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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Notre Dame faces an uphill challenge
By Terry Bowden
Special to BCSfootball.com
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
Notre Dame surprised a lot of people last season when it won its last seven games to finish 9-2 and make it to the Fiesta Bowl. The Fighting Irish then took a step backwards with a 41-9 loss to Oregon State. And although coach Bob Davie received a new five-year contract, the jury is still out for a lot of Notre Dame faithful.
|  | | Bob Davie's squad faces a monster of a schedule this season. |
Last year, Notre Dame was two close losses away from being undefeated and three close wins away from being 6-5. The Irish were just as close to a loss to Air Force as they were to a win over Nebraska.
The fact is that ND is not a dominant football program anymore. ND doesn't have the best football players in the country and the mere mention of the name does not strike fear in the eyes of opponents. Whether the Irish can one day return to the elite of college football is debatable, but for now, the prospects of a successful season hinge on the uncertain outcome of a lot of close ballgames.
That being said, Notre Dame will be a better football team in 2001. Whether the Irish will have as good a record is an entirely different question.
Quarterback Matt LoVecchio, who did a tremendous job last year as a true freshman, goes into the season with more confidence and maturity. If he were to falter or get injured, he has two talented backups in Carlyle Holiday and Jared Clark. Last year, LoVecchio won ballgames by handing the ball off to his tailbacks and getting out of the way. With three outstanding runners in Julius Jones, Tony Fisher and Terrance Howard that made pretty good sense. However, if Notre Dame had not set an NCAA record for the fewest turnovers in a season, that offensive strategy would not only have been boring, but it probably would have been disastrous as well.
|  | | Arnaz Battle's move to wide receiver should give Notre Dame more options on offense. |
The key for Notre Dame on offense will be to blend in a solid passing attack with that running game. They don't have to throw it like the Florida Gators, but the Irish do need to be respectable -- as in gaining the respect of their opponents' defenses. The addition of former QB Arnaz Battle to the receiving corps should make this a little easier.
Defensively, the Irish just need to get better. They were not a top 40 unit in any defensive statistical category last season even though they played decently most of the time.
Talent is the quickest way to improve your defense and the return of injured defensive end Grant Irons is a step in the right direction. With Anthony Weaver at the other end position, ND should be able to put more pressure on opposing offenses. Outside linebacker Rocky Boiman, CB Shane Walton, and SS Ron Israel are the other reasons for high hopes for this year's defense.
But there are two reasons Notre Dame likely will not have as good a season as last year. First is the schedule. It doesn't take an expert to go over that tough schedule and see that nine wins will be nearly impossible. The only way I see them matching last year's record is by going 8-3 and then winning their bowl game.
The other is lady luck. Having the ball bounce back up into your own arms all but eight times in one season doesn't happen very often and it happens twice in a row even less.
Not even if you have the luck of the Irish.
Terry Bowden was the head coach at Salem College, Samford University and Auburn University. He is ABC's college football studio analyst and contributes regularly for BCSfootball.com.
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