Notre Dame v. Washington analysis

After a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Spartans at home last week, this team is going to be hungry for revenge, and who better to take out their frustrations on than former head football coach Tyrone Wilingham and his inept Huskies. The Huskies went 1-11 last year, and haven't improved much from last year to this year. For the first time this year, Notre Dame are substantial favorites going into the game, and the Huskies are outmatched at every position. Look for this year to be even uglier than last year's 38-3 blowout win.

Notre Dame Quarterback and Receivers v. Washington Secondary

Edge: Notre Dame

Notre Dame's Starters:

Brady Quinn, QB, Jr., 70-117 854 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT, 19 rushes, 46 yards
Maurice Stovall, WR, Sr., 12 receptions, 220 yards, 1 TD
Jeff Samardzija, WR, Jr., 13 receptions, 182 yards, 5 TD

Depth:
Matt Shelton, WR, Sr., 7 receptions, 91 yards
David Grimes, WR, Fr., 1 reception, 11 yards
David Wolke, QB, So., 1 rush, 22 yards

Injury:
Rhema McKnight, WR, Sr., 5 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD (upgraded to day-to-day, could play)

Washington Starters:

Matt Fountaine, CB, So., 13 tackles, 3 PBU, 1 fumble recovery
Josh Okeobor, CB, Jr., 6 tackles, 1 INT
Darin Harris, S/CB, So., 9 tackles, 1 PBU
Dashon Goldson, S, Sr., 24 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU
C.J. Wallace, S, Jr., 17 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 2 PBU, 1 forced fumble

Depth:
Clarence Simpson, CB, Jr., 2 tackles
Chris Hemphill, S, So.

Injury:
Roy Lewis, CB, So. (did not play vs. Idaho last week), 9 tackles

Ty Willlie can't seem to make up his mind who his starters are here, and has been forced to shuffle people around the last coupe of games. This plays right into Notre Dame's hands, as Weis' schemes should bumfuzzle this secondary, leading to a handful of broken coverages as the game progresses. The passing game may become important, as it will be be easier to pass than to run against this defense.

Notre Dame Running Backs and Tight Ends v. Washington Linebackers

Edge: Notre Dame

Notre Dame's Starters:

Darius Walker, RB, So., 72 rushes, 337 yards, 1 TD, 13 receptions, 98 yards, 2 TD
Asaph Schwapp, FB, Fr. 9 rushes, 13 yards
Anthony Fasano, TE, Sr., 15 receptions, 153 yards

Depth:
Rashon Powers-Neal, FB/RB, 14 rushes, 60 yards, 3 TD, 2 reception, 27 yards
Travis Thomas, RB, 8 rushes, 40 yards
Marcus Freeman, TE
John Carlson, TE, 2 receptions, 3 yards

Washington Starters:

Joe Lobendahn, LB, Sr., 23 tackles, 1 INT
Evan Benjamin, LB, Sr., 24 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU
Scott White, LB, Jr., 20 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 PBU, 1 forced fumble

Depth:
Tahj Bomar, LB, Jr., 2 tackles
Dan Howell, LB, So., 1 tackle

One of the problems with defensive statistics is that a high number of tackles may not necessarily be a good thing. These linebackers have a lot of tackles, but many of them are too little, too late. Cal ran roughshod over the Huskies, and I expect us to do the same. These linebackers will be active, but they can't do everything.

Notre Dame Offensive Line v. Washington Defensive Line

Edge: Notre Dame

Notre Dame's Starters:
Ryan Harris, LT, Jr.
Dan Santucci, LG, Sr.
Bob Morton, C, Jr.
Dan Stevenson, RG, Sr.
Mark LeVoir, RT, Sr.

Depth:
Scott Raridon, G, Sr.
Brian Mattes, G, Sr.
John Sullivan, C, Jr.
Michael Turkovich, T, Fr.
Paul Duncan, T, Fr.

Washington Starters:

Manase Hopoi, DT, Sr., 13 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks
Mike Mapuolesega, DT, Sr., 3 tackles, 1 blocked kick
Donny Mateaki, DE, Jr., 8 tackles, 2 sacks
Greyson Gunheim, DE, So., 11 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU

Depth:
Erick Lobos, DT, So., 4 tackles
Wilson Afoa, DT, So., 7 tackles, 2 TFL
Caesar Rayford, DE, So., 1 tackle, 1 sack
Walt Winter, DE, Fr., 2 tackles

Manase Hopoi is a beast on the interior line, but the rest of this group is sub-par. Again, I expect Charlie to run a bunch of off-tackle runs and sweeps to avoid the interior of the ine and square off with the linebackers. Hopoi could throw the occasional wrench into our passing game, as he is an effective pass rusher from the inside, which collapses the pocket. Therefore, expect a few bootlegs and rollouts for Brady to move the pocket. Also, expect Hopoi to get double-teamed much of the game, allowing the other blockers to go one-on-one against the rest of the line.

Washington Quarterback and Receivers v. Notre Dame Secondary

Edge: Notre Dame

Washington Starters:
Isaiah Stanback, QB, Jr., 50-82 688 yards 4 TD 2 INT
Sonny Shackleford, WR, Jr., 12 receptions, 199 yards, 1 TD
Anthony Russo, WR, Jr., 9 receptions, 86 yards

Depth:
Johnny Durocher, QB, So.
Casey Paus, QB, Sr., 1-2 3 yards
Craig Chambers, WR, So., 5 receptions, 129 yards, 1 TD
Corey Williams, WR, Jr., 3 receptions, 54 yards

Notre Dame's Starters:

Mike Richardson, CB, Sr., 13 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBU
Ambrose Wooden, CB, Jr., 20 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 3 PBU
Tom Zbikowski, SS, Jr., 24 tackles, 2 INT, 1 forced fumble
Chinedum Ndukwe, WS, So., 12 tackles, 1 INT, 3 fumble recoveries

Depth:
LaBrose Hedgemon II, CB, Jr.
Leo Ferrine, CB, So., 2 tackles
Terrail Lambert, CB, So., 3 tackles
David Bruton, S, Fr., 1 tackle
Kyle McCarthy, S, Fr.

Notre Dame struggled with Drew Stanton last week, being unable to get to the quarterback and bring the necessary amount of pressure to disrupt the Spartan passing game. Washington has another tall receiver (6'5" Shackleford) that can give us some matchup problems. However, we'll probably sit back in a zone coverage most of the game, as the Husky rushing attack will be largely non-existent.

Washington Running Backs and Tight Ends v. Notre Dame Linebackers

Edge: Notre Dame

Washington's Starters:

Louis Rankin, RB, So., 55 rushes, 271 yards, 1 TD, 3 receptions, 11 yards
James Sims, FB, Jr., 14 rushes, 31 yards, 2 TD
Robert Lewis, TE, So., 3 receptions, 23 yards

Depth:
Shelton Sampson, RB, Jr., 4 rushes, 20 yards
Ty Eriks, FB, Sr.
Johnie Kirton, TE, Fr., 8 receptions, 103 yards, 1 TD

Notre Dame Starters:

Brandon Hoyte, WLB, Sr., 29 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 forced fumble, 1 PBU
Corey Mays, MLB, Sr., 17 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 2 PBU, 1 fumble recovery
Maurice Crum, Jr., Apache, Jr., 17 tackles, 1 forced fumble

Depth:
Joe Brockington, LB, Jr., 1 tackle
Mitchell Thomas, LB, Jr., 1 tackle
Anthony Vernaglia, Apache, So.
Steve Quinn, Apache, Fr.

Hoyte has been having a stellar season thus far, and he and Mays should spend much of the game in the Husky backfield, bumfuzzling the quarterback and running backs. The Huskies don't utilize the Tight Ends enough to keep us from bringing the house up front and sitting in zone coverage in the secondary. I'd be surprised if the Huskies break 50 yards rushing.

Washington Offensive Line v. Notre Dame Defensive Line

Edge: Notre Dame

Washington Starters:

Robin Meadow, T, Jr.
Stanley Daniels, G, Jr.
Brad Vanneman, C, Sr.
Tusi Sa'au, G, Sr.
Chad Macklin, T, Fr.

Depth:
Tui Alailefeula, T/G, Sr.
Nathan Flowers, T, Fr.
Clay Walker, G/C, Jr.


Notre Dame's Starters:
Victor Abiamiri, DE, Jr., 13 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU
Trevor Laws, DT, Jr., 4 tackles. 1 PBU
Derek Landri, DT, Sr., 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 PBU
Chris Frome, DE, Sr., 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 PBU

Depth:
Brian Beidatsch, DT, Sr., 6 tackles, 1 sack
Dwight Stephenson, Jr., DT, Jr.
Ronald Talley, DE, So., 4 tackles, 1 PBU
Justin Brown, DE, So., 2 tackles

Another set of big boys up front, but they don't have the discipline and technique to match up with our D-line. Also, there is only so much they can do against 5-7 man blitzes.

Notre Dame Head Coach v. Washington Head Coach

Edge: Notre Dame

Notre Dame's Head Coach: Charlie Weis, 1st year, 2-1

Washington Head Coach: Tyrone Willingham, 1st year, 1-2

This is a no-brainer. If there is anyone out there that thinks that Tyrone Willingham is a better coach than Charlie Weis, I have yet to meet them. Even perenial Notre Dame haters like Lee Corso, John Saunders, and Mark May would concede that point, regardless of whether Notre Dame was right to fire Ty. Also, Coach Weis has the added benefit of having the Huskie's defensive playbook, thanks to Ty's undying loyalty to his assistants. Which leads me to my other point; Ty's assistants are little league coaches compared to CW's assistants. The Irish have former college head coaches, former NFL assistant coaches, a NFL Europe head coach, and numerous other proven coaches from all levels of coaching. On Ty's staff, he has a handful of lifelong assistant college coaches, who haven't really achieved anything. Kent Baer, in particular, is a completely incompetent fool. Just look how he dismantled the Irish secondary in three short years.

Final Prediction:

Notre Dame 63
Washington 7

Blowout. Easiest game of the year for the Irish. We can finally stop talking about the Willingham firing.