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Weis preparing Fighting Irish for LSU's speed
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/6/06
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was quick to respond when asked his about his biggest concern about facing LSU in the Sugar Bowl.
"When you're playing a team the caliber of LSU, the first thing that comes to mind is making sure that our players are ready for the speed of the game," he said. "Obviously they play with great passion and great emotion, but the speed of the game is the No. 1 thing that we're going to have to be ready for. If not, you're going to be in for a long night."
The 11th-ranked Irish have had some long days and nights against elite competition over the past year, starting with a 34-20 loss to Ohio State in January's Fiesta Bowl. The speedy Buckeyes burned the Irish for four touchdowns of 56 yards or more.
The speed of Michigan's defense caused problems for Notre Dame's offensive line and quarterback Brady Quinn, who threw a season-high three interceptions and fumbled once. Wolverine receiver Mario Manningham caught three touchdown passes, including a 69-yarder that broke the game open. USC's Dwayne Jarrett also had three touchdown catches against the Irish.
Now the Irish will try to snap an eight-game losing streak in bowl games on Jan. 3 against No. 4 LSU (10-2), which is known for its speed, especially on defense. Despite playing a tough Southeastern Conference schedule, LSU has the nation's second-best defense, giving up just 238 yards a game. The Tigers also are third in the nation in pass defense, giving up 145.5 yards a game.
The Tigers are almost as potent offensively, ranking 18th in the nation at 404 yards a game. JaMarcus Russell was third in pass efficiency, completing 68.5 percent and averaging 168 yards a game.
"I think our defense is definitely going to have to match up with the speed of LSU's offense," safety Tom Zbikowski said. "I know that was one of the things in the Ohio State game from last year's BCS game a lot of people questioned the speed of our defense. We're going to have to work on it. It's where we spent our time in the off-season. We'll see if it pays off in the Sugar Bowl."
Zbikowski, though, doesn't think speed was the reason the Irish lost 44-24 to USC in their regular-season finale.
"Dwayne Jarrett was making some one-handed grabs that you really can't do much against it. But I never really saw people running completely past us," he said.
CARDINAL SEARCH: Bob Bowlsby hopes his search for Stanford's new football coach works out as well as it did the last time he hired one.
Eight years ago as athletic director at Iowa, Bowlsby hired Kirk Ferentz, who has become one of the most highly regarded coaches in the game. So it's no surprise what kind of coach Bowlsby is looking for to replace Walt Harris at Stanford.
"If I could move Kirk Ferentz here, I'd be happy," Bowlsby said when he announced Harris' firing.
"I think he has an awful lot of the characteristics I'm going to be looking for in our new coach: the integrity, the work ethic, the honesty, the teaching ability and the ability to shape young football players to become great athletes."
But Bowlsby also knows that Ferentz isn't about to leave the Hawkeyes to join him at Stanford, so he'll have to settle on finding the closest thing.
Bowlsby said he has his own "short list" of candidates heading into the search but is remaining tight-lipped about who those people are.
Some of the names being bandied about include Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow, a finalist when Harris was hired; Texas Tech coach Mike Leach; Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe; Denver Broncos tight ends coach Tim Brewster; UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker; and San Diego coach Jim Harbaugh, whose father once was an assistant coach at Stanford.
SEEKING ANSWERS: The reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the shooting death of Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata has been raised to $21,000.
Pata was shot and killed Nov. 7 outside his apartment complex. Originally, police and Crimestoppers said there was a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The additional money is coming from donations made through the university.
"On the advice of Miami-Dade Police, the full reward amount was not immediately released, but held until further instructions," the university said in a statement.