This was supposed to be the year. The year that the echoes were awakened. The year that Notre Dame made the jump back into our national college football consciousness. And the year the Irish began a string of BCS bowl appearances that made USC’s run in the mid-2000’s look like child’s play. The talent was there, the coaching was there, and as always, so too were the expectations.
This was supposed to be the year.
And it’s because of those expectations, that the Irish’s 23-20 loss to South Florida on Saturday was just so, darn upsetting. Notre Dame doubled the Bulls in total offense, had more first downs, and seemingly controlled the game from the first drive until the last. Unfortunately, they also committed five turnovers, including a costly one on the opening drive of the game. It gave the Bulls a 7-0 lead they’d never relinquish.
As much as things change, they stay the same, huh?
Either way, Saturday’s loss left plenty of questions, none more pertinent than who would be the Irish’s quarterback going forward. Dayne Crist was named the starter a few weeks back, but was unceremoniously dumped by coach Brian Kelly after a lackluster first half that saw him throw an interception and put zero points on the board. Backup Tommy Rees came in and nearly led the Irish to a comeback win, before the Irish fell by that 23-20 final.
After the loss, the only thing anyone really wanted to know, was who’d be under center next weekend when the Irish travel to Michigan. It led to a good old-fashioned quarterback controversy… at least until today, when Rees was officially named the starter Saturday. The announcement came at Kelly’s weekly press conference, and was first Tweeted out by the Chicago Tribune’s Brian Hamilton.
#NotreDame HC Brian Kelly: “We talked about production. Tommy was very productive in the second half, and he’ll get a chance to start,” Hamilton’s Twitter feed read at 12:10 p.m. EST.
After watching Saturday’s game, the decision was hardly shocking; quite frankly, it was the only move for Kelly to make. Rees was more poised and more productive under center Saturday afternoon, and had earned the right to be the starter.
Of course the most interesting question becomes this though: If Crist had such a short leash to begin with, why was he even named the starter at all? It was something that Allen Kenney and I discussed on the Crystal Ball Run podcast on Sunday, but seems worth repeating.
Granted, none of us are at practice, and don’t get the opportunity to see what Kelly gets to see every day from the pair. Still, just watching the Irish last year, it was abundantly clear that while Crist has the “look” of big-time college quarterback, it was Rees who consistently performed better when the bright lights came on. In his limited time under center in 2010, Rees went 4-0 as a starter (Crist went 4-4, and was injured in the ninth game of the season), completed a higher percentage of his passes (61 percent to Crist’s 59 percent), and threw for 12 touchdowns, with Crist throwing for 15, despite getting basically twice as many snaps under center. Yet throughout fall camp it was all but a foregone conclusion that Crist would be named the starter, a move which was officially made in mid-August.
Going forward, the question now becomes, “What is the future of Dayne Crist at Notre Dame?”
Crist’s confidence already seemed to be teetering, and as NBC analyst Mike Mayock mentioned in Saturday’s broadcast, he never seemed like the same quarterback after the Irish’s first turnover Saturday afternoon. Well, after being benched after one half of football, whatever Crist confidence Crist had left, must be shattered, right? More importantly, if Rees takes the reigns and leads Notre Dame to a win Saturday at Michigan, it seems unlikely that Kelly can, or would be willing to go back to Crist at all this season. Which begs the question, is the Dayne Crist era over at Notre Dame?
It’s tough to say, and for Crist’s sake (see what I did there?), this writer hopes not. Crist is a kid who has been through more during his college career than just about anyone in the sport right now. He took on a leadership role during the transition from the Charlie Weis era to the Kelly regime, and is someone who has also suffered two season ending injuries in the last two years. Simply put, Crist deserves better than this.
At the same time, it’s like Kelly said later in the press conference: Ultimately, Rees gives the Irish the best chance to win.
And that unfortunately, doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
For updates on late-breaking news, opinion and everything else in the world of college football, follow Crystal Ball Run on Twitter @CrystalBallRun.
Follow Aaron Torres on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
