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It's youth vs. youth
UNC defense will focus on Clausen, Irish quarterback
AP File Photo
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame has thrown 12 touchdown passes and been intercepted six times this season.
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Published: October 11, 2008
The most storied program in college football will make a rare visit to Chapel Hill today to take on North Carolina in a meeting of young teams getting better and growing more confident every week.
Resurgent Notre Dame will be North Carolina's opponent in Kenan Stadium at 3:30. Both teams are 4-1 heading into a game that will match North Carolina's swarming secondary against one of the nation's top passing attacks, led by quarterback Jimmy Clausen.
The Tar Heels will be trying to increase its winning streak to three games under quarterback Cameron Sexton and protect their new national ranking in their last game of the season outside the ACC.
"I think people are paying attention to us for good reason because we're playing well," Sexton said. "We intend to keep that going. It's rewarding to see the hard work paying off. We've got some momentum going that we need to build on, too."
The Fighting Irish last played in Kenan Stadium in 1975. The Tar Heels led for most of the game, but a young quarterback named Joe Montana came off the bench for Notre Dame in the fourth quarter with six minutes left to lead two touchdown drives for a 21-14 win.
This will be the first time in 18 games between the programs in which The Tar Heels are ranked and the Irish aren't. Notre Dame has never won four of its first five games and not been ranked.
Coach Butch Davis of the Tar Heels said no one should be fooled by the national polls' exclusion of the Irish.
"Any time you get ready to play against Notre Dame you know that you're going to face a team that's got an awful lot of talented athletes," Davis said. "They're always at or near the very top of recruiting every single year, probably for the last 25 or 30 years.
"This football team is certainly no different."
Sexton, a junior, has helped the Tar Heels the past two weeks by filling in for starter T.J. Yates, who is out with a broken ankle, by passing for 359 yards and three touchdowns in wins at Miami and against Connecticut at home. He will start for the second consecutive game.
The one constant of the Tar Heels' season, however, has been the alert play of the secondary. The Tar Heels have 12 interceptions, the most in the nation, and one more than they had all last season.
Safety Trimane Goddard is tied for the national lead in interceptions with four. He is the only senior among the 10 players the Tar Heels use at cornerback and safety. Eight defensive players have interceptions.
Davis said that the young secondary has benefitted from all its members playing last season. He said he's also confident that the secondary hasn't faced an opponent with as sophisticated and lethal a passing attack as Notre Dame's.
"No question about it, absolutely," Davis said. "They know what they're doing throwing the football and they've got people that can execute it. They've got a big, massive, powerful offensive line that doesn't give up much pressure. They've got a quarterback that's got a live arm and there's not a throw on the field that he can't make."
Clausen has started his sophomore season by passing for 1,248 yards. He has completed 104 of 171 passes. He has 12 touchdown passes and has been intercepted six times. In last week's win against Stanford he passed for 347 yards, a career high, and three touchdowns.
Coach Charlie Weis said the critical moment in Clausen's career came not three games ago when Notre Dame went to a no-huddle offense in the second half against Michigan State in a 23-7 loss, but last season when he was benched for poor play.
Notre Dame has talented receivers and backs but Weis said that Clausen deserves almost all of the credit for getting them in the right positions and delivering the ball at the proper times.
Notre Dame will huddle after dead balls and penalties, but usually will line up quickly and wait for the play to be signaled in from the sideline.
"In this offense that we've been running the last few weeks, really the burden is all on the quarterback," Weis said. "You have to make good, quick decisions and you have to be an accurate passer, not just in the throwing game but also the running game. You have to make a decision based on what you've seen out there.
"In the last two and half games where we've really went sort of to this mentality he's done a very, very nice job. I don't know if it's just the no-huddle that fits him best. I think it's spreading out and making the defense spread out that seems to play into his strengths."
Clausen has five receivers who are averaging at least 22 yards in receptions each game. Golden Tate is the top threat and is averaging 79.4 yards.
Tate leads Notre Dame in receiving yards at 397 and in catches at 23. He is tied for the team lead in touchdowns at three. Clausen has used his receivers to complete 60.8 percent of his passes.
Weis is aware of North Carolina's interception total, three of which came against Rutgers' senior quarterback, Mike Teel. Weis is confident that Clausen will have to have his best performance of the season today, given North Carolina's knack of creating turnovers.
"What he's going to need to do this week is he's going to have to be patient," Weis said. "That's a little different. That's when you really challenge a young quarterback. Will he be patient enough to take what they give you rather than want to sling it down the field on every play?"
Linebacker Bruce Carter of North Carolina said that the most important matter for his team is the defensive line pressuring Clausen and making him feel uncomfortable on every pass play.
"He has a terrific arm and he throws the ball real good," Carter said. "But I think if our D-line gets good pressure we should try to rattle him a little bit."
Weis has addition concerns. At the top of the list is one name: Brandon Tate, the Tar Heels' kickoff and punt returner. Tate ranks third nationally in all-purpose yardage with an average of 194.6. Miami and Connecticut generally kicked and punted away from Tate.
"This guy is a problem," Weis said. "He is a problem. And kicking away from Tate is no bargain because you're kicking to (Hakeem) Nicks and he's pretty darn good as kickoff returner, too."
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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