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Notre Dame vs. Connecticut


Recap
 
 
 
Weis, Irish suffer another bitter loss with 2 OT defeat to UConn
 
 
CBSSports.com wire reports

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After a string of stinging losses, the Connecticut Huskies finally won one for their slain teammate.

Coach Randy Edsall called the Huskies' double-overtime victory against Notre Dame the program's "best win."

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I have no problem weighing in on whether junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen should leave early for the NFL. I believe it would be a mistake. Read more

On the other side, Charlie Weis was left to try to explain another jarring loss on senior day and wonder if it will be his last game at Notre Dame stadium as Fighting Irish coach.

Andre Dixon scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second overtime to give the Huskies a 33-30 victory, their first since cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed to death last month.

"Jazz this is for you," Edsall said, referring to Howard by his nickname. "Best win we have ever had."

Edsall said beating the Irish (6-5) was big, but getting the first win after the death of Howard was much bigger.

 

"You've got to understand what this team has gone through," he said. "A couple of close games, and then you lose a teammate, you lose a brother, you lose a son, and you're trying so hard to honor him by winning on the field. We hadn't done that."

Edsall said the Huskies will send the game ball to Howard's mother, Joanglia, stepfather, Henry Williams, and the rest of his family in Miami. The Huskies (5-5) had lost three straight painfully close games since Howard was killed.

"We ended up just making the tough plays at the end that we hadn't been able to make in some of earlier games," Edsall said.

The loss was the third straight for Notre Dame (6-5) and will add to the mounting calls for Weis to be fired. Weis declined to talk about that after the game, saying it wasn't the time.

"Today's not the day for me to reflect on things like that. I mean today's the day for me to be worrying about those guys, those 33 guys," he said, referring to seniors on the roster. "I really feel absolutely miserable for those 33 guys. ... I'll worry about me tomorrow. But I think today I should be worrying about them."

Notre Dame was upset last season by Syracuse in the final home game of a 7-6 season.

"It just hurt," linebacker Brian Smith said. "A lot of seniors lost their last game at Notre Dame Stadium. It's supposed to be a memorable day for them and now it's not for the right reason."

Senior tackle Sam Young, who made his school record 49th straight start, walked out to midfield dressed in a suit after the game and stood there by himself for a while.

The Irish led 14-0 early in the second quarter but didn't score another touchdown until the first overtime, a change from recent losses when they fell behind and rallies fell short.

Edsall said the win wasn't an upset.

"We knew we could come out here and win if we just went and executed and did the things that our God-given ability would allow us to do," he said.

Jordan Todman ran for 130 yards on 26 carries, including a 43-yard TD run for UConn. He also added a 96-yard kickoff return for a TD. Dixon rushed for 114 yards on 20 carries.

"Since everything happened to Jazz, we haven't won one for him. This was our chance to get that one for Jazz," Dixon said.

This loss was Notre Dame's fifth loss by a touchdown or less this season.

Jimmy Clausen was 30 of 45 passing for 329 yards for Notre Dame. Golden Tate had nine catches for 123 yards and Michael Floyd had eight catches for 104 yards. Tate set school records for catches in a season (83) and season yardage (1,295) with a 39-yard catch in the first quarter that helped set up Notre Dame's first score.

While it was Dixon who scored the game winner, Todman did the most damage. He cut the lead to 14-7 when he made four Irish defenders miss on a long touchdown run in the second quarter. Then when the Irish moved ahead 17-10, he tied it seconds later when he returned the kickoff for a touchdown, racing up the middle, cutting left and going untouched into the end zone.

The Huskies took their first lead when former Notre Dame quarterback Zach Frazer threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kashif Moore to make it 27-20. But the Irish tied the game when Clausen threw a fade to Floyd for a 4-yard TD.

Frazer, who transferred to UConn after finishing fourth in a four-man competition to replace Brady Quinn in the spring of 2007, was 12 of 25 passing for 141 yards and an interception. Frazer said the win was big for him.

"It means a lot to me and it means a lot to this university," he said. "We won this one for Jazz."

The loss drops Weis' career record to 35-26, a .573 winning percentage. That's worse than the .583 winning percentage of his two predecessors, Tyrone Willingham and Bob Davie.

The Irish, who usually run out of the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium, walked out with linked arms led by the team captains and Weis, a show of support by the players.

"It was just us being behind coach Weis 110 percent" Clausen said. "He's leading the program and we just wanted to show our support."

 
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Talk Back
Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 16, 2006

November 22, 2009 9:55 am
The biggest mistake Charlie made was failing to build his team from the inside out. The defensive line & offensive line are the foundations of a great team. Every year they were beaten at ...(more)
Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Feb 5, 2007

November 22, 2009 11:15 am
I am a die hard ND Football fan and while I am bitterly disappointed about another mediocre football season, I hope we have learned something from the past -- firing football coaches to find the 'new' hot commodity coach is not the answer.  The Irish's biggest mistake was the Bob Davie era where we lost our recruiting base and have not recovered.  I was bitterly disappointed when the fir ...(more)
Reputation:89
Level:All-Star
Since:Sep 13, 2006

November 22, 2009 4:03 am
I understand that a lot of you are peeved and calling for Weis's head on a platter. But in my opinion, firing him doesn't seem to be the answer. First off, I applaud ND for sticking to the integrity that brought them here. They don't sacrifice morals in order to bring in the next Heisman candidate. Unfortunately in college sports today with integrity comes mediocrity for most teams. ...(more)
Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:May 25, 2007

November 21, 2009 9:30 pm
The end of this game had the feeling of a funeral. Weiss was the biggest sham ever. As I have said, he was a genius at convincing ND he was a genius and they had to keep him. ND was equally as arrogant to believe they had discovered the next Vince Lombardi and pay him accordingly. The perfect storm of arrogance.

Charlie deserves all he gets. There were a couple of character revealing mo
...(more)
Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 14, 2008

November 22, 2009 2:33 am
and just step down. Don't try to get the dough. Stand up for his Notre Dame history and background show young men a little bit of honor, understand he did little to deserve any extension or buyout and just step down. It would be a memorable moment and put his money and actions where he said the program would be going when he was hired.

It will never happen. His agent would sue him. Peo
...(more)
Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 14, 2007

November 21, 2009 10:19 pm
You deserve a major win after this hard year.

Text Message I sent my best friend a Michigan fan:

" So Charlie Weis signs this big contract, and he's getting close to retirement age, he thinks if he can someone get fired, he will essentially get paid for an early retiement by still getting paid the last years.   So Charlie is sabatoging us so he can take up the golf game
...(more)
Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Dec 18, 2008

November 21, 2009 7:11 pm
It is time for Weiss to go folks.  I am not a big Notre Dame fan, but they shouldn't sit on the pot on this one.  They shouldn't wait to see if Urban Meyer wants the job come middle of January.  They should make a big move now.  Make waves Notre Dame on this one.  You need to.  It could bring a positive to your season, which has turned into a big joke.  Jon Grude ...(more)
Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Apr 25, 2007

November 22, 2009 2:25 am
I can not wait till Tubby gets fired and ND eats his contract. They have let better coachs go, T Willingham? Fat Boy won win his players! Life is good when the touchdown jesus does bad. This is coming form a 1st. gen irish boy f ND! Just cause your Irish does not mean you like ND!
Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 1, 2007

November 22, 2009 10:14 am
I've been looking at all these threads and 90% are about how bad of a coach Weis is.  However, I think it is being overlooked how great Uconn played yesterday.  They are becoming year in and year out one of the best rushing teams in the NCAA.  Todman and Dixon have filled in great after Donald Brown headed for the Colts, and Frazier is filling in great as well.  People forget U ...(more)
Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Jan 7, 2007

November 22, 2009 2:14 am

Prospective students are deciding that it is better to live in a warm climate.  Northern schools are losing out because of the cold.  It is a fact of life.  If you were a big time college recruit and had the option of choosing between Michigan/Notre Dame/Wisconsin/Illinois/Iowa or USC/Florida/Alabama/LSU/Texas/Oklah
oma etc, where would you go?  It is a no brainer.&n ...(more)

Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Apr 29, 2007

November 21, 2009 11:48 pm
If they fire this guy he still gets 18 million dollars right now. What a joke. A guy is this terrible and they pay him 18 million dollars to go away. The Notre Dame brass a so stupid. He did nothing and they gave him the fat extension. Wonder who the next lucky guy will be to rip off the Irish (take advantage of their stupidity)!
Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Dec 14, 2006

November 21, 2009 8:41 pm

Signs would point that today was Charlie Weis' last home game at Notre Dame.  While sifting through post after post of ND hatred, I felt compelled to share the opinions of a downtrodden Notre Dame fan.

1) Notre Dame is still Relevant - There are still recruits and coaches ready to come to South Bend.  While one cannot deny that the landscape of college football has gre ...(more)

Reputation:91
Level:All-Star
Since:Sep 27, 2006

November 21, 2009 6:57 pm
Seen enough yet?  Third week in a row the Irish lose a game they could have won.  Poor tackling, poor tackling and more poor tackling.  I've never seen a defense not be able to react to the I-formation.  I'm tired of the level of mediocrity of all aspects of the Irish team.  They have too many turnovers, too many penalties, ridiculous play calling, poor game management, po ...(more)
Reputation:87
Level:All-Star
Since:Sep 4, 2006

November 21, 2009 7:47 pm
Ron Zook recruited all those great kids at Florida but couldn't win the big one, they had lots of talent but
never seemed to achieve what they should have with the talent they had.  I think Notre Dame is in very much
of the same kind of situation.   Clausen and Tate may leave, but the cupboard won't be bare.  They just
need someone to come in to motivate them and
...(more)
Reputation:84
Level:All-Star
Since:Feb 16, 2009

November 21, 2009 7:51 pm
Glad to see UCONN finally get a much deserved win. Basically kicked ND's ass today. Should of won in regulation, the first holding call was a joke. Two guys going at it behind the play...HOLDING UCONN.. no TD.  Need a kicker no doubt, game should of been over (again) with the FG. Tough season, with some tough losses, but nice to the Huskies playing on national TV against a top notch program.& ...(more)
 
 
UConn's Sio Moore celebrates the Huskies' first win since teammate Jasper Howard was killed.  (AP)
UConn's Sio Moore celebrates the Huskies' first win since teammate Jasper Howard was killed. (AP)

 
 
Scoreboard
Connecticut  (5-5) «010731333
Notre Dame  (6-5)77331030
 
 
Scoring Summary
NDGolden Tate 8 yd pass from Jimmy Clausen (David Ruffer kick)
NDJimmy Clausen 1 yd run (David Ruffer kick)
CTJordan Todman 43 yd run (Dave Teggart kick)
CTDave Teggart 39 yd FG
NDDavid Ruffer 20 yd FG
CTJordan Todman 96 yd kick return (Dave Teggart kick)
NDDavid Ruffer 23 yd FG
CTDave Teggart 29 yd FG
CTKashif Moore 11 yd pass from Zach Frazer (Dave Teggart kick)
NDMichael Floyd 4 yd pass from Jimmy Clausen (David Ruffer kick)
NDDavid Ruffer 36 yd FG
CTAndre Dixon 4 yd run
 
Team Stats
 CTND
First Downs2122
Third Down Efficiency6-158-18
Fourth Down Efficiency1-11-1
Plays-Net Yards73-37280-452
Rushes-Yds48-23135-123
Passing Yds141329
Kick Return Yds15675
Punt Return Yds4330
Passes12-25-130-45-0
Punts6-2485-235
Fumbles-Lost0-02-2
Penalties-Yds4-306-60
Time of Poss.26:5233:8
 
Individual Stats
RUSHING
CT: Jordan Todman 26-130, Andre Dixon 20-114, Zach Frazer 2--13
ND: Armando Allen 24-106, Golden Tate 1-12, Robert Hughes 4-11, James Aldridge 1-2, John Goodman 1-1, Jimmy Clausen 4--9
PASSING
CT: Zach Frazer 12-25-141-1
ND: Jimmy Clausen 30-45-329-0
RECEIVING
CT: Marcus Easley 4-67, Ryan Griffin 3-33, Kashif Moore 2-13, Andre Dixon 1-14, Brad Kanuch 1-11, Isiah Moore 1-3
ND: Golden Tate 9-123, Michael Floyd 8-104, Armando Allen 7-64, Mike Ragone 3-21, Robby Parris 3-17
 
Standings
TeamStandingsConferenceOverall
Connecticut4th Big East 3-48-5
Notre Dame1st FBS Independents 0-06-6