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Notre Dame, IN (UHND.com) – Notre Dame opened its season on Saturday against the Aztecs of San Diego State and perhaps the nicest thing that could be said about the Irish’s 21-13 victory was that at least it wasn’t a loss. Notre Dame, a 22 point favorite over the under manned and ailing Aztecs, stumbled out of the starting block to open the season and has Irish fans questioning just how improved they will be this season.
Charlie Weis, true to his vow to make the changes necessary to right the sinking ship that was the 2007 season, started off the 2008 campaign by deferring the ball to start the game – something he had previously only done once and things looked good for Notre Dame when the Irish offense took the field for the first time. That first drive, however, turned out to be a microcosm of the game. (…Click here to continue reading)
Notre Dame, IN (UHND.com) – The long off-season wait is almost over. In a little more than 24 hours, Notre Dame will kick-off the 2008 season against San Diego State in hopes of making last season’s debacle a distant, distant memory. The Aztecs come to town this weekend for the first time and appear to [...]
Ever since Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mayes graduated after the 2005 season, the linebacker position has been a liability for the Notre Dame defense. The past two seasons the Irish have used an under sized cast of characters that were patched together more out of necessity than anything else. As a result, the Irish have [...]
The one position where Notre Dame will experience the biggest depth concerns in 2008 will be along the defensive line. Notre Dame will only be replacing one starter along the defensive front, but that one starter, Trevor Laws, accounted for 112 tackles and 4 sacks in 2007. What is most alarming for the [...]
If there is one unit whose improvement Notre Dame’s success in 2008 hinges upon the most, it’s the offensive line. The struggles of last year’s line are well documented – the 58 sacks, the anemic run game, the penalties. It’s all been talked about ad nauseum this off-season, but it still warrants repeating.
As the college football season is upon us, Notre Dame still has plenty of questions to answer on both sides of the ball before next weekend’s season opener against San Diego State. Here’s a look at five burning questions which could decide the fate of the 2008 offense.

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San Diego State AztecsSeptember 6, 2008Kickoff: 3:30 ET Notre Dame Stadium |

| Marlon Pollard | 6-1 | 160 | CB | Cajon, CA | **** | **** |
| UHND's Take: Notre Dame got a corner with some very good coverage skills in Pollard. He will need to put in his fair share of time in the weight room to be a factor in the run game, but as a pure cover corner, he is very advanced technique wise for a high schooler. | ||||||
| Nicholas Tausch | 6-1 | 180 | K | Dallas, TX | n/a | n/a |
| UHND's Take: Notre Dame gave Dustin Hopkins a deadline to make his decision and when he stalled, Weis gave Tausch the offer. Tausch jumped at the offer and is said to have the more accurate leg. | ||||||
| Ben Turk | 6-0 | 185 | P | Ft Lauderdale, FL | n/a | n/a |
| UHND's Take: Turk is considered by some to be the best punter in the country and with no kickers taken in this most recent class, Weis decided to targeted a kicker and a punter. | ||||||
| Alex Bullard | 6-4 | 275 | OG | Brentwood, TN | **** | **** |
| UHND's Take: Bull is an absolute monster of an offensive linemen and has the versatility to be able to play tackle if he continues growing. As is, Bullard is a top notch OL for this class. | ||||||
| Dan Fox | 6-3 | 215 | LB | Cleveland, OH | **** | **** |
| UHND's Take: Fox is a rising recruit who has a lot more speed and athleticism than most people give him credit for. Fox will play OLB and hails from the same HS as Robby Parris and John Ryan. | ||||||
| Carlo Calebrese | 6-2 | 225 | LB | Verona, NJ | **** | **** |
| UHND's Take: Calebrese is a run stuffing MLB who will need some help in pass coverage. He is very physically advanced for a HS linebacker though and could see the field early. | ||||||
Tonight we had the distinct pleasure of talking with Notre Dame legend Raghib “The Rocket” Ismail. We talked with the Rocket about the ‘88 Miami Pre-Game Brawl, his thoughts on Notre Dame this year, what might happen next week if the Wolverines were to pull any ‘88 Miami-esque shenanigans with a lot of the ‘88 [...]
