I tried to make it about me and I failed.  Going into this game, I've been 0-4 in games where I've been in attendance this far into the season.  So I decided that I wouldn't attend the actual game even though I was going down to Purdue for the visit.  It almost worked, but there was something that was missing.  So this weekend, I'm doing a new plan.  Not only am I going to skip the game, I'm going to be as far away from the game as possible.  Good thing we're playing UCLA.  Google Maps projects it as a 2,087 mile trip.  I think I'm safe with this one - which is why I'm calling the early upset.  Enough about me and my (somewhat pathetic) superstitions.  Here's the newest edition of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly":

The Good:

Jimmy Clausen/Evan Sharpley - There is one side that says Jimmy played better and one side that says Evan played better.  I watched the tape again and Jimmy, to my untrained eye, looked much better and more consistent than Sharpley.  The good news, however, is that they both looked good.  Jimmy had a terrible interception and an underthrown ball to Golden Tate, but besides those two plays, he threw crisp passes with terrific accuracy.  I was shocked when I rewatched it because he was making some plays that even Brady had a tough time consistently doing it.  His slant passes were a thing of beauty.  Sharpley played well in relief and I'm happy to have him on the roster.  I just think that Jimmy Clausen is the better QB and will be the better QB for the foreseeable future.  You may disagree, but that's the way I feel about it.

ND receivers - Golden Tate, welcome to college football.  Mr. Kamara, welcome to college football.  Notre Dame's happy to have you here.  Those two true freshman showed us that the talent Charlie Weis is bringing in is top notch and will only continue to get better.  Not to mention George West and Robby Parris, two sophomores that played excellent on Saturday afternoon.  Golden Tate was the star of the show, grabbing three improbable catches including one touchdown.  I was talking to someone close to the team yesterday and asked how Golden was doing in practice.  He told me that he's only been on the show team for the entire year and that he only has one route that he runs - which is a go route.  And sure enough, there he was on video running straight down the field on every play.  The kid is going to be a player.  Kamara also impressed me, showing me that he can be just as good, if not better, than Maurice Stovall.  He blocked well on several plays and ran a terrific slant route that continued to get better as the game went on.  I'm not sure what exactly Purdue thought we were running.  Parris and West had their best games of yet and until Grimes got hurt, he too had some nice catches.  I really enjoyed what I saw out of these guys, especially in the second half.

Trevor Laws - Trevor, you are an animal.  While I was rewatching the game today, I told my friend that I felt bad for Trevor Laws considering he came back for his 5th year to play on a team this bad.  My friend remarked that he didn't feel bad for him since he's improved his stock so much.  And I guess I'd have to agree with that assessment, because his play this season should surely impress GM's and coaches around the league.  His 5th year might not have been as good as he thought it could be, but I shutter to think how much worse this season would be if he didn't return.

The Bad:

ND defense - I don't know if I'd call their play `bad', but they have seemed to be outmatched in every game they played in.  I have to applaud their effort in giving up the big play and their resiliency even when the offense continues to screw them in field position, but they gave up way too much on the ground and at times looked lost in covering receivers.  I was beginning to feel good about Darrin Walls until he showed on Saturday that he is little different from his predecessors in that he refuses to turn his head to the ball.  He might as well been wearing #15 out there.  We were able to force some turnovers, but got beat on the ground and failed to hold them on 3rd downs early on in the game.  We have a lot to improve on, but I think we can get it done.

Penalties - Dumb penalties, over and over again, that completely killed us.  Enough said.  I know this is a young team, but those penalties killed us and there was no excuse for them.

The Ugly:

"Special" Teams - I have never seen such a pathetic display of special teams in my entire life.  Two missed PAT's?  Seriously?  We're lucky there was a Purdue flag to negate the third attempt.  It's time to get someone in here that knows what the hell they're doing.  Take for instance Chicago Bears' coach Dave Toub.  He has turned the Bears' special teams into a better offensive threat than the offense and kicker Robbie Gould into one of the best kickers in the NFL.  How did Gould fare in college?  39 of 61 career field goals.  I'd love to see what Toub could do with Whittaker, Walker, and Burkhardt.  Something tells me he might be a tad more successful than Brian Polian.  Just a tad more.

Andre Ware - Andre Ware, you are the idiot of idiots.  I thought ABC/ESPN learned their lesson with the likes of Mark May, Bob Davie, and so on, but I was wrong.  Among the dumb things you said: (1) Evan Sharpley should be starting over Jimmy Clausen.  Wrong.  Jimmy played much better than Evan in my opinion, going 18-26 for 169 yards versus 16-26 for 208 yards (remember that Evan had a few huge/lucky throws to Golden Tate).  Jimmy had that terrible interception, but had some throws to Kamara/West that Sharpley could never make.  I appreciate Sharpley's play and will root for him if Clausen is not ready to go, but let's not make QB controversies when there is no reason to.  (2) You called a pass to Golden Tate as "throwing it up for the big guy to grab".  Golden measures in 5-11, 188 pounds.  (3) You stated that Willingham brought in all the great players for ND and that you didn't think Weis could bring in those types of athletes.  After two top 10 recruiting classes in 2006 and 2007, Weis currently has the #1 class in the country.  You and Tom Hammond should be relegated to Big 10 Network duty.

Andre Ware: `Rakes of Mallow' Idiot of the Week

Stay tuned to some (delayed) road-tripping recap!