Brotherly Love Pushes Hughes to NFL Dream: Signs with Bears

It's not the fact that former Notre Dame running back Robert Hughes signed with his hometown Chicago Bears - that is just icing on the cake in comparison to what Hughes has been through in his young life thus far.

A touching remembrance of Robert Hughes' journey to college and now fulfilling his NFL dream is shared by the Chicago Sun-Times. Paraphrasing would do a disservice as the entire article is worth the read but, in essence, Hughes was motivated by his late brother, Earl "Tony" Hughes.

On October 31, 2007 Tony was fatally shot in the head outside of his home after answering the door. To this day the killer is still at large and Hughes family remains shaken. Determined as ever, Robert returned to practice the following day, though he was certainly not his usual chipper self.

Charlie Weis, head coach at the time, arranged for all of Hughes' teammates to travel with him and be by his side at his brother's funeral the Friday of that same week. People give Weis a hard time for being a 'jerk' and 'arrogant', but deep down he really is a compassionate and good man. Here is an excerpt from the article linked above:

Weis has been one of the most supportive members of the staff since the murder. He drove Hughes to Chicago Thursday night to talk with the player's family and offer consolation. He also jumped through NCAA hoops to get two buses to take any players that wanted to go to Tony's funeral there.

Tragedy aside, Hughes returned to play that weekend as Notre Dame took on the Naval Academy. He remarkably scored the game's first touchdown and proceed to give the ball to his family. His efforts to honor his brother would continue from that day throughout the rest of his career (he was only a freshman at the time) by pointing to the sky in remembrance of Tony after scoring plays.

You can see his emotional touchdown from the Navy game around the 0:30 mark in the video below that captures his career highlights under the dome.

Hughes came on strong towards the end of the season in games against Army, USC, and Miami. He reminded many of former Irish tailback Jerome Bettis as he bruised his way over and through helpless defenders.

His contributions at the Coliseum helped the Irish end an eight-game losing streak against arch-rival USC. Watch his efforts during the final drive to put the Irish on top for good.

This certainly is another in a long list of 'feel good' stories in sports. Congratulations to Robert and his family!

Hughes Win for Irish

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Almost nine full days later and the ND victory over arch-rival USC is still just as sweet. For the first time in eight years, the Irish knocked off the Trojans in the battle for the Jeweled Shilelagh.

Senior RB Robert Hughes came up huge in the final series for ND as the Irish offensive line helped plow the way, dominating a worn out and overmatched USC Trojan defensive line.

At times it was difficult to discern whether or not Hughes was a Jerome Bettis reincarnate or not but make no mistake about it, Hughes put on a show that the aforementioned Bettis would have been proud of.

Notre Dame took command of the game at the end of the 2nd quarter with a pair of 1-yard touchdown passes from Tommy Rees to Michael Floyd and Duval Kamara. Floyd scored with 2:29 remaining and Kamara notched one just before the horn sounded with 0:07 remaining. Kamara's score put the Irish up 13-3 at the half and seemingly in the driver's seat.

But sloppy play in the 3rd quarter allowed the Trojans to tie it up 13 apiece when Mitch Mustain converted on 4th and goal from the 1. It was the first defensive touchdown allowed by the Irish defensive in 13 quarters of play, the longest such streak since 1980.

Tommy Rees, who is undefeated as an Irish starting signal-caller at 3-0, threw 3 interceptions and lost a fumble in an otherwise ho-hum effort. However, when needed, he stepped up on the final Irish drive and connected on two passes to keep the drive alive and help the Irish overcome their short-lived deficit.

Many folks in Trojan land are writing off this loss by saying their team was without its starting quarterback. What those fans neglect to admit or realize is that the Irish were also without their starting quarterback, but instead of turning to a senior who had won 8 games in a row previously turned to a true freshman with minimal experience. Additionally, ND was without arguably the best tight end in the nation in Kyle Rudolph, running back Armando Allen, and nose guard Ian Williams.

Perhaps the biggest callout led by the men and women of Troy is that senior wideout Ronald Johnson dropped what would have surely been a go-ahead touchdown with 1:17 remaining. But with heavy rain pouring down as it had the entire evening Johnson let the ball bounce off his shoulder.

As Coach Brian Kelly said, "It was about time we caught a break."

Moments later, Harrison Smith intercepted a pass to confirm the Irish victory with :36 left.

Fitting that the Irish victory was sealed by its defense, which has gone from bottom-feeder to powerhouse in the matter of one season.

After an abysmal effort against Navy, the Irish D seemed re-energized and determined to show it could handle the triple option as it shut down Army in Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago. Similarly, the Irish D showed up big as the high-octane Utah Utes' offense was also held to just 3 points.

Make no mistake about it, the Notre Dame football team caught fire and did so at the right time of the year, finishing November with a 3-0 record, remarkable considering the back-to-back losses to Navy and Tulsa that preceded the winning streak.

The sweetest of the wins without question is the victory over USC though. In case you missed any of the action, take a look at the highlight clip below. It is slightly over-produced but overall a sound compilation of the moments that led to long overdue jubilation for fans of the Blue and Gold.

Irish Capsize Sinking Washington Ship

Notre Dame took care of business on Saturday as the Irish dominated the Washington Huskies in all facets of the game, winning 33-7 for its first win away from home this season. 

Irish gunslinger Jimmy Clausen connected with standout true freshman WR Michael Floyd less than three minutes into the ball game for a 51-yard touchdown reception. Floyd, who recorded his third 100+ yard performance, showed off his speed and athletic ability as he evaded the Washington secondary en route to the endzone. 

Golden Tate scored a few minutes later on an end-around to extend the ND lead to 14-0 in the first quarter. "I think we let up once we had them 14-0," quipped Tate after the game. 

Two quick scores were more than enough support for a swarming Irish defense that created headaches for Washington QB Ronnie Fouch all game long. The Irish D finished with 4 sacks,  4 pass break-ups, and prevented the Husky offense from crossing the 50-yard line until late in the fourth quarter.

Harrison Smith finished with 2 sacks, totaling 21 yards, but provided even more of a spark on special teams. Late in the third quarter on a 4th and 13 from ND's 37 yard line, Smith took a direct snap and scampered 35 yards. The Associated Press had the following to say about the play:

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, who exchanged a handshake and appeared cordial with Willingham on the field after the game, said he wanted to run that play late in the first half but the clock ran out on him. His team had practiced against a certain look he planned to exploit on Washington's punt-return unit. It was heavy on defenders outside, setting up for a return. That left Smith free and "excited," the linebacker said, in the middle.Asked if he thought about what the perception of such a play would be coming with a 24-point lead on an obviously overmatched opponent, Weis said: "No. It's the third quarter. ... It's not 50-0. I'm not that type of guy. ... We yanked guys at the start of the fourth quarter. Their only touchdown at the end was against guys who never play. No, that's not our deal."

Given the current landscape of the game, with teams racking up inordinate amounts of points in hopes of earning "style" points with voters, it is refreshing to hear Coach Weis openly admit his opposition to such tactics.

The Husky offense never get off the ground, amassing a measly 124 yards and earning only 9 first downs. Moreover, the only Husky points were scored when the game had already been decided and Notre Dame had removed its first-teamers.

On the other side of the ball, the Husky defense was trampled over by Notre Dame's running attack all night long. James Aldridge scored a career-high 2 TDs on 13 carries 84 yards rushing, Armando Allen added 62 yards on 15 carries,  and Robert Hughes added 19 yards on 4 carries.

True freshman RB Jonas Gray received his first game action on the offensive side of the ball (he has appeared on special teams in several games) and gained 61 yards on 9 carries.

Irish kicker Brandon Walker booted two field goals, a welcome surprise from his performance leading up to the game. Walker's improvement, however, didn't stop Coach Weis from testing out walk-on David Ruffer, the newest addition to the Irish roster. Ruffer misfired on an extra point attempt in his only game action.

Overall, this was the perfect game for Notre Dame to have scheduled coming off of a bye week. Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham looked stoic throughout the game as he watched what was likely one of his last few games as a Husky employee. For a very thorough take on Willingham's coaching abilities, take a look at this gem from the fine folks at NDNation.

Next up for the Irish: Pittsburgh on November 1 at 2:30 EST on NBC.

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