FOOTBALL: Coaches still hush-hush about status of Holiday's injury
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Byline Title
So goes the story with Carlyle Holiday and his oft-discussed shoulder. According to Irish coaches, Holiday has improved from last week, but they're not saying whether Holiday will play Saturday against Pittsburgh.
When asked if he would wait until game time to make a decision, as the Irish did last week, Willingham responded, "It could be, and it could come before that."
Holiday's backup, Pat Dillingham, has already launched himself into another round of game week mental preparations, where he practices with the intent of being the starter. The preparation paid off last week, as Dillingham finished 14-of-27 with 129 passing yards. While his start won't rank among the great Notre Dame debuts – Dillingham had trouble throwing the deep pass and never tossed a touchdown – it gave the sophomore enough confidence that he can play when he gets into the game.
"You can't simulate a game that much in practice," he said. "The only way to get those under your belt is to be out there. I got 60-70 snaps on Saturday, and that helped a lot."
Dillingham said Holiday, who was not available for interviews after practice, is looking increasingly better in practice and added that the two split reps Tuesday about evenly. And from Notre Dame's perspective, the best aspect of having Dillingham working as the starter is he's under no illusion, at least publicly, that can wrestle the starting job away from Holiday.
"Its Carlyle's team," Dillingham said Tuesday after practice. "He's started all last year and everything. I'm just going to do my job, if my job is backing him up, then that's what I'll do."
If nothing else, Dillingham's selfless attitude helps create positive team chemistry and earned him praise from his head coach.
"At the quarterback position, if you can have two young men that are really focused on the team first, then you have a chance to have a very successful organization," Willingham said. "Quarterbacks, by the nature of their position, are natural leaders, and a team follows their sprit and the mindset. When you have Pat Dillingham following that approach, it really makes your team a lot stronger."
Panther fear
Nothing scared the Irish more than watching Pittsburgh dismantle Syracuse 48-24 last week in the Carrier Dome. No. 8 Notre Dame isn't taking the 5-1 Panthers lightly, especially considering their only loss of the season was a narrow defeat at the hands of Texas A&M.
"You need to start with what they are doing well, which is their defense," Willingham said. "It is an aggressive, get-after-it group that has a lot of confidence. They are really limiting what they can do offensively."
Pittsburgh boasts the No. 8 defense in the country in number of yards allowed. Notre Dame's defense is just ahead of them, ranked No. 7.
But Pittsburgh is far from an entirely defensive-minded unit. Quarterback Rod Rutherford, who has a phenomenal quarterback rating of 149.2, directs a potent offense that features a trio of talented wide receivers in Larry Fitzgerald, Roosevelt Bynes and Lamar Slade, who are each averaging at least 13 yards per catch.
"They've won four in a row, and beat a very good football team in Syracuse last week," defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. "… Anytime you go into the Dome and beat them like that, it raises a flag in a hurry. We're going to have our hands full Saturday."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 9, 2002
