FOOTBALL: Davie hopes cheers drown out Panthers
By MIKE CONNOLLY
Sports Writer
Bob Davie wants Notre Dame Stadium to be a loud, hostile environment Saturday when the Pitt's-burgh Panthers visit. He wants the Pitt offense to have trouble communicating at the line scrimmage just like his team did in College Station, Texas and Lincoln, Neb.
"I hope our crowd responds the way that the crowds in the last two places we have played in ..." Davie said. "I hope [the Panthers] are not able to do a whole lot at the line of scrimmage."
But Davie knows that most of the hostility in the Stadium Saturday will be directed at him — not Pitt.
His team left the field to a chorus of boos against Michigan State. After the first 0-3 start in school history, he expects more boos. He just hopes the boos are well-timed.
"If they boo, make sure they boo when Pittsburgh is at the line of scrimmage, trying to change those plays," Davie said.
Offensive tackle Kurt Vollers shares Davie's outlook on the booing.
"Hopefully they can boo us when the opposing offense is on the field to get them riled up," he said.
Vollers said he understands why the fans are booing but at the same time, it hurts to get booed.
"I can't say I blame them but at the same time is sucks to be on this side of the boo," he said. "I've heard it around campus. I keep my mouth shut but sometimes I don't know what I would do as a fan especially here at a big place like Notre Dame."
While the players are hearing the boos loud and clear, Davie said he has no doubt where the boos are targeted.
"I told our players, `If there's a lot of booing this weekend, it's at me. It's not at you, so don't take it personal,'" he said.
Davie has tried to avoid taking the criticism personally as well. He doesn't read newspapers and tries to ignore the criticism.
But he isn't oblivious to it.
"It's not like you can bury your head in the sand and just be oblivious to everything," he said. "I've got a pretty clear picture of where our popularity is right now — where my popularity is now."
In the swirl of criticism, however, Davie remains focused on one thing: winning and hopefully turning the boos to cheers.
"This is a fickle profession and a fickle game," Davie said. "You can turn those boos into cheers in a hurry and I think the only way to do that is go out and coach better and play better. If I was sitting up there, I'd probably boo too. So bring it on. Let's go see if we can coach better and win a game this week."
Notes:
u Davie clarified his new role with the offense Tuesday. He said that Kevin Rogers will continue to call the plays and serve as offensive coordinator. Davie will attend more offensive meetings to add one more mind and opinion to the planning meetings.
"Maybe I can provide a resource for them," Davie said. "Maybe they can bounce some ideas off me. Maybe I can give them some confidence right now, just by making them feel good about some of the things they are doing."
u Davie announced that Vollers will move back to his natural tackle position while Sean Milligan will start at guard. Vollers will take Brennan Curtin's spot but offensive coordinator Rogers said Curtin will rotate with Vollers and Jordan Black at both tackle positions.
u Sophomore Vontez Duff has taken over senior Clifford Jefferson's cornerback position.
u Davie said tailback Julius Jones is still not 100 percent and that might be a reason for his drop in performance this year. Jones wraps his quadriceps before every practice.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 3, 2001
