Ryan Williams To Cardinals, Kyle Rudolph Snagged By Vikings

Two standouts from Brian and I's respective alma maters were selected during the first two days of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Virginia Tech standout running back Ryan Williams went off the board first with the 38th overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals. He joins former Ohio State rusher Beanie Wells who had some injuries last season in the backfield.

The pick surprised many "experts" but as Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt explained, "To be quite honest with you, we're looking at pick 38 and we've got the 15th-ranked player starting us back in the face so that's something you really have to consider."

Williams was the second running back taken after Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram went at No. 28 to The New Orleans Saints.

Notre Dame's versatile tight end Kyle Rudolph was selected just five picks after Williams with the 43rd pick by the Minnesota Vikings.

Rudolph joins Brian and his wife Michelle in Minneapolis after catching 90 passes for 1,032 yards and eights touchdowns during his time in South Bend.

He also joins surprising first round selection Christian Ponder. The quarterback out of Florida State went to Minnesota with the 12th overall pick.

We wish both players the best of luck and look forward to more players from both schools going in the draft today.

Timber!

Despite the pathetic attempt of Stanford OL Chris Marinelli to pump up his team, the Irish managed to defeat the Cardinal 28-21 this past Saturday on a weekend that celebrated the 100th Birthday of the greatest fight song ever written: The Notre Dame Victory March.

Notre Dame was led by Jimmy Clausen, who set a career high in passing yards for the second straight game. In all he finished with 347 yards on 29 of 40 passes and 3 touchdowns. His play throughout was impressive, especially his increasing ability to check down his receivers to find the open man instead of trying to force a play to happen. He has shown marked improvement since the start of the season, let alone last year.

True freshman Michael Floyd turned in his second straight 100 yard receiving game, hauling in  5 catches for 115 yards and a beautiful 48 yard TD pass courtesy of second quarter connection with Clausen.

Kyle Rudolph snagged his second TD pass in as many games, but the biggest takeaway from his play was his increased blocking ability. With Will Yeatman's fate still up in the air after a run-in with the law several weeks ago (he met with the University officials earlier today to plead his case) it is refreshing that the drop off in skills is not as great as many perceived it to be. ND would obviously prefer to have both available, but it is refreshing to know that Rudolph is a suitable back up option (keep in mind that both Rudolph and Yeatman were behind the injured Mike Ragone at the beginning of fall camp).

The Irish D played well against the pass but performed miserably against the scampering trees. Three first half interceptions of Stanford QB Tavita Pritchard helped set the stage for a commanding 21-7 lead at the half. 

A recurring theme throughout the weekend was the sheer lack of class exhibited by Jim Harbaugh and his band of fighting trees. A report from a sophomore band member revealed the overzealousness exuded by the Cardinal prior to kickoff. DT James McGillicuddy and WR Doug Baldwin were among the several Cardinal players to taunt the Notre Dame Band as the team entered into the locker room. I bet they also enjoy taking lunch money from little children and clubbing baby seals. Spineless.

As childish as the Cardinal players were, they were undoubtedly inspired by their fearless leader Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Late in the second quarter the Cardinal punted away to Armando Allen, who signaled for a fair catch. Nate Wilcox-Fogel of the Cardinal got in the way of Allen and the ball caromed off Wilcox-Fogel's shoulder, onto Allen, and was scooped up by a Cardinal player who ran in for what Harbaugh thought was a TD. The officials, however, ruled that Allen was interfered with (and rightfully so), setting off a tirade from Harbaugh. As any four-year old denied of what he/she wanted would behave, Harbaugh put up quite the stink: he stormed onto the field almost to the middle of the field, screamed at the referees, and threw his hat in the direction of the fans sitting behind the Cardinal bench. Potty-trained? I think not.

For the first time in awhile ND put up a fight and did not back down all weekend. Pat Kuntz put forth one of the best defensive efforts I've seen in the last few years. During the Friday pep rally, Kuntz addressed the idiotic remarks from Marinelli. In typical Kuntzian fashion, he ripped off his suit during his speech, stating "something doesn't feel right... I just don't feel like I'm myself." Kyle McCarthy came up to the podim during Kuntz's speech and asked how Kuntz would react to Marinelli's comments during the game. After a long list of hypothetical ways McCarthy proposed to handle the situation, Kuntz concluded his speech with "I'm gonna rip his head off, Go Irish!"

Kuntz owned up to his pep rally declaration, finishing with 1 tipped ball, 1 interception, 2 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. The fumble recovery occurred on the last play of the game, after which Kuntz spiked the ball. Stanford did not take kindly to Kuntz's enthusiasm and tempers flared. Here's a good look at what transpired as a result: end of game fight.

Quotes:

• "Pac-10 officials have reviewed video of the play and it is apparent the Stanford player covering the punt impeded the Notre Dame player attempting to catch it. The call was correct. NCAA playing rule 6-4-1 states in part 'A player of the receiving team within the boundary lines must be given an unimpeded opportunity to catch the kick.' Even though the player attempting to catch the kick was bumped by his teammate, he still attempted to catch the kick and was impeded by the Stanford player. The rule places the onus on the kicking team member to avoid impeding the opportunity to catch the ball."  ~ Jim Hansen, Pac-10 Commissioner

• "I got pushed out of bounds and Kyle McCarthy was mad at me because I didn't pitch it back to him. I figured we might as well just let me spike it out of bounds." ~ Pat Kuntz, Notre Dame DL

• "There was a lot of talking going on between all of us. It was just a battle. I have to give them credit. They are a good team and they are a very improved team from last year, just like us. Good luck to them in the rest of their season." ~ Pat Kuntz, Notre Dame DL

Boiler(s) Down

After a disappointing loss last week to the Michigan State Spartans the Notre Dame Fighting Irish got back on track with a convincing 38-21 win over the Purdue Boilermakers. While the Boilermakers aren't exactly a juggernaut it was the way that the Irish took care of them that brings a smile to all ND fans.

For much of the season the ND rushing game has been nonexistent, if not downright awful. The Irish entered the game averaging 78 yards rushing. This Saturday, however, they eclipsed that mark in the 3rd quarter alone, gaining 90 yards from the contributions of Armando Allen, James Aldridge, and Robert Hughes. In all, Allen finished with 134, Aldridge with 34, and Hughes with 26.

Aside from the resurgent running game, Jimmy Clausen and the Irish receivers connected for a great day statistically. Statistically speaking, Clausen had his best day in an Irish uniform. He completed 20 of 35 passing attempts for 275 yards and 3 TDs and 0 INTs. True freshman Michael Floyd, who has been on fire all year, snagged 6 six catches for 100 yards. Tight end Kyle Rudolph, another true freshman, hauled in his first career TD on a 5 yard pass from Clausen in the third quarter. Senior David Grimes also scored a TD on a 30 yard pass from Clausen in the third quarter. Golden Tate made a few spectacular catches en route a 64 yard, 1 TD performance. Duval Kamara would have had a TD, but the officials ruled him out of bounds.

On the defensive side of the ball, true freshman CB Robert Blanton provided a much needed spark when the Irish were down early to the Boilermakers. Blanton intercepted a pass from Curtis Painted and took it 47 yards to the house. The rest of the Irish D played for the better part of the game, although they need to work on wrapping up players in the open field.

The kick game continues to create headaches as Brandon Walker missed a FG in the first quarter. Moreover, the Irish failed to notch a touchback or even get the ball close to the goal line on kickoffs. At least the kickoff coverage unit managed to hold Purdue's return men to their lowest output of the season.

All in all this game proved that the Irish are not about to give up on the running game just yet. If ND can repeat its success from this past weekend in future endeavors they have the chance to be a legitimately decent football team by the end of the year. Was Purdue's defense really that bad or did the Irish o-line overachieve? Only time will tell.

Next up: Stanford.

ND vs SDSU - The Aftermath

This post probably could have come much earlier in the week, especially since I watched the recording immediately after getting back from South Bend. At any rate, here are my thoughts on the game:

• No matter how sloppy the final score made the game appear, a win is a win is a win whether it be 21-13, 100-0, or 2-0.
• Jimmy played very well, remarkably improved from last year in fact. His accuracy was reflected by his 62% completion percentage (21/34), and it is important to keep in mind that he wasn't merely dumping the ball off on screens the whole game. Clausen was given the ability to toss the ball downfield, a trend I hope to see carried into this week's matchup vs Michigan.
• We did not, as Charlie referenced the Irish running game this season, "pound it." This is a big concern amongst many Irish faithful wishing to see a power game a la the Lou Holtz years. I, however, am not too concerned as long as there is enough of a balance between passing and running plays to keep opposing defenses on their toes.
• Duval Kamara did not play up to his potential. The first interception was almost entirely his fault, as he tried to trap the ball against his pads rather than using his hands. I'm not sure how I feel about the 2nd INT, but it looked like there was some miscommunication between Clausen and Kamara. Chalk it up to being the first game of the year.
• Our defense performed well as a whole and I was impressed by the pressure they put on the SDSU offense. They only had 1 sack to show for it, but there were a multitude of tipped balls, hurries, and other forced errors.
• Staying on the defensive side, we need to learn to cover draw plays better. I know that the purpose of a draw is catch the defense off guard when they're thinking pass, but we let SDSU off the hook several times on several draw plays that went for first downs.
• The o-line played ok. Not great, not bad. The best thing about their play was that they kept the white jerseys away from Jimmy. No sacks? Awesome.
• Mike Anello deserved his scholarship. The kid is a force on special teams and will put the Irish in good situations all season long if he continues his stellar play.
• The game could have been 40-0. SDSU's second play from scrimmage was clearly a backwards lateral, which Brian Smith alertly picked up and returned into the endzone. Too bad it was blown dead and therefore non-reviewable. Also, the Hughes fumble was not a fumble. I was appalled after watching the replay that this call did not get overturned. His knee was clearly down.
• Michael Floyd is going to be a name you hear very often in the near future.
• Kyle Rudolph will be good but he needs to learn how to block at the collegiate level.
• I should have worn sunscreen.
• Overall, I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Next up: Skunkbears

Ra-Gone For The Year

According to WNDU and several other sources, Notre Dame sophomore tight end Mike Ragone will miss the entire 2008 season with an ACL tear. The injury is the same one that prevented Ragone from playing during his senior year at Camden Catholic in New Jersey.

Ragone was the expected starter at tight end and would have likely split time with Junior Will Yeatman, who has returned to the team after a DUI arrest cost him the spring with both the football and lacrosse teams. Yeatman will move up the depth charts and is the new projected starter. He was one of the Irish's best players as a freshman attacker on the lacrosse team and was sorely missed during last spring during the post-season.

True freshman Kyle Rudolph and junior converted fullback/running back Luke Schmidt are the likely candidates vying to serve as Yeatman's backup. Joseph Fauria, another true freshman, was expected to preserve a year of eligibility but could see the field in lieu of Ragone's injury.