In a kinda weird event, the Irish will face off against Washington State on Saturday evening in San Antonio, TX at the Alama Dome (6:30pm central, NBC). The Irish are favored by 28 points over the Cougars, who are ranked in the "1 hundred and teens" in every major defensive category. While the game lacks much appeal from a matchup standpoint, the appeal and success/failure of the neutral site home game will be interesting to evaluate. Unfortunately the opponent is not either a) local or b) attractive, so I imagine the results of "success" of this game will be a mixed bag.
This game is the first of the former AD Kevin White-inspired "7-4-1" schedule - with the 1 being a neutral, off site "home" game. Under the 7-4-1 scheduling technique, the Irish intend to schedule 1 game per year in a major media market - ideally one with a pro football team (facility) and no college teams (opportunity). Additionally, the Irish would definitely prefer to schedule these games in areas that would aid in recruiting.
San Antonio is a perfect site for recruiting, being located near the major markets of Houston and Dallas in Texas - the state that produced the most division 1-A football players last year. Amazingly, Texas is home to only 3 players currently on scholarship for the Irish. There are more players from Tennessee and North Carolina individually than from Texas. The reason? Mack Brown and the Texas Longhorns, who typically offer top juniors in February each year, demanding their verbal by threatening to revoke the offer if not immediately accepted. In addition to the strong Irish recruiting pipelines to talent rich California and Florida, the Irish must establish some recruiting presence in Texas. Three or four prospects a year would be respectable and expected given the talent level and volume of players in the state. This game is a great way to get some exposure in the Longhorn state, as Notre Dame is allowed to invite as many high school players as possible to the game; a good number of talented juniors (class of 2011) will be on hand Saturday night.
Now, on to the game. I'm not going to spend a lot of time previewing the particulars of the game. Here are a few stats for you about the Cougars:
- Defense rankings (out of 120 Div 1-A nationally) - Rush defense (114th), Pass defense (118th), Total Defense (118th).
- Offense rankings - Rushing offense (116th), Passing Offense (55th), Total Offense (111th)
- Passing offense looks decent right? But when its paired with the worst (120th) pass protection in the nation (5 sacks per game), that means two things: a) the freshman QB Lobberstael can pass a little bit, especially considering his numbers with that offensive line; and b) the Irish blitzing front is going to have some big time opportunities for a few big plays.
- Washington St's only win this season (1-6) was against SMU at home - which they won 30-27 in OT.
- The Cougars scored 20 or more only twice, with the 30 against SMU and 20 against Hawaii.
Washington State probably thinks they can beat Notre Dame, and I don't blame anyone for thinking they can win. Bottom line is that they can't. The Irish are far too talented not to score 30 points against Wazzu, while the Cougs will be lucky to get 20 points. Look for the Irish to use this game to work on and improve the running game that will be key down the stretch. Charlie mentioned he is taking twice the number of offensive lineman on the trip, and I expect him to use them all. The game is never in doubt - for once - but the Cougars add a late score against the 2nd team defense to cover the spread.
Prediction:
Notre Dame 38 Washington St 17
(Vatican Smoke is 5-2 picking winners straight up, but 3-4 against the spread)
Prediction #2 - See you on the Riverwalk!!
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