Oh my.  For 3 quarters, it looked like the nightmare that was 2007 was far from over.  A few post-game thoughts...

First of all, the media coverage of this game makes me sick.  I'm not saying that it wasn't a pathetic performance by the Irish.  But from SportsCenter to the Chicago Tribune to the South Bend Tribune, the picture of a purely lucky win was painted.  Images of SD State running back Brandon Sullivan crying in the stadium after the game about his fumble on the 3-inch line and the apparent home-field advantage.  Images of Aztec QB Ryan Lindley discussing a tough pill to swallow... a fluke of a break... etc. etc.  

Cry me a freaking river.   Funny how there was no mention of the "lucky break" the Aztecs received in the first half when referees inexplicably ruled that ND's Robert Hughes fumbled on the 2 yard line and the replay could not have shown his knee down any clearer.  No mention of the "lucky Aztec break" when a lateral returned for 6 the other way by the Irish was instead ruled an incomplete pass.  No mention of the "lucky Aztec break" when ND receiver Duval Kamara apparently lost his mind - instead of turning around and catching a TD pass, he ducked his head allowing the ball to fall into the arms of the defense.  No, let's only talk about the "lucky break" that went Notre Dame's way.  Let's only talk about the ND drives kept alive by stupid SD State penalties and not mention that they benefited just as much from drive-saving penalties by the Irish.

The fact is, this game could have just as easily been a 4 touchdown blowout by Notre Dame as a narrow upset by the Aztecs.

Now, don't get me wrong... that being said about the biased media coverage, this performance by the Irish was cause for MAJOR concern. 

However, let's start with the optimistic outlook (the few positives in order of importance): 

1.  JIMMY CLAUSEN:  I agree with you.  I miss Brady.  Jimmy is a cocky punk.  He needs a serious haircut.  He needs to grow up.  Etc. Etc.  But I am baffled by the failure of Irish fans and haters alike to recognize the talent and unbelievable potential of this kid.  SportsCenter said Clausen was "not sharp."  Huh?  Please explain to me how he could be any sharper?!  Out of 34 passes thrown, do you know how many he missed?  ONE!  That's right.  33 out of 34 passes were on the button!  His other 12 incompletions, including the two interceptions, were either smart throw-aways or drops.  This kid throws bulls-eye darts.  As much as I loved Brady Quinn, how quickly did we forget about every 4th pass being 5 feet over the receiver's head?  I'm not saying Jimmy as a sophomore can read defenses, inspire the troops, make decisions, etc. as well as a senior Brady Quinn, but if I need an accurate pass thrown, I take Jimmy over Brady every day of the week.

2.  NO SACKS ALLOWED!  This has gone unnoticed, but for a line that shattered the record with 58 sacks allowed last year, this is definitely a positive.  They allowed very little pressure - period.

3.  RECEIVERS GOLDEN TATE, MICHAEL FLOYD, AND DAVID GRIMES.  Golden Tate is a star in the making.  He had a difficult transition from HS running back to collegiate receiver as a freshmen, but it's safe to say he's ready to star now.  Michael Floyd was as good as advertised, which was as T.O. without the attitude.  And Grimes provided much-needed solid play from a veteran.

4.  SPECIAL TEAMS.  Outside the hold-your-breath kicking game, the special teams are much improved.  Tate and Allen are improved as return men and the coverage units, highlighted by walk-on Mike Anello, won the field-position battle.

5.  DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD.  They knew they would be busy, but Lambert and McNeil were lock-down on the corners, nickel-back Sergio Brown got burned once but made several big plays, David Bruton has All-American written all over him, and Kyle McCarthy proved to be a more than adequate replacement for Tom Zbikowski.

6.  OTHER POWERS STRUGGLED AGAINST CUPCAKES TOO.  I know, it's no consolation.  But Michigan barely beat Miami of Ohio, Ohio State struggled against Ohio, Colorado needed a 4th quarter outburst to sneak by Eastern Washington.  It happens.

7.  THEY DIDN'T PACK IT IN.  With San Diego State threatening to go up 20-7, the Irish could have easily panicked.  At that point, you could feel the weight of the world on those players and coaches from the Stadium to Colorado to the ND Nation around the world.  They didn't pack it in.  They rallied to take care of business.

(Note:  All of these "positives" are obviously weakened by the fact that this was SAN DIEGO STATE (who just lost to a Div I-AA team the week before.)

... and now for the CONCERNS.

1.  LACK OF RUNNING GAME.  This has been my number one concern about the Weis coaching staff for 4 years now.  This staff has never been able to establish a consistent power running game, nor have they shown a commitment to doing so.  Before this season, Weis made bold claims about "pounding it," and with the beef up front and 3 talented backs to choose from, you would think this would be a no-brainer... especially against a decimated San Diego State defensive line.  But a gimmick alignment designed to favor the stronger side of our line baffled the Weis brain trust, and they abandoned the plan to "pound it" on the 3rd play of the game.  There is plenty of blame to go around.  The linemen fail to drive block and the running backs miss holes, but the consistent trend of this problem points to the coaching staff.  A John Latina coached line has never been able to drive block (it was the same way when he was at Ole Miss), and Weis shows a stubborn reliance on the pass.  I don't care if Haywood was supposedly calling the plays, I recognize the source of that play-calling.  Bottom line:  105 rushing yards against this cupcake is embarrassing and inexcusable.  If we really can't line it up and run it down the throat of San Diego State, it's going to be a looooong season.

2.  WHERE WAS THE TENUTA HEAT?  The defense had a decent game considering how much time they spent on the field, but the lack of pressure was concerning.  The aggressive blitzing defense Jon Tenuta was supposed to bring was picked up fairly easy by San Diego State. 

3.  BONEHEAD PENALTIES.  Stupid penalties point to a lack of discipline, which falls squarely on the shoulders of Weis.  Even more concerning was the fact that two of them came from veteran team captain Maurice Crum.  We haven't had a disciplined team in this regard since Saint Lou was at the helm.

4.  TURNOVERS!  Not going to win too many games when you turn it over 4 times.  You could argue that the 2 fumbles resulted from this being our first game and you don't unleash game-intense hits in practice.  But the two interceptions bring me to number 5...

5.  DUVAL KAMARA & KYLE RUDOLPH.  As mentioned, both interceptions were Kamara's fault.  Let's hope the record-breaking freshman doesn't fall victim to a sophomore jinx.  And the debut of the beast, freshmen TE Kyle Rudolph, was extremely disappointing.  Weis reportedly loves his downfield potential, but his pathetic blocking was a major reason for the failed running game.  Adding insult to injury, he also dropped two passes.  I think I'll take my chances with veteran Will Yeatman and let this rookie wait his turn.

6.  HOW CAN YOU COME OUT FLAT AFTER 2007?  I never would have dreamt that the Irish would play uninspired in this game.  After all the talk of erasing the nightmare of 2007 and moving forward, this game was tailor-made for making a big statement.  This brings to light major concerns about Charlie's motivational skills.  Is he just a brilliant NFL offensive coordinator and college recruiter without the ability to fire up young college kids?  The jury is still out.

Don't be fooled by the fact that my positives out-number the negatives (what did I miss?).  This doesn't reflect the true "here we go again" terror currently occupying my stomach.  Honestly, I can live with all of these negatives except for number 1 about the running game.  This could be the demise of Weis.

Game one of the season is always a risk for blaring mistakes.  They always say the biggest improvement of a team occurs between weeks 1 and 2.  For heaven's sake, I hope that's the case.  This week's game against Michigan could be the most telling of Weis's career thus far.  If it is not at least competitive, you will see this Irish diehard's unflinching support of Mr. Weis start to head south.

Our Lady of Victory.  Pray for us!