All three QBs see action in train wreck at South Bend
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Charlie Weis waited for Saturday to reveal his new quarterback.
Apparently he'll wait at least another week to debut his new offense.
In a game supposedly set to coincide with the second phase of the Weis era, the Irish offense bombed in a 33-3 home loss to Georgia Tech, the worst opening defeat in Notre Dame's 119-year football history.
For the record, Weis started Demetrius Jones, turned to Evan Sharpley and gave mop-up minutes to Jimmy Clausen in the blowout, although the 80,795 inside Notre Dame Stadium wanted a Brady Quinn return instead.
The quarterbacks' numbers dovetailed with the historic rout as they suffered 9 sacks, lost 2 fumbles and led the Irish to just 104 yards of total offense.
The display left Weis unsure which quarterback he'll start next week at Penn State.
"There's a whole litany of problems right there that we have to fix," Weis said. "We're going to watch the tape tomorrow and critically evaluate where the problems are and go about fixing them so that when we go to Happy Valley (to play Penn State) we are not having this same conversation next Saturday night."
Weis said he pegged Jones to start because the scrambler provided what he believed to be the best chance to beat Georgia Tech's aggressive defense. That meant Jones, who said he expects to start next week, ran an almost exclusively option attack during his six series, losing 2 fumbles in the process before getting the hook.
Sharpley scrambled less, but that doesn't include how much he ran for cover after entering the game in a 19-0 hole. Notre Dame had a steady diet of blitzes crammed down its throat during the second half as the Yellow Jackets sacked the junior seven times.
"I don't think anyone on the team anticipated how the game was going to go today," Sharpley said. "I think they had a great scheme. I thought we were well prepared for it."
Does Sharpley plan on starting next week?
"It's up to the coaches; that's not up to me," he said.
Clausen showed promise after the game had already spun out of control, completing 3 of 4 passes for 34 yards. Weis said Clausen's rehab from off-season elbow surgery limited him during camp and that the freshman earned the medical green light only recently. Weis didn't plan to play Clausen at all, but the blowout let the coach debut the nation's former No. 1 recruit.
But it won't matter where Weis turns at quarterback much if Notre Dame's new 3-4 defense under Corwin Brown keeps getting gashed on the ground.
Georgia Tech's Tashard Choice finished with 196 yards and 2 touchdowns, doing much of his damage on direct snaps. Weis said the Irish prepared for the gadget play, although his players said the Yellow Jackets used a different set than the ones they practiced.
"It was a little wrinkle that we weren't prepared for," said safety David Bruton. "All the little things to get everything set with the backs and linebackers made it kind of difficult."
The Irish defense held up early while forced to cope with Jones' fumbling and Choice's speed. Georgia Tech started three of its first four drives inside Notre Dame territory but came away with just 3 Travis Bell field goals.
The Irish were primed to force a fourth after a Taylor Bennett completion on third-and-9 came up short, but defensive end Justin Brown was flagged for a personal foul, triggering his ejection and keeping the Yellow Jackets moving. Two plays later Choice took a direct snap and bolted 22 yards into the end zone.
From the start of training camp, Weis preached that "tradition never graduates," and he bristled at any question that involved the term rebuilding. But after the blowout loss doused a season full of expectations, it's fair to wonder where the Irish go from here.
In fact, Weis was asked exactly that. His response?
"That's a good question."