Irish notebook: What else is new? Holtz drinking Notre Dame Kool-Aid
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
Appearing on ESPN’s The Herd on Tuesday, former Irish Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz spoke highly of Notre Dame and its 3-0 start this season. What else is new, right?
Let me say this to all those fans who say I’m for Notre Dame, they do have a statue of me there at Notre Dame and I know they may need a place for the pigeons to land, but when they build a statue, you sort of have to be a little partial, Holtz said.
I felt Notre Dame was good last year. The difference was they turned the ball over 10 times the first three games and they’ve only turned it over twice this year.
Holtz continued by pointing out how talented the Irish are at quarterback, running back, tight end and middle linebacker.
He finished by saying they should not be afraid of any team remaining on their schedule, which wouldn’t be the case if say Alabama, LSU, Florida State or South Carolina was on the slate.
Currently there are four ranked teams remaining on Notre Dame’s regular-season schedule ” Oklahoma (No. 6), Stanford (9), USC (13), Michigan (18)
Among the five unranked teams left, two ” Brigham Young and Pittsburgh ” have already upset top-25 teams.
And don’t think Holtz is the only one high on Notre Dame right now.
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit raved about the Irish Wednesday morning on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning.
I’ve been as brutally honest about Notre Dame football over the last 10 or 15 years as anybody, Herbstreit said. Notre Dame is one of those brands that whether I’m on SportsCenter or on GameDay, a lot of times we kind of scratch our heads and say, ˜We’re talking about Notre Dame again? Why?’ But you have to. It’s kind of like Duke in basketball or the Yankees.
Herbstreit was in the broadcast booth for Notre Dame’s upset victory over Michigan State. To say he was impressed with the Irish is an understatement.
It was a different look, a different feel just watching them play, Herbstreit said. Forget Navy. Forget what they did against Purdue. Watching them against Michigan State and how physical they were in their front seven and how their offensive line controlled for the most part this Michigan State defense I was really impressed with what they have to offer this year.
If they get by Michigan, Notre Dame becomes a very interesting team to keep an eye on the rest of the year.
IT ALL STARTS WITH D: When Irish coach Brian Kelly took the job at Notre Dame in December of 2009, he said it was a necessity to have a strong defense.
I think I said it in my opening press conference when I took the job here that it was important that if we wanted to compete nationally we had to have a defense that could control the different teams that we play on a week to week basis, Kelly said.
I don’t think there’s a more diverse group of opponents that any team in the country plays. When you play in a conference, you get a great understanding of who you’re playing. We’re playing option teams, power teams and spread teams.
Getting our defense up to that level through recruiting, through player development and through scheme has been job No. 1. It’s getting better each and every year, he added. We’re lagging a little bit offensively but we’re making progress there.
No doubt Kelly has developed a defense that is talented, fast and tough physically. That’s definitely why the Irish could be a nine- or 10-win team this season.
AREA OF CONCERN? Notre Dame’s offense struggled on third downs against Michigan State, converting just one of 14. For the season, the Irish are converting 44 percent of their third-down opportunities (19-of-43).
Kelly is well award of his team’s struggles on third downs in East Lansing, but isn’t fixated on that statistic, especially since his Irish are doing such a good job taking care of the ball.
In the first three games, Notre Dame has committed one fumble and an interception (on 94 pass attempts). Meanwhile, the opponents have coughed up the ball seven times.
You want third-down conversions, said Kelly whose team didn’t turn the ball over at Michigan State. But we were managing the game in a manner that we had a great kicking performance. If we can kick that way, third-down conversions are not going to impact the football game. The turnovers. It’s short fields. And it’s the big, chunk plays.
TE’O HONORED: Middle linebacker Manti Te’o was named the Lott IMPACT Player-of-the-Week following his performance against Michigan State.
The senior All-American had a game-high 12 tackles, including one for a loss, a fumble recovery and two passes defended.
Te’o, a finalist for the Lott IMPACT trophy in 2011, endured a difficult week leading up to the Michigan State game, having to endure the deaths of both his grandmother and girlfriend.
It was hard, the Hawaiian native said. I lost a woman who I truly love, but I have my family around me and my football family. At the end of the day, families are forever and I will see them again someday.
It (the win) was for them, for my girl and my grandma, and for all my loved ones who have passed on. They are all watching.
MORE ND NUGGETS:
-Reports are circulating that Notre Dame will play UConn in 2014 in Boston’s Fenway Park.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said the media reports about the Irish playing in the home of the Red Sox just aren’t true.
Kelly, who was born and raised in the Boston suburbs, naturally would love to take his team to Fenway.
I love Fenway Park, he said. I think it would be cool.
With that said, Kelly is concerned that the park wouldn’t be big enough, saying he doesn’t want to get into a situation like Northwestern and Illinois did a few years back when they played at Wrigley Field and the end zone wasn’t large enough.
-Starting right guard Mike Golic Jr. is one of 22 players nationally to be named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for contributions to the community.
Already having graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree, Golic has participated in a fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s Foundation that has raised approximately $160,000 over the last four years. St. Baldrick’s is a charity that raises money for childhood cancer research.
He has also spent time working with area youths and senior citizens in the South Bend area.
Golic graduated with a degree in Film, Television and Theatre with a cumulative GPA of 3.429.
He is the seventh Irish football player selected to the Good Works Team since 1999.
Fans can vote for the Good Works Team Captain by visiting ESPN.com and searching Good Works.
-Other than starting safety Jamoris Slaughter, who suffered a season-ending injury at Michigan State, Notre Dame is expected to have everyone available that it had in East Lansing.
Kicker Nick Tausch remains questionable for Saturday’s game since injury his groin after the Navy game and missing the Purdue and Michigan State games.
Running back Amir Carlisle is also questionable. He hasn’t played this season after suffering a broken ankle in the spring.
Follow Doug Griffiths on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ISLgriffiths.
