No. 8 Notre Dame returns to the gridiron against 1-9 Rutgers
By: JOE HETTLER
Associate Sports Editor
For the second straight game, Notre Dame faces an opponent that has only one win this season.
And the Irish hope this game goes better than their last one.
Two weeks ago, Notre Dame played a 1-7 Navy team at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore and needed a late 67-yard touchdown pass from Carlyle Holiday to Omar Jenkins in the final minutes to secure a 30-23 victory over the Midshipmen.
On Saturday, the Irish will need to play better than their last two outings if they hope to secure a win against Rutgers. While only 1-9 and 0-6 in the Big East conference, the Scarlet Knights have played several top teams tough this season. They led Tennessee at halftime and were beating No. 1 Miami late in the third quarter before losing 42-17.
"They have played their best football against the best teams, and, of course, they have played some of the really better teams in this country," Irish coach Tyrone Willingham said. "So it is a frightening thought that a team that has the skill that they have will play their best game against us this Saturday."
Notre Dame must also caution against looking past a lowly Rutgers team and seeing USC on the horizon. The Trojans are in contention for a BCS bowl bid and host the Irish next weekend.
"That has always been the difficult side of coaching, is how can you get your young men to focus and concentrate on what's important now," Willingham said. "To do that, you really have to count on not only the leadership of your coaches, but the leadership of your players. They have to understand what's important."
The Scarlet Knights use a two-pronged backfield of Markis Facyson and Clarence Pittman. Facyson leads the team in rushing with 408 yards on 108 attempts and a touchdown.
Rutgers has also used different combinations of quarterbacks extensively this season. Ted Trump leads the team in passing yards, while Ryan Cubit has started more games. Yet the Irish will likely see true freshman Ryan Hart, who hast started the last two games for Rutgers. The freshman has two touchdowns and three interceptions on the season.
Meanwhile Notre Dame hopes to hold on to the football and move the ball effectively on offense. In their last two games, the Irish have fumbled a combined 11 times, including seven fumbles in their 14-7 loss to Boston College.
Notre Dame will be without starting offensive lineman Jordan Black as well. The South Bend Tribune reported the senior will miss the first half of the game for repeatedly parking his car illegally, a violation of team policy.
"This is just handed down from coach Willingham. It's his decision," Black told the Tribune. "I don't think he wants people to do that and he wants to set a precedent and obviously he's using me as the example."
The game kicks off at 1 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Friday, November 22, 2002
