It’s awfully hard to become a star quarterback when you spend most of the game flat on your back. Right about now Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen has to be wondering why he didn’t choose any of the other schools who courted him out of high school.
In their 31-10 trouncing of the Irish, Penn State got to Clausen six times for the sack, and we won't even talk about the amount times Clausen heard the footsteps, getting rid of the ball too soon. By my estimation, only one of those losses was completely Clausen’s fault - near the end of the first half when he held onto the ball too long instead of junking it to the “cheap seats.”
No, this is an offensive line that can’t stop anyone. Nine sacks by Georgia Tech, six by the Nittany Lions – there are teams that go the whole season without their quarterback getting dropped 15 times and this season just started.
For his part, Clausen played fairly well going 17-32 and 144 yards including a 35-yard bomb to Robby Parris late in the game. Head coach Charlie Weis stuck to a mostly conservative offense with quick swing passes designed to bolster his young quarterback’s confidence, and yet, this Charlie Weis offense has still yet to score a touchdown after two games. Not helping their case at all, Notre Dame was their own worst enemy in this game.
From the outset, the Irish looked like they might make a go of it jumping out to an early 7-0 lead thanks to a 73 yard pickoff return by Darrin Walls and then the flags started flying. Fifth-year senior and two-time captain Travis Thomas got the party started with a personal foul on a punt return taking the Irish from good field position (near mid-field) to mediocre (back inside the 30) for the ensuing offensive set.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
"Clausen played fairly well going 17-32 and 144 yards"
Those aren't very good numbers at all. Probably a B-minus or C-plus. When a team starts a freshman quarterback, they're going to have a lot of growing pains.
2 - Benjamin Cossel
Pretty well for a true freshman who spent a large portion of the game sprawled out on the field. Now, lets stack it against the running game who are what, -8 yds, on the season?
Clausen's growing pains are going to be made worse if he doesn't get some protection up front and a running game that can balance the load. And that has nothing to do with starting a freshman quarterback.