18 Jan 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Can't Finish in The 4th Quarter!

Say it Aint so Joe! Say it Aint So!Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesI really wanted my first article on Bleacher Report to be about how great the Irish were.How Michael Floyd was on pace to break receiving records and how the offense hasnmissed Jimmy Clausen or Golden Tate who left school early for the chance to Seattle Seahawks jersey
play in the NFL (Tate recorded his first catch this week and Jimmy is slated to start for Carolina this Sunday). How Brian Kelly really is the savior and that Notre Dame fans can once again start talking smack with the Buckeyes and the Longhorns.But I canwrite my first article about any of that. The Irish sit here at 1-2 after a heartbreaking loss to Michigan State, which followed a one man beat down at the hands of Michgan QB Denard Robinson.I heard all summer long that we were going to see a team that didnhave anything to do with Charlie Weiss and his fourth quarter mess, a team that couldnfinish. But what we are seeing is just the opposite. In the first three weeks of the season, this Irish team has failed to come up big when itneeded, in the fourth quarter. They didnput the nail in the coffin against Purdue and the game was much closer than it should have been.Against Michigan, we saw a sliver of hope as Crist hit Tight End Kyle Rudolph down the right side for a go ahead score in the fourth, only to be sliced apart by Denard Robinson on the final drive. St. Louis Rams jersey
The kid doesneven tie his shoes!Although the call by Dantonio to end the game last weekend with a fake field goal was quite unexpected, coach Kelly said it best about his special teamers: "Cierre Wood has been put on notice that he'd better hit that thing with some enthusiasm, and we have some guys that quite frankly have got to do a better job if they're not going to find themselves on the bus. It's an effort thing, it's attention to focus and detail from our guys on special teams that we're going to demand from our guys."Not to mention, you have arguably the most favorite athlete in Notre Dame history, cool Joe Montana himself saying that half of the movie RUDY didneven happen! Is nothing sacred anymore?This week will be nothing short of a fist fight against an excellent Stanford team, who is averaging 475 yards and over 50 points per game, and a Heisman hopeful candidate in quarterback Andrew Luck. This will be a huge test for Kelly as the ND Nation is looking to him to get the program back in gear, and 1-3 is certainly not what they had in mind.We have Tennessee Titans jersey
heard the echoes saying Lou went 5-6 his first year. But I, and I am sure the majority of Irish fans out there, are sick and tired of the hey there is always next year mentality. We want to win and we want it now. Let's just hope those echoes are woken up this Saturday, especially in the fourth quarter.