Catch the latest on the 2008 Fighting Irish opponents for Wednesday, September 3:
San Diego State via http://www.goaztecs.com
Head Coach Chuck Long
General Comments: "It's a new week, obviously a big week for our team and this program going to a storied place and the tradition of college football. There's a lot of excitement for our guys. It shouldn't take much motivation if you are any kind of competitor or college football player. We have a renewed enthusiasm with our football team. We are coming off a disappointing loss. We want to move on.
"Two things we have to improve on are finishing games and also turnovers. No matter who you play in this game, you just can't give the ball up five times, especially going into a hostile environment like Notre Dame. That's going to be key with the noise level."
On playing at a storied tradition like Notre Dame:
"I grew up in Chicago in Notre Dame country and have never been to South Bend. This is exciting for me as well. I'm probably going to have to give (the team) the old Gene Hackman speech on Hoosiers and get out the tape measure and show them it's just a football field. We're going to try to pump in some crowd noise this week. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you may never have this chance again. I know they'll have fun with it. I know when they get in there, they'll be a little wide-eyed, but they'll settle in."
On the play of redshirt freshman Ryan Lindley against Cal Poly on Saturday:
"We saw a lot positives in the game, starting with Ryan Lindley, who will be a special player here. He showed poise, coming back after a rocky start. Talking to him on the sidelines, there were moments I had to catch myself saying, "Am I actually talking to a freshman here?" the way he was talking to (the coaching staff). He sounded like a fifth-year senior. He got rid of the ball when facing pressure. Some of those pressures were empty sets with five wide receivers and only five blockers, when (Cal Poly) were bringing six guys. Not a lot of freshmen can see the field the way he does. He has that wide vision that is very rare. He was very impressive.
"From the second quarter on, without the drops in the game, he was probably 80 percent (completion percentage) throwing the ball and about 490-500 (yards) throwing. That gives you a bit of an idea. From the second quarter on, he got his poise and was on fire the rest of the day. We're going to build on that and that is exciting for our staff."
On the team's defense against Cal Poly:
"Defensively, we had our rough moments. But we had two things that didn't happen last year. We had six three and outs on defense and they were only 2-of-13 on third downs. Our third down production wasn't that good last year, so we improved in that area."
On improving the running game:
"We really didn't give it a lot of attempts. It's really not fair to say we don't have a running game. We felt going (into last week) that we had to throw the ball to win the game and we did that. We got our team in position with a one-point lead to win it. We do have to run the ball and we want to, but we have to give it more attempts. The times we did run, we had some pretty good production."
Senior linebacker Russell Allen
On going to Notre Dame Stadium:
"This is going to be a neat opportunity for us. We are really excited about going out there and getting to play a football game, but this is a business trip for us and we know that going in."
On how the Notre Dame tradition might affect the team:
"We will find out when we get there, but we have made some big trips before. I've been to Ohio State and Wisconsin and Darren (Mougey) went to Michigan when he was a freshman. For the most part we know what it is going to be like, but like I said, it's a business trip. We are going in there with the attitude of getting a win."
On the defensive line:
"It's been tough. Those guys (defensive line) have had some hard times going through training camp and then obviously a couple more injuries during last week's game, but they are tough. They are going to work hard to get back out on the field and we know they will. We know we can count on them."
On moving on from last week's loss to Cal Poly:
"(Cal Poly) was definitely a tough loss, but it is a long season. We have 11 more games to play and this week we move on to Notre Dame. We can take a lot of things from that game, both positive and negative. We saw a lot of bright spots and things that we are going to do well this year, as well as a lot of things that we need to improve on. That is going to be the key. If we can take those things and learn from them, then it can still be a successful year for us."
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley
On what changed after a slow offensive start vs. Cal Poly:
"I think as an offense we got into a rhythm. Guys started clicking and we started passing the ball around. We were getting good timing with the routes and the offensive line was playing very well. I kind of put a lot of it on my shoulders as far as I have to get things generated. I started a little slow and as soon as I got back into it we got things clicking."
On Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen:
"He is obviously a very talented kid and got a lot of experience last year as a true freshman. He's in a big time program and he was rated pretty highly out of high school, but I have a lot of confidence in our defense...I guess they run a little bit of the Power I, but I feel confident that our guys will handle their business out there Saturday."
On his performance vs. Cal Poly:
"Our performance is a team performance. For me, it's the offense and we got a slow start. What we need to do is put four quarters together like we put that second half together. I think if we do that, we can put up a lot of points and play some pretty good football."
On going to Notre Dame Stadium:
"It's definitely exciting, but it is all business. We are going to get out there and maybe we'll be wide-eyed on Friday when we go see the stadium, but once we hit Saturday morning and we are ready for game time, it's all business. We need to go in there and win a ball game. That's what it is all about."
On the running game:
"I have 100 percent confidence in our offensive line's run blocking and in our running backs. I think we have a lot of talent at the running back position. The way Cal Poly's defense is schemed, they stack the box and play against the run. I think we still have the power to mix it up and have a balanced attack this week."
Senior wide receiver Darren Mougey
On going to Notre Dame Stadium:
"When you first get to those big games, you get a little wide-eyed and start thinking, `wow, this is big.' But, as soon as we step in between the lines on the field, it all goes back to just playing football. It doesn't really affect you as much as everyone thinks it does. The crowd noise in certain situations does come into play, but really once you get on the field it's just another game."
On the wide receivers' drops vs. Cal Poly:
"It was frustrating. It is something that we need to improve on and not let happen again. It was the first game and for a lot of those guys, it was really the first time they were getting game experience, but those are things we need to put behind us. I'll put it on my shoulders to make sure the receivers are out there before and after practice getting extra catches and working with Ryan (Lindley)."
Michigan via http://www.mgoblue.com
There is something different about the regular Monday press conference on Labor Day. Before the presser starts, it is quieter. The beat writers are here but there are fewer TV cameras and fewer columnists. The media seems to be more sedate. It is truly an "off day" that everyone has to work. Frankly, it is a "slower" day.
When Rich Rodriguez walked in the room, the questions were straightforward and the answers were as expected. But what started as a 'slow' day for the presser is going to be a start of a fast and tough week in Schembechler Hall. "Playing faster and playing more physical" is going to be the name of the game under Rodriguez.
The U-M coach felt the team played too tentatively and reverted back to some of the issues they had early on in practice. He is also pleased that the team is conscientious and "they know what they have to do to get better."
He didn't fault the team's effort against Utah, but he reminded the press that, "We are not good enough to play bad and win. We have to play well and execute to win ballgames."
And Rich knows that's what the coaches are paid to accomplish. So, when the presser was a little shorter than usual, you noticed Rich was getting back into the trenches quickly to get the team and staff ready to play to its expectations.
More from Rich Rodriguez's presser
Freshmen: Even though 12 true freshmen played on Saturday, Rodriguez felt two more true freshmen -- Roy Roundtree and Kevin Koger -- also could see action this year.
QBs: On the quarterback side, Rodriguez also reminded the media that the QBs in this offense have to be judged on a variety of acumens. He told them that this offense requires the field general to make more quick decisions, so it isn't just how one throws the ball.
He also noted that while Nick Sheridan might have had the early edge going into the opener against Utah, Steven Threet probably has the edge right now. Though that doesn't mean Rodriguez is going to announce the starter.
Freshman Justin Feagin's name came up in the conference and Rodriguez made quick mention that he "wasn't ready to play" and he will be redshirted.
RBs: The coach also mentioned that Carlos Brown banged up his shoulder and that Michael Shaw, Sam McGuffie and Brandon Minor all saw basically the same number of reps even though they didn't run the ball an equal amount of times. He also talked about how Michigan's inability to move the ball on early downs kept the offense from utilizing the run better.
"You can't have third-and-15 and third-and-long and expect to run the ball," said Rodriguez. That, according to Rich, has to change.
Washington via http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
Since this is a football season and not an extended wake, the Huskies get to play another game Saturday. It just happens to be against an opponent more polished, more powerful and with a more stable quarterback situation than Oregon. And you thought 44-10 was depressing. If Washington doesn't show some vitality, Brigham Young will win by at least three touchdowns, a closer result than the previous fiasco only because of the Husky Stadium advantage. Unless the Huskies improve in every way imaginable, they could get booed more than a roster of Shaun Alexander clones. Now would be a good time for coach Tyrone Willingham to coax a stunner out of his mangled program. He needs a performance more dramatic than last season's home-opening victory over Boise State. In short, the message is clear: Show us something. Show us something, or prepare for detonation. Surprise us. Enthrall us. Confuse us, even. The pessimists, or maybe they're the realists, have this entire year figured out already, you know. After one game, they have determined Washington will be lucky to win three games. They have Willingham exiting early, possibly on Oct. 5, the start of the second bye week. They have a headliner for the coaching wish list, Gary Pinkel of Missouri, a Don James protégé. Only a divine turnaround, the kind that provides sports with theatrical flair, can stop them now.
Here's one for all the Tyrone supporters! via http://www.bellinghamherald.com
Washington’s loss to Oregon on Saturday not only dropped the Huskies to 0-1 on the season, it also dropped Tyrone Willingham below .500 over his 13-plus seasons as a college head football coach. Willingham went 44-36-1 over seven seasons at Stanford and then 21-15 over three seasons at Notre Dame. However, he went 11-25 over his first three seasons at Washington, which dropped him to exactly .500 before falling to 76-77-1 on Saturday. “I don’t like it,” Willingham said Monday. “I’m not comfortable with it. But as they say: What it is is what it is. We just keep working and get it back over, and we’ll get on one of these runs pretty soon that will be one of these great winning streaks.” Some Willingham supporters note that Stanford is a difficult place to win. And that he was fired at Notre Dame before he could coach a team of his own recruits. Or that he inherited a 1-10 team when he came to Washington. He was asked if those circumstances warrant any sort of mental asterisk to mitigate what is now a losing lifetime record. “I guess an asterisk usually has a definition of some defining extra circumstances to it or something of that nature,” he said. “But no: It is what it is.”… That career .500 record was used against Willingham when his job status came into question after last season. And now the Huskies’ 44-10 loss to Oregon and his sub-.500 record have renewed calls for his job only one game into the new season.
Pittsburgh via http://www.post-gazette.com
The beginning of the end of the Dave Wannstedt era at Pitt may have taken place this afternoon at Heinz Field as Mid-American Conference opponent Bowling Green upset No. 25 Pitt, 27-17, before a crowd of 45,063.
Southern Cal via http://www.conquestchronicles.com/
In case you missed it USC vaulted Georgia and Ohio State in the AP poll to take #1 billing . SC jumped Georgia in the USA Today's Poll to take #1 as well. I know this is not CC's idea of letting the spotlight shine on someone else, but I think this is a good thing. We need to see how this SC performs under pressure, as if Sep. 13 wasn't pressure-packed already. Bring on the Buckeyes!!!
Note: UCLA also made it into the AP poll at #23 and missed the USA Today's poll by 1 point. They played a great game yesterday and we'll also see how they respond with a little pressure on them.
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