How to judge Notre Dame's opener

By Stewart Mandel, SI.com

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis made it clear on the first day of fall camp that his team will no longer discuss the 2007 season -- but in case you need quick refresher on last year's 3-9 debacle, this video should suffice.

For a team that's looking to regain its confidence, the Irish could not have picked a better opening-day opponent than San Diego State. While Weis is known for his incredibly detailed press-conference scouting reports -- like this one -- here's all you need to know about Saturday's foe:

· The Aztecs have not posted a winning season since 1998. They posted a 7-17 record in coach Chuck Long's first two seasons.

· Last weekend, San Diego State suffered a heartbreaking, 29-27 loss ... to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

· In that game, the visiting Mustangs outgained the Aztecs 263 to 27 on the ground. San Diego State coughed up three fumbles and threw two interceptions.

This did not stop Weis from finding a silver lining in the Aztecs' performance. "The most impressive stat coming out of last week's game for me was that they held Cal Poly to 2 of 13 on third down and 0 of 2 on fourth down, [with] three sacks," he said. "They were getting off the field on third down and were getting some pressure on the quarterback."

What was that? Three sacks? Pressure on the quarterback?

If, like Notre Dame, you happen to have given up a national-worst 58 sacks last season, that kind of news can put knots in your fans' stomachs.

The anticipation for this season has been building in South Bend all summer, with buzz of a possible improvement to eight or nine wins. So what signs of this coming surge should we look for in Saturday's opener?

1) Notre Dame should be able to score at least five offensive touchdowns and amass no fewer than 450 yards. Anything below 400 -- and, in particular, anything less than 200 on the ground -- does not bode well for their chances of moving the ball on Michigan in two Saturdays.

2) By no means do the Irish need to shut down San Diego State's offense -- after all, Aztecs QB Ryan Lindley did throw for 352 yards on CPSLO -- but they certainly should control the line of scrimmage (i.e. multiple sacks and tackles for loss).

3) Most importantly, Notre Dame's oft-maligned offensive line better not succumb to SDSU's aforementioned, suffocating pass rush. If Jimmy Clausen's butt touches the turf more than three times, the offensive line's much-ballyhooed weight push may have been for naught.

Basically, if we are to believe the Irish have truly morphed into a respectable football team over the offseason, then they should do to San Diego State exactly what the nation's other top teams did to their overmatched opponents last weekend: Humiliate them

If Weis' team gets remotely challenged beyond, say, the second quarter ... get ready for another year of SNL skits.

Comments (7) Add A Comment

September 4, 2008 03:30 PM ET

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I say 5 offensive TD's easily, and a Defensive and Special Teams TD likely to.

ND 49 SDSU 0

GO IRISH!

IrishFan89

Ventura, CA

Total Comments (1)

September 4, 2008 05:37 PM ET

You are 100% right, Mr. Mandel. Anything less than a 56-7 type score will be a very bad omen indeed. If we pull a 28-14, we're screwed. Michigan will slaughter us and USC may very well rest their starters for their bowl game.

I'm looking for at least 300 rushing yards and 6+ ypc. SDSU not only is terrible against the run, but almost their entire front line was injured last week, so we'll be blocking their back-ups.

Basically, if we can't get it done this week, it will be 2007 all over again.

sagcat

Total Comments (19)

September 4, 2008 06:15 PM ET

Does anyone take into account at all that last year they lost 14 starters, two of which were All Americans and if I'm not mistaken most of their OL?!? How many College teams can sustain that type of loss and still play what usually is considered to be one of the more difficult schedules in the country? Granted there were teams they should have never lost to, however when the likes of Texas and USC are playing what equates to High School teams in over half their games, I hardly think that it is time for concern. I know everyone loves to hate them, but there really was no reason to believe that the freshman they started and the new line would not get embarrassed or exposed; two years from now we shall see where we truly stand.

navycross

Kanata, ON

Total Comments (38)

September 5, 2008 09:07 AM ET

Navycross

I understand where you're coming from, but Notre Dame has to make a positive change at some point and it can't be in two years. I say this because: a. you're paying a nice salary to a high-profile coach, b. Clausen will be gone in two years, you'll pretty much be breaking in another quarterback, c. that's what elite BCS teams do, they continue to bring in recruits that replace the departed and win, d. SDSU is the same cupcake every other good BCS school played and pummeled. Notre Dame must do the same or they'll be mediocre at best this season. I'm an LSU fan and yes they play cupcakes to tune up, but it's to tune up not fight for a win to the very end. I give Notre Dame props for having a great schedule every year. Do you think that will change if Weis can't stockpile the recruits needed to win that brutal schedule every year?

Kevinhal

Frisco, TX

Total Comments (6)

September 5, 2008 02:36 PM ET

Navycross, USC is playing high school teams? Do you mean Virginia? Or Ohio State?

Luke Fleeman

Visalia, CA

Total Comments (83)

September 5, 2008 04:37 PM ET

Navycross must have been comparing Notre Dame to a high school team since they were the weakest team USC played last year.

Notre Dame has a weaker schedule than nearly every team from a BCS conference this year so if they don't romp, they are a really really bad team again.