Notre Dame Athletic Director Mike Wadsworth is tired of hearing people mention Gerry Faust and Bob Davie in the same sentence.
It’s not fair to Davie, who is 1-1 in his first year on the job, and it’s definitely not fair to Faust, who was forced to resign after going 30-26-1 during 1981-85.
“I think Gerry Faust is a great guy,” Wadsworth said, “and if I were Gerry Faust, I’d take exception to everyone raising (my) name in this context as if (I’m) some kind of a disease.”
The program is healthy under Davie, Wadsworth insists. There is no cause for alarm.
“It’s a single game at the beginning of his career, for goodness sake,” Wadsworth said. “You’ve been around here for months watching them practice and put things together. All of that hasn’t come undone as the result of one game.”
As for Faust, now an administrator at Akron, where he coached after Notre Dame, he said he doesn’t mind the comparisons–as long as they don’t come at Davie’s expense.
“It’s a compliment if people say I’m a little bit like Bob Davie,” Faust said. “He’s a class act.”
Fired up: You could see this coming. After spending an off-season encouraging his players to have fun and limiting contact during preseason practice, Davie was asked a question during his weekly teleconference Tuesday that implied he had been taking it easy on his team.
Replied Davie: “You must not be around me a whole lot. I don’t try to embarrass people when the cameras are on. (But) I have never had a problem getting my point across to anyone.”
When the reporter followed up by mentioning that former Irish All-American tackle Aaron Taylor talked about how players “have to take it personally,” Davie shot back: “It is obvious you weren’t on our bus coming home. I think there were a lot of kids and coaches who took it personally.”
Freshman alert: Before the Purdue game, Davie said he would give several freshmen a shot, including tailback Tony Driver, receiver Darcey Levy and tight end Jabari Holloway. But not one played anything other than special teams against the Boilermakers.
“I’m a little disappointed (in myself),” Davie said. “I hate to say something and not do it.”
He expects all three to play Saturday against Michigan State.
Injury report: Notre Dame’s front seven wasn’t deep in the first place. And now the Irish are dealing with injuries. Linebacker Bobbie Howard (knee) will be out at least another four weeks, linebacker Joe Thomas (knee) is out for the season and defensive end Jason Ching (knee) will be out four to six weeks.
Defensive linemen Brad Williams (ankle) and Lance Legree (ankle) are banged up but will play Saturday. Offensive lineman Chris Clevenger (back spasms) will be out at least two to three weeks.
On the plus side, nose guard Corey Bennett (knee), who didn’t play against Purdue, will return Saturday.
Be quiet, fat lady: “This season’s not over by a long shot,” split end Malcolm Johnson said. “There have been a lot of great 10-1 Notre Dame teams, and I think we’re going to be one of them.”
Psst, Malcolm: You play 12 games this year.
