Irish Insider for Thursday, October 14, 2010

Photo Illustration by Sarah O’Connor, Dan Jacobs and Blair Chemidlin

As I considered a topic forthis column, there was so muchtemptation to write about, well,pretty much anything exceptfor the game itself. After all,what does Saturday’s gameagainst theBroncos reallymean for the3-3 Irish?I thought

back to whenthis year’sschedule wasannouncedand somany fanswere up inarms thatWesternMichigangraced theIrish calendar: “How dareNotre Dame play a team fromthe MAC, especially when theschedule already looks soft?”Well, ask anyone about theschedule today, and the uproaris about the difficulty of NotreDame’s first six games, and notthe perceived softness of thisweek’s opponent.Similarly, I thought of those

first six games, and howSaturday’s date with theBroncos marks a turning pointin an Irish schedule that nowincludes three straightwinnable games before battleswith Utah and USC are sand-wiched around the Army gameat Yankee Stadium. After a 1-3start, the Irish now have a realshot at 8-4, or even 9-3, soNotre Dame should useSaturday as the first of threetune-ups before the going getstough again.There are several other stats

and statements being thrownabout this week, and most ofthem have to do with how theIrish should be able to sleep-walk through this game ontheir way to the five-game winstreak many seem to be readyto hand to them. There’s nodoubt Notre Dame is the moretalented team, so there is thatinclination to take this game asa given and look ahead one,two or even three weeks.It’s one thing for us, as

onlookers, to have this attitude,to gaze weeks into the future,and to check out the othermajor storylines around thecountry on weeks like this.But the Irish can’t afford to

do that Saturday, and for whatit’s worth, Brian Kelly is sayingthe right things to make usthink they won’t. Kelly’s beenin games like this from theWestern Michigan perspective,and it sounds like he’s demand-ed his team’s attention allweek.The Irish know where this

game fits into their scheduleand what it could mean assome big games approach. But

at this point, I hope they aren’ttaking anything for granted. Asmuch as we want to thinkabout where this team is going,let’s not forget where it’s been;while Western Michigan cer-tainly wouldn’t qualify as a“signature win,” Notre Damehasn’t won enough lately to besatisfied with playing anythingless than its best game, evenagainst an inferior opponent.Saturday’s game doesn’t have

the “measuring stick” potentialof several the Irish have playedthis season, but in some ways, Ithink we could get our bestlook at just how hungry thisteam is.This game doesn’t have the

added excitement of the openeragainst Purdue or the bitter-ness of the rivalry with BostonCollege. We aren’t asking, “Canthe Irish slow down DenardRobinson’s Heisman cam-paign?” or “Will Notre Dameshut down future first-roundpick Andrew Luck?” We’re nottalking about Kelly’s coachingties with Michigan State’s MarkDantonio or the wayPittsburgh’s Dion Lewis torchedthe Irish last year.From the Notre Dame per-

spective, there’s no extra build-up, magical storyline or bul-letin board material headinginto a game against WesternMichigan. If the Irish win,they’ll still be unranked, andwe won’t have a much betterpicture of how they stack upwith the best teams in thecountry.So, as much as we as out-

siders want to take this gameas a given or find some addedmeaning to the matchup,Saturday gives us a uniquechance to just learn about theIrish, and especially their atti-tude and identity as a team.Is donning the blue and gold

at Notre Dame Stadium enoughto get these guys fired up? Dothey want to not only beat, butdismantle, a team trying tocome into their house and pullan upset? Are they ready totake advantage of every oppor-tunity to improve and performon Saturdays?Most importantly, do these

guys just love to play football?Saturday’s game may not tell

us much about Notre Dame’soffensive capabilities or defen-sive speed in relation to thenation’s best, but it could giveus our best look at the intangi-bles the Irish will need to com-pete at that level.That’s what Saturday’s game

means.

The views expressed in thiscolumn are those of the authorand not necessarily those ofThe Observer.

Contact Matt Gamber [email protected]

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 2 Thursday, October 14, 2010

Broncos give Irisha chance to shine

Matt Gamber

Sports Writer

COMMENTARY

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football/irish-insider-extra

This week Notre Dame hasalready felt one effect of land-ing 20 verbal commitmentsbefore October — one of thosecommitments has decommit-ted.And this weekend, the Irish

will feel another effect of allthose commitments — veryfew, i f any,visits fromrecruits tosee the gamea g a i n s tW e s t e r nMichigan.The de-

commitmentcame fromo f f e n s i v el i n e m a nJ o r d a nP r e s t w o o dTuesday, andhis mainreason forthis decisionwas that Notre Dame is farfrom his native Florida, Irishrecruiting expert Mike Franksaid.“I think the big problem he

is having right now is the dis-tance from home thing,” saidFrank, who runs theESPN.com-aff i l iate IrishSports Daily. “He is just notsure he wants to go that farfrom home ... As the day getscloser and closer to happen-ing, that is when you sit thereand wonder is this exactlywhat I want to do.”Prestwood, the No. 128

recruit in the nation accord-ing to the ESPN top-150,

could still end up signing ascholarship with Notre Dame,but Frank said he does notexpect him to do so.“I know Notre Dame has

been trying to solidify the sit-uation, but i t seems he ispretty set on visiting otherschools,” Frank said. “I canjus tell you in the past thatwhen kids start visiting otherschools after committing, veryrarely do they end up at Notre

dame. It hash a p p e n e doccasionally,but not thatoften.”W i t h

P r e s t w o o dseemingly onhis way out ofthe 2011r e c r u i t i n gclass, theIrish will lookfor anotheroffensive line-men to fill thevoid. Most ofthe top

recruits committed to otherteams awhile ago, which willmake the search difficult.“If there is anybody left.

That is the issue, they have togo find somebody who is stillout there,” Frank said.“There are just not a lot ofnames out there that [theIrish] are currently recruit-ing. They thought they hadtheir spots already taken.”One name Frank mentioned

is that of Nick Martin, theyounger brother of Irish soph-omore tackle Zack Martin.Nick has committed toKentucky already.The other dilemma the Irish

face with a nearly-f i l ledrecruiting class is that fewrecruits will visit this week-end.“There’s really nobody that

is coming in,” Frank said.“There might be a couple big-name guys but I don’t knowfor sure they are coming in. Itwill be a very small group.”While Western Michigan

may not be a glamorousopponent, Frank insisted thescheduling is not the reasonrecruits do not flock to cam-pus.“The only things I think

recruits care about are, areyou winning and where do Ifit into your plans,” Franksaid. “They want to play for awinner. Every major school inthe country is playing a teamlike Western Michigan, andchances are they are playingfour or five of them.”In fact, Frank said this

game could leave as much ofan impression on somerecruits as a high-profile as agame against a traditionalrival would.“To show a recruit, ‘Hey

look, we’re getting this thingturned around — look howwe pounded WesternMichigan.’ That needs to be astatement that you can maketoo.”

For more on Notre Damerecruiting, check out MikeFrank’s irishsportsdaily.com.E-mail Mike [email protected] tell him The Observersent you.

Decommitment strikes slow weekFOOTBALL RECRUITING

By DOUGLAS FARMERSports Editor

Contact Douglas Farmer [email protected]

“The only things I thinkrecruits care about are,are you winning andwhere do I fit into yourplans. They want to play

for a winner.”

Mike FrankIrish recruiting expert

When David Ruffer walked offthe practice fields Tuesday after-noon, two loyal autograph seek-ers quickly approached him andasked for his signature.Unsurprisingly, the senior walk-on kicker signed away — some-thing he never thought he wouldbe in a position to do.“It’s cool I guess,” Ruffer said a

few seconds after putting the capback on the provided Sharpie. “Inever really thought of myself assomebody one day who would besigning autographs, but I’ll takewhat I can get. It’s neat to be inthat position.”Then again, Ruffer never really

thought of him-self as some-body whowould be NotreDame’s startingplace kicker,having nevermissed a com-petitive fieldgoal, even split-ting theuprights from50 yards away.In fact, the onlyaspect ofRuffer’s currentlife he couldhave anticipat-ed is the one aspect he initiallyhad denied him — being a stu-dent at Notre Dame.

Denial serves its purposeRuffer’s father and grandfather

graduated from Notre Dame, asdid a few of his uncles and hisolder sister, but when Rufferreceived a response to his appli-cation, it was not the responseanybody in the family had hopedfor.“I grew up loving Notre Dame.

I just wanted to be a student firstof all,” Ruffer said. “I didn’t getin as a freshman, and that wasprobably the best thing that everhappened to me. It made merealize you have to work reallyhard for the things you want.”Ruffer then turned his eyes to

William & Mary for a year,

where, after four years of playingvarsity golf in high school, hetook up kicking field goals. Aftera tryout, Ruffer walked-on to theTribe football team.“I walked on there kicking,” he

said. “and it’s worked out eversince.”

A field goal and a tryoutOnce he transferred to Notre

Dame, Ruffer joined the Siegfriedinterhall football team, and aftertwo games, in which he kickedone field goal and a couple ofextra points, attempted to walkon with the Irish.“It was more of when I would

go out and practice [that Iimpressed people],” Ruffer said.The tryout process was three-

fold — one night with only teesand the then-special teamscoach BrianPolian, onenight with asnapper andholder andPolian, and afinal night infront of then-Irish coachCharlie Weis.“I was really

nervous. Theseguys weregoing to seeme for about15 or 20 min-

utes, and if I don’t do really well,they will probably not want tosee me again,” he said. “I justhoped I would perform to thebest of my ability. I would haveobviously been upset with myselfif I came out here and didn’t dothe best that I know I couldhave.”Impress them he surely did, as

Ruffer does not remember miss-ing a single kick in the three try-out sessions.

The rest is historyRuffer only took one kick in a

game in 2008, a point-afterattempt that clanked off theupright. In 2009, Ruffer tookover place kicking duties afterincumbent Nick Tausch injuredhis foot, and Ruffer connected onnine of his 10 point-after

attempts, and all five field goalattempts.This season, he has made all

11 of his field goal attempts,bringing his Irish career total to16-of-16. Including his one fieldgoal as a Rambler, Ruffer hasnever missed a field goal attemptin competition.By making kick after kick,

Ruffer has raised the NotreDame standard for place kickers.His 16 consecutive made fieldgoals bested Tausch’s schoolrecord of 14, as well as the previ-ous record for most consecutivemade field goals to open acareer, which was previously 13.“I try not to think about [the

streak],” he said. “Right now I’mzero-for-zero with WesternMichigan coming up, and that ishow I approach every game.”Ruffer’s 50-yard kick against

Pittsburgh tied the sixth-longestfield goal in Notre Dame history.The longest in school history waskicked in 1976 by Dave Reeve, a53-yarder. Reeve should notcount his record safe as long asRuffer is kicking, according tospecial teams coach Mike Elston.“I see the kid kick 52 or 53

yarders every day,” Elston said.“We were well in front of histhreshold [on the 50-yard fieldgoal] which is really about the35-yard line.”

‘Kickers are head-cases’After the Pittsburgh game, in

which Ruffer also connected on32- and 31-yard field goals, heattributed much of his success tojunior holder Ryan Kavanagh,also a walk-on.“Ryan Kavanagh is one of my

best friends and he will saysomething to keep me calm,”Ruffer said. “But then from whenthe ball is snapped to when I kickit I don’t know what happens.”Tuesday Kavanagh said he

knows he needs to keep a closeeye on Ruffer, if for no other rea-son than the position he plays.“Kickers are head-cases,”

Kavanagh said. “You have tomake sure they’re honed in onthe ball.“I just give him a couple

reminders, take it easy, makesure he takes a deep breath ... I

just make sure he’s just focusedon the kick.”Elston said he has seen the

“head-case” in kickers thatKavanagh refers to, but in Rufferit is more of an even demeanorthat Elston sees.“The kickers that I’ve been

around that are good athletes,that have a good demeanor, thataren’t just specialists as kickersand have done other things intheir athletic career, they typical-ly tend to be more competitiveand more even-keeled when theytake the field in pressure situa-tions,” Elston said. “Because theyare used to being in it.”Whatever reasoning Kavanagh

and Elston have for his successthis season, Ruffer thinks he hasfound a groove simply becausehe has relaxed, in all areas of hislife.“I still work really hard [in

school], but before I was really aperfectionist. Now I have grownup to a point where I realizethings won’t always go yourway,” Ruffer said. “That little bitof a laid-back attitude has helpedmy focus a little bit.”At some point, things on the

football field won’t necessarily goRuffer’s way. He may miss a fieldgoal — believe it or not, he doesmiss them in practice. When theSaturday afternoon comes thatone goes awry, Ruffer said he isready to deal with that setback.“You can only learn from mis-

takes,” he said. “You can’t makeevery single one, so it will hap-pen eventually. The trick will behow I bounce back from that. Itwill happen, but I feel like I havea pretty strong head, so I’ll beokay.”

‘Not For Long’If Ruffer keeps making each

and every one of his field goals,

questions concerning the NFLare bound to come his way.Ruffer qickly dismisses thosethoughts.“I don’t plan on playing football

forever,” he said. “It’s probablygoing to end after this seasonand I’ll need to get started on thenext chapter of my life.“NFL stands for Not For Long,

right? I would give it a shot, butif there is something else thatgives me more of a sense of ful-fillment, I’ll do that instead.”Amid all of his success on the

field, the primary reason Rufferis at Notre Dame hasn’t changed— the same reason he wanted tocome to the University in the firstplace.“It’s been difficult, but I still

think of myself as a studentfirst,” he said. “That’s why I’mgoing through the interviewprocess right now, and just tryingto get that Notre Dame degree.”Ruffer, an Economics major,

interned in the accountingdepartment of Gurley Leep overthe summer, and has not decidedwhat he will do after graduation,nor has he ruled much out.“I could go and be a house hus-

band,” he said. “If my wife is thebread winner, maybe I’ll justtake care of the kids.”He may not know what the

future holds, but Ruffer did notexpect any of what the presentholds either, as he continues tomove past his wildest dreams,field goal after field goal.“I never thought this was going

to happen. Obviously I thoughtit’d be something cool, but neverto this magnitude. I can’t say it’sa dream come true, because Inever really dreamed of thismuch.”

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERThursday, October 14, 2010 page 3

Walk-on, kickoff

Contact Douglas Farmer [email protected]

Every time David Ruffer has attempted a field goal, he has made it, as he bucks all walk-on expectations

By DOUGLAS FARMERSports Editor

DAN JACOBS/The Observer

Senior kicker David Ruffer sends his first kickoff of the season down-field during Notre Dame’s 23-12 victory over Purdue on Sept. 4.

“I try not to think about[the streak]. Right nowI’m zero-for-zero withWestern Michigan

coming up, and that ishow I approach every

game.”

David Ruffersenior kicker

TOM YOUNG/The Observer

Senior kicker David Ruffer converts one of his 11 field goals this season — this one during NotreDame’s 37-14 loss against Stanford. Ruffer has made all 16 of his field goals in his career.

HEAD T The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 4 Thursday, October 14, 2010

Irish Offense vs. Broncos Defense

Brian Kellyhead coach

First season at Notre Dame

career record: 174-60-2

record at ND:732-3

against WMU: 3-1

Notre DameFighting Irish

Record: 3-3AP: NR Coaches: NR

The Irish passing attack hasstruggled in recent weeks, andjunior quarterback Dayne Cristhas not looked comfortable throw-ing the football. The Irish are still19th in the country in passing,however, and Crist certainly hasshown the potential to be an elitequarterback.The season-ending hamstring

injury to Kyle Rudolph takes awayCrist’s favorite target. Receivers TJJones and John Goodman, along withtight end Tyler Eifert will need to stepin and fill the void alongside receiversMichael Floyd and Theo Riddick.Western Michigan has been relatively

good against the pass so far this sea-son. The Broncos rank 46th in thecountry in pass defense, and are giving

up less than 200 yards passing pergame. That being said, Idaho’s NathanEnderle threw for 380 yards and threetouchdowns against the Broncos, whoare particularly susceptible to longplays. Look for Floyd to stretch thefield, and if Crist can hit him, the Irishcan have success through the air.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Over the course of the season,the Irish have used the runninggame mainly as a change of pacefrom their spread passing attack.They are averaging just over 100yards on the ground per game,good enough for 97th in thenation.Senior Armando Allen leads the

Irish rushing attack, averaging

74 yards per game and 4.8 yards percarry. Crist also has the potential totuck the ball and run, scoring a rush-ing touchdown in each of the past twogames.The Broncos have struggled defend-

ing the run this season. They are giv-ing up 168 yards per game, and 4.77yards per carry. In addition, in its onlygame against a BCS-conference oppo-

nent, Western Michigan gave up 141yards rushing and two touchdowns on10 carries to Michigan State’s Le’VeonBell. The Irish would be wise to takeadvantage of this weakness of theBroncos, and use the running game toset up their high-powered passingattack.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Brian Kelly’s offense hasbeen hot and cold so far thisseason. When they move theball, they do it with speedand precision. When theydon’t, the offense looks dazedand confused. If Kelly cankeep his team focused andperforming their best, theIrish should have no trouble

moving the ball againstthe Broncos. Kelly has seemed to

abandon the run attimes this year, butagainst this WMU team,he may try to pound theball more than usual.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Kicker David Ruffercontinues to be spec-tacular for the Irish.He made two fieldgoals againstPittsburgh, includingNotre Dame’s first 50-yard field goal since2003. Ruffer is 11-for-11 on the season, and

takes some pressure off ofthe Notre Dame offense.Punter Ben Turk contin-

ues to improve, averagingmore than 46 yards perpunt against Pittsburgh andputting three of his fivepunts inside the 20.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Sept. 4

Sept. 11

Sept. 18

Sept. 25

Oct. 2

Oct. 9

Oct. 16

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov. 13

Nov. 20

Nov. 27

Purdue—W

Michigan — L

@ Michigan St. — L

Stanford — L

@ Boston College — W

Pittsburgh — W

Western Michigan

@ Navy

Tulsa

Utah

Army

@ USC

2010 Schedule

ND PASSING

Statistical LeadersND OFFENSEQB DAYNE CRIST

137-233, 1600 yards, 11 TDRB ARMANDO ALLEN

93 rush, 448 yards, 2 TDWR MICHAEL FLOYD

35 rec., 467 yards, 3 TDWR THEO RIDDICK

37 rec., 395 yards, 3 TDWR TJ JONES

11 rec., 196 yards, 2 TD

WMU DEFENSELB MITCH ZAJAC

9 solo, 33 total SS MARIO ARMSTRONG

12 solo, 25 total, 2 INTCB LEWIS TOLER

12 solo, 23 total, 3 INTDE PAUL HAZEL

12 solo, 20 total, 4 sackLB DEX JONES

9 solo, 19 total, 3 sack

Head-to-HeadND OFFENSEScoring: 24.33 ppg (82nd)

Total: 391.50 ypg (56th)

Rushing: 107.0 ypg (97th)

Passing:284.50 ypg (19th)

Turnovers against: 12 (92nd)

Fumbles lost: 6 (88th)

Interceptions: 6 (74th)

Sacks Allowed: 12 (62nd)

T.O.P. for: 26:07 (118th)

WMU DEFENSEScoring: 27.60 ppg (80th)

Total: 363.40 ypg (67th)

Rushing: 168.0 ypg (82nd)

Passing: 195.40 ypg (46th)

Turnovers for: 15 (9th)

Fumbles rec.: 9 (3rd)


Sacks: 13 (27th)

T.O.P. against: 28:14 (22nd)

Bob DiacoDef. Coordinator

Charley MolnarOff. Coordinator

ND RUSHING

NDSP

ECIALTEAMS

NDOFFENSIVE

COACHING

I can honestly say I never thought Iwould have to predict the final score ofa match-up between the Irish andWestern Michigan.Well, here I am, picking this game,

and for the first time since NotreDame’s season-opener I have not need-ed to deliberate about who I feel willwin this game.Pure and simple, even without Kyle

Rudolph, if the Irish don’t win by doubledigits Saturday I’ll be surprised. Foronce, Notre Dame unquestionably hasthe better athletes on the field. It isabout time we get to see those athletesperform.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 38, Western Michigan 13

As I wrote in my column, I thinkthis game will, above all, give us alook at some of this team's intangi-bles. That being said, I think we'llsee the offense play with a swaggerwe haven't yet seen this season. TheIrish will get off to a hot start, andwhile we haven't seen it to this point,I think Notre Dame will keep its footon the gas. The Irish know they'rethe more talented team, so theyshould play with confidence. But theyalso know they aren't yet where theyneed to be, and that fact should helpthem remain focused for four quar-ters.


For the third week in a row, NotreDame plays a team which it shouldbeat. The Irish were certainly notcrisp against either Boston College orPittsburgh, but did enough to winboth games. Western Michigan is theworst team of the three, and hasshown at times a susceptibilityagainst the pass. The Irish have far superior talent,

and I think that this is the week thatDayne Crist and the Irish offensebreak out. The defense may struggleat times to defend against the pass,but in the end, victory should comeeasy.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 45, Western Michgian 27

DouglasFarmer

Sports Editor

Matt Gamber

Sports Writer

Eric Prister

AssociateSports Editor

HEAD TO HEADThe Observer � IRISH INSIDERThursday, October 14, 2010 page 5

Broncos Offense vs. Irish Defense

Bill Cubithead coach

Sixth season atWestern Michigan

career record: 68-45-1

record at WMU:34-27

against ND: 0-0

Western MichiganBroncos

Record: 2-3AP: NR Coaches: NR

Sept. 4

Sept. 11

Sept. 18

Oct. 2

Oct. 9

Oct. 16

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov. 5

Nov. 13

Nov. 20

Nov. 26

@ Michigan State — L

Nicholls State — W

Toledo — L

Idaho — L

@ Ball State — W

@ Notre Dame

@ Akron

Northern Illinois

@ Central Michigan

Eastern Michigan

Kent State

@ Bowling Green

2010 Schedule

Statistical LeadersWMU OFFENSEQB ALEX CARDER

125-208, 1290 yards, 10 TD

QB ALEX CARDER

53 rush, 141 yards, 4 TD

RB AARON WINCHESTER

53 rush, 146 yards

WR JORDAN WHITE


WR JUAN NUNEZ


ND DEFENSEMLB MANTI TE’O

34 solo, 69 total, 4 TFL

LB CARLO CALABRESE

45 total, 2.5 sack, 5 TFL

S ZEKE MOTTA

28 total, 1 INT, 1 FR

S HARRISON SMITH

29 solo, 49 total, 2 INT

CB DARRIN WALLS

19 solo, 27 total, 2 INT

Head-to-HeadWMU OFFENSEScoring: 29.0 ppg (57th)

Total: 377.40 ypg (61st)


Passing: 274.20 (23rd)

Turnovers against: 13 (102nd)

Fumbles lost: 6 (88th)

Interceptions: 7 (91st)

Sacks Allowed: 15 (104th)

T.O.P. for: 31:46 (22nd)

ND DEFENSEScoring: 23.50 ppg (60th)

Total: 397.83 ypg (83rd)


Passing: 252.17 ypg (99th)

Turnovers for: 10 (47th)

Fumbles rec.: 2 (97th)


Sacks: 15 (36th)

T.O.P. against: 33:53 (118th)

Mike Grantassistant head

coach

Dave CohenDef. Coordinator

Quarterback Alex Carder has beenoff and on in his first season undercenter for the Broncos. He threw forseven touchdowns in his first twogames, but has thrown only threesince that point. He has both a 403-yard game and a 104-yard game, andhas been picked off seven times overthe course of the season.There is no doubt that the Broncos

will throw. They are averaging 43pass attempts per game, and threwthe ball 64 times against Toledo. TheBroncos rank 23rd in the nation inpassing yards per game, and will cer-tainly look to move the ball throughthe air.The Irish have had trouble at times

stopping the pass, ranking 99th in thenation against the pass. They have

been opportunist ic, however,intercepting eight passes in sixgames, the 14th best total in theNCAA. Cornerbacks Darrin Walls,Gary Gray and Robert Blantonwill have their work cut out forthem against a talented group ofWestern Michigan receivers.

EDGE: WESTERN MICHIGAN

The Broncos run a pass-first offense,so their running game is not particular-ly strong. They average 103 yards pergame, which puts them 102nd in theNCAA, and gain only 2.9 yards percarry.Western Michigan’s biggest threat on

the ground comes from quarterbackAlex Carder, who has run 13 times pergame over their last three games, and

has scored four times on the year.Junior Aaron Winchester is the lead-

ing rusher for the Broncos, but is aver-aging only 28 yards per game.Freshman Tevin Drake may have addedanother threat to the Western Michiganground game last week against BallState. Drake had eight carries for 63yards and averaged 7.9 yards per carry.The Notre Dame defense has been

excellent in their past two games.The Irish held Boston College toonly five yards on the ground, andthen gave up only 103 rushingyards to Pittsburgh, which averages157 per game. Saturday should bea third-straight such performance.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Kicker Jon Potter hasattempted only five fieldgoals on the season,making four. He has notattempted one from 40yards or more.Punter Ben Armor

has been excellent forthe Broncos, averaging42 yards per punt with

nine punts inside the 20.He also has recorded sevenpunts over 50 yards,including a long of 65yards, so he will play animportant part of the fieldposition battle against theIrish.

EDGE: EVEN

WMU PASSIN

G

WMU SPECIAL TEAM

S

WMU RUSH

ING

It appears as if the schedule hasfinally lightened up for Notre Dame.The Irish battled hard to get to 3-3,and there’s no reason they shouldn’tbe 6-3 when Utah comes to townNov. 13. We’ve seen Notre Dame losegames like this before (hello,Syracuse, Navy, Connecticut andNavy again) but Brian Kelly has putan emphasis on not looking past thisgame. Notre Dame should be up bigearly, and hopefully it’ll be able tofine-tune some of their offensivestrategies — specifically, the under-used rushing attack — with the gamealready out of reach.


Western Michigan scored twotouchdowns in its first 59 secondslast week against Ball State, but itwill be Notre Dame getting off to thefast start in this one. The Irishshould have no trouble overcomingthe 2-3 Broncos. The biggest ques-tion for the Irish is how the offensewill respond to the loss of junior tightend Kyle Rudolph — and WesternMichigan should be the perfect teamto help Notre Dame find its answer. Ifthe offense can get over its second-half struggles, the Irish will win by apretty good margin; if not, they willsimply win by a smaller margin.


Sam Werner

Sports Writer

Laura Myers

Sports Writer

Bill Cubit is knownfor his pass-heavyoffense. As the offen-sive coordinator atboth Stanford andWestern Michigan, hisoffenses consistentlyfinished in the top 30 inthe nation in passingand scoring.

Last season, quarterbackTim Hiller broke everyschool passing record underCubit’s tutelage. TheBroncos are going to throwearly and often, and it willbe up to the Irish to see ifthey can stop them.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

WMU OFFEN

SIVE

COAC

HING

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 6 Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Mid-AmericanConference (MAC) has existedsince 1947, but WesternMichigan will be the first teamfrom the MAC ever to playagainst Notre Dame. The Broncos (2-3) are cur-

rently third in the WestDivision of the MAC, whichincludes teams from New York,Ohio, I l l inois, Indiana andMichigan. “Up until this week it meant

a lot,” Broncoscoach Bill Cubitsaid in a pressc o n f e r e n c e .“You’re the onlyone out thereplaying [NotreDame]. Andthen you get thetape, and youhit reality.These guys arepretty good.This is a storiedprogram.”Cubit said his

team preparedwith music andcrowd noise toimitate NotreDame Stadium. The Broncos’average attendance is 17,350fans, as opposed to NotreDame’s 80,795. “That’s the best thing when

you’re playing Notre Dame,because that’s what they’regoing to hear,” Cubit said.“Hopefully they don’t hear thefight song too much. But that’swhat they’re going to hear sothey get used to it.”This will be Notre Dame’s

first game this season against

a team from a non-BCS confer-ence (the MAC champion goesto GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala.,and the conference also sendsteams to the uDroveHumanitarian Bowl in Boise,Idaho and the Little CaesarsBowl in Detroit) . But Irishcoach Brian Kelly said histeam has no choice except tofocus completely on theBroncos. “We are not that good to

think about anybody else butour next opponent,” Kelly saidin his Tuesday press confer-ence. “We can’t roll the ball

out and expectto win footballgames.”It is a com-

mon practicefor BCS teamsto scheduleMAC opponentsfor a guaran-teed win — butthat is not thecase Saturday,players said. “We are not

6-0 and the No.1 team in thecountry,” sen-ior safetyHarrison Smithsaid. “We are

not at that place yet.” In fact, Kelly made sure the

players wouldn’t overlook theBroncos.“He’s shown us statistical

proof of teams that they havebeaten or been very close tobeating in games where I’msure those teams went in over-looking a Western Michiganopponent,” junior quarterbackDayne Crist said. “They dosome good things on offense,they do some good things on

defense. It’s just like any othergame.”For the Broncos, though, the

game is a rare opportunity,Cubit said, that they plan totake advantage of.“There’s only one Notre

Dame,” he said. “I know theytake some criticism for that,but they built that. I give themall the credit in the world.“This is a college experience.

It’s for the kids. Fifteen, 20years from now, they can say

they did this. I told them yes-terday: It’s one thing to play inthe Stadium, it’s another thingto play well in the Stadium.”

Broncos to become first ever MAC foe for Irish

Contact Laura Myers at [email protected]

By LAURA MYERSSports Writer

“Up until this week itmeant a lot. You’re the

only one out thereplaying [Notre Dame]And then you get the

tape, and you hit reality. These guys arepretty good. This is a

storied progam.”

Bill CubitBroncos coach

AP

Western Michigan running back Tevin Drake is tackled during the Broncos’ 45-16 victory at Ball StateSaturday. Drake and his teammates are the first Mid-American team to play Notre Dame in history.

You are currently vying for a spot on Team

Reckless. What made you decide to attempt to

join?

Dayne had said a long time ago that I should

join, but we never got around to it. We’re try-

ing to set that up.

Is it a very selective process?

I’m not ever sure what the process is. We’ll see

in the next couple of days what I have to do.

How reckless do you think you’ll have to be?

I think I’m pretty reckless. So I don’t think I’ll

have to be too much more reckless than I

already am. I think I’ll fit right in.

Would it be an honor to be the first member

of the Notre Dame defense on Team

Reckless?

Yeah, it’d be a great honor, first defensive

player. It’d be nice.

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERThursday, October 14, 2010 page 7

Eifert, Ragone prepared to fill in for Rudolph

Since arriving at Notre Dame lastDecember, Irish coach Brian Kellyhas been preaching the importanceof his “next man in” philosophy,which means that every player atevery position needs to be ready tostep in and be productive if calledupon.Now it’s time to put that mantra to

the test.With junior tight end Kyle Rudolph

sidelined for the rest of the season,sophomore Tyler Eifert and seniorMike Ragone, as well as sophomoreJake Golic, will have to fill the voidleft by the preseason All-American.“No one player is going to stop

what we do,” Kelly said at hisTuesday press conference. “It’s a‘next man in’ philosophy for us.Tyler Eifert, Mike Ragone, Golic —those guys are going to have to stepup and play the position for us at ahigh level. We think those guys can.We have a lot of confidence inthem.”It may help that the hamstring

injury had been nagging Rudolph allseason, and offensive coordinatorCharley Molnar said the tight endsand coaching staff had discussed aplan for what would happen if hehad to miss any action.“We talked about this in summer

camp when he was sore and we’vebeen prepared for it,” Molnar said.“Everybody moves up a notch on theladder, moves up a rung, and thoseguys have been ready for it. We don’tslow down a bit; we just keep onmoving.”Eifert and Ragone are the two

players most likely to see a substan-

tial increase in playing time withRudolph out. Of those two, Eifert hasseen more playing time so far thisseason, but has only hauled in onepass for 17 yards against Michigan.Since then, he’s been hampered witha shoulder injury, but said that it wasat a point where he thought he couldplay through the pain.“With the medicine and the heat

of the game, you don’t feel it and youcan’t let that bother you,” Eifert said.Ragone played sparingly in the

first few games after a heat-relatedillness caused him to miss a signifi-cant portion of training camp. Hecaught his first pass of the season for11 yards in last week’s win overPittsburgh.“It always feels good to be on the

field,” Ragone said. “It feels better tobe on the field that it does to sit onthe sideline.”He added that the lack of playing

time early on wouldn’t affect his playgoing forward.“First couple of games I just didn’t

get as many reps,” Ragone said.“But hey, when your opportunity’scalled you just step up and you justdo what you’ve got to do.”Both players stressed the need to

not try and fill the shoes of Rudolph,one of the top tight ends in the coun-try, but rather to play within theirabilities to help the team win.“Why would I want to be Kyle

Rudolph?” Ragone said. “I want tobe Michael Ragone, he wants to beTyler Eifert, he’s Kyle Rudolph overthere. We’re all different. I’m justgonna keep doing me, Kyle’s gonnakeep doing him and we’re gonnawin these ball games.”Part of Rudolph’s effectiveness

could be attributed to his tight-knitrelationship with starting quarter-

back Dayne Crist. The two are closefriends and seemed to have a strongrapport on the field. Crist, though,said that he would be just as com-fortable throwing to whoever takesRudolph’s spot.“I have a ton of confidence in our

other two tight ends, Mike Ragoneand Tyler Eifert,” Crist said at hispress conference Wednesday. “Theyare great players and doing somegood things for us, as well. We willcontinue to bring those guys along

and get better with those guysbecause that’s really our focus rightnow.”For their part, Efiert and Ragone

both said they’re comfortableenough with the playbook to step inright now.“We know the offense,” Eifert said.

“I’ve picked it up well and I’m confi-dent. I just need to go out and exe-cute.”While losing a player of Rudolph’s

caliber is obviously a tough blow to

Notre Dame’s chances going for-ward, Eifert and Ragone said theywere excited about their chance toshowcase their ability with moreplaying time.“The circumstance, [Rudolph]

being down, is not great,” Ragonesaid. “I’m not smiling about it oranything, but now my opportunity iscalled and now it’s time to step up.”

By SAM WERNERSports Writer

Contact Sam Werner at [email protected]

SARAH O’CONNOR/The Observer

Sophomore tight end Tyler Eifert catches a pass in an Irish practice. Eifert will take the place of juniorKyle Rudolph, who is out for the season with a hamstring injury.

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