More with Gore

The Loggins Classic has always been on of the top post Christmas Classics in North Mississippi, but Coach Darren Coffey and company have out done themselves with the 2008 version of the Classic.

10:30 Nettleton vs. Charleston

While it might seem too early for basketball this battle between a pair of Tigers will surely get things going on the right foot.  Both teams bring a high-tempo, physical brand of offensive while bringing a solid in-your-face defense to the floor in hopes to create transition points.

12:00 Vardaman vs. Amory

Both the Rams and Panthers are looking to get good things rolling after the Christmas break and this match-up has the potential to steal the show by being the best game of the Classic.  This will be a good warm-up game for the Rams before taking on Caledonia in the opening round of the Tater Tourny.

1:30 Aberdeen vs. New Hope

If you want to get a seat to this game you might want to get to the gym before the Nettleton game with two of the top teams in North Mississippi square off there is sure to be a large crowd.   Aberdeen is the reigning 3A State Champion while New Hope is the reigning 4A State Champion and both teams are off to hot starts in defense of the titles.

3:00 Okolona vs. Kosciusko

This game will be the most interesting game of the Classic.  Coach Ford and company have surprised many across the North Mississippi area by having an outstanding start to the season despite losing Willie Grady and Jeremy Newsome.  Kosciusko has always been a team filled with talent looking for the right guidance to get the program running in the right direction — enter Big Creek’s own Thomas Brooks.  Brooks, a former Calhoun City assistant, turned a once football only West Point program into a legit contender and is looking to do the same with the Whippets.

4:30 Bruce vs. Houston

Shaunvanta Ingram vs. Evander Wofford, do you really need much more?  These two high-scorers have been eager to take the hardwood against each other since the schedule for the Classic was release and that should lead to an exciting high scoring affair between these two dark horse programs.  This will be a much needed tough test for the Trojans as they get ready for West Point in the opening round of the Tater Tourny next week.

6:00 Calhoun City vs. Shannon

The Red Raiders handed Calhoun City a loss during the Houston Thanksgiving Classic and the Wildcats will be looking to return the favor with a full squad this go around.  William Green and Danardo Watkins dropped 21 each on the Wildcats in their 82-65 win. Calhoun City has proven with a full squad they can compete with anyone no matter the classification and will be looking to get things rolling before heading into the Tater Tourny.

Booneville Kiwanis Classic @ NECC

Friday Jan. 2

6:30 – Olive Branch vs. Alcorn Central

8:00- Columbus vs. Nettleton

Saturday Jan. 3

1:30 – Ripley vs. East Webster

3:00 – Wheeler vs. Kossuth

4:30 – Middleton, TN. vs. Alcorn Central (G)

6:00 – Olive Branch vs. Aberdeen

7:30 – Booneville vs. Houston

Click here for the Baldwyn Rotary Classic Schedule along with more information from Brandon Speck.

Merry Christmas from GoreSports. I hope everyone is having a great day with their family and loved ones.

AG

Long before the season started when asked about the upcoming season for Notre Dame I set realistic goals.

Beat Michigan – check!
Finish a game or two above .500 – check!
Go to a bowl game – check!

Winning the bowl game was a much needed and very enjoyable bonus — granted it was a team from the WAC.  At least I can rest much easier knowing we haven’t sunk to that level of play.

I will admit I found a secret lucky charm during the regular season and thought it to be a fluke until tonight.  I can not reveal my source of luck, but I do have to return the favor by cheering for Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl… the things I do for an Irish victory!

Fighting Irish end NCCA-record 9-game bowl skid
Jaymes Song, AP Sports Writer

Jimmy Clausen ended Notre Dame’s long bowl drought—and Hawaii’s bid for a fourth straight Hawaii Bowl victory—with a record-breaking passing night.

Clausen set Notre Dame bowl records with 401 yards passing and five touchdowns to lead the efficient Fighting Irish to their first postseason victory in 15 years, 49-21 over Hawaii on Wednesday night.

“I told the team that’s the only thing I wanted (for Christmas). I just wanted to win a bowl game,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said.

“I heard it a hundred times in the locker room after the game and they wanted to know what I was giving them for Christmas. I told them: ‘a flight home.”’

Golden Tate had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns, also Notre Dame bowl records, including a 69-yarder that sparked a 28-point outburst to help the Irish (7-6) end their NCAA-record bowl losing steak at nine.

“I’m very happy for Notre Dame. This was a great step forward for us,” Weis said. “It leads us into 2009 with a good taste in our mouth.”

Read more about Notre Dame’s win over Hawaii by clicking here.

Eric Hansen/NBC Sports

James Aldridge couldn’t help but notice the mock cheer when he blasted 15 yards on the last play of the third quarter for Notre Dame’s initial first down of the game in its 38-3 humbling from USC, Nov. 29 in Los Angeles.

What was the secret to the Irish junior running back’s at least temporary success?
“I was just trying to do what I was supposed to do,” he said rather matter-of-factly.

Which Notre Dame (6-6), as a team, matter-of-factly hasn’t been able to do often or consistently enough in 2008 whether it be Aldridge, Armando Allen, Robert Hughes or Jonas Gray.

Against the Trojans, the nation’s fifth-ranked rushing defense, the Irish managed just 50 rushing yards for the game and three more total first downs. The good news is ND’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl opponent, Hawaii (7-6), is merely the 73rd-best run defense, out of 119, in the country.

The ugly news is — that’s not necessarily good news. The Irish labored to run the ball against the likes of San Diego State (118th in run defense) and Syracuse (101st). At times, it seems like 2007 all over again.

And 2007, lest anyone forget, was the first nine-loss season in Irish football history, with its school-record-low 75.2 rushing yards per game one if its statistically horrifying footnotes.

Yet, even if you figure that and the NCAA-record 58 sacks as a once-in-a-lifetime confluence of inexperience at key offensive positions, the next two lowest rushing averages in ND history happen to be 2008 and 2006.

Notre Dame did have prolific passing attacks under coach Charlie Weis in 2005 and 2006
to offset the pedestrian running numbers those seasons but not in 2007 and 2008. And the lack of a running game did play a major role in Notre Dame’s inability to close out three games this season in which it held double-digit leads (North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Syracuse).

“Teams prepare for what’s happening and what’s coming, and we prepare too,” Aldridge said in trying to explain the enigmatic running game. “You’re not going to always executive everything going into the game. You’ve got to roll with the punches. I guess the games where you’re not getting rushing yards, it is what it is. You’ve got to open up other parts of your offense.”

If Aldridge is parroting Weis, the Irish could be in trouble Christmas Eve in Honolulu against the Warriors. Running with purpose, running with authority, running like you’re playing against that nation’s 73rd-best run defense is the No. 1 key to victory for the Irish ending their NCAA-record nine-game bowl losing streak.
Here is the rest of the checklist:

Make Hawaii feel like it’s not at home.

Since 1999, the Warriors are 27-9 in games at Aloha Stadium played in November and December but are 5-7 in games played within those time coordinates on the Mainland.
It’s not just jetlag and bad airline food, though the Warriors did log 33,264 frequent flier miles in their five road trips and six road games this season. What makes Hawaii uncomfortable is not being able to play with an early lead. The Warriors are 5-0 when leading after the first quarter.

Make patience a virtue

Hawaii ranks no higher than 59th nationally in any of the big four defensive categories (total, scoring, rush, pass-efficiency defense), but the Warriors do like to attack and blitz and are a proficient team in securing sacks and tackles for loss.

That means Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen needs to be content to get rid of the ball quickly in the short passing game if need be. That’s something Clausen has struggled mightily with in the second half of the season as his pass-efficiency rating has plummeted from 36th to 66th.

Make John Tenuta smile

Notre Dame’s assistant head coach/defense called blitzes on 75 to 80 percent of the plays when he was the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. The Irish certainly didn’t approach those numbers this season, especially in the last six games.

But if ever a situation called for the Tenuta influence, it’s the Hawaii Bowl. Warriors quarterback Greg Alexander got yanked in Hawaii’s season-opening loss to Florida, but has looked quite Colt Brennan-ish since regaining his starting spot in game eight of the season.

During that stretch, the junior college transfer and one of four QBs to get handed the keys to the Hawaii offense this season, has thrown for 1,533 yards and 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions. But he and all of the other Warrior QBs are susceptible to the sack.
In fact, Hawaii is second from the bottom in protecting its quarterbacks this season (3.7 sacks per game).

Number 30 sunscreen and floppy hats for all

When the Irish players were given the choice of bowl destinations between Honolulu, Detroit, Toronto, Houston and Shreveport, La., was it really a surprise that Hawaii won out? — not that the Charlie Weis regime is always and even often a democracy.

What Notre Dame has to be careful of is not to lose this game before Wednesday in the sun — or at a luau. The Irish practice in the mornings, then have activities the rest of the day and evening.

They’ve already sacrificed five of their allotted practices for exams and Weis’ ambitious recruiting schedule. They need to find a happy medium between vacation and business trip. If they don’t, they’ll never find their running game Christmas Eve.

Eric Hansen writes regularly for NBCSports.com’s Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.

Eric Hansen/NBC Sports

He calls his mother every day, just to tell her he loves her.

There are middle-schoolers who’ve been touched by Robert Blanton’s words, too — as a youth football coach — and elementary school kids in North Carolina who might make a better decision today when it comes to peer pressure because the Notre Dame freshman cornerback told them it’s OK to live a drug-and-alcohol-free lifestyle.

He says “yes sir” and “no sir,” disarms you with a smile and sincerity, and believes being viewed as a great mentor is the highest honor anyone can receive.

And he has received it, over and over.

“It goes back to the Bible: ‘What does it matter if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul’?” Blanton said. “I guess my soul is helping other people have a great life as well. It’s always meant a lot to me to see other people be successful.”

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Matthews, N.C., product is a heckler with a heart. And he does heckle. He does talk junk on the football field, incessantly or “chirp,” as Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis so affectionately calls it.

“He’s not afraid of anyone,” Weis said of Blanton, one of 10 true freshmen to crash the two-deeps for the Irish (6-6) this year. “And he’s not afraid to tell anyone in the free world who’s willing to listen.”

Even those who are not willing to listen will get Blanton’s running commentary. That’s everyone from Wednesday night’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl opponent, Hawaii (7-6), to his own teammates.

“You heard him before you saw him,” Notre Dame’s leading receiver, Golden Tate, said.

“Anything he did — playing pool, Ping-Pong, walking around, just eating. Whatever it is, he’s competing, he’s talking. At first, you’re like, ‘Who is this kid?’ And then he proved himself. He can do it.

“He can say whatever he wants because he’s going to back it up.”

All of which helps make Blanton ND’s player to watch as Notre Dame tries to end its NCAA-record, nine-game bowl losing streak. It’s Blanton (29 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions) and the Irish defensive backfield — ND’s biggest statistical strength (18th nationally in pass-efficiency defense) versus Hawaii’s biggest statistical strength – passing offense (33rd).

Junior college transfer Greg Alexander has made that Hawaii’s strength in the last half of the season after first-year head coach Greg McMackin spent the first seven games of the season playing musical quarterbacks, with four Colt Brennan wannabees receiving significant snaps.

In Hawaii’s last six games — all of which were Alexander starts — the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College product has passed for 1,533 yards, 12 touchdowns with only two interceptions, and completed 65 percent of his passes. Hawaii is 4-2 during that span.
Alexander actually started in Hawaii’s season opener at Florida, but got yanked in a 56-10 loss to the Gators.  He didn’t see playing time again until the Boise State game on Oct. 17.

He then came off the bench the following week to lead UH to a victory over Nevada, which earned him WAC player of the week honors, and earned the starting nod the following week at Utah State. Alexander had a string of 153 consecutive pass attempts without an interception snapped against Washington State.

It’s not just passing proficiency that the 6-foot-3, 230-pounder brings to the Hawaii offense. It’s toughness. Alexander ranks fourth on the team in rushing (155 yards) with three rushing touchdowns, and many of those yards came by lowering his shoulder rather than sliding underneath a tackle or scampering to the sideline.

“If you’re running out of bounds, you’re not getting as many yards as you can,” Alexander told the Honolulu Advertiser.

And apparently the Hawaii coaches are just fine with the head-first approach to running.

“Out here, they don’t want any sissy boys,” Hawaii quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said. “You’ve got the pads on for a reason.”

Weis feels the same about the lithe cornerback Blanton, whose role takes on added importance with sophomore backup corner Gary Gray missing the trip for “personal reasons” and senior starter Terrail Lambert just getting back from freak ankle and knee injuries.

Lambert suffered the injuries on a non-contact Thursday, two days before the Nov. 15 Navy game — ND’s most recent win. That threw Blanton into the starting lineup, where he has been ever since.

“I jumped up for a deep ball,” Lambert said. “I deflected it, but when I landed on the ground, my body was backward and my knee was parallel to the ground. For what happened, I honestly shouldn’t be walking right now. It’s a miracle. As soon as I went down, I was thinking, ‘I’m done.’”

Instead, he is back and will likely play every down against Hawaii’s multiple-receiver sets, as will Blanton and junior Raeshon McNeil. The only way the Warriors will be able to tell them apart, aside from uniform numbers, is that Blanton is the one who will never be quiet.

In fact, Blanton may be the most dynamic package of talk, talent and toughness at the cornerback position at ND since All-American Shane Walton walked away from a promising soccer career and walked on to the football team roughly a decade ago — but only after then-ND coach Bob Davie became convinced he wasn’t a wannabe kicker.

“You can’t ever back down,” Blanton said. “No sir. Never.”

“He’s getting bigger and stronger every day,” Blanton’s high school coach, Butler High’s Mike Newsome, said. “That’s going to push him to the next level of football player. He’s already got the fight. He’s already got the fundamentals. It’s just a matter of time.”

Eric Hansen writes regularly for NBCSports.com’s Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.

Jason Kaneshiro/Star Bulletin

Nick Rolovich has few complaints over how his Hawaii football career ended.

After all, throwing 20 touchdown passes in your last three games, including eight in a blowout of your program’s biggest rival, leaves little to be desired.

Other than, perhaps, having one more chance to play with the 2001 Warriors.

“I don’t think any bowl game would have outdone the BYU game,” Rolovich said of the 72-45 rout of the Cougars in the finale. “But I think the experience — the hotel, the different thing you do during a bowl week as a team — is something I would have really enjoyed with those guys.”

The 2001 season marked the first year since 1982 that the state didn’t host a bowl game. Rolovich, now the Warriors’ quarterbacks coach, figures it was probably coincidence that the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl arose a year after the 9-3 Warriors were left without a postseason appearance.

Hawaii Bowl executive director David Matlin believes otherwise.

“I would say that was a big reason,” said Matlin, the game’s director of operations for its first six years before taking the top seat this year.

With the backing of ESPN Regional Television, the Hawaii Bowl was established in 2002 with a clause that the Warriors would participate if they were bowl eligible.
Hawaii will make its fifth appearance in the game’s seven-year history when the Warriors (7-6) face Notre Dame (6-6) today.

Drawing the Fighting Irish to the game — thus turning the gaze of Notre Dame’s legions of devotees and detractors spread across the country to the islands on Christmas Eve — represents a key mark on the bowl’s growth chart.

Notre Dame had some options on where to spend the holidays and chose Honolulu, a year after Boise State elected to play in the Hawaii Bowl rather than the hometown Humanitarian Bowl.

“I think that’s a strong statement when people choose to come here,” Matlin said.

“I think we’ve matured. This is our seventh year and I think we’ve come a long way. We’re not a BCS game and we know that, but the experiences … I really believe are second to none.”

Aloha Stadium had hosted postseason games from 1982 to 2000, when the last of the Oahu Bowl/Aloha Bowl doubleheaders was played.

(To answer the inevitable trivia question, the final Oahu Bowl featured Virginia and Georgia. Arizona State and Boston College met in the last Aloha Bowl).

The void was filled by the Hawaii Bowl in 2002, with the Warriors losing to Tulane 36-28 in the inaugural game.

Hawaii and the Western Athletic Conference have been connected with the Hawaii Bowl from the start. While Conference USA provided the other half of the matchup for most of its history, bowl organizers targeted an affiliation with the Pac-10 four years ago.

The sides forged a one-game agreement for the 2006 game, when Arizona State lost to Hawaii. That led to a two-year contract starting this year, though the Hawaii Bowl was left without a Pac-10 representative as the conference came up short of bowl-eligible teams.

The Pac-10′s shortfall, though, could be the Hawaii Bowl’s gain, as it opened the way for Notre Dame to fill the spot.

The Hawaii Bowl’s contract with the Pac-10 expires after next year’s game and Matlin declined to speculate on the prospects beyond 2009.

“We’re thrilled with the Pac-10 right now, it’s a good partnership and we think it makes sense,” Matlin said. “That said, the college football landscape is ever-changing, so to really make a call like that right now is hard to do. But there’s no question we are very happy with the Pac-10 affiliation.”

The first six Hawaii Bowls have produced a series of shootouts, including two overtime games.

Hawaii won a wild 54-48 triple-overtime thriller with Houston in 2003, which ended with an even wider brawl. Nevada edged Central Florida 49-48 on a missed extra point in overtime in 2005.

Last year, with Hawaii headed to the Sugar Bowl, East Carolina ran past Boise State 41-38 behind Chris Johnson’s 408 all-purpose yards.

Rolovich is one of three members of the 2001 Hawaii team now on the Warriors coaching staff. While offensive line coach Brian Smith and Craig Stutzmann played in the 1999 Oahu Bowl, Rolovich is savoring his first bowl week and is enjoying watching the current Warriors take in the opportunity he never had.

“I’m very proud to be part of it,” Rolovich said. “It’s been an interesting year and I think this is a very nice gift for the players and how hard they worked and the things they worked through in many adverse situations.

“They’re going to know this is a great experience now, because it’s been such an enjoyable bowl for everyone. But years down the line they’re going to look back and a lot of good friendships are going to be solidified.”

Billy Hull/Star Bulletin

Touchdown Jesus, Rudy, The Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne and the slogan “Play Like a Champion.”

Hawaii got everything it could have possibly wanted when Notre Dame, arguably the most storied college football program in America, accepted a bid to compete in today’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

A bowl game that at one time thought the choices were Buffalo, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan now features a program that has the most national titles (11) since the first Associated Press poll in 1936, the most Heisman winners (seven) of any school and its own television contract with a major network.

Ticket sales surged once the Fighting Irish were deemed Hawaii’s opponent, proving their worth as a marquee sales attraction.

On the outside, it’s the premier program, the hot ticket, the catchy name needed to sell a bowl game in tough economic times.

But on the inside, it’s been anything but a smooth ride over the last decade for the blue and gold.

Not since the 1994 Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M have the Fighting Irish finished the season with a bowl win. The nine straight bowl losses are an NCAA record.

“For those guys that are walking out the door that have no eligibility left, I think they would like to walk out the door and say they were part of that team that put that bowl losing streak behind them,” Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said.

This year marks the 20th season since the Fighting Irish’s last national title, won under coach Lou Holtz, who finished 100-30-2 in 11 seasons before resigning after the ’96 season.

The Irish are on their third coach since then, have lost at least three games every year and are just a season removed from a 3-9 campaign, their worst in 48 years.

By comparison, Notre Dame never lost more than three games during a 15-year span in the ’60s and ’70s.

From 1988 to 1993, Notre Dame went 64-9-1 with wins in the Orange, Sugar and Cotton bowls.

In today’s college football landscape, long periods of dominance are hard to come by, unless you’re Southern California. Even then, Notre Dame hasn’t come close to meeting those marks.

For this year’s senior class, the Hawaii Bowl marks a chance to end years of frustration. From 2004 and 2006, Notre Dame lost by at least two touchdowns in all three bowl appearances.

“It’s getting pretty annoying,” safety Kyle McCarthy said after Sunday’s practice. “That’s definitely part of our motivation. To get that monkey off our back would be great.”
More than just ending a streak, the Hawaii Bowl marks a chance to gain momentum heading into next season.

McCarthy has a year of eligibility remaining, but other seniors, like cornerback Terrail Lambert, are intent on setting up the youngsters on the team for future success.

“Any game, regardless of who you are playing, the last thing you remember is winning,” Lambert said. “If you do that, that’s all the catalyst you need.”

McCarthy, the team’s leading tackler with 103 this season, will be counted on as one of the team’s leaders next season. He expects a win today will jump- start the Irish’s offseason programs as they hope to continue their slow ascent back toward national prominence.

“Without a doubt, just the taste in your mouth of winning, it’s so much easier to come in and work out (in the offseason) when you have that taste in your mouth,” McCarthy said.

“It’s a long way until the first game next year, but you don’t really forget about your last game until the next one.”

Lou Somogyi/BlueandGold.com

The last time Notre Dame’s football team traveled to Honolulu to play the University of Hawaii, it needed some 11th-hour heroics to prevail with a 23-22 victory in the 1997 regular-season finale.

At the time, the Warriors were a moribund program, posting a record of 12-34-1 from 1994-97 prior to taking on the 25-point favorite Irish. However, on the eve of the game, Notre Dame defensive tackle Melvin Dansby expressed his unease at the generous hospitality the natives were providing in a tranquil setting. Football is a violent sport, but the serenity of the Islands seemed to take away the edge, according to Dansby.

The Irish trailed 22-14 in the fourth quarter before a 20-yard Scott Cengia field goal with five seconds left provided the one-point victory. The winning score was set up on a 47-yard crossing pattern pass from Ron Powlus to Raki Nelson on 3rd-and-17.

“I felt like we walked into an ambush,” reflected Dansby a few months after that victory. “Corey Bennett was my roommate on the road and he said to me, ‘Man, I feel like we’re getting set up.’ First of all, you have the jet lag going over there. They’re feeding us pretty well. And everybody we talk to from out there says, ‘You’re going to beat us 45-0. I feel sorry for our kids.’

“So what happens? Those guys come out of the locker room like head hunters.”

That occurred in 1991 too against an Irish team that defeated No. 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Hawaii was only 4-7-1 that year but gave Notre Dame all it could handle before losing 48-42 (current Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson was the offensive coordinator for the Warriors that year).

The 2008 Notre Dame team isn’t nearly as talented as the 1991 unit, and it’s not on the hot streak the 1997 team was with five straight victories to end the regular season. In fact, this year’s squad was 1-4 in its last five games.

This 7-6 Hawaii outfit also is nowhere near the 12-0 unit head coach June Jones assembled last year before getting humbled by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Shortly thereafter, Jones accepted the head coaching position at SMU.

Under new coach Greg McMackin, Hawaii ranks 68th in scoring offense (24.92) and 72nd in scoring defense (27.31), and 83rd in turnover margin. Its special teams also is below average, ranking 79th in net punting (34.02), dead last in punt returns (two yards per attempt), and converted only 10 of 21 field-goal attempts.

The main area where Hawaii excels, passing offense (245.54 yards per game), also has a major flaw. The Warriors are second-to-last nationally in sacks yielded with 49 (3.77 per game), not too far behind Notre Dame’s NCAA record 58 last season.

What usually stands about Hawaii is the difference in play at home as opposed to the mainland. In their six games away from the Islands, the Warriors are 2-4 while getting outscored by an average of 36-19. Granted, three of the losses were to Florida (56-10), Oregon State (45-7) and Boise State (27-7) – but it also included a 30-14 setback at 3-9 Utah State.

Conversely, Hawaii is 5-2 at home while outscoring foes by an average of 30-20. This included a 29-24 loss to Orange-Bowl bound Cincinnati last Saturday after taking a 24-10 lead into the fourth quarter against the Bearcats.

Notre Dame will not have “three weeks worth” of practices (about 15 overall) for the bowl, as often advertised. The Irish practiced this past Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 6-7), but won’t be on the field again until this Friday (Dec. 12) and Saturday (Dec. 13) while the staff is on the road recruiting.

Final exams for the fall semester will take place from Dec. 15-19. According to Notre Dame football media relations director Brian Hardin, the Irish will attempt to get in a workout on Dec. 18 – depending on the exam schedules of all the players – and then have a walk-through session on the Dec. 19 before departing for Honolulu that day. It will be a nine-hour flight, with one stopover to refuel.

The team then will have four practices from Dec. 20-23 in Aloha Stadium (50,000). Interspersed will be a trip to Pearl Harbor, a visit to a local hospital and two nights at a luau (expected to be the 20th and 21st).

The University will lose money on the trip, according to Hardin, but it would have been in the red on any bowl trip this year. The trip to Hawaii forced cutbacks in some areas. For example, if Notre Dame had gone to the Texas Bowl in Houston, it might have taken the band, which would have cost approximately a quarter-million dollars, as it did on the trip to USC. To cut costs, the band won’t make the more expensive trip to Hawaii, and there likely will be fewer figures (plus significant others) from the administration offices.

UH RUNNING GAME VS. ND RUN DEFENSE

Notre Dame ranks a pedestrian 63rd nationally in defending the run, surrendering 142.67 yards per game, but Hawaii’s ground game is 107th, averaging just 99.31 yards. No Warrior running back this year has had a plus 85-yard rushing effort. Top rushers Daniel Libre (431 yards, 4.4 yards per carry) and Kealoha Pilares (281, 5.2) can be effective in spots, but overall the Warrior ground game hasn’t been a significant threat, ranking nine spots behind the often maligned Notre Dame running attack. Pilares (5-11, 190) has recovered from a foot injury and is a threat as a receiver as well with 26 catches.

Advantage: Even

UH PASSING GAME VS. ND PASS DEFENSE

The Hawaii passing game accounts for 245.54 yards per contest. However, the Warriors also allowed a national-high 49 sacks in 13 games. (Notre Dame set the NCAA record last year with 58 in 12 games.) The Irish registered only 18 sacks this season, led by 3.5 apiece by Pat Kuntz and Harrison Smith. QB Greg Alexander spreads the ball to a variety of receivers, with Michael Washington (56 catches), Greg Salas (50), Aaron Bain (44) the primary targets. Malcolm Lane, averaging 18.8 yards on 31 receptions, is the deep threat. Notre Dame’s depth against the multi-wideout attack took a bit of a hit with the absence of Gary Gray for personal reasons. The Irish were 18th nationally in pass efficiency defense, their highest ranking in any major category on offense or defense.

Advantage: Notre Dame

ND RUNNING GAME VS. UH RUN DEFENSE

The Irish averaged a measly 62.83 yards rushing in their six losses. Hawaii could be a slightly easier mark, as it surrenders 148 yards per game (73rd in the nation) and 4.0 per carry. How well the Irish run the ball is often the most pivotal factor, along with turnovers, in all their results this season. The Warriors start nine seniors and two juniors on defense. Their two interior tackles, Keala Watson and Joshua Leonard, are both 6-3 and they are 320 and 305 pounds, respectively, so there is ample girth to plug the middle. End David Veikune (6-3, 265) has been a playmaker with 16 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles, earning team MVP honors.

Advantage: Even

ND PASSING GAME VS. UH PASS DEFENSE

Hawaii is a middling 64th in pass-efficiency defense and gives up 203.8 yards per game through the air. Notre Dame has had only sporadic success throwing the ball in the second half of the year, but the return of Michael Floyd, who was shelved against Navy, Syracuse and USC, to the lineup should help considerably. The Warriors do rank 21st nationally with 34 sacks, but if Jimmy Clausen can get protection, he should have some openings to work with. Slightly overlooked is the fact that the 20 sacks Notre Dame yielded this year are the fewest since surrendering the same number in 2000 during an 11-game regular season in which they finished 9-2.

Advantage: Even

SPECIAL TEAMS

Warrior kicker Dan Kelly has made 10 of 20 field-goal tries, just 2 of 8 beyond 40 yards, and he has had three kicks blocked. He has made only two of his last seven attempts, including misses from 26, 27, 33 and 38 yards. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s Brandon Walker converted 13 of his last 17 field-goal attempts. Lane and Ryan Mouton do have single kickoff returns of 91 and 90 yards, respectively, but Hawaii averages well under 20 yards otherwise – and it is also last nationally in punt returns (2.0). The Irish haven’t excelled on returns, either, but their coverage units have been stellar. Despite having only one touchback, Notre Dame finished No. 1 nationally in kick return yardage defense (16.17). The punting data is virtually identical. Hawaii’s Tim Grasso averaged 40.7 yards and placed 18 inside the 20 while getting one blocked. Notre Dame’s Eric Maust averaged 40.8 yards, put 15 inside the 20 and had two blocked.

Advantage: Notre Dame

COACHING

Charlie Weis has received his stay of execution for 2009, but still has a weary look about him as he battles both heavy scrutiny and an obliterated knee (he will have surgery on his right knee on Dec. 29, and then the left one, which was shattered in the Sept. 13 Michigan game, at a later date). Former defensive coordinator Greg McMackin has been adequate in taking over for June Jones, who led the Warriors to an unbeaten regular season in 2007 before leaving for SMU.

Advantage: Even

INTANGIBLES

Hawaii, 5-2 at home this season, doesn’t need to travel and isn’t under nearly as much pressure to win as the struggling Irish, who also have a 15-year bowl drought hanging over their heads like an albatross. The Warriors were playing their best football in the last four games, while the Irish were playing their worst. Notre Dame will either be highly driven, or enjoy the tropical vacation and mail in the game. Which version will we see? The Irish do need a win far more than Hawaii does, and that can’t be underestimated.

Advantage: Hawaii

ANALYSIS

The teams are quite similar. Both rely heavily on the pass. Both have been alarmingly turnover-prone. Hawaii has lost 14 fumbles and thrown 21 interceptions, and its 35 total turnovers rank 117th out of 119 teams. Notre Dame was 102nd with 28 turnovers – 22 of them coming in six road games. Hawaii also blew double-digit leads in home losses to San Jose State (20-17 after leading 17-7) and Cincinnati (29-24 after leading 24-10). Whichever team can establish some semblance of a ground game and avoid the turnover plague will likely come out on top. The X-factor will be who wants it more. Hawaii wants to win this game, but Notre Dame really needs to – similar to the Michigan contest this year after a 3-9 season and barely surviving the opener against San Diego State. The Irish are backed into a corner again, and they traditionally have responded well in such situations.

PREDICTIONS

Todd Burlage: Hawaii 24, Notre Dame 21
John Haynsworth: Notre Dame 27, Hawaii 24
Ryan O’Leary: Notre Dame 27, Hawaii 17
Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 26, Hawaii 20