5 Burning Questions: Notre Dame Style

5 Questions facing the team-that-needs-to-be-in-a-conference leading into the football season.

1) Is this finally the last season for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame?

Weis needs to thank Notre Dame’s athletic department for not firing him after last season and for scheduling cupcakes for this season. The Fighting Irish finished 7-6 last season, including an embarrassing loss to Syracuse towards the end of the season. North Carolina is not on this year’s schedule and Notre Dame plays winnable games against Nevada, Washington and Washington St. With Donald Brown no longer at Connecticut, Weis should be able to finish the season with wins over Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Stanford. The Fighting Irish will only have two or three losses and Weis will keep his job and lead Notre Dame to a BCS game (though they won’t deserve it).

2) Is this the year Notre Dame upsets USC?

Do you remember when this was one of the best rivalries in college football? Notre Dame fans will ridicule me for not calling this a great rivalry, but the fact is that a rivalry is only a rivalry when both teams win on a regular basis. USC embarrassed the Fighting Irish 38-3 last season. Many experts have picked Norte Dame to be undefeated by the time they play USC in South Bend on Oct. 17. This is a possibility with winnable games against Nevada, Michigan, Michigan St., Purdue and Washington before the big USC game. Michigan will beat Notre Dame in Ann Arbor and Notre Dame could lose to Michigan St. or Purdue, even though both of those teams are on down years. Notre Dame’s game against USC will be a lot closer with all of the talent that the Trojans lost. Notre Dame fans need to remember this: USC has turned into Noah’s Arc as they have two talented players at almost every position. USC wins again and Notre Dame fans will not be happy if the loss is another blowout.

3) Why can’t Notre Dame run the ball?

A bad running team and a team with bad special teams is not a good mix for a BCS team. The Fighting Irish rushed for only 3.3 yards per carry last season and didn’t have one running back reach 600 yards on the ground. Notre Dame has some talented backs in Armando Allen, Robert Hughes and James Aldridge, but Notre Dame is in need of a star running back that can take pressure off of Clausen. The Fighting Irish will not have a star back, though their embarrassing 3.3 yards per carry should improve now that they play weak defenses.

4) What kind of year will Golden Tate have as a junior?

The Notre Dame wide receiver had 58 receptions for 1,080 yards and ten touchdowns last season. Tate had over 100 yards against North Carolina and Pittsburgh last season and should have one of the best seasons in college football. Tate is not the talent that Dez Bryant is at Oklahoma St., but Tate will benefit from playing another year with Clausen. Tate will have around 1,200 yards receiving with at least ten touchdowns.

5) Will Jimmy Clausen play better on the road?

Notre Dame’s quarterback threw four touchdowns and 11 interceptions in true road games last season. This year should be better as the Fighting Irish play Michigan, Purdue, Pittsburgh and Stanford on the road and they play Washington St. in San Antonio. Notre Dame should win every road game expect the Michigan game, as Rich Rodriguez will have an improved defense under Greg Robinson. Expect Clausen to throw for over 30 touchdowns and have a very good season against a weak schedule.