Irish must put fears to rest quickly

Sporting News, The, August 20, 2001 by Tom Dienhart

Meet the Notre Dame Fearing Irish. That's right. Fearing Irish, not Fighting Irish. It's all about fear this fall in South Bend. Things opponents should fear about Notre Dame and things about which the Irish should be fearful.

The fear is palpable in this area known as Michiana. You can smell it when you walk from the Grotto to Notre Dame Stadium; you can see it when you look at a schedule that includes three of the first four games of the season on the road; you can taste it when you're hanging out at the Linebacker Lounge on South Bend Avenue.

How Notre Dame deals with its fears will go a long way toward determining whether this is the best Irish squad since the 1993 edition, which finished 11-1 and came within a loss to Boston College of winning the national championship, or one that finds itself scrambling for a bowl.

First, let's count the reasons Notre Dame will be a scary group in 2001.

Fear the running backs: Though much is made of the depth of teams such as Washington, Texas, Oregon, Oregon State, Mississippi State and Miami, among others, the Irish stack up well with Julius Jones, Tony Fisher and Terrance Howard running behind a strong line. There's speed (Jones), power (Fisher) and wiggle (Howard) in that group, but more big plays are needed.

Fear the defensive ends: The duo of Grant Irons and Anthony Weaver is among the best in the nation. Being able to rush the passer without blitzing is a boon. But they are just part of a defense that continues to get faster and more athletic. There's a bit of concern about speed at cornerback, but the defensive backs still have the ability to go one-on-one. That will free up the front seven to gamble on its own terms instead of out of necessity.

Fear the experience: Notre Dame will feature 29 senior lettermen. Any coach will tell you experience beats youth every time. Seven starters are back on offense; six on defense.

Fear the special teams: This group should continue the outstanding play it established last season. Sure, kicker Nick Setta struggled at times last year, hitting just 8-of-14 field-goal attempts, but he proved he can make a big kick. Joey Hildbold is a terrific punter, the options in the return game are plentiful and improved speed was evident on the smothering coverage teams last season.

Although the running backs, defense, special teams and experience are enough to leave opponents shaking in their boots, the Irish harbor their own fears.

Fear the schedule: It might be the toughest in the nation. The first three road games are at Nebraska, Purdue and Texas A&M. Amid that, the Irish host Michigan State, which has won the last four games in their series. It's vital the Irish emerge from September with at least a 2-2 record. Further down the schedule are games with Pittsburgh, Southern California, Boston College, Tennessee and Stanford, and all are bowl-worthy teams. If you're looking for sure wins, you probably should circle only the visits from West Virginia on October 13 and Navy on November 17.

Fear the quarterbacks: Yes, Matt LoVecchio went 7-1 as a starter last year, completing 73 of 125 attempts for 980 yards and throwing 11 touchdown passes and only one interception. It was one of the most impressive performances by a true freshman quarterback last season. He played it safe by always making smart decisions, which is why Notre Dame tied an NCAA record for fewest turnovers in a season, with eight.

But LoVecchio's inability to strike downfield made the Irish's offense easier to defend as the season progressed. Notre Dame ranked 109th in the nation in passing last season, averaging 132.2 yards per game. The Irish passed for more than 200 yards once and for 100 or fewer four times.

What's more, Notre Dame might have its best collection of pass catchers ever, making the need for a good thrower more urgent. Javin Hunter and David Givens are the headliners, and there are several promising youngsters ready to emerge.

If the offense bogs down early, Carlyle Holiday or Jared Clark might take over for LoVecchio. Both are better passers than LoVecchio, but LoVecchio has the experience. That will come in handy during the early stretch of road games. Still, quarterback might become a controversial spot if LoVecchio can't take control and diversify the attack.

(This from the what-if department: Northwestern's Zak Kustok could be the Notre Dame quarterback, but he transferred in 1998 because the Irish were building around option-oriented quarterbacks Jarious Jackson and Arnaz Battle.)

Fear the expectations: This is Notre Dame, where expectations range somewhere between out-of-this-world to are-you-kidding-me? Bob Davie helped fuel expectations by turning in one of the best coaching jobs in the land last season. Remember the backdrop? He entered 2000 on a four-game losing streak and coming off a 5-7 finish. An NCAA investigation and court case that aired a lot of dirty laundry made his collar even tighter. Then Notre Dame opened 1-1, and it lost Battle to a season-ending wrist injury in an overtime loss to Nebraska.