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Wednesday, August 28
 
Significance extends beyond the field

By Bill Curry
Special to ESPN.com

For all his humility, for all his attempts to deflect attention from himself, Tyrone Willingham is indeed making a significant statement in the social progress of our country.

Why does this compute in a football game plan? Because the players are watching, and because they are remarkably sophisticated in matters of race, leadership, and the machinations of the power structure that dominates so much of the thought in our country. They know the real deal when they see it, and they know this deal and this man are most assuredly "real". They know it so deeply that it will affect their performance.

Game Plan: Notre Dame
Offense:
  • Veteran offensive line, you are the key. Take charge and take over.
  • Carlyle Holiday and any other QB that plays must develop an intuitive bond with receivers.
  • The running game must be good enough to get Maryland out of two-deep and playing the run with seven.
    Defense:
  • Corners Duff and Walton, you may be called upon to lock on and cover. You will bear the pressure.
  • Front seven must be prepared for the option. Safeties must be able to read the option and react to play action off it.
  • Get ready for a physical war - Maryland wants head-to-head matchups with you!
    Special Teams:
  • Kicker Joey Setta's uncanny accuracy is crucial. Be ready with a fake to use Setta's athletic ability.
  • Punter Joey Hildbold, your normal 42.2 yard average will be the most-needed field position yards in the game.
  • Long snapper John Crowther, Maryland will mess with you. Concentrate and get the ball back.
    Players:
  • You are Notre Dame. There is only one.
  • Ryan Grant and others who value the significance of this team, take that onto the field. Let actions validate words.
  • Expect a physical, hard-nosed sixty minutes. Match their intensity!
    Coaches:
  • Notre Dame has won 13 of the last 15 openers. There is a reason for that, involving staying in your players' heads.
  • First impressions mean so very much, especially in the heat of battle, and especially for your players.
  • Poise on the field is usually a reflection of what the players feel on the sideline.
  • Vince Lombardi reminded us Packers players in the mid-60s that football players do not mature like other people. He said, "That's okay, I like taking care of you." I hated hearing that, and viscerally disagreed, though I certainly never said so. I seethed, contemplating my perceived maturity with all the arrogance of the 22-year-old I was. Like so much of what he said, he was right. Like so much that I thought, I was wrong. Players then lived in a little cocoon, assuming much, examining little.

    Listen to Notre Dame tailback Ryan Grant on the subject of his coach. He said, "This is history in the making. I can say to my children and grandchildren that I've been a part of that." Grant and others in this generation have had neither the luxury nor the stupor of the cocoon. This bunch is aware, and they know they can make a difference. They can do the math on the number of African-American head coaches in Division I-A. They can do it better than college presidents and athletics directors.

    While acknowledging the above, understand that Willingham's gifts of integrity, focus, and personal commitment make him appealing to his entire squad. The players at Stanford spoke glowingly of his commitment to make them better men, better teammates. The remarks were backed by performance on and off the football field. Caring little whether he was first choice or tenth choice, this coach earned the Notre Dame job through merit alone.

    Some would ridicule the notion that social justice might play a role on the field. They would be correct if they were referring to the play between the white lines on Saturdays. When some 300-pound behemoth is knocking your fillings into the nickel seats with his forearm, it is extremely unlikely that you are going to resort to your sense of fair play and "doing the right thing" when you respond.

    Football is a cruel, demanding sport, and requires every fiber in our body to keep our composure, fight back within the rules and attempt to whip said behemoth. Where the sense of purpose becomes huge in a game like this is in the will to prepare. There are roughly 220 days of preparation in the offseason for a football team. What is one thinking about during that time? Those who think, work, and compete most effectively in those days usually win in the long run. I think Notre Dame has a distinct advantage in the preparation arena as long as Willingham is there. I think they enjoy such an advantage in this game.

    Across the field on the Maryland sideline will stand another intriguing character, Ralph Friedgen. Studies show that the group most discriminated against in this country is the overweight population. Whether or not that is true, it is difficult to remember the last really hefty head coach at a major college. As for Ralph, we could describe him as a "Two-seat purchaser" on some airlines, and maybe a "Three-seater" on others. While he has dumped 40 pounds in a fund-raising effort this summer, he reminds us all, "You know, I was a happy fat guy." The essence of the man is that, like Willingham, he is going to remain who he is, irrespective of outside influences.

    In an era marked by the hiring of offensive geniuses as head coaches, Friedgen labored in genius obscurity, constantly acknowledged by his peers as a certifiable wizard, yet passed over again and again for all the head jobs, even at his alma mater, Maryland. By his own admission, he gave up, decided to be a well-paid career assistant at Georgia Tech and bought a house on a lake.

    The big guy bought the house and the next thing he knew he had an offer he could not refuse from the one school he loves more than Tech. Eyebrows were raised, tongues wagged, and the purveyors of ridicule had a field day with everything from Ralph's girth to his reputation for being so hard-nosed that he would never relate as a head coach. From then to now has been so Horatio Alger, his erstwhile critics so silenced, his awards so numerous, that the "Fridge" thing has become a cottage industry. What does that have to do with a game plan? Well, players notice. They notice so much that it affects preparation.

    Game Plan: No. 20 Maryland
    Offense:
  • Ralph Friedgen, do not let head-coaching duties detract you from injecting some genius into the offense.
  • Have a plan for the absence of Perry. Have something ready if the ground game gets stopped.
  • Remember, Scott McBrien had 252 yards and 3 TDs against Notre Dame when he was at West Virginia.
    Defense:
  • Durrand Roundtree, you are the strongest - you must be the stoutest on the field!
  • E.J. Henderson must be kept clean to make tackles. Defensive linemen must occupy blockers.
  • Open-field tackling was poor in your bowl game vs. Florida. It must improve.
    Special Teams:
  • When Novak came on last year, you had the best special teams in the ACC. Continue that!
  • Brooks Barnard, let your dissatisfaction improve your sterling 40.4 net punt average from a year ago.
  • Notre Dame will have a well-planned fake attempt. Play fake responsibility.
    Players:
  • "Are you still in?" The big man will know after today.
  • With only 12 seniors, and six starting, senior leadership will be paramount in this setting.
  • Notre Dame will spread the field and test every segment. Play responsibility and fly to the football.
    Coaches:
  • Your best number from a year ago was turnover margin (+16). Coach it again from the beginning.
  • Use the Friedgen method to quickly determine which QB can win when the action is real.
  • Even your staff's experience doesn't account for this atmosphere without your having thought long and hard.
  • Last winter the Tampa Bay Buccaneers called. Ralph listened. The next morning he joined his team at 5:30 a.m. workouts, only to be accosted by the team leaders. "YOU IN, COACH?" was the question, one which he frequently asked his players. "EITHER YOU'RE IN OR YOU'RE OUT!"

    Friedgen smiled. "I'm in, lets go to work."

    Asked later what they would have done if he had equivocated, the players said they would have gone back to bed. Players notice and it affects preparation. The big man is in for the duration, and his players will be ready to compete when the whistle blows.

    This will be a good football game, but it is much more about questions than answers. Two fine football coaches with two sets of men who intend to get it done with heart will bring great energy. In the fascinating alchemy that is football, each gaggle of players must mold itself into a team each year. In this game the group that becomes a team first will win.

    It is impossible to analyze the game in the traditional sense, because Tyrone Willingham has never been the coach at Notre Dame, and Ralph Friedgen has never been a second-year head coach.

    Veteran kickers and punters mean good field position football. Good coaching staffs who bring hundreds of years of experience to the fray mean surprising execution, at least for long stretches.

    Maryland will enjoy the obvious advantage of a year together. Asked what remained of all the hoopla from last year, Friedgen responded, "It is gone, all of it. What does remain is confidence, something that was not here when we arrived." Confidence born of accomplishment is a catalyst in the formula for "Team".

    Will the injury to Bruce Perry doom the Terp offense that relied so heavily on him last year? Can E.J. Henderson, the best defensive player in America, hold up when he takes on blockers?

    Will the defection of Cory Jones, Matt LoVechhio, the academic woes of Julius Jones, the dismissal of Lorenzo Crawford, Donald Dykes, Abram Elam, and Justin Smith make the Irish so thin that they fade?

    Can either program find a quarterback in this era of the quarterback? If so, can either find or create one of those priceless assets immediately?

    Can one or both of the veteran offensive lines dominate the rebuilding front seven of the opposition?

    Will Notre Dame's awesome tradition and history of winning openers prevail? Can Maryland's newfound confidence overcome the Irish mystique?

    Can Willingham's magic as a head coach cancel out Friedgen's magic as a head coach? Which of the two smashers of the odds will prevail in this battle of wills?

    I don't know. But this I do know: The stands will be full, and the ratings will be out of sight. And when the dust settles Saturday afternoon in the Meadowlands, we will have seen something very special. In a real sense, everyone will win.

    ESPN College Football analyst Bill Curry coached for 17 years in the college ranks. His Gameplans for marquee matchups will appear each week during the college football season.





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