Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Associated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind.
It’s the job and life Brian Kelly wanted. He knows the expectations. After a lopsided and weakness-exposing loss to Navy and here comes talk of another 6-6 season, the same record under Charlie Weis a year ago.
Kelly’s pitch is that the Irish are committed to making their players better and that is happening, even if that doesn’t always show on Saturdays.
And with a 4-4 record entering Saturday’s game against Tulsa — a must-win if there ever was one this season — his goal is to get Notre Dame in a bowl game, not just for the experience but for the extension of practice time it would afford.
“It’s an important goal. We need those 15 practices,” Kelly said .
Getting to a bowl game is vital, especially with a team still trying to master a new offense — the spread — and a different defense in the 3-4.
“Those 15 practices are important. So, you know, getting to a bowl game allows you more time with your players. I need more time with our guys,” Kelly said. “Our coaches need more time with our players. ...it’s important to the development of our program.”
Notre Dame’s defense got run over by Navy’s triple option and nose guard Ian Williams was forced out in the third quarter with a sprained left medial collateral ligament. The 6-foot-2, 305-pound senior, the anchor of the Irish’s defensive line who has 37 tackles, has appeared in 45 games over the course of his career.
“Ian was double-teamed virtually every play so he was in there battling on every play. It’s hard to really look at any particular block and say, well, that was, you know, high-low,” Kelly said. “I didn’t feel that way. Our coaches didn’t feel that way. And he was in there the battling a couple of guys virtually every play.”
Sean Cwynar and Hafis Williams are going to have fill in for Ian Williams.
The injuries have been mounting, especially ones involving the hamstring.
Linebacker Carlo Calabrese also had to leave Saturday’s game with a hamstring pull. Tight tend Kyle Rudolph is lost for the season after having surgery to repair a torn hamstring. Wide receiver Michael Floyd didn’t play last week because of a sore hamstring, an injury that also dogged offensive tackle Taylor Dever. And freshman receiver TJ Jones has experienced fatigue in a hamstring.
“I’ve had some years where you’d worry about what shoulder was going to separate this week, or, we had one year where we had two centers that both had torn ligaments in their finger that required immediate surgery,” Kelly said, looking back at his two decades of head coaching experience.
“It’s just one of those things that just, when you’re in this game of football, you’d better prepare for injuries. It just seems as though it’s one of those strings that you go through.”
Slot receiver Theo Riddick, has who has a severe ankle sprain, will be put back in a cast. He could also be out for another month.
The Irish must regroup, both offensively and defensively. Against Navy, they started the game with a long drive but quarterback Dayne Crist couldn’t get in from the 1. Crist also threw a pair of interceptions, but it was Notre Dame’s inability to contain the option that led mostly to a blowout loss.
They’ll face a speedy Tulsa team that’s had more than 500 yards of total offense in four of its seven games this season, using a spread style.