SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Near the end of the first half of Notre Dame’s 38-3 victory over Washington Saturday, UW offensive coordinator John Pettas had seen enough.
He walked over to his starting quarterback and told him he would make a change. Redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell would take over in the second half.
“He missed some throws, wasn’t being real productive and had some balls batted, so we said that now’s a good a time as any to make a change,” Pettas said.
Paus was below average Saturday. Although his receivers betrayed him with four first-half drops, Paus had plenty of opportunities to move the chains but failed. Fighting Irish defensive linemen took advantage of Paus’ near-sidearm release and knocked down three throws.
Then Paus simply started missing. He overthrew receivers and couldn’t convert on third downs. For the half, he completed 10 of 26 passes for 130 yards. No touchdowns, no interceptions.
It had been a day of great hope for Paus, who grew up in nearby New Lenox, Ill. Many family members and friends came to see him play in this storied venue.
“Ideally, I would have liked to have continued playing,” Paus said. “But I know where the coaches are coming from. Unfortunately, it had to happen. I just have to go back to practice this week, practice my ass off and play like I know I can.”
Bonnell wasn’t spectacular, but then, he was caught in a position of Notre Dame teeing off on him, knowing that he had to throw nearly every down to have any hope of getting the Huskies back into the game. Bonnell was 7-for-18 passing for 93 yards.
“We brought him in for the second half to give him a few snaps in live game action,” UW coach Keith Gilbertson said. “We also thought he could give us another option with his running ability for our offense. I was impressed by what we saw out of him today. I think he did a nice job out there, considering the circumstances he entered the game under. The only way for him to improve is to give him playing time.”
Bonnell may well get more playing time. Both Pettas and Gilbertson said he would get a look at the starting position against Stanford Saturday.
“Of course,” Bonnell answered when asked whether he can move the team consistently. “I’ve been battling for the job for three months, since last spring. I understand the offense and there are some things I can do. Now let’s do some work.”
D-line shuffle: In order to find a combination – any combination – at defensive line, the Huskies shuffled people in and out all game.
At times, they had three true freshmen, end Greyson Gunheim as well as tackles Jordan White-Frisbee and Erick Lobos, in the game at the same time.
White-Frisbee, from Inglemoor High School, made the first start of his career. Lobos saw his first game action as a Husky, as did redshirt freshman tackle Brandon Ala.
The defensive line wasn’t the only place with new faces. Sophomore C.J. Wallace started for senior Jimmy Newell at strong safety. Newell has been bothered with a sore leg. Also, redshirt freshman Chris Hemphill saw a lot of action at free safety.
Defensive coordinator Phil Snow said it may be the trend in the near future to give younger players more playing time.
“We feel that down the road, those are going to be our best players, so we’re playing them,” Snow said. “I think they did some good things, but they got beaten, too. What’s bad is that so did some of our veteran players.”
Good news/bad news: One of the few UW highlights was supplied by wide receiver Corey Williams, who had a career-high five receptions for 72 yards. Those totals all came in the first half.
Unfortunately for Williams and the Huskies, he ran into a stadium wall in the third quarter while trying to make a catch and fractured his left wrist.
He’s probably out for the season.
Williams’ injury especially hurts the Huskies because of their desire to develop a secondary receiver to help ease the burden from Charles Frederick. Williams appeared to be the one to take the biggest step forward.
Frederick, by the way, missed most of the second half with a strained hamstring.
Huskies use three tailbacks: How bad was the ground game? The Huskies used three tailbacks in the first half and couldn’t get anything going.
Starter Kenny James had seven carries for 4 yards and a fumble the first half. He also fumbled in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman Louis Rankin saw his first playing time as a Husky and had five carries for 25 yards.
In the first half, Washington gained just 29 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Tuiasosopo hurt: UW fullback Zach Tuiasosopo was helped from the field in the third quarter after hurting his right ankle. He put zero weight on it in being helped off the field.
The ankle was X-rayed during the game. Tuiasosopo said he didn’t know what the injury was immediately after the game, but Gilbertson said there was a break in a bone.
Quick bursts: Notre Dame true freshman tailback Darius Walker made the first start of his career. He is the first freshman Irish running back to start a game since Autry Denson got the call against Florida State in the 1996 Orange Bowl … It was Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham’s first victory over Washington in six tries, dating back to his time as head coach at Stanford … Notre Dame has won all five meetings with the Huskies … Gilbertson had never coached against Notre Dame until Saturday … True freshman linebacker Trenton Tuiasosopo, a former Mariner High School star, saw his first non-special teams action.
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