SPORTSCRACK

THE JIMMY CLAUSEN ERA BEGINS

After Saturday's humiliating defeat to Georgia Tech, you knew it was only a matter of time before heralded freshman QB Jimmy Clausen got the nod. Today head coach Charlie Weis made it official: Clausen will start Saturday night in Happy Valley.

Reviewing the Irish performance, or lack of, against the Yellow Jackets I could only find a few bright spots. One was the secondary. I thought the collection of David Bruton, Tommy Zbikowski, Terrail Lambert, and Darrin Walls played as a whole the best for the Blue and Gold. Everyone else either didn't play up to preseason expectations or were completely overwhelmed by a good but certainly not great Georgia Tech squad.

The offensive line was atrocious and I think part of that was due to Weis' gameplan as well as the guys playing on the line. I can't fault Demetrius Jones with the loss because it was so painfully obvious what the play calls were going to be with him lined up behind center. Run, run, run. If I knew this you know Jon Tenuta and his defense could predicate on it. And then when you bring in Evan Sharpley and Clausen the calls were majority pass. While I know you need to pass a lot when you are getting blown out, it doesn't hurt to help develop young players such as RBs Armando Allen and Robert Hughes.

So anyways this brings me back to Clausen and the young Irish squad. This is a rebuilding year. Got that Charlie. Got that Notre Dame faithful. When you lose a four year starting quarterback who in my opinion was the best to ever line up behind center at Notre Dame then you obviously can't replace him right away. Throw in the fact the defensive line this year will go down as one of the worst in recent history because they are incredibly thin at the position and you can see a recipe for disaster on the football field. With that being said why not start the freshmen and sophomores?

Clausen should be the starter for the rest of the season. He is the most talented and is the future of the program. I hate to make comparisons but last year when Georgia was struggling they decided to give the job to freshman Matthew Stafford because he could learn better on the job rather than sitting on the bench. Clausen is in the same league as Stafford and I would much rather see the Irish develop as a team with a guy who will be the starter for 3-4 years down the road(unless prep QB Dayne Crist becomes the guy which wouldn't surprise me).

The same should be said with Armando Allen, Robert Hughes, and James Aldridge at the running back position. Let these young studs develop by giving them the majority of the carries. My blood pressure continues to boil everytime I see Travis Thomas and Asalph Schwapp get carries over the three younger, more talented players. As a fan I would rather see WR's Duval Kumara and Golden Tate catch the ball now from Clausen because I know in 2008 and 2009 those players are going to be special playing together because they developed during this "rebuilding" season.

Of course it probably won't matter this week against Penn State. Last year I attended the game up in Rock's House and saw the Irish completely destroy the Nittany Lions. This year I wouldn't be surprised if the complete opposite happens. I can cope with it as long as the freshmen and sophomores are learning on the job instead of watching 5th year seniors get unnecessary playing time.

Here is some video of Charlie explaining the QB situation from today...