Go Irish!
Having spent the better part of the last week worried about the Nittany Lions arrival in South Bend, I am glad that the Irish have calmed my fears. Last Saturday, Quinn and company made me sweat it out for most of the game against Georgia Tech. Therefore, with Joe-Pa and his crew coming to Notre Dame for the first time since 1992 (can you say Snow Bowl?), I was about as worried as I was on that day. That day was bad enough, and this year, the teams were supposed to be much better.
Because of all of this, I was pleasantly surprised with the Irish's tremendous victory. The opening drive was impressive, but I was still nervous about only getting a field goal. Then, Tom Zbikowski helped calm me. Sure, the man can hit, but the way he separated the ball-carrier from the ball, forcing a fumble was tremendous.
Rhema McKnight, who dropped a few key balls in the first game, was clutch. The Shark finally caught a touchdown...after 15 last year, waiting until game 2 wasn't expected. John Sullivan (the center) and Darius Walker (the running back) continued to be the unsung heroes of the team. And Brady Quinn looked like a TRUE heisman candidate in the game, especially in the drives that opened and closed the first half ot the game.
Still, the underrated defense stopped a strong offense, and came up huge in a big game. And, though Coach Weis gives the D credit, his optimism in the post-game interview clearly shows he is a disciple of Parcells and Belichick.
Scoring Summary
Nittany Lions - Fighting Irish
1st Quarter
Fighting Irish
FG
Carl Gioia kicked a 36-yard field goal
0 - 3
2nd Quarter
Fighting Irish
FG
Carl Gioia kicked a 35-yard field goal
0 - 6
Fighting Irish
TD
Brady Quinn passed to Jeff Samardzija down the middle for 7 yard gain (Carl Gioia made PAT)
0 - 13
Fighting Irish
TD
Brady Quinn passed to Rhema McKnight down the middle for 10 yard gain (Carl Gioia made PAT)
0 - 20
3rd Quarter
Fighting Irish
TD
Anthony Morelli rushed to the right for 3 yard loss. Anthony Morelli fumbled. Tom Zbikowski recovered fumble and returned for 25 yards (Carl Gioia made PAT)
0 - 27
Nittany Lions
FG
Kevin Kelly kicked a 38-yard field goal
3 - 27
Fighting Irish
TD
Travis Thomas rushed to the left for 1 yard gain (Carl Gioia made PAT)
3 - 34
4th Quarter
Fighting Irish
TD
Brady Quinn passed to Darius Walker to the right for 16 yard gain (Carl Gioia made PAT)
3 - 41
Nittany Lions
TD
Anthony Morelli passed to Deon Butler down the middle for 2 yard gain (Kevin Kelly made PAT)
10 - 41
Nittany Lions
TD
Daryll Clark rushed up the middle for 5 yard gain (Kevin Kelly made PAT)
17 - 41
