Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
It's mid-season. The Journal Gazette's Midseason Notre Dame review is in papers Friday. So Insights is releasing its midseason grades for Notre Dame, just as the players and Notre Dame students finish up midterms and get a week-long fall break (football players excluded. They have to be back next week).
These grades will be the most volatile, but that's how the Irish's special teams have been:
PUNTING:
GRADE: B
Why: Eric Maust is 35th nationally in punting, averaging 41.7 yards per punt. He has hit 9 of his 24 punts inside the 20 yard-line and has only had one touchback. None of his punts have been blocked. None of them have been returned for touchdowns. Usually, he puts the punts high enough to allow gunners David Bruton and Mike Anello to make plays. He's been good. Hence the grade.
KICK AND PUNT COVERAGE
GRADE: B
Why: Notre Dame's kick coverage unit is one of the best in the country, ranking No. 4. It is also the only one in the top 10 without a touchback this season, which says how strong it is when it is only allowing 16.44 yards a return. The punt unit was also in the Top 10 at one point but has dropped to 40th. That said, it is still allowing only 6.42 yards per return. The special teams ace Anello, who plays exclusively on the kick and punt units, is ninth on the team in tackles with 14 tackles and has also forced and recovered a fumble.
KICK AND PUNT RETURNS
GRADE: C
Why: Both units rank in the 60s. Both Armando Allen and Golden Tate rank in the 70s on kick returns. Besides Allen's 53-yarder, none of the Irish's returns have been too spectacular and they have yet to return one for a touchdown. The punt return unit, led by Allen, hasn't been great. They haven't been bad. They've been merely average.
KICKING
GRADE: F
Why: Ryan Burkhart can't get the ball into the end zone consistently. That itself is bad for Notre Dame. What's worse is the Irish's field goal kicking. Brandon Walker's 2 of 8 performance this year has been abysmal. That the competition is continually re-opened and Walker keeps winning says how bad Notre Dame's kicking problems are. Twice this season -- Michigan State and North Carolina -- teams have made more field goals in a game against the Irish than they have made all season. Walker is not ranked among the top 105 kickers on the NCAA's statistical Web site and could very well be the worst kicker in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Plus, the continuous kicking conundrum leaves Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis in a tough position of whether to go for it or try on a kid who keeps missing. It hasn't cost Notre Dame a game yet -- although North Carolina could be argued. Insights will give Weis a pass there since he said he felt he needed a touchdown when he went for it early in the fourth quarter. Had Notre Dame had a better kicker, though, maybe he opts for the field goal, which would have ended up leaving the Irish with a field goal instead of a touchdown to win. But if the kicking doesn't improve, it will cost Notre Dame a win this season. That's a guarantee.
Agree? Disagree? Send your comments or questions to mrothstein@jg.net or post them in the comment boxes below. Best responses will be posted in Thursday's Mailbag.
