Unimpressive in two of its three games and quite plainly overrated, Notre Dame’s national ranking–and any national championship ambitions it may have had–just took a very big hit.
So did the Heisman Trophy campaign for senior quarterback Brady Quinn, who wasn’t even on the field for the end of Saturday’s 47-21 manhandling at the hands of Michigan.
The day a total disaster, Fighting Irish fans were left with little to cheer except the first career pass completion of sophomore backup quarterback Evan Sharpley and the first catch for freshman Robby Parris.
“I would say it’s right down there at the very bottom,” Quinn said when asked where this performance stacks up in his South Bend career.
If you count the Fiesta Bowl embarrassment against Ohio State, 2006 has not been a good year at all for coach Charlie Weis and company, which nevertheless came into this game as the No. 2-ranked team in America.
There were those 617 yards the Buckeyes ran up on Notre Dame’s defense. There was that 14-10 squeaker at Georgia Tech, where the Irish came away satisfied that they had regained respect as a defense, even though the Yellow Jackets were nobody’s idea of a Top 25 power.
A strong effort against Penn State reinforced the true-blue believers. It persuaded many to write vicious correspondence to anyone who dared suggest Notre Dame’s No. 2 ranking could be undeserved.
Such smug e-mails won’t be so fast and furious this week, now that the Irish have felt the pain of a 26-point pounding on their home field.
The players know this is no time for boasts.
“We came into the game with high expectations,” defensive lineman Victor Abiamiri said. “We didn’t live up to those expectations.”
“Discouraging, disheartening,” running back Darius Walker said.
“It hurts. We didn’t play anywhere close to what we’re capable of. Michigan made us look bad. They beat us up on everything, from the first quarter to the last.”
If it wasn’t Quinn overthrowing a pass, it was Walker dropping one. If it wasn’t Chinedum Ndukwe getting penalized for a late hit, it was Terrail Lambert getting burned by Michigan’s receivers on touchdown throws.
Talk about a team effort.
Weis said if he had to place blame or list all of his concerns, “You could pick names out of a hat.”
The coach included himself among the guilty parties. In fact, he placed himself at the top.
“We collectively, from me on down, laid an egg,” he said.
Whatever his players did or didn’t do in practice, in no way were they prepared to play. The Irish gave up five touchdowns in the first half alone. They made no first downs in the game’s first quarter or the third.
Top back Walker rushed for 25 net yards. Top receiver Jeff Samardzija was a non-factor, a touchdown catch notwithstanding. Rhema McKnight made a spectacular catch for a score, but he, too, had butterfingers more than once.
Worst of all, Quinn was uncharacteristically out of control. He had passes batted back at him, made careless throws that were picked off and even let a ball squirt from his hands for a 54-yard Michigan TD.
“I think people are obviously upset right now,” Quinn said. “We should be motivated by this loss, I know that much.”
Why the inconsistency, not only in this game but in the opener at Georgia Tech?
“I don’t know,” Quinn said. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Notre Dame is in no way a bad team. But its ranking was way too high for a squad soundly thrashed in a bowl game.
And its stature won’t be restored easily, merely by beating such future opponents as Michigan State, Purdue, Stanford, UCLA, Navy, North Carolina, Air Force and Army.
After a beating like this, Weis’ squad might need to run the table up to the Nov. 25 date at USC to get back to a ranking of No. 2 or higher.
“Hey, let’s face it, you go lose 47-21, you deserve to be criticized,” Weis said. “You deserve to pick up the paper the next day and say, `What the heck happened?'”
What happened was the No. 11 team in the land won 47-21 over a team that probably should have been ranked at around No. 10.
And will be, very soon.
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mikedowney@tribune.com
