Notre Dame Women's Basketball 62, LSU 53

Editor's Note: Scroll down for a recap of the ND-Navy football game.

Notre Dame's women's basketball team kicked off their season on national television Sunday in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. The 14th/16th ranked Irish took on the 22nd/24th ranked LSU Lady Tigers on the Tigers' home court.

Both teams looked rusty for the first 10 minutes of the game, but started to get into a groove after that. It was a close contest all the way, but Notre Dame pulled away in the second half and held on to win 62-53. The Irish won thanks to solid free throw shooting and a pressure defense that really rattled the young LSU team.

Ashley Barlow, the tough-as-nails scrapper with the sweet shot and great all-around game, is now expected to be Notre Dame's go-to scorer. She didn't disappoint in this contest, finishing with 19 points.

The Irish started with Barlow andMelissa Lechlitner, and Lindsay Schrader at guard, Becca Bruszewski at power forward, and Erica Williamson at center. But Williamson saw limited playing time in this one, as Devereaux Peters spent most of the game at one forward position, and Burszewski and freshman Erica Solomon rotating at the other forward spot. Freshman Natalie Novosel also came in occasionally to give the three guards a breather.

Schrader finished with 13 points and Peters 12. Peters has the height of a power forward (6'2") and the game of a slashing small forward. The ESPN announcers said several times that it will be hard to keep Peters out of the starting lineup, and it's hard to disagree with that sentiment.

Solomon looked good on offense and rebounded well on both ends of the floor. Her defense needs work, but this was only her first game at the collegiate level. Erica Williamson returned late in the game to provide much needed post presence on defense.

Overall, this was a sloppy game, but in the end Notre Dame showed why they're in the top 20 in both polls. Once their offense got going, it worked smoothly - cuts to the basket were turned into easy layups, and those layups were actually made. Free throws continue to be a source of strength for this team. When they needed some momentum, the Irish turned up the pressure and it led to turnovers and easy points.

It was a good start to the season for this Notre Dame team. They went into a hostile environment against a ranked opponent for their first game of the season, and they came away victorious.

The Irish women's basketball next plays on Wednesday at 7:00, in their home opener against Evansville.

Notre Dame 27, Navy 21

Quarterback: Jimmy Clausen finished a very deceiving 15-of-18, as almost all of his passes were screens or dumpoffs over the middle. When he did throw downfield, he added two more interceptions to his total. In his defense, though, he was playing most of the game without Michael Floyd. Clausen did rush three times for five yards, including a headstrong head-first dive that almost resulted in a knee injury.

Running Back: The gameplan called for Notre Dame to pound the ball at Navy's undersized 3-4. James Aldridge was the feature back, recording 80 yards on 16 carries. Robert Hughes added 64 yards on 13 carries, while Armando Allen had 60 on eight carries. Freshman Jonas Gray had seven carries for 16 yards, and his struggles were partially due to Navy crowding the box in obvious run situations.

Allen also had a big day in the passing game, recording team highs in catches (seven) and yards (60). Aldridge and Hughes also had one catch apiece.

Fullback: Asaph Schwapp didn't record a touch in this game, but he did have several key block to aid the Irish ground game. Steve Paskorz made an appearance at fullback as well.

Receiver: Michael Floyd left early in the game after Aldridge and a tackler rolled into his left knee. With Floyd out, the Midshipmen were able to key on Golden Tate and hold him to zero catches. Tate did lose three yards on a "wildcat" formation direct snap. I was wondering just the other day if Coach Weis, with his NFL ties, would ever give a wildcat look. He did, but the timing was bad. Since it was the first play of the second quarter, it gave Navy time to react and align themselves properly before the snap.

David Grimes lead all receivers with three catches, plus one 10-yard gain that was credited as a run on a swing pass. Robby Parris, playing in Floyd's absence, and Duval Kamara each had one reception.

Tight End: Kyle Rudolph had one catch for eight yards.

Offensive Line: The line wasn't perfect - Clausen was hurried a few times, sacked once, and had the ball knocked out of his hands for a fumble. But overall the Notre Dame offensive line played well, especially the left side, on the way to an efficient 340 yard performance.

Defensive Line: As a whole, the defense played well for a second straight week. But the line especially played well in this one. Ian Williams had seven tackles, which is outstanding for a nose tackle. Justin Brown had five tackles, one for a loss, and recovered a fumble. Pat Kuntz had four tackles, including a half-sack.

Linebacker: Toryan Smith has had at best an up-and-down career at Notre Dame, but he had the game of his life on Saturday. Smith led the team with 10 tackles and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Toryan's production came from increased playing time after Brian Smith went down with a right knee injury after being chop blocked.

After being shut out in the Boston College game, something you never want to see from your fifth year middle linebacker, Mo Crum rebounded with seven tackles and a forced fumble.

Safety: Thanks to the play of Toryan Smith and the Irish line, David Bruton and Kyle McCarthy didn't have to be heroes in this game. Bruton and McCarthy did finish with six and five tackles, respectively, and Bruton did come close to picking off both of Navy's first two pass attempts.

Cornerback: Not surprisingly, playing Navy's triple option offense, no Irish corner recorded more than two tackles. Still, freshman Robert Blanton always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, recording a huge stop in the backfield early on, and breaking up a pass to the end zone on Navy's second-to-last play of the game.

Kicker: Don't look now, but Brandon Walker has made nine of his last 10 attempts, including field goals from 28 and 36 yards in this game.

Punter: Sure, Eric Maust's three punts were the first for Notre Dame against Navy in the Charlie Weis era. But I'm sure the team will take a win over a silly record any day, especially when their punter averages 44 yards per kick.

Kick Returner: Golden Tate returned two kickoffs in this game, one for 18 yards and one for 20.

Special Teams: Well, the Irish will definitely be working on recovering onside kicks this week. That being said, this was a win, so let's finish with the positives:

From what I can tell, batting a kick out of bounds is legal as long as you don't bat it forward. So Robby Parris did make a heads-up play, if only he had batted it in the right direction.

Mike Anello continues to inspire special teamers everywhere, as this week he blocked the punt that resulted in Notre Dame's first touchdown. He also proved, at least to some, that the "secondary line of defense" punt formation that so many college teams use isn't perfectly impenetrable.

North Carolina 29, Notre Dame 24

You'll have to forgive me (and correct me when necessary), since I didn't get to see this game. Ohio State-Purdue was on at the same time, so ND-UNC was blacked out in my area. Because apparently Ohioans don't like the Buckeyes and need to be forced to watch them. Right. I also wasn't able to get the game to come in on the radio, although chances are the stations carrying ND would have been overrun by the OSU game as well.

This is what I was able to cobble together from ESPN's gametracker, texts from my sister to my dad, and the final drive video on UND.com. (Oh, and the one play they accidentally showed on ABC before switching to OSU-Purdue.)

Quarterback: Sophomore with promise. That's Jimmy Clausen season in a nutshell. Clausen threw for 383 yards, scrambled when he needed to, and showed great poise on the final drive. However, he also had three second half turnovers, two interceptions and a lost fumble. This is a young team, no doubt. But the Irish were minus-five in the turnover battle and still took a top-25 squad down to the final gun.

Running Back: The gameplan called for twice as many runs as passes, and that showed on the opening drive. Still, when the Irish did run they ran effectively. Armando Allen ran 11 times for 60 yards, a 5.5 yard average. James Aldridge had a day to remember, finally picking up his first career touchdown. Aldridge finished with four carries for 23 yards, a 5.8 yard average. Robert Hughes added four carries for 12 yards, a 3.0 yard average. Perhaps most impressively, outside of Jimmy Clausen's sacks, Notre Dame's running game only had one yard listed in the "loss" category in this one.

Allen also came up big in the passing game again, gaining 47 yards on a team-leading seven catches. Hughes added one catch for 15 yards.

Receiver: Once again, Michael Floyd and Golden Tate racked up yards on deep passes. Floyd finished with six catches for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Tate had five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Mired in a disappointing season, Duval Kamara stepped up with five catches for 58 yards, including a couple on that final drive. David Grimes added four catches for 19 yards.

Tight End: Kyle Rudolph had three catches for 30 yards.

Offensive Line: The AP writeup gives the line credit for giving Clausen time to throw most of the time, and the team did gain 472 yards. However, Clausen was sacked four times.

Defensive Line: Pat Kuntz added another sack to his tally. He and Ian Williams each finished with three tackles, while Justin Brown added two. Brown also had a quarterback hit.

Linebacker: Maurice Crum had a fairly productive day, recording five tackles a pass breakup, and two quarterback hits. But pass breakups and quarterback hits are "not quite" stats, because they're not quite interceptions and not quite sacks. Take that to mean what you will. Brian Smith added three tackles and a quarterback hit.

Safety: North Carolina did in fact keep the Irish safeties busy. David Bruton led the team with eight tackles. Harrison Smith added six tackles, one for a loss. Kyle McCarthy had four.

Cornerback: Hakeem Nicks stepped up for the Tarheels, catching nine passes for 141 yards. I'm going to guess he was covered by Raeshon McNeil, who recorded six tackles, more than the rest of the Irish corners combined.

Kicker: Brandon Walker made his lone field goal attempt, a 42-yarder. But it was the field goals he didn't attempt that were perhaps the difference in the game. Facing fourth and seven from the North Carolina 27 with more than 10 minutes left in the game, the Irish decided to go for it instead of kicking a field goal that would have brought the score to 29-27. Had Walker made that one, he would have set himself up to be the hero on the final drive.

Punter: This was indeed a wild one, as Eric Maust only needed to attempt one punt. It covered 35 yards.

Kick Returner: Someone please fill me on in the squib kick at the end of the first half. I do know that number 25 fielded the ball, ran five yards, then fumbled. Notre Dame's roster and ESPN's game tracker say that number 25 is freshman Jonas Gray. But the box score says it was Gary Gray, who normally wears number 4. I'm assuming the box score just confused the two Grays?

While Armando Allen has taken most of Notre Dame's kickoff returns this year, Golden Tate was the main man in this one. I have to wonder if that was a coaching decision on Notre Dame's part, or if UNC consciously chose to kick it away from Allen. Tate had four returns for 92 yards, with a long of 29. Allen had two returns for 23 yards, with a long of 12.

Special Teams: Mike Anello had two tackles, and Notre Dame was near its season averages when it came to kick and punt coverage.

Notre Dame 28, Stanford 21

Quarterback: Jimmy Clausen showed great poise and decision-making, and it led to a career day. Clausen completed 29 of 40 passes for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns. He hit the deep balls. He hit the checkdowns. He even scrambled 3 times for 16 yards.

Running Back: Clausen bailed out the running game in this one. The Irish ran 27 times for 83 yards, and 23 of those yards came on Harrison Smith's fake punt run. Armando Allen had the best day of any Irish back, running 9 times for 33 yards and a touchdown. Allen's 3.7 yards per carry averaged more than doubled that of Robert Hughes (8 carries, 14 yards) or James Aldridge (5, 9), who both earned only 1.8 YPC. Allen also had 66 receiving yards and a touchdown on 7 catches. Hughes added 1 catch for 4 yards.

Receiver: Notre Dame's receiving depth showed in this game. As mentioned above, Clausen recorded a career-high 347 passing yards this game, and he did so with his leading receiver - Golden Tate - limited to 3 catches and 30 yards. Michael Floyd had 5 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown, and David Grimes added 5 for 60. Duval Kamara, who is struggling for playing time these days, had 1 catch for 2 yards.

Tight End: Kyle Rudolph is really starting to find a place in this offense. Rudolph owned the middle of the field, recording 5 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Offensive Line: The running game struggled again, and Clausen was sacked when a blitzer raced through the line untouched. But that was the lone sack of the game for one of the top sack teams in the nation. Like the rest of this team, the offensive line may have its ups and downs, but it's definitely grown from last year.

Defensive Line: Pat Kuntz stole the show at Friday night's pep rally, and he did his best attempt to steal the show on Saturday. Kuntz recorded 3 tackles, two of them sacks, knocked down a pass, and intercepted another. Justin Brown added 3 tackles - one for a loss - and a quarterback hit. For one day at least, Kuntz and Brown quieted the critics of Notre Dame's blitz schemes and the defensive line's production.

Linebacker: Brian Smith had the best performance of any Irish linebacker, recording 6 tackles, a sack, and a quarterback hit. Maurice Crum added 4 tackles. Darius Fleming had the best game of his young career with 3 tackles and a sack.

Safety: For better or for worse, Kyle McCarthy and David Bruton once again led the Irish in tackles. I don't know if it's possible to have a quiet day when you rack up 14 tackles, 1 TFL, and an interception, but somehow McCarthy happened to do that. Bruton added 9 tackles and an interception of his own. Harrison Smith and Sergio Brown each had 3 tackles, and Brown added a sack.

Cornerback: Raeshon McNeil and Terrail Lambert led the unit with 4 tackles apiece.

Kicker: It seems pretty obvious that Brandon Walker's troubles at this point are mental, especially when kicking from one of the hashes. I'd love to see the kid get a few tries from the middle of the field to build up his confidence. Not that Notre Dame should waste their third down tries to set up a field goal instead of trying to convert the first down, of course.

Punter: Eric Maust averaged just over 40 yards per punt with a long of 50.

Kick Returner: Armando Allen had three kick returns for 54 yards with a long of 24. Golden Tate had one kick return for 18 yards.

Special Teams: Notre Dame seemed to struggle on special teams in this one, relatively speaking. The return team averaged only 18 yards per attempt, and the coverage teams gave up 11.5 yards per punt return and 22.2 yards per kick return.

But as far as special teams go, the highlight came when Stanford returner Doug Baldwin was stopped at the 3 yard line late in the contest. Prior to the game, Baldwin came over to the Notre Dame Alumni Band pounding his chest and proclaiming, "This is war!" Because, apparently, when you're 5'11" and 185 lbs, the only people you can intimidate are middle aged bandos. But the band had the last laugh when Baldwin fielded a punt at his own 2, ran back into the end zone, then took it out to the 3 - and was tackled right in front of the same band members who were the subject of his pregame taunts.

Notre Dame 38, Purdue 21

Quarterback:In several ways, the sophomore outplayed the fifth year senior. Curtis Painter may have finished with more yards than Jimmy Clausen, but Clausen had the edge in completion percetage and touchdown passes. Perhaps more importantly, though, is that Clausen did not throw a single interception. Notre Dame as a team did not turn the ball over once against the Boilers. Clausen is also developing very nice touch on the deep balls.

Running Back: Curtis Painter had more passing yards than Jimmy Clausen because Painter attempted 20 more passes. That's largely because Notre Dame didn't need to pass as much; for once, the ground game was effective. Armando Allen had the type of game Irish fans had been waiting for - 136 yards on 17 carries, a 7.9 average.

Notre Dame was lucky to have depth at running back in this one. Robert Hughes, the leading man in several contests this year and last, was held to a 2.9 yards per carry average. But Allen and James Aldridge - 9 carries, 34 yards, 4.2 YPC average - were there to pick up the slack. Allen also picked up a 16 yard touchdown run.

Fullback: Mostly forgotten this year, Asaph Schwapp had some nice blocks in this game, and also made some cameo appearances at H-back.

Receiver: Golden Tate burst onto the scene in the first two games of the season, and now Michael Floyd is already trying to make fans say, "Golden who?" Floyd had his first career 100-yard game on a team-leading 6 catches. Tate added 5 catches for 64 yards and another touchdown. David Grimes came back from missing the Michigan State game to pick up 4 catches, 64 yards, and a touchdown.

Tight End: Seemingly the only tight end left, Kyle Rudolph is starting to get comfortable in the passing game. Rudolph had 3 catches for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Offensive Line: The line is starting to show some fight. The skill players are talented, but the grunts also deserve credit for 476 yards of offense and a 5.0 yards per carry average.

Defensive Line: Shotgun-friendly offenses have largely kept the defensive line quiet this year, but Pat Kuntz stepped up in this one, tying for the team lead with 6 tackles. No one recorded a sack on Curtis Painter, but Ethan Johnson and John Ryan recorded quarterback hits.

Linebacker: Maurice Crum tied Kuntz with 6 tackles, and Brian Smith added 5 of his own. Kerry Neal had the team's lone tackle for a loss, a -2 yard stop.

Safety: David Bruton also had 6 tackles. Bruton, Harrison Smith, and Sergio Brown each broke up a pass. Kyle McCarthy added 5 tackles.

Cornerback: Robert Blanton had the highlight of his young career, returning an interception 47 yards for a touchdown. It seems like opponents have largely avoided Raeshon McNeil, but he had 3 tackles in this one. Gary Gray and Terrail Lambert each added 4 stops.

Kicker: Brandon Walker missed from 31 yards, but made his first of the year from 41 yards. After Walker was congratulated by his line, Jimmy Clausen came off the bench to hug the kicker. That's just the type of leadership and togetherness you'd like to see from your quarterback and your team.

Punter: Eric Maust averaged 46.5 yards on two punts, thanks to a long of 54.

Kick Returner: Armando Allen was truly the star of the game, as he also picked up 105 yards on 4 kick returns, including a long of 36.

Punt Returner: About the only thing that didn't go well for Allen was his lone punt return - it went for a loss of 1.

Special Teams: Notre Dame's coverage teams continue to be phenomenal. Purdue's lone punt return went for 9 yards. On kickoffs, the Boilermakers managed a scant 13.9 yards per return. Mike Anello had 3 special teams tackles.

Notre Dame 21, San Diego State 13

Quarterback: Jimmy Clausen is still only a sophomore, and one whose development was stunted last year by injury and lack of protection. Early in the game, Clausen looked more like a backyard quarterback than a college quarterback, locking in on one receiver and directing him into space while himself scrambling farther and farther back. But when it counted, Clausen stepped up and figured things out. The quarterback had completed only 50 percent of his passes at halftime. But due to a solid second half performance, Clausen finished with a completion rate just under 62 percent (21 of 34). Clausen did have two interceptions. But the first bounced off of Duval Kamara's shoulder pads and the second off of his fingertips. Clausen deserves most of the blame for the latter, but not the former.

Running Back: Armando Allen and Robert Hughes each had over 50 yards rushing and about a 3.5 yards per carry average. That's nice against a tough defense, but not against a poor rushing defense with three linemen out. Maybe the Aztecs were just flooding the box and forcing Clausen to beat them. Hughes and Allen each had three catches, Hughes for 32 yards and Allen for 18. James Aldridge did not see the field in this one. According to Coach Weis, the offense wasn't on the field enough in the first half for Aldridge to get his reps, and in the second half the Irish went into their hurry-up offense, which does not include Aldridge. That could be an indicator of things to come for the running back rotation.

Receiver: Golden Tate has added at least three new patterns to his repertoire - the comeback, the slant, and the "scramble around while Jimmy Clausen does the same." While Tate didn't have much success with that last route, he did do well with the first two. Filling in for a cramped and struggling Duval Kamara, Tate became the offensive star for the Irish, picking up 93 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Tate caught the ball in space, in traffic, you name it. Kamara didn't fare nearly as well, dropping more passes than he caught (one). David Grimes added five catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. Interestingly enough, it was the 5'10" Grimes, not the 6'5" Kamara, 6'3" Michael Floyd, or even the 6'2" Robby Parris who was called on to catch a fade pass in the end zone late in the game. Floyd did start his Irish career off with a bang, catching a 22-yard touchdown for the first score of the season. Parris, meanwhile, didn't see the field in this game.

Tight End: Kyle Rudolph caught a pass for five yards in his Notre Dame debut. Will Yeatman, primarily used as the blocking tight end, added a catch for four yards. With the lack of depth at tight end, the passing game is turning its attention to the backs and receivers.

Offensive Line: Jimmy Clausen was never sacked, but it took a few ill-advised Houdini acts for that to happen. And against a poor rushing defense, the Irish were only able to gain 122 yards, 3.1 per carry.

Defensive Line: The defensive line combined for three tackles in this one, and that's only if you count John Ryan as a defensive end instead of an outside linebacker, as he's listed on the depth chart. Ryan, Ethan Johnson, and Morrice Richardson had one tackle each, and Ryan had a mitt on two passes - one that went to Kerry Neal as an interception. Johnson was making his Notre Dame debut. Hopefully the poor output by this unit was due to the fact that San Diego State didn't run the ball much.

Linebacker: Let's hope that John Tenuta was playing his cards close to his chest in preparation for the upcoming Michigan game. The much-anticipated blitzing schemes accounted for only four quarterback hits (QBH) and one sack, recorded by an untouched Maurice Crum. Crum also had six tackles, while Brian Smith contributed four tackles and a QBH from his new inside position. Harrison Smith and Kerry Neal each had three tackles, while Neal added a QBH and an interception. Darius Fleming debuted with a single tackle. Also, mild kudos to the coaching staff for making the halftime adjustment to actually cover the Aztecs running back out of the backfield on pass plays.

Safety: If you count Harrison Smith and Sergio Brown - who played a majority of the game as the nickel back - as safeties, the unit recorded 33 of the team's 56 tackles. Kyle McCarthy flew under the radar in this game, recording 14 tackles, twice as much as the next Notre Dame defender - David Bruton with seven. Bruton also had a pass breakup and the key forced fumble and recovery. Sergio Brown may have played his way into another start with six tackles, one for a loss, two pass breakups, and a quarterback hit.

Cornerback: San Diego State passed for 274 yards, and that number would have been well over 300 if it wasn't for a number of drops. Notre Dame played a maddeningly soft zone to start the game, and while their man coverage wasn't spectacular later in the game, it was an improvement. Terrail Lambert had six tackles and two pass breakups. Raeshon McNeil, somewhat surprisingly, had one pass breakup but no tackles.

Kicker: Brandon Walker missed a 47-yard field goal wide right, but on a positive note he had more than enough distance on it. A second field goal attempt was thwarted by a botched hold. Ryan Burkhart averaged 60.5 yards per kickoff, giving the Aztecs returner an average start of the 9.5 yard line. But some of those kicks were intentionally short directional line drives meant to prevent long returns.

Punter: Eric Maust may not win any awards, but he had a decent day. Maust averaged 39.8 yards per punt with a long of 50 yards.

Kick Returner: Armando Allen had two returns for 46 yards, with a long of 29. Golden Tate had one 28-yard return.

Punt Returner: Armando Allen had two punt returns, one of 13 yards and one of 22. The second one had a few nice cutbacks, but not every team will be beat by those kinds of tricks.

Special Teams: Mike Anello was playing with a new number (37), but the same heart. Anello was almost always the first man down the field on kicks and punts, and as often as his name was called, it's amazing that he only had two tackles on the day.