Editor's Note: Scroll down for a recap of the ND-Navy football game. Notre Dame's women's basketball team kicked off their season on national television Sunday in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. The 14th/16th ranked Irish took on the 22nd/24th ranked LSU Lady Tigers on the Tigers' home court. Both t...

Quarterback: Jimmy Clausen finished a very deceiving 15-of-18, as almost all of his passes were screens or dumpoffs over the middle. When he did throw downfield, he added two more interceptions to his total. In his defense, though, he was playing most of the game without Michael Floyd. Clausen did r...

Navy Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Rush DefenseAs usual, Navy runs the triple option to perfection. And as usual, at least in recent years, the quarterback and fullback position are getting the bulk of the carries. 2 Jarod Bryant has taken over at quarterback following an injury to 10 Kaipo-Noa Kaheak...

Washington Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Rush DefenseWashington looks to be without its top rusher, quarterback 10 Jake Locker, and will employee a running back-by-committee in his absence. Without Locker, a trio of young running backs have been carrying the load. 20 David Freeman is averaging seven c...

Recently I was asked to explain in 3,000 words or more why I'm cheering for the Tampa Bay Rays this postseason. Forgive me for barely topping 1,200 words, but I hope you at least enjoy my tale. You may think it's because I'm a bitter Cleveland fan on the outside looking in at a club that bested the ...

Choo RF Sizemore CF Garko 1B Hafner DH Martinez 3B Shoppach C Francisco LF Peralta 2B Cabrera SS How's that for a lineup in 2009? It just might work. OffenseOne way to construct a good lineup is to put above average hitters at every position. In the below table, each player is followed by two number...

You'll have to forgive me (and correct me when necessary), since I didn't get to see this game. Ohio State-Purdue was on at the same time, so ND-UNC was blacked out in my area. Because apparently Ohioans don't like the Buckeyes and need to be forced to watch them. Right. I also wasn't able to get th...

North Carolina Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Rush DefenseNorth Carolina has run 165 times to 101 passes; those numbers may be due to uncertainty at the quarterback position (see below). Their leading rusher is 8 Greg Little, a tall (6'3") converted receiver. Little is averaging 13 carries and 44.6 yar...

Quarterback: Jimmy Clausen showed great poise and decision-making, and it led to a career day. Clausen completed 29 of 40 passes for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns. He hit the deep balls. He hit the checkdowns. He even scrambled 3 times for 16 yards. Running Back: Clausen bailed out the running game in ...

Quarterback: In several ways, the sophomore outplayed the fifth year senior. Curtis Painter may have finished with more yards than Jimmy Clausen, but Clausen had the edge in completion percetage and touchdown passes. Perhaps more importantly, though, is that Clausen did not throw a single intercepti...