Independents: Offensive line key to Fightin' Irish turnaround

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The mighty Southern California offensive lineman was inconsolable. The Trojans had just suffered a painful 13-9 loss to UCLA on the last day of the 2006 regular season. They were held to less than 20 points for the first time in 64 games. USC's all-but-official berth in the BCS title game was denied by its bitter cross-town rival.

In the middle of it all was the stricken player, whose name will remain anonymous for obvious reasons. He and his offensive-line teammates did not play particularly well that day. There in front of God, man and the media, the hulking lineman stood in the postgame locker room fighting back something close to tears.

Another bad season for Notre Dame and Charlie Weis is officially on the hot seat. (AP)

Charlie Weis wasn't there that day, but wasn't surprised to hear about the meltdown. The Notre Dame coach has seen the phenomenon before in the NFL -- 300-pound behemoths brought to an emotional precipice after seeing all their hard work flushed down the drain.

It's the last thing you'd expect to see from the biggest, smartest and most emotionally balanced players on any football team.

"It all starts with the offensive line," Weis said. "It's great to have all these imaginative ideas on how you're going to expand the offense. The first thing you have to do is make sure the quarterback doesn't get killed."

There is no record of any of the Irish linemen breaking down last season. At least after games. But there are those who will tell you the entire season for Notre Dame's line was one big hood-up, side-of-the-road, call-a-tow-truck disaster.

That line allowed a school-record 58 sacks, the most in the country last season and the most since the NCAA started keeping the stat in 2005. The NCAA's short-time record-keeping probably saved Notre Dame further embarrassment.

Put that in perspective: Tennessee, No. 1 in sacks allowed (four), saw its quarterback go down an average of once every 3½ games. Notre Dame gave up a sack every 14 snaps.

Irish honks can talk about the future all they want, but before Notre Dame can improve on last season's 3-9 meltdown it must get better across the front. The offense finished last in total offense, tied for second worst in scoring offense and was fifth worst in rushing. That's a bunch of road graders breaking down in the middle of the highway.

The good for 2008: Three starters return from one of the most inexperienced lines in recent Notre Dame history. The bad: Three starters return from one of the most inexperienced lines in recent history.

That's one way to look at it. One of the few certainties is that no one is certain what went wrong. Two of the starting linemen from '06 were drafted. Weis didn't trust then-freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen enough to change the play at the line of scrimmage.

Defenses could then bare their teeth, read, react and come pouring in. There were too many obvious passing downs. Clausen probably held the ball too long a few times. There were missed blitz pickups, certainly.

"They're all tied together," Weis said.

Notre Dame has to get better and tougher in the trenches. It was pushed around by the likes of Duke and Stanford (seven combined sacks). That last line of defense -- er, offense -- failed miserably.

"I've always thought that sacks were the ultimate team responsibility," offensive line coach John Latina said. "(But) bottom line they've got the majority of the responsibility."

Admonished, the line went to work. Junior right tackle Sam Young gave the offensive line's offseason a B+. "We still have to earn that A during the season," he said.

Young took it upon himself to become one of the leaders, adding about 30 pounds to become an anchor for a line that is still looking for one. No other Irish offensive lineman has started every game (25) of his first two seasons. In the offseason Young trained near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with several NFL veterans and soon-to-be drafted college players.

"We came back and we went to work," Young said. "I'm proud to say I was part of that. One of the great things that's happened over the summer is we've got five guys now stepping up. No one is going to have a perfect day every day."

Right now, ND would settle for a perfect day one out of seven. Every Saturday.

Offensive Player of the Year

Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, Navy: The Middies' first three-year starter at quarterback in eight years is the engine that makes the triple-option go. New coach Ken Niumatalolo goes into his first full season using Paul Johnson's offense to confuse defenses. Defenses know going in Navy isn't going to pass much. That's why Kaipo's 834 rushing yards -- in the nation's best rushing offense -- meant so much.

Defensive Player of the Year

Brian Smith, Notre Dame: Weis is going to use this talented sophomore all over the field. Smith will start at middle linebacker after working his way into the lineup at the end of '07. Smith announced himself by picking off BC's Matt Ryan and returning it 25 yards for a touchdown. This is Notre Dame's version of Jim Laurinaitis.

Predicted order of finish

1. Notre Dame: This is a tough call between the Irish and Navy at this point. The Irish will be better, but by how much? The offense was awful last season, but is it reasonable to expect it will improve to average I-A standards in 2008? If it does and the defense can hold the Irish in games, a bowl game isn't out of the question. If not, Weis is officially on the hot seat.

Poll Which Independent will have the best season? 5% Army   28% Navy   50% Notre Dame   18% Western Kentucky   Total Votes: 10210

2. Navy: Paul Johnson broke the Notre Dame curse then bolted for Georgia Tech having accomplished all he could at Navy. Not much will change in the short term under Niumatalolo. Navy still will confuse and befuddle with the triple-option. It will be up to a rather porous defense to show up in swing games against Duke, Air Force, SMU and, yes, Notre Dame.

3. Army: Second-year coach Stan Brock got smart and installed the wishbone in the offseason. The offense might be a dinosaur but it's better being extinct than a laughingstock. That's what Army has been the past few seasons.

4. Western Kentucky: As the Hilltoppers transition to I-A, they will try to keep intact a streak of 12 consecutive winning seasons. That's going to be tough with a schedule that includes Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia Tech. Next year they will be full I-A members and able to chase a bowl in the Sun Belt.