Learning About Your Team

You learn a lot about your team when things are going worst. Case in point: Both of my favorite schools' games that were played on Saturday.

Notre Dame at Michigan State

The Irish ran on their first six offensive plays. They got seven yards. That's about how it went the rest of the game. ND's 2-0 start wasn't quite a mirage, but it certainly was not a sign that the struggles of 2007 were gone forever. When almost your entire starting lineup is freshmen or sophomores, crap happens. Jimmy Clausen throws dumb picks. Duval Kamara allows balls to be wrestled away from him in the end zone. Michael Floyd flat-out drops the ball in the MSU red zone. Armando Allen runs with a lack of vision that is almost shocking at times. Underclassman linebackers bounce off MSU's Javon Ringer like a bowling ball. The Irish lost 23-7 but were never legitimately in the game.

We learned: that Jimmy still hasn't made the leap. That for all the potential and talent that Michael Floyd has, the only legitimately unstoppable playmaker on the ND offense is Golden Tate. That Tate is going to be a legitimate national star very soon - that 3rd and 17 effort play to squeeze out of tackles 10 yards short of the first and get it anyway was unreal. That ND's offensive line still is not very good. That the Irish might not have a single running back that can truly get the job done.

The other one was a little happier.

Ball State at Indiana

This 'worst' was a little more serious than mere football issues. Dante Love took an inadvertent helmet to helmet shot early in the 2nd quarter, lost the ball, and had it returned for a score by IU that cut the Ball State lead 14-13. But things soon turned somber when Love didn't move. For a long time. He was immobilized and finally carted off the field. Turns out he suffered a cervical spine fracture and underwent a 5-hour surgery to correct it. He does have feeling in all his limbs and all indications are that he will not suffer any lasting damage from the hit. But he's done playing football.

The play surely put Ball State in a daze for a while. But barely two minutes later, Nate Davis - who is legitimately among the top dozen or so quarterbacks in the nation, any class, anywhere - rolled out under pressure from Indiana's defensive line. Heading for the sideline, he chucked a long ball - 45 yards in the air, that is - to Myles Trempe, the guy who replaced Love. It was right on the money. It was one of the most incredible throws I've ever seen anyone make. Davis makes it seem routine anymore. Touchdown Ball State. The Cardinals pretty much cruised from there, 42-20.

They showed guts and heart. They showed incredible talent. They showed a strong front four defensively and a stronger front five offensively, paving the way for MiQuale Lewis to crack 166 yards and 4 scores and bust into the Cingular All-America player of the week balloting. And they showed incredible poise. Ball State can go 12-0. They may not - but last night proved that they can.

You learn a lot about your team when things are going worst. Some are good, and some are bad. But you learn.