This new "series" I'm starting is beginning to get depressing to write.  I was hoping that there would soon be more "good" than "bad" and eliminate the "ugly".  But I can't lie and sweeten up the blog, so I'll be as honest as possible.  Let's look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good:

Jimmy Clausen - Ladies and gentlemen, we finally have found our quarterback.  He wasn't perfect by any means, but there were a lot of positives to Clausen's play.  He throws a great ball,  both accurate and quick.  He was sacked a few times, but considering the line's play and the amount of times he was able to get rid of it, I can't really put too much blame in his hands.  He seemed like a quarterback with a purpose, a leader that the offense sorely needs.  Perhaps what I was most impressed with was his toughness.  We hear about him being this prima donna, but that wasn't the case at all.  He got up after every hit and was even getting on some of the wide receivers when they weren't on the same page as him.  Obviously it wasn't a perfect performance, but that can be expected for a freshman starting his first game.  Brady Quinn certainly didn't light the world on fire in his first start and just as Brady isn't remembered for that loss, Jimmy won't be remembered for this.  Even the PSU fans that were sitting next to me complimented his play (I don't think it was PSUMike...the ladies they were with weren't fat enough).

Corwin Brown's defense - Statistics probably won't back me up on this, but Corwin Brown's defense has been a bright spot for the Irish in the first two games of the season.  At the very least, the defense is definitely not the problem for our woes.  The fact is that the offense has let them out to dry and as a result, the defense has been on the field for way too long with terrible field position.  The front seven may be one of the under-talented squads we've put on the field in a while, but they play hard and don't make too many big errors.  The defensive secondary, save for the 51-yard play where Bruton made one of his few mistakes, has been very impressive.  Sophomore Darrin Walls might be one of the best corners we've had in awhile.  Tom Zbikowski still struggles, but overall we've looked pretty good there.  One of the things that impressed me this weekend was the inclusion of some of the younger defensive guys.  Our third down defense includes freshman Kerry Neal, sophomore Morrice Richardson, and Dan McCarthy and they all looked very good in their "playing debut".  The Irish will have to continue to get those younger guys some reps and I believe they'll start doing that as the younger guys improve and the season continues.

Look what happened to the Jets without you, Corwin

The Bad:

Special Teams - The only reason this wasn't "ugly" was because of the one good Tom Zbikowski punt return late in the game.  Otherwise, it wasn't much better than what we've been witnessing in the past few year's - which has been absolute crap.  I counted about 5 missed tackles on William's punt return for a touchdown, something which is completely unacceptable.  Our kick returns haven't been much to talk about either, despite the fact that we have two young playmakers fielding the kicks.  Every kick return is returned up the middle wedge with very few openings.  Do teams return kicks to the right or left side of the field or is that just in video games?  I certainly hope the coaches spend some time in what should be a very busy week on special teams.  We can't let Michigan score free points.

Charlie Weis' playcalling - I've been questioning Weis' playcalling ever since the middle of the 2005 season, but it reached a different level on Saturday.  We started off terrifically with his scripted plays but when PSU defensive coordinator adjusted after the first drive, Weis was unable to come up with anything to move the ball until the second half.  Three and out was the name of the game for most of the first half and it put the defense in a tough position.  I saw Geoff Price out there way too much.  Weis needs to let his players make some plays and needs to be much more creative.  I know that I'm a football mastermind, but I call what play we were going to be running on more than one occasion.  Even CW could call some of the plays.

The Ugly:

Offensive line - Where do I start?  This has to be one of the worst offensive lines in college football.  They are playing like complete crap and I hope our coaches are going to make them pay for such a terrible display on Saturday.  If we want to be realistic for a minute, this offensive line was destined to struggle.  3 new starters and very little experienced depth to be able to switch things up a bit.  But from what we've seen from them, they look like they're high school seniors playing Division I college football.  I'm not sure what the problem is, whether it's the players or the coaches, but something is not right when Jimmy Clausen is back there running for his life and the running backs are getting hit in the backfield.  PSU played pretty sloppy and yet we struggled to get anything going.  I was hoping to see some improvement from week one to week two, but it wasn't there.  John Latina better get this line to start playing better or else he'll be watching games with Rick Minter next year.

Travis Thomas' cheapshot - I did not see the play from the stands but I watched the replay and have to admit that it was one of the dirtiest things I have seen out of an ND player.  Weis needs to punish TT immediately.  Travis is a captain and this is not what a Notre Dame team does.  I would be okay with a one-game suspension - Notre Dame should hold itself to a different standard than the rest of college football - in other words, I don't think Travis Thomas on stadium clean-up duty is sufficient enough.

Some thoughts on the roadtrip to PSU:

*    PSU fans weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.  Sure, there were some a-holes, but for the most part they were pretty harmless.
*    For as harmless as they were, they were some of the most uncreative/unfunny individuals I've ever come across.  Someone told me on a bus Friday that "Rudy is a queer".  Hilarious, Mr. PSU fan.  What was more hilarious was the fan's response when I told him I saw JoePa tapping his foot next to my bathroom stall looking for some play.  "THAT IS DISRESPECTFUL!"  Delicious irony.
*    That stadium can be pretty loud.  They have about 30,000 more students to compensate for the rest of the fan base, but the rest of the stadium gets loud, too.  Notre Dame fans should look to PSU for some guidance on stadium noise.
*    That said, PSU should get rid of their jumbotron.  I think it's impossible to have a jumbotron without embarrassing yourself.
*    Penn State girls are pretty.
*    While we may have lost on Saturday night, our students dominated PSU in flip cup and in tailgating.  We are so cool.