SB Nation Chicago - Notre Dame Vs. Michigan State: Irish Defense Dominates 20-3 Win

Notre Dame Reaction: Blog One Foot Down hoping for offensive improvement

2012-09-27T17:24:49Z

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 4-0 and shooting up the polls, but the staff over at Notre Dame blog One Foot Down are not totally happy with how the team looks. The Irish have been buoyed by a great defense, but aside from a big opening day win over Navy, the offense has struggled. In dissecting Notre Dame's 13-6 win over the Michigan Wolverines, the focus was on why the offense is struggling so much:

Losing the most prolific receiver in program history

Starting a redshirt freshman at quarterback

New position coaches and a "new" offensive coordinator

A star running back who was suspended for the first two games and can't seem to keep himself out of the coaches' doghouse

A killer defense that negates the need to put up a lot of points

Inconsistent offensive line play and bad run blocking in general

Head over to One Foot Down to see some very detailed breakdowns of Notre Dame's offensive line, why they are struggling, and how the problems can be fixed.

Jamoris Slaughter Injury: 6th Season Unlikely For Notre Dame Safety

2012-09-18T23:15:54Z

Lost for the season with a torn Achilles in Saturday's monumental victory over Michigan State, Notre Dame safety Jamoris Slaughter does not appear headed for a sixth year of eligibility according to the South Bend Tribune.

Irish head coach Brian Kelly spoke about his injured safety on Tuesday at his weekly press conference, but did not sound confident that the program would explore a sixth year of eligibility for Slaughter. "It doesn't appear so," Kelly said. "We're still kind of vetting through all that."

A 6'1, 200-pound safety, Slaughter chose to redshirt as a true freshman and appeared to be entering his fifth and final year of eligibility this fall. While it's quite possible that the NCAA would rule in his favor if both he and the Irish decided to file paperwork for a sixth year, it's clear that Kelly isn't entirely thrilled about using up a roster spot on Slaughter just yet.

Head over to One Foot Down for more Notre Dame football coverage, and check out SB Nation's college football hub for more news and analysis from around the country.

Notre Dame Football Reaction: Irish Finally Get Big Win

2012-09-17T23:38:06Z

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish got their best win in years on Saturday when they beat the Michigan State Spartans 20-3 in East Lansing, Mich. Over at Notre Dame blog One Foot Down, Eric Murtaugh knows how big this was for the Irish:

Notre Dame did it. They finally won the big game, at night, on the road, in prime time, as the underdog against a highly ranked top 10 opponent. That breaks a streak of 9 straight losses to teams in the AP top 10 and ends Michigan State's long home winning streak.

Murtaugh praised the Irish up and down the roster, focusing most of his praise on the defense, particularly the line:

From start to finish, this was the best performance by an Irish defensive line against a top team in many, many years.

Murtaugh was a little tougher on the offense, and would love if coach Brian Kelly could find a way to get the ball to Davonte Neal:

My only gripe would be to try to get Davonte' Neal the ball more. I believe he only has two touches this season and none in the past two. He's seeing the field a lot but he's so electric I'd hate to waste football games without him doing something on offense.

But a small complaint in an otherwise glowing review of the Notre Dame game. Murtaugh even allows himself to get a bit over-excited in his analysis:

This one just feels different because the offense went 1 for 14 on third down and we were okay with that because the defense was playing like the '66 title team.

Notre Dame will test its defense again when they host Denard Robinson and the Michigan Wolverines on Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

For more on Notre Dame football, check out One Foot Down.

Notre Dame QB Everett Golson Turns Into Effective Game Manager Vs. Michigan State

2012-09-17T15:31:34Z

Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson didn't light up the Michigan State secondary on Saturday, but he didn't turn the ball over, either. The latter helped the Irish earn the 20-3 victory over the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich.

Golson made it two straight games without an interception, and he has earned the "game manager" title in the process. While completing 14/32 passes, as Golson did against Michigan State, isn't going to sustain many drives, no interceptions helps eliminate easy scoring opportunities for the oppositon.

Irish head coach Brian Kelly spoke with reporters about Golson, according to CSNChicago.com:

"He did some really good things, but we've got a long way to go," Kelly said of Golson. "He needs to continue to stay on task, Everett, and continue to develop each and every week. There are a lot of things. We are so far from where we need to be offensively. I think a lot of it is just in the stuff that we're doing right now. We don't need to extend the playbook any deeper."

Golson has completed 58 percent of his passes for 611 yards and three touchdowns, compared to just one interception. His 7.5 yards per attempt is not spectacular, but certainly average, and average is all Notre Dame needs from Golson right now.

For more Fighting Irish coverage, visit SB Nation's One Foot Down, College Football Hub, and SB Nation Chicago.

AP Top 25 Rankings: Notre Dame Jumps Up To No. 11

2012-09-16T16:16:02Z

The new AP Top 25 college football rankings have been released with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish skyrocketing up the list.

After a convincing win on the road against Michigan State, Notre Dame has moved to No. 11 in the AP rankings, up nine spots from last week. The No. 11 ranking is the highest ranking Notre Dame has received in the Brian Kelly era. Michigan State dropped from No. 10 to No. 21.

Alabama still holds the top spot after crushing the Arkansas Razorbacks, 52-0, Saturday. They received 58 of 60 first place votes with the other two votes going to the LSU Tigers.

USC fell from No. 2 to No. 13 after losing to Stanford. Stanford represents the biggest rankings mover, jumping 12 spots from No. 21 to No. 9.

The complete AP Top 25 college football rankings are as follows.

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PV RANK
1	Alabama (58)	3-0	1,498	1
2	LSU (2)	3-0	1,433	3
3	Oregon	3-0	1,356	4
4	Florida State	3-0	1,275	5
5	Georgia	3-0	1,203	7
6	Oklahoma	2-0	1,181	5
7	South Carolina	3-0	1,081	8
8	West Virginia	2-0	1,051	9
9	Stanford	3-0	1,009	21
10	Clemson	3-0	899	11
11	Notre Dame	3-0	854	20
12	Texas	3-0	816	14
13	USC	2-1	776	2
14	Florida	3-0	743	18
15	Kansas State	3-0	683	15
16	Ohio State	3-0	680	12
17	TCU	2-0	535	16
18	Michigan	2-1	448	17
19	UCLA	3-0	429	22
20	Louisville	3-0	366	19
21	Michigan State	2-1	318	10
22	Arizona	3-0	296	24
23	Mississippi State	3-0	106	-
24	Boise State	1-1	95	-
25	Nebraska	2-1	80	-

For more Fighting Irish coverage, visit SB Nation's One Foot Down, College Football Hub, and SB Nation Chicago.

Jamoris Slaughter Injury: Senior Safety Out For Season With Achilles Injury

2012-09-16T15:34:03Z

University of Notre Dame strong safety Jamoris Slaughter is out for the remainder of the season after injuring his Achilles Saturday in the Fighting Irish's victory over the Michigan State Spartans, according to Irish Illustrated.

Slaughter left Saturday's game on the first play of the second half. He had to be helped off the field and put no weight on his injured Achilles. He was later seen on crutches and wearing a protective boot. Slaughter was replaced on defense by sophomore safety, Matthias Farley.

Slaughter, a senior, figured to play an important role in 2012 for the touted Fighting Irish defense. In his four year career at Notre Dame, Slaughter had amassed 98 total tackles, one forced fumble and two interceptions in 39 games. He had eight tackles already in three games this season, including two in the first half of Saturday's game.

For more Fighting Irish coverage, visit SB Nation's One Foot Down, College Football Hub, and SB Nation Chicago.

Notre Dame Vs. Michigan State 2012: A Win For Manti Te'o

2012-09-16T14:59:03Z

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o experienced a tragic week off the field. His grandmother and girlfriend both died within 24 hours of each other, then a few days later he somehow found the strength to go lead the Notre Dame defense in a 20-3 win over Michigan State. Notre Dame blog One Foot Down tried to put into words what watching Te'o on the field meant:

We go to school, we go to work. We have good days and bad, good weeks and bad. Life sometimes goes our way, sometimes it doesn't. But usually, usually we get through the week just fine and ready to enjoy some Notre Dame football on Saturday. And we tune in tonight and we see Manti Te'o. A young man who had a worse week than most of us could imagine. And we see him play through immeasurable sadness. And we see him not just play, but lead--truly lead--his team into battle. And we know that the souls of his grandmother and girlfriend were with him. My thoughts and prayers go out to Te'o's and his girlfriend's families. My respect and gratitude go out to Te'o: warrior poet philosopher king.

Te'o finished with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery in the game.

For more information on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, check out One Foot Down

Notre Dame Vs. Michigan State: Irish Defense Dominates In 20-3 Win

2012-09-16T14:46:34Z

Thanks to the Notre Dame defense, the Irish didn't need much out of the offense in a 20-3 win over No. 10 Michigan State Saturday.

The defense, led by linebacker Manti Te'o who had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery, shut down the Michigan State passing game, holding Andrew Maxwell to 23-for-45 passing for 187 yards. He was sacked 4 times and faced constant pressure all game long.

On offense, redshirt freshman quarterback Everett Golson made a couple of big plays — a 36-yard touchdown pass to John Goodman in the first quarter and a 6-yard touchdown run in the second quarter — and didn't turn the ball over. The running game, led by Cierre Woods, who returned from a two-game suspension to pick up 56 yards on 10 carries, did just enough to help the Irish pick up some key first downs late and keep the MSU offense off the field.

Notre Dame came into the game ranked No. 20 and will likely move up significantly in the polls as a result.

For more Fighting Irish coverage, visit SB Nation's One Foot Down, College Football hub, and SB Nation Chicago. For more on Michigan State, visit The Only Colors.