IRISH STING: Yellow Jackets Hold Notre Dame to Three

The last time someone held Notre Dame to zero touchdowns was during an NCAA 08 game in “Rookie” mode on their Xbox 360.

But led by Tashard Choice and his two touchdowns, the Yellow Jackets handed the Irish the most lopsided opening season losses in their very storied history and left the fans in South Bend wondering “WTF?!”

A trio of quarterbacks vying to replace the “Golden Boy" Brady Quinn failed to make any impressions at all. Starter Demetrius Jones lost two fumbles and just looked plain lost at times.

Next.

Then, Evan Sharpley trotted onto the field, only to be sacked seven times.

Next!

Weiss finally called upon all frosh phenom Jimmy Clausen, who looked good but still has a lot to learn.

The Irish didn’t just see problems at QB, it was just a case of mediocre play, and perhaps a comedy of tragedies, that proved to be the factor of the game. Choice broke a Georgia Tech record by rushing for 100+ yards in his 8th straight game. QB Taylor Bennett was solid, and a stifling Jacket defense shut down the Notre Dame ground game forcing the inexperienced QB's to be effective.

They were not.

While Charlie Weiss still has much to prove in his 3rd season as coach, Chan Gailey's squad made a statement that they are a still a force with in the ACC. In holding the Irish to 122 total yards while gaining 386 yards of their own, either GT is the real deal or it just may be a long year for Notre Dame.

GT couldn't have started the season in a better way. But on the other side of the field, it's not quite that nice. It won't get any easier for the Irish as they make a trip to Penn State next week. And with still no starting quarterback to pencil in, Michigan is looking like it might be the easiest early game after all.

—C. Nierman