Tree Removal

A great win by the Irish over the Cardinal, 28-21. The game was actually not as close as the score indicated, largely due to the mishaps in the Irish kicking game. Brandon Walker missed from 40, 42, and then in the 2nd to last play of the game, the Irish chose not to kick a 30 yard field goal, opting to go for it on 4th down instead.

The story of the game is the rapid and astonishing development of Jimmy Clausen. Hyperbole and exaggeration have not been uncommon to Clausen, a high school phenom that came with much hype when he entered college. The hype is starting to make sense, as Clausen has thrown for 600 yards and 6 TDs against no INTs in his last two games. 350 yards and 3 TD performance against Stanford was a clinic, hitting check down RBs and later going deep, with some rockets over the middle to the Tight End. This kid is not going to be good, he is good. At this pace, every Irish QB record (I'm looking at you Brady) will be broken. Now if we can just get a running game . . .

Our friend Chris Marinelli, from the post below, had a tough game, as the Irish "200 blitzes with 1 sack" defense that he predicted would be "mashed", got to the Stanford QB for 3 interceptions, a fumble recovery, and 5 sacks. 5 sacks, a number worth repeating. Tough day for this loose mouthed offensive lineman that apparently was an Irish hopeful in high school, yet did not receive a scholarship offer. Good luck the rest of the season.

The defense again played well enough to win, holding every opponent this season to under 24 points. The defensive pressure didn't yield sacks until this game, but there is no doubt that teams are passing the ball a bit earlier than they would like against the Irish, taking many 3 step drops. The rushing defense is still sub par though, and eventually this will catch up with the Irish. Lets hope not.

A recap of this game cannot be complete without mention of the classless and temper-tantrum prone coach, Jim Harbough. This classless guy says that he "wears his emotions on his sleeve", which I guess means that he acts like a baby and a moron, but uses his emotions as his excuse. After the game, Clausen walked up to Harbough and extended his hand saying "Good game coach", in front of numerous reporters. Harbough just kept walking, even when Jimmy then exclaimed, "Coach - are you just gonna walk away from me like that?". Harbough later said he didn't see Clausen, to which Clausen responded, "Uh, yeh. Right", smiling.

Stanford and ND are more alike than I would like to admit, but it feels good to have another victory over them. A good developing rivalry here as Stanford continues to improve. Now, here are some YouTube highlights of the game. Enjoy