Irish must learn to play like
champions
Anthony Bianco
’66, ’77, ’88. With a $30,000 education, Notre Dame students prove they can count by 11.
Unfortunately, the Irish need a little more than a kindergarten degree to win a national championship this year. Before Notre Dame can even consider a 1999 title, Irish head coach Bob Davie’s squad needs to learn to play like a team worthy of a top spot in the polls.
So, it’s a good thing the school of hard knocks is in session for Davie and company. In this classroom the professor will look to the students for answers.
The only real test to gauge Notre Dame’s caliber will come on the gridiron. The first part will come this Saturday against the Jayhawks. Irish fans can be sure that Davie will be ready with pen and paper in hand.
The biggest topic the Irish need to cover will be protecting the running game. Only center John Merandi and guard Mike Gandy have started previously for the Irish on the line. Merandi is the only veteran — with 12 starts in 1998 — among the front five.
“Wait till next year” can easily replace the thoughts of a title for Notre Dame if tackles Jordan Black and John Teasdale and guard Jim Jones don’t land feet-first when they take their first significant dive into the trenches.
The running game plan also is unclear. With Tony Fisher and Tony Driver running neck-and-neck for the starting tailback spot, Davie’s plan is to wait and test them in the spotlight.
Even as Fisher seemed to emerge as the favorite this week, the best bet is to give the duo a 50-50 shot against Kansas to see who will carry the Irish for the rest of the season.
Defensively, the Irish will take a more stable starting set on the field, but look for players lower on the depth chart to make their move.
The biggest area of concern here will come from the cornerbacks, thinned by the season-long suspension of Brock Williams.
With these questions unanswered, Davie’s 1999 squad will square off against a Kansas team that defeated Colorado and lost to Texas A&M by three points last season. But the Jayhawks will take backseat to the more pressing position questions that the Irish face.
Only with these questions settled and a winning arsenal on hand can Notre Dame tackle its biggest opponent to date: the demands for a 1999 National Championship.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Sports Stories for Friday, August 27, 1999
