Off week allows Irish to heal bodies and minds
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
The lethargy began in the final 72 seconds against Florida State, when the Irish surrendered a pair of meaningless touchdowns in garbage time.
It continued against Boston College, when the Irish suffered their first loss of the season.
And the lackluster play surfaced again Saturday against Navy, when the Irish squeaked past a team that odds-makers said they were supposed to beat by four touchdowns.
Now, the Irish will spend the off week trying to recover both physically and mentally as they try to find the win-at-all-costs attitude they exhibited over their first eight games.
"We've always said anytime a bye shows up, we will take advantage of it," Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham said.
While the Irish take the week off, fans will be keeping their eyes on the postseason picture. Notre Dame stayed at No. 7 in the all-important BCS rankings released Monday, while Ohio State and Miami – the nation's only two remaining Division I-A undefeated teams – stayed at 1-2, respectively.
But the Irish say they can't start thinking about BCS berths. Instead, they're going to work on rehabilitating both their bodies and their minds.
There's plenty of work the Irish have to do on the injury front. Both Gerome Sapp and Cedric Hilliard didn't make the trip to Baltimore, each suffering from various injuries. Sapp apparently injured himself in practice Thursday, while coaches said Hilliard wouldn't make the trip earlier in the week.
Ryan Grant said Saturday he needed the week off to rest his ankle, which he said he injured in the third quarter. And many other Irish players have assorted bumps and bruises.
But more importantly, the Irish say they need the week off to recover mentally and to get over a loss to Boston College many players said they still hadn't gotten over by the time Navy kicked off.
"I think it's good to, you know, have that well-rounded rest, mentally and physically," defensive lineman Darrell Campbell said. "It's good to get away from it from an objective standpoint to see what you need to improve upon."
The Irish have plenty of analyzing to do, as well.
One of the first priorities for the Irish is to solve their fumble problems. After fumbling seven times against Boston College, the Irish put the ball on the turf four times against Navy, losing three of those fumbles.
They also have to patch a defense that broke apart in the third quarter, allowing Navy to seemingly slice down the field with relative ease and gave up over 200 rushing yards for the first time this season.
"We need to worry about Rutgers. The last two weeks — the last three weeks, really — we haven't performed up to our abilities," linebacker Courtney Watson said. "That's something we need to worry about. We need to get focused on that."
But the Irish coaches believe their players will respond, especially considering the lackluster performances they displayed over the past three weeks. It's just a matter of finding the right way to light the fire under the players – something offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick thinks the Irish can do themselves.
"My goodness sake, I would hope that being at the University of Notre Dame and being a football player, he would have a good deal of competitive nature within him," Diedrick said. "I think when a young man doesn't do something they feel they're capable of, they respond in a positive way."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, November 12, 2002
