Clausen can't jump-start Notre Dame offense

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The biggest coaching move in Charlie Weis' night came midway through the fourth quarter with his offense stalled and his defense battered.

Trailing by the eventual 31-10 final, the Notre Dame coach trotted out his hotshot quarterback for one more series, placing Jimmy Clausen in the path of a rampaging Penn State defense that would sack the freshman six times.

No, Weis didn't see a game in doubt. The Irish coach just couldn't let Notre Dame leave Beaver Stadium without some semblance of success, and that meant leaving Clausen in harm's way for a few more plays. Now Weis can only hope Notre Dame's season -- at 0-2 for only the eighth time -- will be better for it.

"I thought he really needed, for his own confidence, to be able to get a little action where something positive would happen," Weis said. "Just go try to score one time. Forget about trying to score three times."

But Clausen couldn't deliver that singular success, as his fourth-down pass slid off the fingertips of Robby Parris and into the arms of Penn State's Justin King. The quarterback who went 42-0 in high school was about to go down, not that Saturday night's rout in front of 110,078 sat squarely on Clausen's shoulders.

The freshman finished 17 of 32 for 144 yards and that 1 pick, failing to lead the Irish to their first offensive touchdown of the season. Only cornerback Darrin Walls broke the plane for Notre Dame, returning an Anthony Morelli interception 73 yards to stake the Irish to an early lead.

"I'm not doing cartwheels, should I say, but I can't say I'm displeased either," Weis said of his quarterback's play. "I think that (Clausen) wasn't the problem."

Instead, Weis can blame his running game, offensive line and special teams. Then he can get to Notre Dame's penchant of penalties after the Irish were whistled for 14 of them, including a personal foul on captain Travis Thomas for punching a Penn State player.

For every step the Irish took forward, they marched back in increments of 5, 10 and 15.

"It was miserable," Weis said.

That's difficult to argue after watching the Irish offensive line get carved open for a second straight week. Aside from the sacks, Notre Dame rushed for zero yards, meaning the season total still stands at minus-8. The line wasn't a helpless victim of incessant blitzing like against Georgia Tech; instead, it simply got beat off the snap.

The group didn't hold up well in front of the second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history, committing a false start on the first play and sprinkling in procedure and holding penalties from there. A holding call on Sam Young wiped out Notre Dame's would-be biggest play, a Clausen bomb to Golden Tate.

"I think we know what to do," said center John Sullivan. "I think we're physically capable of doing it. We're just not executing right now."

The same statement applied to Notre Dame's special teams, which allowed a 78-yard punt return by Derrick Williams for a touchdown and a 68-yard kickoff return by A.J. Wallace to start the second half. Notre Dame's defense held Penn State to a field goal on that drive, but signs of wear were about to show.

"As the game goes on, everyone gets a little fatigued," Walls said. "We hung in. We played tough today."

Weis couldn't ask more from his defense than holding Penn State to 295 total yards and netting 3 turnovers, including 2 Tom Zbikowski forced fumbles. Penn State won time of possession by eight minutes thanks to a Notre Dame offense that, after notching 3 first downs on its first possession, managed 2 on its next 10.

"Our offense needs to take that on our shoulders to set (the defense) up because they're playing really hard," Sullivan said. "We're in the game until the third quarter again because of them."

But a pair of Austin Scott touchdowns took care of that and left Weis to ponder Notre Dame's uncertain future. While there were signs of life for the Irish, the lack of an offensive touchdown for a second straight week leaves Notre Dame in critical condition.

"I think that we're not playing a complementary game," Weis said. "The state of the union that we're in right now, if we can't get any help out of the offense, it's going to be a long night like it was today."