Pre-season
Coaching changes
Following the 2008 season, offensive coordinatorRoster changes
Graduating players
Senior safety and captain David Bruton was the only player drafted from the team, going in the fourth round to the Denver Broncos as the 114th pick overall. Five more players would sign quickly after the draft, including David Grimes with Broncos, Pat Kuntz with the Colts, Terrail Lambert with the 49ers, and fullback Asaph Schwapp and offensive lineman Mike Turkovich with the Cowboys. Defensive lineman Justin Brown and captain Maurice Crum Jr. also exhausted their eligibility.Transfers
Tight end Joseph Fauria transferred from Notre Dame to UCLA prior to the start of the season following an undisclosed University violation that would have sidelined him for the season.Recruiting
The Irish added 18 players to its roster with high school recruits. Included in the class were five-star linebacker Manti Te'o (top defensive player in the nation), four star runningback Cierre Wood, and five-star offensive lineman Chris Watt. The class was named No. 11 by Rivals, No. 14 by ESPN and No. 23 by Scout.Outlook
Award candidates
The following players were announced to award watch lists prior to the start of the 2009 season: * Armando Allen – Doak Walker Award * Jimmy Clausen –Schedule
Roster
Coaching staff
Game summaries
Nevada
Notre Dame beat Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault's Nevada squad 35–0 to give Charlie Weis his first and only shutout as Irish head coach. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen continued his efficient play from the Hawai'i Bowl victory the previous season (22–26 for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns), completing 15 of 18 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns. Clausen started the game by completing 10 of 11 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by a then career-long 70-yard pass for a touchdown to Irish wide receiver Michael Floyd. Clausen bettered that in the third quarter with an 88-yard scoring pass to Floyd. The 88-yard touchdown was the third longest pass completion in Notre Dame history. Floyd leapt over Wolf Pack cornerback Doyle Miller and kept his balance when Miller tried to pull him down at the 50-yard line, then raced in for the score. Clausen also completed a 24-yard TD catch to Floyd and a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph in the first drive of the game. Irish running back Armando Allen logged the other touchdown on a 1-yard run. He finished the game with 72 yards on 15 carries. The victory was Notre Dame's first shutout victory since a 42–0 win over Rutgers in 2002. The Irish defense set the tone early, stopping Nevada to three and out on its first three possessions. Irish linebacker Toryan Smith stuffed Wolf Pack running back Vai Taua for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 and also logged a sack. Highly touted freshman linebacker Manti Te'o also got in on the action for Notre Dame on his first play early in the second quarter. On third-and-15 from the Nevada 26, Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick took off and had some room but Te'o caught him from behind after an 11-yard gain, forcing the Wolfpack to punt. The Irish defense held Nevada to 153 yards rushing and 307 total yards. Kaepernick was 12 of 23 passing for 149 yards with two interceptions. Irish cornerback Robert Blanton intercepted a Kaepernick pass at the end of the half, and senior captain Kyle McCarthy logged the second interception of the day and the fourth of his career in the third quarter.Michigan
Offense ruled the day as the Fighting Irish were upset in the final seconds by archrival Michigan, 38–34. The 72 combined points were the most in the history of the Notre Dame – Michigan rivalry, and the game marked just the fifth time Michigan has scored 30 points or more against Notre Dame. Jimmy Clausen continued his impressive play, throwing for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns, but it was not enough to offset costly penalties (9 for 75 yards), questionable play-calling, and an efficient performance by Michigan freshman quarterback Tate Forcier (23 for 33, 240 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT). After Daryl Stronum's 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown helped the Wolverines to an early 14–3 lead, Notre Dame roared back in the second quarter, largely on the strength of Clausen's passing. Clausen threw touchdowns on successive drives—the first toMichigan State
Notre Dame recovered from its tough loss at Michigan by beating rival Michigan State for the first time at Notre Dame Stadium since 1993. The win wasn't sealed until Kyle McCarthy intercepted Spartans quarterback Kirk Cousins at the Irish 4-yard line with 57 seconds remaining in the game. Trailing 30–26 midway through the fourth quarter, Jimmy Clausen connected withPurdue
With the game on the line, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis put the game in the hands of his hobbled quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Slowed by a turf-toe injury sustained in the Michigan State game, Clausen engineered an 88-yard game-winning drive with 3:41 to go to give Notre Dame a 24–21 victory over the Boilermakers. Trailing 21–17, Clausen completed a 22-yard pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph to move the ball to the Purdue 32. After a Purdue forced Notre Dame into a 3rd-and-14. Clausen completed a 15-yard pass to wideout Robby Parris for a first down. A 17-yarder to Golden Tate set up a first-and-goal at the 4. After three plays netted two yards, Clausen found Rudolph in the end zone on fourth down for the winner with less than a minute remaining. Clausen played mediocre for most of the game, completing 15 of 26 passes for 171 yards, and throwing his first interception of the season. After splitting time with backup quarterback Dayne Crist, who directed two touchdown drives in the first half, Clausen returned to the game when it got tight in the fourth quarter. The victory was the Irish's third straight game decided in the final minutes. Kyle McCarthy had an interception at the 4-yard line with 57 seconds left to seal Notre Dame's 33–30 win over Michigan State the week before. A week earlier, Michigan's Tate Forcier threw a 5-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining to beat the Irish 38–34.Washington
Notre Dame defeats the Washington Huskies 37–30 at Notre Dame Stadium to give Notre Dame its 4th win of the season. Notre Dame stayed alive with 3 goal line stands resulting in only 3 Washington Husky points. Golden Tate was able to scorch Washington's defense for 244 yards receiving, 31 yards rushing and one touchdown. Notre Dame finally wins in OT and extends their record to 8–0 against the Huskies.USC
Notre Dame nearly caps off the incredible comeback against the trojans, but fall short and give up their 2nd loss of the season. Clausen and the Fighting Irish got off to a poor start in the 1st half, only scoring 7 points to USC's 13. USC continued their rout in the 3rd Quarter scoring 2 touchdowns and mounting a drive that would get the trojans a touchdown early in the 4th quarter, giving them a 34–14 lead over the Fighting Irish. However a surge by Notre Dame, led by Jimmy Clausen, who scored 2 4th quarter Touchdowns. 1 on the ground and 1 in the air to get the Fighting Irish within one Touchdown. Duval Kamara missed an easy touchdown catch when he tripped over the goal line, spoiling a chance for Notre Dame to tie late in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame had the ball inside the USC 5 and appeared to score on a pass to Kyle Rudolph, but it was controversially ruled incomplete and never reviewed and ND was unable to score before the clock ran out at Notre Dame Stadium giving ND the 34–27 loss to the Trojans. Notre Dame has not beaten USC since 2001.Boston College
Notre Dame notched its first victory vs. Boston College since 2000, outlasting the Eagles 20–16. In a game that had four lead changes, it was the Irish defense that came up big in the end, intercepting three passes by Eagles quarterbackWashington State
*Source:''Navy
Navy ends all hope for Notre Dame's BCS game goals. Navy Defense proved too much for Clausen, Tate and Weis as Navy caused 3 Notre Dame Turnovers and a 4th quarter safety to give the Midshipmen the win. Notre Dame was also unable to stop Navy's Triple Option Offense as Fullback Vince Murray ran for 158 yards with one touchdown and Quarterback Ricky Dobbs added 102 yards with one touchdown as well. Notre Dame loses to Navy for the second time in three years and the second time in a row at Notre Dame stadium.Pittsburgh
The Panthers cut short another incredible 4th Quarter comeback by Notre Dame at Hinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. Johnathan Baldwin got the offense going for the Panthers, making 2 tremendous catches and Freshman Tailback Dion Lewis, who ran for over 150 yards on the Irish. Notre Dame struggled on offense in the first three quarters, only scoring 3 points. However an offense sparked by Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, came back down by 18 with 13 minutes left in the 4th quarter to cut the lead down to 5, 27–22, but a controversial fumble call on Jimmy Clausen at the end of the game gave the Panthers their 9th victory of the season and gave the Irish their 4th loss.Connecticut
Senior day for the Irish is bitter once again as the Fighting Irish are downed by the Huskies of Connecticut. Connecticut staged an 11-point comeback to tie the game in regulation at 20–20 and would got onto win the game 33–30 in the game's 2nd Overtime. Charlie Weis' seat as the Notre Dame Head Coach has gotten even hotter after their loss to the Huskies and many believe this will be the last game at Notre Dame stadium coached by Weis.Stanford
After beginning the season with high expectations of a BCS bowl berth, ND ends their season at a once again, Mediocre 6–6. Notre Dame struggled to stop Toby Gerhart, who dismantled the Irish and made his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy even more possible. Notre Dame's offense was electric, scoring 38 points despite the Cardinal owning the Irish on Time of Possession. Jimmy Clausen passed for nearly 400 yards in the loss with 5 TD's and 0 INT's. A number of things weigh in the balance after the game; Charlie Weis, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate's future at Notre Dame and also whether the Irish will participate in a minor post season bowl as they end the season with 6 wins and bowl eligible.Rankings
Post-season
Charlie Weis entered this season with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses to Michigan and USC. Many of their wins were also close, aside from a 35–0 victory over Nevada and a 40–14 thrashing of Washington State. Sitting at 6–2, however, Notre Dame lost a close game at Notre Dame Stadium to an unranked Navy team, 23–21. This loss was the second to Navy in the last three years, after Notre Dame had beaten Navy forty three straight times dating back to 1963. Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick, when asked about what his biggest disappointment had been that season, took a long pause, then said, "the Navy outcome." While Swarbrick clarified that he would not evaluate the football season until season's end, he stated that "Up until the Navy game we were in the BCS conversation." The Navy game, however, was the first of a four-game losing skid, as Notre Dame followed up the Navy loss with losses to a top-10 Pittsburgh team, an overtime loss to Connecticut at home, and a season ending loss at Stanford. The week prior to the Stanford game, Swarbrick announced Weis would not be recruiting following the game. Weis was fired as head coach the Monday after the Stanford loss. Swarbrick announced that wide receiver coach Rob Ianello would head football operations, including recruiting, until Brian Kelly was named. Although Notre Dame was bowl eligible with 6 wins, the University announced on December 4 that the Irish had chosen not to play in a bowl game.Awards
* Biletnikoff Award :References
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