Hay’s In The Barn

Charlie Weis has mentioned in the past that his favorite moment in Notre Dame Stadium during his student years (1974-78) was the 1977 Green Jersey Game trouncing of No. 5 USC, 49-19. It propelled the then 4-1 Irish to the national title that year.

Thirty-two years later with Weis now the head coach, this Irish team also is 4-1 and will be taking on another USC team that is ranked No. 5 (USA Today, No. 6 in AP).

The buzz and euphoria on the campus in the week leading up to that 1977 game is something Weis acknowledged is being reawakened. Usually low-key about this type of pregame hype, Weis is not reluctant to say he too senses the energy on campus, even though he is generally holed up in his office.

“I haven’t felt it like this ever since I’ve been here,” Weis said. “I’m not around (campus) as much as the students, but every player, every person who works in the building … and it isn’t just the university, it’s the town. Everyone is really looking forward to this game.”

By now, the game plan is finished, or in coaching vernacular “the hay’s in the barn.” Here are some pivotal issues come game time:

Positive Start
In the last two games against Purdue and Washington, Notre Dame won the coin toss, elected to defer — and immediately found itself down 7-0 after the opponent’s opening drive. It set the tone for yet another donnybrook down to the final series.

Another quick deficit against USC could rattle the Irish foundation, given the beatings the Trojans have administered on Notre Dame in recent years (38-3 in 2008 and 38-0 in 2007).

“It’s great to defer when you get the ball at the start of the second half,” Weis said. “It’s never good when you get down right at the start of the game.”

When Weis began his career at Notre Dame, he stated he would almost always take the ball first if he won the toss, but that was because of the immense confidence he had in quarterback Brady Quinn. He has another excellent gunslinger in Jimmy Clausen, but the dynamics have changed in how he approaches that opening series and second-half kickoff.

“You have to look at your entire team and who you’re going against, but the first two years I felt clearly putting the ball in (Quinn’s) hands gave us the best opportunity to get off to a good start,” Weis said. “Now I’ve kind of evolved as our team has evolved. I’ve openly discussed this with our entire staff before I make a decision with how we’re going to approach it.”

USC is a quick-starting team, out-scoring its foes 47-17 in the first quarter and 41-6 in the second. Conversely, Notre Dame has sputtered out of the gate, getting out-scored 31-29 in the first quarter.

Whereas USC’s explosive 2005 offense with Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett took center stage four years ago, this unit is much more methodical and will seek to wear out Notre Dame’s valiant but vulnerable defense. That is Weis’ primary concern.

Poise, Confidence & Belief
Lip service is paid weekly to these words, but Weis said that learning how to finish by winning three straight games in the closing minute, seconds, or overtime has provided an aura of confidence not seen in a while within the program.

“Things have matriculated over the last month to give them a reason to believe,” he summarized.

Weis understands why many might still be skeptical about just how good the Irish team is when it is three plays away from 1-4, but he also knows steel is forged by going through intense fire.

“The flip side is you’re building some toughness and you’re building some intestinal fortitude when you’re playing in games like that,” Weis noted. “They’ve gotten to the point where they don’t believe they’re not going to win. Once you get to that point, then you become dangerous.”

Points, Not Possession
A point of emphasis in the classic 2005 showdown, a 34-31 Irish loss to USC, was playing keep-away from USC’s explosive offense. The Irish achieved that by possessing the ball 38:40 to the Trojans’ 21:20.

But after getting forced to kick five field goals against Washington in Notre Dame’s last contest, Weis said putting up seven points instead of three will be mandatory against the Trojans, who yield points grudgingly (4th nationally in scoring defense with an 8.6 average).

“Time of possession is a great stat, but look at the Miami Dolphins a few weeks ago,” Weis said. “They had the ball 45 minutes and lost the game. It’s all about winning games. Would we like to hold the ball? Absolutely. But we need to score points.”

USC opponents have driven into the red zone (20 yard line and in) 13 times, and only three touchdowns have been surrendered.

“Especially coming off the last game where we were basically 2 for 6 in touchdowns (in the red zone), we’re going to have to be much more productive,” Weis said. “When we get an opportunity to score points, we’re going to have to score points.”

Emotion & Energy
There are certain games in Notre Dame Stadium history where the emotion and energy were so powerful, it edified the entire campus. Miami 1988 and 1990 and Florida State 1993 come to mind.

But this was especially true in games against immensely talented USC teams in 1965, 1973, 1977 and 1989, all Irish victory. This absolutely has to be one of those games.

“We’ve been using a lot of stuff over the few weeks,” said Weis about what his final speech to the team before the moment of truth will be. “It’ll be a lot in a short amount of time. It won’t be a 10-minute oration, but there will be a lot of energy in a short amount of time.”

The Eyes of Texas might be in Dallas this Saturday for the annual Oklahoma-Texas contest at noon, but the eyes of the college football world will be on Notre Dame shortly thereafter.

“Saturday night, fellas, you’re going to be the lead story in the country, one way or another,” Weis told his troops after Thursday’s practice. “Which lead story do you want to be?”