The locker room is supposed to be a sanctuary for athletes. As a corollary to “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” what is said in the locker room is supposed to stay in the locker room.
However, that might not always occur once you get on the field. Prior to last Saturday’s Notre Dame-Michigan game, a sideline report from ABC-TV indicated that Notre Dame junior linebacker Brian Smith taunted Michigan for starting a freshman quarterback (Tate Forcier).
This Wednesday, Smith said the report was half accurate. Yes, he was trying to fire up his defensive teammates by saying a freshman quarterback was not going to beat them. But no, he wasn’t telling Michigan that.
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Smith denies taunting the Michigan players prior to last weekend's game.
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“The stuff I was saying to my teammates, the Michigan players were 60 yards away,” Smith said.
In other words, it’s somewhat similar to the episode experienced by Irish head coach Lou Holtz prior to the 1990 Orange Bowl against No. 1 Colorado, a game the Irish would win 21-6. After a practice leading up to the game, a Colorado camera crew caught Holtz telling his team in a supposedly private setting that the Buffaloes were “living a lie,” and it became a cause celebre.
Likewise, Smith, who acknowledged last year that he talked trash on national television prior to last year’s 17-0 Boston College loss, thought no TV reporters were watching him.
“I never taunted Michigan (directly),” Smith said. “I had my teammates up and said some things to my teammates, but I never once went to Michigan and said something to them. I learned my lesson at Boston College last year. I said some things that were caught on TV that I shouldn’t have said — or make sure I wasn’t caught saying it —but ever since then my coaches told me you really can’t do that.
“I said some things to my teammates that people may have heard and considered it taunting when I never once said anything to Michigan.”
As for the setback itself, Smith refuses to dwell on the what ifs because the bottom line was the Irish did not finish when they had plenty of opportunities to slam the door.
“With all the things that happened to us, I felt it shouldn’t come down to that,” Smith said. "We should have played a better football game, period, where we could have won outright and not worried about officials, missed assignments, things like that.”
The junior said the team is trying to take a cue from last year’s Florida Gators, who were stunned at home by Mississippi last year but vowed to stick together, work harder than ever, and not incur anymore setbacks.
Smith even referenced to the 1977 Irish team that won the national title despite losing the second game of the season (ironically, also to Ole Miss). Then again, he might have received some aid on the latter from head coach Charlie Weis, who was in his senior year at Notre Dame that season.
Criticism is always rampant after an Irish defeat, but that’s when the blinders have to be put on and the concentration has to be maintained.
“You just do your best not to listen to them,” said Smith of the critics. “That’s why we play the game and they don’t. We know the things we need to do. There are a lot of people who think they know, but they have no clue.”
But because he knows the Irish football players are always under the microscope for whatever they do — just like in the warm-ups at Michigan — Smith said he has to maintain proper decorum when responding to critics.
“I lash out in a way that’s politically correct,” he smiled. “I can get my point across without having to explode or say something that I might regret. That’s one thing I’m good at. I can go ahead and tell you how I feel without saying something completely unnecessary.”
Knee-Jerk Reaction
Through the first two games, it’s clearly evident that junior Armando Allen is a different running back than in his first two seasons with the Irish. He is routinely ripping through arm tackles and no longer going down after the first hit while averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
After rushing for a productive 72 yards on 15 carries against a Nevada run defense that ranked among the nation’s best last year, Allen romped for a career-high 139 on 21 carries at Michigan.
It’s come to the point where Weis indicated that he couldn’t think of a down-and-distance situation where he doesn’t want Allen in the game. A receiver’s effectiveness is often measured by YAC (yards after catch). Irish running backs coach Tony Alford is also into YAC — yards after contact.
“A lot,” said Alford when asked how many yards Allen has picked up after the initial hit this season. “He’s doing all the things you want to see out of a back with the way he’s blocking, running and catching the ball.”
What has enhanced his skills this year? Allen said it came when he went back home to his South Florida home after the spring semester and watched tape of himself with his workout partner and former track coach.
“(We) noticed I didn’t pick my knees up too much,” Allen said. “I ran a lot of stairs in the off-season just to work on my knees, a lot of lower-body work. My high-school coach, he wanted to make it a natural thing in my running, so he recommended it to me.”
Four times a week for about an hour and a half, Allen ran the stadium steps at a local community college (Miami Dade). Combining the physical workouts with the increased knowledge of the playbook and where the defenders might be coming from, he has become a more complete back.
He’s taken just as much pleasure in watching the confidence of the offensive linemen grow.
“I got my joy out of watching them come back to the huddle with a big smile and saying, ‘Let’s do it again! Let’s do it again!’ ” said Allen of the running game beginning to find a rhythm and identity.
As for his 15-yard penalty at Michigan for his finger-to-the-lips gesture after his two-point conversion put the Irish ahead temporarily 34-31, Allen pled guilty about not knowing the rules.
“I honestly wasn’t thinking about it,” Allen said. “I was a little surprised (about the penalty) at first, but there was nothing I could do about it. I didn’t have any previous knowledge of it. But now that I know, I definitely won’t do it again.”
Jim-Dandy
The passing skills of junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen entering the season were well respected before he became the nation’s No. 3 pass efficiency leader through two games this season. Chances are he’ll be near the top all year.
Maybe even more importantly, Clausen is “getting it” as far as comporting himself as a leader and a representative of Notre Dame. According to Doug Karsch, a radio personality in Detroit, Clausen’s actions after the 38-34 loss at Michigan spoke volumes. Karsch relayed to TheWolverine.com what he witnessed after the game:
"One thing I saw that maybe people wouldn't have noticed is that when the game ended, [Jimmy] Clausen walked over to (Michigan quarterback Tate) Forcier, and while Forcier was being interviewed by ESPN, stood there by himself while his teammates went up the tunnel, Michigan players celebrating all around him.
"He patiently waited for Forcier to finish the interview, and then congratulated the kid, and said, 'That was a great throw and a great drive. I wish it would have worked out differently, but that was a great throw and a great drive.'
"I thought it was a really, really classy move. They're both California kids, and I guess they go back a ways, but I was pretty impressed with that. Imagine being on the losing end of that game — it had to be devastating."
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