Parris and Evans need to step up to. There was no second option at wide receiver for Crist and Clausan for most of the game Sat.

One other thing I would add: be sure to continue to use Tate in various roles and formations. Get the ball in his hands early and often and keep the defense on its heels. The second quarter against Purdue should not be an anomaly.

Tate is now, by far, the most dangerous offensive weapon we have. Loved him in the wildcat last week. That needs to continue even with Clausen on the field.

I would add that Weis needs to be less myopic. When you find something that works, like the Wildcat offense in the 2nd quarter, do not change BEFORE the other team has made adjustments. Also, don't go for it on 4th and long with a 2nd string QB. Punt, pin them down, and give your defense a chance to defend on a long field. This isn't XBOX Madden.

Totally not XBox Madden. And not high school either.

Punt. Kick FGs. Stop putting your defense in bad situations with idiotic 4th down tries.

I would also add to the list of areas to improve: managing our timeouts better.

more tate. more paris. protect jimmy. can we talk about the 4th and 10 in the 3rd, at out own 40, with our backup qb, backup hb, backup fb,and best wide out injured. weis is an idiot and we're wining despite not bc of him.

the 4th and 10 was at the purdue 34, not the ND 40 and crist was sacked on the play. some people criticize weis for whatever reason, some people do so because they don't know anything about football, and some do it without even knowing what they are talking about

Charlie needs to stop outsmarting himself. Totally agree with the earlier poster who said that he finds something that is working then abandons it before the opposition shows an ability to stop it.

Penalties have been awful the past 3 games (Big 10 refs obviously part of this issue).

Clock management has been a problem at times and that really shouldn't be the case with Weis/Clausen in their third year working together.

The defense really just needs to tackle better. Blitz a lot, blitz a little, I don't care, and it really doesn't matter if you are missing tackles all over.

The running game looks awesome, love it.

Clausen made a huge step from last year, he is just awesome now.

Would be nice to see Paris, Kamara, and Shaq step up some more. I like Paris's hands, he doesn't seem like one to drop balls.

I would love to see more Hughes in the next few games , til Allen is 100%. I'd also like to see Rudolph get more involved in the offense. He is the key to the season with Floyd out.On defense the corners need to quit playing so far off of the receivers and maybe play a little more bump and run coverage so lb 's and lineman have more time to get to the qb

Locker will torch ND on saturday. Huskies by two TD's

Kumara needs to stop dropping every other pass.

DB's need to play up tight. They give up ten yards every play and that's where all the passes are going. Also Walls seems to be getting torced each game. Balnton and Gray should be on the field more.

Utilize Hughes and Rudolph more. Too many opportunities lost in the UM game by not throwing to our TE over the middle (see replay of 2nd/3rd down calls with two minutes left).

And if CW wants to go for it on 4th and ten from the 34, go ahead. Just don't run the ball on third and ten and put the backup QB in a bad situation.

Team will improve, but play calling and players need to step their game up a notch or two.

Charlie should have attempted a field goal on the 4th and 10. You have a kicker who's confidence is growing and who drilled a 46-yarder the week before. A 51-yarder was not impossible. Even if he misses, Purdue would had to start 10 yards further back than they did after the sack.

Would like to respond to a comment to the a previous NDN column. It was claimed that although OSU won the championship game that followed the 2002 season, because it was played in 2003, that was considered the 2003 chmapionship. I don't think so, nor do the lists I consulted. Nor did the Super Bowl played earlier this year determine the 2009 NFL champion, but rather the 2008 champion.

How are we "three in a row" at home? Last I checked, we are on a two game home win streak.

i totally agree about the criticism that weis was calling to spike the ball on third down. he continually makes dunderheaded game management mistakes when the pressure is on. any competant head coach would have been thinking two steps ahead when he called the run, the next play should have been in place as a quick pass with explicit instructions to the qb to get rid of it within 2 seconds and throw it away if necessary. then you regroup for a 4th down play if it was an incompletion. fortunately for Irish fans, another rookie coach choked under pressure and called a timeout.

I live in sec country but am a die hard irish fan . All of you need to stop crying and look real hard .Things are getting better. You just have to give things time . Fast improvment leads to probation . Yes alabama is winning but they are just one step away from the ncca hammer falling hard.give it time and let coach weis do it right.

I'm tired of hearing about Brian Kelly. What has he done exactly? Win games in a bad Big East, and get torched by any good competition out of conference.

Scranton Dave: You are describing CW.

More running, more Tate, more Rudolph, better tackling, better tackling, better tackling.