreadful fall in yards per attempt (from 4.29 to 3.37). No big surprise that the running TD fell from 12 to 7. Only survivor from last year in this list is Holmes, but even his yards per attempt fell (from 5.45 to 4.85). And QB Boston’s figures are simply pitiful.



Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
9 Williamson WR 85 27 567 21.0 187 5
93 Chandler TE 40 11 257 23.3 92 3
86 Alston WR 27 5 108 21.6 25 0
27 Drake RB 18 8 135 16.8 63 0
45 Holmes RB 13 8 44 5.5 28 0

Team . 214 73 1240 16.9 430 8



Fewer attempts (down from 244), fewer catches (down from 102), fewer yards gained (down from 1399) but yards per catch up (last year was 13.7). Again, we can see the problem is in passes reaching their destination, not in the running with the ball afterwards. And that comes back to the weakness of the OL.



Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
41 Nails OLB 65 25 1.0 6 0 10
25 Lundy S 60 19 1.0 7 1 1
44 Moore ILB 55 21 0.0 4 0 3
49 Ciszek OLB 54 24 0.0 5 0 1
94 Keeton ILB 42 16 1.0 6 0 0
43 Hampton S 36 11 0.0 5 1 3
91 White DT 35 11 1.0 6 0 0
53 McWilliams OLB 34 14 1.0 7 0 1
37 Price CB 29 6 0.0 2 0 2
74 Gargaro DE 26 7 2.5 6 0 0
71 Metzler DT 25 8 0.5 8 0 0
79 Fuller DE 23 16 3.5 8 0 1
99 Pfingsten DT 21 6 0.0 5 0 0
90 Porter DE 19 7 2.5 5 0 0
95 Money DE 17 7 3.0 5 1 0
36 McCulley CB 17 8 0.0 2 3 2
31 Norris S 14 6 0.0 3 0 0
9 Williamson WR 11 0 0.0 0 0 0

Team . 677 233 19.0 93 6 27



More tackles (up from 634), more TFL (up from 77) and more sacks (up from 16.0). Which is strange, considering three of our eleven opponents this year scored thirty points or more against us. Perhaps this shows the OL just cannot keep the ball. When our opponents have so much more possession, there are bound to be more tackles.

Roberto

04-20-2003, 03:34 PM

2004 GRADES

Team Performance 0/100
Academic Performance 73/100
Recruiting Performance 84/100
TV Revenue 75/100
Alumni Donations 0/100
Attendance at Stadium 55/100

Overall 37/100

That TV Revenue must be down to the game in Week 15.

Roberto

04-21-2003, 12:28 PM

CHALLENGE DYNASTY - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROCKNE 2005

Reminder: Initial Settings:

Everything on manual - in practice, I rely heavily on the coordinators’ recommendations for team selection and game plan.

Last Season

Results were as bad as could be at 0-11.
Overall rank 124.

The College

The one and only Notre Dame

Academic reputation now averages 59 (up from 55), which puts us 22 of 125 (up from 31). Subject rankings are also rising nicely from 12 (Astronomy) and 13 (Geology) to 43 (of 125) (Calculus) and 47 (Nursing). Remember there are three subjects we don’t offer: Sociology, Social Work and Political Science. Undergraduate GPA is slightly down at 2.93 (from 2.95).

Notre Dame’s football program has become an academic powerhouse, while on field performance goes to hell in a handbasket.

Community loyalty: Very Good (no change)
Alumni loyalty: Fair (was Decent)
Student goodwill: Good (was Pretty Good)

Some of the alumni accept the program is in transition. Others have been heard to talk about trees and ropes. Donations are at an all-time low.

Season tickets sold continue to fall - down to 32,100 now. We have to get back to winning games.

Prestige is down to 61 (from 66).

At the start of the season we’re at 122 in the coaches’ poll, 97 in the fans’ poll and ranked 118 overall.

Things can only get better.

Ticket Prices

This is not a time to raise prices.

Start of Season e-mails.

Deion Kelley, an inside linebacker, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

His grades were all over the place - straight A in Trigonometry II and straight E in Algebra II.

Deon Garcia, an outside linebacker, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

He concentrated too narrowly - straight A in his major of Astronomy but straight E in Geology. He can hit the weights as well as his books.

Charlie Douthit, a cornerback, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

He was a walk on and academically he’s a disaster waiting to happen (asp 10 in 5). The E was in business. Other grades included D in Smile Therapy. Perhaps that class explains why he’s so popular.

Tracy Herndon, an offensive tackle, has been suspended for the season for accepting money from a member of the booster club.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. He played in all but one of our games last season and would have been a guaranteed starter.

Aaron White, a defensive tackle, has made a request to be allowed more free time for the upcoming season

Not sure why. He’s a stellar student (GPA 3.90) and wildly happy with his new girlfriend, Agatha. Perhaps that’s it.

Reuben Collins has retired from his position of scout, Deep South region.

Job offers from Oregon State and Eastern Michigan. Perhaps the alumni put them up to it.

New coaches at Oklahoma, Miami of Florida, Clemson, Air Force, Southern Mississippi, Ohio State, Syrancuse, Houston, Florida State, Tulsa, Connecticut, Louisiana State and North Texas.

Tyrell Garrett of Georgia Tech has been named Coach of the Year for his performance this past season.

The good news is what isn’t there:

Nobody leaving due to lack of playing time.
No broken relationships.

And the word on campus is that thirteen of the squad who had no girlfriends at the end of last season now do. Misery loves company.

Staff Hiring

More changes - and seriously bad news. Suppose it’s what happens when you go 0-11.

James McLendon has been hired away from his position of scout, Great Lakes region

He’s gone to East Carolina.

Robbie Chorak has been hired away from his position of syndicate coordinator

He’s gone to Syrancuse.

Jimmy Neimeyer has been hired away from his position of defensive coordinator.

He’s gone to Toledo.

Also new coaches at

Texas Tech, Wyoming, Boise State, Louisiana Tech, Akron, Kent, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State, New Mexico State, Central Florida, Navy, South Florida and Stockton.

Roberto

04-21-2003, 12:31 PM

2005 COACHING STAFF

Massive changes. Need new Syndicate coordinator, defensive coordinator and Great Lakes Scout (and a new Deep South scout).

Syndicate Coordinator: Scottie Hammond (was Robbie Chorak)
Age: 54
Academic Eligibility: Terrific (Chorak was Excellent)
Syndicate Investigation: Terrible (Chorak was Lousy)
Solicit Donations: Terrible (Chorak was Good)

He’s the best available. The donations won’t flow again until results improve.

Defensive Coordinator: Jerome Gaines (was Jimmy Neimeyer)
Age: 39
Play Calling: Pretty Good ( N was Decent)
Injury Avoidance: Good ( N was Terrible)
Rehab: Fair
Congeniality: Decent (N was Terrific)
and now the bad news
DL: Pretty Good
LB: Terrible (N was Good)
Sec: Terrible (N was Fair)

Beggars can’t be choosers. If he calls the plays well and keeps the players fit, this can be a stepping stone for him in a couple of years.

In other words, we’ll get someone better as soon as we can.

Offensive Coordinator: Morris Thornton
Age: 41
Play Calling: Excellent (wasTerrific)
Injury Avoidance: Poor
Rehab: Good
Congeniality: Fair
QB: Decent
RB: Pretty Good
R: Terrific
OL: Fair
K: Lousy (was Terrible)
Current Formation: Wishbone
Years With Offense: 8

Sticking with him. In fact, nobody else is available who can call the plays so well. Just have to make sure to recruit K and P from good schools.

Great Lakes Scout: Gary Long (was James McLendon)
Age: 34
QB: Decent (Mc was Good)
RB: Lousy (Mc was Pretty Good)
REC: Fair (Mc was Very Good)
OL: Good (Mc was Terrific)
PK: Pretty Good (Mc was Very Good)
DL: Decent (Mc was Poor)
LB: Good (Mc was Excellent)
Sec: Fair (Mc was Very Good)

He had the least blind spots from those available. Again, we’ll find someone better as soon as we can.

Roberto

04-21-2003, 12:32 PM

2005 Freshmen



Player Pos Current Future Scouted

Chorak, Eugene QB 0 0 walk-on
Malone, Harold RB 41 73 66-
Kincaid, Marc RB 14 46 36+
Campbell, Quinn WR 26 55 67-
Ferderer, Jay C 6 35 51+
Beckwith, Billy C 7 48 58-
Wilkins, Lamar T 9 21 34+
Alcott, Isaac T 6 6 walk-on
Fulton, John T 8 24 walk-on
Morrison, JackieT 2 2 walk-on
Levin, Louis P 13 37 30-
May, Kirk DE 3 10 27-
Arnold, Jessie DT 20 71 58-
Taylor, Ben DT 19 72 55-
Simmons, Ben DT 3 42 24-
Hickman, Lester ILB 17 40 50+
Shelton, Melvin OLB 13 25 40+
Harrison, HarveyCB 6 23 29+
Coffman, Darrin S 17 51 46+
Feugill, Arnie S 22 47 41+



RB Malone is the only one who might be ready to start out of the box, but as new GL scout is particularly weak with the RL, this may be wishful thinking.

C Ferderer, ILB Hickman and OLB Shelton are the main disappointments. However, with new DC Gaines so poor at developing the LB and the CB/S there’s little point crying over misread potential.

Roberto

04-21-2003, 12:35 PM

2005 ROSTER

The change in Great Lakes scout makes it difficult to draw any conclusions from the changes since last year. Adding the changes to assessed potential may help, if only as a warning of what may have been distorted in assessing present ability.



Boston, Doug 13 QB Jr 8 -7 40 -11
Reed, Roosevelt 4 QB So 15 +0 41 -9
Chorak, Eugene #16 QB Fr 0 0



Scout Long is only "decent" at assessing the QB. All we can take from this is that Reed is better than Boston, and should have a chance. But’s he’s not as good (as in: even worse) than Crossman.

Chorak is a Computer Science major and a bright student (asp 74, int 86) and looks the part when kitted up (6-3 and 212 pounds) and his girlfriend Belinda always wanted to sleep with a quarterback …



Holmes, D J 45 RB Sr~ 30 +1 49 -9
Drake, Brock 27 RB Sr* 42 +1 70 +8
Francis, Jack 34 FB Jr 19 +4 35 +12
Myers, Ricardo 32 RB So 24 +4 24 +4
McConnell, Brenden # 29 RB So* 21 -4 51 +8
Malone, Harold 22 RB Fr 41 73
Kincaid, Marc 28 RB Fr 14 46
Meadows, Maurice # 46 FB Sr~ 27 +7 28 -8
Jackson, Erik 21 FB Sr 25 -6 25 -7



Scout Long has a real blind spot with the RB, and this shows in the way the changes are all over the place. Fortunately, all last year’s players are still on the team, so last year’s stats will give some guide.

Whether Malone is as good as he’s painted, goodness alone knows. Try to redshirt the two freshmen anyway; however good or bad they really are, it should make them better.



Chandler, Donald 93 TE Sr 35 -7 53 -7
Workman, Preston 89 TE Jr* 32 +5 36 -7
Gillespie, Cole 98 TE So* 18 +2 32 -29
Overby, Jim # 84 TE So* 21 +5 23 -26
Farmer, Jay # 83 TE So 10 10
Matthews, Troy # 88 TE So 9 41
Williamson, Wilmer 9 WR Sr~ 51 +3 51 -6
Milts, Marc 2 WR Sr~ 37 -3 72 +7
Alston, Irv 86 WR Sr* 39 -4 65
Worthington, Troy 8 WR Sr 31 +9 31 -3
Tharp, Troy 80 WR Jr* 29 +1 46 -15
Quinn, Morris 82 WR Jr* 25 +5 67 +6
Cornplow, Bill 3 WR So* 23 +8 59 +22
Campbell, Quinn 81 WR Fr 26 55



All last year’s TE are still around. Chandler had the best figures last season, which roughly matches the figures. Not sure what to make of the fall in Gillespie and Overby’s potentials. One the basis all the assessments of potential went down, Workman and Overby probably made marked improvements on where they were before.

All last year’s WR are still around except Meier, who was no great shakes. Williamson sticks out a mile, then it’s a toss-up between Milts and Alston. Red-shirt Campbell and see how (if) he improves.



Crockett, Daniel 59 C So 8 -7 37 +6
Beckwith, Billy 54 C Fr 7 48
Ferderer, Jay 51 C Fr 6 35
Shelton, Brad 73 G Sr* 30 +10 42 +6
Caldwell, Lester 68 G Jr 17 +7 57 +11
Fisk, R J 75 G Jr* 17 +5 18 -6
Benson, Bo 63 G So 13 33 +15
Godfrey, Brady 65 G So* 13 +6 16 -6
Gordon, Terry 66 G Jr* 7 +6 17 +6
Szilter, Malcolm 64 G So* 9 +6 9 -19
Herndon, Tracy 76 T Jr 30 +2 50 -6
Wilkins, Lamar 69 T Fr 9 21
Morrison, Jackie # 60 T Fr 6 6
Fulton, John # 61 T Fr 13 30
Alcott, Isaac # 70 T Fr 4 9



Last year’s Centres were weak, but this year’s are nothing short of catastrophic. Crockett can block some passes (RB 1/PB 25/ End 14) probably by standing still (at 303 pounds, it takes a bit to shift him). Ferderer can just about stand still (9/6/36). Beckwith is a weaker version of Crockett (0/17/32 and 278 pounds) and will redshirt.

For what it’s worth, we still have last year’s Guards. Despite these figures, when it comes to skill Caldwell and Fisk are up there with Shelton (though he’s well ahead of them in the brickhouse stakes, at 6-8 and 322 pounds). Szilter is also 6-8 and even bigger at 326 pounds, and will have to cover somewhere in the line.

The only Tackle remaining from last year is Herndon and he’s suspended!



Stone, Randal # 17 P Sr* 10 +1 10 -5
Schneider, Jonnie 6 P Jr* 32 +3 59 +11
Levin, Louis # 19 P Fr 13 37
Long, Omar 15 K Sr* 36 -2 51 +13
Porter, Brett # 10 K Sr* 7 -5 16 -12
McGarrahan, Shawn 1 K Jr* 42 +3 51 +4



Have lost P Spatz. Schneider will start, Levin will redshirt. Stone is useless, useless, useless.

K as last year. Long will kick off while McGarrahan tries for the field goals.



Jamison, Aaron 96 DE Sr* 15 -5 17 -4
Fuller, Ricky 79 DE Sr 27 -3 27 -3
Gargaro, Edgar 74 DE Sr* 35 +7 70 +3
Money, Rick 95 DE Jr* 22 -3 44 -21
Ford, Jessie 78 DE So* 17 -4 64 +4
Necaise, Chuck 92 DE So 28 +14 72 +33
Beyer, Duane 77 DE So* 16 +9 61 -13
May, Kirk # 94 DE Fr 3 10
White, Aaron 91 DT Jr 23 +12 71 +22
Murphy, Henry # 97 DT So 7 9
Randle, Casey # 72 DT So 2 13
Arnold, Jessie 71 DT Fr 20 71
Taylor, Ben 90 DT Fr 19 72
Simmons, Ben # 99 DT Fr 3 42



Scout McLendon had a blid spot with the DL while Scout Long is at least decent, so these assessments may be better than in past years.

Have lost Porter from last year’s starting DE (2.5 sacks, 5TFL). Gargaro looks to be the nearest thing to a shining light. Looks like Fuller and Jamison won’t get much better. Will gamble on redshirting Necaise, in view of his potential.

There’s a flood of new DT but precious little new talent.



Moore. J T 44 ILB Sr* 34 +6 58 -26
Zedalis, Les 55 ILB Jr 10 +3 55 +12
Kelley, Deion # 50 ILB Jr 6 -2 6 -2
Hickman, Lester 52 ILB Fr 17 40
.
Nails, Clarence 41 OLB Sr~ 52 +9 77 +6
Christmas, Tyrell 42 OLB Sr* 15 -9 46 -10
McWilliams, Duane 53 OLB Sr* 23 +1 60 +19
Nixon, Rich # 48 OLB Sr* 3 -3 3 -4
Ciszek, Graham 49 OLB Jr* 34 +11 83 +28
Garcia, Deon 58 OLB So 12 -6 54 +15
Shelton, Melvin 57 OLB Fr 13 25



With Keeton gone, the ILB looks to be Moore and three guys called Joe. Kelley (asp 9 int 29) is on academic probation. Now there’s a surprise!

Again, the OLB will have to fill in. Nails is by far the best, while Ciszek has come on in leaps and bounds. Christmas’ redshirt year didn’t achieve a lot. Garcia is on academic probation.



McCulley, Marc 36 CB Jr 25 +3 57 +32
Mascorella, Mario 20 CB So* 34 +10 45 -7
Gardner, Gino 35 CB So 17 -6 17 -7
Harrison, Harvey 40 CB Fr 6 23
Douthit, Charlie # 23 CB So 0 0
.
Hampton, Terrance 43 S Sr 41 +6 41 +5
Lundy, Burt 25 S Sr 37 +3 57 +7
Norris, Blaine 31 S Sr* 22 +7 23 +8
Budd, Thurman # 33 S Sr 10 +0 10
Maumau, Xavier 39 S Jr 12 -2 22 -11
Coffman, Darrin 30 S Fr 17 51
Feugill, Arnie 26 S Fr 22 47



Putting a redshirt on Mascorella worked. He and McCulley had better stay fit. Douthit is on academic probation. Why not just expel him, and be done with it? Please …

Hampton and Lundy are still the leading S, with Norris next (his brains must be doing something for him on the field: asp 97, int 98). There’ll be a big hole here next year. Will redshirt the freshmen, and hope.

# non-scholarship walk-on

~ fifth-year senior

* has been red-shirted

Offensive Set: Wishbone Formation.

Defensive Set: Variable, depending on the opposition.

One more thing:Keep Practice at 25.

Roberto

04-21-2003, 12:43 PM

Roster Strength 2005



. Starters Reserves
QB 22 (was 42) 15 (was 40)
RB 43 (was 43) 45 (was 44)
FB 37 (was 35) 33 (was 38)
TE 48 (was 44) 32 (was 44)
WR 50 (was 59) 57 (was 54)
C 16 (was 32) 20 (was 41)
G 29 (was 18) 25 (was 16)
T 9 (was 43) 13 (was 75)
P 30 (was 43) 18 (was 29)
K 52 (was 41) 48 (was 46)
DE 41 (was 38) 37 (was 45)
DT 34 (was 29) 12 (was 25)
ILB 32 (was 37) 29 (was 21)
OLB 55 (was 40) 41 (was 43)
CB 33 (was 37) 22 (was 33)
S 41 (was 40) 41 (was 30)



Hard to make comparisons, because of the change in scout. But on the face of it, there’s a massive fall in QB and OL, good rise in OLB. We must recruit good QB and T.

Roberto

04-21-2003, 12:46 PM

Gaps to be filled: upcoming Class of 2005

One RB
Two FB
Two WR
One TE
One DE
One OLB
Three S

Recruitment Priorities

The above is almost irrelevant. Above all else, we must find a stud QB and some good, big OT. We also need some FB, as the two who are leaving are the only two we have.

Recruitment Tactics

We need to keep the academics rising.

With our recent record, we’ll be behind everyone significant on Prestige.

Concentrate on good prospects in the lower half of the top 1,000. Secondly, look for talent in and around Indiana. Thirdly, look for clever players needing a sports scholarship to make up the numbers.

Roberto

04-24-2003, 01:00 AM

2005 Week 1

Scheduling

Accepted a home match against Fresno State in week 2, negotiated an away match against Baylor to end the season in week 14.

No game this week.

On TV1 #7 Oklahoma go down heavily 21-51 at #32 Kentucky
On TV2 unranked Tulane do surprisingly well, beaten 32-45 at #11 Mississippi State.

Week 2

Hosting Fresno State.

First game of the season for both of us.

They prefer the Trips Formation.

New season, new lineup.

Scouts recommend Reed as starting QB. Worth a try.

RB Holmes then Drake. FB Meadows then Jackson, with TE Overby making up the numbers. TE Chandler then Overby then Jackson.

WR Williamson at Flanker and Alston at Split End, with backups Worthington then Milts then Tharp.

The OT are so pitiful that we’ll try G played out of position:

LT Fisk LG Shelton C Crockett RG Caldwell RT Szilter.

Raining, 62 degrees. Crowd of 37,800.

Lose 21-35

Notre Dame’s scores are three touchdowns: from QB Reed in the first quarter, RB in the third quarter and at the start of the fourth quarter an intercepting and 61-yard run from OLB Nails.

Overall, they outrun us by 145 net yards to 103 and outpass us by 290 yards to 177, to win 29 first downs to our 14. Visits to the red zone are in the same ratio: they visit ours four times for four TD, we visit theirs twice for two.

QB Reed was sacked three times in six attempted rushes for a massive overall total of one yard, and succeededs with twelve of twenty-three pass attempts. Of the failures, four were hurried and seven defensed. That weak OL are starting this season as they ended the last.

RB Holmes rushed 60 yards, RB Drake 40.

Leaders of the defense were ILB Moore with nine tackles (one for loss), OLB Ciszek with eight (four for loss) and one sack and S Hampton also with eight (but none for loss). There wqs one other sack, by DE Fuller.

RB Drake makes the Players of the Week list.

Injuries

G Shelton - out - broken arm - 10 weeks
RB Drake - out - herniated disk - 5 weeks

Both of these are bad news - especially PotW Drake.

On TV1 #3 Penn State triumph 35-7 at #10 Pittsburgh
On TV2 #4 Mississippi State are upset 14-55 at #37 Virginia.

Week 3

Hosting North Carolina State. We are ranked #123, they are ranked #118. A real bargain basement battle!

They are also 0-1 having gone down 6-28 at Memphis in Week 1.

They like to play the wing-T and their starting QB likes to run all the time.

Stormy, 57 degrees. Crowd down a little, at 35,600.

Lose 14-27

It starts well, with a touchdown by S Lundy following an interception and an 80-yard run. But they score a touchdown in the first quarter and a touchdown and field goal in the second to lead 17-7 at the break. Another field goal and another touchdown follow before a consolation touchdown for WR Williamson.

But the stats are terrible. We were outrun by 210 net yards to 82 and outpassed by 263 yards to 134. They won 30 first downs to our 10 and stormed into our red zone six times, to our solitary visit to theirs. In fact the score could have been far worse, as these six visits only led to two touchdowns and two field goals. Discipline was also a problem; we conceded seven penalties to their three.

QB Reed was sacked once in three attempts for minus two yards overall, but he did succeed with nine of fourteen passing attempts.

RB Holmes rushed 50 yards, RB McConnell 34.

Defense stats were led by ILB Moore with twelve tackles (one for loss), followed by CB Mascorella with nine (two for), DE Gargaro with eight (one for and one sack), DT White also with eight (four for) and S Lundy with seven tackles (one for loss) and that spectacular interception return.

RB Holmes makes the Players of the Week list.

New injury

DT Arnold - doubtful - pulled groin - 3 weeks

On TV1 #30 Florida State sneak it 16-13 at #19 Kentucky
On TV2 the game goes as expected, with #32 Mississippi losing 7-43 at #11 Virginia

Week 4

No game this week.

On TV1 #6 Penn State go 4-0 with a 31-17 win at #9 Texas A & M
On TV2 #35 San Francisco are thrashed 3-49 at #19 Georgia

Roberto

04-27-2003, 02:30 AM

2005 Week 5

Academics

Grades are out.

None at E or D-, two at D seven at D+.

Recruitment

Nobody visiting us yet.

Analysis

Looking at our statistics so far this season:

QB Reed can pass pretty well (37 attempts, 21 completions) but he doesn’t often choose to (we are 120th in pass attempts). He can’t rush at all (11 attempts, net yardage -1).

WR Williamson is a lousy catcher (4 of 13).

If this season is anything like as bad as the last - and I’m still around for the next - perhaps we should abandon the Wishbone for a more pass-oriented offense. Meanwhile, replace Williamson in the lineup.

The Match

Hosting Iowa. They are #71 and 2-1 and 17-point champions.

They prefer the Pro Formation. Their starting QB is terrible at running, but boy! can he pass.

Fair, 81 degrees. Crowd 37,200.

Crushed 3-35

This is simply awful. We achieve nothing until a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter.

They have 21 first downs, we have 5. They only reach our red zone three times (for three touchdowns), but we only reach theirs once.

They outrush us by 128 net yards to 57 and outpass us by 201 net yards to 43. Killer stat is yards per passing attempt; they have 8.3 we have 1.8.

QB Reed has a ‘mare - sacked three times in six attempts for minus 15 yards and successful with zero (yes, zero!) of 14 passes. Six were hurried and three defensed (that weak OL again!). QB Chorak succeeded with 6 of 8 passes for 34 yards. Even QB Boston got into the act, with one of one.

RB Myers rushed 54 yards. Next highest was RB McConnell with 14.

Catching figures tell us nothing.

Leading tacklers were ILB Moore with 8 (none for loss), outshone by Gargaro with 6 (3 for loss) and 3 sacks. Next highest number was 4.

Gargaro makes the Players of the Week list.

Out for rest of season:

ILB Hickman - broken jaw (10 weeks).

Walking wounded

G Shelton - out - broken arm - 7 weeks
RB Drake - questionable - herniated disk - 2 weeks
DT Arnold - probable - pulled groin - 1 week.

On TV1 #22 Brigham Young lose 7-13 at #7 Air Force.
On TV2 #3 Stanford go 4-0 with a 48-12 home win over #27 Arizona State.

Week 6

Recruitment

Nobody visiting yet. None to whom we have made an offer is visiting anywhere else yet.

The Match

After last week’s hammering, it’s the first road game at the first of this year’s games against one of the Bug Ten, at #43 Ohio State.

They also prefer the Wishbone, which could be interesting.

Raining, 44 degrees.

Lose 14-42

Ohio State run up fourteen points in the first quarter and another fourteen in the second. Only when their first choices come off can we make any impact, with a touchdown by WR Milts in the third quarter and another by WR Williamson in the fourth.

Same old story - they outrush us by 238 net yards to 129, outpass us by 144 yards to 78 (7.5 yards per attempt to 3.5) and win 25 first downs to our 12. We also give ten penalties to their five. They storm our red zone five times; amazingly we reach theirs three times.

That (expletive deleted) OL allows QB Reed to be sacked three times in three attempts, for minus fifteen yards overall. Then QB Chorak is sacked in his one attempt, driven back seven yards. Reed succeeded with three of fifteen passes, Chorak with three of five and Boston with one of two. Nine of the failures were rushed, only two dropped.

RB Myers runs 80 yards, RB Holmes 69. Next is RB Drake with two (in six attempts!).

At the heart of the defense again was ILB Moore with nine tackles (none for loss), then S Lundy with seven (two for), OLB Nails with six (three for) and CB McCulley also with six (but none for). And no sacks.

"So - Notre Dame were sacked every time the QB tried to run, and made no sacks themselves?!?" Yup.

Nobody from Notre Dame makes the Players of the Week list from this mess!

New Injuries

DE Money - out - separated shoulder - 5 weeks
DE Fuller - out - hyperextended elbow - 3 weeks

Out for Season

ILB Hickman - broken jaw

Walking wounded

G Shelton - out - broken arm - 6 weeks

On TV1 #37 Oklahoma State go down heavily 17-47 at #21 Colorado.
On TV2 #35 Arkansas pull off the narrowest of wins 7-6 at #28 Georgia.

Week 7

Still nobody visiting us.

No game this week.

On TV1 #44 New Mexico upset #5 Air Force 34-27.
On TV2 #24 Iowa State lose 17-34 at #18 Colorado.

Week 8

We have visitors: 3 QB 1 RB 1 FB 2 WR 2 T 1 P 1 K 1 DT and 1 S.

The bad news is that all but one of them are visiting other schools too.

Walk-on

ILB Neil Reed - has no talent of any kind (1/1, asp 29 int 10 classes include Comic Book Reading)

The Match

Hosting #24 Michigan State. They are 24-point favourites.

They prefer the I-formation, and have a superb passing ratio.

We have now hit rock bottom 125 in the rankings.

Rain, 50 degrees. Despondent crowd of 36,600 fear the worst. And when MIST run in thirteen points in the first quarter, it looks like they will get it. But after that, the game is pretty even.

Lose 17-30

Touchdowns by RB Holmes, WR Williamson and one field goal.

They outrushed us by 245 net yards to 132, outpassed us by 216 yards to 142, won 28 first downs to our 13 and reached our red zone six times (for four TD and one FG) to our two (for two TD). But they get no sacks. Hardly need them, as QB Reed attempts only two runs, for seven yards overall. However, he succeeded in thirteen of twenty pass attempts.

RB Holmes rushed 80 yards, RB Drake 23 and RB Myers 22.

WR Williamson caught five of eight passes headed his way, TE Chandler four of six.

Hero of the defense was again ILB Moore with fifteen tackles, two for loss. Trailing in his wake were OLB Nails and DT White, both with six (two for) and one sack and S Lundy also with six tackles (one for).

RB Holmes makes the Players of the Week list.

Out for rest of season

DT Arnold - broken hand (new)
RB Drake - torn thumb ligament (new)
ILB Hickman - broken jaw.

Walking wounded

OLB McWilliams - out - hyperextended knww - 5 weeks (new)
G Shelton - out - broken arm - 4 weeks
DE Money - out - separated shoulder - 3 weeks
DE Fuller - questionable - hyperextended elbow - one week.

On TV1 #2 Stanford go 7-0 with a 21-10 home win over #7 UCLA.
On TV2 #18 Auburn win 31-21 at #39 Arkansas.

Roberto

04-29-2003, 01:44 PM

2005 Week 9

Academics

More grades are out. One E (useless walk-on ILB Reed) one D- (CB Douhit, who’s already on academic probation) four D and five D+. Time to spread the extra teaching blocks round.

Recruitment

Here they come …

Nicky Woodson, a running back from South Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 31++ Prest/Dist and #3 RB in Indiana, but not the sharpest pencil in the box (GPA 2.42).

Deron Diaz, a fullback from Asheville High School in Asheville, North Carolina, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 34+ Acad/Prest #3 FB in NC and said to be good at power running.

Peter Walker, a wide receiver from Northeast High School in Saint Petersburg, Florida, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 55+ Dist/Acad #5 WR in Florida and is said to be good at catching (well, what use is a WR who can’t catch?).

B.J. Callens, an offensive tackle from Columbia City High School in Columbia City, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 37+ Dist/Acad #2 T in Indiana, 6-3 and 280 pounds and said to be good at pass protection. Well, we certainly need some of that!

William Imme, a kicker from Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 59 or so Dist*/Prest (so why is he coming 1339 miles to South Bend, Indiana?) #1 K in Utah and in the All-State team (what’s the competition?) and pretty good at punting. He has GPA 2.60 and a poor attitude. Hmmmmmm.

The Match

At Illinois. They are unranked and 2-5, but still 31-point favourites!

They prefer the I-Formation. Their starting QB is excellent at passing.

Sunny, 57 degrees.

Lose 17-55

The only pretext for a cheer is a 102-yard kickoff return touchdown by WR Worthington ten minutes into the first quarter. Other points came from a touchdown by RB Holmes and a field goal.

They led 42-17 at the end of the second quarter, and could have doubled the score in the rest of the match.

We were outrushed by 178 net yards to 63 (4.6 yards per carry to 2.6) and outpassed by 351 yards to 100 (9.0 yards per attempt to 4.3). They won thirty first downs to our nine and stormed our red zone five times.

QB Reed was sacked four times in six attempts, for a total backward movement of 23 yards. He succeeded with eight of nineteen pass attempts; QB Boston succeeded with four of one. Of the failures, nine were defensed and three intercepted (only one was dropped). Reed is injured, and won’t be back this season.

RB Holmes played a one-man running game with 83 yards.

The defense was swept away. Highest totals were ILB Moore with seven tackles, then S Hampton and OLB Nails with five each. None of any of these were for loss. Also a word for DE Jamison, who made the team’s two sacks.

Nobody from Notre Dame makes the Players of the Week list.

Out for rest of season

DT Arnold - broken hand
RB Drake - torn thumb ligament
ILB Hickman - broken jaw.
QB Reed - arthroscopic knee surgery (new)

Walking wounded

OLB McWilliams - out - hyperextended knee - 4 weeks
G Shelton - out - broken arm - 3 weeks
DE Money - out - separated shoulder - 2 weeks

In a thrilling game on TV1 #4 Georgia Tech lose 31-33 at #7 North Carolina.
It’s nearly as close in a Big Ten game on TV2, where #9 Michigan win 27-24 at #36 Minnesota

Week 10

Recruitment

Josh Carlson, a running back from Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 56- Dist/Acad Nat Rank #275 and the #1 player in NH, but not in the All-State Team. Duh?

Phil Salinas, a safety from Northview High School in Brazil, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 40++ Acad/Dist and #5 S in Indiana

(plus five rejections).

Position Change

With QB Reed out for the rest of the season, a volunteer is needed to fill in at the end of the bench.

Backup WR Milts is drafted. He’ll look the part, at least.

The Match

At #7 Northwestern. As they’re 6-1 and we’re 0-6, the worst is feared. And in a cold (37 degrees), wet (it’s raining!) Chicago, those fears come true.

Crushed 3-41

Within half a minute of a complete shut-out, when comes a consolation field goal.

They outrushed us by 305 net yards to 67 (5.8 yards per carry to 2.3). Amazingly, we outpassed them by 118 yards to 41. But the running game prevailed. They won seventeen first downs to our six.

QB Boston was sacked seven times in eight attempts, for negative yardage of 41. He succeeded with ten of twenty-seven attempted passes. Of the failures, six were hurried, five defensed and two just bad throws. O, for an OL with a bit of offense in it!

RB Holmes ran 94 yards. Next closest was backup RB Myers with 14.

The task of holding back the tide was led by OLB Ciszek with twelve tackles, four for loss. Next closest were DE Fuller with seven (three for), then OLB Nails with six (one for).

RB Holmes makes the Players of the Week list. Probably out of pity.

No more players out for the season, but:

Walking wounded

OLB McWilliams - questionable - hyperextended knee - 3 weeks
RB Holmes - probable - deep thigh bruise - 2 weeks (new)
K Long - probable - bad cold (what a wuss!) - 2 weeks (new)
G Shelton - questionable - broken arm - 2 weeks
DE Money - probable - separated shoulder - 1 week
OLB Nails - probable - broken finger - 1 week (new)

On TV1 #4 North Carolina State silence the home crowd win a decisive 34-7 win at #3 Virginia.
On TV2 #28 Oklahoma State win 24-17 at #17 Texas A & M.

Week 11

Recruitment

Wade Fazande, a quarterback from Carthage High School in Carthage, New York, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 48++ Dist*/Prest (so why come 567 miles to a losing team?) Nat Rank #890, likes to run and is said to be good at timing receivers. Whatever his reasons, we’ll have him.

Maurice Downs, an offensive tackle from Elizabethtown Area High School in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 71 Dist*/Prest, and at Nat Rank #595, #6 T in Pennsylvania and the All-State Team, 6-7 and 309 pounds there must be something to him. His childhood dream was to play for Penn State, but they weren’t interested. Said to be good at pass protection.

The Match

Hosting #40 Minnesota

They are 6-3 and 24 point favourites.

After QB Boston’s failure last week, QB Chorak will start. He may have no talent, but he can’t do much worse.

Raining (again), 36 degrees. Crowd of 34,000 see Minnesota run up 28 points by the end of the second quarter.

Lose 8-34

Only consolation is a touchdown from RB Holmes in the third quarter.

We were outrushed by 227 net yards to a pitiful 52 and outpassed by 189 yards to 168. Also we fumbled the ball five times, losing in three of them. They did not fumble at all.

The last, desperate hope of the QB, Chorak, was sacked three times in six attempts for negative yardage of seventeen yards, and succeeded in nine of twenty-six pass attempts. Wide variety of reasons why, including five defensed, three blocked, two hurried, two intercepted and four bad throws. The other one was dropped.

Leading runner was RB Holmes with 52. Myers trailed again, with 17.

Heroes of the defense were ILB Moore with thirteen tackles (two for loss) and one sack, OLB Nails with ten (also two for) and OLB Ciszek with eight (none for). Sacks were also achieved by DE Gargaro and DE Money.

ILB Moore makes the Players of the Week list, and it’s well deserved.

One new injury - and it’s serious:

DE Fuller - out - ACL damage to the knee - 45 weeks.

Of the other long-term injuries, DT Arnold is now probable and RB Drake questionable.

TV1 goes to the West Coast, where #11 UCLA go down 13-38 at #10 California.
On TV2 #12 Bowling Green are upset 13-31 at #37 Miami of Ohio.

Roberto

05-03-2003, 11:09 AM

2005 Week 12

Recruitment

Gino Owens, a defensive end from Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, California, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 41+ 6-4 and 230 pounds and said to be good at rushing the passer. His priorities were Prest*/Dist; how we got him, I will never know.

Rusty Voetberg, a safety from Henderson County High School in Henderson, Kentucky, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 53++ ranked #2 S in Kentucky and in the All-State Team, but his HS athletics program is lousy (ac prep 3) which may be why Louisville, whom he idolized, weren’t interested. His priorities were Dist/Prest.

The Match

At #17 Wisconsin.

They are 6-3 and 33 point favourites.

Fair, 34 degrees.

How much worse can thing get?

Lose 14-52

We score first, a touchdown from RB Drake, and a consolation touchdown from WR Williamson in the last minute. In between, all the traffic is one way. They outrush us by 285 net yards to 70 (6.6 yards per attempt to 1.9), outpass us by 189 yards to 127 (9.9 yards per attempt to 4.8), win 25 first downs to our 13 and reached our red zone five times (we reached theirs twice). Just to rub it in, we conceded eleven penalties (for 76 yards) to their six (for 43).

QB Chorak was sacked once in two attempts and forced back six yards overall. QB Boston was not sacked in two attempts, but went back two yards anyway. QB Chorak succeeded with seven of twenty pass attempts, QB Boston with five of six (At last! A decent stat!).

To say the most successful runner was RB Drake with 32 yards says it all. Followed by RB McConnell with 23 and RB Holmes with 20.

The defense were pretty well swept aside. Best was OLB Nails with six tackles (none for loss).

RB Drake reaches the Players of the Week list. He must have something very incriminating on the compilers.

RB Francis joins the injury list, with a pulled groin.

On TV1 #12 Nebraska are upset 25-33 at #35 Missouri.
On TV2 #25 Oklahoma State go down with spirit 37-59 at #9 Texas.

Week 13

Academics

Grades are out.

Reed and Douthit are still struggling at E and D-. Then five with D and four with D+.

Spread the rest of the extra time blocks among them.

Recruitment

Corwin Williamson, a tight end from West-Oak High School in Westminster, South Carolina, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 48+ Prest/Dist #1 TE in South Carolina and in the All-State Team.

Ronald Womble, a defensive tackle from Valparaiso High School in Valparaiso, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season . He’s 56+ Dist*/Acad Nat Rank #973 #1 DT in Indiana and in the All-State Team.

The Match

Hosting local rivals Purdue

They are #91 and 3-7 but still ten point favourites.

They prefer the Veer Formation.

Sunny, 57 degrees

Will the tide turn?

Not quite.

Lose 21-24.

Touchdowns from TE Chandler (74 yards) WR Williamson (95 yard kickoff return) and WR Alston. Two of Purdue’s touchdowns are even more dramatic: a 96 yard punt return at the end of the first quarter and a 107-yard kickoff return at the start of the third quarter. So the crowd of 32,100 get a spectacle - but two full seasons have now passed at South Bend without a home win.

The agony is that the stats were in our favour. We outrushed them by 125 net yards to 116 and outpassed them by 193 yards to 119 (10.7 yards per attempt to 5.9), winning twelve first downs to their ten. Each side visited the other’s red zone once. They got a touchdown, we got nothing. And McGarraham missed his one attempt at a field goal.

QB Chorak played the whole game. He was sacked twice in three attempts, for negative yardage of one yard, and succeeded with eleven of eighteen passes.

RB Holmes rushed 73 yards, RB McConnell 40.

Joint leaders of the defense were ILB Moore with eight tackles (two for loss) and OLB Ciszek also with eight (but none for), followed by S Lundy with six (one for).

Don’t ask me how, but QB Chorak made the Players of the Week list!!!

At least there were no new injuries.

On TV1 unranked Cincinnati are thumped 45-3 at #40 East Carolina (what on earth was the game doing on TV1?)
There’s an even more obscure game on TV2 where unranked North Texas go to equally unranked Middle Tennessee State, but at least it’s close: 15-14 to Middle Tennessee State.

Week 14

Recruitment

Marlon Berman, a tight end from Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 40+ Dist/Prest #11 TE in California.

Vincent Stargell, an inside linebacker from Espanola Valley High School in Espanola, New Mexico, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 31+ Acad/Prest, #2 ILB in New Mexico and in the All-State Team. He also has GPA of 3.95.

One place remaining and two OLB visiting.

The Match

Last match of the season, last chance to break the losing streak that’s lasted two seasons.

At Baylor.

They are 1-9, we are 0-10 and the match doesn’t even make TV5.

Cupcakes of the world, unite!

Fair, 73 degrees.

It starts out very well …

1Q: 10:13 NDAM - Brenden McConnell 98 run.
1Q: 10:13 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
1Q: 06:37 NDAM - Brenden McConnell 2 run.
1Q: 06:37 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
1Q: 02:24 NDAM - Troy Worthington 92 punt return.
1Q: 02:24 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.

… but then goes horribly wrong:

2Q: 08:28 BAYL - Artie Castillo 10 pass from Clifton Schneider.
2Q: 08:28 BAYL - Gino Dollar extra point.
2Q: 04:01 BAYL - Trent Osburn 12 interception return.
2Q: 04:01 BAYL - Gino Dollar extra point.
2Q: 00:17 BAYL - Gino Dollar 36 field goal.
3Q: 02:10 BAYL - Gino Dollar 41 field goal.
4Q: 12:14 BAYL - Myron Vaughn 6 pass from Clifton Schneider.
4Q: 12:14 BAYL - Clifton Schneider pass to Myron Vaughn for conversion
4Q: 01:01 BAYL - Richie Stanton 5 run.
4Q: 01:01 BAYL - Gino Dollar extra point.

Lost 21-35

The stats don’t lie. They outrushed us by 147 net yards to 134, outpassed us by 208 yards to 93 (7.4 yards per attempt to 4.6) and won 23 first downs to our six. They conceded eleven penalties to our six, but that didn’t help any. They reached our red zone four times, we reached theirs once.

QB Chorak was sacked once in three attempts and has negative yardage of seven yards this week. He succeeded with six of twenty pass attempts.

RB McConnell rushed 122 yards. RB Holmes joined him in positive territory, with 23.

Heroes of the defense were OLB Ciszek with ten tackles (one for loss) and OLB Nails with eight (four for loss). They were credited with one sack each, as were DT Simmons and OLB McWilliams.

Players of the Week list contains RB McConnell, G Caldwell (who made five key run blocks) and OLB Nails in his farewell game.

On TV1 #3 California come badly unstuck 14-42 at #2 Stanford.
On TV2 #6 Texas come even more badly unstuck 10-41 at #17 Texas A & M.

Notre Dame’s season ends with another 0-11 record.

Rock bottom of the coaches’ poll, the fans’ poll and the ratings - 125 in each of them.

As a mark of how bad a season it was, all three QB end the season with negative rushing yardage: Boston minus 42, Reed minus 47 and Chorak minus 42.

Roberto

05-06-2003, 04:34 PM

2005 Post Season

One final recruit in Week 16

Brad Agranoff, a quarterback from Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

I didn’t expect that! He’s 67 - - (Dist*)/Prest #2 QB in Michigan and Nat Rank #711. And he’s coming without a scholarship.

At the end of the regular season, there is one unbeaten team, Indiana, and two teams without a victory - us and Southern Mississippi.

In the play-off semi-finals:

#3 Michigan beat #4 California 27-20.
#5 Northwestern beat #1 Indiana 20-17.

So the final is between two teams in the Big Ten. Michigan beat Northwestern 13-10.

Player of the Year was Herb Walton, RB at Northwestern:
513-2617 yards, 28TD.
And he still has one year remaining!

Notre Dame have one entry in the National Awards.

Graham Ciszek - Academic Team OLB (second year running)

The Big Ten awards honour:

J T Moore Second Team ILB
R J Fisk Academic Team G
Edgar Gargaro Academic Team DE (for the second year running)
Graham Ciszek Academic Team OLB (ditto)
Terrance Hampton Academic Team S (ditto).

Roberto

05-06-2003, 04:35 PM

2005 Notre Dame Schedule

Rival: Purdue
Stadium Capacity: 52,400
Season Tickets Sold: 32,100



Week Opponent
2 FRESNO STATE L 21-35 37,800 Rain, 62
3 NORTH CAROLINA STATE L 14-27 35,600 Stormy, 57
$$5 IOWA L 3-35 37,200 Sunny, 81
$$6 at Ohio State L 14-42 79,500 Rain, 44
$$8 MICHIGAN STATE L 17-30 36,600 Rain, 50
$$9 at Illinois L 17-55 44,600 Sunny, 57
$$10 at Northwestern L 3-41 33,400 Rain, 37
$$11 MINNESOTA L 8-34 34,000 Rain, 36
$$12 at Wisconsin L 14-52 76,100 Sunny, 34
$$13 PURDUE L 21-24 32,100 Sunny, 57
15 at Baylor L 21-35 35,500 Sunny, 73



HOME GAMES IN CAPITALS.
$$ - Conference games.
No TV games this year.

Roberto

05-06-2003, 04:38 PM

2005 Season Standings, Big Ten



School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Michigan 12 3 0 .800 475 252 6 2 0 .750 295 164 ---
Wisconsin 9 4 0 .692 349 237 6 2 0 .750 215 147 ---
Northwestern 12 4 0 .750 384 194 5 3 0 .625 190 96 ---
Penn State 9 4 0 .692 384 179 5 3 0 .625 217 121 ---
Minnesota 7 4 0 .636 282 207 5 3 0 .625 224 152 ---
Ohio State 6 5 0 .545 266 228 5 3 0 .625 179 152 ---
Illinois 5 6 0 .454 263 302 4 4 0 .500 197 218 ---
Michigan State 6 5 0 .545 341 321 3 5 0 .375 220 251 ---
Purdue 4 7 0 .363 214 257 3 5 0 .375 146 198 ---
Iowa 4 7 0 .363 182 296 2 6 0 .250 90 258 ---
**Notre Dame 0 11 0 .000 153 410 0 8 0 .000 97 313 ---

Roberto

05-11-2003, 02:32 PM

2005 RECRUITMENT



Player Pos HT WT ST NRank GPA Scout

$$ Fazande, Wade QB 6-3 208 NY 890 3.39 48++
## Agranoff, Brad QB 6-5 211 MI 711 2.76 67 - -
$$ Carlson, Josh RB 6-0 184 NH 275 3.62 66-
$$ Woodson, Nicky RB 6-0 201 IN - - 2.42 31++
$$ Diaz, Deron FB 6-1 219 NC - - 3.47 34+
## Berman, Marlon TE 6-3 224 CA - - 2.60 40+
$$ Williamson, Corwin TE 6-5 237 SC - - 2.14 48+
$$ Walker, Peter WR 6-0 178 FL - - 3.45 55+
$$ Callens, B J T 6-3 280 IN - - 3.32 37+
$$ Downs, Maurice T 6-7 309 PA 595 2.36 71-
## Imme, William K 5-9 161 UT - - 2.60 59
## Owens, Gino DE 6-4 230 CA - - 2.83 41+
$$ Womble, Ronald DT 6-2 252 IN 973 2.31 56+
$$ Stargell, Vincent ILB 6-2 219 NM - - 3.95 31+
## Voetberg, Rusty S 5-10 173 KY - - 3.15 53++
$$ Salinas, Phil S 5-11 181 IN - - 3.69 40++



$$ - likely interest. ## - almost certain interest. ** - bit of a stretch

Roberto

05-11-2003, 02:35 PM

2005 TEAM SUMMARY



Notre Dame Team Rank

Rushes 353 88
Rushing Yards 1014 106
Yards per Carry 2.87 110
Pass Attempts 242 116 (T)
Completions 105 125
Passing Yards 1373 125
Yards per Attempt 5.67 117
3rd Down Conversions 16.3 125
Points per Game 13.9 118 (T)
Turnovers 25 98
Turnover Margin -3 79 (T)




Opponents Team Rank

Rushes 512 124
Rushing Yards 2224 123
Yards per Carry 4.34 99 (T)
Pass Attempts 271 8 (T)
Completions 165 40 (T)
Passing Yards 2211 41
Yards per Attempt 8.15 110
3rd Down Conversions 42.3 102
Points per Game 37.2 121



How far down is rock bottom?

All the figures we want to go up have gone down, except pass attempts, completions and passing yardage (which remain pitiful) and points per game (but not so as to make any difference). We cannot win by rushes alone - not at 2.87 yards per carry!

Roberto

05-11-2003, 02:36 PM

2005 INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY



Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Reed QB 105 45 597 5.68 2 6
19 Chorak QB 97 42 600 6.18 5 7
13 Boston QB 40 18 176 4.40 1 1
Team . 242 105 1373 5.67 8 14



Attempts up a little (from 214) and completions (from 73) but the yards per attempt are down a little (from 5.79).



Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
45 Holmes RB 160 611 3.81 2 55 77
29 McConnell RB 58 233 4.01 2 11 18
32 Myers RB 50 190 3.80 0 8 9
27 Drake RB 28 94 3.35 2 9 20
4 Reed QB 26 -47 -1.80 1 16 85
Team . 353 1014 2.87 7 122 307



Down, down, down. Another fall in attempts (from 372) and in yardage (from 1254) and in yards per attempt (from 3.37 to 2.87). Some surprise that the running TD were level at 7. Holmes’ and Drake’s yards per attempt both fell.



Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
86 Alston WR 57 17 383 22.5 94 1
9 Williamson WR 56 21 284 13.5 100 4
93 Chandler TE 38 18 273 15.1 102 1
45 Holmes RB 32 19 221 11.6 112 1
46 Meadows FB 19 12 55 4.5 20 0
Team . 242 105 1373 13.0 481 8



More attempts (up from 214), more catches (up from 73), more yards gained (up from 1240) but yards per catch down (last year was 16.9). Overall figures are pretty similar to 2003, but that was hardly a successful year!



Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
44 Moore ILB 93 31 1.0 9 3 8
49 Ciszek OLB 73 30 3.0 15 1 1
41 Nails OLB 61 22 2.0 13 3 6
25 Lundy S 54 20 0.0 8 3 7
91 White DT 39 13 1.0 11 0 0
74 Gargaro DE 37 13 5.5 6 0 0
43 Hampton S 35 10 0.0 2 0 7
20 Mascorella CB 35 8 0.0 3 1 3
36 McCulley CB 32 4 0.0 4 2 1
90 Taylor DT 25 14 0.0 3 0 0
71 Arnold DT 22 6 0.0 5 0 0
79 Fuller DE 21 4 1.0 4 0 0
95 Money DE 16 11 2.5 5 0 0
31 Norris S 14 12 0.0 1 0 1
53 McWilliams OLB 12 5 2.0 3 0 1
78 Ford DE 12 6 0.0 4 0 0
35 Gardner CB 11 4 0.0 0 1 0

Team . 712 225 21.0 103 14 36



Again more tackles (up from 677), more TFL (up from 93) and more sacks (up from 19.0). As I commentated last year, when our opponents have so much more possession, there are bound to be more tackles, and more opportunities for sacks.

Roberto

05-11-2003, 02:38 PM

2005 DEPARTING SENIORS

Now that my first recruits are coming through, it’s time to look at the careers of the departing seniors.



. Achieved Potential
Holmes, DJ RB 30 49
Meadows, Maurice FB 27 14
Jackson, Erik FB 25 25
Chandler, Donald TE 35 53
Williamson, Wilmer WR 51 51
Milts, Marc WR 36 71
Fuller, Ricky DE 27 27
Nails, Clarence OLB 52 77
Lundy, Burt S 37 57
Hampton, Terrance S 41 41
Budd, Thurman S 10 10



RB Holmes played in 42 games and started 26. His overall running yardage was 1567 yards in 360 attempts, an average of 4.3 yards per attempt and 37.3 yards per game. He caught 41 passes and dropped 7 for 384 yards, an average of 9.3. He scored eight touchdowns and was awarded 122 stokes. With a stronger OL, he could surely have done far more.

FB Meadows played in every game in 2003, 2004 and 2005, starting every game in 2005. Overall he caught sixteen passes and dropped three, for a total of 82 yards and an average of 5.1. No touchdowns.

FB Jackson played in 41 games of 44, starting every game in 2003 and the eight for which he was fit in 2004. He caught seven passes and dropped one, for a total of 49 yards and a nice round average of 7.0. Also no touchdowns.

It’s fair to say that the FB were never during these years seen or treated as a strong part of the offense.

TE Chandler played in 38 games, starting every game in 2004 and 2005. He caught thirty passes and dropped two, for a total of 538 yards and an average of 17.9. He scored four touchdowns.

WR Williamson also played in 38 games, starting 19 of them. He caught 21of 56 passes headed his way for an average of 18.5 yards; of the failures only three were dropped. Four of the catches led to touchdowns.

WR Milts was never more than a backup. He played in 16 games, but started none of them, and ended his career posing as a backup QB.

DE Fuller had played in every game until his career was shattered by a long-term injury (ACL damage to the knee). His total was 40 games played and 27 started, including every game in 2004 and every game until his injury in 2005. His overall record was 63 tackles, 16 for loss, and 6.5 sacks. His injury will have wrecked any prospect of the draft, but with GPA of 3.25 in his first three years and no grades below A- in his major subject Journalism he has many options off the sports field.

OLB Nails, by contrast, could never had been taken for an intellectual (int 20), but on the field he was a rock, playing in 42 games and starting 37 (including every game in his last three years). He made 194 tackles, 28 for loss, 68 assists and four sacks - and one touchdown after an interception.

S Hampton was another rock, starting every game for which he was eligible. He made 123 tackles, 10 of them for loss, but only intercepted three passes in his entire career. A stellar academic off the field, with straight A’s every year in his Mechanical Engineering major and no grades below B in his other subjects, he made the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

S Lundy was way behind in the academic league and somewhat in Hampton’s shadow, but his figures on the field were better. He played in every game, though only starting in 37 (of 44), made 172 tackles of which 17 were for loss, one sack and six interceptions two of which led to touchdowns.

S Budd was only a backup. Though he came onto the field in 39 games, he did not start any of them and his career figures were nine tackles, none for loss, and no interceptions

Roberto

05-11-2003, 02:45 PM

2005 Grades



Team Performance: 40/100
Academic Performance 71/100
Recruiting Performance 100/100
TV Revenue 11/100
Alumni Donations 50/100
Attendance at Stadium 48/100
.
Overall 52/100

Roberto

05-11-2003, 02:49 PM

CHALLENGE DYNASTY - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROCKNE 2006

Reminder: Initial Settings:

Everything on manual - in practice, I rely heavily on the coordinators’ recommendations for team selection and game plan.

Last Season

Results were as bad as could be at 0-11 - the second 0-11 season.
Overall rank 125.

The College

The one and only Notre Dame

Academic reputation now averages 63 (up from 59), which puts us 14 of 125 (up from 31). Subject rankings are now uniformly high, from 8 (Geology) to 30 (of 125) (Nursing) and 31 (Latin). Remember there are three subjects we don’t offer: Sociology, Social Work and Political Science. Undergraduate GPA is slightly down at 2.91 (from 2.93) - it looks to have settled about the 2.9 mark.

Community loyalty: Very Good
Alumni loyalty: Fair
Student goodwill: Good

No change from last year.

Donations are at an all-time low - zero for two years. The alumni reunion is not a comfortable experience.

Season tickets sold continue to fall - down to 30,400 (from 32,100).

Prestige is down to 58 (from 61).

At the start of the season we’re (somehow!) at 123 in the coaches’ poll, 104 in the fans’ poll and ranked 120 overall.

Things can only get better. But then, I said that last year.

Ticket Prices

This is not a time to raise prices.

Start of Season e-mails.

Randal Stone, a punter, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

He’s no great loss.

Neil Reed, an inside linebacker, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

He had straight E in Geology - and in Comic Book Reading. He’s nothing to offer on the field and even less off it (though he has, somehow, found himself a girlfriend).

Charlie Douthit, a cornerback, has left your team because of poor grades this year

He spent last year on academic probation. He walked on, and now he’s walked off again.

Troy Tharp, a wide receiver, has left your team because of a lack of playing time

That’s a blow. He would have had a good chance of being a starter.

Brett Porter, a kicker, has left your team because of a lack of playing time

He’d not have seen any this year, either.

Wally Foley of Michigan has been named Coach of the Year for his performance this past season.

Well, they did win the play-off final.

Job offers from Oklahoma State (Prest 83, Ac Rep 33), Texas Christian (Prest 81, Ac Rep 58), Mississippi (Prest 71 Ac Rep 29) and Buffalo (Prest 66 Ac Rep 49). What can they be on, and where can I get some? But seriously - I have no intention of walking away from the job (as President Nixon said early in 1974).

New coaches at Mississippi State, Brigham Young, Alabama, and East Carolina.

The good news is what isn’t there:

No staff retirements.
Nobody suspended for off-the-field activity.
No broken relationships.

But only five of the squad who had no girlfriends at the end of last season now do.

Staff Hiring

Nobody has been hired away.

New coaches at Oklahoma State, Texas Christian, Mississippi, Buffalo, Baylor, Army, Fresno State, Ohio, Arkansas State. Oakland, Riverside and Thousand Oaks.

Roberto

05-13-2003, 03:59 PM

2006 COACHING STAFF

No staff changes this year.

Syndicate Coordinator: Scottie Hammond
Age: 55
Academic Eligibility: Terrific
Syndicate Investigation: Terrible
Solicit Donations: Terrible

He’s still the best available for academics. The donations won’t flow again until results improve.

Defensive Coordinator: Jerome Gaines
Age: 40
Play Calling: Pretty Good
Injury Avoidance: Pretty Good (was Good)
Rehab: Fair
Congeniality: Good (was Decent)
DL: Very Good (was Pretty Good)
LB: Terrible
Sec: Terrible

There’s nobody else interested who calls plays well and can avoid injuries.

But we’ll still get someone better as soon as we can.

Offensive Coordinator: Morris Thornton
Age: 42
Play Calling: Excellent
Injury Avoidance: Poor
Rehab: Good
Congeniality: Fair
QB: Decent
RB: Pretty Good
R: Terrific
OL: Fair
K: Lousy
Current Formation: Wishbone
Years With Offense: 9

Sticking with him. In fact, nobody else is available who can call the plays so well. Just have to make sure to recruit K and P from good schools.

Great Lakes Scout: Gary Long
Age: 35
QB: Decent
RB: Lousy
REC: Fair
OL: Pretty Good (was Good)
PK: Pretty Good
DL: Decent
LB: Good
Sec: Fair

He still has the least blind spots from those available.

Roberto

05-13-2003, 04:00 PM

2006 Freshmen



Player Pos Current Future Scouted

Agranoff, Brad QB 15 73 67 - -
Fazande, Wade QB 20 61 48++
Woodson, Nicky RB 25 60 31++
Carlson, Josh RB 40 78 66-
Diaz, Deron FB 22 42 34+
Samson, Glenn FB 4 28 walk-on
Berman, Marlon TE 17 33 40+
Williamson, Corwin TE 26 30 48+
Walker, Peter WR 13 72 55+
Downs, Maurice T 11 51 71-
Callens, B J T 18 19 37+
Imme, William K 13 72 59
Owens, Gino DE 12 50 41+
Womble, Ronald DT 6 41 56+
Stargell, Vincent ILB 18 19 31+
Salinas, Phil S 28 28 40+
Voetberg, Rusty S 13 71 53++



RB Carlson might be able to start out of the box.

There is huge potential in the two QB, if only it can be developed.

TE Williamson, T Downs, T Callens, ILB Stargell and S Salinas are the main disappointments (though Stargell and Salinas were recruited mainly for their brains anyway).

Two more weak T in the OL - that’s all we need!

Roberto

05-13-2003, 04:02 PM

2006 ROSTER

With the same Great Lakes scout as last year, we can assess the changes year on year, even if some of the absolute values are questionable.



Boston, Doug 13 QB Sr 12 +4 40
Reed, Roosevelt 4 QB Jr 25 +10 41
Chorak, Eugene #16 QB So 0 0
Fazande, Wade 11 QB Fr 20 61
Agranoff, Brad 7 QB Fr 15 73



Scout Long is only "decent" at assessing the QB. Even so, the two freshmen look to have quite a bit of potential. Reed and Fazande will be in contention for the starting spot. Will try to red-shirt Agranoff and see just how much potential he can realize.



Drake, Brock 27 RB Sr~ 46 +4 70
Francis, Jack 34 FB Sr 20 +1 35
Myers, Ricardo 32 RB Jr 28 +4 28 +4
McConnell, Brenden 29 RB Jr* 25 +4 51
Malone, Harold 22 RB So* 45 +4 73
Kincaid, Marc 28 RB So* 14 +0 46
Carlson, Josh 46 RB Fr 25 78
Woodson, Nicky 21 RB Fr 25 60
Diaz, Deron 33 FB Fr 22 42
Samson, Glenn # 43 FB Fr 4 28



Scout Long has a real blind spot with the RB. Fortunately, only one of last year’s RB has been lost (Holmes). Drake looks to be the best. After Malone’s redshirt year, it’s time to see how good he really is. Kincaid’s readhirt year didn’t seem to do much for him. Will try to redshirt the freshmen and see if they can do better.

Both the FB are new. Samson is a walk-on with precious little to offer. Other positions will cover as far as possible.



Workman, Preston 89 TE Sr* 34 +2 36
Gillespie, Cole 98 TE Jr* 18 +0 32
Overby, Jim # 84 TE Jr* 21 +0 23
Farmer, Jay # 83 TE Jr 11 +1 11
Matthews, Troy # 88 TE So 11 +2 41
Berman, Marlon 93 TE Fr 17 33
Williamson, Corwin 85 TE Fr 26 30
Alston, Irv 86 WR Sr~ 45 +6 65
Worthington, Troy 8 WR Sr~ 32 +1 32 +1
Quinn, Morris 82 WR Sr* 28 +3 68 +1
Cornplow, Bill 3 WR Jr* 27 +4 60 +1
Campbell, Quinn 81 WR So* 32 +6 54 -1
Walker, Peter 87 WR Fr 13 72



Have lost TE Chandler to graduation, which is a pity as he was last year’s only ranked TE. Workman is the best for now. Overby’s redshirt year looks to have achieved exactly nothing.

Have lost last year’s best WR Williamson, and also Tharp who could have developed and Milts who was only ever a backup. Alston looks to be the best for this season, with Campbell next in line (for the sake of experience) after his redshirt year. Will try to redshirt Walker to see just how far he could develop.



Crockett, Daniel 59 C Jr 13 +5 36 -1
Beckwith, Billy 54 C So* 9 +2 48
Ferderer, Jay 51 C So 16 +10 35
Shelton, Brad 73 G Sr~ 35 +5 42
Caldwell, Lester 68 G Sr 21 +4 57
Fisk, R J 75 G Sr* 31 +14 31 +15
Benson, Bo 63 G Jr 13 +0 33
Godfrey, Brady 65 G Jr* 13 +0 16 -6
Gordon, Terry # 66 G Sr* 9 +2 16 -1
Szilter, Malcolm 64 G Jr* 14 +5 14 +5
Herndon, Tracy 76 T Sr* 25 -5 51 +1
Wilkins, Lamar 69 T So 20 +11 21
Morrison, Jackie # 60 T So 7 +1 7 +1
Fulton, John # 61 T So 15 +2 30
Alcott, Isaac # 62 T So 4 +0 9
Downs, Maurice 70 T Fr 11 51
Callens, B J 79 T Fr 18 19



Same Centres, pretty much the same weaknesses. Crockett has bulked up by another ten pounds to 313 pounds, but he still can’t block runs (RB 2/PB 25/ End 14). Beckwith is still a weaker version of Crockett (4/17/32 and 291 pounds, up by thirteen pounds). His redshirt year didn’t do much. By contrast, Ferderer started every game last season and has come on well to be well rounded, but a little light (28/32/36 and up by eight pounds to 275).

We still have last year’s Guards, though we long for some better. Shelton has improved a bit in skills and weight and is pretty much immovable at 6-8 and 326 pounds (up four pounds)). Fisk has come on well, though I just don’t understand the leap in his potential, and is steady at 308 pounds. "Daddy Bear" Szilter is also 6-8 and the biggest of all, up by another six pounds to 332 pounds.

Herndon is still the bast T, but has gone backwards during his suspension.



Stone, Randal # 17 P Sr~ 11 +1 11 +1
Schneider, Jonnie 6 P Sr* 41 +9 59
Levin, Louis 19 P So* 27 +14 37
.
Long, Omar 15 K Sr~ 36 +0 51
McGarrahan, Shawn 1 K Sr* 45 +3 45 -6
Imme, William 18 K Fr 13 72



As last year, P Schneider will start with Levin as backup.

K also as last year. Long will kick off while McGarrahan tries for the field goals. Can Imme possibly have as much potential as he appears to have?



Jamison, Aaron 96 DE Sr~ 20 +5 20 +3
Gargaro, Edgar 74 DE Sr~ 37 +2 70
Money, Rick 95 DE Sr* 23 +1 45 +1
Ford, Jessie 78 DE Jr* 19 +2 63 -1
Necaise, Chuck 92 DE Jr* 33 +5 72
Beyer, Duane 77 DE Jr* 20 +4 61
May, Kirk # 94 DE So 5 +2 10
Owens, Gino 56 DE Fr 12 50
White, Aaron 91 DT Sr 33 +10 71
Murphy, Henry # 97 DT Jr 7 +0 9
Randle, Casey # 72 DT Jr 2 +0 13
Arnold, Jessie 71 DT So 25 +5 71
Taylor, Ben 90 DT So 29 +10 72
Simmons, Ben # 99 DT So 7 +4 41 -1
Womble, Ronald 67 DT Fr 6 41



Still have all last year’s starting DE except Fuller. Gargaro and Necaise are the best (though Necaise didn’t improve as much as was hoped during his redshirt year), them Money. Try to redshirt Owens.

Some of last year’s new DT developed better than others! Arnold and Taylor came on well, Murphy, Randle and probably Simmons will never do more than warm the bench. But White will lead.



Moore. J T 44 ILB Sr~ 44 +10 58
Zedalis, Les 55 ILB Sr 12 +2 55
Kelley, Deion # 50 ILB Sr* 6 +0 6
Hickman, Lester 52 ILB So 21 +4 40
Reed, Neil # 47 ILB So 2 2
Stargell, Vincent 41 ILB Fr 18 19
.
Christmas, Tyrell 42 OLB Sr~ 21 +6 46
McWilliams, Duane 53 OLB Sr~ 31 +8 60
Nixon, Rich # 48 OLB Sr~ 3 +0 3
Ciszek, Graham 49 OLB Sr* 37 +3 83
Garcia, Deon 58 OLB Jr* 12 +0 54
Shelton, Melvin 57 OLB So 14 +1 25



Moore is again the only decent ILB. Hickman is a possibility if we become desperate. Again, we have to hope some of the OLB can fill in

Have lost Nails, who was be far the best OLB on the pitch. We need all of Ciszek, McWilliams and Christmas to stay fit. Garcia’s year on academic probation did nothing for him on the field.



McCulley, Marc 36 CB Sr 27 +2 57
Mascorella, Mario 20 CB Jr* 30 -4 45
Gardner, Gino 35 CB Jr 21 +4 21 +4
Harrison, Harvey 40 CB So 9 +3 23
.
Norris, Blaine 31 S Sr~ 24 +2 24 +1
Maumau, Xavier 39 S Sr 18 +6 22
Coffman, Darrin 30 S So* 24 +7 51
Feugill, Arnie 26 S So* 29 +7 47
Salinas, Phil 37 S Fr 28 28
Voetberg, Rusty 23 S Fr 13 71



Mascorella looks to have gone backwards, but he’s still the bast of some weak CB. Totally useless Douthit has gone, on academic grounds. Hurrah!

Coffman and Feugill came on well in their redshirt years. Will try to redshirt Voetberg in the hope he can reach towards his potential. But as a last line of defense, it’s still far from strong.

# non-scholarship walk-on

~ fifth-year senior

* has been red-shirted

Offensive Set: Wishbone Formation.

Defensive Set: Variable, depending on the opposition.

One more thing:Keep Practice at 25.

Roberto

05-13-2003, 04:16 PM

Roster Strength 2006



. Starters Reserves

QB 13 (was 22) 32 (was 15)
RB 29 (was 43) 37 (was 45)
FB 14 (was 37) 36 (was 33)
TE 30 (was 48) 28 (was 32)
WR 24 (was 50) 48 (was 57)
C 0 (was 16) 17 (was 20)
G 23 (was 29) 31 (was 25)
T 15 (was 9) 32 (was 13)
P 40 (was 30) 41 (was 18)
K 46 (was 52) 47 (was 48)
DE 32 (was 41) 42 (was 37)
DT 28 (was 34) 25 (was 12)
ILB 35 (was 32) 32 (was 29)
OLB 28 (was 55) 35 (was 41)
CB 17 (was 33) 26 (was 22)
S 18 (was 41) 50 (was 41)



Massive falls in most categories. Some of the freshmen will have to go into the team, by the look of things.

Roberto

05-13-2003, 04:18 PM

Gaps to be filled: upcoming Class of 2006

One QB (but we have sufficient)
Two RB
Two WR
Two G
One P
One K
One DT
Two DE
Two ILB
Three OLB
One CB
Two S

Recruitment Priorities

The biggest need from the above is ILB/OLB - and from good schools.

Recruitment Tactics

We need to keep the academics up.

With our recent record, we’ll be behind everyone significant on Prestige.

Concentrate on good prospects in the lower half of the top 1,000. Secondly, look for talent in and around Indiana. Thirdly, look for clever players needing a sports scholarship to make up the numbers.

Roberto

05-16-2003, 01:08 PM

2006 Week 1

Only one open spot on the schedule; arrange an away match against the Navy, one of Notre Dame’s traditional rivals, in week 15. If we can’t win - and after the last two years I doubt it - at least we’ll get the TV revenue.

No game until Week 4.

Scouts would have us believe all the top 100, and almost all the top 1,000, High School players in the nation are out of reach. Surely our academics must count for something?

New recruitment plan - seek out the most intelligent players in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin who also have some playing talent and go to High Schools with good football programs and go for the ones who say their priorities are academics and distance, however unlikely the scouts say they would be to come.

This will either be a roaring success or a crashing failure.

On TV1 #34 Ohio State go down 14-38 at #14 Auburn
On TV2 unranked Tulsa are hammered 7-52 at #41 Missouri.

Week 2

On TV1 #4 Rice go down 3-28 at #7 Missouri
In a thriller on TV2 #21 Texas just lose 34-35 at #2 North Carolina.

Week 3

On TV1 #2 Indiana went down 14-48 at #1 Michigan
On TV2 #15 Pittsburgh lost narrowly 42-49 at #4 Penn State.

Week 4

Simply through not playing (and therefore not losing) for three weeks, we have risen to #95 in the rankings!

The Match

At #45 North Carolina State. They are 1-0 having shut out Arizona State 29-0 in Week 2.

They prefer the Veer formation. Their starting QB likes to run all the time (though his rushing record for the last two seasons was negative!).

New season, new team.

Starting QB Reed, then Fazande, then Boston.

Starting FB Diaz.

WR Alston at Flanker, WR Worthington at Split End, first backup Cornplow.

RB Drake, then Malone, then Francis.

OL is a bit stronger than last year: LT Herndon (6-5, 296 pounds), LG Shelton (6-5, 326 pounds), C Ferderer (6-4, 275 pounds), RG Fisk (6-4, 308 pounds), RT Wilkins (6-5 318 pounds). I don’t know what impression they make upon the enemy, but they frighten me!

Sticking with a 4-3 defence.

Raining, 62 degrees.

But it’s the old story …

Lose 7-38

They run up 31 points in the first two quarters, without any reply.

Our fig leaf is a TD in the third quarter, by WR Alston.

They have 25 first downs, we have 11.

They outrush us by 232 net yards to 93 and outpass us by 215 net yards to 147.

QB Reed was sacked twice in two rush attempts for minus 12 yards and passed successfully in 10 of 35 attempts for 134 yards. He was hurried into a bad throw in ten of them - so much for the improved OL!

Alston caught 3 of 13 catches aimed at him, Worthington 0 of 6.

Leading tacklers were ILB Moore with 10, LT White with 9 and OLB Ciszek with 7.

RB Drake made the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 #42 Rutgers go down 10-17 at #2 Stanford
On TV2 #20 Alabama go down by the same margin 21-28 at #5 Georgia Tech.

Fate decides what to do with QB Reed. He’s out for the rest of the season with a torn knee ligament.

Other injuries:

T Herndon - probable - bruised sternum - 5 weeks
OLB McWilliams - probable - bruised sternum - 4 weeks.

Week 5

Academics

Grades are out. Nobody is lower than a D+.

Recruitment

Nobody visiting yet.

The Match

At #46 Illinois. They are 2-1 and 11-point favourites.

They prefer the I-Formation.

With Reed out of action, freshman Fazande will start at QB, followed by Boston.

Sunny, 65 degrees.

Shut out 0-38

Somehow, we outrushed them by 114 net yards to 106. But their passing game blew us away, by 300 yards to 120, 24 completion to 9 and 8.8 yards per attempt to 4.1. They won 20 first downs to our 12 and kept us well away from their red zone and entered ours five times (for only three touchdowns and one field goal - how much worse could the score have been?).

Why didn’t I take up one of those job offers?

QB Fazande was sacked three times in nine attempts for one positive yard. Well, at least it was positive. He also succeeded with 8 of 27 pass attempts (QB Boston made two and succeeded with one). Eleven of the failed attempts were defensed, four more were hurried. Only one was dropped.

RB Malone rushed for 65 yards. Next were RB Drake with 30 and RB Carlson with 17.

At the heart of the defense was ILB Moore, with twelve tackles (one for loss) and one sack. He may have felt as alone as the boy who stood on the burning deck, for next in the stats was OLB Christmas with five (none for and no sacks). DE Gargaro made one sack, and another was credited jointly to DT Murphy and DE Necaise.

RB Malone made the Players of the Week List. It must have been out of pity.

There’s a match from the Big Ten on TV1, where #3 Penn State go 4-0 with a narrow 14-13 win against #4 Wisconsin.
On TV2 #14 Florida State pull off an upset 24-3 win at #6 North Carolina.

Out for the season:

QB Reed - torn knee ligament
DT Simmons - high ankle sprain (new)

Walking wounded:

G Gordon - questionable - broken hand - 9 weeks (new)
ILB Hickman - out - broken wrist - 6 weeks (new)
T Herndon - probable - bruised sternum - 4 weeks
OLB McWilliams - probable - bruised sternum - 4 weeks
TE Overby - probable - sprained neck - 1 week (new).

Roberto

05-18-2003, 01:31 AM

2006 Week 6

Recruitment

No visitors yet.

The Match

The good news is that it’s the season’s first home game.

The bad news is that it’s against last year’s champions and ranking #1 Michigan.

They are 3-0 and 18-point favourites. Only 18 points?

Injuries and failure so far change the lineup.

Fazande is starting QB again, followed by Boston.

Starting at FB will be RB Malone. Starting at TE will be Gillespie.

G Caldwell comes in at LT.

Stormy, 49 degrees. Crowd of 35,500.

Lose 7-34

Until five minutes into the fourth quarter it looked like a second successive whitewash. Then backup freshman RB Carlson got a touchdown, and McGarrahan scored the extra point.

This was painful. We were outrushed by 262 net yards to 86 (5.4 yards per carry to 2.0) and outpassed by 260 yards to 58 (an amazing discrepancy of 17.3 yards per attempt to our 3.6). They won nineteen first downs to our eight. We gave away eight penalties to their four. From five incursions into our red zone, they only achieved one touchdown and two field goals - that’s twenty more points they could have run up with a bit of better finishing.

If this goes on, there will be more than 50 points against us soon. Mind you, by that time I will have been ridden out of South Bend on a rail.

Freshman QB Fazande was sacked twice in seven attempts for minus eight yards net, but completed eight of sixteen passes. Of the failures two were dropped (by RB Carlson, hero and villain all in one game), two ere hurried and two just plain bad.

RB Francis ran 44 yards, RB Drake 42. Next best was backup RB Carlson with nine (and the touchdown).

Interestingly, Schneider averaged 35.7 yards punting yardage - but then, he’s getting a lot of practice on the field!

DT White led the defense with ten sacks (but none for loss) followed by ILB Moore with seven (two for loss) plus one sack and OLB Christmas also with seven (also two for loss), but no sack. DT Taylor also made a sack.

Nobody from Notre Dame made the Players of the Week list. Klutz of the week list, more like.

On TV1 #5 UCLA go down 14-34 at #2 Stanford, who go 5-0.
On TV2 #32 Oklahoma State are hammered 9-35 at #19 Missouri.

Out for the season:

QB Reed - torn knee ligament
DT Simmons - high ankle sprain
RB Francis - torn knee cartilage (new)

Walking wounded:

DE Money - probable - broken hand - 8 weeks
G Gordon - probable - broken hand - 8 weeks
ILB Hickman - out - broken wrist - 5 weeks
T Herndon - probable - bruised sternum - 2 weeks
OLB McWilliams - probable - bruised sternum - 3 weeks
DT Murphy - questionable - sprained ankle - 2 weeks
TE Overby - probable - sprained neck - 1 week.

Week 7

Recruitment

Still nobody visiting, but ten rejections. The new strategy is going horribly wrong.

The Match

Hosting against #3 Penn State. They are 5-0 and 18-point favourites.

WR Worthington’s failure to make anything from any of the passes aimed in his general direction leaves him headed in the general direction of the bench. After his solitary touchdown last week, RB Carlson will start at Split End.

Sunny, 61 degrees. Crowd down again to 37,300.

It has to get better. Please?

Lose 20-28.

Well, the pure result may look encouraging, but it masks the reality. Scores were level at seven all at the end of the first quarter (a spectacular 80-yard run off left guard for a touchdown by RB Drake), but PNST ran up fourteen more points without reply to lead 21-7 at the half way point, and the third quarter was scoreless. Only when their starters came off in the fourth quarter could we respond, with a touchdown from RB Drake at the start of the fourth quarter and another from WR Alston with literally the last action of the game.

They outrushed us by 214 net yards to 116 (but the discrepancy in yards per attempt was just in our favour at 4.5 to 4.6) and outpassed us by 235 yards to 137 (9.0 yards per attempt to 5.2) to win 27 first downs to our 15. Their reached our red zone three times; we reached theirs twice (all the visits for both teams leading to touchdowns). The killer stat is third down plays; they made nine to our one.

QB Fazande was sacked in all four rushing of his attempts for negative yardage of twenty-eight, and maintained his 50% passing record (13 of 26 successful). Of the failed passes two were blocked, three hurried, four defensed, two bad and only one dropped. Did anyone mention the weak OL?

RB Drake ran 138 yards, including the 80 which led to his touchdown. Next most successful was WR Alston with - wait for it - four!

Credit in the DL is spread pretty wide. DT White and OLB Ciszek made seven tackles (one for loss) as did OLB Christmas (but none of his were for loss), followed by ILB Moore with six (one for loss) and Ss Maumau and Feugill each with six (but none for loss). DEs Gargharo and Necaise each made one sack.

Schneider’s punting improves with practice. This week his average was up to 41.1 yards.

RB Drake made the Players of the Week list - and well deserved.

On TV1 #24 Colorado pull off a 30-20 win at #17 Missouri
On TV2 #6 California go down 13-35 at #18 UCLA.

No new injuries.

Week 8

Recruitment

Can it be … it looks like … yes, it’s a letter of acceptance …

Rico Clements, a defensive end from Central High School in Muncie, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Well, buy me a Cadilac and call me Elvis!!! He’s 70- Acad*/Dist #3 DE in Indiana and - wait for it - Nat Rank #170 and HS athletic preparation 70. And he was black-coded.

Ten other visitors, all of them also visiting elsewhere.

Honesty is the best policy, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We try a bit of bribery. Three hopefuls smile and nod. The fourth reports us to the Syndicate. Uh-oh …

The Match

At #49 Minnesota. They are 3-3 (to our 0-4) and 9-point favourites.

With no new injuries, same starters as last week.

Fair, 47 degrees.

Shut out 0-20

We are outrushed by 224 net yards to 75 (4.5 yards per carry to a pitiful 2.0) and outpassed by 136 yards to 76 (6.8 yards per attempt to 5.8). However, they win 22 first downs to our 12 and reached our red zone four times, while we only saw theirs from a distance. Killer stat is sacks; they get three, we get none.

QB Fazande was injured during the game. Before that he was sacked twice in three attempts for minus thirteen yards. QB Boston (remember him?) came on and was sacked once in four attempts and made positive yardage! Well, one positive yard.

More encouragingly, QB Fazande succeeded with four of six passing attempts, QB Boston with four of eight. None of the failures were dropped.

RB Drake ran 62 yards. Next was backup McConnell with 21.

Solid as a rock in the path of the opposition was ILB Moore with sixteen tackles (two for loss), supported by DT White with nine (two for) and OLB Ciszek with six (none for). This performance put Moore in the Players of the Week List.

On TV1 #7 Brigham Young go 6-0 with a narrow 28-23 win at #27 Nevada-Las Vegas.
On TV2 there’s a massive game in the Big Ten. #9 Wisconsin go down 21-31 at unbeaten 1# Michigan.

Out for the season:

QB Reed - torn knee ligament
DT Simmons - high ankle sprain
RB Francis - torn knee cartilage (new)

Walking wounded:

DE Money - probable - broken hand - 6 weeks
G Gordon - probable - broken hand - 5 weeks
QB Fazande - doubtful - sprained knee - 4 weeks (new)
ILB Hickman - questionable - broken wrist - 3 weeks
TE Workman - probable - strained quadriceps muscle - 3 weeks
OLB McWilliams - probable - bruised sternum - 1 week

Week 9

Academics

More grades are out. Two D-, three D. five D+. Time to arrange extra tuition.

Recruitment

Terry Finch, a tight end from Boyd County High School in Ashland, Kentucky, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s 53- Acad*/Prest GPA 4.00 #2 WR in Kentucky (and in the All-State Team) Nat Rank #880 - and black-coded.

Earnest Westbrook, a safety from Limestone Community High School in Bartonville, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season. He’s not so good: 48- Prest/Acad #3 S in Illinois, but his GPA is 3.87.

13 visitors declared now. All but one also going elsewhere.

The Match

At #110 Iowa. We are 0-6, they are 1-5.

They prefer the Pro-Formation.

Boston will start at QB. Herndon is back at DT.

Their starting QB is out of action with a broken wrist. Their backup does not like to run at all.

Fair, 66 degrees. Not bad for this late in the year.

Win 35-14

The longest losing streak in the modern history of Notre Dame football ends.

Not that there was much sign of it at first. Iowa scored the only touchdown in the first quarter. RB Drake scored a touchdown with three minutes to go in the second quarter but Iowa hit back in the last thirty seconds, to be 14-7 up at halfway.

Then the tide turned. Iowa did not score again, as their offense was trampled:

3Q: 12:33 NDAM - Brock Drake 10 run.
3Q: 12:33 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
3Q: 07:18 NDAM - Darrin Coffman 88 interception return.
3Q: 07:18 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
3Q: 03:50 NDAM - J.T. Moore 77 interception return.
3Q: 03:50 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 03:34 NDAM - Brock Drake 6 run.
4Q: 03:34 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.

It was really a game of two systems. We outrushed them by 219 net yards to 72, while they outpassed us by 221 yards to 24. They won 23 first downs to our 17. But their unfortunate second-string QB Albert Ogden was sacked six times in seven attempts, for minus 34 yards. For once, we conceded no sacks at all!

QB Boston was not sacked, and made 43 yards. He also succeeded with three of seven passes.

RB Drake ran 94 yards (and scored three touchdowns), RB McConnell 53.

Leading the defense again was ILB Moore with eight tackles (three for loss), followed again by DT White with six (one for) and OLB Ciszek with five (none for). Moore and White and OLB Christmas are credited with 0.5 sacks each, DE Necaise with one and DE Gargaro with a whopping 3.5.

Not surprisingly DE Gargaro was rated the game’s MVP.

RB Drake, DE Gargaro and ILB Moore all make the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 #23 Texas A&M go down 26-35 at #13 Colorado.
On TV2 unstoppable #1 Michagan go 7-0 with a 35-19 win at #19 Northwestern.

No new injuries.

Roberto

05-20-2003, 03:32 PM

2006 Week 10

Recruitment

Four rejections, and …

Lorenzo Stockman, a center from Oceanside High School in Oceanside, New York, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 52+ Acad*/Dist #1 C in New York in the All-State Team and Nat Rank #740. But he’s only 258 pounds. Hmmm…

Kenyon Finch, a kicker from Newton High School in Newton, Iowa, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 51++ Acad/Dist #1 K in Iowa and in the All-State Team (so?), #24 K in the nation and Nat Rank 942.

Ten visitors due. All are also going elsewhere.

The Match

Home to #84 Ohio State. They are 2-5, we are 1-5.

They also prefer to run the Wishbone. Let’s see who can run it better.

Same starters as last week.

Fair, 58 degrees. Crowd of 32,500

Win 7-6.

But it’s not good for the nerves of the crowd.

2Q: 05:20 OHST - Everett Bryant 27 field goal.
4Q: 12:28 OHST - Everett Bryant 24 field goal.
4Q: 01:37 NDAM - Brock Drake 13 pass from Doug Boston.
4Q: 01:37 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.

Game MVP: NDAM 27 Brock Drake

Truth to tell, we were lucky. They outrushed us by 160 net yards to 112, outpassed us by 201 net yards to 116 and won 15 first downs to our 14. Killer stat is tackles for loss. We made two but conceded nine! Also the red zone. They reached ours four times but only achieved two field goals. We only reached theirs once.

QB Boston was sacked three times in eight attempts for a total of nine yards, and succeeded with twelve of nineteen passes. Of the seven failures, four were hurried (can anyone say weak OL?) and none dropped.

RB Drake rushed 62 yards and RB McConnell 38.

Schneider played his part, with average punting yardage of 38.9; two of six landed in the opponents’ 20.

In the defense, OLB Christmas made eight tackles (one for loss), OLB Ciszek six (none for) and DT White five (one for). DE Necaise was credited with one sack, DE Gargaro and DT White with 0.5 each.

The only player from Notre Dame to make the Players of the Week list (after last week’s three) is RB Drake.

But it’s the first home win since the end of the 2003 season, so who cares?

On TV1 #4 Auburn go 8-0 with a fine 34-7 home win over #13 Arkansas.
On TV2 #49 Texas Tech go down 3-16 at #3 Penn State.

Out for the season:

QB Reed - torn knee ligament
DT Simmons - high ankle sprain
RB Francis - torn knee cartilage
DT Arnold - out - broken tibia (new)

Walking wounded:

DE Money - probable - broken hand - 4 weeks
G Shelton - doubtful - sprained knee - 4 weeks (new)
G Gordon - probable - broken hand - 3 weeks
QB Fazande - doubtful - sprained knee - 2 weeks
ILB Hickman - questionable - broken wrist - 1 week
TE Workman - probable - strained quadriceps muscle - 3 weeks (worsened).

Week 11

Recruitment

Kurt Farley, a quarterback from Hinsdale South High School in Darien, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 60- Acad*/Dist #2 QB in Illinois Nat Rank #375.

Raymond Plante, a wide receiver from Stanley-Boyd High School in Stanley, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 53- (best at punt returning says Scout Long) Acad/Prest #3 WR in Wisconsin Nat Rank #578.

Daryl Culp, an outside linebacker from Mishawaka High School in Mishawaka, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 68+ Acad/Dist #2 OLB in Indiana Nat Rank #372.

Dwight McCarthy, a cornerback from Liberty High School in Liberty, Missouri, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 54 – Dist/Acad but nevertheless #3 CB in Missouri Nat Rank #993, and his 4.00 GPA won’t hurt either.

Plus two refusals.

Of the nine players recruited so far, eight are in the national top 1,000 and six were black-coded.

The Match

Hosting #38 Northwestern. They are 4-4 and (only) one-point favourites.

They prefer the double-wing. Their starting QB likes to run all the time, and has an outstanding pass ratio.

Raining, 45 degrees. Crowd up to 35,100.

Can we build up a winning streak?

Lose 9-31

Field Goal by K McGarrahan two minutes from the end of the first quarter, touchdown from RB McConnell in the fourth quarter. Otherwise it was same old, same old.

They outrushed us by an overwhelming 299 net yards to 12 (4.7 yards per carry to a pitiful 0.5) and outran us by 146 yards to 135, to win 26 first downs to our six! To make a bad story worse, Notre Dame conceded four sacks while making none. They entered our red zone four times for two touchdowns and one field goal; we reached theirs twice for one of each.

QB Boston was sacked three times in three attempts and driven back 21 yards overall. QB Chorak came on to be sacked in his one attempt and driven back five yards.

Boston succeeded in 11 of 23 pass attempts. Of the 12 failures, five were defensed, three hurried and two intercepted. Only one was dropped.

Greatest yardage was won by RB Drake with 26, then RB McConnell with a mere 12.

Even Schneider’s punting average dipped; down to 34.7 yards (two of eight in the opponents’ 20).

The defense had it all to do. Leader was OLB Ciszek with twelve tackles (three for loss), followed by DT White with eight (three for) and S Maumau also with eight (but none for).

The compilers of the Players of the Week list are not impressed.

On TV1 #10 Colorado go down narrowly 17-20 at #5 Texas
On TV2 #16 West Virginia are upset 6-28 at #17 Pittsburgh

One new injury - RB Malone out for the rest of the season with a dislocated elbow.

Week 12

Recruitment

B.J. Wilkins, an offensive tackle from Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 35+ Dist/Acad #3 T in Oregon 6-7 and 302 pounds (and wrestles bears for fun).

Roosevelt Armagost, a punter from Shelbyville High School in Shelbyville, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 35+ Acad*/(Dist) #3 P in Illinois and #47 P in the nation.

Victor Bradford, a defensive tackle from Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 46++ Acad*/Prest with GPA 3.88 #1 DT in Tennessee and in the All-State Team and Nat Rank #788.

The Match

At #54 Fresno State. They are 6-3 and six point favourites.

They prefer the Trips formation. Their starting QB is brilliant at passing (they are second best in the nation at pass attempts and completions), and especially very long passing.

The offence is now thoroughly jumbled up:

Starting QB Boston, then Chorak then (half-fit) Fazande.

Starting FB is RB McConnell

Starting RB are Drake and Myers.

Starting TE is Gillespie followed by Berman.

Flanker is WR Alston, Split End is RB Carlson, backup WR are Cornplow then Worthington then Campbell.

Fair, 72 degrees.

Try to counter with multiple blitzing; it holds them until the middle of the third quarter but then the dam breaks …

Shut out 0-35.

Their passing game overwhelmed us by 308 yards to 76; they also outrushed us by 102 net yards to 64, to win 28 first downs to our five. We did not reach their red zone once; they set up home in ours reaching it five times.

QB Boston was sacked in two of four attempts, for marginal negative yardage of one yard, and succeeded in seven of seventeen pass attempts. Of the ten failures, four were hurried and two defensed; none which did arrive were dropped.

RB Myers rushed 40 yards, RB Drake 26. Not good.

Schneider punted fit to bust once more, with an average of 39.8 yards and two of ten landing in the opponent’s 20.

Star of the defense was ILB Moore with fifteen tackles (five for loss) and 4.5 sacks. He was trailed by DE Necaise with nine tackles (also five for loss) and two sacks and OLB Ciszek, also with nine tackles (but none for loss and no sacks).

For holding back the tide for as long as he did, ILB Moore is the game’s MVP, but neither he nor anyone else from Notre Dame make the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 #12 Nebraska are thumped 17-27 at #13 Colorado
On TV2 #25 Vanderbilt suffer a narrow defeat 16-19 at #20 Florida

Out for the rest of the season (with three weeks remaining):

DT White - broken ribs (new)
RB Malone - dislocated elbow (new)
QB Reed - torn knee ligament
DT Simmons - high ankle sprain
RB Francis - torn knee cartilage
DT Arnold - broken tibia
TE Berman - arthroscopic knee surgery (new)
T Herndon - arthroscopic knee surgery (new)

Walking wounded:

TE Gillespie - doubtful - pulled groin - 3 weeks
DE Money - probable - broken hand - 2 weeks
G Shelton - probable - sprained knee - 2 weeks
G Gordon - probable - broken hand - 1 week
TE Workman - probable - strained quadriceps muscle - 1 week.

Is there anyone on campus who can catch and run - preferably both? They don’t have to be able to chew gum at the same time!

Roberto

05-23-2003, 01:24 AM

2006 Week 13

Academics

More grades are out.

One D- (DT Womble). There are three time blocks left, and they’re his.

Recruitment

Dave Battle, a center from Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne, California, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 68- Acad*/Prest 6-3 and "only" 285 pounds #2 C in California in the nation Nat Rank #168.

Levon Rehberg, an offensive guard from Elgin High School in Elgin, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 43+ Acad/Dist 6-4 and 283 pounds #10 G in Illinois.

And three refusals.

The Match

Away at rivals Purdue. We are #113 and 2-7, they are #105 and 2-8.

They prefer the Veer formation. Their senior (and only fit) QB likes to run all the time.

Injuries are ripping up our starting preferences.

Starting QB Boston, then (fit again) Fazande then Chorak on the bench.

Starting FB is RB McConnell, then Samson then Diaz. Starting RB Drake then Myers.

Flanker WR Alston, Split End RB Carlson, backup WR Cornplow then Worthington.

Starting TE Overby then (injured) Gillespie then (injured) Workman.

OL: LT Wilkins, LG Caldwell, C Ferderer, RG Fisk, RT is G Szilter.

Back to a more normal blitzing percentage.

Sunny, 48 degrees.

Shut out 0-38.

Is this humiliating or is this humiliating?

They outrushed us by 205 net yards to 82 and outpassed us by 224 yards to 133 (10.4 yards per attempt to 5.7) to win nineteen first downs to our eleven.

QB Boston was in full retreat, sacked five times in eight attempts for minus eleven yards and succeeded in only seven of twenty-three pass attempts. Of the failures, eight were defensed, six hurried and one intercepted.

Leading what passed for the yardage was RB Drake with 45, then RB Myers with 31 and RB McConnell with 28.

Defense could not rise to last week’s heights. Leaders were ILB Moore with eight tackles (one for loss) and OLB McWilliams also with eight (none for) followed by ILB Hicknam with five (also none for).

The compilers of the Players of the Week list were not troubled by this rout.

On TV1 #16 Louisville pull off a 27-10 win at #14 Texas Christian
On TV2 #36 Syrancuse do surprisingly well to only lose 23-35 at #13 Pittsburgh

Out for the rest of the season (with two weeks remaining):

TE Overby - strained hamstring (new)
DT White - broken ribs
RB Malone - dislocated elbow
QB Reed - torn knee ligament
DT Simmons - high ankle sprain
RB Francis - torn knee cartilage
DT Arnold - broken tibia
TE Berman - arthroscopic knee surgery
T Herndon - arthroscopic knee surgery
DE Necaise - doubtful - sprained knee
DT Randle - probable - concussion

Walking wounded:

TE Gillespie - probable - pulled groin - 2 weeks
WR Quinn - probable - bad cold - 2 weeks.

Week 14

Recruitment

Bo Prior, a defensive end from Hoisington High School in Hoisington, Kansas, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 39+ Acad*/Prest #4 DE in Kansas.

Brant Thorpe, an outside linebacker from Woburn High School in Woburn, Massachusetts, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 48+ Dist/Acad #5 OLB in Massachusetts, #91 OLB in the nation.

And that’s the recruiting class:

10 of 16 in the nation’s top 1,000 (including #168 and #170).
8 black-coded, 2 red-coded, 5 blue-coded and only 1 green-coded.
Lowest GPA 3.01 lowest test score 1144 (both OLB Thorpe).

Woooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No game this week.

On TV1 #37 Kentucky go down 6-10 at #26 Florida
On TV2 #5 Texas are thrashed 21-38 at #27 Texas A&M

Week 15

To Virginia, against the Navy. They are #52 and 6-4, though last week they went down 3-20 against the Army.

They prefer the T-Formation. Their senior QB (a fixture all season) likes to run all the time.

Gillespie is fit again to start at TE.

It’s on TV3. Well, something has to be.

Raining, 50 degrees.

Lose 14-21

Two touchdowns by RB Drake, in his farewell game.

They outrushed us by 217 net yards to 143, outpassed us by 171 net yards to 119 and won 22 first downs to our 15.

QB Boston in his farewell game only risked two rushes, but was not sacked in either of them and gained a grand total of twelve yards. He also succeeded with 15 of 22 pass attempts. Of the seven failures, three were defensed, two intercepted and two bad. None were dropped.

As well as his two touchdowns, RB Drake ran 109 yards. Next (a long way behind) was RB Myers with 19.

Lion of the defense was OLB Ciszek with fifteen tackles (four for loss) and one sack. Next in the stats, but far behind, were OLB McWilliams, CB Mascorella and freshman S Salinas with five each (none of them for). There were two more sacks, credited to DE Gargaro and ILB Moore.

RB Drake and OLB Ciszek made the Players of the Week List.

On TV1 #16 Colorado are put firmly in their place 14-45 at #7 Texas
On TV2 #23 Florida pull off a shock 38-28 win at #4 Auburn

Which ends another season of Notre Dame football:

Second from bottom of the Big 10 with 2-9 conf 2-6 (Iowa were 1-10 and 0-8).
118 in the Coaches’ poll.
114 in the fans’ poll
Ranked #114.

Roberto

05-23-2003, 01:26 AM

2006 Post Season

At the end of the regular season, there are two unbeaten teams, Michigan and Stanford, no teams without a victory but ten teams with 1-10 records.

In the play-off semi-finals:

#1 Michigan the defending champions are defeated for the first time this season 27-42 by #4 Penn State.
#2 Stanford maintain their unbeaten run with a 35-6 victory over #5 Southern California.

And in the final Stanford beat Big Ten runners-up Penn State 34-14.

Player of the Year was Robbie Ferguson, QB at Southern California:
316-for-533, 4525 yards, 40TD, 7 Int.
And he’s only an ex-redshirt Sophomore (but he is a classic sporting jock - GPA 1.59, highest grade for the year B+ in Pokemon Training, last year’s grades included D in Bartending and D+ in Decibel Production).

Notre Dame have no entries in the National Awards.

The Big Ten awards honour:

J T Moore - Second Team ILB (second year running).
Graham Ciszek - Second Team OLB and (for third year running) Academic Team OLB
R J Fisk - Academic Team G (second year running).
Lamar Wilkins - Academic Team T
Edgar Gargaro - Academic Team DE (third year running)
Xavier Maumau - Academic Team S

Roberto

05-25-2003, 03:22 PM

2006 Notre Dame Schedule

Rival: Purdue
Stadium Capacity: 52,400
Season Tickets Sold: 30,400



Week Opponent
4 at North Carolina State L 7-38 23,800 Rain, 62
$$5 at Illinois L 0-38 51,700 Sunny, 65
$$6 MICHIGAN L 7-34 35,700 Stormy, 49
$$7 PENN STATE L 20-28 37,300 Sunny, 61
$$8 at Minnesota L 0-20 55,000 Sunny, 47
$$9 at Iowa W 35-14 24,000 Sunny, 66
$$10 OHIO STATE W 7-6 32,500 Sunny, 58
$$11 NORTHWESTERN L 9-31 35,100 Rain, 45
12 at Fresno State L 0-35 34,800 Sunny, 72
$$13 at Purdue L 0-38 50,700 Sunny, 48
15 at Navy (TV 3) L 14-21 22,200 Rain, 50



HOME GAMES IN CAPITALS.
$$ - Conference games.

Roberto

05-25-2003, 03:28 PM

2006 Season Standings, Big Ten



School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Michigan 13 1 0 .928 566 199 8 0 0 1.000 335 103 ---
Penn State 13 3 0 .812 479 272 6 2 0 .750 199 112 ---
Wisconsin 11 3 0 .785 346 207 6 2 0 .750 185 105 ---
Illinois 8 3 0 .727 304 207 6 2 0 .750 224 155 ---
Michigan State 4 7 0 .363 246 277 4 4 0 .500 185 181 ---
Northwestern 5 6 0 .454 201 207 3 5 0 .375 123 143 ---
Minnesota 5 6 0 .454 224 306 3 5 0 .375 115 221 ---
Purdue 3 8 0 .272 205 251 3 5 0 .375 154 150 ---
Ohio State 3 8 0 .272 193 293 3 5 0 .375 128 180 ---
**Notre Dame 2 9 0 .181 99 303 2 6 0 .250 78 209 ---
Iowa 1 10 0 .090 117 309 0 8 0 .000 68 235 ---

Roberto

05-25-2003, 03:29 PM

2006 RECRUITMENT



Player Pos HT WT ST NRank GPA Scout

Farley, Kurt QB 6-3 207 IL 375 3.62 60-
Finch, Terry TE 6-3 229 KY 880 4.00 53-
Plante, Raymond WR 6-2 194 WI 578 3.39 53-
Battle, Dave C 6-3 285 CA 168 3.63 68-
Stockman, Lorenzo C 6-2 258 NY 740 3.83 52+
$$ Rehberg, Levon G 6-4 283 IL - - 3.54 43+
## Wilkins, B J T 6-7 302 OR - - 3.29 35+
$$ Armagost, Roosevelt P 6-2 180 IL - - 3.67 53+
** Finch, Kenyon K 5-8 158 IA 942 3.65 51++
Clements, Rico DE 6-3 237 IN 170 3.78 70-
$$ Prior, Bo DE 6-4 240 KS - - 3.70 39+
Bradford, Victor DT 6-4 266 TN 788 3.88 46++
Culp, Daryl OLB 5-11 196 IN 372 3.63 68+
$$ Thorpe, Brant OLB 5-11 194 MA - - 3.01 48+
** McCarthy, Dwight CB 6-0 173 MO 993 4.00 54--
$$ Westbrook, Earnest S 6-0 183 IL - - 3.87 48-



$$ - likely interest. ## - almost certain interest. ** - bit of a stretch. No prefix - unlikely to be interested.

Roberto

05-31-2003, 01:59 AM

2006 TEAM SUMMARY



Notre Dame Team Rank

Rushes 379 80
Rushing Yards 1116 98
Yards per Carry 2.94 109
Pass Attempts 235 121
Completions 104 124 (T)
Passing Yards 1141 125
Yards per Attempt 4.83 122
3rd Down Conversions 23.3 123
Points per Game 9.0 125
Turnovers 16 32 (T)
Turnover Margin +5 34 (T)




Opponents Team Rank

Rushes 481 121
Rushing Yards 2093 120
Yards per Carry 4.35 107
Pass Attempts 267 9 (T)
Completions 167 40
Passing Yards 2417 82
Yards per Attempt 9.05 124
3rd Down Conversions 40.0 97 (T)
Points per Game 27.5 96



Some figures up, some down. Rushes, rushing yardage and yards per carry all up a little (which they need to be!) but pass attempts and completions down, and passing yardage (which was pitiful last year) is even further down. Nine points per game is simply awful. In fact, the score broke into double figures in only three of the eleven games, and the team was shut out four times.

Roberto

05-31-2003, 01:59 AM

2006 INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY



Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
13 Boston QB 121 60 641 5.29 3 9
11 Fazande QB 79 34 366 4.63 2 2
4 Reed QB 35 10 134 3.82 1 1
Team . 235 104 1141 4.85 6 12



Attempts down a little (from 242) and completions (from 105) but the yards per attempt are down more (from 5.67).



Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
27 Drake RB 180 649 3.60 5 63 90
29 McConnell RB 58 156 2.68 0 16 13
13 Boston QB 35 21 0.60 0 17 90
32 Myers RB 27 90 3.33 0 4 3
11 Fazande QB 25 -38 -1.52 0 14 72
Team . 379 1116 2.94 6 131 300



Attempts up (from 353) and yardage too (from 1014), but yards per attempt barely improved (from 2.87). . Drake’s yards per attempt rose a little (from 3.35) but McConnell and Myers’ both fell. At least QB Boston had some positive yardage!



Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
86 Alston WR 78 29 448 15.4 88 2
27 Drake RB 36 24 210 8.7 84 3
98 Gillespie TE 32 17 188 11.0 40 1
22 Malone RB 18 11 79 7.1 43 0
89 Workman TE 15 5 42 8.4 16 0
46 Carlson RB 14 6 22 3.6 14 0
8 Worthington WR 12 0 0 0.0 0 0
Team . 235 104 1141 10.9 311 6



Attempts down a little (from 242), one fewer catch (from 105), markedly fewer yards gained (down from 1373) and yards per catch (down from 13.0). Alston is the only survivor from last year’s figures and his yards per catch are down from 22.5.



Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
44 Moore ILB 94 33 8.0 16 3 3
49 Ciszek OLB 74 28 1.0 11 1 5
91 White DT 58 12 1.5 8 0 0
42 Christmas OLB 42 18 0.5 4 0 1
53 McWilliams OLB 36 17 0.0 3 0 2
39 Maumau S 34 12 0.0 3 0 1
92 Necaise DE 33 8 6.5 13 0 0
20 Mascorella CB 32 7 0.0 1 0 3
90 Taylor DT 31 8 1.5 5 0 0
26 Feugill S 27 8 0.0 0 1 0
74 Gargaro DE 26 20 9.0 11 0 0
31 Norris S 23 10 0.0 2 1 0
36 McCulley CB 22 7 0.0 1 3 1
30 Coffman S 13 9 0.0 2 2 2
37 Salinas S 12 4 1.0 0 0 1
Team . 680 231 31.0 90 11 22



Tackles and TFL down (from 712 and 103 respectively) but more sacks (up from 21.0). Moore and Ciszek led the line for the second successive year.

Roberto

05-31-2003, 02:02 AM

2006 DEPARTING SENIORS



. Achieved Potential
Boston, Doug QB 12 40
Drake, Brock RB 46 70
Francis, Jack RB 20 35
Alston, Irv WR 45 65
Worthington, Troy WR 32 32
Shelton, Brad G 35 42
Caldwell, Lester G 21 57
Stone, Randall P 11 11
Long, Omar K 36 51
Gargaro, Edgar DE 37 70
Jamison, Aaron DE 20 20
White, Aaron DT 33 71
Moore, J T ILB 44 58
Zedalis, Les ILB 12 55
Christmas, Tyrell OLB 21 46
McWilliams, Duane OLB 31 60
Nixon, Rich OLB 3 3
McCulley, Marc CB 27 57
Norris, Blaine S 24 24
Maumau, Xavier S 18 22



QB Boston was never the first choice QB but always willing to fill in and often had to. He played in 22 matches and started 11 (in 2006, his final season, he played in 8 and started 6). Overall he attempted 74 runs, was sacked 32 times and had negative yards per carry of -58. He succeeded with 101 of 233 pass attempts, with passing yardage of 1181 and 5 passing touchdowns. With a QB Rating of 80.9 overall (87.3 in 2006) the draft does not beckon. He enters his final year of study with a GPA of 3.09, majoring in Jurisprudence but with Jurisprudence as his weakest subject in each of his first four years.

RB Drake played in 41 games and started 25, including every game in 2004 and 2006. In an interrupted career, he redshirted in his second year of study (2003). His overall running yardage was 1277 yards in 355 attempts, an average of 3.5 yards per attempt and 31.1 yards per game. He caught 36 passes and dropped 3 for 391 yards, an average of 10.8. He scored ten running and three receiving touchdowns and was awarded 111 stokes. A good student with GPA 3.67, all but one of his grades above C+, straight As in his final year and no grades below A- throughout in his major of Journalism. For all of which, his popularity was poor. Too many brains for the jocks and not enough on the field to impress them, perhaps.

RB Francis was a backup, playing in 36 games but only starting two of them. His overall running yardage was 262 yards in 34 attempts, an average of 7.7 yards per attempt and 7.2 yards per game. He caught 3 passes and dropped nine for 19 yards, an average of 6.3. He scored no touchdowns. His talents lay off the field. An outstanding student with GPA 3.90, all but one of his grades during his first four years at A or A- and with straight A in his major, German. He also maintained (somewhat to the envy of RB Drake) a very good level of popularity.

WR Alston was a backup until his senior year. He played in 35 games, starting 16 of them (including every game in his final year). He caught 51of 167 passes headed his way for an average of 18.4 yards; of the failures only five were dropped. Three of the catches led to touchdowns. Diligent rather than sparkling, his GPA was 3.30.

WR Worthington was never more than a backup. He played in 39 games, but only started one of them. No successful catches and no touchdowns. GPA 3.19 and grades of B+ and above in his major, Electrical Engineering. And a girlfriend named Buffy.

G Shelton had an erratic career, due to a broken arm early in the 2005 season. He played in 29 games, starting in 27 of them; these included all eleven games in 2004 (when he was named in the Big Ten All-Academic Team), only one in 2005 and nine in 2006. He made 36 key run blocks (a percentage of 21.7%) and allowed 15 sacks (3.5%), which is not too bad. 6-5 he ended his college career at 326 pounds. GPA 3.73 none of his grades were below B, and he achieved straight As in his major, Mechanical Engineering.

G Caldwell was a career backup who filled the gap caused by Sheldon’s injury in 2005. He played in 39 games, starting in 17 of them including all eleven games in 2005. He made 51 key run blocks (a percentage of 27.2%) and allowed 7 sacks (1.5%). Perhaps he should have had the nod ahead of Shelton in 2006. Perhaps it’s just that he was a little smaller. 6-2 he ended his college career at 303 pounds. Another good acdemic, his GPA was 3.52 and only one of his grades was below B (a freak C in his first year - but it was in his major, Jurisprudence).

P Randal Stone was one of the most useless walk-ons ever to make up the numbers. From Selma Alabama, the product of generations of inbreeding, with GPA of 1.84, his academic achievements included E in Basket Weaving I (along with D- in all his other first year classes). He had no playing time. Very popular despite all his failings, he became a sort of team mascot through the years of failure.

K Long became the first choice kicker in his sophomore year, playing in 28 games overall. He scored six field goals in ten attempts, the longest of which was 43 yards, and sixteen points after the touchdown. GPA 3.12, nothing special about his grades.

DE Gargaro played in 37 games and started 28 of them including every game in 2005 and 2006. His overall record was 94 tackles, 24 for loss, and 17 sacks. Another outstanding student (int 100, asp 100) with GPA 3.93, he only had one grade below A- in five years and featured in the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2004, 2005 and 2006 - and he managed to stay fairly popular.

By contrast, DE Jamison was a career backup. He played in 29 games but only started two of them. His overall record was 23 tackles, three for loss, and two sacks. GPA 3.36, no grades below C.

DT White was a rock in times of trouble. He played in 39 games and started 25 of them including every game in 2005 and (prior to breaking some ribs) nine in 2006. His overall record was 148 tackles, 26 for loss, and 3.5 sacks. Another outstanding student (int 99, asp 100) he enters his final year of study with GPA 3.87, and seventeen straight As out of his twenty (including all four in his major, Marketing). How did he not make the Big Ten All-Academic Team? Well, he didn’t.

ILB Moore is the best of the outgoing seniors. He played in 42 games and started 29 of them including every game in 2005 and all but one in 2006. His overall record was 250 tackles, 31 for loss, 88 assists and 9.0 sacks, with one touchdown after an interception. He made the Big Ten Second Team in 2005 and 2006. He needed some help off the field - GPA 2.73 - but it was worth it.

ILB Zedalis was another career backup, He played in 36 games but started only one of them. His overall record was five tackles, none for loss, two assists and no sacks. Enough said (except that he enters his fifth year of study with GPA 3.31).

OLB Christmas was pretty well a backup, playing in all 44 games for which he was eligible, but only starting nine of them.. He made 78 tackles, 9 for loss and 29 assists and was credited with half a sack. Another player from the Law Faculty, he leaves with GPA 3.67 and only one grade between B-.

OLB McWilliams was another backup (and another Jurisprudence major!), playing in 43 games, but only starting 13 of them.. His record is better, with 131 tackles, 21 for loss, 56 assists and four sacks. He leaves with GPA 3.54 and again only one grade between B-.

OLB Rich Nixon was a walk-on best kept as far down the bench as possible. He played in 40 games but only started one, for a grand total of four tackles, one for loss, two assists and one sack. Majoring in Geology, he leaves with GPA 2.25 and grades to match. But at least he was not a crook.

CB McCulley was a rock, playing in every game for which he was eligible. He started none in 2003, then every game in 2004,2005 and 2006. He made 75 tackles, 8 for loss, and 28 assists (but no sacks), intercepted 8 passes (for 34 yards) and caught 47. A good academic he goes into his final year with GPA 3.63 and only one grade below B-. His major is Marketing.

S Norris was a backup’s backup, playing in all 44 games but starting none of them. He made 65 tackles, 6 for loss, 34 assists, no sacks, one interception (for nine yards) and caught 35 opposing passes. Another good academic; majoring in Industrial Engineering he leaves with GPA 3.62 and no grades below B.

S Maumau was a backup until his final year. He played in 40 games, starting ten of them (all in his final year of eligibility). His career figures were 54 tackles, three for loss, 19 assists, no sacks, one interception - which led to a 54-yard touchdown - and 15 catches. However he was an excellent student, featuring in the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2003 and 2006. He enters his final year of study with GPA 3.87, only one grade to date below A- and straight As to date in his major, Random Number Theory.

Roberto

05-31-2003, 02:03 AM

2006 Notre Dame Individual All-Time Season Records

A long title for a new concept: taking 2001-2006 as "all-time", what new Notre Dame records were set in 2006?

Tackles: ILB Moore with 94

Sacks: DE Gargaro with 9.0

Tackles for Loss: ILB Moore with 16

Touchdowns Scored: RB Drake with 8.

Roberto

05-31-2003, 02:04 AM

2006 Grades



Team Performance: 69/100
Academic Performance 79/100
Recruiting Performance 100/100
TV Revenue 77/100
Alumni Donations 79/100
Attendance at Stadium 37/100
.
Overall 71/100

Roberto

06-04-2003, 12:36 AM

CHALLENGE DYNASTY - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROCKNE 2007

Reminder: Initial Settings:

Everything on manual - in practice, I rely heavily on the coordinators’ recommendations for team selection and game plan.

Last Season

Results were up at 2-9, after two 0-11 seasons.

Overall rank 114.

The College

The one and only Notre Dame

Academic reputation now averages 65 (up from 63), which puts us 12 of 125 (up from 14). Subject rankings are now uniformly high, from 7 (Geography and Geology) to 29 (of 125) (Latin). Remember there are three subjects we don’t offer: Sociology, Social Work and Political Science. Undergraduate GPA is steady at 2.91.



Community loyalty: Pretty Good (was Very Good)
Alumni loyalty: Decent (was Fair)
Student goodwill: Good (no change)



Season tickets sold continue to fall - down to 27,700 (from 30,400).

Prestige is up (!) to 59 (from 58).

At the start of the season we’re at 122 in the coaches’ poll, 106 in the fans’ poll and ranked 117 overall.

Things have to get better.

Ticket Prices

This is not a time to raise prices.

Start of Season e-mails.

The Syndicate has announced the suspension of Kent for rules violations over the past season.
Kent will not be eligible for television revenue or post-season competition for one year.

They didn’t catch up with our bribes, then. Phew!

Louis Levin, a punter, has left your team because of a lack of playing time.

Drat! He was in line to be Schneider’s successor. With Armagost all endurance and no skill, we’ll have to look for a stud Punter this year.

Carlton Burnett of Stanford has been named Coach of the Year for his performance this past season.

As befits the coach of the Champions.

No job offers.

New coaches at Nebraska, Florida, Marshall, Arkansas and Nevada-Las Vegas.

The good news is what isn’t there:

No staff retirements.
No academic suspensions.
Nobody suspended for off-the-field activity.
Nobody wants more free time.
No broken relationships.

And the word on campus is that ten of the squad have acquired girlfriends since the start of last season.

Staff Hiring

Mo Boyer has been hired away from his position of scout, Southeast region.

He’s gone to Idaho. We’ll live.

New coaches at Kansas, Colorado State, Ball State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy State.

Roberto

06-04-2003, 12:39 AM

2007 COACHING STAFF

No staff changes this year.

Syndicate Coordinator: Scottie Hammond
Age: 56
Academic Eligibility: Terrific
Syndicate Investigation: Terrible
Solicit Donations: Terrible

He’s still the best available for academics. The donations have started to flow again despite him.

Defensive Coordinator: Jerome Gaines
Age: 41
Play Calling: Pretty Good
Injury Avoidance: Pretty Good
Rehab: Fair
Congeniality: Good
DL: Pretty Good
LB: Terrible
Sec: Terrible

There’s nobody else interested who calls plays well and can avoid injuries.

But we’ll still get someone better as soon as we can.

Offensive Coordinator: Morris Thornton
Age: 43
Play Calling: Excellent
Injury Avoidance: Poor
Rehab: Good
Congeniality: Decent (was Fair)
QB: Decent
RB: Pretty Good
R: Terrific
OL: Fair
K: Lousy
Current Formation: Wishbone
Years With Offense: 10

Sticking with him. In fact, nobody else is available who can call the plays so well. Just have to make sure to recruit K and P from good schools.

Great Lakes Scout: Gary Long
Age: 36
QB: Decent
RB: Lousy
REC: Fair
OL: Pretty Good
PK: Pretty Good
DL: Decent
LB: Good
Sec: Fair

He still has the least blind spots from those available

Roberto

06-04-2003, 12:40 AM

2007 Freshmen



Player Pos Current Future Scouted

Farley, Kurt QB 7 48 60-
Finch, Terry TE 27 45 53-
Plante, Raymond WR 33 62 53-
Stockman, Lorenzo C 24 63 52+
Battle, Dave C 33 80 68-
Rehberg, Levon G 7 53 43+
Wilkins, B J T 11 32 35+
Armagost, Roosevelt P 10 43 53+
Finch, Kenyon K 2 62 51++
Clements, Rico DE 28 77 70-
Prior, Bo DE 12 36 39
Bradford, Victor DT 17 47 46++
Culp, Daryl OLB 18 84 68+
Thorpe, Brant OLB 12 36 48+
McCarthy, Dwight CB 17 39 54 - -
Westbrook, Earnest S 27 27 48-



These could benefit from a redshirt year (with the possible exception of S Westbrook).

Roberto

06-04-2003, 12:42 AM

2007 ROSTER



Reed, Roosevelt 4 QB Sr 24 -1 41
Chorak, Eugene # 16 QB Jr 0 0
Fazande, Wade 11 QB So 25 +5 61
Agranoff, Brad 7 QB So* 27 +12 73
Farley, Kurt 11 QB Fr 7 48



Scout Long is only "decent" at assessing the QB, so we can’t take all this at face value. Even so, Agranoff looks to have come on well in his redshirt year. He’ll be in close competition with Reed and Fazande for the first choice starter. Redshirt Farley to see if he’ll improve the same way.



Myers, Ricardo 32 RB Sr 33 +5 33 +5
McConnell, Brenden 29 RB Sr* 30 +5 51
Malone, Harold 22 RB Jr* 44 -1 73
Kincaid, Marc 28 RB Jr* 18 +4 46
Carlson, Josh 46 RB So 37 +12 78
Woodson, Nicky 21 RB So* 26 +1 59 -1
Diaz, Deron 33 FB So 24 +2 42
Samson, Glenn # 43 FB So 6 +2 28



Scout Long has a real blind spot with the RB. We’ve lost RB Drake who had the best figures last year, and backup RB Francis. Malone’s the best we have left, though he seems to have gone backwards last year. Carlson has come on amazingly; as we can’t play all of them at once, it may be worth red-shirting him to see how much better he can get.

The FB are just there to make up the numbers. Hopefully, there’ll be enough strength elsewhere to cover their weaknesses.



Workman, Preston 89 TE Sr~ 36 +2 36
Gillespie, Cole 98 TE Sr* 21 +3 32
Overby, Jim # 84 TE Sr* 23 +2 23
Farmer, Jay # 83 TE Sr 12 +1 12 +1
Mathews, Troy # 88 TE Sr 14 +3 41
Berman, Marlon 93 TE So 19 +2 34
Williamson, Corwin 85 TE So* 28 +2 30
Finch, Terry 91 TE Fr 27 45
Quinn, Morris 82 WR Sr~ 29 +1 67 -1
Cornplow, Bill 3 WR Sr* 28 +1 59 -1
Campbell, Quinn 81 WR Jr* 34 +2 55 +1
Walker, Peter 87 WR So* 14 +1 72
Plante, Raymond 86 WR Fr 33 62



No TE lost, but it’s quantity rather than quality. Workman is the best of a pretty poor bunch. Finch looks a possible starter compared to his seniors, but we’ll try to redshirt him anyway - especially as next year three TE will be lost.

WR have lost last year’s best Alston and Worthington, and what’s left doesn’t look to have developed much. Campbell is about the best. Freshman Plante looks a starter, but his figures are distorted; he can stand in the field catching all day, but he can’t make any yardage after the catch. Will redshirt him (though Walker’s redshirt year didn’t improve him much!).



Crockett, Daniel 59 C Sr 11 -2 36
Beckwith, Billy 54 C Jr* 9 +0 48
Ferderer, Jay 51 C Jr 27 +11 35
Stockman, Lorenzo 55 C Fr 24 63
Battle, Dave 53 C Fr 33 80
Fisk, R J 75 G Sr~ 32 +1 32 +1
Benson, Bo 63 G Sr 16 +3 33
Godfrey, Brady 65 G Sr* 14 +1 16
Gordon, Terry # 66 G Sr~ 9 +2 16 -1
Szilter, Malcolm 64 G Sr* 16 +1 16 +2
Rehberg, Levon 73 G Fr 7 53
Herndon, Tracy 76 T Sr~ 33 +8 51
Wilkins, Lamar 69 T Jr 19 -1 21
Morrison, Jackie # 60 T Jr* 8 +1 8 +1
Fulton, John # 61 T Jr 15 +0 30
Alcott, Isaac # 62 T Jr 3 -1 9
Downs, Maurice 70 T So* 24 +13 51
Callens, B J 79 T So 23 +5 23 +4
Wilkins, B J 68 T Fr 11 32



Two new Centres. Forget Crockett (up by nine more pounds to 322 pounds, but he still can’t block runs and has got worse at blocking passes (RB 3/PB 18 (was 25)/ End 14)) and Beckwith (up by another thirteen pounds to 304 pounds and 11/15/32). Ferderer has come on massively, but he’s still on the light side (283 pounds and 42/42/36), but still the obvious starter. The two new men will redshirt hit the weights (Battle arrived at 288 pounds, Stockman at 266). Battle’s main strength is endurance (100!).

Meanwhile, as we’ve lost two of last year’s G, Shelton and Caldwell. Fisk is the best of the rest, up to 312 pounds. He’s well outsized (though not in ability) by "Daddy Bear" Szilter at 6-8 and 338 pounds (up six pounds), Benson at 6-7 and 332 pounds, and Godfrey at 6-6 and 335 pounds. How oh how can such big men not make an effective OL?

Lots of T but not all of them can do it on the field. First choices, obviously, are Herndon ( a relative baby at 6-5 and 301 pounds), and Downs (another brickhouse at 6-7 and 328 pounds). Callens is a bust; with endurance of six he can’t last a quarter.



Schneider, Jonnie 6 P Sr~ 53 +12 58
Armagost, Roosevelt 9 P Fr 10 43
.
McGarrahan, Shawn 1 K Sr~ 44 -1 44 -1
Imme, William 18 K So* 16 +2 72
Finch, Kenyon 17 K Fr 2 62



Last year’s starter P Schneider is still around. Last year’s back Levin went off in a huff, so Armagost will have to develop quickly.

Last year’s kicker-off Long has gone. McGarrahan is still around for the field goals and will be kicking off too. Imme and Finch are both touchback specialists and can’t do much else, which doesn’t bode well for next year.



Money, Rick 95 DE Sr~ 32 +9 45
Ford, Jessie 78 DE Sr* 28 +9 63
Necaise, Chuck 92 DE Sr* 42 +9 72
Beyer, Duane 77 DE Sr* 26 +6 61
May, Kirk # 94 DE Jr* 11 +5 11 +1
Owens, Gino 56 DE So* 19 +7 50
Clements, Rico 74 DE Fr 28 77
Prior, Bo 96 DE Fr 12 56
Murphy, Henry # 97 DT Sr 7 +0 9
Randle, Casey # 72 DT Sr 3 +1 13
Arnold, Jessie 71 DT Jr 25 +0 71
Taylor, Ben 90 DT Jr 32 +3 72
Simmons, Ben # 99 DT Jr 9 +2 41 -1
Womble, Ronald 67 DT So* 3 -3 41
Bradford, Victor18 DT Fr 17 47



Last year’s best starting DE Gargaro has gone, along with backup Jamison. At least the others have developed well, with Necaise and Money the best. Owens didn’t improve as much as was hoped during his redshirt year. Nevertheless, try to redshirt Clements and Prior.

Have lost last year’s leading DT, White. This is another position where quantity exceeds quality. Arnold and Taylor are the best, Bradford will have to be backup, Murphy, Randle, Simmons and Womble should never do more than warm the bench.



Kelley, Deion # 50 ILB Sr~ 6 +0 6
Hickman, Lester 52 ILB Jr 22 +1 40
Reed, Neil # 47 ILB Jr* 2 +0 2
Stargell, Vincent41 ILB So 21 +3 21 +2
.
Ciszek, Graham 49 OLB Sr~ 32 -5 83
Garcia, Deon 58 OLB Sr* 14 +2 54
Shelton, Melvin 57 OLB Jr 16 +2 24 -1
Thorpe, Brant 42 OLB Fr 12 36
Culp, Daryl 44 OLB Fr 18 84



Have lost Moore, who was the only decent ILB last year (and backup Zedalis). We’d have to be desperate to rely on Hickman and Stargell - but perhaps we are.

Have lost three OLB, including McWilliams who was useful. Ciszek looks to be the only one who’s not a liability and he’s gone backwards.

Or perhaps these estimates are all wrong. Certainly Ciszek’s performances (and his red bars) are much better than this. You don’t get selected for the Big Ten Second Team, as he did last year, with current figures as low as 32. Hope the others are as much better than their estimates.



Mascorella, Mario 20 CB Sr* 38 +8 45
Gardner, Gino 35 CB Sr 25 +4 25 +4
Harrison, Harvey 40 CB Jr 10 +1 23
McCarthy, Dwight 27 CB Fr 17 39
.
Coffman, Darrin 30 S Jr* 26 +2 51
Feugill, Arnie 26 S Jr* 37 +8 47
Salinas, Phil 37 S So 30 +2 30 +2
Voetberg, Rusty 23 S So* 22 +9 71
Westbrook, Earnest 31 S Fr 27 27



Have lost McCulley, but he wasn’t the best. Mascorella has more than made up last year’s supposed drop and Gardner is next best of a weak bunch of CB.

S have lost Norris and Maumau. Feugill looks to have overtaken Coffman and Salinas will compete with Coffman for the sceond starting spot. Voetberg came on well in his redshirt year. But as a last line of defense, it’s still far from strong.

# non-scholarship walk-on

~ fifth-year senior

* has been red-shirted

Offensive Set: Wishbone Formation.

Defensive Set: Variable, depending on the opposition.

One more thing:Keep Practice at 25.

Roberto

06-07-2003, 04:07 PM

Roster Strength 2007



. Starters Reserves

QB 17 (was 13) 37 (was 32)
RB 23 (was 29) 34 (was 37)
FB 22 (was 14) 10 (was 6)
TE 24 (was 30) 55 (was 28)
WR 4 (was 24) 44 (was 48)
C 27 (was 0) 28 (was 17)
G 14 (was 23) 32 (was 31)
T 27 (was 15) 33 (was 32)
P 50 (was 40) 16 (was 41)
K 39 (was 46) 12 (was 47)
DE 27 (was 32) 60 (was 42)
DT 23 (was 28) 20 (was 25)
ILB 13 (was 35) 10 (was 32)
OLB 22 (was 28) 45 (was 35)
CB 31 (was 17) 35 (was 26)
S 30 (was 18) 58 (was 50)



It’s clear the younger QB, TE, WR, G, DE, OLB and S are better than the seniors.

This year’s big weakness is ILB.

Roberto

06-07-2003, 04:08 PM

Gaps to be filled: upcoming Class of 2007

One QB (but we have sufficient)
One RB
Three TE
One WR
One C
Three G
One T
One P
One K
Two DT
One DE
One ILB
One OLB
One CB

Recruitment Priorities

The biggest need from the above is P K ILB and CB - and from good schools. Also need to keep up the numbers in TE and G.

Recruitment Tactics

Follow up the technique that succeeded in 2006 - go for the highest GPA from good football schools in Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio to catch the Acad/Dist, then go for the same wider afield.

Roberto

06-07-2003, 04:11 PM

2007 Week 1

Scheduling

All attempts to arrange games in Week 15 with any of Notre Dame’s traditional rivals proved fruitless.

An offer from Western Michigan in Week 2 was accepted, and a game at Ohio in Week 1 was imposed. Both are road games. At least the Ohio game will be on TV.

The Match

At Ohio, on TV5

They are #90.

All we know about them is that they prefer the I-Formation.

This will be a learning experience.

Starting QB Reed, followed by Agranoff followed by Fazande.

Mix and match - Starting FB is TE Overby, then Diaz then Samson. RB McConnell at Flanker, WR Campbell at Split End. Starting RB Malone, then Myers then Kinkaid. Starting TE Gillespie, then Williamson, then Overby.

OL: LT Herndon, LG Fisk, C Ferderer, RG Benson, RT Downs.

Raining, 46 degrees.

Narrowly lose 28-35

It’s even at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter. Our score comes following a fumble and a 29-yard return by CB Gardiner. They score once in the second quarter to lead 14-7 at the break. RB Malone runs a touchdown in the third quarter, to make it 14-14 going into the fourth quarter. Then:

4Q: 14:55 OHIO - Roger Milton 39 pass from Quentin Early.
4Q: 14:55 OHIO - Isaac Halapin extra point.
4Q: 13:14 OHIO - Luke Sampson 46 run.
4Q: 13:14 OHIO - Isaac Halapin extra point.
4Q: 12:38 NDAM - Quinn Campbell 58 pass from Roosevelt Reed.
4Q: 12:38 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 08:32 OHIO - Rondell Lane 2 run.
4Q: 08:32 OHIO - Isaac Halapin extra point.
4Q: 02:17 NDAM - Harold Malone 35 pass from Roosevelt Reed.
4Q: 02:17 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.

From the score, it’s hard to believe they outrushed us by 298 net yards to 45 (6.2 yards per carry to a pathetic 1.8). We outpassed them by 303 yards to 211. They won 28 first downs to our 16, they visited our red zone twice and we visited theirs once (each visit ending in a touchdown).

QB Reed was sacked three times in four attempts, for minus ten yards overall. He succeeded in 17 of 37 pass attempts. Of the 20 failures, 8 were hurried, one blocked, four defensed, four bad and three dropped (all by different receivers). The distance is interesting too: 12 of 22 passes between one and 20 yards succeeded, but only three of eleven attempts over 21 yards.

The only significant yardage was by RB Malone with 50.

Star of the defense was DE Beyer with thirteen tackles (one for loss), trailed by OLB Ciszek with seven (two for) and OLB Shelton with five (one for). There were two sacks, one by DT Simmons and the other by ILB Stargell.

QB Reed and RB Malone made the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 unranked Kansas State thump #39 Arizona State 38-13 on the road.
On TV2 #48 Tennessee go down 14-45 at #5 North Carolina.

Injuries

TE Gillespie - doubtful - mononucleosis - 9 weeks
ILB Hickman - probable - concussion - 4 weeks.

Week 2

At Western Michigan. Their first match of the season. They are ten-point favourites.

All we know about them is that they prefer the single-back formation.

Workman replaces the injured Gillespie as starting TE. Otherwise, as last week.

Raining, 46 degrees.

Lose 24-35

Notre Dame’s scores were two touchdowns by TE Workman in the first and second quarters, a touchdown by RB Malone in the third quarter and a 40-yard field goal kicked by McGarrahan in the fourth quarter. But WMIC were always just ahead.

The stats look closer than last week. They outrushed us by 140 net yards to 106 (4.6 yards per attempt to 2.4), and while they also outpassed us by 304 yards to 287 we made 14.3 yards per attempt to their 10.1. Each team visited the other’s red zone four times and each achieved two touchdowns. The difference was they also achieved two field goals.

QB Reed was injured early in the game, and Agranoff came on for his first game after his redshirt year.. The OL promptly let him down; he was sacked three times in three attempts for minus nineteen yards. But he succeeded with 13 of 19 pass attempts (Reed had made one of one). Of the failures, three were hurried, one defensed, one blocked and only one dropped (by RB Myers). Ten of eleven passes below 20 yards succeeded (though ironically only one of four screen passes) and three of five over 20 yards.

RB Malone rushed 72 yards (for one touchdown), RB Myers 53.

Again the defense was held together by DE Beyer, with eleven tackles. Joint next in line were DT Arnold and DE Ford with four each. But none were for loss. Two sacks, one by DT Bradford and one by DT Simmons.

QB Agranoff and RB Malone made the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 Central Michigan travel a long way to lose 10-24 at #9 California.
On TV2 #15 Sacramento travel a similar distance to lose 10-41 at #24 Georgia Tech.

New Injury

QB Reed - out - severe wrist sprain - 4 weeks.

Week 3

At #43 North Carolina State. They are 1-0 having beaten Mississippi 29-0 in Week 1.

Their starting QB does not like to run, and is best at long passing.

With Reed injured, Agranoff gets his chance as starting QB. Otherwise, as last week.

Sunny, 69 degrees.

Lose 13-28

They ran away with the game in the first half, leading 24-0 at the end of the second quarter. Touchdowns by TE Workman and RB Myers restored some pride.

But again the figures are closer than the result suggests. They "only" outrushed us by 156 net yards to 120 (4.1 yards per carry to 3.8) and "only" outpassed us by 273 yards to 260 (10.5 yards per attempt to 8.1). They won nineteen first downs to our fifteen. Killer stat was penalties; we conceded ten for 82 yards while they conceded five for 40. And they visited our red zone four times for three touchdowns and a field goal, while we only visited theirs twice (for the two touchdowns).

QB Agranoff was sacked once in five attempts for positive yardage (of seventeen) and succeeded in 14 of 31 passing attempts. QB Fazande came on near the end, to be sacked in his one attempt (minus seven yards) and had his one pass defensed.

Of Agranoff’s seventeen failed passes, five were hurried, three intercepted, four blocked, four defensed and one was bad (none were dropped). Six of eight attempts below 20 yards succeeded to six of twenty attempts above 20 yards (including two of twelve attempts above thirty yards - he’s supposed to be good at very long passing, but it don’t look like it).

RB Malone rushed 56 yards. RB Myers shared the honors with 47 yards.

Most prolific defenseman was again DE Beyer with 15 (two for loss). Hard on his heels was OLB Ciszek with eleven (also two for). Two sacks were achieved, one by DE Money and the other credited jointly to DT Taylor and ILB Stargell.

RB Malone made the Players of the Week list for the third week running.

On the one hand, we are 0-3. On the other hand, last season we scored 99 points all last season, an average of 9 per game. In the first three games this season we have already scored 65 - that’s 21.6 per game.

On TV1 #11 Miami of Florida lose 22-45 at #7 Nebraska.
On TV2 #25 Air Force pull off an upset 26-20 win at #5 North Carolina.

Out for the rest of the season

CB Harrison - dislocated elbow (new)

Walking wounded

TE Gillespie - doubtful - mononucleosis - 7 weeks
DE Money - probable - sprained neck - 5 weeks (new)
QB Reed - doubtful - severe wrist sprain - 3 weeks
ILB Hickman - concussion - 2 weeks.

Week 4

No match this week.

On TV1 #24 Navy pull off another military upset with a 24-37 win at #8 Auburn
On TV2 #1 Michigan shut the door 20-0 at #22 Indiana.

Roberto

06-13-2003, 12:45 AM

Week 5

Message

Lorenzo Stockman was caught committing a serious violation of team rules. Though the violation does not warrant Syndicate involvement, failure to suspend the player may cause unhappiness among teammates.

He was red-shirted and is suspended.

Walk-on

CB Brad Filar. Not much to offer on the field (9/27) or off it (asp 1; int 16) but we need somebody on the bench.

Academics

Grades are out. Lowest is D with seven on D+.

Recruiting

Nobody visiting yet. Lots of our high-grade targets have fixed visits elsewhere, but none have committed yet.

The Match.

At Iowa. Like us, they are 0-3. They are #119, we are #124.

They prefer the Pro-Formation.

First game this year in the Big Ten.

Raining, 44 degrees. Crowd of 25,400 rattling round a stadium that could hold 70,400.

The figures show our passing game is coming together well: #38 in attempts #43 in completions #8 in yardage and #13 in yards per attempt. That must lead to a victory soon …

Win 31-6

Everything came together. We outrushed them by 237 net yards to 51 (4.8 yards per attempt to 1.7) outpassed them by 214 yards to 139 (10.1 yards to 5.5), sacked a succession of their QBs eight times without conceding any and won 19 first downs to their 14. All this despite conceding 17 penalties (for 123 yards) to their 3 (for 20 yards). It’s just the joy of winning. Honest.

A touchdown by WR Campbell in the first quarter and two field goals by them in the second made the score 7-6 to Notre Dame at the break.

3Q: 09:27 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan 27 field goal.
3Q: 06:07 NDAM - Harold Malone 15 run.
3Q: 06:07 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
3Q: 02:37 NDAM - Harold Malone 51 pass from Brad Agranoff.
3Q: 02:37 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 02:42 NDAM - Rusty Voetberg 67 interception return.
4Q: 02:42 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.

Game MVP: NDAM 22 Harold Malone

QB Agranoff made 14 yards in four run attempts (with no sacks) and succeeded in 14 of 21 pass attempts: 10 of 12 between 1-10 yards, 3 of 7 between 11-20 yards and one of two for more than 31 yards (that successful pass was for 51 yards). Of the failed passes, three were defensed, one blocked, one hurried, one intercepted and one bad (but none dropped).

RB Malone ran his heart out to earn the MVP award with 145 yards. RB Myers didn’t do badly either, with 74.

Tackles were spread around. Six by OLB Ciszek (one for loss), five by DE Beyer (ditto) and five more by S Salinas (ditto). Nobody else made more than three. Two sacks by DT Arnold, two more by DT Simmons, 1.5 awarded to each of DT Bradford and DE Owens and one by DE Beyer (who also forced three hurried passes to fail).

QB Agranoff, RB Malone and RB Myers make the Players of the Week list.

There’s another match from the Big Ten on TV1, where #6 Wisconsin go down 14-33 at #9 Northwestern (and Northwestern go 4-0).
On TV2 #45 Florida pull off a big upset win 36-7 at #20 Alabama.

The bad news is that DE Necaise will be out for the rest of the season with a pulled quadriceps muscle.

Week 6

Still no visitors.

The Match

First home match of the season, hosting #58 Ohio State.

They are 2-2 - looking for revenge for their home defeat 6-7 last season.

Like us, they prefer the Wishbone.

Sunny, 55 degrees. Crowd of 33,400.

Win 34-31.

It starts slowly. Touchdown by OHST in the first minute is answered by a touchdown by RB Myers at 09:50. They score a field goal twenty seconds from the end of the second quarter, to lead 10-7 at the break. TE Overby runs a short touchdown half way through the third quarter, which ends 14-10 to Notre Dame.

The other 42 of the points are scored in the fourth quarter - and what a quarter!

Beginning of Fourth Quarter.

3-15-NDAM49 (15:00) NDAM 7 Agranoff ran off left tackle for 4 yards. Tackled by OHST 91 Van Diver, assisted by OHST 51 Broome.

4-11-OHST47 (14:14) NDAM 6 Schneider punted 29 yards from the OHST47.
OHST 38 Cunningham returned the ball 9 yards to the OHST27. Tackled by NDAM 89 Workman.

Possession to Ohio State.

1-10-OHST27 (14:06) OHST 7 Nichols ran up the middle for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Key block delivered by OHST 65 Wynn.
Extra point by OHST 14 Bryant was good.

Score: Ohio State 17, Notre Dame 14.
OHST 14 Bryant kicked off 73 yards from the OHST35. Touchback.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-NDAM20 (13:59) NDAM 32 Myers ran off right tackle for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Key block delivered by NDAM 63 Benson.
Extra point by NDAM 1 McGarrahan was good.
OHST 77 Richmond was injured on the play.

Score: Notre Dame 21, Ohio State 17.
NDAM 1 McGarrahan kicked off 57 yards from the NDAM35.
OHST 38 Cunningham returned the ball 29 yards to the OHST37. Tackled by NDAM 21 Woodson.

Possession to Ohio State.

1-10-OHST37 (13:25) OHST 7 Nichols pass completed to 20 Farrell for 7 yards. Tackled by NDAM 18 Bradford.

2-03-OHST44 (13:00) OHST 31 Sakowski ran off left guard for 9 yards. Tackled by NDAM 30 Coffman, assisted by NDAM 90 Taylor.
Key block delivered by OHST 52 Henry.
NDAM 77 Beyer was injured on the play.
--
1-10-NDAM47 (12:33) OHST 31 Sakowski ran around left end for 4 yards. Tackled by NDAM 18 Bradford.

2-06-NDAM43 (12:08) OHST 31 Sakowski ran off left guard for 1 yard. Tackled by NDAM 71 Arnold, assisted by NDAM 77 Beyer.

3-05-NDAM42 (11:30) OHST 31 Sakowski ran up the middle for 8 yards (OOB). Tackled by NDAM 30 Coffman.
Key block delivered by OHST 52 Henry.
Penalty: OHST - Unnecessary Roughness.
--
1-25-NDAM49 (11:24) OHST 7 Nichols pass fell incomplete, intended for 31 Sakowski.
NDAM 58 Garcia defended the pass.

2-25-NDAM49 (11:18) OHST 7 Nichols ran up the middle for 1 yard. Tackled by NDAM 27 McCarthy.

3-24-NDAM48 (10:48) OHST 7 Nichols pass was intercepted by NDAM 52 Hickman at the NDAM36.
The interception was returned 14 yards. Tackled by OHST 48 Cummins.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-NDAM50 (10:40) NDAM 22 Malone ran around right end for 6 yards. Tackled by OHST 40 Chandler.
Key block delivered by NDAM 70 Downs.

2-04-OHST44 (09:53) NDAM 22 Malone ran off right guard for -2 yards. Tackled by OHST 40 Chandler.

3-06-OHST46 (09:28) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 84 Overby for 9 yards. Tackled by OHST 91 Van Diver, assisted by OHST 40 Chandler.
--
1-10-OHST37 (08:44) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 28 Kincaid for 7 yards. Tackled by OHST 47 Shehee, assisted by OHST 40 Chandler.

2-03-OHST30 (07:57) NDAM 22 Malone ran a trap up the middle for 3 yards. Tackled by OHST 23 Bridges, assisted by OHST 91 Van Diver.
Key block delivered by NDAM 76 Herndon.
Penalty: NDAM - Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
--
1-25-OHST42 (07:51) Penalty: OHST - Offsides.

1-20-OHST37 (07:42) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 22 Malone for 37 yards and a touchdown!
Extra point by NDAM 1 McGarrahan was missed.

Score: Notre Dame 27, Ohio State 17.
NDAM 1 McGarrahan kicked off 74 yards from the NDAM35. Touchback.

Possession to Ohio State.

1-10-OHST20 (07:34) OHST 31 Sakowski ran around left end for 2 yards. Tackled by NDAM 77 Beyer.

2-08-OHST22 (06:54) OHST 7 Nichols pass fell incomplete, intended for 85 Harvey.
NDAM 52 Hickman defended the pass.

3-08-OHST22 (06:47) OHST 7 Nichols pass completed to 85 Harvey for 37 yards. Tackled by NDAM 24 Filar, assisted by NDAM 57 Shelton.
--
1-10-NDAM41 (06:30) OHST 7 Nichols pass fell incomplete, intended for 1 Uwaezuoke.
NDAM 78 Ford hurried the quarterback into a bad throw.

2-10-NDAM41 (06:25) OHST 7 Nichols sacked by NDAM 78 Ford for a loss of 5 yards.
Sack allowed by OHST 68 Barton.

3-15-NDAM46 (06:08) OHST 7 Nichols pass completed to 82 Stephenson for 15 yards. Tackled by NDAM 20 Mascorella.
--
1-10-NDAM31 (05:47) OHST 7 Nichols pass completed to 85 Harvey for 31 yards and a touchdown!
Extra point by OHST 14 Bryant was good.

Score: Ohio State 24, Notre Dame 27..
OHST 14 Bryant kicked off 61 yards from the OHST35.
NDAM 20 Mascorella returned the ball 26 yards to the NDAM30. Tackled by OHST 21 Oliver.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-NDAM30 (05:20) NDAM 22 Malone ran off right guard for 0 yards. Tackled by OHST 40 Chandler.
NDAM 29 McConnell was injured on the play.

2-10-NDAM30 (04:45) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass was intercepted by OHST 33 Nelson at the NDAM44.
The interception was returned 24 yards. Tackled by NDAM 85 Williamson.

Possession to Ohio State.

1-10-NDAM20 (04:38) OHST 7 Nichols pass completed to 1 Uwaezuoke for 15 yards. Tackled by NDAM 57 Shelton.
--
1-05-NDAM05 (03:59) Penalty: NDAM - Offsides.

1-03-NDAM03 (03:52) OHST 48 Cummins ran off left tackle for 3 yards and a touchdown.
Key block delivered by OHST 69 Barber.
Extra point by OHST 14 Bryant was good.

Score: Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 27.
OHST 14 Bryant kicked off 66 yards from the OHST35.
NDAM 20 Mascorella returned the ball 19 yards to the NDAM18. Tackled by OHST 21 Oliver.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-NDAM18 (03:40) NDAM 22 Malone ran a counterplay off left tackle for 11 yards. Tackled by OHST 40 Chandler.
Key block delivered by NDAM 75 Fisk.
--
1-10-NDAM29 (03:11) NDAM 7 Agranoff ran around left end for 3 yards. Tackled by OHST 40 Chandler, assisted by OHST 51 Broome.

2-07-NDAM32 (02:48) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 89 Workman for 7 yards. Tackled by OHST 51 Broome.
--
1-10-NDAM39 (02:08) Penalty: OHST - Offsides.

1-05-NDAM44 (02:08) NDAM 22 Malone ran off right tackle for 5 yards. Tackled by OHST 41 Grant, assisted by OHST 33 Nelson.
Key block delivered by NDAM 70 Downs.
--
1-10-NDAM49 (01:44) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 81 Campbell for 47 yards (OOB). Tackled by OHST 38 Cunningham, assisted by OHST 33 Nelson.
--
1-04-OHST04 (01:36) Penalty: NDAM - False Start.

1-09-OHST09 (01:36) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass was overthrown, intended for 22 Malone.

2-09-OHST09 (01:29) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 81 Campbell for 9 yards and a touchdown!
Extra point by NDAM 1 McGarrahan was good.

Score: Notre Dame 34, Ohio State 31.
NDAM 1 McGarrahan kicked off 74 yards from the NDAM35.
OHST 38 Cunningham returned the ball 24 yards to the OHST15. Tackled by NDAM 32 Myers.

Possession to Ohio State.

1-10-OHST15 (01:11) OHST 7 Nichols pass fell incomplete, intended for 1 Uwaezuoke.
NDAM 26 Feugill defended the pass.

2-10-OHST15 (01:02) OHST 7 Nichols pass completed to 1 Uwaezuoke for 29 yards. Tackled by NDAM 37 Salinas.
--
1-10-OHST44 (00:40) OHST 7 Nichols pass was blocked at the line, intended for 31 Sakowski.
NDAM 71 Arnold blocked the pass.

2-10-OHST44 (00:32) Penalty: NDAM - Offsides.

2-05-OHST49 (00:32) OHST 7 Nichols pass fell incomplete, intended for 31 Sakowski.
NDAM 18 Bradford hurried the quarterback into a bad throw.

3-05-OHST49 (00:23) OHST 7 Nichols pass fell incomplete, intended for 1 Uwaezuoke.
NDAM 35 Gardner defended the pass.

4-05-OHST49 (00:18) Penalty: OHST - Offensive Holding.

4-15-OHST39 (00:09) OHST 7 Nichols pass fell incomplete, intended for 1 Uwaezuoke.
NDAM 27 McCarthy defended the pass.
The ball goes over on downs.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-OHST39 (00:03) NDAM 7 Agranoff ran and dropped to one knee for -2 yards. Tackled by OHST 51 Broome

Game MVP once again: NDAM 22 Harold Malone

Where to start?

They marginally outrushed us by 217 net yards to 213 (5.8 yards per attempt to 4.7). They also outpassed us, by 198 yards to 164 (but yards per attempt were 6.6 to 9.1). They won 20 first downs to our 19. Both teams visited the other’s red zone three times. We scored three touchdowns from those visits, they scored two touchdowns and one field goal. It was enough. And it helped that we gained four sacks to their two.

QB Agranoff was sacked twice in seven attempts, for minus ten yards. He succeeded with 12 of 18 pass attempts. Two of two screen passes succeeded, five of seven between 1-10 yards, three of seven between 11-20 yards - and two of two over 31 yards (those two for a total of 84 yards!). Of the six failures, two were defensed, two hurried, one intercepted and one bad (and none dropped).

RB Malone ran a little less than last week, with 126 yards. RB Myers ran a little more, with 94. Are they a team, or are they a team?

P Schneider must have been caught up in the excitement. His eight punts totaled a nice round 300 yards (average 37.5) and three of them landed in the opponent’s 20.

Main man in the defense was OLB Shelton with eight tackles (one for loss), followed by ILB Hickman, OLB Ciszek and S Coffman with five each (respectively one, none and none for loss). The four sacks were by each of DT Arnold, DE Ford, ILB Hickman and OLB Garcia.

For the second week running the trio of QB Agranoff, RB Malone and RB Myers make the Players of the Week list.

There’s a Big Ten game on TV1 again, between unbeaten #7 Northwestern and #1 Michigan. With home field advantage Michigan win 17-7, to go 5-0.
On TV2 #5 Georgia Tech go down 3-21 at #18 Florida State.

Out for the rest of the season

CB Harrison - dislocated elbow
DE Necaise - pulled quadriceps muscle
RB McConnell - herniated disk (new)

Walking wounded

TE Gillespie - questionable - mononucleosis - 5 weeks
DE Money - probable - sprained neck - 2 weeks

Week 7

Still no visitors.

No game this week.

Well, we needed a rest after last week.

On TV1 #4 Nebraska are upset 10-35 by #32 Iowa State.
On TV2 #14 Tulane go 6-0 with a 24-19 win at #7 East Carolina.

Roberto

06-15-2003, 01:56 PM

2007 Week 8

Recruitment

Four refusals - and suddenly seventeen visitors!

All those in the national top 1,000 are visiting elsewhere too.

This tactic of recruiting top players who emphasize academics is quite a strain on the nerves!

The Match

Hosting #67 Michigan State.

Like us, they are 2-3.

They prefer the I-Formation; their senior QB does not like to run at all.

Sunny, 56 degrees. Crowd of 33,400.

Win 17-0.

RB Malone is the hero:

2Q: 00:54 NDAM - Harold Malone 16 run.
2Q: 00:54 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 05:09 NDAM - Harold Malone 2 run.
4Q: 05:09 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 02:19 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan 30 field goal.

Game MVP: NDAM 22 Harold Malone

Of course, it was a team effort. We outrushed them by 245 net yards to 98 and won three sacks while conceding none. They outpassed us by 175 yards to 91 but that’s because we were playing a running game - yards per attempt were 8.2 to 7.6 in Notre Dame’s favour. We won 21 first downs to their 15, and visited their red zone four times, while keeping them well away from ours.

QB Agranoff only attempted one run, and although he was not sacked, he lost two yards anyway. However, he succeeded in eight of eleven pass attempts. Of the others, one was blocked, one defensed and one dropped (by TE Workman). The concentration was on short passing, and it really paid off, succeeding with two of two screen passes and five of six for 1-10 yards (one of four for longer).

RB Malone ran his heart out again with 166 yards, followed in the rankings by RB Myers with 78.

For once - perhaps the first time for years - there was a really effective OL.

Defense duties were widely spread. OLB Ciszek led the stats with six tackles (two for loss). Then came S Feugill with five (none for) and DTs Arnold and Taylor with four each (none and one for respectively). DE Ford made two sacks, OLB Shelton the third.

RB Malone, RB Myers and C Ferderer made the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 #41 Kentucky went down 12-24 at #23 Georgia
On TV2 #20 Colorado State lost their 6-0 record with a 10-23 loss at #23 Air Force

No new injuries.

Week 9

Messages

Deron Diaz was caught committing a serious violation of team rules. Though the violation does not warrant Syndicate involvement, failure to suspend the player may cause unhappiness among teammates.

He’s a bench-warmer - and is suspended.

Brad Filar, a cornerback, is at risk for failing a class this year.

It’ll be a cold day in hell before that useless walk-on gets any playing time.

Academics

More grades are out.

Filar on E (see above); K Imme and S Feugill on D-, 5 on D 3 on D+.

Recruitment

Here they come …

Phil Fulton, a running back from East Haven High School in East Haven, Connecticut, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 64+ Acad/Prest #1 RB in Connecticut and in the All-State team. Nat Rank #535.

Adam Guthrie, a fullback from Hammond High School in Hammond, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 53++ Acad/Prest #2 FB in Indiana #26 FB in the nation, Nat Rank #751.

Marshall Hoffman, a center from Garrett High School in Garrett, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s a local boy (from Garrett, only 63 miles away) 66+ Acad/Dist #3 C in Indiana Nat Rank #397 6-2 and 261 pounds.

Reggie Hoover, a cornerback from North High School in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 59++ Prest/Dist #1 CB in Wisconsin and in the All-State team, Nat Rank #440 but he’ll need some academic help - GPA 2.13.

Plus two refusals.

Twelve visitors due, all but one of them also going elsewhere.

The Match

Hosting #28 Illinois. After our winning run, it’s on TV5.

They are 5-2 and prefer the I-Formation. Their senior QB is carrying an injury.

Having suspended Diaz, we need someone to warm the bench dressed as a FB. Step forward senior WR Troy Matthews.

Sunny, 48 degrees. Bigger crowd, 36,100.

Win 31-13

The game starts badly. The only score in the first quarter is a 39-yard field goal to Illinois. The only score in the second quarter is a 36-yard field goal to Illinois, leaving the score 6-0 to the visitors to the break. Best not to think about what the coach said before the third quarter - but it worked:

3Q: 11:23 NDAM - Quinn Campbell 37 pass from Brad Agranoff.
3Q: 11:23 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
3Q: 04:25 NDAM - Harold Malone 4 run.
3Q: 04:25 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 06:43 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan 29 field goal.
4Q: 05:55 NDAM - Mario Mascorella 47 interception return.
4Q: 05:55 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 02:20 NDAM - Nicky Woodson 2 run.
4Q: 02:20 NDAM - Shawn McGarrahan extra point.
4Q: 00:05 ILLN - Jonathan Daft 1 run.
4Q: 00:05 ILLN - Ricky Namath extra point.

Shame about that last-five-seconds touchdown, though.

Overall the stats look like a rout. We outrushed them by 119 net yards to 102 and outpassed them by 227 yards to 90, to win 17 first downs to their nine. All this despite conceding 14 penalties (for 102 yards) to their four (for seventeen yards). We visited their red zone three times, they visited ours twice.

QB Agranoff was sacked twice in four attempts for minus nine yards but redeemed himself by succeeding with 17 of 25 pass attempts. QB Fazande came on right at the end, to attempt one run. Of the failed passes three were hurried, two defensed, one bad and one dropped (by RB Malone!). Successful passes were four of five screen, four of five between 1-10 yards, only six of twelve between 11-20 yards, but three of three over 20 yards. Make of that what you will.

Leading runner overall was RB Myers with 62, just ahead of RB Malone with 56.

WR Campbell caught seven of nine passes aimed in his general direction.

P Schneider excelled himself with a total of 302 yard in eight attempts (average 37.7), four of those eight landing in the opposition’s 20.

Foremost in the defense was ILB Hickman, with nine tackles (three for loss) and one interception. Next came DE Owens with four tackles (three for loss) and two sacks, DT Simmons with four tackles (one for loss) and CB Mascorella with four tackles and that interception touchdown. There was a third sack by DT Randle.

QB Agranoff, RB Malone, RB Myers and WR Campbell made the Players of the Week list. WR Campbell was the game’s MVP. RB Malone has been in the Players of the Week list every week we had a game this season.

On TV1 #29 Maryland lost 9-31 at #9 Florida State, who go 6-0.
On TV2 #26 Virginia Tech are shut out 0-21 at #21 Pittsburgh.

There are many new injuries - including RB Malone. Suddenly, my heart sinks.

Out for the rest of the season

DT Arnold - severe hamstring pull (new)
DT Bradford - back surgery (new)
CB Harrison - dislocated elbow.

Touch and go

RB Malone - doubtful - mononucleosis - 4 weeks (new)
RB McConnell - questionable - herniated disk - 4 weeks
DT Randle - doubtful - pulled groin - 3 weeks
TE Gillespie - questionable - mononucleosis - 2 weeks

Week 10

Recruitment

Phil Troutman, an offensive tackle from Buckeye Local High School in Rayland, Ohio, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He could be the real deal. 66++ (Dist)/Acad #2 T in Ohio #7 T in the nation and - wait for it - Nat Rank #57. He’s 6-6 and 280 pounds.

Leon Carter, a punter from Brookfield High School in Brookfield, Connecticut, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 62 - - Acad/Prest #1 P in Connecticut, and in the All-State team, Nat Rank #705. Well, we needed a P.

Plus five refusals.

The Match

At #9 Northwestern, and on TV3.

They like to play the Double-Wing, their starting QB likes to run all the time and they lead the nation in successful rushes.

Myers will start at RB. Otherwise, as before.

Sunny, 70 degrees.

Lose 3-34

One field goal, ten seconds from the end of the second quarter, between us and humiliation.

They outrushed us by 300 net yards to 56 (5.4 yards per attempt to 1.6) and outpassed us by 76 net yards to 74 (6.9 yards per attempt to 2.6), won 24 first downs to our 11, won five sacks to our one and entered our red zone five times (we reached theirs once).

QB Agranoff was sacked five times in eleven attempts for minus two yards and succeeded in only seven of 28 pass attempts. QB Fazande made a token appearance and ran six yards (forwards!). Of the 21 failed passes, eight were defensed, seven hurried and four intercepted. All seven successes came below 20 yards; all fifteen attempts at passes for more than 20 yards failed.

Running yardage was led by RB Woodson with 30, then RB Kincaid with 13 and then RB Myers with nine. So we had a chance with their scrubs, but not with their first team.

Taking the knocks in the defense were ILB Hickman with eight tackles (three for loss) followed by CB Mascorella with six (none for). The team’s one sack was jointly awarded to DE Money and ILB Hickman.

Nobody from Notre Dame makes the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 #4 Southern California are thrashed 0-40 by #3 Stanford, who go 8-0 with this win.
On TV2 #6 Nebraska pull off a closer win 27-21 at #11 Missouri.

One new injury - DE Necaise - questionable - pulled quadriceps muscle - 3 weeks.

Week 11

Recruitment

Albert Norton, an offensive guard from Bluefield High School in Bluefield, West Virginia, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Where to start? 75+ Acad*/Dist #1 G in West Virginia #11 G in the nation, in the All-State team, Nat Rank #121 6-4 and 266 pounds.

Jessie Fariman, a kicker from South Iredell High School in Statesville, North Carolina, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 47- but still #1 K in South Carolina (so in the All-State Team). Acad/Prest.

C.J. Batch, a defensive tackle from Dripping Springs High School in Dripping Springs, Texas, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 71- Acad*/Dist #2 DT in Texas Nat Rank #645.

The Match

At Minnesota. They are #79, we are up to #84. They are 3-6, we are 4-4.

They prefer the Pro-Formation.

Despite last week’s debacle, we keep faith with the same team.

Fair, 35 degrees.

Shut out 0-31

There’s nothing between us and humiliation this week. They outrushed us by 251 net yards to 124 (7.1 yards per attempt to 3.0) and though we outpassed them by 139 yards to 133 they beat us in yards per attempt by 8.3 yards to 6.3. Somehow, the stat for first downs was almost respectable; they won 17, we won 15. But they reached our red zone four times, while we did not reach theirs once.

QB Agranoff was sacked twice in six attempts for minus six yards, and succeeded in nine of 22 pass attempts. Of the failures, six were defensed, two blocked and two hurried. One of one screen pass succeeded, six of 13 below 20 yards and two of eight above 20 yards (so stop the long passing, OK?).

Leading runners were RB Woodson with 60 just ahead of RB Myers with 57.

Harsh words for K McGarrahan, who missed two of two field goal attempts.

Leaders of the defense were OLB Ciszek and DT Taylor, both with eight tackles but none for loss. There was one sack, by DT Simmons.

Once again, nobody from Notre Dame makes the Players of the Week list.

At least there’s no further injuries.

On TV1 #13 Texas A & M are thrashed 13-42 at #3 Texas, who go 10-0 with this win.
On TV2 #31 Virginia go down fighting 10-17 at #7 Florida State who go 8-0 with this win.

Roberto

06-18-2003, 12:43 AM

2007 Week 12

Recruitment

Rusty Lang, an outside linebacker from Deering High School in Portland, Maine, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 42+ Acad/Dist #1 OLB in Maine (so in the All-State team) but unranked nationally.

The Match

Hosting #24 Wisconsin.

They are 5-3 and 21-point favourites.

TE Gillespie is back from injury, and will take the role of backup FB.

Raining, 37 degrees. Crowd of 35,100.

Well, it’s not exactly a high scoring game. The first score is a 29-yard field goal from the visitors with 35 seconds to go in the second quarter. This is canceled out by a 24-yard field goal from K Schneider half way through the third quarter. And so it remains until the last minute or so …

1-10-NDAM16 (02:57) WISC 5 Mahoney sacked by NDAM 58 Garcia for a loss of 5 yards.
Sack allowed by WISC 74 Perkins.

2-15-NDAM21 (02:11) WISC 39 Evison ran up the middle for 4 yards. Tackled by NDAM 49 Ciszek.

3-11-NDAM17 (01:26) WISC 39 Evison ran off right guard for 4 yards. Tackled by NDAM 77 Beyer.

4-07-NDAM13 (01:02) WISC 15 Schultz attempted a 30 yard field goal and succeeded.

Score: Wisconsin 6, Notre Dame 3.
WISC 15 Schultz kicked off 70 yards from the WISC35. Touchback.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-NDAM20 (00:56) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 81 Campbell for 31 yards. Tackled by WISC 49 Fincher.
NDAM called time out.
--
1-10-WISC49 (00:47) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass fell incomplete, intended for 81 Campbell.
WISC 90 Hoover hurried the quarterback into a bad throw.

2-10-WISC49 (00:42) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 21 Woodson for 1 yard. Tackled by WISC 51 Sanders.
NDAM called time out.

3-09-WISC48 (00:35) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 81 Campbell for 27 yards. Tackled by WISC 45 Joseph.
NDAM called time out.
--
1-10-WISC21 (00:24) NDAM 1 McGarrahan attempted a 38 yard field goal and succeeded.

Score: Notre Dame 6, Wisconsin 6.

Wow!

NDAM 1 McGarrahan kicked off 74 yards from the NDAM35. Touchback.

Possession to Wisconsin.

1-10-WISC20 (00:17) WISC 5 Mahoney pass completed to 4 Boyd for 22 yards. Tackled by NDAM 27 McCarthy.
WISC called time out.
--
1-10-WISC42 (00:10) WISC 39 Evison ran up the middle for 9 yards. Tackled by NDAM 99 Simmons.
Key block delivered by WISC 71 Tanner.

This leads to overtime:

Start of Overtime: Wisconsin won the toss and elected to start on defense.

Beginning of Overtime 1.

1-10-WISC25 (15:00) NDAM 32 Myers ran up the middle for 2 yards. Tackled by WISC 49 Fincher, assisted by WISC 91 Snyder.

2-08-WISC23 (14:37) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 28 Kincaid for 7 yards. Tackled by WISC 45 Joseph.

3-01-WISC16 (14:07) Penalty: WISC - Offsides.
--
1-10-WISC11 (14:01) NDAM 21 Woodson ran off right guard for -3 yards. Tackled by WISC 90 Hoover.

2-13-WISC14 (13:33) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 81 Campbell for 14 yards and a touchdown!
Extra point by NDAM 1 McGarrahan was good.

Possession to Wisconsin.

1-10-NDAM25 (15:00) WISC 5 Mahoney pass fell incomplete, intended for 24 Tolbert.
NDAM 99 Simmons hurried the quarterback into a bad throw.

2-10-NDAM25 (14:55) WISC 5 Mahoney pass was underthrown, intended for 4 Boyd.

3-10-NDAM25 (14:46) WISC 5 Mahoney pass completed to 24 Tolbert for 16 yards. Tackled by NDAM 52 Hickman.
--
1-09-NDAM09 (13:59) WISC 5 Mahoney ran up the middle for 2 yards. Tackled by NDAM 49 Ciszek, assisted by NDAM 52 Hickman.

2-07-NDAM07 (13:23) WISC 39 Evison ran off left tackle for 0 yards. Tackled by NDAM 78 Ford, assisted by NDAM 49 Ciszek.

3-07-NDAM07 (12:48) WISC 5 Mahoney sacked by NDAM 95 Money for a loss of 5 yards.
Sack allowed by WISC 71 Tanner.

4-12-NDAM12 (12:09) WISC 5 Mahoney pass completed to 39 Evison for 9 yards. Tackled by NDAM 20 Mascorella.
The ball goes over on downs.

Win 13-6 in overtime!

What of the stats? Well, they outrushed us by 149 net yards to 86 and outpassed us by 180 yards to 171 to win 18 first downs to our 12. They conceded two sacks, to our none.

QB Agranoff didn’t try any running plays. He succeeded with thirteen of nineteen passing attempts. Woooooo!!! Of the six failures, three were hurried, one blocked, one defensed and one intercepted. By contrast, Wisconsin’s senior QB Herman "Munster" Mahoney, whom Scout Long reported as not liking to run, tried nine rushes and was sacked twice for nineteen yards overall and succeeded with thirteen of twenty-one pass attempts.

RB Myers rushed 52 yards, and backup RB Woodson 26 yards.

You can guess it was the defense what won it, and in particular the ILB. ILB Hickman and ILB Ciszek both made ten tackles (one each for loss), followed in the rankings by DE Ford with seven (two for), then DT Taylor, S Salinas and OLB Shelton with five each. The sacks were made by DE Money and OLB Garcia.

C Ferderer was the game’s MVP, but only QB Agranoff made the Players of the Week list.

Meanwhile, there was a Big Ten game on TV1. #1 Michigan went 10-0 with a 35-24 win over #15 Penn State.
On TV2 #16 Florida were narrowly defeated 17-24 at #20 Vanderbilt.

Summary of injuries

Out long term

DT Arnold - severe hamstring pull
DT Bradford - back surgery
CB Harrison - dislocated elbow.
T Herndon - hip pointer (new)
DT Randle - pulled groin (new)

Touch and go

DE Necaise - probable - pulled quadriceps muscle - 1 week
RB Malone - doubtful - mononucleosis - 1 week
RB McConnell - questionable - herniated disk - 1 week

Week 13

Academics

Grades are out.

Brad Filar, a cornerback, is at risk for failing a class this year. Failing a class costs students a year of participation in school sports.

Three more on D- OLB Thorpe, K Imme and S Feugill.

Recruitment

T.J. Humphrey, a quarterback from Columbia City High School in Columbia City, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 51+ Acad/Dist #1 QB in Indiana #25 QB in the nation Nat Rank #290

Xavier Humphrey, a defensive tackle from Freehold Township High School in Freehold, New Jersey, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 39+ Acad*/Prest #2 DT in NJ and in the All-State team.

Lenny Wagner, an inside linebacker from Tullahoma High School in Tullahoma, Tennessee, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 41+ Prest/(Dist) #6 ILB in Tennessee.

Max Atkins, a safety from Bunn High School in Bunn, North Carolina, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Could be a real star. 81+ Prest/Acad #1 S in North Carolina (in the All-state team) Nat Rank #161.

The Match

We end the season at rivals Purdue.

They are #31 and 8-2. We are #84 and 5-5.

They prefer the Veer formation.

End-of-season roster roundup:

QB: Agranoff, then Reed then Fazande.

Starting at FB is TE Overby, then TE Gillespie.

Starting at TE is Workman, then Williamson.

Starting at RB is Myers, then (for his last hurrah) the partly fit McConnell.

Flanker Campbell, Split End Quinn, backup WR Cornplow then Walker.

OL: with Herndon injured G Szilter is in at LT, then LG Fisk C Ferderer RG Benson and RT Downs.

Sunny, 61 degrees.

A win will create my first winning season at Notre Dame.

Lose 14-43

To be honest, it was a rout. They ran up ten points in the first quarter and seventeen in the second without any response. Our contribution was a touchdown by WR Campbell in the third quarter and a 54-yard interception return by S Salinas in the fourth.

They outrushed us by 397 net yards to 28 (that’s 7.2 yards per carry to 1.0) and just to rub it in also outpassed us by 139 yards to 106, to win 31 first downs to our seven. They stormed our red zone six times for (only) three touchdowns and three field goals; we only reached theirs once.

QB Agranoff was sacked four times in five attempts, for twenty negative yards. He succeeded with nine of twenty-nine pass attempts. Of the twenty failures, five were hurried, eight defensed, three intercepted, two bad, one blocked and one dropped (by TE Workman). Eight of twelve attempts below twenty yards succeeded, but only one of fifteen above twenty yards. Surely a lesson there for next year.

Rushing yardage was generally pitiful. RB Myers in his farewell game made sixteen yards, RB McConnell made fifteen and RB Woodson fourteen. (Contrast Purdue’s RBs Clay Buckley with 187 and Marshall "Gordon" Bennett with 172 (and three touchdowns), neither of whom have been regular starters this season!).

Trying their best in the defense were again ILB Ciszek (also in his farewell game)with eleven tackles (none for loss) and ILB Hickman with eight (one for loss), followed by S Feugill, DE Ford and DE Beyer with five each. There was one sack, by DE Money.

Somehow, RB Myers made the Players of the Week list. It must have been out of pity.

So ends Notre Dame’s season:

Overall 5-6; Conference 5-3; fourth in the Big 10.

92 in the Coaches’ poll.
79 in the fans’ poll
Overall ranking 80.

On TV1 #4 Louisville went 11-0 with a 35-28 home win over Texas Christian.
On TV2 #22 West Virginia were shut out 0-34 at #12 Pittsburgh.

Roberto

06-18-2003, 12:46 AM

2007 Post Season

Recruitment continues.

Week 14

Derrick Kassotis, a tight end from Centennial High School in Corona, California, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 39+ Acad*/Prest #9 WR in California with GPA 3.67.

On TV1 #36 Auburn are squeezed out 26-31 at #28 Alabama.
On TV2 #6 Florida State go 11-0 with a 22-14 win at #33 Florida.

Week 15

Andrew Dell, a tight end from Webster High School in Webster, New York, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 36+ Acad/Dist #7 TE in New York with GPA 3.82. He’ll fit well on the bench.

Which ends the recruiting. It includes the players ranked 57, 121 and 161 and 7 others in the top 1,000.

Nine were black-coded, one red-coded, five blue-coded and one green-coded.

Thirteen have GPA above 3.00.

At the end of the regular season, the unbeaten teams are Michigan, Florida State, Texas, Louisville and Rice. Two teams are 0-11 - Iowa and Temple.

In the play-off semi-finals:

#1 Michigan beat #2 Texas 20-17.
#4 Florida State are crushed 8-34 by #3 Stanford

And in the final Stanford beat Michigan 14-10.

Player of the Year for the second year running was Robbie Ferguson QB at Southern California:
303-for-475, 4443 yards, 42TD, 9Int.

Notre Dame have one entry in the National Awards.

Graham Ciszek - Academic Team OLB

The Big Ten awards honour:

Preston Workman - Second Team TE and Academic Team TE
Graham Ciszek - Second Team OLB (for second year running) and (for fourth year running) Academic Team OLB
Jay Ferderer - Academic Team C
R J Fisk - Academic Team G (third year running).

Roberto

06-21-2003, 11:12 AM

Notre Dame Schedule

Rival: Purdue
Stadium Capacity: 52,400
Season Tickets Sold: 27,700



Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 at Ohio L, 28-35 13,500 Rain, 46 TV 5
2 at Western Michigan L, 24-35 7,700 Rain, 47
3 at North Carolina State L, 13-38 26,100 Sunny, 69
$$5 at Iowa W, 31-6 25,400 Rain, 44
$$6 OHIO STATE W, 34-31 33,400 Sunny, 55
$$8 (48) MICHIGAN STATE W, 17-0 33,400 Sunny, 56
$$9 (42) ILLINOIS W, 31-13 36,100 Sunny, 48 TV 5
$$10 at (27) Northwestern L, 3-34 40,800 Sunny, 70 TV 3
$$11 at Minnesota L, 0-31 49,800 Sunny, 35
$$12 (21) WISCONSIN W, 13-6 35,100 Rain, 37
$$13 at (25) Purdue L, 14-43 62,600 Sunny, 61



Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games

Roberto

06-21-2003, 11:13 AM

2007 Season Standings, Big Ten



School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Michigan 14 1 0 .933 502 114 8 0 0 1.000 299 56 Lost 1
Purdue 11 3 0 .785 360 263 6 2 0 .750 195 126 Lost 1
Michigan State 6 5 0 .545 256 221 5 3 0 .625 187 131 Won 3
**Notre Dame 5 6 0 .454 208 272 5 3 0 .625 143 164 Lost 1
Northwestern 7 4 0 .636 269 178 4 4 0 .500 162 145 Lost 3
Wisconsin 7 4 0 .636 230 227 4 4 0 .500 149 198 Won 2
Penn State 6 5 0 .545 378 202 4 4 0 .500 250 164 Lost 2
Illinois 6 5 0 .545 247 251 4 4 0 .500 170 182 Won 1
Minnesota 4 7 0 .363 226 249 3 5 0 .375 143 160 Lost 1
Ohio State 3 8 0 .272 210 282 1 7 0 .125 130 239 Lost 1
Iowa 0 11 0 .000 91 421 0 8 0 .000 61 324 Lost 21

Roberto

06-21-2003, 11:14 AM

2007 RECRUITMENT



Player Pos HT WT ST NRank GPA Scout

Humphrey, T J QB 6-0 190 IN 290 3.59 51+
Fulton, Phil RB 6-0 198 CT 535 3.47 64+
Guthrie, Adam FB 5-8 191 IN 751 3.56 53++
$$ Kassotis, Derrick TE 6-3 221 CA - - 3.82 39+
$$ Dell, Andrew TE 6-6 259 NY - - 3.67 36+
Hoffman, Marshall C 6-2 261 IN 397 3.46 66+
Norton, Albert G 6-4 266 WV 121 3.83 75+
$$ Troutman, Phil T 6-6 280 OH 57 3.71 66++
Carter, Leon P 5-9 171 CT 705 3.75 62- -
$$ Fariman, Jessie K 6-2 189 NC - - 3.12 47-
Batch, C J DT 6-3 261 TX 645 2.71 71-
** Humphrey, Xavier DT 6-4 271 NJ - - 3.88 39+
## Wagner, Lenny ILB 6-2 230 TN - - 2.98 41+
$$ Lang, Rusty OLB 6-3 205 ME - - 3.78 42+
Hoover, Reggie CB 5-10 173 WI 440 2.13 59++
Atkins, Max S 6-0 181 NC 161 3.71 81+



$$ - likely interest. ## - almost certain interest. ** - bit of a stretch. No prefix - unlikely to be interested.

Roberto

06-26-2003, 12:43 AM

2007 Summary for Notre Dame

Record: 5-6
Rank: 92



Notre Dame Team Rank
Rushes 425 43 (T)
Rushing Yards 1379 71
Yards Per Carry 3.24 92
Pass Attempts 262 103 (T)
Completions 134 106
Passing Yards 2036 76 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 7.77 34
3rd Down Conversions 35.0 59
Points Per Game 18.9 90 (T)
Turnovers 16 26 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 37 (T)
.

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 437 100 (T)
Rushing Yards 2159 123
Yards Per Carry 4.94 124
Pass Attempts 253 1
Completions 130 1
Passing Yards 1918 13
Yards Per Attempt 7.58 94
3rd Down Conversions 37.8 86
Points Per Game 24.7 76



All the figures have gone up (except the turnover margin), but they needed to! Most encouraging is the passing yardage; the total has almost doubled (from 1141 to 2036) as has the yards per attempt (from 4.85 to 7.77). The average points per game has more than doubled - though from a pretty low base.



Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
7 Agranoff QB 223 116 1715 7.69 10 14
4 Reed QB 38 18 321 8.44 2 0
Team --- 262 134 2036 7.77 12 14



Attempts up (from 235), completions up (from 104), yards way up (from 1141) and the yards per attempt also way up (from 4.85 in 2006 and 5.67 in 2007). Reed didn't play much but his yards per attempt rose from 4.85 in 2006 to 8.44!



Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
22 Malone RB 159 671 4.22 6 47 76
32 Myers RB 140 547 3.90 3 38 49
7 Agranoff QB 46 -37 -0.80 0 24 131
21 Woodson RB 44 133 3.02 1 13 17
Team --- 425 1379 3.24 11 134 307



Attempts up a little (from 379) and yardage too (from 1116), and also yards per attempt (from 3.24). Myers was the only one to feature in last year's stats; he palyed a lot more this year and his yards per attempt rose from 3.33. Only downside is QB Agranoff's negative yardage



Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
81 Campbell WR 86 39 654 16.7 326 6
89 Workman TE 42 25 431 17.2 162 3
84 Overby TE 26 17 227 13.3 62 0
22 Malone RB 26 15 302 20.1 179 3
85 Williamson TE 23 9 142 15.7 32 0
32 Myers RB 14 8 114 14.2 65 0
29 McConnell RB 11 5 34 6.8 32 0
Team --- 262 134 2036 15.1 881 12



Attempts up (from 235), and successes up by almost exactly as much (from 104), but markedly more yards gained (up from 1141 in 2006 and 1373 in 2005) which means many more yards per catch (up from 10.9 in 2006 and 13.0 in 2005). Oh, and double the number of touchdowns! Workman and Malone are the only two from last years' stats, and both more than doubled their yards per catch.



Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
49 Ciszek OLB 73 22 0.0 10 0 3
77 Beyer DE 61 30 1.0 4 0 1
52 Hickman ILB 48 15 1.5 9 2 2
78 Ford DE 36 17 3.0 8 0 0
57 Shelton OLB 36 16 1.0 3 0 2
90 Taylor DT 33 19 0.5 8 0 0
20 Mascorella CB 30 8 0.0 3 3 4
26 Feugill S 28 9 0.0 2 0 10
37 Salinas S 27 13 0.0 1 2 7
30 Coffman S 26 9 0.0 4 1 2
58 Garcia OLB 23 7 2.0 5 0 2
99 Simmons DT 20 8 5.0 6 0 1
71 Arnold DT 17 7 3.0 5 0 0
95 Money DE 16 13 2.5 4 0 0
23 Voetberg S 12 0 0.0 2 1 0
Team --- 615 213 29.0 87 9 41



Fewer tackles and TFL down (from 680 and 90 respectively) but only two fewer sacks (down from 31.0). Ciszek led the line for the third successive year.

Roberto

06-26-2003, 12:50 AM

2007 DEPARTING SENIORS



. Achieved Potential
Reed, Roosevelt QB 24 41
Myers, Ricardo RB 33 33
Matthews, Troy FB 13 42
Workman, Preston TE 36 36
Farmer, Jay TE 12 12
Quinn, Morris WR 29 67
Crockett, Daniel C 11 36
Fisk, R J G 32 32
Benson, Bo G 16 9
Gordon, Terry G 10 16
Schneider, Jonnie P 53 58
McGarrahan, Shawn K 44 44
Money, Rick DE 32 45
Murphy, Henry DT 7 9
Randle, Casey DT 3 13
Kelley, Deion ILB 6 6
Ciszek, Graham OLB 32 83
Gardner, Gino CB 25 25



QB Reed was injury-prone, which relegated him to the role of a backup even in the years when the team lacked better alternatives. He played in 12 matches and started 9 (3 and 3 in 2006 and 2007 combined). Overall he attempted 37 runs, was sacked 22 times and had negative yards of -84. He succeeded with 76 of 198 pass attempts, with passing yardage of 1087, 6 passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and a QB Rating of 135.6 overall. But he has been an outstanding student. He enters his final year of study with a GPA of 3.84, and with only three (of twenty) subject grades to date lower than straight A. Those straight As include all four years of his major, Electrical Engineering.

RB Myers was a backup until his last year. He played in all 44 games for which he was eligible, but only started 19, including every game in 2007. His overall running yardage was 909 yards in 249 attempts, an average of 3.6 yards per attempt and 49.7 yards per game. He caught 12 passes and dropped 4 for 132 yards, an average of 11.0. Crucially, he only scored three touchdowns (all from running plays) but nevertheless managed to collect 75 stokes. A reasonably good student, he enters his last year of study with GPA 3.20 and only six (of twenty) subject grades to date below straight B.

Troy Matthews spent most of his time as a WR, before converting to FB to make up space on the bench in his final year. Either way, he was a walk-on with no visible talent above his neck. He played in 27 games, but did not start any of them. A fourth-quarter substitute (and the later the better), his stats disclose no running plays and only one targeted pass, which failed to reach him. Off the field, he enters his final year of study with GPA of 2.08 and no As in his record. To be fair the grades in his major, Geography, have all been variants of B and his has taken mostly serious classes since his freshman year (in which his grades included B- in Bartending I, C in Telemarketing I and D- in Professional Wrestling I).

TE Workman was another backup until his final year. He played in 40 games but only started 15 of them, ten of those in 2007. He caught 37 passes and dropped five for 565 yards, an average of 15.2 and scored three touchdowns. His talents lay more off the field. An outstanding student with GPA 3.92 and straight As in 22 of 25 subject grades, his major was Jurisprudence. He was honored as a Big Ten 2nd Team and All-Academic TE in his senior year, 2007.

TE Farmer was another Jurisprudence major, who walked on but was never more than a backup on the field. He played in 37 games but did not start in any of them. Another fourth-quarter substitute, he had no stats of note. He enters his final year of study with GPA 3.37; after a rocky first year with no As of any kind (and a D in Computer Game Design) he knuckled down and achieved nine straight As and one A- this year and last. And his girlfriend is named Pandora.

WR Quinn was yet another Jurisprudence major and yet another backup. He played in 34 games, but did not start any of them. He made four successful catches and dropped one, with no touchdowns to his name. GPA 3.01. Nothing else of note.

C Crockett looked a decent enough Center, ending his playing career at 6-3 and 322 pounds. He started every game in 2005 - which was the team’s second 0-11 season. In all he played in 30 games, but only started those eleven in 2005. Overall, he made two key run blocks (a percentage of 12.5%) and allowed 5 sacks (only 1.7%). GPA 2.93, majoring in English.

G Fisk may not have been the biggest bear in the OL (6-4 and ending his playing career at 312 pounds), but he was ever present for three years. He played in 39 games, starting in 34 of them including all eleven games in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He made 42 key run blocks (a percentage of 27.4%) and allowed eleven sacks (1.5%). Another star academic, his GPA was 3.90 and only three (of 25) subject grades were below straight A. He was awarded a place in the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Majoring in Nuclear Engineering, he is reputed to be able to split the atom and chew gum at the same time.

G Gordon was a occasional backup. He played in only six games (not starting any of them), three in 2003, one in 2006 and two in 2007. He had no stats of note. GPA 3.37, majoring in Computer Science.

G Benson came from Rocky Mountain HS, Colorado and was built like one; 6-7 ending his playing career at 332 pounds. He played in 38 games, starting in 22 of them. Curiously, he started no games in 2004, ten (of ten) in 2005, none in 2006 and then all eleven in 2007! He made 19 key run blocks (a percentage of 25.6%) and allowed 13 sacks (2.6%). Solid rock between the ears, he needed a lot of academic help and enters his last year of study with GPA 2.61. His major is Geology.

P Schneider punted in 33 games, every game in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In this time he kicked 276 punts, 62 of which landed inside the opposition’s 20, for an average of 35.7 yards. He leaves with GPA 3.76 and a record of straight As in his major, Medicine.

K McGarrahan was the real deal. One of the longest kickers-off for distance in his generation, he played a role in 43 of the 44 games of which he was eligible. He scored 16 field goals in 39 attempts, the longest of which was 41 yards, and 69 points after the touchdown (of 70 attempted). Not that he had too many touchdowns to attempt to score after! GPA 3.75, twenty subject grades at A or A- and the other five versions of B, including four straight As and one A- in his major, Business.

DE Money played in 36 games but started only ten of them. His overall record was 55 tackles, 16 for loss, and 9 sacks. Nobody’s idea of an intellectual, he leaves with GPA 2.84. Majoring in Astronomy.

DT Murphy was a non-scholarship career backup. He played in 30 games but only started two of them. His overall record was 8 tackles, one for loss, and 1.5 sacks awarded. A reasonable student majoring in Communications, he enters his last year of study with GPA 2.91.

DT Randle was another non-scholarship career backup. He played in 26 games but only started one of them. His overall record was 4 tackles, none for loss, and one sack. Another Jurisprudence major (what! Will this line stretch out until the crack of doom?) he enters his fourth year of study with GPA 2.87.

ILB Kelley was a talent-free zone. Another non-scholarship career backup, he played in 38 games but started only one of them. His overall record was eight tackles, none for loss, three assists and no sacks. His lack of talent extended into class, with asp9/int29 it took a lot of support to get his GPA up to the dizzy height of 3.00. Majoring in Geography.

OLB Ciszek is the star of the outgoing seniors. He started all 44 games for which he was eligible after his redshirt year. He made 274 tackles, 41 for loss and 104 assists and was credited with four sacks. An outstanding student, majoring in Differential Equations, he leaves with GPA 3.92, straight As in twenty of twenty-five subject grades (plus four A- and one B+). He was selected for the Big Ten All-Acadeimic Team in all four years in which he played, the National All-Academic Team in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and the Big Ten Second Team in 2006 and 2007. All this through four losing seasons, two of them 0-11. How much recognition could he have gained had the offense been up to the same standard?

CB Gardner was a backup until his final year, playing in 42 games but only starting in twelve of them (including all eleven in 2007). He made 26 tackles, none for loss, and ten assists (but no sacks), intercepted one passes (for 58 yards) and defensed three. GPA 3.31, majoring in Marketing.

Roberto

06-26-2003, 12:53 AM

b] 2007 Notre Dame Individual All-Time Season Records [/b]

Taking 2001-2007 as "all-time", what new Notre Dame records were set in 2007?

Passing completions: QB Agranoff with 116

Passing Yards: QB Agranoff with 1,715

Rushing Touchdowns: RB Malone with 6

Receiving Touchdowns: WR Campbell with 6

Touchdowns Scored: RB Malone with 9.

Roberto

06-26-2003, 12:54 AM

2007 Grades



Team Performance: 74/100
Academic Performance 83/100
Recruiting Performance 100/100
TV Revenue 74/100
Alumni Donations 60/100
Attendance at Stadium 37/100
.
Overall 70/100

Roberto

06-29-2003, 10:53 AM

CHALLENGE DYNASTY - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROCKNE 2008

Reminder: Initial Settings:

Everything on manual - in practice, I rely heavily on the coordinators’ recommendations for team selection and game plan.

Last Season

My best season yet at 5-6.

Overall rank 80 (up from 114).

The College

The one and only Notre Dame

Academic reputation now averages 69 (up from 65), which puts us 9 of 125 (up from 12). Subject rankings are now uniformly high, from 3 (Geology) to 15 (of 125) (Latin and Philosophy). Remember there are three subjects we don’t offer: Sociology, Social Work and Political Science. Undergraduate GPA is steady at 2.91. At this rate Notre Dame will soon join the Ivy League.



Community loyalty: Pretty Good
Alumni loyalty: Decent
Student goodwill: Pretty Good (was Good)



Season tickets sold have increased with the turnaround - up to 31,200 (from 27,700).

Prestige is up to 64 (from 59).

At the start of the season we’re at 109 in the coaches’ poll, 87 in the fans’ poll and ranked 103 overall.

Ticket Prices

This is still not a time to raise prices.

Start of Season e-mails.

Brad Filar, a cornerback, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

He’s a walk-on, useless on the field and useless off it (GPA 0.88 for goodness’ sake) and can’t even get himself a girlfriend. The sooner he walks off again, the better.

Job offers from Ohio State (Prestige 71, Ac Rep 42) Tennessee (72 and 46) and Southern Mississippi (70 and 30). No - not when I’m finally turning the program around.

New coaches at North Carolina, Auburn, Bowling Green, Miami of Florida, Virginia Tech, Colorado, Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Clemson and Memphis.

Wally Foley of Michigan has been named Coach of the Year for his performance this past season.

Again.

The good news is what isn’t there:

No staff retirements.
Nobody left for lack of playing time.
Nobody suspended for off-the-field activity.
Nobody wants more free time.
No broken relationships.

And the word on campus is that four of the squad have acquired girlfriends since the start of last season.

Staff Hiring

Morris Thornton has been hired away from his position of offensive coordinator.

Well, I’ll be …

Just when we were succeeding at running the wishbone.

He’s gone to the Air Force.

New coaches at Tennessee, Iowa, Washington State, Louisiana State, Wyoming, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, Southern Methodist, Tulsa, Akron, Central Florida, Connecticut, Bakersfield and San Francisco.

Roberto

06-29-2003, 10:55 AM

2008 COACHING STAFF

With the OC off to the Air Force, we look seriously at all the positions.

Syndicate Coordinator: Scottie Hammond
Age: 57
Academic Eligibility: Terrific
Syndicate Investigation: Lousy (was Terrible)
Solicit Donations: Terrible

He’s still the best available for academics. The donations have started to flow again now that we’re winning.

Defensive Coordinator: Jerome Gaines
Age: 42
Play Calling: Pretty Good
Injury Avoidance: Pretty Good
Rehab: Decent (was Fair)
Congeniality: Good
DL: Very Good (was Pretty Good)
LB: Terrible
Sec: Terrible

There’s nobody else interested who calls plays so well and can avoid injuries.

Offensive Coordinator: Leo Douglas (was Morris Thornton)
Age: 32
Play Calling: Pretty Good (MT was Excellent)
Injury Avoidance: Decent (MT was Poor)
Rehab: Terrible (MT was Good)
Congeniality: Good (MT was Decent)
QB: Good (MT was Decent)
RB: Very Good (MT was Pretty Good)
R: Decent (MT was Terrific)
OL: Fair (so was MT)
K: Terrific (MT was Lousy)
Current Offense: None

Nobody interested matched MT at play calling (perhaps that why the Air Force wanted him). Douglas’ big weakness is rehab. He’s as good, if not better, at developing the players.

Great Lakes Scout: Claude Joyner (was Gary Long)
Age: 36
QB: Good (GL was Decent)
RB: Poor (GL was Lousy)
REC: Terrific (GL was Fair)
OL: Good (GL was Pretty Good)
PK: Excellent (GL was Pretty Good)
DL: Terrific (GL was Decent)
LB: Fair (GL was Good)
Sec: Poor (GL was Fair)

He’s a clear improvement.

Roberto

06-29-2003, 10:56 AM

2008 Freshmen



Player Pos Current Future Scouted

Humphrey, T J QB 12 58 51+
Fulton, Phil RB 20 47 64+
Guthrie, Adam FB 26 46 53++
Dell, Andrew TE 19 52 36+
Kassotis, Derrick TE 16 23 39+
Hoffman, Marshall C 14 63 66+
Norton, Albert G 21 95 75+
Thompson, Michael G 6 19 walk-on
Troutman, Phil T 8 54 66++
Carter, Leon P 29 56 62- -
Chapman, Harry P 1 17 walk-on
Fariman, Jessie K 12 56 47-
Humphrey, Xavier DT 17 36 39+
Batch, C J DT 32 70 71-
Wagner, Lenny ILB 4 48 41+
Lang, Rusty OLB 8 53 42+
Hoover, Reggie CB 38 80 59++
Atkins, Max S 43 63 81+



There’s always differences of opinion between scouts, and the change in GL scout adds one more layer of potential disagreement.

Bearing that in mind, TE Dell could develop into a better player that anticipated and RB Fulton TE Kassotis and T Troutman are the main disappointments. As G Norton was ranked #57 overall in the nation last year, I’m inclined to be optimistic about his prospects.

Roberto

06-29-2003, 11:00 AM

2008 ROSTER

With the change in Great Lakes scout, some of the comparisons may be distorted. Marking up the perceived changes to potential, as well as ability, may be some guide to this.



Chorak, Eugene # 16 QB Sr* 5 +5 15 +15
Fazande, Wade 11 QB Jr 20 -5 70 +9
Agranoff, Brad # 7 QB Jr* 43 +16 55 -18
Farley, Kurt 11 QB So* 22 +15 39 -9
Humphrey, T J 4 QB Fr 12 58



Scout Long was only "decent" at assessing the QB. Scout Joyner is said to be "good", so these changes are likely to be on the side of greater accuracy.

We’ve lost the injury-prone Reed, but he wasn’t the best QB on the team. Agranoff looks to be the best by a long way, but Fazande has the greater potential. Farley looks to have improved in his redshirt year, but he’ll be a backup. Humphrey has taken over Reed’s old shirt. Redshirt him, to see how he’ll improve, and hope it’s not an omen.



McConnell, Brenden 29 RB Sr~ 38 +8 38 -13
Malone, Harold 22 RB Sr* 42 -2 45 -28
Kincaid, Marc 28 RB Sr* 17 -1 55 +9
Carlson, Josh 46 RB Jr* 54 +17 70 -8
Woodson, Nicky 21 RB Jr* 25 1- 52 -7
Fulton, Phil 48 RB Fr 20 47
.
Diaz, Deron 33 FB Jr 21 -3 51 +9
Samson, Glenn # 43 FB Jr 6 +0 37 +9
Guthrie, Adam 32 FB Fr 26 46



Scout Long had a real blind spot with the RB. Scout Joyner isn’t an expert but as "Poor" rather than "Lousy", he’s an improvement.

We’ve lost RB Myers, but RB Malone was better, and had better figures last year. Carlson was redshirted last year and has come on amazingly. Try to redshirt Fulton.

The FB are still there to make up the numbers, but it might be worth redshirting Guthrie - if only to mark his temerity in taking over Myers’ old shirt.



Gillespie, Cole 98 TE Sr~ 30 +9 43 +9
Overby, Jim # 84 TE Sr~ 30 +7 34 +11
Berman, Marlon 93 TE Jr* 28 +9 28 -6
Williamson, Corwin 85 TE Jr* 23 -5 41 +11
Finch, Terry 91 TE So* 23 -4 39 -6
Dell, Andrew 89 TE Fr 19 52
Kassotis, Derrick 88 TE Fr 16 23
.
Cornplow, Bill 3 WR Sr~ 29 +1 49 -10
Campbell, Quinn 81 WR Sr* 38 +4 49 -6
Walker, Peter 87 WR Jr* 20 +6 61 -11
Plante, Raymond 86 WR So* 28 -5 49 -13



Scout Joyner is "Terrific" with Receivers, but all his news is bad.

We’ve lost three of last year’s TE, Workman, Farmer and Matthews. The last two weren’t much of a loss. Still, they don’t leave an abundance of talent. Redshirt the freshmen, and hope Dell develops into a worthwhile player.

WR have lost last year’s best Quinn, and what’s left look to be worse than had been thought. Campbell is the least bad, Plante still can’t make any yardage after the catch and Walker even less.



Beckwith, Billy 54 C Sr* 23 +14 73 +25
Ferderer, Jay 51 C Sr 28 +1 42 +7
Stockman, Lorenzo 55 C So* 20 -4 72 +9
Battle, Dave 53 C So* 30 -3 72 -8
Crockett, Daniel 59 C Sr 11 -2 36
.
Szilter, Malcolm # 64 G Sr~ 21 +5 21 +5
Godfrey, Brady 65 G Sr~ 11 -3 43 +25
Rehberg, Levon 73 G So* 8 +1 27 -26
Norton, Albert 76 G Fr 21 95
Thompson, Michael # 72 G Fr 6 19
.
Wilkins, Lamar 69 T Sr 18 -1 39 +18
Morrison, Jackie # 60 T Sr* 3 -5 3 -5
Fulton, John # 61 T Sr 11 -4 22 -8
Alcott, Isaac # 62 T Sr 3 -0 26 +17
Downs, Maurice 70 T Jr* 24 +0 58 +7
Callens, B J 79 T Jr 20 -3 26 +3
Wilkins, B J 68 T So* 12 -1 22 -10
Troutman, Phil 66 T Fr 8 24



We don’t exactly need five Centres, but Hoffman looked too good to turn down, especially as he’s almost a home town boy (from Garrett, 53 miles or so from South Bend). But we were deceived! - with endurance of 6, he can’t last out a quarter. He’ll redshirt and hit the weights, to bulk him up from 264 pounds. Of the others, Beckwith has come on greatly (up by another twelve pounds to 316 pounds) but he’s still only 22/10/28, Ferderer is still on the light side (up only six pounds to 289), Battle has gained six pounds to 294 pounds and Stockman twelve pounds to 278. Battle’s main strength is endurance (100!) and he’ll find a place in the line.

We need good C to backup the weak G. We’ve lost three of last year’s G, Fisk, Gordon and Benson, but Benson and Gordon were totally ineffective. "Daddy Bear" Szilter at 6-8 has put on another five pounds to 343 pounds and can block the opposition just by standing still. Rehberg (6-4 and 300 pounds) and Godfrey (6-6 and 341 pounds) are all endurance and no talent. For all his potential, Norton looks to have the same problem; he’ll redshirt and try to bulk up from 275 pounds.

Lots of T but few of them can do it on the field. We’ve lost last year’s best, Herndon. Downs is another brickhouse at 6-7 and 335 pounds (up seven pounds)). Callens is a bust; with endurance of six he can’t last a quarter. Try to redshirt Troutman.



Armagost, Roosevelt 9 P So* 28 +18 53 +10
Carter, Leon 10 P Fr 29 56
Chapman, Harry 13 P Fr 1 17
.
Imme, William 18 K Jr* 31 +15 81 +9
Finch, Kenyon 17 K So* 37 +35 69 +7
Fariman, Jessie 19 K Fr 12 56



We’ve lost last year’s starter P Schneider. Fortunately, Armagost developed quickly in his redshirt year. Carter will be a pretty good backup and will redshirt. Chapman is a talent-free zone.

Last year’s best kicker McGarrahan has also gone. Imme and Finch are both touchback specialists and can’t do much else. Fariman is the same, only worse.



Ford, Jessie 78 DE Sr~ 34 +6 38 -25
Necaise, Chuck 92 DE Sr~ 49 +7 62 -10
Beyer, Duane 77 DE Sr~ 34 +8 68 +7
May, Kirk # 94 DE Sr* 17 +6 20 +9
Owens, Gino 56 DE Jr* 20 +1 57 +9
Clements, Rico 74 DE So* 25 -3 84 +7
Prior, Bo 96 DE So 9 -3 29 -27
.
Arnold, Jessie 71 DT Sr 34 +9 61 -10
Taylor, Ben 90 DT Sr 40 +8 62 -10
Simmons, Ben # 99 DT Sr 8 -1 32 -11
Womble, Ronald 67 DT Jr* 18 +15 51 +10
Bradford, Victor18 DT So 26 +9 40 -7
Batch, C J 97 DT Fr 32 70
Humphrey, Xavier95 DT Fr 17 36



Scout Joyner is "Terrific" with the DL, so these huge changes are to a more accurate assessment.

One of last year’s DEs has left, Rick Money, but he was only a backup. Necaise is now the best, with Beyer and Ford next in line - and all three of them will leave this year! Looks like May and Prior will never amount to much on the field. Owens and Clements will need to develop fast.

Last year’s departed DTs, Murphy and Randle, were also career backups. Arnold and Taylor are the best, Bradford will have to be backup, Simmons and possibly Womble should never do more than warm the bench. To balance out for next year, try to redshirt Arnold as well as the freshmen.



Hickman, Lester 52 ILB Sr 38 +16 46 +6
Reed, Neil # 47 ILB Sr* 2 +0 17 +15
Stargell, Vincent41 ILB Jr 15 -6 25 +4
Wagner, Lenny 59 ILB Fr 4 48
.
Garcia, Deon 58 OLB Sr~ 28 +14 47 -7
Shelton, Melvin 57 OLB Sr 24 +8 31 +7
Thorpe, Brant 42 OLB So 13 +1 42 +6
Culp, Daryl 44 OLB So* 22 +4 78 -6
Lang, Rusty 49 OLB Fr 8 53



Have lost ILB Kelley, another career backup. I said last year that we’d have to be desperate to rely on Hickman and Stargell. Hickman has developed a bit but Stargell has got even worse. Don’t get me talking about Reed and Wagner!.

Have lost OLB Ciszek, who was by far the best Notre Dame linebacker of his generation. Lang has taken over his old shirt, but will never be his like. And the others aren’t much better. Culp didn’t do much to develop his potential during his redshirt year. Mix and match Garcia, Shelton and Culp, and try to redshirt Lang.



Mascorella, Mario 20 CB Sr~ 37 -1 52 +7
Harrison, Harvey 40 CB Sr 16 +5 16 -7
McCarthy, Dwight 27 CB So 6 -6 30 -9
Filar, Brad # 24 CB So 0 20
Hoover, Reggie 35 CB Fr 38 80
.
Coffman, Darrin 30 S Sr* 40 +14 40
Feugill, Arnie 26 S Sr* 32 -5 56 +9
Salinas, Phil 37 S Jr 27 -3 35 +5
Voetberg, Rusty 23 S Jr* 30 +10 80 +9
Westbrook, Earnest 31 S So* 23 -4 30 +3
Atkins, Max 25 S Fr 43 63



Secondaries is the one area when Scout Joyner is markedly worse than Scout Long, so we have to be careful with these figures.

Have lost CB Gardner, who was a starter last year. but he wasn’t the best. Walk-on Filar is uselessness incarnate and on academic probation. It’ll be Mascorella and Hoover to start.

No losses from the S. Atkins looks pretty darn good but it should be safe to redshirt him. Coffman is the best with the others at about the same level, though Westbrook will never amount to much on the field.

# non-scholarship walk-on

~ fifth-year senior

* has been red-shirted

Offensive Set: Wishbone Formation.

Defensive Set: Variable, depending on the opposition.

One more thing:Keep Practice at 25.

Roberto

07-01-2003, 03:43 PM

Roster Strength 2008



. Starters Reserves

QB 36 (was 17) 38 (was 37)
RB 37 (was 23) 32 (was 34)
FB 23 (was 24) 11 (was 10)
TE 12 (was 24) 53 (was 55)
WR 4 (was 4) 44 (was 44)
C 20 (was 27) 43 (was 28)
G 6 (was 14) 20 (was 32)
T 18 (was 27) 17 (was 33)
P 29 (was 50) 0 (was 16)
K 37 (was 39) 51 (was 12)
DE 42 (was 27) 63 (was 60)
DT 35 (was 23) 40 (was 20)
ILB 16 (was 13) 7 (was 10)
OLB 22 (was 22) 54 (was 45)
CB 25 (was 31) 25 (was 35)
S 31 (was 30) 57 (was 58)



It’s hard to make a true comparison with last year, because of the change in GL scout.

Still, it’s clear the younger TE, WR, G, DE, OLB and S are better than the seniors.

This year’s big weakness is G and (again) ILB.

Roberto

07-01-2003, 03:44 PM

Gaps to be filled: upcoming Class of 2008

One RB
Two TE
One WR
One C
Two G
Three T
Three DT
Three DE
One ILB
Two OLB
Two CB

Recruitment Priorities

The biggest need from the above is DT and DT - and from good schools. Also need to keep up the numbers in OLB and CB.

Recruitment Tactics

Follow up the technique that succeeded in 2006 and 2007 - go for the highest GPA from good football schools in Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio to catch the Acad/Dist, then go for the same wider afield.

Roberto

07-01-2003, 03:46 PM

2008 Week 1

Scheduling

Failed to arrange matches against any of Notre Dame’s traditional rivals, nor in target TV weeks 1 and 15.

Accepted an away match in Hawaii in Week 2. Away match at Kentucky in Week 5 was imposed.

Formation

Will stick with the Wishbone. Most of last year’s offensive starters are still here, and they didn’t do too badly.

Walk-ons

G Michael Thompson - poor on the field (6/19) and pretty average off it (asp 47 int 60).
P Harry Chapman - will never be more than a bench warmer (1/17) but he’ll push up the academics (asp 85 int 97)

No game in Week 1

On TV1 Arkansas State are pipped 21-23 at Ohio.
There’s no game on any other channel!

Week 2

At Hawaii. Nice place to start the season.

They’re ranked #111 after going down 17-7 last week at Missouri. We’re #109.

They prefer the Pro-Formation. Their starting QB is said to be best at long passing and weakest at very long passing!

New starters (mostly based on scouts, but not all):

Starting QB Agranoff, then Fazande then Farley.

Starting FB Diaz, then Samson then TE Berman

Starting TE Gillespie, then Overby, then Berman.

Campbell as Flanker, RB Malone as Split End, backup WR Cornplow then Walker.

Starting RB Carlson, then Malone.

OL is weak (again): LT Downs, LG Szilter, C Battle, RG is C Stockman TR Wilkins.

Defence: LE Ford LT Taylor RT Bradford RE Necaise. WOLB Shelton, WILB Hickman, SOLB Garcia.

Top CB is Freshman Hoover, second Mascorella. SS Coffman, FS Feugill.

As ready as we’ll ever be…

Raining (!!!), 67 degrees.

Shut out 0-22

They ran two touchdowns in the first quarter (for 0-14) and the rest of the game was dominated by the defenses.

They outrushed us by 137 net yards to 43 (3.6 yards per carry to 1.0) outpassed us by 150 yards to 92, and made seven sacks without conceding any, but only won twelve first downs to our nine and only reached our red zone once!

QB Agranoff was sacked seven times in ten attempts, for minus 36 yards, and succeeded with five of 22 pass attempts. Of the failures, eight were hurried, three intercepted, three defensed, two bad and one dropped (by FB Samson). It’s the old weak OL again …

Pretty well all the positive yardage was run by RB Carlson, with 82 yards.

Most prominent in the defense were ILB Hickman with nine tackles (one for loss), followed by S Coffman with seven (two for) and then OLB Culp and DE Necaise both with five (both with three for).

No players from Notre Dame made the Players of the Week list.

But at least there were no injuries.

On TV1 #9 Auburn won 24-10 at #14 Syracuse.
On TV2 #11 West Virginia were upset 10-21 at #21 Ohio.

Week 3

Message

Malcolm Szilter, an offensive guard, expressed the opinion that he should receive a full scholarship given his current level of playing time.

I agree Daddy Bear - but there’s none to spare.

The Match.

Hosting North Carolina State. They are 0-1 having gone down 27-30 at Toledo last week.

They prefer the Veer formation.

Last week’s starters deserve a chance to redeem themselves.

Sunny, 52 degrees. Crowd of 36,800.

Win 27-21

It was close! A touchdown by RB Carlson half way through the first quarter was canceled out in the last minute. RB Carlson ran another touchdown halfway through the second quarter, for a score of 14-7 at the break. RB Malone ran a third touchdown five minutes into the third quarter but NCST struck back with two touchdowns by the end, to level the score 21-21 going into the fourth quarter. We held on with two field goals (29 yards and 35 yards) from K Finch.

It should have been more decisive. We outrushed them by 233 net yards to 154 (though our yards per carry were 4.3 to their 4.9) and outpassed them by 158 yards to 124 (8.7 yards per attempt to 7.2) and won 24 first downs to their 17. We visited their red zone four times, for two touchdowns and the two field goals; they reached ours twice.

QB Agranoff was sacked once in six attempts, but only made nineteen yards. He succeeded with 12 of 18 pass attempts. Of the six failures, four were hurried, one defensed and one blocked.

RB Carlson led the running again, with 176 yards (and two touchdowns). RB Malone was a long way behind, with 29 (and one).

Leading the defense again was ILB Hickman with seven tackles (none for loss) followed by DT Taylor with six tackles (two for loss) and one sack. There was a second sack, split between DE Necaise and DE Owens.

QB Agranoff, RB Carlson and TE Gillespie (who made four catches in six attempts for 76 yards) make the Players of the Week List. RB Carlson is also the game’s MVP. And rightly so.

Again, no injuries.

On TV1 #32 Navy are sunk 14-34 at #10 Auburn.
On TV2 #50 New Mexico State go down 21-36 at #6 Nebraska.

Week 4

No game this week.

On TV1 #13 California are well and truly upset 17-42 at #22 Illinois.
On TV2 #3 Indiana lose 10-35 at #2 Michigan.

Week 5

Grades are out.

Three on D, five on D+.

The Match

At #27 Kentucky. They are 2-0 and 17 point favourites.

They prefer the Wing-T. Their starting QB likes to run, and can pass well too.

No injuries, so stick to the same starters.

Sunny, 68 degrees.

Lose 7-42

Not a touchdown to show for it. Notre Dame’s points came from an 82-yard interception return by CB Hoover. Go Reggie!

They outrushed us by 200 net yards to 139 (4.7 yards per attempt to 3.3) and outpassed us by 209 yards to 63 (10.4 yards per attempt to 3.5), won 21 first downs to our 11 and reached our red zone four times (for a touchdown each time) without reply.

QB Agranoff was saked twice in six attempts for fourteen yards, but only succeeded with seven of eighteen pass attempts. Five of eight below ten yards succeeded; two of ten for longer. Of the eleven failures, four were blocked, four defensed, one hurried, one intercepted and one dropped (by WR Campbell).

This week RB Malone led the running figures with 59 yards. RB Carlson was next with 35, then RB McConnell with 29.

Leading the defense was S Coffman with nine tackles (none for loss). Then came OLB Culp with seven (also none for) and ILB Hickman also with seven (two for) and the team’s two sacks.

This performance puts ILB Hickman into the Players of the Week List.

Injuries - and they’re to key players

TE Overby - out - hyperextended elbow - 5 weeks
TE Gillespie - probable - bruised ribcage - 3 weeks
ILB Hickman - probable - sprained quadriceps muscle - 2 weeks.

On TV1 #3 Texas go 4-0 with a 21-14 win at #6 Nebraska.
On TV2 #4 Georgia Tech are blown away 17-58 at #32 Clemson.

Roberto

07-05-2003, 01:44 AM

2008 Week 6

Recruitment

No visitors yet. Aiming high has brought our first four refusals.

The Match

At Iowa. We are 1-2 and #101. They are 1-3 and #107.

They prefer the Pro-Formation. Their starting QB does not like to run, but converts less than 50% of his passes.

Results and injuries lead to changes in the receivers.

RB to be Malone, then Carlson then McConnell. Campbell stays at WR but Plante comes in at Split End. Starting TE to be Berman, followed by Williamson and Finch.

Sunny, 59 degrees. Crowd of 24,600 in a stadium that could take 70,400.

Iowa score a field goal in the second minute. RB Malone responds with a touchdown half way through the first quarter. Then the traffic goes all one way:

2Q: 04:38 IOWA - Kelvin Meadows 19 run.
2Q: 04:38 IOWA - Teddy Springs extra point.
3Q: 10:58 IOWA - Daniel Farley 1 run.
3Q: 10:58 IOWA - Teddy Springs extra point.
3Q: 06:45 IOWA - Walter Branson 80 punt return.
3Q: 06:45 IOWA - Teddy Springs extra point.
3Q: 03:15 IOWA - Cris England 43 pass from Albert Ogden.
3Q: 03:15 IOWA - Teddy Springs extra point.

At this point Iowa are 31-7 ahead. Surely Notre Dame cannot come back?

Well, if you want something enough …

Score: Iowa 31, Notre Dame 7.
IOWA 19 Springs kicked off 51 yards from the IOWA35.
NDAM 31 Westbrook returned the ball 25 yards to the NDAM39. Tackled by IOWA 92 Cox.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-NDAM39 (02:39) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 46 Carlson for 35 yards. Tackled by IOWA 27 Tepper.
--
1-10-IOWA26 (02:05) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 81 Campbell for 26 yards and a touchdown!
Conversion Attempt: NDAM 46 Carlson run failed. Tackled by IOWA 98 Sellers.

Score: Notre Dame 13, Iowa 31.
NDAM 18 Imme kicked off 54 yards from the NDAM35.
IOWA 27 Tepper returned the ball 16 yards to the IOWA27. Tackled by NDAM 21 Woodson.
IOWA 86 England was injured on the play.

Possession to Iowa.

1-10-IOWA27 (01:26) IOWA 32 Farley ran around right end for -3 yards. Tackled by NDAM 30 Coffman.

2-13-IOWA24 (00:57) IOWA 11 Ogden pass was intercepted by NDAM 23 Voetberg at the IOWA44.
The interception was returned 15 yards. Tackled by IOWA 65 Richard.

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-IOWA29 (00:46) NDAM 46 Carlson ran a trap up the middle for 2 yards. Tackled by IOWA 21 Clinton, assisted by IOWA 26 Faulkenbury.

Beginning of Fourth Quarter.

2-08-IOWA27 (15:00) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass fell incomplete, intended for 93 Berman.
IOWA 43 Shaw defended the pass.

3-08-IOWA27 (14:55) Penalty: IOWA - Defensive Holding.
--
1-10-IOWA17 (14:47) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 81 Campbell for 17 yards and a touchdown!
Conversion Attempt: NDAM 46 Carlson run succeeded.

Score: Notre Dame 21, Iowa 31.
NDAM 18 Imme kicked off 68 yards from the NDAM35. Touchback.

Possession to Iowa.

1-10-IOWA20 (14:38) IOWA 11 Ogden pass was intercepted by NDAM 41 Stargell at the IOWA40.
The interception was returned 40 yards for a touchdown!
Extra point by NDAM 17 Finch was good.

Score: Notre Dame 28, Iowa 31.

I make that three touchdowns, 18 points to Notre Dame in just over three minutes.

But it wasn’t over. A 26-yard field goal half way through the fourth quarter leveled the scores at 31-31. Tension grew as the time ticked by. With less than ninety seconds to go, S Coffman intercepted an Iowa pass at the Notre Dame 23:

Possession to Notre Dame.

1-10-NDAM23 (01:25) NDAM 22 Malone ran a trap off right guard for 1 yard. Tackled by IOWA 74 Blake.

2-09-NDAM24 (01:05) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 93 Berman for 14 yards. Tackled by IOWA 95 Salaam.
--
1-10-NDAM38 (00:49) NDAM 7 Agranoff pass completed to 93 Berman for 15 yards. Tackled by IOWA 95 Salaam, assisted by IOWA 43 Shaw.
--
1-10-IOWA47 (00:25) NDAM 22 Malone ran a trap up the middle for 3 yards. Tackled by IOWA 95 Salaam, assisted by IOWA 69 Moss.
NDAM called time out.

2-07-IOWA44 (00:18) NDAM 22 Malone ran a counterplay off left guard for 12 yards. Tackled by IOWA 74 Blake.
Key block delivered by NDAM 70 Downs.
NDAM called time out.
--
1-10-IOWA32 (00:11) NDAM 22 Malone ran a trap up the middle for 0 yards. Tackled by IOWA 95 Salaam, assisted by IOWA 74 Blake.
NDAM called time out.

2-10-IOWA32 (00:01) NDAM 17 Finch attempted a 49 yard field goal and succeeded.

Win 34-31

By a 49-yard field goal in the last second!!!

It’s a fair result. We outrushed them by 136 net yards to 89 and outpassed them by 258 yards to 215; somehow they won 23 first downs to our 21 but they conceded six sacks to our one.

QB Agranoff was sacked that one time in two attempts for six positive yards, but he succeeded with 18 of 26 pass attempts. Of the eight failures, none were blocked or hurried, four defensed, one intercepted, two bad and one dropped (by RB Carlson).

RB Malone ran 83 yards, RB Carlson 44.

Leaders of the defense were DE Necaise with six tackles (four for loss) and three sacks (!!!) and S Coffman, also with six tackles (three for loss). The other three sacks were made by ILB Stargell, OLB Culp and S Feugill.

QB Agranoff, RB Malone and DE Necaise made the Players of the Week list. Necaise was the game’s MVP.

No new injuries.

On TV1 #7 Auburn were put in their place 3-41 at #37 Georgia.
On TV2 unranked Baylor lost a little less badly 3-34 at #27 Missouri.

Week 7

No visitors yet, and another three refusals.

The Match.

At Minnesota.

We are now #82 and 2-2. They are #75 and 2-3. But they are still thirteen point favourites.

They prefer the T-Formation.

QB Agranoff’s pass conversion ratio is now exactly 50%.

Last week’s starters deserve a chance to establish a run.

Sunny, 71 degrees.

Crushed 3-34

One field goal away from total humiliation.

They outrushed us by 195 net yards to 60 (4.5 yards per attempt to 2.2) and although we outpassed them by 157 yards to 136, they won 18 first downs to our 14. They visited out red zone three times (for two touchdowns and one field goal); we only reached theirs twice (and only achieved one field goal).

QB Agranoff was sacked twice in two attempts for minus two yards and succeeded in 13 of 28 pass attempts. Then he was injured. QB Farley came on and was sacked twice in two attempts for minus eleven yards, and succeeded in one of two pass attempts. Of the combined sixteen failures, four were hurried, one blocked, four defensed, three intercepted, two bad and two dropped (one by RB Carlson and one by backup RB Plante).

Best running yardage was by RB Malone with 54 yards. Second best was RB Carlson with only ten, which says it all.

Best in the defense was OLB Shelton with five tackles (one for loss) and one sack. Five other defensemen made four tackles each, but only one each for loss. A second sack was credited jointly to DE Necaise and DT Taylor.

Somehow, RB Malone made the Players of the Week list.

New Injury

QB Agranoff - doubtful - abdominal strain - 3 weeks

Walking wounded

TE Overby - questionable - hyperextended elbow - 3 weeks
TE Gillespie - probable - bruised ribcage - 1 week.

On TV1 there’s a match from the Big Ten. #20 Northwestern go down 20-52 at #1 Michigan, who go 5-0 with this win. And guess who Michigan are due to play next week?
On TV2 there’s a much closer game. #28 Georgia are just beaten 20-23 at #21 Vanderbilt.

Week 8

Recruitment

The good news is that we have 18 declared visitors.

The bad news is that every last one of them is also visiting other colleges.

Perhaps they want to see …

The Match

Hosting #2 Michigan. They are 5-0 and thirty point favourites. Even so, the game only rates TV5.

They prefer the Power-I Formation. Their starting QB’s long passing game is a force of nature.

Well, if we’re going to be crushed, we might as well enjoy it (as the OG’s girlfriend said).

Fazande will start at QB.

Raining, 52 degrees. Crowd of 39,000.

Crushed 3-55

Again, one solitary field goal between us and humiliation.

They outrushed us by 314 net yards to 72 (6.4 yards per attempt to 2.1), outpassed us by 216 yards to 93, won 30 first downs to our seven and reached our red zone five times (we reached theirs once).

QB Fazande was sacked twice in two attempts for minus eleven yards, and succeeded in three of nine pass attempts. QB Chorak was sacked once in two attempts for minus six yards, then belied his relative lack of talent by succeeding in four of seven pass attempts. QB Farley did not attempt to run, and succeeded with one of two pass attempts. It’s interesting that seven of nine passes for 20 yards or less succeeded, but only one of nine attempts of 21 yards or more. Of the ten failures, five were hurried, two defensed, one intercepted, one bad and one dropped (by TE Berman).

RB Malone ran 79 yards, to precious little effect. The only other positive yardage was by RB Carlson with ten. Contrast Michigan’s main RB Blackwell, who ran 239 yards and scored four of the touchdowns.

Leading the defense stats was S Voetberg, with six (one for loss). Six players made five tackles, again with not more than one each for loss. DE Ford made one sack and another was jointly awarded to DE Clements and DT Womble (imagine! - sacked by half a womble!).

RB Malone and RB Carlson both make the Players of the Week list. It must have been a quiet week.

Injuries are added to insult

Out for the rest of the season

DE Beyer - compound leg fracture (new)
DE Necaise - broken arm (new)
(for both of these, it’s the end of their football at Notre Dame)
S Coffman - sprained back (new)
DT Humphrey - pulled groin (new)

Walking wounded

TE Overby - questionable - hyperextended elbow - 2 weeks
QB Agranoff - questionable - abdominal strain - 2 weeks
RB McConnell - sprained ankle - 1 week (new)

On TV1 unranked Arizona are thumped 16-37 by #1 Stanford, who go 7-0 with this win.
On TV2 #13 Auburn go down 7-36 at #7 Louisiana State.

Week 9

Academics

Grades are out.

Three at D- 6 at D.

Recruitment

First acceptances for the year.

Matthew Zachary, a running back from Col White High School in Dayton, Ohio, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 53++ Acad/Prest #1 RB in Ohio and in the All-State team, Nat Rank #134.

Melvin Shuran, a fullback from Conval Regional High School in Peterborough, New Hampshire, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 61+ Acad/Prest #1 FB in New Hampshire and in the All-State team Nat Rank #442.

Thomas Berry, a kicker from Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne, Florida, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 76 or thereabouts Acad/Prest #1 K in Florida and in the All-State team Nat Rank #672 GPA 3.62.

Johnnie Arnold, an inside linebacker from Adrian High School in Adrian, Michigan, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 62 - Acad/Dist #2 ILB in Michigan and in the All-State team Nat Rank #446. He idolized Michigan but they weren’t interested - which shows how strong they think they are.

And seven more refusals.

The Match

Hosting #20 Penn State. They are 5-2 and 13 point favourites.

They are ranked #8 in rushing yards and #2 in yards per carry, and last week shut out Minnesota 59-0.

For what it’s worth, they do this by way of the Pro-Formation.

Rain, 44 degrees. Crowd of 38,100.

Lose 10-30

One touchdown by RB Malone and one field goal.

They outrushed us by 185 net yards to 145, outpassed us by 258 yards to 56 (6.9 yards per attempt to 4.3), won 25 first downs to our seven and visited our red zone five times (but for only two touchdowns, and three field goals); we reached theirs once.

QB Fazande was sacked once in two attempts for zero net yards and succeeded in two of nine pass attempts. QB Farley (again) did not attempt any running plays, but succeeded in one of four pass attempts.

This is simply awful. Of the ten failed pass attempts, five were hurried. It’s the curse of the weak OL again. At least none were dropped this week.

Once again RB Malone led the running stats with 142 yards (and one touchdown). Again RB Carlson followed - with three (in four attempts!!!).

Stars of the defense were ILB Hickman with nine tackles (one for loss) and S Voetberg also with nine tackles (but none for loss). Next came DE Clements with five tackles (two for loss) and one sack. Other sacks were made by DT Simmons and DT Womble, and a fourth awarded jointly to DE May and DT Taylor.

RB Malone made the Players of the Week list.

No new injuries.

On TV1 #16 Virginia Tech are shut out 0-48 at #15 Miami of Florida.
On TV2 #19 Fresno State are also shut out 0-48 at #5 Rice, who go 7-0.
(What would the odds be against two identical scores in the main TV matches?).

Roberto

07-08-2003, 12:24 AM

2008 Week 10

Recruitment

Gabe Lowe, a defensive end from Burlington Township High School in Burlington, New Jersey, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 60+ Dist/Acad #2 DE in New Jersey and in the All-State team Nat Rank #260.

Plus eight refusals.

The Match

Hosting #28 Northwestern. They are 5-2, we are 2-5.

They prefer the Double-Wing. They are #4 in the nation at rushes and #13 in rushing yards.

Sunny, 58 degrees. Crowd of 37,400 see us …

Thrashed 9-34

One field goal and one touchdown by FB Diaz (the conversion failed) do little to mitigate the loss.

They outrushed us by 257 net yards to 46 (4.6 yards per attempt to 1.4). We outpassed them by 147 net yards to 108, but they made 9.8 yards per attempt to our 1.6. And they won 24 first downs to our nine.

QB Fazande was sacked once in two attempts for minus five net yards and succeeded with eleven of sixteen pass attempts. Of the five failures, three were defensed, one intercepted and one bad.

RB Malone led the pale shadow of our running game, with 48 yards. Next in line was RB Carlson, with four. Yes, that’s four.

Leading the defense was ILB Hickman with twelve tackles (three for loss), then S Voetberg with eight (one for loss) then OLB Shelton with six (two for loss). Notre Dame made no sacks.

Nothing else to say.

RB Malone makes the Players of the Week list for the fifth successive week, possibly out of habit.

No new injuries.

On TV1 #35 Tennessee pull off an upset 34-14 win at #13 Vanderbilt.
On TV2, the defenses prevail as #12 Missouri are shut out 0-3 at #32 Nebraska. No, I didn’t believe that score either.

Week 11

Recruitment

Kevin MacClelland, a running back from Westfield High School in Westfield, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 41++ Acad/Dist #1 RB in Indiana (but not in the All-State team!) Nat Rank #979.

The Match

At #15 Wisconsin. They are 6-2.

They prefer the Power-I.

Their starting QB is injured. Their RB can run like the wind.

Fair, 60 degrees. Capacity crowd of 76,100.

Crushed 3-45

Even worse than last week. Only one field goal to our name.

They ourrushed us by 253 net yards to 133 (4.1 yards per attempt to 3.4), outpassed us by 258 yards to 65 (an amazing 19.8 yards per attempt to our pitiful 2.3), won 25 first downs to our nine and reached our red zone five times. We also conceded eight penalties ( for 67 yards) to their one (for five).

QB Fazande was sacked three times in six attempts, but made a whole six yards overall. QB Chorak was sacked once in one attempt, and forced back eight yards. Fazande succeeded in five of 21 pass attempts, QB Farley in none of four and Chorak in two of three. Of the 21 failed passes, seven were bad, five hurried, four defensed, three blocked and one intercepted. At least none were dropped.

Most of the running yardage was achieved by RB Carlson, with 55 yards. Next came RB Malone, with 29, then backup RB Woodson with 17.

Dominating the defense was ILB Hickman with fifteen tackles (but only one for loss). Next were OLB Culp with five (one for loss) and one sack, S Voetberg with five (none for) and S Salinas also with five (none for). A third sack was made by DE Clements.

ILB Hickman made the Players of the Week list.

One new injury - emergency backup QB Chorak - questionable - deep thigh bruise - 3 weeks.
That’ll see him out for the rest of the season. Fortunately Agranoff is fit again.

On TV1 there’s a Big Ten game. #14 Penn State are well beaten 3-28 at #2 Michigan.
On TV2 #5 Georgia Tech win 34-21 at #9 Virginia.

Week 12

Recruitment

Bubba Musselman, a fullback from Hampton-Dumont High School in Hampton, Iowa, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 53 - - Acad*/Prest #1 FB in Iowa (so in the All-State team) GPA 3.88

Bill Schwartz, a tight end from South High School in Downers Grove, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 53+ Acad/Prest #3 TE in Illinois Nat Rank #960

Rick Strzelczyk, a cornerback from Westby High School in Westby, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 46+ Acad/Prest #2 CB in Wisconsin and in the All-State team, but unranked nationally.

The Match

At #44 Michigan State. They are 5-4.

The prefer the I-Formation, their starting QB likes to run.

Stormy, 43 degrees.

Shut out 0-27

They outrushed us by 167 net yards to 112 (3.8 yards per attempt to 3.1), outpassed us by 170 yards to 61 (8.5 yards per attempt to 3.5), won nineteen first downs to our eight and shut us out of their red zone while reaching ours "only" three times.

Fit-again QB Agranoff was sacked once in four attempts for minus six yards and succeeded in eight of 17 passing attempts. Six of seven attempts for ten or fewer yards succeeded, two of ten for more than ten yards. Of the failures, three were hurried, three defensed and two dropped (by WR Campbell and TE Berman). It was just that sort of day.

RB Malone was back on top of the rushing stats again, with 102 yards. Next came RB Carlson with 15.

Nobody in the defense dominated. S Voetberg and OLB Culp had six tackles each (two and one for loss respectively), followed by DE Ford with five (two for). The star was DE Clements, with the team’s two sacks.

RB Malone and DE Clements made the Players of the Week list (not bad from a team which was shut out!)

New injuries:

TE Finch - concussion - 3 weeks
DT Bradford - out - tonsilitis - 2 weeks
As there’s only one week of games left for Notre Dame, that’s the end of their season.

On TV1 #26 Pittsburg went down 14-26 at #17 Miami of Florida.
On TV2 #9 Florida won surprisingly narrowly 35-27 at #46 Georgia

Week 13

Academics

Grades are out.

CB Filar is on E. RB Malone and K Imme are on D-.

Message

Malcolm Szilter, an offensive guard, expressed the opinion that he should receive a full scholarship given his current level of playing time.

I’ve told you before, Daddy Bear- they’re all taken.

Recruitment

Todd Buckley, a wide receiver from Sarasota High School in Sarasota, Florida, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 58+ Dist/Acad #2 WR in Florida Nat Rank #472

Joel Chung, a defensive tackle from Cornell High School in Cornell, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 38+ Acad/Prest #3 DT in Wisconsin.

The Match

Last match of the season, hosting rivals Purdue.

Both teams are 2-8. They are ranked #103, we are ranked #112.

They prefer the Veer formation; their starting QB specializes in very long passing (and has net rushing yardage of minus 110).

Raining, 53 degrees. Crowd of 31,200.

Last chance to redeem something from the season.

Shut out 0-24

"That was the most unkindest cut of all."

I can’t bear to write about this. They outrushed us by 173 net yards to 55 (3.6 yards per attempt to 1.7), outpassed us by 202 yards to 105 (6.9 yards per attempt to 6.5), won 24 first downs to our ten and reached our red zone four times while keeping us out of theirs.

QB Agranoff was sacked three times on four attempts for minus twelve yards and succeeded with 11 of 22 pass attempts. This week the break point came at twenty yards; nine of ten pass attempts at twenty yards or below succeeded but only two of twelve for more than twenty yards. Of the eleven failed passes, four were defensed, two blocked, one hurried, one intercepted, one bad and two dropped (by backup WR Plante and backup RB Woodson).

RB Malone was pretty subdued, only running 66 yards.

OLB Culp led the defense with eleven tackles (but none for loss). Next came ILB Hickman , DE Ford and S Mascorella (all in their farwell games) with six (one, none and one for respectively). DT Taylor made one sack and another was jointly awarded to DE Ford and DE Clements.

Nobody from Notre Dame made the Players of the Week list.

On TV1 #14 Vanderbilt went down 10-31 at #9 Florida.
On TV2 #44 Florida State pulled off a narrow upset 35-32 at #5 Georgia Tech.

And so ends Notre Dame’s 2008 season:

2-9 overall, 1-7 in the Big Ten.
Joint bottom of the Big Ten (with Iowa).
113 in the coaches’ poll.
110 in the fans’ poll
Ranked 115.

Roberto

07-12-2003, 12:41 AM

2008 Post Season

Recruitment continues.

Week 14

Omar Engler, a defensive tackle from York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 59- Acad/Dist #2 DT in Illinois, Nat Rank #803.

Phil Casanova, an outside linebacker from Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville, Illinois, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 62 - - Acad/Dist #4 OLB in Illinois GPA 3.94.

That’s all the scholarships available. Anyone else who wants to sign up will do so as a walk-on.

On TV1 #2 Texas lost their unbeaten record and go 10-1 when they are thumped 31-66 by #6 Texas A & M. Wow -what a game!

On TV2 #24 Auburn squeak a win 27-24 at #37 Alabama.

Week 15

Here come the walk-ons:

Billy McCarty, an offensive tackle from Milton High School in Milton, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 21+ Acad/Prest #6 T in Wisconsin GPA 3.64

Raymond Kirk, a kicker from Troy High School in Troy, Michigan, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 41 or so (Dist)/Acad GPA 3.31 and said to be skilled in Field-Goal accuracy.

Darryl Kindred, a defensive end from Marion High School in Marion, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 40+ Acad/Dist #8 DE in Indiana GPA 3.35.

If they never start a game, they’ll keep the academic standards up.

Which ends the recruiting. It includes the players ranked 134, 260 and 7 others in the top 1,000.

Six were black-coded, five red-coded, three blue-coded and two green-coded.

Lowest GPA is 3.20.

At the end of the regular season, the only unbeaten team is Stanford. Four teams are 0-11 - South Carolina, San Francisco, Ball State and Central Florida.

In the play-off semi-finals:

#2 Michigan beat #3 Texas A&M 45-35.
#5 Wisconsin are beaten 10-19 by #1 Stanford

The final is between the same teams as last year but the result is different. Michigan win 17-7.

Player of the Year is Stanford RB Ty Flynn:
432-2037 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Runner-up (with 131 votes to Flynn’s 134) was the one and only Robbie Ferguson QB at Southern California and winner for the last two years. His figures this year:
271-for-437, 4087 yards, 46TD, 12Int.

Notre Dame have no entries in the National Awards.

Nor in the Big Ten awards.

Not a good year.

Roberto

07-12-2003, 12:42 AM

Notre Dame Schedule 2008

Rival: Purdue
Stadium Capacity: 52,400
Season Tickets Sold: 31,200



Week Opponent Result Att Weather Television
2 at Hawaii L, 0-22 42,200 Stormy, 67
3 NORTH CAROLINA STATE W, 27-21 36,800 Sunny, 52
5 at Kentucky L, 7-42 56,200 Sunny, 68
$$6 at Iowa W, 34-31 24,600 Sunny, 59
$$7 at Minnesota L, 3-34 48,400 Sunny, 71
$$8 (1) MICHIGAN L, 3-55 39,000 Rain, 52 TV 5
$$9 (17) PENN STATE L, 10-30 38,100 Rain, 44
$$10 (20) NORTHWESTERN L, 9-34 37,400 Sunny, 58
$$11 at (8) Wisconsin L, 3-45 76,100 Sunny, 60
$$12 at (50) Michigan State L, 0-27 60,300 Stormy, 43
$$13 PURDUE L, 0-24 31,200 Rain, 53



Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games

Roberto

07-12-2003, 12:43 AM

2008 Season Standings, Big Ten



School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Michigan 14 1 0 .933 610 221 7 1 0 .875 344 109 Won 5
Wisconsin 12 3 0 .800 417 264 6 2 0 .750 251 164 Lost 1
Penn State 9 4 0 .692 420 208 6 2 0 .750 262 83 Lost 1
Northwestern 8 3 0 .727 281 180 5 3 0 .625 182 146 Lost 1
Ohio State 7 4 0 .636 186 187 5 3 0 .625 152 136 Won 1
Minnesota 6 5 0 .545 247 286 5 3 0 .625 162 188 Lost 1
Illinois 6 5 0 .545 298 208 3 5 0 .375 174 181 Won 1
Michigan State 6 5 0 .545 183 234 3 5 0 .375 110 197 Lost 1
Purdue 3 8 0 .272 180 330 2 6 0 .250 118 237 Won 1
Iowa 2 9 0 .181 234 346 1 7 0 .125 172 268 Lost 4
**Notre Dame 2 9 0 .181 96 365 1 7 0 .125 62 280 Lost 7

Roberto

07-17-2003, 12:47 AM

2008 RECRUITMENT



Player Pos HT WT ST NRank GPA Scout

Zachary, Matthew RB 5-11 205 OH 134 3.82 53++
**MacClelland, Kevin RB 6-1 185 IN 979 3.34 41++
**Musselman, Bubba FB 6-0 239 IA - - 3.88 53- -
Shuran, Melvin FB 6-2 237 NH 442 3.20 61+
Schwartz, Bill TE 6-3 229 IL 960 3.63 53+
**Buckley, Todd WR 6-1 185 FL 472 3.42 58+
##McCarty, Billy T 6-6 281 WI - - 3.64 21+
Berry, Thomas K 6-3 200 FL 672 3.62 76
##Kirk, Raymond K 6-4 195 MI - - 3.31 41
Lowe, Gabe DE 6-1 231 NJ 260 3.82 60+
$$Kindred, Daryl DE 6-5 251 IN - - 3.35 40+
**Engler, Omar DT 6-3 241 IL 803 3.71 59-
$$Chung, Joel DT 6-5 271 WI - - 3.45 38+
Arnold, Johnnie ILB 6-1 213 MI 446 3.48 62-
**Casanova, Phil OLB 6-1 218 IL - - 3.94 62- -
$$Strzelczyk, Rick CB 5-9 167 WI - - 3.29 45+



$$ - likely interest. ## - almost certain interest. ** - bit of a stretch. No prefix - unlikely to be interested.

Roberto

07-17-2003, 12:50 AM

2008 Summary for Notre Dame

Record: 2-9
Rank: 113



Notre Dame Team Rank
Rushes 405 59
Rushing Yards 1140 95
Yards Per Carry 2.81 112
Pass Attempts 229 119
Completions 104 124
Passing Yards 1295 123
Yards Per Attempt 5.65 110
3rd Down Conversions 29.3 104 (T)
Points Per Game 8.7 123
Turnovers 21 74 (T)
Turnover Margin -10 109 (T)
.
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 472 123
Rushing Yards 2102 122
Yards Per Carry 4.45 112
Pass Attempts 236 1
Completions 137 3
Passing Yards 2046 31
Yards Per Attempt 8.66 119
3rd Down Conversions 40.9 106
Points Per Game 33.1 111 (T)


Oh dear, oh dear. Everything down (except turnovers, though the turnover margin has crashed). Worst were passing yards (down from 2036 in 2007 to 1295 now, though yards per attempt are down less by 7.77 to 5.65). Points per game halved (from 18.9 to 8.7. Were 2007’s improved figures a false dawn?



Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
7 Agranoff QB 151 74 924 6.11 2 9
11 Fazande QB 55 21 287 5.21 1 4
Team --- 229 104 1295 5.65 3 14


Everything down. Last year there were twelve passing touchdowns; this year there were three. Agranoff’s yards per attempt down from 7.69 to 6.11.



Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
22 Malone RB 190 688 3.62 3 56 88
46 Carlson RB 142 435 3.06 2 42 53
7 Agranoff QB 36 -17 -0.47 0 21 108
Team --- 405 1140 2.81 5 135 326



Again, everything down (except yards lost). Last year, Malone’s yards per attempt were 4.22 and he scored six touchdowns. This year, 3.62 and three.



Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
81 Campbell WR 83 33 480 14.5 104 2
46 Carlson RB 31 16 166 10.3 45 0
93 Berman TE 25 12 198 16.5 48 0
98 Gillespie TE 20 11 138 12.5 28 0
22 Malone RB 19 10 95 9.5 24 0
86 Plante WR 14 2 21 10.5 0 0
33 Diaz FB 12 10 72 7.2 43 1
Team --- 229 104 1295 12.4 322 3


Again, falls in everything. While the yardage is down from 2036 to 1295, note that yards per catch are down less, from 15.1 to 12.4. Killer stat is yards after the catch. In 2007 these were 881, in 2008 322.



Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
52 Hickman ILB 78 31 3.0 10 0 4
44 Culp OLB 53 23 1.0 6 0 3
23 Voetberg S 43 13 0.0 6 2 2
57 Shelton OLB 37 11 2.0 5 3 1
58 Garcia OLB 36 21 0.0 2 0 2
90 Taylor DT 35 13 3.0 6 0 0
78 Ford DE 31 11 1.5 4 0 0
30 Coffman S 31 13 0.0 8 1 0
26 Feugill S 26 7 0.0 0 0 3
20 Mascorella CB 23 11 0.0 2 1 3
67 Womble DT 23 13 1.5 4 0 0
35 Hoover CB 22 10 0.0 1 1 3
92 Necaise DE 19 10 4.0 9 0 0
41 Stargell ILB 17 1 1.0 3 1 2
37 Salinas S 17 6 0.0 0 0 2
74 Clements DE 15 5 5.0 6 0 0
Team --- 642 222 25.0 81 10 29



More tackles (up from 615 to 642) but fewer for loss (down from 87 to 81). Sacks down slightly, from 29.0 to 25.0.

Roberto

07-17-2003, 12:52 AM

2008 Departing Seniors



Player # Pos Elig Current Future Estimate
McConnell, Brenden 29 RB Sr 38 38
Gillespie, Cole 98 TE Sr 30 43
Overby, Jim 84 TE* Sr 30 34
Cornplow, Bill 3 WR Sr 29 49
Godfrey, Brady 65 G Sr 11 43
Szilter, Malcolm 64 G* Sr 21 21
Beyer, Duane 77 DE Sr 34 68
Ford, Jessie 78 DE Sr 34 38
Necaise, Chuck 92 DE Sr 49 62
Garcia, Deon 58 OLB Sr 28 47
Mascorella, Mario 20 CB Sr 37 52
Ferderer, Jay 51 C Sr 28 42
Wilkins, Lamar 69 T Sr 18 39
Fulton, John 61 T* Sr 11 22
Taylor, Ben 90 DT Sr 40 62
Simmons, Ben 99 DT* Sr 8 32
Hickman, Lester 52 ILB Sr 38 46
Shelton, Melvin 57 OLB Sr 24 31
Harrison, Harvey 40 CB Sr 16 16



RB McConnell all the way from Anchorage, Alaska played in 43 games but was mainly a backup, starting only 19 of them. His overall running yardage was 449 yards in 134 attempts, an average of 3.3 yards per attempt and 10.4 yards per game. He caught 13 passes and dropped none for 122 yards, an average of 9.3. He scored two running and no receiving touchdowns and was awarded 41 stokes. Not the sharpest pencil in the box (Asp 38 Int 25) he worked diligently to leave with GPA 2.77. His major was Geology.

TE Gillespie was another career backup, playing in 40 games but only starting 12 of them. He caught 31 passes and dropped only two for a career 355 yards, an average of 11.4. For all that, he only scored one touchdown. Off the field he was an average student, leaving with GPA 3.01 His major was Hotel Management.

TE Overby was a backup except in his penultimate year. He played in 39 games but only started 12 of them, 11 of those 12 in 2007. He caught 23 passes and dropped none for a career 309 yards, an average of 13.4. But he scored no touchdowns. His skills lay off the field. An outstanding student he leaves with GPA 3.48 and no grades in five years lower than B+. His major was Electrical Engineering.

WR Cornplow was never more than a backup. He played in 26 games, but started none of them. Four successful catches and no touchdowns. GPA 3.16 with grades all over the place. His major was Business.

G Godfrey came from Salem, but Salem Oregon, not Salem Massachusetts. He was a very occasional backup, playing in 17gamesbut not starting any of them. He made all of two key run blocks and allowed two sacks (4.5%). 6-6 he ended his college career at 341 pounds. As solid as a redwood between the ears (Asp 13, Int 23) he needed a lot of help to get his GPA as high as 2.78. Was it worth it? Probably not. His major was Astronomy.

G "Daddy Bear" Szilter had a strange career. He played in 38 games, starting in 24 of them including every game in his sophomore year 2005 and all eleven in his final year. He made a magnificent two key run blocks (a percentage of 10.0%) and allowed 18 sacks (3.6%). 6-8 he ended his college career at 343 pounds. A good student, he leaves with GPA of 3.46. His major was Chemistry).

DE Beyer was a backup whose career ended early with a serious compound leg fracture parrt way throughhis final season. Overall, he played in 31 games and started 7 of them. His overall record was 88 tackles, 10 for loss, and two sacks. An outstanding student (int 96, asp 100) he leaves with GPA 3.88, and straight A grades in his major, Journalism, and will surely make a fine career outside the game.

DE Ford was a backup until his final year. He played in 37 games and started 20 of them including every game in 2008. His overall record was 83 tackles, 16 for loss, and 5 sacks. An average student (int 52, asp 57) he applied himself well to leave with GPA 3.38. His major was Education.

DT Necaise was prone to injury. He played in 33 games and started 20 of them including ten of ten in 2006, four of six in 2007 and six of six in 2008, his final season being ended early by a broken arm. His overall record was 65 tackles, 26 for loss, and 12.5 sacks, which puts his streets ahead of Beyer and Ford. Another outstanding student on paper (int 87, asp 98) his heart was on the field, and he leaves with GPA 3.59. His major was Dentistry.

OLB Garcia was a walk-on until his final year. He played in 36 games but only started eleven, all these in his final year. His career total was 36 tackles, two for loss, two assists and no sacks, which may explain why he was normally a backup. As thick as three short planks (asp 7, int 7) he leaves with GPA 2.61. His major was Astronomy. But to his credit, he always took serious subjects (with the possible exception of Sports Management).

CB Mascorella was a rock, starting every game for which he was eligible. He made 23 tackles, two for loss, and 11 assists (but no sacks), intercepted 5 passes (for 69 yards including one touchdown) and caught 54. Another short planksman (asp 12, int 5) he leaves with GPA 2.38. His major was Trigonometry. Least said, soonest mended.

C Ferderer had another curious career. He played 37 games and started 22, but all the games he started were in 2006 and 2007. He made 47 key run blocks and allowed seven sacks (1.4%). 6-4 he goes into his final year at 289 pounds. Perhaps he was just too small. But he’s a good student, with GPA to date of 3.79 and only one grade out of twenty below A-. He was in the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2007. His major is Jurisprudence.

T Wilkins had an occasional career. He played in 33 games, starting in 16 of them including every game in his junior year 2006, in which he made the Big Ten All-Academic Team. He made 20 key run blocks (a percentage of 20.08) and allowed 11 sacks (3.3%). 6-5 he ended his college career at 332 pounds. Another outstanding student (asp 100, int 90), he goes into his final year with GPA of 3.86 and only two of twenty grades other than straight A. His major is Metallurgy.

T Fulton was another occasional backup, playing in 25 games but starting none. He made one key run block (a percentage of 16.6%) and allowed five sacks (16.6%). 6-5 he ended his college career at 312 pounds. A good student, he goes into his final year with GPA of 3.66. His major was Mechanical Engineering.

DT Taylor was another rock. He played in all 44 games for which he was eligible started 40 of them including every game in his final three years. His overall record was 124 tackles, 22 for loss, and five sacks. Another outstanding student on paper (int 82, asp 82) he’ll have to pull his socks up in his final year, which he enters with GPA 3.35. His major is Psychology.

DT Simmons was another career backup. He played in 36 games but only started four of them. His overall record was 35 tackles, 10 for loss, and 7 sacks. An academic disaster waiting to happen, he goes into his final year with GPA 1.92. His major is Geography.

ILB Hickman should perhaps have played more than he did, in 33 games and starting 16 of them. His overall record was 136 tackles, 20 for loss, 49 assists and 4.5 sacks. Another short planksman, he goes into his final year with 2.83. His major is Algebra. Of all the outgoing seniors, he’s the only one too dumb to have a girlfriend. Or perhaps he should was his socks more frequently.

OLB Shelton came into his own in his final two years. He played in 28 games, starting 23 of them including every game in his final two years. He made 80 tackles, 11 for loss and 34 assists and three sacks. Another denizen of the timberyard (asp 7 int 2) he enters his final year with GPA 2.35. His major is Geology.

CB Harrison was another career backup, playing in 38 games but not starting any of them. He made 17 tackles, none for loss, and two assists (but no sacks) and intercepted one pass. He goes into his final year with GPA 3.80 and only no grades below B. His major is Dentistry.

Roberto

07-20-2003, 06:49 AM

2008 Notre Dame Individual All-Time Season Records

Taking 2001-2008 as "all-time", what new Notre Dame records were set in 2008?

Rushing Attempts: RB Malone with 190

Field Goals: K Finch with 9

And that’s all, folks.

Roberto

07-20-2003, 06:51 AM

2008 Grades
.


Team Performance: 26/100
Academic Performance 83/100
Recruiting Performance 100/100
TV Revenue 5/100
Alumni Donations 8/100
Attendance at Stadium 47/100
.
Overall 41/100

Roberto

07-20-2003, 06:52 AM

TCY Challenge Coaching Record



Year Team Record Post Rank Perf Acad Recr TV Tick Don Score
2008 Notre Dame 2-9 No 115 26 83 100 5 47 8 41
2007 Notre Dame 5-6 No 80 74 83 100 74 37 60 70
2006 Notre Dame 2-9 No 114 69 79 100 77 37 79 71
2005 Notre Dame 0-11 No 125 40 77 100 11 48 50 52
2004 Notre Dame 0-11 No 124 0 73 84 75 55 0 37
2003 Notre Dame 3-8 No 98 6 61 17 1 66 75 38
2002 Notre Dame 4-7 No 88 10 53 12 75 69 36 39
2001 Notre Dame 3-8 No 82 13 31 2 2 76 2 21



Post - Post-Season Appearance, Perf - Team Performance Score, Acad - Academic
Performance Score, Recr - Recruiting Score, TV - Television Revenue Score,
Tick - Ticket Revenue Score, Don - Alumni Donations Score

Roberto

07-23-2003, 12:59 AM

CHALLENGE DYNASTY - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROCKNE 2009

Reminder: Initial Settings:

Everything on manual - in practice, I rely heavily on the coordinators’ recommendations for team selection and game plan.

Last Season

Bank in the dumps again at 2-9 (after 5-6).

Overall rank 115 (down from 80).

The College

The one and only Notre Dame

Academic reputation remains steady at 69, holding at 9 of 125. Subject rankings are now uniformly high, from 4 (Astronomy and Geology) to 13 (of 125) (Nuclear Engineering). Remember there are three subjects we don’t offer: Sociology, Social Work and Political Science. Undergraduate GPA is steady at 2.91.



Community loyalty: Pretty Good
Alumni loyalty: Fair (was Decent)
Student goodwill: Good (was Pretty Good)



Season tickets sold have fallen again to 27,800 (from 31,200).

Prestige is down again, to 62 (from 64).

At the start of the season we’re at 113 in the coaches’ poll, 95 in the fans’ poll and ranked 110 overall.

Ticket Prices

This is still not a time to raise prices. Will the time ever come?

Start of Season e-mails.

Nicky Woodson, a running back, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

He wasn’t a starter, but we’ll miss him.

William Imme, a kicker, has been made academically ineligible for the upcoming season for failing a class.

That’s really annoying. His major is Geology. What’s he doing taking a class in Sports Management - and then failing it?

Job offers from Brigham Young (Prestige 75, Ac Rep 60) Houston (73 and 30 ) Oklahoma State (69 and 34) and Utah State (71 and 46). Tempting - very tempting.

New coaches at Air Force, Northwestern, Tulane, Arizona and Washington.

Wally Foley of Michigan has been named Coach of the Year for his performance this past season.

Again. Well, at least they won the Championship last season.

The good news is what isn’t there:

No staff retirements.
Nobody left for lack of playing time.
Nobody suspended for off-the-field activity.
Nobody wants more free time.
No broken relationships.

And the word on campus is that seven of the squad have acquired girlfriends since the start of last season.

Staff Hiring

None of Notre Dame’s staff have left.

New coaches at South Carolina, San Diego, Army, Cincinnati, Southern Mississippi, San Jose State, New Mexico State, North Texas and Oakland.

Roberto

07-23-2003, 01:01 AM

2009 COACHING STAFF

No changes this year.

Syndicate Coordinator: Scottie Hammond
Age: 58
Academic Eligibility: Terrific
Syndicate Investigation: Terrible
Solicit Donations: Terrible

He’s still the best available for academics. The donations depend on results.

Defensive Coordinator: Jerome Gaines
Age: 43
Play Calling: Pretty Good
Injury Avoidance: Pretty Good
Rehab: Fair (was Decent)
Congeniality: Good
DL: Very Good
LB: Terrible
Sec: Lousy

There’s still nobody else interested who calls plays so well and can avoid injuries.

Offensive Coordinator: Leo Douglas
Age: 33
Play Calling: Pretty Good
Injury Avoidance: Decent
Rehab: Terrible
Congeniality: Good
QB: Good
RB: Very Good
R: Decent
OL: Fair
K: Terrific
Current Offense: Wishbone
Years with offense: 1

Douglas’ big weakness is rehab. He’s proved jolly good at developing the players.

Great Lakes Scout: Claude Joyner
Age: 37
QB: Good
RB: Poor
REC: Excellent (was Terrific)
OL: Good
PK: Excellent
DL: Terrific
LB: Decent (was Fair)
Sec: Poor

Roberto

07-23-2003, 01:02 AM

2009 Freshmen



Player # Pos Elig Current Future Scouted
MacClelland, Kevin 40 RB Fr 29 57 53++
Zachary, Matthew 38 RB Fr 38 46 41++
Musselman, Bubba 45 FB Fr 20 39 53--
Shuran, Melvin 20 FB Fr 37 73 61+
Schwartz, Bill 98 TE Fr 24 43 53+
Buckley, Todd 83 WR Fr 22 51 58+
McCarty, Billy 69 T* Fr 5 26 21+
Berry, Thomas 6 K Fr 25 57 76
Kirk, Raymond 19 K* Fr 4 52 41
Lowe, Gabe 99 DE Fr 13 50 60+
Kindred, Darryl 78 DE* Fr 6 45 40+
Chung, Joel 90 DT Fr 19 41 38+
Engler, Omar 92 DT Fr 5 60 59-
Arnold, Johnnie 57 ILB Fr 17 71 62-
Casanova, Phil 51 OLB Fr 12 62 62--
Strzelczyk, Rick 34 CB Fr 12 62 45+



TE Schwartz, K Berry and DE Lowe are the only players who look seriously worse than scouted.

But they could all benefit from some serious training.

Roberto

07-25-2003, 01:10 AM

Notre Dame Roster 2009, Scout Overview



Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate

Fazande, Wade 11 QB Sr 32 +12 70
Farley, Kurt 5 QB Jr* 19 +3 39
Humphrey, T.J. 4 QB So* 20 +8 57 +1
Chorak, Eugene 16 QB* Sr~ 6 -1 14 -1
Agranoff, Brad 7 QB* Sr* 48 +5 55



No losses from last year’s starters. Agranoff is the best, but the others have some way to go. Try a radical idea - if Agranoff stays fit, try to de facto redshirt Fazande, to get a starting year out of him after Agranoff has gone.



Malone, Harold 22 RB Sr~ 44 +2 45
Kincaid, Marc 28 RB Sr~ 18 +1 55
Carlson, Josh 46 RB Sr* 66 +12 70
Woodson, Nicky 21 RB Sr* 27 +2 51 +1
Fulton, Phil 48 RB So* 23 +3 48 +1
Zachary, Matthew 38 RB Fr 38 46
MacClelland, Kevin 40 RB Fr 29 57
Diaz, Deron 33 FB Sr 23 +2 51
Guthrie, Adam 32 FB So* 26 +0 47
Musselman, Bubba 45 FB Fr 20 39
Shuran, Melvin 20 FB Fr 37 73
Samson, Glenn 43 FB* Sr 8 +2 36



RB have lost McConnell, but he wasn’t the best even in his senior year. Carlson is the obvious first choice, followed by Malone. Try to redshirt the two freshmen.

FB still aren’t much, though Shuran could be good if he can be developed. Cover from other positions where possibly, and try to redshirt the freshmen.



Berman, Marlon 93 TE Sr* 33 +5 33
Williamson, Corwin 85 TE Sr* 29 +6 41
Finch, Terry 91 TE Jr* 34 +11 39
Dell, Andrew 89 TE So* 21 +2 52
Kassotis, Derrick 88 TE So* 21 +5 23
Schwartz, Bill 98 TE Fr 24 43
.
Campbell, Quinn 81 WR Sr~ 40 +2 49
Walker, Peter 87 WR Sr* 26 +6 61
Plante, Raymond 86 WR Jr* 30 +2 49
Buckley, Todd 83 WR Fr 22 51



TE have lost Gillespie and Overby, who was the best of a weak crew. Finch and Berman are the best for this year; it’s amazing how Finch came on so well coming off the bench last year when Kassotis and Dell’s redshirt years achieved so little. It can’t be brains; both Finch and Dell have 100 int, and Kassotis has int 83.

WR have lost Cornplow who again wasn’t the best in his final year. Campbell and Plante will just have to do the best they can. Buckley will redshirt if all the others stay fit.



Beckwith, Billy 54 C Sr~ 24 +1 73
Stockman, Lorenzo 55 C Jr* 20 +0 72
Battle, Dave 53 C Jr* 38 +8 72
Hoffman, Marshall 50 C So* 22 +8 63
Rehberg, Levon 73 G Jr* 19 +11 28
Norton, Albert 76 G So* 28 +7 95
Thompson, Michael 72 G* So 7 18
Hamernik, Shannon 64 G* Fr 8 25
Downs, Maurice 70 T Sr* 32 +8 59
Callens, B.J. 79 T Sr* 22 +2 26
Wilkins, B.J. 68 T Jr* 14 +2 23
Troutman, Phil 66 T So* 9 +1 54
Morrison, Jackie 60 T* Sr 4 +1 4
Alcott, Isaac 62 T* Sr 5 +2 26
McCarty, Billy 69 T* Fr 5 26



C Ferderer has gone, and most of the others just aren’t making anything of their potential. For the record, Beckwith is 6-4 and 327 pounds (up 11), Stockman 6-2 and 288 pounds (up 10), Battle 6-3 and 299 pounds (up 5) and Hoffman 6-2 and 277 (up 13). No question who ate all the pies!

G have lost three pretty useless seniors (Godfrey, Szilter and Wilkins) and gained two wholly useless walk-ons. Such skill as Thompson (6-2 and 281 pounds) and Hamernik (6-2 and 292) have is in endurance. Hamernik is another player made up of short planks joined together (asp 6; int 21). For the record, "Bill" Rehberg (it rhymes, OK?) is 6-4 and 307 pounds (up 7) while Norton is also 6-4 and 286 (up 11).

But they won’t get much support from what passes for a line of OT. Downs is Big Daddy, at 6-7 and 341 pounds (up 6) and Wilkins not far off at 6-7 and 335 (up 7), with Callens comparatively small at 6-3 and 603 (up 5). Best not to comment on the others. They might take it badly.



Armagost, Roosevelt 9 P Jr* 46 +18 53
Carter, Leon 10 P So* 32 +3 56
.
Imme, William 18 K Sr* 27 +4 81
Finch, Kenyon 17 K Jr* 37 +0 69
Fariman, Jessie 14 K So* 22 +10 56
Berry, Thomas 6 K Fr 25 57
Kirk, Raymond 19 K* Fr 4 52



Why couldn’t the OL develop as well as Armagost? At least we’ll have somebody to punt back upfield after the all the touchdowns!

K Finch is best for accuracy and power, while Imme is king of the touchbacks (rated 90!!!), but of all our Kickers, not one of them can manage a decent distance at kickoff.



Owens, Gino 56 DE Sr* 17 +3 57
Clements, Rico 74 DE Jr* 33 +8 84
Prior, Bo 96 DE Jr* 10 +1 29
Lowe, Gabe 99 DE Fr 13 50
May, Kirk 94 DE* Sr~ 21 +4 21
Kindred, Darryl 78 DE* Fr 6 45
.
Arnold, Jessie 71 DT Sr~ 39 +5 61
Womble, Ronald 67 DT Sr* 23 +4 51
Bradford, Victor 18 DT Jr 30 +4 40
Humphrey, Xavier 95 DT So 20 +3 36
Batch, C.J. 97 DT So* 19 -14 70
Engler, Omar 92 DT Fr 5 60
Chung, Joel 90 DT Fr 19 41



We’ve lost three DE from last year - and it shows. Clements is the best we have, May might just about do and the others are best covered from the DT.

Mind you, we’ve lost the best two DT from last year as well. Of the others, Arnold will lead with Bradford. What happened in Batch’s redshirt year is best not thought about.



Stargell, Vincent 41 ILB Sr 17 +2 25
Wagner, Lenny 59 ILB So 11 +7 48
Arnold, Johnnie 57 ILB Fr 17 71
Reed, Neil 47 ILB* Sr~ 3 +1 17
.
Thorpe, Brant 42 OLB Jr 10 -3 42
Culp, Daryl 44 OLB Jr* 22 +0 78
Lang, Rusty 49 OLB So* 8 +0 53
Casanova, Phil 51 OLB Fr 12 62



ILB look very bare indeed after the loss of Hickman. Have to throw Arnold into the line with Stargell, and hope.

The OLB cupboard is nearly as bare, after the departure of Garcia and Shelton. Not a trace of improvement anywhere! Perhaps Phil Casanova could recruit some ladies to join the line. They could hardly do worse.



McCarthy, Dwight 27 CB Jr 13 +7 30
Hoover, Reggie 35 CB So 38 +0 80
Strzelczyk, Rick 34 CB Fr 12 62
Filar, Brad 24 CB* Jr* 1 +1 20
.
Coffman, Darrin 30 S Sr~ 41 +1 41
Feugill, Arnie 26 S Sr~ 31 -1 56
Salinas, Phil 37 S Sr 31 +4 35
Voetberg, Rusty 23 S Sr* 31 +1 80
Westbrook, Earnest 31 S Jr* 28 +5 30
Atkins, Max 25 S So* 46 +3 63



Last year there were two decent CB, Mascorella and Hoover. Now there’s just one. (We lost Harrison too, but he’s no loss). The Safeties will have to cover.

And finally some fairly good news - All last year' Safeties are back, and they show some signs of talent. Atkins and Coffman are the best (though Atkins didn’t improve much during his redshirt year). Any of the others will be better than the second-string CB.

* in eligibility - Player has been red-shirted. * in position - Player is walk-on. ** before name - Player is in danger of becoming academically ineligible. ~ in eligibility - Player is fifth year senior.

Roberto

07-29-2003, 01:17 AM

Roster Strength 2009



. Starters Reserves

QB 46 (was 36) 51 (was 38)
RB 62 (was 37) 35 (was 32)
FB 40 (was 23) 35 (was 11)
TE 25 (was 12) 61 (was 53)
WR 25 (was 4) 43 (was 44)
C 38 (was 20) 45 (was 43)
G 13 (was 6) 20 (was 20)
T 23 (was 18) 21 (was 17)
P 43 (was 29) 23 (was 0)
K 37 (was 37) 19 (was 51)
DE 24 (was 42) 22 (was 63)
DT 38 (was 35) 41 (was 40)
ILB 11 (was 16) 15 (was 7)
OLB 0 (was 22) 27 (was 54)
CB 20 (was 25) 17 (was 25)
S 47 (was 31) 61 (was 57)



Good improvement in QB, massive improvement in RB.

Still, it’s clear the younger TE, WR, and S are better than the seniors.

This year’s big weakness is the OL and the LB.

Roberto

07-29-2003, 01:22 AM

Gaps to be filled: upcoming Class of 2009

Two QB
Two RB
One WR
Two FB
One C
Two T
One DE
One DT
Two ILB
Two CB

Recruitment Priorities

We need to strengthen the OL and the LB pool.

Recruitment Tactics

Follow up the technique that have succeeded in the immediate past - go for the highest GPA from good football schools in Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio to catch the Acad/Dist, then go for the same wider afield.

Roberto

07-29-2003, 01:24 AM

2009 Week 1

Scheduling

Once again, no success arranging a match with any of Notre Dame’s designated traditional rivals that we might have a chance of standing up to.

Agree an away match in Hawaii in Week 1 and a home and away with Rice (in Week 2 of this season). Rice must be looking for cupcakes, but at least it’s at home.

Idle gossip

Freshman OLB Phil Casanova has a girlfriend. Called Sharon. Laugh if you dare.

The Match

Hawaii’s a nice place to visit most of the time, but it rained when we played there last season and the forecast is much the same this year. And the game doesn’t even make the TV.

At the start of the season, we’re ranked #113 and they are ranked #92. All we know about them is that they prefer the Pro Formation.

Time to organize the starters.

Agranoff will start at QB, backed up by Humphrey after his redshirt year, then by Farley.

RB Carlson, then Malone then (as little as possible) Kincaid.

Flanker Campbell, Split End Plante, backup WR Walker then Winslett.

FB Diaz then Guthrie then Musselman.

TE Finch then Williamson then Berman. This is the strongest group - or so it looks.

OL is a group of paper tigers again. LT Downs, LG Norton, C Battle, RG is C Stockman (as an experiment) and RT Callens.

DL is another. LE May DT Arnold RT Bradford DE Clements.

OLB Thorpe and Culp, ILB Stargell.

Secondaries are juggled too. Top CNB is Hoover, with S Feugill as Second CB. Atkins is FS, Coffman SS.

With the weakness of the LB, it’ll be a 4-3 defense at all times.

Interestingly, scouts recommend 12% option running plays. Worth a try.

Raining (again!), 68 degrees.

Lose 14-34

It starts well, with a touchdown by RB Carlson as the first scoring play. They run a touchdown shortly after and the scores are even at the end of the first quarter. RB Carlson runs another touchdown in the second quarter, to put Notre Dame ahead by 14 points to 7 at the end of the second quarter. Then the sky falls in.

Overall, we outran them by 172 net yards to 129 (and were even ahead on yards per carry by 4.0 to 3.7), but they outpassed us by 194 yards to 89, a thumping lead of 10.2 to 3.5 in yards per attempt. Even so, they only won 20 first downs to our 19. So much for option running plays. They reached our red zone five times (for three touchdowns and two field goals); we reached theirs twice (for the two touchdowns).

QB Agranoff attempted two runs and gained all of three yards in them. QB Humphrey also attempted two, was sacked once and achieved minus seven yards.

Rushing stats were led by RB Carlson with 79 yards (and the two touchdowns) and RB Malone with 57 - then came FB Guthrie, with 28.

QB Agranoff attempted 22 passas nd succeeded with nine, QB Humphrey attempted three and succeeded with one. Of the fifteen failures, seven were defensed, four hurried, three bad and one intercepted (so none were dropped). I feel another season with a threadbare OL coming on.

Leading the defense was S Atkins with eight tackles (two for loss), followed by DT Arnold with seven (three for), ILB Stargell with five (one for) and S Coffman also with five (none for). Credit also to DE Clements who made two sacks and DT Bradford with one, while another was credited jointly to DE May and OLB Thorpe.

RB Carlson and G Norton (what did he do?) make the Players of the Week list.

Injuries:

WR Campbell - out - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - 8 weeks
OLB Culp - Questionable - sprained triceps muscle - 3 weeks.

On TV1 unranked Oklahoma go down 21-49 at #11 Indiana.
On TV2 #43 Central Michigan go down 3-20 at #29 California.

Week 2

Message

Kirk May, a defensive end, expressed the opinion that he should receive a full scholarship given his current level of playing time.

Sorry - there’s none to spare.

The Match

Hosting #25 Rice.

Their first match of the season. All we know about them is that they prefer the Power-I. They have a senior QB who specializes in very long passing.

With WR Campbell out of action, we try RB Malone at Flanker.

Sunny, 53 degrees. Crowd of 33,900.

Lose 26-52

Notre Dame scored touchdowns by RB Carlson, two by RB Malone and a brilliant 92-yard interception return by S Feugill, but it didn’t stop the incoming tide.

They outrushed us by 296 net yards to 112 (6.5 yards per attempt to 3.6) and outpassed us by 244 yards to 153 (an emphatic 14.3 yards per attempt to 5.6) won 25 first downs to our 15 and visited our red zone six times, which we wandered into theirs twice.

QB Agranoff was sacked three times in six attempts for minus 22 yards, and succeeded with 16 of 27 pass attempts. Of the nine failures, four were bad, two defensed, two hurried, two intercepted and one dropped (by TE Finch).

RB Malone rushed 86 yards (and two TD), RB Carlson 38 (and one). Nobody else made double figures (except for QB Agranoff’s and his were negative!).

One bright spot was P Armagost who made seven punts for 308 yards, and average of 44.0. Even so, only one of them made the opposition’s 20.

Tackles were led by S Atkins with seven (two for loss), then DT Womble, S Coffman and ILB Stargell all with six but none for loss between them. The team’s solitary sack was credited jointly to DT Womble and DE Owens.

RB Carlson and RB Malone make the Players of the Week list.

New injuries:

DT Arnold - out - hyperextended knee - 5 weeks
DT Humphrey - probable - bruised ribcage - 4 weeks

Walking wounded

WR Campbell - out - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - 7 weeks
OLB Culp - Questionable - sprained triceps muscle - 2 weeks.

On TV1 unranked Idaho lose 25-41 at #19 New Mexico.
On TV2 #33 Nebraska are pipped 18-21 at #30 Louisville.

Week 3

No match this week.

On TV1 #6 UCLA are narrowly upset 21-23 at #28 Ohio State.
On TV2 it’s nearly as narrow, as #22 Utah are upset 21-24 at #40 Utah State.

Week 4

At North Carolina State.

They are #80 and 1-1 and 10-point favourites. They prefer the Veer formation.

Raining, 50 degrees.

The game starts slowly. There are no scores until the end of the second quarter, when NCST run a touchdown with 11 seconds to go. Five minutes into the third quarter WR Plante runs a 12-yard touchdown and K Finch converts, to level the scores. Thirty seconds later NCST fumble a pass on their 15; DT Bradford runs a touchdown and Finch converts again. Five more minutes of NCST pressure and they have a touchdown and a conversion.

Scores level again.

Five minutes into the fourth quarter and K Finch kicks a field goal from 25 yards, into the rain.

We defend doggedly until …

Possession to North Carolina State.

1-10-NCST09 (01:31) NCST 13 Terrell pass completed to 86 Fierro for 46 yards. Tackled by NDAM 41 Stargell.
--
1-10-NDAM45 (01:10) NCST 13 Terrell pass fell incomplete, intended for 8 Barlow.
NDAM 26 Feugill defended the pass.

2-10-NDAM45 (01:01) NCST 13 Terrell pass fell incomplete, intended for 3 Farris.
NDAM 35 Hoover defended the pass.

3-10-NDAM45 (00:53) NCST 13 Terrell sacked by NDAM 74 Clements for a loss of 5 yards.
Sack allowed by NCST 73 Foreman.
Ball was fumbled and recovered by NCST 71 Stuart for 0 yards to the NCST50.

4-15-NCST50 (00:34) NCST 13 Terrell pass was intercepted by NDAM 35 Hoover at the NDAM20.
The interception was returned 80 yards for a touchdown!
Extra point by NDAM 17 Finch was good.

Score: Notre Dame 24, North Carolina State 14.
NDAM 14 Fariman kicked off 74 yards from the NDAM35. Touchback.

Possession to North Carolina State.

1-10-NCST20 (00:27) Penalty: NDAM - Offsides.

1-05-NCST25 (00:27) NCST 13 Terrell pass fell incomplete, intended for 86 Fierro.
NDAM 26 Feugill defended the pass.

2-05-NCST25 (00:18) NCST 13 Terrell pass completed to 86 Fierro for 40 yards. Tackled by NDAM 30 Coffman.

Yay!!! Upset win 24-14.

C Dave Battle is named as the game’s MVP. And with six key run blocks to his credit, who can argue?

The stats are as close as the game. We outrushed them by 155 net yards to 53 (3.5 yards per carry to 1.9) while they outpassed us by 293 yards to 148 (8.8 yards per attempt to 6.4). We won 19 first downs to their 18 and both sides reached the others’ red zone twice. The kiler sack was sacks. We conceded two, they conceded six.

QB Agranoff was sacked twice in eight attempts, but still made 24 yards. He succeeded with 12 of 23 pass attempts. Of the nine failures two were bad, four defensed, three hurried and two dropped (one by RB Malone and the other by backup RB Kincaid; the weather created a very slippery ball today). Nine of twelve attempts for ten yards or fewer succeeded but only three of eleven for longer; all five attempts to pass for more then thirty yards failed.

Running honours were reversed from the last game. RB Carlson led with 84, followed by RB Malone with 38 - but no touchdowns between them.

Leading the tackles were S Coffman with eight (two for loss), S Atkins with seven (none for), DE Clements with six (three for loss) and CB Casanova with five (none for). Of the sacks, two were made by OLB Culp, one each by DE Clements, CB Casanova and DT Bradford and one was awarded jointly to DE Clements and DE May.

A good result - but should we be concerned about the absence of the LB from almost all the defense stats?

Time will tell.

QB Agranoff and RB Carlson make the players of the Week List.

There’s a price to be paid:

New injury

T Downs - out - broken ankle - 9 weeks

Walking wounded

WR Campbell - out - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - 4 weeks
DT Arnold - questionable - hyperextended knee - 3 weeks
DT Humphrey - probable - bruised ribcage - 2 weeks

On TV1 the upsets continue, as #11 Pittsburgh lose 21-31 at #32 Texas A&M.
But on TV2 the natural order is restored when #25 Fresno State are thumped 17-49 by #16 Missouri.

Roberto

07-31-2003, 01:13 AM

2009 Week 5

Walk-on

WR Glenn Bowie from Florida - complete waste of space (2/3) and not much up top (asp 20 into 26); as soon as he becomes unpopular, he’s out.

Academics

Nobody lower than a straight D.

Recruitment

No visitors yet, and no rejections yet.

The Match

Hosting Michigan State. Both we and they are 1-2.

They are #73 to our #98. They prefer the I-Formation. They are good at rushes; their starting QB likes to run all the time.

Raining, 44 degrees. Crowd of 33,000.

Shut out 0-27

It’s clobberin’ time. They outrushed us by 278 net yards to 59 (5.2 yards per carry to 2.3), outpassed us by 165 yards to 42 (6.3 yards per attempt to 2.0), won twenty first downs to our three and reached our red zone five times while keeping us out of theirs. These five visits gained them only one touchdown and two field goals. Don’t think about how much worse it could have been.

QB Agranoff has a match from hell. He was sacked twice in five attempts for a grand total of minus two yards and succeeded with six of 21 pass attempts. Of the fifteen failures, two were bad, four defensed, two blocked, five hurried and two intercepted. At least none were dropped. Worse - again - the successes were short. Five of eight attempts below ten yards succeeded but only one for longer, and the failures included all seven attempts at passes for more than thirty yards.

We’ll never get any yardage at this rate!

Leading runners were RB Malone with 27 yards (yup, that’s 27), RB Kincaid with 20 and RB Carlson with 12.

Leading the defense was S Atkins with seven tackles (three for loss), followed by ILB Stargell, DT Womble and DT Arnold with six each (all with one for) and OLB Thorpe and OLB Culp also with six (but none for). One sack was made, credited jointly to DE Clements and DT Arnold.

Even so, RB Carlson makes the players of the Week list. He must have something on the selection panel.

No new injuries.

On TV1 #15 Alabama lose 21-30 at #20 Kentucky.
On TV2 #25 Syracuse are thrashed 10-48 at #8 Miami of Florida.

Week 6

Recruitment

Still no visitors (lots of targets are going elsewhere) and still no rejections.

The Match

At #3 Wisconsin - they head the Big Ten with a 4-0 record.

This could be very bad.

To confuse the enemy, the likelihood of option running plays is boosted from 12% to 85%.

Fair, 48 degrees. Capacity crowd in Madison of 76,100.

Shut out again 0-34

Let’s get it over with. They outrushed us by 189 net yards to 84 (3.7 yards per attempt to 2.8), outpassed us by 219 yards to 140 (a much more significant discrepancy of 12.8 net yards to 4.8), won twenty first downs to our eleven and kept us out of their red zone while visiting ours three times.

QB Agranoff plumbed new depths. He was sacked twice in five attempts for minus twelve yards overall. Passing was back up to average, succeeding in 13 of 29 attempts. Of the sixteen failures seven were hurried, two intercepted, three defensed, three just plain bad and one dropped (by WR Walker). None of eleven attempted for less than ten yards succeeded but only four of eighteen for longer. One long attempt succeeded - for 42 yards - but ten others for more than twenty yards all failed.

The RB made more headway than last week. RB Malone led with 50 yards, closely followed by RB Carlosn with 45. But no touchdowns to show for it.

Star of the defense was S Atkins with eleven tackles (two for loss). A long way behind came CB Casanova with six (two for loss) and DT Womble with five (one for loss). No sacks were made.

At least there were no new injuries. Only to our morale.

On TV1 #28 Auburn go down 21-48 at #48 Tennessee.
On TV2 #38 Virginia win 38-28 at unranked Duke.

Week 7

Recruitment

Randy Walters, a running back from Hammond High School in Hammond, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Wow! He didn’t even visit. He’s 79++ Dist/Acad (from 63 miles away) #1 player in Indiana and - wait for it - Nat Rank #33.

Still no visitors, but there are three rejections.

No game this week.

On TV1 two unbeaten teams clash. #4 Southern California go 6-0 with a 23-13 win at #12 California.
There’s a Big Ten game on TV2. #20 Northwestern go down 13-21 at #3 Wisconsin, who also go 6-0.

Week 8

Recruitment

Mel Dotson, a defensive tackle from Washington High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

Another one who didn’t visit. He’s 61+ Dist/Prest #1 DT in Wisconsin Nat Rank #264.

Also four refusals.

Thirteen declared visitors (all in the national top 1,000 - and all going elsewhere too).

The Match

Hosting #45 Penn State. They are 2-3 and 11 point favourites.

They prefer the Pro-Formation.

DT Arnold is fit again and comes back in at LT.

Lower the probability of option running plays back down to the scouts’ recommended 12%

Raining, 55 degrees. Crowd of 31,500.

Lose 14-34

By the end of the second quarter they are 17-0 ahead. Some pride is restored by a touchdown from TE Finch in the third quarter and a 54-yard fumble return from backup RB Kindred one minute from the end of the game. Otherwise it’s pretty much same old, same old - outplayed in every department.

They outrushed us by 201 net yards to 70 (4.1 yards per carry to 70), outpassed us by 306 net yards to 136 (9.5 yards per attempt to 7.5) won 29 first downs to our eight and kept us out of their red zone, while reaching ours five times.

QB Agranoff was sacked once in two attempts - but still had negative yardage of one yard. He succeeded with nine of eighteen pass attempts. Of the nine failures two were bad, two defensed, four hurried and one intercepted (so none dropped). Seven of eight below ten yards succeeded, two of five for longer.

RB make little headway. RB Carlson ran 32 yards, RB Malone 22 and RB Kincaid 15.

Defense was ineffective until the last line. S Atkins and S Coffman made eight tackles each (one each for loss) followed by OLB Culp with seven (also one for). There was one sack, awarded jointly to DE Clements and DT Arnold.

Notre Dame are not represented in the players of the Week list.

New injuries

TE Finch - probable - unknown - strained hamstring
DT Arnold (again!) - out - broken wrist - 12 weeks (rest of season)
ILB Wagner - out - arthroscopic knee surgery - 6 weeks (rest of season)
DT Humphrey - probable - bruised ribcage - 5 weeks (touch and go)

Walking wounded

T Downs - out - broken ankle - five weeks (touch and go)

TV1 has another two unbeaten teams. This week it’s #10 Tennessee who hold their record, going 6-0 with a 19-14 win at #16 Kentucky.
On TV2 #46 Oklahoma pull off a shock 46-28 win at (hitherto unbeaten) #2 Texas.

Roberto

08-03-2003, 01:02 AM

2009 Week 9

Message

Brad Agranoff, a quarterback, expressed the opinion that he should receive a full scholarship given his current level of playing time.

I would if I could. There are none available.

Academics.

More grades out

Bone-for-brains CB Filar is on E, three on D-, two on D, three on D+.

Recruitment

No acceptances, four rejections, seventeen declared visitors.

The Match

At #23 Northwestern. They are 5-2. This could be very bad.

Take another look at the offense.

FB Guthrie, then Diaz then Musselman.

Campbell at Flanker, RB Malone at Split End. Backup WR Walken, Plante, Winslett.

TE Berman, then Williamson, then Dell.

RB Carlson then Kincaid.

And pray …

Stormy, 54 degrees.

Shut out 0-28.

It is very bad. They outrushed us by 227 net yards to 45 (4.2 yards per carry to 1.8) and outpassed us by 154 yards to 120 (an emphatic 8.5 yards per attempt to 4.4), won 24 first downs to our 7 and kept us firmly out of their red zone while reaching ours four times.

QB Agranoff attempted three runs and, despite not being sacked, only made six yards overall. He succeeded with 11 of 27 pass attempts. Of the 16 failures, 8 were hurried, three defensed, two bad and three dropped (two by RB Carlson, one by RB Malone - that’s not like them, it must have been the slippery ball). Seven of eleven attempts for ten yards or fewer succeeded, as against three of sixteen attempts for eleven yards or more.

Running yardage was led by RB Kincaid with 26 yards, then RB Carlson with 17.

Leading in tackles was S Coffman with ten (one for loss), followed by ILB Stargell with eight (one for) and OLB Casanova also with eight (but two for). For what good it did, there was one sack, by DE Clements.

Notre Dame do not feature in the Players of the Week list.

No new injuries

TV1 presents a match from the West Coast, where #3 Stanford win 47-41 at #4 Southern California.
On TV2 #9 Texas A&M have a more emphatic 31-14 win over #22 Colorado.

Week 10

Recruitment

Everett Dole, a quarterback from Somers High School in Lincolndale, New York, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 66+ Acad/Prest #2 QB in New York State Nat Rank #197. He likes to run all the time (away from New York, obviously).

Percy Sauerbrun, a wide receiver from Jackson Center High School in Jackson Center, Ohio, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 57+ Dist/Acad #1 WR in Ohio Nat Rank #600.

Jay Reiss, an offensive guard from Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 73- Acad/Prest #2 G in Texas Nat Rank #193

Jon Connell, a cornerback from Weld Central High School in Keenesburg, Colorado, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 54- Acad*/Prest #2 CB in Colorado Nat Rank #744.

Also four refusals

Ten declared visitors.

The Match

At #50 Ohio State. They are 4-3 and 23 point favourites.

Like us, they play the Wishbone - but they’re better at it. They are #13 in rushes and #39 in rushing yards.

Fair, 62 degrees.

Routed 7-48

Our one consolation is a touchdown by FB Diaz with 1:47 of the match remaining.

Overall, they outrushed us by 294 net yards to 61 (5.7 yards per carry to 2.1), outpassed us by 184 yards t 10610.2 yards per attempt to 4.4, won 25 first downs to our eight and visited our red zone four times, while only allowing us into theirs once.

With QB Agranoff injured during the game, both Farley and Humphrey saw action. Agranoff was sacked once in three attempts for minus fifteen yards overall; Farley was also sacked once in his three attempts, but did better with zero overall yardage. Agranoff succeeded in five of thirteen pass attempts, Farley in three of nine and Humphrey in none of two. Of the overall sixteen failures, four were bad, five defensed, one blocked, three hurried, two intercepted and only one dropped (by RB Carlson, again!).

RB Kincaid again led the yardage with 38 yards, followed again by RB Carlson with 21. Nobody else made (positive) double figures.

What passes for the defense was led by S Atkins with eight tackles (one for loss), followed by CB Hoover with seven (one for) and DT Womble also with seven (none for). Has anyone seen a linebacker around here?

Again, DE Clements made one sack.

Also again, nobody from Notre Dame makes the Players of the Week List.

New Injury

QB Agranoff - out - pull quadriceps muscle - 5 weeks (rest of season)

Already out for rest of season

T Downs - out - broken ankle - 4 weeks (rest of season).
DT Arnold - broken wrist
ILB Wagner - arthroscopic knee surgery
DT Humphrey - bruised ribcage

On TV1 #11 Tennessee lose their unbeaten record, going 7-1 with a 0-17 shutout at #8 Florida.
It’s TV2’s turn to visit the West Coast this week. They show #25 UCLA going down 24-49 at #3 Stanford.

Week 11

Recruitment

C.J. Norton, an outside linebacker from Ouachita Parish High School in Monroe, Louisiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 52+ Acad*/Dist #2 OLB in Louisiana Nat Rank #270

Also three refusals.

The Match

Hosting #38 Illinois. They are 5-3 and 18 point favourites.

Last week they beat #2 Michigan.

They prefer the I-Formation, they’re pretty good at passing and their starting QB is a specialist at very long passing.

Humphrey will start at QB.

Fair, 62 degrees. Crowd of 31,800.

Lose 3-10

We so nearly held them! The only score in the first half was a 33-yard field goal near the start of the second quarter. This lead held until four minutes in the fourth quarter, when ILLN ran a two-yard touchdown, promptly followed by a field goal.

The stats are just weird. We outrushed them (!) by 189 net yards to 111, 5.1 yards per attempt to 3.0, but they outpassed us by 201 yards to 50, 5.5 yards per attempt to 3.1, and won 22 first downs to our twelve. They reached our red zone four times; we reached theirs once.

QB Farley attempted four rushes for 21 yards overall, QB Humphrey two for ten. Neither was sacked.

Farley succeeded in four of eleven pass attempts, Humphrey in two of five. Of the twelve failures, three were hurried, five defensed and two dropped (BY FB Guthrie and WR Campbell). All six which succeeded came from the eleven attempts below ten yards. All five attempts at longer passes failed.

RB Carlson ran like the wind for 110 yards. Trailing behind was RB Kincaid, with 36.

OLB Thorpe must have heard me casting aspersions on the linebackers. He made ten tackles, five for loss, and three sacks, hotly pursued by S Atkins with nine tackles (two for loss) and OLB Culp with eight (none for). Three more sacks were made by DE Clements, DE May and DE Owens.

So we made six sacks, they made none, and still we lost?

Yup.

RB Carlson, G Norton (with five key run blocks) and OLB Thorpe make the Players of the Week list.

New Injury

QB Humphrey - doubtful - pulled groin - 4 weeks (he can still sit on the bench)
T Callens - questionable - sprained ankle - 1 week (he’ll be back for the Purdue game)

Already out for the rest of the season

QB Agranoff - out - pulled quadriceps muscle
T Downs - out - broken ankle
DT Arnold - broken wrist
ILB Wagner - arthroscopic knee surgery
DT Humphrey - bruised ribcage

There’s a Big Ten game on TV1. #1 Wisconsin maintain their unbeaten record to go 9-0 with a thrilling 27-26 home win over #26 Penn State.
On TV2 #11 West Virginia are shut out 0-36 by #29 Pittsburgh.

Roberto

08-06-2003, 12:42 AM

2009 Week 12

Walk-on

QB Aaron Erickson will never be more than a bench warmer (0/14) and should have the brains to see it (asp 69; int 74).

Recruitment

Mario Applegate, an inside linebacker from Sheridan High School in Sheridan, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 55++ Prest*/Acad (but he came anyway) #2 ILB in Indiana Nat Rank #629

Henry Elliott, an outside linebacker from York Comprehensive High School in York, South Carolina, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 39+ Acad*/Prest #1 OLB in South Carolina but unranked nationally.

Also one refusal.

The Match

Hosting #2 Michigan

They are 8-1 and 25 point favourites. Last week they shut out Iowa 41-0.

Which is not a good time to have to throw together a makeshift OL:

LT is C Beckwith, LG Norton, C Battle, RG is C Stockman and RT Wilkins.

Into the valley of death
Rode the six hundred …

Stormy, 43 degrees. Crowd of 32,500 at the last home game of the season. That’s a lot of hopes to dash.

Beaten 10-38

A field goal at 1:47 for the second quarter, and a touchdown in the last second.

Well, they outran us by 252 net yards to 89 (6.0 yards per attempt to 2.4), outpassed us by227 yards to 169 (13.3 yards per attempt to 7.3), won 30 first downs to our 15 and reached our red zone five times while limiting us to one appearance in theirs.

QB Farley tried a running game. He was sacked twice in thirteen attempts for fifteen yards overall.

So much for new ideas.

He also succeeded in 14 of 23 pass attempts. Of the nine failures, one was bad, four defensed, three hurried and one intercepted (so none dropped). Ten of fifteen attempted for ten yards or fewer succeeded as against four of nine for eleven yards or longer.

The running game was lead by RB Kincaid with 54 yards, then RB Carlson with 22.

S Atkins came into his own with 12 tackles (though only one for loss). Then came OLB Culp with seven (one for), S Coffman with six (two for) and OLB Casanova also with six (but none for). There were no sacks by Notre Dame players.

Only RB Carlson made the Players of the Week list.

No new injuries

On TV1 #5 Air Force go 10-0 with a 24-14 win at #36 Brigham Young.
On TV2 #26 Nebraska go down 18-24 at #29 Missouri.

Week 13

Academics

Brad Filar, a cornerback, is at risk for failing a class this year.

So what’s new?

Otherwise two D-, four D.

Recruitment

Julio Rowell, a tight end from Hale High School in West Allis, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 58+ Dist/Prest #2 TE in Wisconsin Nat Rank #949

Wade Crane, an offensive guard from West High School in Madison, Wisconsin, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 40+ Acad/Prest #2 G in Wisconsin

Marc Bordano, a safety from Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 51- Acad/Dist #2 S in Arizona Nat Rank #949

Three places to fill, and two scholarships

The Match

At local rivals Purdue.

They are #81 and 4-6 and twenty point favourites.

They prefer the Veer formation. Their starting QB excels in very long passing.

There was an old man with a beard
Who said: "It is just as I feared"

Fair, 42 degrees.

Lose 26-45

It started fairly well, with a 50-yard interception return from OLB Thorpe and an 18-yard touchdown from RB Carlson to put Notre Dame 14-7 ahead in the first quarter. They scored a touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter, to lead 17-14 at the break. After thet, we were always trailing, though touchdowns from WR Campbell in the third quarter and RB Carlson in the fourth quarter saved some pride.

We narrowly outrushed them by 130 net yards to 129 (3.7 yards per carry to 3.0) but they outpassed us by 263 yards to 191 (9.0 yards per attempt to 7.3), won 23 first downs to our 17 and reached our red zone five times, while we reached theirs twice.

QB Farley tried again. He was sacked once in 13 pass attempts and made 33 yards. This put him second in the list, behind RB Carlson with 67 and ahead of RB Kincaid with a pitiful 19.

He succeeded with exactly half his pass attempts, 13 of 26. Of the other 13 failures, seven were hurried, two blocked, two defensed, one intercepted and one dropped (by RB Carlson). In an astonishing reversal of most of the season’s stats, six of fourteen attempts for ten yards or fewer succeeded and seven of twelve for eleven yards or more.

Tackles were led by S Coffman seven (two for loss), followed by DT Womble and OLB Casanova with five each (one each for loss) and S Atkins and CB Hoover also with five each (but none for loss).

On TV1 #39 Connecticut are thrashed 9-41 by #18 Indiana.
On TV2 #25 Missouri learn that pride comes before a fall. After their televised win last week, they are thumped 21-59 by #44 Iowa State.

This ends Notre Dame’s 2009 season:

1-10, 0-8 in the Big Ten (and rock bottom).

125 in the coaches’ poll
124 in the fans’ poll
Ranked 119.

Roberto

08-14-2003, 08:20 AM

200 Post Season

Recruitment continues.

Week 14

No acceptances.

On TV1 #10 Texas A&M are pipped 38-41 at #4 Texas.
On TV2 #20 California are thumped 7-33 by #3 Stanford.

Week 15

Nolan Farr, a cornerback from Emsley A Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 44+ Acad*/Prest #4 CB in North Carolina

Sammy Karl, a fullback from Section High School in Section, Alabama, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season

He’s 41+ Prest/Dist #3FB in Alabama

Jack Wells, a center from Borah High School in Boise City, Idaho, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 39+ Dist/Acad #2 C in Idaho and will come as a walk-on.

Jermaine Martin, a kicker from Jay County High School in Portland, Indiana, has accepted your invitation to play for your school next season.

He’s 42+ Acad/Prest #5 K in Indiana but with GPA 3.88 he’ll be an academic asset.

Which ends the recruiting. It includes the players ranked 33, 193, 197, 264, 270 and 5 others in the top 1,000.

Seven were black-coded, four red-coded, three blue-coded and two green-coded.

Lowest GPA is 3.11 (CB Connell), 2.69 (S Bordano) and 2.63 (FB Karl).

At the end of the regular season, the only unbeaten teams are Wisconsin and the Air Force. No teams are 0-11 but two others join Notre Dame on 1-10, Tulane and Kent.

In the play-off semi-finals:

#2 Stanford beat #7 East Carolina 38-17.
#1 Michigan beat #4 Southern California 44-20.

So for the third year running the final is between Stanford and Michigan.
This year, Stanford win 17-14.

Player of the Year is Michigan RB Andy Blackwell:
400-1996 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Runner-up (with 125 votes to Blackwell’s 133) was the one and only Robbie Ferguson QB at Southern California, winner in 2006 and 2007 and runner up in 2008. His figures this year:
318-for-503, 4522 yards, 51TD, 6Int.

Notre Dame have one entry in the National Awards.

OLB Phil Casanova in the Freshman Team

The Big Ten awards honour:

OLB Phil Casanova in the Academic Team.
S Max Atkins in the Academic Team.

Roberto

08-14-2003, 08:21 AM

2009 Notre Dame Schedule

Rival: Purdue
Stadium Capacity: 52,400
Season Tickets Sold: 27,800



Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather
1 at Hawaii L, 14-34 43,700 Rain, 68
2 (13) RICE L, 26-52 33,900 Sunny, 53
4 at North Carolina State W, 24-14 19,200 Rain, 50
$$5 MICHIGAN STATE L, 0-27 33,000 Rain, 44
$$6 at (3) Wisconsin L, 0-34 76,100 Sunny, 48
$$8 (30) PENN STATE L, 14-34 31,500 Rain, 53
$$9 at (23) Northwestern L, 0-28 31,400 Stormy, 54
$$10 at (34) Ohio State L, 7-48 74,500 Sunny, 62
$$11 (44) ILLINOIS L, 3-10 31,800 Sunny, 62
$$12 (2) MICHIGAN L, 10-38 32,500 Stormy, 43
$$13 at Purdue L, 26-45 52,400 Sunny, 42



No TV games this year.

Home Games in ALL CAPS
$$-Conference Games, ##-League Championship Games, **-Post-Season Games

Roberto

08-14-2003, 08:21 AM

2009 Season Standings, Big Ten



School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Wisconsin 11 1 0 .916 360 207 8 0 0 1.000 220 118 Lost 1
Michigan 14 2 0 .875 501 198 7 1 0 .875 237 84 Lost 1
Northwestern 10 4 0 .714 420 185 6 2 0 .750 263 76 Lost 1
Penn State 7 5 0 .583 314 228 6 2 0 .750 246 108 Lost 1
Ohio State 7 4 0 .636 248 240 4 4 0 .500 188 195 Lost 1
Illinois 6 5 0 .545 245 272 4 4 0 .500 141 176 Lost 2
Purdue 5 6 0 .454 308 228 3 5 0 .375 198 169 Won 2
Michigan State 4 7 0 .363 207 234 3 5 0 .375 138 162 Lost 5
Minnesota 4 7 0 .363 150 350 2 6 0 .250 85 281 Lost 2
Iowa 2 9 0 .181 122 276 1 7 0 .125 72 215 Lost 5
**Notre Dame 1 10 0 .090 124 364 0 8 0 .000 60 264 Lost 8

Roberto

08-23-2003, 01:05 AM

2009 Recruiting List, Academic View



Player Pos HT WT ST NRank GPA Test
Dole, Everett QB 6-1 191 NY 197 3.78 1312
Walters, Randy RB 5-10 180 IN 33 3.53 1378
##Karl, Sammy FB 6-1 234 AL --- 2.43 984
**Rowell, Julio TE 6-6 250 WI 949 3.73 1323
**Sauerbrun, Percy WR 6-1 187 OH 600 3.53 1313
##Wells, Jack C 6-4 293 ID --- 3.22 1224
Reiss, Jay G 6-4 285 TX 193 3.60 1192
**Crane, Wade G 6-1 260 WI --- 3.46 1166
$$Martin, Jermaine K 6-3 197 IN --- 3.88 1345
Dotson, Mel DT 6-3 256 WI 264 3.24 1194
Applegate, Mario ILB 6-1 213 IN 629 3.30 1026
**Elliott, Henry OLB 6-1 220 SC --- 3.41 1156
Norton, C.J. OLB 6-2 208 LA 270 3.35 1233
**Farr, Nolan CB 5-11 170 NC --- 3.54 1383
Connell, Jon CB 5-7 163 CO 744 3.11 1147
$$Bordano, Marc S 6-1 194 AZ 979 2.69 1017

Roberto

08-23-2003, 01:06 AM

Recruiting List, Worksheet View



Player Scout Emphasis Status
Dole, Everett 66+ Acad/Prest Committed *
Walters, Randy 79++ Dist/Acad Committed *
##Karl, Sammy 41+ Prest*/Dist Committed *
**Rowell, Julio 58+ Dist/Prest Committed *
**Sauerbrun, Percy 57+ Dist/Acad Committed *
##Wells, Jack 39+ Dist/Acad Committed *
**Crane, Wade 40+ Acad/Prest Committed *
Reiss, Jay 73- Acad/Prest Committed *
$$Martin, Jermaine 42+ Acad/Prest Committed *
Dotson, Mel 61+ Dist/Prest Committed *
Applegate, Mario 55++ Prest*/Acad Committed *
Norton, C.J. 52+ Acad*/Dist Committed *
**Elliott, Henry 39+ Acad*/Prest Committed *
**Farr, Nolan 44+ Acad*/Prest Committed *
Connell, Jon 54- Acad*/Prest Committed *
$$Bordano, Marc 51- Acad/Dist Committed *



Rough Estimate of Player Interest: No Prefix - player unlikely to be
interested, ** - a bit of a stretch for your school, $$ - likely interest,
## - almost certain interest.

Roberto

08-23-2003, 01:13 AM

2009 Summary for Notre Dame

Record: 1-10
Rank: 125



Notre Dame Team Rank
Rushes 358 86
Rushing Yards 1166 92 (T)
Yards Per Carry 3.25 91 (T)
Pass Attempts 259 105
Completions 118 119
Passing Yards 1344 122
Yards Per Attempt 5.18 120
3rd Down Conversions 30.8 101
Points Per Game 11.2 122
Turnovers 14 15 (T)
Turnover Margin 0 57 (T)



All pretty similar to last year. Yards par carry up from 2.81 to 3.25 and yards per pass attempt down from 5.65 to 5.18. Both of them need to be a lot better.



Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 483 120 (T)
Rushing Yards 2158 121
Yards Per Carry 4.46 112
Pass Attempts 262 5
Completions 158 22
Passing Yards 2450 78
Yards Per Attempt 9.35 124
3rd Down Conversions 46.3 121
Points Per Game 33.0 119


.


Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
7 Agranoff QB 180 81 859 4.77 4 9
5 Farley QB 69 34 444 6.43 2 3
Team --- 259 118 1344 5.18 6 12



Agranoff’s yards per attempt were significantly down on last year: 6.11 to 4.77, but he had double the number of touchdowns and the same number of interceptions.



Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
46 Carlson RB 150 527 3.51 3 46 57
22 Malone RB 55 288 5.23 1 9 6
28 Kincaid RB 48 214 4.45 1 19 35
7 Agranoff QB 34 -19 -0.55 0 17 100
5 Farley QB 33 69 2.09 0 11 28
Team --- 358 1166 3.25 6 117 249



Carlson improved on last year - yards per attempt up from 3.06 to 3.51. Malone was even better, up from 3.62 to 5.23 and yards lost down from 88 (!) to 6. But overall, the team’s touchdown total rose only from five to six.



Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
46 Carlson RB 49 23 310 13.4 155 2
81 Campbell WR 44 15 355 23.6 76 0
91 Finch TE 37 13 127 9.7 39 1
86 Plante WR 30 14 167 11.9 53 1
28 Kincaid RB 22 11 74 6.7 19 0
22 Malone RB 21 11 97 8.8 52 1
85 Williamson TE 15 6 40 6.6 5 0
32 Guthrie FB 14 11 41 3.7 16 0
33 Diaz FB 13 10 47 4.7 20 1
Team --- 259 118 1344 11.3 468 6



The main players’ yards per catch rose significantly. Campbell up from 14.5 to 23.6, Carlson from 10.3 to 13.4. But again the team just didn’t do well enough, with overall yards per catch down from 12.4 to 11.3



Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
25 Atkins S 88 46 0.0 15 0 6
30 Coffman S 66 32 0.0 8 0 5
51 Casanova OLB 52 11 1.0 8 2 3
44 Culp OLB 51 12 3.0 7 1 2
41 Stargell ILB 50 21 0.5 6 0 5
67 Womble DT 45 22 0.5 11 0 0
42 Thorpe OLB 41 11 3.5 7 2 1
74 Clements DE 32 9 8.0 15 0 0
35 Hoover CB 31 8 0.0 1 1 1
57 Arnold ILB 19 13 1.5 3 1 2
18 Bradford DT 17 8 2.0 5 0 0
71 Arnold DT 16 4 0.5 7 0 0
23 Voetberg S 15 5 0.0 2 0 0
31 Westbrook S 14 6 0.0 1 0 2
26 Feugill S 12 6 0.0 2 2 4
78 Kindred DE 11 6 0.0 1 0 0
Team --- 675 241 24.0 108 9 32



More tackles (up from 642 to 675), more of them for loss (up from 81 to 108) but one fewer sack and one fewer interception.

Roberto

08-31-2003, 02:11 AM

2009 departing seniors



Player # Pos Elig Current Future
McConnell, Brenden 29 RB Sr 38 38
Gillespie, Cole 98 TE Sr 30 43
Overby, Jim 84 TE* Sr 30 34
Cornplow, Bill 3 WR Sr 29 49
Godfrey, Brady 65 G Sr 11 43
Szilter, Malcolm 64 G* Sr 21 21
Beyer, Duane 77 DE Sr 34 68
Ford, Jessie 78 DE Sr 34 38
Necaise, Chuck 92 DE Sr 49 62
Garcia, Deon 58 OLB Sr 28 47
Mascorella, Mario 20 CB Sr 37 52
Ferderer, Jay 51 C Sr 28 42
Wilkins, Lamar 69 T Sr 18 39
Fulton, John 61 T* Sr 11 22
Taylor, Ben 90 DT Sr 40 62
Simmons, Ben 99 DT* Sr 8 32
Hickman, Lester 52 ILB Sr 38 46
Shelton, Melvin 57 OLB Sr 24 31
Harrison, Harvey 40 CB Sr 16 16



RB McConnell from distant Anchorage, Alaska played in 43 games and started 19 of them. His overall running yardage was 449 yards in 134 attempts, an average of 3.3 yards per attempt and 10.4 yards per game. He caught 13 passes and dropped none for 122 yards, an average of 9.3. He scored two running and no receiving touchdowns. A poor student (asp 38 int 25) he had to work hard to achieve GPA of 2.77. His major was Geology.

TE Gillespie was a backup, playing in 40 games but only starting twelve of them. He caught 31 passes and dropped two for 355 yards, an average of 11.4. He scored a magnificent one career touchdown. An average student he leaves with GPA 3.01. His major was Hotel Management.

TE Overby was a walk-on and also a backup in three of his four years. He played in 39 games starting twelve of them - but eleven of those twelve were in 2007. He caught 23 passes and dropped none for 309 yards, an average of 13.4. He scored no touchdowns. His talents lay off the field. A good student he leaves with GPA 3.48 and no grades below B in his major, Electrical Engineering.

WR Cornplow was never more than a backup. He played in 26 games, but started none of them. Four successful catches and no touchdowns. He leaves with GPA of 3.16. His major was Business.

G "Daddy Bear" Szilter featured mainly at the beginning and end of his career. A walk-on with no scholarships available to give him, he nevertheless played in 38 games, starting in 24 of them; these included all eleven games in 2005 and in 2008. He made two key run blocks (a percentage of 10.0%) and allowed 18 sacks (3.6%). 6-8 he ended his college career at 343 pounds. GPA 3.46, with no grades lower than B in his major, Chemistry.

G Godfrey was a career backup and a talent-free zone. He played in 17 games but did not start any of them. He made two key run blocks (a percentage of 33.3%) and allowed two sacks (4.5%). 6-6 he ended his college career at 341 pounds. His greatest talent was as a passable impression of a row of short planks. With asp 13 and int 23, it’s a wonder that he leaves with GPA of 2.78. His major was Astronomy.

DE Ford was a backup until his senior year. He played in 37 games and started 20 of them including every game in 2008. His overall record was 83 tackles, 16 for loss, and 5 sacks. A good student he leaves with with GPA 3.38 and no grades below B in his major, education.

DE Necaise would have played a larger role than he did but for injuries. He played in 33 games and started 20 of them including ten of ten in 2006 and (prior to breaking an arm) six of six in 2008. His overall record was 65 tackles, 26 for loss, and 12.5 sacks. An outstanding student (int 87, asp 98) he leaves with GPA 3.59, and only two of 25 greade below B.

DE Beyer was mainly a backup, though his last season was cut short with a terrible compound leg fracture. He played in 31 games but only started 7 of them. His overall record was 88 tackles, ten for loss, and two sacks. Another outstanding student (asp 96, int 100) he leaves with GPA 3.88, and straight As in his major, Journalism.

OLB Garcia was yet another player who was pretty well a backup until his senior year. He played in 36 games starting eleven of them, all of those in 2008. He made 59 tackles, 7 for loss and 28 assists and two sacks. Another bundle of short planks (asp 7 int 7), he leaves with GPA 2.61. His major was Astronomy.

CB Mascorella was a rock, starting every game for which he was eligible, but for all of that he wasn’t actually much good. He made 23 tackles, two for loss, and 34 assists (but no sacks), intercepted one passes (for all of five yards) and allowed 54 to be caught. A very weak student (asp 12 int 5) he was propped up sufficiently to leave with with GPA 2.38. His major was Trigonometry.

C Ferderer had a career like the hole in the polo mint. He played in 37 games, starting in 22 of them; the games which he started were all those in 2006 and 2007, but none of those in 2005 or 2008. He made 47 key run blocks (a percentage of 26.7%) and allowed 7 sacks (1.4%). 6-4 he ended his college career at 289 pounds. A diligent student, he goes into his final year of study with GPA 3.79. His major is Jurisprudence. Let the record show also that he made the 2007 Big Ten All-Academic Team.

T Fulton was a career backup with little talent. He played in 25 games but did not start any of them. He made one key run block (a percentage of 16.6%) and allowed five sacks (6.8%). 6-5 he ended his college career at 312 pounds. Another good student, he enters his last year of study with GPA of 3.66 and straight As in his major, Mechanical Engineering.

T Wilkins never really developed to his full potential on the field. Possibly a redshirt year could have done the trick, but we shall never know. He played in 33 games, starting in 16 of them, including all eleven games in 2006. He made 20 key run blocks (a percentage of 20.8%) and allowed 11 sacks (3.3%). 6-5 he ended his college career at 332 pounds. An outstanding student, who made the Big Ten All-Academic Team in 2006, (asp 100 int 90) he enters his last year of study with GPA 3.86 and only three of twenty grades on his record below straight A. His major is Metallurgy.

DT Simmons was almost wholly a backup. He played in 36 games but only started four of them. His overall record was 35 tackles, 10 for loss, and 7.0 sacks. A very weak student (asp 25 int 32) he enters his final year of study with GPA 1.92. His major is Geography.

By contrast, DT Taylor was a rock, and a strong one. He played in all 44 games for which he was eligible and started 40 of them. His overall record was 124 tackles, 22 for loss, and five sacks. He enters his final year of study with GPA 3.35. His major is Psychology.

ILB Hickman was pretty solid. He played in 33 games and started 16 of them. His overall record was 136 tackles, 20 for loss, 49 assists and 4.5 sacks. A weak student, he enters his fifth year of study with GPA 2.83. His major is Algebra. He is also the only senior on the team without a girlfriend. Perhaps he should wash under his armpits more frequently.

OLB Shelton was a fixture in the team for the past two years. He played in 28 games and started 23, including all 11 in 2007 and ll 11 in 2008. He made 80 tackles, 11for loss and 34 assists and three sacks. Another weak student (asp 7 int 2) he enters his fifth year of study with GPA 2.35. His major is Geology.

CB Harrison was a career backup, and something of a tadpole. He played in 38 games but did not start any of them. He made 17 tackles, none for loss, two assists and no sacks, intercepted one passes (for no yards) and allowed 14 to be caught. A very good academic (asp 68 int 83) he goes into his final year with GPA 3.80 and three straight As and a B+ in his major, Dentistry.

Roberto

08-31-2003, 02:12 AM

2009 Notre Dame Individual All-Time Season Records

Taking 2001-2009 as "all-time", what new Notre Dame records were set in 2009?

None at all!!!

Roberto

08-31-2003, 02:13 AM

2009 Grades



Team Performance: 30/100
Academic Performance 83/100
Recruiting Performance 100/100
TV Revenue 8/100
Alumni Donations 13/100
Attendance at Stadium 40/100
.
Overall 42/100

Roberto

08-31-2003, 02:14 AM

Coaching Record to end 2009



Year Team Record Post Rank Perf Acad Recr TV Tick Don Score
2009 Notre Dame 1-10 No 118 30 83 100 8 40 13 42
2008 Notre Dame 2-9 No 115 26 83 100 5 47 8 41
2007 Notre Dame 5-6 No 80 74 83 100 74 37 60 70
2006 Notre Dame 2-9 No 114 69 79 100 77 37 79 71
2005 Notre Dame 0-11 No 125 40 77 100 11 48 50 52
2004 Notre Dame 0-11 No 124 0 73 84 75 55 0 37
2003 Notre Dame 3-8 No 98 6 61 17 1 66 75 38
2002 Notre Dame 4-7 No 88 10 53 12 75 69 36 39
2001 Notre Dame 3-8 No 82 13 31 2 2 76 2 21



Post - Post-Season Appearance, Perf - Team Performance Score, Acad - Academic
Performance Score, Recr - Recruiting Score, TV - Television Revenue Score,
Tick - Ticket Revenue Score, Don - Alumni Donations Score

You do the overall math. I can't face it.

Roberto

08-31-2003, 02:17 AM

Au Revoir

This saga will now pause for a while. There's many years more of raw material, but I need to recharge my creative batteries.

When it returns, it will return in a new thread and mutual links will be posted.

Many thanks to any and all readers.

Roberto

02-19-2004, 03:49 PM

The end of the story

My old PC died horribly at the turn of the year. Though most of the drive contents could be preserved and were transferred onto the new system (kudos to SPS) it was not possible to start TCY from the preserved position. So all the save games, and therefore all the sources from which rosters and results could be printed, were lost.

Just in case anyone was waiting for the story to resume, here are the bare bones of "what happened next" from my written notes.

2010-2015 The Years of Recovery

2010: 3-8 end season rank 112 start 2011 prestige 63
2011: 6-5 end season rank 62 start 2012 prestige 68
2012: 4-7 end season rank 85 start 2013 prestige 64
2013: 5-6 end season rank 80 start 2014 prestige 66
2014: 2-9 end season rank 110 start 2015 prestige 61
2015: 5-6 end season rank 73 start 2016 prestige 66

2016-2020 So near, and yet so far
2016: 8-3 end season rank 33 start 2017 prestige 70
2017: 7-4 end season rank 40 start 2018 prestige 73
2018: 7-4 end season rank 40 start 2019 prestige 71
2019: 8-3 end season rank 24 start 2020 prestige 74
2020: 7-4 end season rank 33.

What led to the turnaround?

As J R Ewing once said, once you give up integrity, the rest comes easy

In 2013, with the aid of some judicious bribery, we recruited HS players ranked #17 (QB), #18 (WR) and #77 (DT) in the nation, in 2014 a matching WR ranked #81 in the nation and in 2015 an OLB ranked #6 overall and yet another WR ranked #56 overall. After that, success fed on success.

Please do not take this as a blueprint for real life!