INSIDER: Penalties continue to plague Irish
Observer Staff Report
Notre Dame continued to make critical mistakes Saturday to take themselves out of good position, committing a total of 10 penalties for 109 yards.
The most painful came on a Stanford punt at the end of the first quarter, when Irish cornerback Vontez Duff broke an apparent 92-yard touchdown return to notch the first points of the game. The long return was called back, however, on a 15-yard personal foul for roughing the center on the punt rush.
After the game, all Willingham had to say of the questionable call was that it was, "a little unusual."
Once Stanford got the ball back, it only needed three plays to score on a 14-yard pass to receiver Teyo Johnson for a 14-point swing in the Cardinal's direction.
"We've had some drives, but what we have continued to do all year is kind of shoot ourselves in the foot at certain points," Willingham said. "Occasionally we'll go in there and get a penalty that stops the drive. Right now, we've not been good enough to overcome the mistakes and situations we've put ourselves in.
Holiday's status
Irish quarterback Carlyle Holiday never stepped onto the field Saturday for the Irish. The starter injured his shoulder two weeks ago in the third quarter against Michigan State.
"We just wanted to be cautious," Willingham said of his decision to keep Holiday on the sidelines.
Willingham would not comment further on Holiday's health status after the game, nor would he mention which quarterback would start Saturday against Pittsburgh.
Push 'em back, push 'em back
The Irish defensive line continued to get good pressure on the quarterback Saturday. The team combined for four sacks of Stanford quarterback Chris Lewis. The pressure also played a big part in Walton's and Sapp's interceptions as Lewis had to hurry and make a hasty pass, each time because of the rush.
"You always love backpedaling and seeing the quarterback go down," Sapp said. "Coach Willingham always told us the quarterback can't throw the ball if he's on his butt."
It's their ball
Irish cornerback Shane Walton's interception in the third quarter moved him into second place in the nation. Through Notre Dame's first five games, Walton has a team-high five interceptions, returning his most recent one Saturday for a touchdown. With Notre Dame's three interceptions as a team Saturday — the other two coming from safety Gerome Sapp and linebacker Courtney Watson — it moved into seventh place nationally with 10 interceptions, or two per game.
But the stats aren't enough for now as Walton believes both he and the team should have even more.
"I'm kind of disappointed, because we should have had three more [interceptions], myself included," Walton said. "That's something we have to work out in practice. I should have more than [five]. I dropped a couple in the Purdue game and today, so I'm really not very happy with myself right now."
Gameday captains:
Captains for the Irish Saturday were Walton, defensive end Ryan Roberts, center Jeff Faine and wide receiver Omar Jenkins.
All Sports Stories for Monday, October 7, 2002
