Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Top Storylines By Lou Somogyi Defense-Less Where have you gone Warren Sapp, Russell Maryland and Cortez Kennedy? How about you Ray Lewis and Dan Morgan? Ed Reed, Bennie Blades and Antrel Rolle, are you anywhere to be found? The football machine that was “The U.” at Miami has produced a plethora of pros on offense, but the defense was its heart and soul over the years, giving the program its intimidating persona. It has evaporated in 2012: • In the season-opening 41-32 victory at Boston College, Miami’s defense surrendered 537 yards total offense to an Eagles unit that finished 112th out of 120 teams last season in both total offense (298.75 yards per game) and scoring offense (18.17 points per game). BC quarterback Chase Rettig completed 32 of 51 passes for 441 yards. • A week later in Manhattan, Kan., the Hurricanes lost 52-13 to Kansas State — the most points they had yielded in 167 games, dating back to a 66-13 loss in 1998 to quarterback Donovan McNabb’s Syracuse team that won the Big East title. The Wildcats amassed 288 yards rushing and 210 passing with quarterback Colin Klein, who completed 9 of 11 passes. After two games, Miami was near college football’s cellar in both scoring defense and yards given up. • The numbers were bound to improve against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 15, but even there the Football Championship Subdivision member rushed for 233 yards, with both of its top running backs, Rodney Scott and Isidore Jackson, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Bethune-Cookman — whose running backs coach is Notre Dame all-time leading rusher Autry Denson (4,318 yards from 1995-98) — controlled possession for 36:57 compared to Miami’s 23:03, although the Hurricanes won going away (38-10). Through the first three weeks, Miami was 102nd against the run (205.67 yards per game), 100th in total defense (463.33 yards) and 89th in scoring defense (31.33 points per game). Part of the reason for the downfall included the early entry into the NFL of defensive end Oliver Vernon (third-round selection) and tackle Marcus Fortson (not drafted), who was a standout in the 33-17 loss to Notre Dame in the 2010 Sun Bowl while making three stops behind the line of scrimmage and six overall. Their presence in 2011 helped the 6-6 Hurricanes finish 17th nationally in scoring defense with an average of 20.08 points per game, a little ahead of No. 24 Notre Dame (20.69). Two of the top four tacklers through the first three weeks this year were freshmen Eddie Johnson at linebacker and Deon Bush at safety. A budding star is sophomore end Anthony Chickillo. The five-star prospect arrived at Miami last year with the same fanfare as Irish defensive line recruits Stephon Tuitt and Aaron Lynch, and he was named the MVP of the 2011 Under Armour All-American Game. Chickillo started the last nine games for Miami and paced the team in sacks with five. Although Notre Dame’s offense has been “a work in progress” throughout head coach Brian Kelly’s first three seasons, Miami’s defense in 2012 may have just broken ground for construction. Shamrock Shakedowns Through the first three seasons of Notre Dame’s off-site Shamrock Series games, the school couldn’t have asked for much better results — especially with the Irish margin of victory averaging just less than 25 points per game. Of course, they came against teams that finished a combined 10-27, but the Series itself fulfilled the university’s purpose to market itself nationally in some of the nation’s most renowned cities. • In 2009 at San Antonio, the 40‑14 victory against Washington State improved the Irish to 6-2, but it would be the last win under fifth-year head coach Charlie Weis. (The Irish will return to Texas next year to play Arizona State on Oct. 5 in the Shamrock Series.) • At New York’s Yankee Stadium in 2010, Notre Dame clinched a bowl berth with a 27-3 win against Army, and in the process demonstrated it can shut down the triple option after getting scorched several weeks earlier in a 35-17 loss to Navy. The effective use of the JumboTron to promote the university also helped serve as food for thought to Irish athletics director Jack Swarbrick about making Notre Dame Stadium more interactive and entertaining for the audience. • Last year at FedEx Field on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., Notre Dame took its green jerseys look to a different level, including a green shamrocked gold helmet that looked like a Christmas tree ornament. The Irish ran away with a 45-20 victory against Maryland. The University of Miami holds a higher football marquee value than any of the other opponents Notre Dame has faced in the Shamrock Series, but the Hurricanes likewise are in a rebuilding phase. What can’t ever be overlooked is a roster filled with Florida talent that can never be underestimated. Just ask the Irish about the University of South Florida. Home Away From Home Miami will represent Notre Dame’s eighth different opponent played at Chicago’s Soldier Field. • The first (1924) and most recent (1994) had been Northwestern. The latter marked the debut of sophomore quarterback Ron Powlus, who finished 18-of-24 passing for 291 yards with four touchdowns in a 42‑15 Irish victory. • In one-point victories against USC in 1927 (7-6) and 1929 (13‑12), the attendance was listed at 120,000 (unofficially) and 112,912. The latter was recognized as the record at Notre Dame until last year, when 114,804 filled Michigan Stadium in its first home night game. • The second Notre Dame-Navy meeting, in 1928, also was held in front of an “unofficial” 120,000 fans in a 7-0 Notre Dame win. • During the construction of Notre Dame Stadium in 1929, head coach Knute Rockne’s “Ramblers” used Soldier Field as a home game in victories against Wisconsin (19-0), Drake (19-7) and USC (13-12) en route to their second consensus national title. • In 1930, a 54-yard touchdown run by Marchy Schwartz and Frank Carideo’s extra point with 3:30 left in the game gave Notre Dame a 7-0 lead against Army, which also scored with a minute left but had the PAT blocked. That victory in front of a listed 110,000 fans helped the Irish to their third consensus national title under Rockne. • The 1942 season finale resulted in a 13-13 tie with Great Lakes, a semi-pro World War II team. This time only 19,125 were in attendance. Overall, the Irish are 9-0-2 at Soldier Field, with the most games played against Northwestern (3‑0‑1). A Fashion Sideshow The Shamrock Series featured green jerseys against Army and Maryland the past two years, but will have the standard school colors Gold and Blue this year versus Miami. Well … sort of standard. The uniforms will feature metallic gold numerals on a darker blue jersey. The gold pants feature a thick blue stripe on the sides with the leprechaun logo on the hip. The team gloves will have a picture of the leprechaun on the palms. The most drastic alteration is with the helmet, designed by adidas. One side is gold with a disco dance ball motif, while the other is navy blue with a white outline of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish leprechaun. “We decided in a very conscious way to take this [Shamrock Series] and use this as the one time each year that we modify our uniforms … to embrace the notion that we’re going to bring an exciting and new opportunity with us when we come to that city,” Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick said. — Lou Somogyi