Same As It Ever Was

Notre Dame's win over North Carolina on Saturday was reminiscent of ND's other wins this season. The offense looked very good, and the defense looked good on most of its plays. However, the defense was plagued by a few big plays that marred the total effort.

With the exception of UNC's touchdown on a kick-off return, Saturday's problem stemmed from Terrail Lambert and the safeties. UNC repeatedly picked on Lambert, who was not physical enough to combat UNC's freshman wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. For whatever reason, ND's safeties were unable to help Lambert, which has been a recurring theme this year.

Offensively, Jeff Samardzija broke Derrick Mays's school record for career touchdown receptions, and Brady Quinn threw for 346 yards passing. Meanwhile, Ohio State's Troy Smith threw for a pedestrian 108 yards against Illinois, and he fumbled once. Both quarterbacks played against terrible teams. One threw for 238 more yards than the other and had one fewer turnover. Meanwhile, the other quarterback, is still considered to be the Heisman frontrunner.