The designation has never been in question. The meaning of it has.
From the day after the Fiesta Bowl, Notre Dame coach Bob Davie has said sophomore Matt LoVecchio is his starting quarterback, and he has kept to his word.
LoVecchio was the starter for Notre Dame’s season-opening 27-10 loss at Nebraska.
He will be the starter when the Irish (0-1) take on Michigan State (1-0) Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.
But being the starter doesn’t necessarily mean LoVecchio will get the bulk of playing time.
At Nebraska LoVecchio split time almost evenly with backup Carlyle Holiday–LoVecchio played the first and fourth quarters, Holiday the second and third.
Is this the start of a quarterback controversy for the Irish?
Although LoVecchio was 7-1 as an emergency starter last season, his status doesn’t seem set in bedrock. LoVecchio played soldily last season but hardly was spectacular. He was asked to be caretaker more than catalyst.
And his season ended on a less-than-stellar note at the Fiesta Bowl, where he was 13-for-33 passing with two interceptions.
At Nebraska LoVecchio did not have a very good game, going 11-for-24 with one interception and rushing for four yards. A lost fumble and the defense put the Irish in a deep hole early.
“He’s honest with himself and how he played, what his performance was like,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers said. “He knows where he has to improve,”
LoVecchio will have to work on his game while looking over his shoulder at Holiday, who in his first outing played adequately–5-of-8 passing with one interception and 21 yards rushing. He showed a soft and accurate touch on short passes and flashes of the speed that made him such a tantalizing prospect out of high school.
Like Donovan McNabb, whom Rogers tutored while at Syracuse, Holiday has the talent to throw and run well.
“He will play [Saturday],” Davie said. “We just haven’t said exactly how much. We don’t have it like we did a couple of years ago, where Jarious [Jackson] plays and Arnaz [Battle] comes in the first series of the second quarter. I just don’t want to get into all of that. But he will play.”
So for the foreseeable future, both LoVecchio and Holiday are going to get playing time.
And at the moment Davie remains firm in his commitment to LoVecchio as the starter.
“Let’s face it, if Matt LoVecchio goes in there and we go up and down the field, I’m not going to take the rhythm of our football team away just to get [Holiday] in the game,” Davie said. “He will play. When, I’m not sure.”
So the quarterback situation at Notre Dame will remain unsettled?
“Jared Clark right now is third,” Davie said, “but he’s still in the mix. It’s not out of the question that he’s going to have the opportunity to play in the next several weeks. And if he takes advantage of that opportunity, he’s going to play.”
Davie said he would not go to a three-quarterback rotation, so if Clark earns playing time, it’s likely to be at the expense of one of the other two.
“We’re still somewhat of a work in progress,” Davie said.
