Notre Dame managed to erase some bad memories from their disastrous 2007 campaign by going 7-6 last season. The Fighting Irish cleared the .500 barrier with a 49-21 victory over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.
It goes without saying that 7-6 seasons and Hawaii Bowl triumphs don’t rank high in Notre Dame lore. The nation’s most fabled college football program expects to be among the elite, playing in Bowl Championship Series bowl games, perhaps for BCS national championships.
Yet it was an improvement from 2007, when the Irish finished 3-9 and set a school record for most losses in a season.
Still, if they don’t take another step or two forward in 2009, it’ll be a disappointment. Notre Dame, after all, has 18 starters returning.
In its opener, which is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m. EST, at South Bend, Ind., the Irish will face an offense that ranked fifth in the nation last season. The game is scheduled to be telecast by NBC.
Notre Dame, ranked No. 23 in the USA Today preseason coaches poll, will face Nevada for the first time.
Unranked Nevada, coming off a 7-6 campaign, has one the nation’s most productive quarterbacks in Colin Kaepernick and hopes to challenge Boise State for the Western Athletic Conference championship.
Kaepernick has thrived running Nevada’s pistol offense, a relatively new style of attack that was invented by longtime Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault. The offense is a variation of the shotgun, with the quarterback lining up three yards behind the center, and the tailback setting up behind the QB.
Nevada’s success in 2009 could depend on improvement from its defense, which struggled mightily last season.
Notre Dame Preview
Weis has managed just 10 wins over the last two seasons, and that’s a total the Fighting Irish like to reach in just one year.
If they fail to do so in 2009, they won’t be able to blame a lack of experience on offense. Notre Dame has 10 starters back on that side of the ball.
One of them is Jimmy Clausen, who threw for 3,172 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 64 percent of his passes. Clausen, though, also had 17 passes intercepted.
That number will likely go down if the Fighting Irish can establish a consistent running game. They ranked just 100th in the nation at 109.7 yards per game last season.
Notre Dame has its top three rushers back in Armando Allen (585 yards, 3 TDs), Robert Hughes (382 yards, 4 TDs) and James Aldridge (357, 3 TDs). But of the three, only Allen averaged more than four yards per carry.
Allen was a consistent threat as a receiver, catching 50 passes to rank second on the team. The receptions leader, wide receiver Golden Tate, is also back after making 58 receptions for 1,080 yards and 10. So are wide receiver Michael Floyd (48 receptions, 719 yards, 7 TDs) and tight end Kyle Rudolph (29 catches, 340 yards, 2 TDs).
Notre Dame actually has six returning starters on the offensive line. The whole unit from 2008 returns intact, and 2007 starter Paul Duncan is back after missing last season because of injury.
The Irish defense showed drastic improvement last season, allowing an average of 329.9 yards per game to rank 39th in the nation. They gave up over 440 in 2007.
The 2009 unit boasts an experienced secondary that includes safeties Kyle McCarthy and Harrison Smith, and cornerbacks Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls.
McCarthy led the Irish in tackles with 110, and McNeil had a team-high 11 pass breakups.
Smith is returning to safety after playing linebacker last season. He led the team with 8.5 tackles for losses, including 3.5 sacks. Walls started in 2007, but did not enroll in school last season for personal reasons.
Notre Dame’s defensive line brings back tackles Ethan Johnson and Ian Williams, and Brian Smith returns at linebacker. The Irish also expect to get a boost at linebacker from Manti Te’o, a heralded freshman from Hawaii.
Nevada Preview
Kaepernick was electrifying as a sophomore in 2008. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder rushed for 1,298 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging seven yards per carry, In addition, he passed for 2,849 yards and 22 TDs.
The Wolf Pack also has a deadly weapon in Vau Taua, who rushed for 1,567 yards and 15 TDs, gaining 6.4 yards per carry. Taua was also an effective receiver, catching 30 passes for 243 yards and three more TDs.
Nevada lost standout wide receivers Marko Mitchell and Mike McCoy, so Chris Wellington (42 catches, 632 yards, 6 TDs) figures to step up in 2009.
The Wolf Pack will be experienced on the offensive line, where Alonzo Durham, John Bender and Mike Gallett return. Tight end Virgil Green is also back.
Nevada averaged 508.9 yards per game last season, but gave up more than 400 while ranking 91st in the nation. The Wolf Pack yielded 69 points to Missouri, 48 to New Mexico State,38 to Hawaii, 41 to Boise State, and 42 to Maryland in a Humanitarian Bowl loss.
But Nevada did put on a strong pass rush, and their two top sack men are back. Dontay Moch had 11.5 sacks and 17 tackles for losses, and fellow end Kevin Basped produced 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for losses. This year, the two will rush out of a 4-3 defense instead of a 3-4.
In addition, the Wolf Pack brings back its leading tackler in safety Jonathon Amaya (68 tackles, 5 interceptions), along with linebackers James-Michael Johnson, Kevin Grimes and Brandon Marshall and cornerback Antoine Thompson.
The Road Ahead
Nevada will get a two-week break after the Notre Dame game. The Wolf Pack will play at Colorado State on Sept. 19 before taking the national stage again. Nevada's home opener, Friday, Sept. 25 matchup with MIssouri, is scheduled for telecast by ESPN.
Notre Dame will play at Michigan the following week before returning home to face Michigan State. The Michigan game is slated for national telecast by ABC.
