Alright everyone, I'm ringing in the New Year with my Top 10 wish list for Notre Dame's 2009 football season. The last 2 years, especially 2007, have been disappointing to say the least. However, the flashes of talent seen in the Hawaii Bowl victory make 2009 very intriguing and exciting for this Irish fan.
So let's get on with it. My Top 10 Wish List for 2009 Notre Dame Football:
1) ADDING MORE TOP-END TALENT: USC lost RB Joe McKnight early in the Rose Bowl and didn't miss a beat with Stafon Johnson and CJ Gable. Oklahoma lost RB DeMarco Murry early in the Big 12 championship game and didn't miss a beat with Chris Brown and Mossis Madu. Moral to the story...good teams have depth and no matter when a player goes down another can replace him. Charlie Weis and his staff are in good position to sign another Top 10 recruiting class. RB Cierre Wood, WR Shaquelle Evans and OL Chris Watt are the verbal commits that highlight this year’s group with the nation’s top linebacker, Manti Te’o still deciding between the Irish, USC and BYU.
The addition of Te’o would surely give the Irish a Top 10 class, but even without the Hawai’i star, Notre Dame will bring another great group of student-athletes to South Bend.
Looking down the road, the Irish are way ahead of schedule for what is going to be a great group of prospects in the 2010 class, especially in the Midwest.
2. SPIRITED SPRING: Before the Hawai’i Bowl, the players talked about carrying a win over to the offseason and this will be their first chance to show that they can do just that. Specifically, Weis needs to concentrate on developing a tougher mentality at the line of scrimmage, especially on offense.
The defense will be able to get more comfortable with the attacking approach that the Irish installed last offseason and try to figure out a way to get to the quarterback more consistently. Another spring will benefit the entire roster.
3. NEW FACES, NEW PLACES: I'd like to see some new names start to emerge during spring practice and carry over to the start of the season.
ND needs to get to the opposing QB more in 2009 and guys like Sean Cwynar, Hafis Williams, Brandon Newman and Kapron Lewis-Moore can help the DL. With the graduation of Maurice Crum and Harrison Smith moving back to free safety, I'd like to see Steve Filer jump into Crum’s spot and Zeke Motta make a push for Smith's. The secondary will be experienced, especially with the addition of Smith and the return of cornerback Darrin Walls.
On offense, the Irish bring back virtually all of their skill position talent, but I'd like to see John Goodman and Deion Walker get a chance to play at receiver along with newcomer Evans. The offensive line returns six players with plenty of experience, but will be looking for someone to replace Michael Turkovich at left tackle.
4. RUNNING GAME HITS STRIDE: Weis needs to keep his mouth closed and not make statements like ‘pound the ball’ in 2009. With Armando Allen, Robert Hughes, James Aldridge and Jonas Gray coming back along with Wood and classmate Theo Riddick, the Irish have an exceptionally strong stable of running backs. And these guys don't even have to be great.
With Clausen and the receivers displaying elite-level talent, Notre Dame needs only to keep defenses honest with the running game and develop a consistency in short-yardage attempts to get the offense moving.
5. OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: ND needs to keep their offense at full throttle for entire games like they did against Hawaii. If the running game can get going, Notre Dame’s offense will be capable of putting up huge numbers. Golden Tate and Michael Floyd have proven that neither can be left in one-on-one coverage. Throw in Goodman and Walker and Kyle Rudolph and the return of Ragone at tight end and the Irish passing attack will be able to carry the offense.
Once Irish switched to a pass-dominant approach in the third game of the season, they were able to move the ball up and down the field until defenses adjusted and forced Notre Dame to prove it could run the ball.
6. CLAUSEN CONTINUES BREAKOUT: Clausen’s 401-yard, five-touchdown performance in the Hawai’i Bowl was awesome, but I'd like to see him build off that performance and become more consistent in 2009.
Clausen’s arm has never been a question and he has shown that he can make all of the throws, but he needs to make better decisions and become the true leader of the offense. Before the 2008 season, Clausen said that leadership comes by proving to teammates that he can lead them, but he will need to become the guy his teammates look to before the 2009 opener.
Obviously the performance he had against Hawai’i won’t be the norm, but Clausen should have more games like that than the one he had at Boston College. Look for Clausen to make another big jump as a junior and get into the discussions of best quarterbacks in the country.
7. SKY-WALKER: Dare I even type the name Brandon Walker. Walker needs to be more like the kicker who made 13 of his final 17 field goals instead of the one that missed 7 of his first 8.
By season’s end, Walker was one of the Irish’s most consistent performers and I'd like to see that continue in 2009.
8. BACK IN THE RANKS: Notre Dame has not been seen in the Top 25 polls since Brady Quinn and company departed, and I'd like to see the Irish will put an end to that streak in 2009.
In my opinion ND missed out on three opportunities to join the rankings in 2008. If Notre Dame had been able to beat Michigan State and move to 3-0 in September, the Irish would have probably jumped into the Top 25 at that point. Notre Dame lost another chance to join the rankings by blowing the second half of the North Carolina game that would have put the Irish at 5-1.
Notre Dame had its third chance to jump into the Top 25 with a win over Pittsburgh that would have given them a 6-2 record and its first true quality win, but another second-half collapse prevented that from happening.
I doubt that any of the polls are foolish enough to put ND in the Top 25 of the 2009 preseason rankings, however, the Irish could jump into the Top 25 by the third week if not sooner with impressive victories.
9. HYPED-UP OCT. 17: With a fairly light early season schedule, Notre Dame should have people talking about the Irish turning things around.
Notre Dame opens with Nevada, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Washington before bye week leading up to the Trojans’ visit. The Irish figure to be heavy favorites in the opener against Nevada and while matchups with the Wolverines and Spartans are always tough, neither are games that I expect ND to lose.
Even a split against the teams from the Wolverine State coupled with wins over the Boilermakers and the Huskies will have college football fans from across the country paying close attention to South Bend on Oct. 17.
This game will be ND's litmus test. Can Weis push the same buttons that he pushed in his first matchup against USC and get his team to play its best against the Trojans? Let's hope so.
10. NEW YEAR’S DAY BOWL: While the Hawai’i Bowl performance following the 2008 season was a memorable one, I'm hoping the Irish will be home for Christmas in 2009 before returning to campus to wrap up bowl preparations for a New Year’s Day game, if not a BCS matchup.
Again, the youth of the roster and the schedule makes the goal an attainable one. And for Coach Weis, quite possibly a necessary one.
It’s unlikely that the Irish will make a total turnaround and jump into the National Championship discussion in less than a year, but the schedule allows for 10 wins, if not more, and that should be good enough to get Notre Dame into BCS talks.
I wish.
