#15 Utah at Notre Dame Preview

Well, this marks the last Notre Dame home game of the season. This will be the seniors last home game at one of the most special places ever in college football. Notre Dame will be facing a tough opponent when the #15 Utah Utes come to South Bend. This should be a great match-up for Brian Kelly's squad as they have had an extra week to prepare. Utah also got manhandled last week by a TCU squad who is trying to boost their resume so they can hopefully be in the Nation Championship talk. So, what is it going to take for the Irish to come out on top?

Utah is coming into this game with a record of 8-1, while Notre Dame sits at 4-5. So what can we expect out of Utah when they make their trip to South Bend? Well, their only big win of the season came in their first game of the season against Pittsburgh. The only other big test was TCU, which ended badly for them. Utah has a QB who is not lighting the world on fire. Wynn had thrown for 14 touchdowns, but also 8 interceptions. One stat that should not be overlooked is the fact that he has only been sacked 3 times. This is a pretty outstanding number which shows that he had time and can move around in the pocket to extend some plays. Utah has no lost back to back games since their 0-2 start in 2007, but coach Whittingham can't overlook the Irish.

Wynn is the leader of this Spread Offense attack that Utah runs. They also have 2 backs that almost split time right down the middle. Wide and Asiata have combined for 15 touchdowns on the year. Utah also relies in running the hurry up, and getting into a rhythm a lot like Notre Dame, and a lot like the 2004 Utes led by quarterback Alex Smith. Utah is average 41 points per game which is 9th in the country, but this number is skewed because of the opponents they have played. Overall, the Utes will be a great matchup for Notre Dame, and we should learn a lot about the growth of Notre Dame after this game.

Notre Dame also has some interesting intangibles coming into this game. With quarterback Dayne Crist out for the season true freshman Tommy Rees will now step into the spotlight. He showed some signs of greatness last Saturday stepping in for the injured Crist, but he also showed some signs that prove that he is still just a true freshman. He has had an extra week to prepare, which should be beneficial with his relationships with the recievers. Also, WR Michael Floyd should be playing at a higher level this week since he had an extra week to recover from a nagging hamstring injury.  Look for Tommy Rees to be looking for Floyd as his primary target and go to guy.

Notre Dame is poised and ready for a signature win under Kelly and this could be it. Notre Dame's defense will have to step up, and force some turnovers if they want to be in this game in the fourth quarter. The key for there defense is going to be stopping the run by pushing them inside, and not letting them get the outside running lanes. The Irish are looking to become bowl eligible so this would be a great starting point to lead them on a run for their last 3 games. According to Coach Kelly Tommy Rees is ready and up to the challenge. Lets hope Tommy Rees can get our seniors a well deserved win, and get the whole Notre Dame Nation a win that we can ride into the last 2 games of the season!!

LETS GO IRISH!!!