Ty Bowl 2 - Preview

ND @ Washington

 

Saturday, 7pm Central time, ESPN 2 National Coverage

 

I hate to call this game the Ty Bowl. In all honesty, I harbor no resentment for Willingham, like many message board warriors out there. He was not the right fit for ND, and in all actuality is not a good football coach. Luckily we saw that and cut the cord early, because I cannot imagine where our program would be if Ty had been allowed to stay another year or two. The recruiting he didn't do is not the only reason, but was a significant factor in the 2007 season. But I digress . . .

 

Willingham is on his way out, and a knockout blow could be delivered by the Irish on Saturday. However, this game is not about Willingham or Weis and the jobs they have done. Willingham has clearly failed, and the jury is still out on Weis but signs are point up. This game is about a young ND team trying to win on the road for the first time this season. Both road games thus far have been at ranked opponents. While competitive in both games, the Irish came up short, largely on youth and immaturity instead of talent in the eyes of many. Can the Irish close out a game on the road? Can the Irish avoid road turnovers (8 in 2 road games this year)?

 

On top of the whether a young ND team can win on the road, the fact is that this Washington team is awful. Likely the worst team the Irish will play this season, except for possibly Syracuse. Here is a quick summary of Washington's rankings in NCAA Div 1-A statistics (out of 119 teams)  -  I got all these from a cool NCAA stats website, very easy to use:

• Passing offense  -  Washington is 57th at 217 yards per game; Irish are 17th nationally at 272 yards per game
• Rushing offense  -  Washington is 106th with 103 ypg; Irish are 108th with 101 ypg
• Pass defense  -  Washington is 98th with 250 ypg given up; Irish are 87th with 231 ypg
• Rush defense  -  Washington is 115th at 233 ypg; Irish are 60th at 136 ypg
• Points scored  -  Washington is 108th at 17.7 ppg; Irish are 62nd at 25.5 ppg
• Points given up  -  Washington is 115th at 40.7ppg; Irish are 41st with 20.7ppg

Wow. Washington is an awful football team. Their rushing offense is 106th, and their rushing defense is awful at 115th. Pass defense is 98th for Washington, going against the 17th best passing offense in the country in the Irish. Washing is giving up 40.7 points per game . . . and only scoring 17.7pts per game. They are 0 and 6, so I guess I should not be surprised.

 

I look for the Irish offense to have a field day against Washington, assuming they can take care of the ball. I hope that we start the game passing, and then once they step back to defend the pass, then we run the ball. Similar to the North Carolina game, which was a fantastic offensive display except for turnovers. Here are a few predictions for you:

• Prediction 1  >>  Jimmy will throw for 310 yards, 3 touchdowns, and the biggie - ZERO interceptions.
• Prediction 2  >>  The Irish will finish with 500 yards total offense, 310 in the air and 190 on the ground.
• Prediction 3  >>  Armando Allen hits the 100 yard rushing mark and scores 2 TDs  -  one on the ground, one in the air.
• Prediction 4  >>  Irish field goal kicker Brandon Walker misses a short field goal early; his replacement  -  walk on David Ruffer, (who just joined the team during the bye week, after the coaches spotted him at a dorm football game. came into practice and nailed all of his kicks, in full speed with pads, and a defense) will attempt his first field gaol in the 2nd half, nailing the 40 yarder, instantly becoming ND's starting kicker and a cult hero of sorts.

Game prediction time:

 

Irish   38     Washington  17

 

(the Vatican's record is 5-1 straight up, 4-2 vs the points)