Notre Dame vs BYU

     Notre Dame played Brigham Young University this week and it was much closer then it should have been. BYU scored the first points of the game and they came with around 8 minutes left in the second quarter. This was the first touchdown that the tough Notre Dame defense had allowed in 4 games. The Irish struggled passing the football on offense but I think this was due to the fact that they had to start second string quarterback Tommy Rees. Head coach Brian Kelly started Rees because last week during the Stanford Game Everett Golson who normally starts at quarterback suffered a concussion late in the 4th quarter. It was a game time decision and Kelly said he feels good about it because now he will have his starting quarterback playing at 100% next week for the Oklahoma game. Which is the Irish's toughest game of the season and a must win situation. Further more on the positive side the running game finally got going this season for Notre Dame. This is good because if they have any chance of beating Oklahoma next week the Fighting Irish will need to play their absolute best football. Notre Dame came back and won this week with a final score of 17-14. There star linebacker from Honolulu Hawaii Manti Te'o led the team yet again this week with 10 solo tackles and added another interception bringing his season total to 4. This ties him for the single season school record and I'm confident that he will break that record before the season ends. Another unique thing about Manti Te'o is that fact that he is in the Hiseman running. It is almost impossible for defensives players to win the hiseman trophy and Charles Woodson is the only player off hand that Im aware of who has. If Te'o wins the heisman it will be the icing on the cake for Notre Dames session assuming they beat Oklahoma and USC of course.

Notre Dame Squeaks By No 17 Stanford

     The game of the week in my opinion undefeated Notre Dame hosts a team ranked number 17 in the country Stanford. After losing NFL rookie sensation Andrew Luck Stanford is definitely in a rebuilding year but even that being said they will be the toughest team Notre Dame has seen all year. It well known that Notre Dame's defense is what holds the team together and that was proven true yet again this past saturday. For the 3rd week in a row the Irish defense did not give up a touchdown. However Stanford did score a defensive touchdown due to Irish quarterback Everett Golson fumbling in his own end zone which the Stanford defense recovered. Other then that Everett Golson looked good and made some ridiculous throws that were just simply inhuman. He looked like a young Mike Vick out there scrambling for big yards when the Fighting Irish needed them. He did get hurt in the 4th quarter which forced head coach Brian Kelly to put in second stringer Tommy Rees. Rees did not play bad and did throw the game winning touchdown pass. However that wouldn't have been necessary had Norte Dame not missed a field goal in the first half which left the door open for Stanford to tie the game up and send it to overtime. In overtime Stanford won the coin toss and then elected to go on defense first. That is when Tommy Rees deliver the eventual game winning touchdown pass to all american tight end Tyler Effeirt. Stanford did however have a chance to force a second overtime but came up short. Not once, not twice. but three times Notre Dame stopped them backed up into there own redone. Their backs were against the wall and once again the Notre Dame defense delivered. It was a nail biter to the bitter end but Notre Dame hung on to remain undefeated and push themselves to one of the top 5 teams in the country. They started the season ranked 24th and are now 5th this is simply amazing and I hope to god it continues. Now all they have to do is pull off the miracle victory against USC and they have national championship written all over them. I can't say I give them a prayer of winning once they get there but the fact that they make it if they do will be a blessing in itself.

Notre Dame Beats Down Michigan

     Notre Dame is still undefeated after beating Michigan in what most would say was a Denard Robinson disaster. Michigan's super star quarterback basically lost the game all on his own. Robinson threw 4 interceptions in the second quarter alone not mention fumbling in the first drive after half time. The all american linebacker of the Irish Manti Te'o was on the receiving end of two Robinson interceptions and is still the heartbeat of Notre Dames defense. Te'o leads the team defensively and for the second week in a row held opponents to scoring 0 touchdowns. Notre Dame's secondary is like air traffic control no one can throw the football against them and there run defense id say is top 5 in the country. Sadly even with five turnovers from Denard alone Michigan still managed to keep it a close game which had me nervous to the end. The only thing that keeps Notre Dame from winning a national championship this year if you ask me is there offense. If it doesn't step up and match the play of Notre Dame's defense the team could be in some trouble. Especially when they play Stanford and USC.  But on the upside if Notre Dame beats Stanford and USC I guarantee that Notre Dame will be playing in the national championship. Unless of course some fluke loss to BYU or some bizarre turn of events like that. But barring a setback on defense and if the offense continues to improve the fighting Irish should put themselves in position to have a good shot at beating USC and Stanford which would land them playing in the BCS National Championship. Everett Golson continues to struggle a little bit but thats to be expected considering he has never played a in a college game until this year.  He will continue to improve and I honestly think he will be a hiseman contender 3 years from now. But until then I will be happy with just beating Michigan for now.

Notre Dame Week 5

  Notre Dame won again this week at no surprise to myself but kind of a shock to the nation. You could have asked any sports analyst in the country 6 weeks ago if they thought they was any chance in the world  Norte Dame would be 5-0 going into week six and they would have said you were crazy. The only crazy person involved with anything Norte Dame does is head coach Brian Kelly in my opinion. His ridiculous coaching style using a bizare two quarterback system has been the reason for the Irish winning so far but will it continue to work? Never before have I seen this specific style of quarterback usage from a coach and it is kind of interesting but I personally do not think it is a formula that will win a national championship and lets face it that is every colleges goal to win the BCS National Championship. The thing I love about Notre Dame starting quarterback Everett Golson, is how safe he is with the football. He is averaging less then one turnover per game. As high as my hopes are for the young quarterback everyone who has watched Notre Dame play this year knows that the Defense is what holds this team together. Lead by the number one linebacker in the country Manti Te'o the Irish defense is literally similar to a brick wall. Almost virtually impenetrable. The Notre Dame defense leads the country in touchdowns given up with less then 3. I am however nervous for when the Fighting Irish play USC lead by the hisemen candidate Matt Barkley. With injures in the corner position I feel like Notre Dame's defense will be vulnerable to the pass. However the USC game will mean nothing unless Notre Dame is still undefeated when they play them. Accomplishing this  however will not be easy. On the Norte Dame schedule before they play USC is Oklahoma and Stanford both are top 20 teams with explosive offenses. They will be the true test for Notre Dame's defense and I'm excited to see what happens.