Print Edition of The Observer for Monday, September 5, 2016

strong-armed

Irish defense gives up 50 points to Texas as Notre Dame stumbles out of the gates in 2016

Kelly’s mistakes cost Notre Dame season opener

Alex Carson Assistant managing Editor

AUSTIN, Texas — Notre Dame deserved to lose that game.

Not because they played worse than Texas — they didn’t — or because they had inferior talent. but because Irish head coach brian Kelly staked himself on two calls, neither of which paid off.

Kelly didn’t have to go for a twoquarterback system, especially not one without well-defined roles for either player. on the surface, senior malik Zaire would’ve been a good choice, and we know junior DeShone Kizer was good enough to get the job done.

Though from seeing what we saw from the two quarterbacks Sunday night, it’s hard to see why Kelly wouldn’t have seen separation in the build-up to the season opener.

but in the grand scheme, the plan could have had some merit. If you wanted to run with the hot hand, I could’ve gotten behind that. If you wanted to define

By ALEX CARSON Assistant managing Editor

AUSTIN, Texas — Despite trailing 31-14 early in the third quarter, the win was right there for No. 10 Notre Dame. one more score, one more stop, one more big play. That’s all the Irish needed to avoid an upset loss on the opening night of their season. but instead of the Irish getting that stop, or getting that score, it was the host Longhorns who executed down the stretch, winning a 50-47 double-overtime thriller Sunday night at Darrell K. royal–Texas memorial Stadium. on the strength of junior quarterback DeShone Kizer and a re-emergence from the Irish defense, Notre Dame (01) held a 35-31 lead as Texas (1-0) took over on its own 32-yard line after a shanked, 24-yard punt by Irish junior Tyler Newsome. Not even two minutes later, the Longhorns had taken the lead back, 37-35, when junior running D’onta Foreman back scored from 19 yards out after an eight-play, 68-yard drive. There was, of course, another twist on hand, when Irish graduate student defensive lineman Jarron Jones blocked

Longhorns senior kicker Trent Domingue’s extra-point attempt. Irish sophomore cornerback Shaun crawford scooped up the loose ball and ran it back for two points, knotting the game at 37-37 with 3:29 to go.

“I was kind of hesitant at first, but just great preparation — [coach Scott booker] does a great job with special teams, talking about scoring on special teams, and I just saw the opportunity and it was a great one,” crawford said of the score.

Kizer and Notre Dame had a chance to have the final word on the game, but the Irish settled for a three-and-out. Thanks in part to a chop block penalty against the Longhorns on the ensuing drive, overtime beckoned in Austin.

Neither team took long to score in that first overtime period. Senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who pounded the Irish defense for three rushing touchdowns in a limited role, scored from three yards out on the Longhorns’ fourth play of the overtime period, while a Kizer-to-sophomore receiver c.J. Sanders screen pass developed into a touchdown on Notre Dame’s first overtime play from scrimmage.

The Irish didn’t find it so easy in the second overtime, though. on third-and-7, Kizer threw high when aiming for freshman receiver Kevin Stepherson, forcing Notre Dame to settle for a 39-yard field goal from sophomore Justin Yoon.

Five plays later, the 102,315-strong record crowd erupted as Swoopes broke through from six yards out to give the host Longhorns the upset victory.

Keeping the ball on the ground with Swoopes in the Longhorns’ “18-wheeler” formation was a key part of Texas head coach charlie Strong’s strategy for a win Sunday.

“At the end with the last session with Swoopes, I said, ‘Listen, we’re not throwing the ball. We’re going to line up and we’re going to let 18-wheeler just run over people,’” Strong said.

While it ended as poorly as it could have for the Irish, the game started about as well as Notre Dame could have hoped, with Kizer leading a six-play, 78-yard touchdown drive inside the game’s first three minutes. The drive was highlighted by a 54-yard rush by senior running back Tarean

Defense leaves lots of unanswered questions

By ZACH KLONSINSKI Assistant managing Editor

AUSTIN, Texas — In a game where Notre Dame entered with its biggest question on offense, it left with the same tired questions on defense.

Yes, sophomore defensive back Shaun crawford made what — had Notre Dame won — would have been the biggest play of the night, intercepting Texas freshman quarterback Shane buechele and setting up Notre Dame’s touchdown that brought the game within three, 31-28, midway through the third quarter.

And yes, the defense held Texas scoreless for nearly 20 minutes in the third and fourth quarters while its offense dug out of a 17-point hole to take the lead. but Notre Dame’s defense is far from championship caliber. When it came to crunch time late in the fourth quarter and into overtime, it barely offered resistance.

The Longhorns were a blocked extra point return away from

Kick-It for Kevin raises money for cancer

Sorin College’s annual kickball

By KATIE GALIOTO News Editor

Senior Ethan holland walked out the back door of Sorin c ollege on Saturday morning in pursuit of a single goal: a victory in the dorm’s annual Kick-It For Kevin kickball tournament.

holland, a resident assistant in Sorin, was part of the h all Staff team, competing against 18 other teams for bragging rights and the coveted kickball champion title. he and his team advanced to the quarterfinals, where they faced off against a team of Sorin juniors.

After five extra innings, the h all Staff team lost a heartbreaker by a single run.

“The one missing piece from my resume is a Kick-It

tournament brings in $6,380 for pediatric cancer research

for Kevin title,” holland, who is set to graduate this spring, said.

This year marked the seventh annual charity kickball tournament, the dorm’s signature event started to honor Kevin healey, a former resident and member of the class of 2011 who died from brain cancer in 2009.

Each year, Sorin partners with Kick-It, a national organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research. The o hio-based nonprofit helps sponsor charity kickball tournaments across the country.

“Kick-It for Kevin is one of the pillars of what makes Sorin great,” holland said.

“It’s great because we’re

see KEvIN paGe 4

Students attend canonization of Mother Teresa

By EMILY McCONVILLE Associate News Editor

on Sunday, mother Teresa of calcutta, the nun who gained international fame for her ministry to the poor and sick, was officially recognized as a catholic saint.

Thousands packed St. peter’s Square in rome for the canonization mass with pope Francis — including about 35 Notre Dame students, just beginning their study-abroad programs.

Junior morgan paladino, the student minister for the fall semester in rome, said the group arrived at 4:45 a.m. for the 10:30 a.m. mass.

“It was a lot of waiting that didn’t really feel that long because of the camaraderie of being there, sitting on the ground together, some people sleeping, some people talking, all just excited for what was to come,” paladino said in a Facebook message.

In hand were tickets paladino had requested for the group from the m issionaries of c harity in rome. mother Teresa founded the religious order in Kolkata, India — formerly calcutta — in 1950 after feeling called to serve the poor there.

o ver the next several decades she traveled around the world, founding m issionaries of c harity houses and speaking against poverty and abortion. her many trips to the United States included a visit to Saint mary’s in 1974, according to the Notre Dame campus m inistry website.

critics questioned the quality of her order’s medical care and her philosophy of suffering, but she became an icon of ministry to the poor. After she died in 1997, pope John paul II sped up the customary canonization process, allowing her to become a saint just 19 years

see SAINT paGe 4

Campus Ministry hosts multicultural retreats

By MEGAN VALLEY News Writer

m ore than 200 first years from Notre Dame, Saint m ary’s and h oly c ross attended the three multicultural freshman retreats offered by c ampus m inistry in the first two weeks of classes: the Asian/

Asian American Freshman Fall r etreat, the Latino Freshman r etreat and the African American Freshman r etreat better known as “The p lunge.”

Although the three retreats cater to different demographics, student leaders for each said their purpose was to foster community

and cultural identity.

“[The Asian/Asian American Freshman retreat is] one of the first retreats of the year and a lot of freshmen are still struggling to find their place,” sophomore Sid m agdaong, the Asian American Association

see rETrEAT paGe 4

mental illness awareness week begins at Smc

By SYDNEY DOYLE News Writer

Support a belle, Love a belle (SA bLA b ) kicks off monday at Saint mary’s, beginning a week of events dedicated to educating students about and offering support for mental illnesses.

The Student g overnment Association c ommittee of

Social c oncerns chair Emma Lewis said this week centered around the idea of students helping their fellow classmates face the challenges that come with being diagnosed with a mental illness.

“It’s about overcoming the stereotypes and stigmas associated with mental illness,” Lewis said.

SA bLA b week will open up

with a student-led panel of “brave belles.” Students participating in the panel will speak about their experiences with mental illness.

o n Wednesday, the c ommittee of Social c oncerns will host “positivi-tea,” where students can enjoy tea, cookies and snacks with their

see SAbLAb paGe 3

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Policies

Have

Max

Joe Calce freshman Zahm house “gryffindor.”

Lane

Andy Lessard sophomore Zahm house “Slytherin, a.k.a. Zahm house.”

Tierney Vrdolyak junior breen-phillips hall “gryffindor.”

Karina Fernandez sophomore breen-phillips hall “ravenclaw.”

The observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. We do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. If we have made a mistake, please contact us at (574) 631-4541 so we can correct our error.

Justice Friday highlights Syrian refugee crisis

By ALLISON SANCHEZ News Writer

Dedicated to raising awareness of social justice topics, Saint m ary’s first Justice Friday of the school year focused on an increasingly widespread humanitarian issue that has forced countries to reconsider immigration policy: the Syrian refugee crisis.

Led by senior c aylin m c c allick, the discussion began by tracing the origins of the crisis.

“A few citizens put rebellious graffiti on a wall,” m c c allick said. “They were promptly pushed down by those who agreed with the Syrian government and, in turn, more peaceful protests started in solidarity with this event until eventually, a civil

war broke out.”

m c c allick said surrounding countries and terrorist groups took part in this civil war as time went on.

“ b oth the rebel groups and the government have been accused of war crimes by the U.N., including things like murder, rape, torture and forced disappearances,” she said.

m c c allick said terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) offered the people of Syria protection for themselves and their family in a time when citizens felt desperate and hopeless, allowing the group to grow in the region.

“A group like IS could easily thrive in an environment that was suffering as badly as Syria was because you have turmoil, politics, fighting,

bloodshed and people dying,” m c c allick said.

As the conflict intensified, many Syrian citizens fled the country, becoming refugees, she said. A refugee is defined as someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons such as their race, religion or nationality, according to m c c allick.

“They are people who are very much struggling and if they go back to their country, they won’t be safe,” m c c allick said.

While countries have struggled to accommodate this influx of refugees, m c c allick said the United States has been one of the strongest supporters in providing aid for Syrian refugees.

pAID A Dv E rTISE m ENT

“The U.S. has given $4.5 billion in aid and this year we expect to admit around 7,000 refugees,” she said.

m c c allick said refugees currently undergo a more rigorous screening process than anyone else allowed entry into the United States, but that many states are worried there is not a strong enough vetting process to allow refugees into the country without endangering American citizens.

“It’s a valid concern — we are worried about national security,” m c c allick said.

“There’s always problems with every process and it’s worth looking at [it] again, because this is a large group of people.”

h owever, junior m organ m atthews said the refugee crisis is a problem without a

clear solution.

“It’s very hard to say we should or shouldn’t [do something] without being properly educated on the subject matter,” she said. “It’s not like you can have just a surface-level knowledge, you have to understand the deep core of the situation before forming a viable opinion.”

m c c allick said as a college student, the refugee crisis can feel like a distant problem, but it is nevertheless important to take action.

“It’s important to do research and vote on who you think has a comprehensive plan surrounding the refugee crisis,” m c c allick said. “We need to stand up for the sake of people who are suffering.”

Contact Allison Sanchez at asanch01@saintmarys.edu peers.

Friday is “playtime with p uppies,” with therapy dogs from The humane Society coming to Library green. There will also be a stress relief gift basket raffle at 5 p.m. in the Smc Student c enter atrium. Students who attended all events will receive tickets in order to be entered to win, and all proceeds from the raffle will go to the To Write Love o n her Arms Foundation.

Saturday is World Suicide p revention Day and the Le mans bell tower on campus will be lit up green in support of suicide prevention efforts.

The week will conclude Sunday evening with “Sundaes on Sunday.” Students are invited to grab an ice cream sundae from 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m in vander vennet Theater.

Dakota hartz, a member of the c ommittee of Social c oncerns, said she is excited for the week’s events as it is important to raise awareness about mental illness, especially with its prevalence among college students.

“When you are suffering from a mental illness, talking to someone who understand you is so important,” hartz said. “This week is about getting support from those who understand, rather than being simply told that it’s okay.”

Lewis said she is happy that these events provide opportunities for students to ask questions and generate conversations about the mental illnesses that are affecting their fellow classmates.

“I genuinely hope that this week can, even in some small way, positively impact the lives of students,” Lewis said.

Contact Sydney Doyle at sdoyle01@saintmarys.edu

retreat

coNTINUED F rom pAgE 1 later.

The Notre Dame group — composed partly of students attending John c abot University in r ome, partly of third-year architecture students and partly of those visiting from the Dublin program — was among the first inside the square, where a giant portrait of the soon-to-be-saint was set up. They introduced themselves to the people around them: p aladino and her friend met a woman who said she worked for UNIc EF and had met mother Teresa several times.

“It was such a new perspective — to hear someone iconic and revered described as a personality one might encounter at a United Nations meeting,” p aladino said.

As the m ass began, the students watched p ope Francis emerge into the square. As is the case for many St. p eter’s services, the m ass included segments in multiple languages, including b egali

and Albanian (the newlySaint Teresa was ethnically Albanian), as well as Italian, Latin and English. The actual canonization, however, began just after the opening rites.

“For mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavour to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering,” p ope

Francis told the crowd, according to an article from r euters.

p aladino said the crowd was initially as silent as she thought 100,000 people could be.

“And I tell you, as soon as the pope had spoken her name, ‘m adre Teresa,’ the crowd roared and cheered and clapped,” she said.

“It was a riveting moment, knowing that such a magnificent example of holiness and service in our time would now be recognized as a saint, as someone we could pray to for intercession.”

Contact Emily McConville at emcconv1@nd.edu

this is our way of giving back to him and giving back to his memory.”

raising money for a great cause, but we’re also having a great time with everyone in the dorm.”

Sophomore Joe p into, the Kick-It for Kevin commissioner, said this year’s event raised more than $7,000, a new record.

“It’s the perfect fundraiser,” he said. “ b ecause you need to do something that’s fun and will be able to get people out, but also something that all people can and want to play.”

This year, p into said he tried to make the tournament — which moved back to its former location on b ond Quad — a campus-wide event. It had a number of local corporate sponsors that donated gift cards and food, including Einstein b ros, m eijer, b ar b ici, Five g uys and c hipotle.

Kick-It merchandise was offered as fundraising incentives, p into added. Some of the seniors have collected quite a lot of gear over the year.

For p into, the event is a way to honor a special member of the Sorin community.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to see a dorm that has so much history and so much tradition remember one person like this,” he said. “I think

In a dorm that has housed students since 1888, not many students can boast a legacy that rivals h ealey’s.

“When you hear stories about Kevin and hear people that did know him talk about him, he just really stood for a lot of great qualities that we want in Sorin and in Notre Dame,” h olland said.

h ealey didn’t let his illness get the best of him, h olland said. Instead, he tried to make the most of the time he had at Notre Dame.

“It’s always great to take a few hours to go out and play kickball and have some burgers and hot dogs,” he said.

“It’s about enjoying our time here as college students all together.”

Fr. b ob Loughery said this is his seventh year as the rector of Sorin c ollege; he’s never seen a year without a kickball tournament.

Loughery also played on the h all Staff team. Though he didn’t get the victory he wanted, he said the overall event was a big success.

“I think the guys show, year after year, when they come together to do something, it gets done,” he said. “It’s always a highlight.”

Contact Katie Galioto at kgalioto@nd.edu

membership outreach chair, said. “When they go to the retreat, it’s a lot about finding identity and finding people you can relate with.”

The student leaders for all three retreats have been involved with their respective retreat every year since they first attended as first years.

“I think back to my freshman year, and the retreat is all I associate with it,” senior plunge coordinator Imanne mondane said. “It was the cornerstone of my freshman year experience. It helped me with transitioning to Notre Dame and expressing my blackness without feeling ashamed of being black on this campus or being the minority. It made me feel like I had a support system. We made our own family.”

multicultural ministry anchor intern for Latino c ampus m inistry Jessica pedroza said the Latino Freshman retreat helps create a welcoming environment for first years.

“Latino c ampus m inistry strives to let people know that we’re here for them and we’re building bridges and really trying to get the freshmen closer to each other, but also closer to g od, their faith and their particular spirituality,” pedroza said.

The retreats broke first years up into small groups, each with a few

upperclassmen to help guide discussion after speeches or testimonials from other student leaders.

“We had a community speaker, identity speaker, spirituality speaker and academic,” mondane said. “After each speaker, they’d break off into their small groups and reflect on what the speakers said and how they feel about it and about going to Notre Dame.”

The Asian/Asian American retreat had 103 first years sign up, The plunge had 60 and Latino Freshman retreat, 56.

Sophomore Alyssa Ngo, a retreat leader for the Asian/ Asian American retreat, said the theme for the retreat was chains.

“c hains can represent something both negative, like being weighed down or held up, but also positive — they’re the things you connect to and can pull you forward,” she said. “We thought that since this is a freshman retreat, they’re coming from a place they’re familiar with and they’re coming someplace new. In that time of transition, thinking of what’s holding you back from making new connections is really important.”

“Welcome home: Tu Aventura c omienza,” — literally, “Your adventure begins” — was the theme for the Latino Freshman retreat.

“A lot of it is emphasizing home and family,” pedroza said. “They have a home

within Latino ministry, within the Latino community. ... We’re a family. I feel like a lot of Latinos especially don’t feel at home right at the beginning. We really want to make sure that if they haven’t found home yet, they have a home within our community.”

While only the Asian/Asian American retreat is officially affiliated with a student cultural club — the Asian American Association — the retreat leaders said most of the first years who later become involved in multicultural student organizations, such as Latino Student Alliance and black Student Association, start off by going on one of the retreats.

“[The Asian American Association] was such an important part of [ magdaong’s and my] freshman year, and the retreat was what started it all,” Ngo said. “I think we both recognized the importance of that in someone’s freshman year.”

Above all, mondane said the point of the retreats was to welcome first years to a community they identify with.

“I want the freshman to have an experience they never forget but I also want them to feel welcomed and that there’s a place for them, not just in the black community but in the wider community,” mondane said.

Contact Megan Valley at mvalley@nd.edu

Some things you don’t have to do

“You have to listen to this band.” “You have to watch this show.” “You have to go to this party.”

It took seven hundred albums, hundreds of hours of television and dozens of smelly, awful parties before realizing that I didn’t “have to do” anything. Since I arrived at Notre Dame my freshman year, my goals haven’t really changed: I want to write poetry and music, and I want to make friends and memories that I’ll never have the chance to make again. And yet, for my first three years of college, I found myself doing far less to accomplish those goals than I wanted. Instead, I had to listen to this band. I had to watch this show. I had to go to this party. Why?

many of my repetitive, unproductive actions were mirrored my addiction to League of Legends, a video game, in my freshman and sophomore years. In League of Legends, your performance against others moves you up and down ladder of skill where each division forms higher and lower rungs that always appear within reach. At the top of this ladder are the professional players. Even when I very clearly understood that I was never going to reach the top of the ladder, and even after I stopped enjoying the climb, I kept climbing — for hundreds and hundreds of hours. The next rung of the ladder and the feeling of progress attached to it was too enticing for my distraction-prone mind to escape.

Yet after League of Legends, I found replacements to stand in for the immediate feelings of progress I received. Every album I listened to was a clear step towards being a more accomplished music listener and each show I watched made me a more sophisticated viewer. If I went to all the parties, I was this much less likely to have missed out on “social experiences” in the shuffle. While I was caught up in these objectives, I lost track of my core goals as a student and as a person. I ended up moving towards unclear destinations that I had, in all actuality, very little interest in reaching.

It took me three years to finally orient my actions around my goals. It might sound infomercial-cheesy, but I’m happier now spending my time at the library moving on a path of my own choosing than I ever was soaking in “entertainment” for hours in my room. If you’re reading this, I hope you know that the only thing you really have to do at college is begin to understand what you want to do — and then get off your booty and do it.

The price you pay to grow up

After not seeing me for almost a year, my mom came to Notre Dame to stay with me for six weeks this summer. o verjoyed by her visit, I neglected some problems until we started to live together. Looking back, I paid the price I have to pay to grow up: to realize that your parents are ordinary human beings and to know that you can never go back to the good old days. Nevertheless, I gained a better understanding of myself and of the relationship between my parents and me.

m y mom is a great mom. She endured the 13-hour international plane ride by herself. o n the train back to Notre Dame, we talked, as best friends, about my life problems and she gave me wise advice. After we got home, although not fully recovered from the long trip and jetlag, she cleaned the whole apartment to make it feel like home. She also cooked for me almost everyday, including my favorite food, fried eggs with green beans. however, it was really disheartening when I realized problems such as her inability to speak English, culture difference and our generation gap.

m y mom had been my heroine since I was young. She was born into an elite family in c hina, but because of some political issues in the history, her family was sent to the west desert, where she lived from age seven to 18. She finally made it to b eijing by getting accepted into one of the best universities in c hina, b eijing Jiaotong University, in 1984, when the total acceptance rate of all the universities was 29%. She studied structural engineer and also took English and French classes.

h ardworking, smart and knowledgeable, my mom has always been my role model. She was the one who helped me with my English when I was young, and who encouraged me to pursue whatever I want, including coming to the U.S. for college. I miss the days when we were walking on the streets, I would point to something and ask her how to say it in English, and she would always have an answer. o ne time we were having a talent show at my school, but I forgot to prepare a performance until the night before. m y mom translated a traditional c hinese song into English in 20 minutes, and taught me to sing it. It was a great success on the next day. Working as a construction supervisor, my mom is also a housewife who takes care of my Dad and me. She had always been my teacher for everything, and I was sad when I realized the unbridgeable gap between us.

After we came back to South b end, we went grocery shopping and walked around the campus. Next, we went out for food, and I found out that my mom, who hardly ever used English after college, was unable to speak. She could understand sentences, and she

could speak some words, but it was far from having a conversation. o n one hand, it indicated that I have exceeded her in some ways, in this case speaking English and living in a new culture, and I am glad I did. o n the other hand, I realized that she is not the same mom from my memories anymore. h aving lived in b eijing for 32 years, my mom was not used to life in a rural town in the m idwest. She was really bored at first, as there was not much public transportation, no huge shopping malls or tourist sites, so all she did was stay at home or walk around the campus. She would usually Skype with my dad during the day, and talk to me after I came back from work in the evening. however, I just wanted to be a couch potato and watch Netflix after work. When she asked me what is Netflix, I suddenly remembered I did not know what was Netflix either when I first arrived in the U.S. mom had asked me so many “dumb” questions during her stay, including how to pump gas to the car and how to self-check out in a supermarket. I was not very patient when I explained, probably because I forgot how I grew up without pumping my own gas and without checking out my own stuff. Also, I was still a teenager and I was always angry about everything. however, one time when she asked me how to use knives and forks, I remembered how my parents patiently and gently taught me how to use chopsticks again and again when I was young (which was a struggle), and how they taught me all the manners on a c hinese dinner table. I started to try to include my mom more into my life: I took her to friends gatherings and my lab events, and I found that I enjoyed translating between my mom and my friends, and enjoyed seeing her meet them.

I am glad, after not seeing my mom for a year, to see how much I have grown up. however, I also learned that there are prices you have to pay to grow up. The hard truth that your parents are also normal human beings and that it is your turn to teach them, and that you can never go back to the good old days when everything was taken care of by your heroes. Although my mom is less of a heroine to me, I respect her even more, because without her, I would never have become who I am today. I still make too many ignorant mistakes, both academically and during daily life, but I am glad that my mom’s stay could help me realize them. I am willing to pay the price to grow up, to be more independent and more humble, and more importantly, to be more respectful and grateful to my parents.

Cole Feldman The Absurder

o n the wall, there’s p icasso’s blue nude in blood red bright from the ceiling light in the middle of her mandala: why did p icasso choose blue, and why did she choose p icasso?

I asked her, “Why p icasso?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “I just like this one.” We looked at it: her back turned to us, hunched over her knee, depressed.

Then she asked, “Why me?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “I just like this one.”

Then she laughed, and I laughed too. b ecause it’s funny; not like haha-funny, more like g reekfunny. See, it’s all absurd really, art and love and the rest of it.

r ules of grammar, lines in a coloring book; it’s perfectly fine to say that things are and I think only a madman would disagree, but it is complete nonsense to say that things should be.

If, however, we are truly bereft of a moral framework, then we are faced with a dilemma because our lives are discretionary — we must decide and act, if for no other reason than to keep on living. Why does a man even wake in the morning if not

Art is amoral

according to some should: I should go to work, I should create a work of art, I should eat, I should live. Without morals, how are we to choose?

A dose of existential nausea, I know, which is why it might be easier to begin with art as an analogy.

I love art for the same reason it is neither right nor wrong that I do: because art is amoral. There are no good or bad works of art.

m y intuition is that people are much more comfortable with me saying, “Art is amoral” than they are with me saying, “Life is amoral.” b ut where do we draw the line, between the canvas and real life? Where does art stop and the rest of the world begin? To what extent is man himself a creation of his own imagination just as he might create a symphony or a novel?

Imagine a critic trying to argue that a painting is bad: he might say it does not accurately depict its subject, but this is empirical, not moral, and further, the critic must have implicitly assumed that his conception of the subject’s objective reality is the same as the artist’s. o r, he might say that he personally does not care for it; however, one man does not give meaning to the word ‘bad.’ In fact, I would agree with A. J. Ayer that ‘bad’ is a word without any meaning at

all.

Though it would indeed take volumes of argument to prove, it is at least something that is easier to say about the art world where everything is aesthetic and abstract. b ut in the real world, we have crime and justice, and man has his relations with other men and g od.

Thus, our love of morality seems at least rational: though not necessarily of any interest to a man alone in nature, it is certainly in the best interest of the community to impose moral sanctions on the individual which promote the general welfare — J. L. m ackie writes brilliantly on this line of thought. In this case, morality is not an objective truth, but a social invention.

As always, my point is only this: that we might think for ourselves why it is exactly that we do what we do. If you’re skeptical of morality like me, I think you have to be asking: how am I supposed to behave? m y best guess is to create ourselves like a painter paints. If my life was a painting, it would be Jackson p ollock’s c onvergence.

Deep hows and outer spades, art and idiosingsongs; email colejfeldman@gmail.com, nonsense only please. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

There’s a word for it

occasional foreign term, “n’es pas”?

Louisiana.

Ray Ramirez

The c rooked path

Written English can be especially confusing, with spelling rules that inevitably include myriad exceptions. For example, when writing the sound “off,” you are comfortable enough with the straightforward spelling of the sound in words such as “offering,” but the insanity starts with the spelling of words such as “cough,” and “trough.” Alright, so now you have two ways to spell the sound “off,” but odd words appear that muddle this one exception: the “oo” sound of “through,” the long “o” of “dough,” the “ow” of “bough.”

This confusing array of sounds arising from one combination of letters can be frustrating for someone new to English, and is equally frustrating to persons suffering from learning differences, such as dyslexia, who need consistent spelling and pronunciation to help decipher the written word. The examples listed here owe their peculiarities of spelling and pronunciation to origins in o ld English, revisions through m iddle English (with impact from the great “vowel shift,” so beloved of linguists) and modern efforts at uniformity. What we are left with are at least six pronunciations of “-ough” (perhaps up to 10 in b ritish English).

The gradual evolution of English over centuries has produced a number of these odd spelling clusters, but the challenge has been greatly increased by words assimilated from cultures around the world. In the same way the United States has grown and been strengthened by numerous waves of immigration (and unless you’re talking about my c omanche grandmother, we are all immigrants), English has been fortified by the introduction of loanwords secured from other languages. A loanword finds a home in English because there is no native term for the concept or phenomena that the word conveys, or it might be used simply because it is prestigious to drop the

A favorite loanword of mine is the g erman noun “Treppenwitz,” which literally means “staircase wit.” This single word describes the phenomenon of coming up with a clever comeback only after you have left and headed down the stairs. This may also occur when you wake up at 3 a.m. in the morning and come up with something better than the “o h, yeah ... well, whatever,” you ended a conversation with the prior evening. The lapse in time before a response comes to mind is not limited: I have often come up with clever things I should have said decades after the initial opportunity.

The g erman language has been especially generous in providing words that capture complex concepts, whether the “angst” of dealing with a changing world or the entire “zeitgeist” of society, which can leave us with a sense of “Weltschmerz.”

The g erman loanword that has repeatedly come to mind recently is “Schadenfreude,” literally, “damage-joy,” to describe a sense of joy triggered by another person’s misfortune. The term has developed to describe satisfaction in seeing a person (or perhaps even an institution) get what they deserve, especially following smug, self-righteous condemnation of similar action.

Allow me to present a few recent examples.

In the b ook of g enesis, the flood was seen as g od’s will and as punishment for the sins of mankind. Stepping into what I am sure are the large and comfortable shoes of g od, some modern conservative evangelicals have invoked g od’s judgment in recent floods. Tony p erkins, the head of the zealously anti-gay Family r esearch c ouncil was especially vocal in declaring g od’s anger was manifested in floodwater; p erkins declared in 2015 that flooding in the b ahamas from hurricane Joaquin was a sign of g od’s wrath and punishment for the legalization of same-sex marriage. p erkins may now have second thoughts about g od’s use of floods to target wrongdoers, as p erkins’ house was swept away in this summer’s massive flooding in

“This is a flood of near-biblical proportions,” p erkins said on his radio show, without a trace of irony. Thankfully, none of his family was harmed. Ken Starr recently resigned his post as a b aylor University law school professor, severing his last tie with the b aptist church-affiliated university stunned by a sexual assault scandal involving its football program. Starr’s most famous role was as the special counsel who self-righteously and zealously pursued charges against p resident b ill c linton in a 1990s White h ouse sex scandal. Starr was fired as president of b aylor in m ay and later stepped down as chancellor amid allegations the university (or “Thee University,” as school bumper stickers sanctimoniously intone) mishandled several cases in which football players were accused of sexually assaulting women. Starr’s failure to respond to allegations of rape and assault was cited in a report commissioned by the school as instrumental in allowing the culture of violence against women to grow and persist.

Now, perhaps in a moment of Treppenwitz, I realize that the examples I cited are not really Schadenfreude-inducing, but are best described with a Sanskrit loanword: “karma.” It’s a simple word for a complicated idea, namely that the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence decide his or her fate in a future existence. It’s more than just stepping on a cosmic rake that smacks us in the face; it’s the legacy of all our actions. Schadenfreude is the world’s petty response to misfortune — karma is our ability to shape a cosmic response through our life’s work. I knew there was a word for it.

Ray Ramirez is an attorney practicing, yet never perfecting, law in Texas while waiting patiently for a MacArthur Genius Grant. You may contact him at patrayram@sbcglobal.net

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Happy Birthday: The past will catch up with you if you have left anything unfinished. Do your due diligence and tie up any loose ends. once you stop procrastinating, you will forge ahead with little resistance. The gains you make will bring about personal, financial and medical improvements as well as ease the stress you’ve been feeling due to outside criticism. Your numbers are 3, 8, 15, 27, 33, 35, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): An emotional situation will create confusion. Strive to make personal alterations that will make you feel good and help you hone your skills. Settlements, contracts and financial gains look promising. romance will help keep an important relationship moving in a positive direction.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): review information you’ve picked up recently and you will find a way to put it to good use. An older friend or relative will cause you worry. Do your best to help, but not at a personal cost to you or your immediate family.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A relationship with someone you care about will be problematic. Don’t feel you have to follow someone who is clearly showing poor judgment. protect your money, possessions and your health, and do your best to avoid loss and disappointment.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): problems will escalate if you let your emotions take over. A dose of reality when dealing with relationships will help you see both sides of a situation. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way or take unnecessary risks.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): mingle, network and share your feelings with the people you want to spend more time with. An opportunity will help you move in a new direction that allows you to use your skills more diversely. romance is featured.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Sometimes you have to look back in order to move forward. once you do, the path to making personal changes will be clear. You can greatly improve your standard of living by altering your current living situation.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t give in when you should be getting even. make the changes that suit your needs. Focus on personal progress and don’t stop until you reach your destination. Lead the way instead of letting someone else take all the glory.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It will be difficult to get all the pertinent information you need in order to make a good choice. If uncertainty prevails, back away and rethink your strategy. It’s better to be safe than sorry. check your sources for accuracy.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Trying to settle matters without bringing your emotions into the equation will help you bring about the positive changes you want in your life. romance will encourage you to expand your interests.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): rely on past experience when it comes to dealing with foreign countries, different cultures and learning institutions. Knowledge will help you avoid a situation that can cost you emotionally. refuse to let anyone guilt you into something.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You can bring about financial, legal and medical changes that will improve your life and ensure future success. Showcase what you have to offer and consider the ways you can utilize your strengths to raise your income. romance is featured.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Last-minute changes made by others will leave you feeling left out. Don’t change your plans just to accommodate somebody else. As long as you don’t overspend, you will come out unscathed.

Birthday Baby: You are charming, intelligent and popular. You are compassionate and helpful.

Make the PGA fun again

Rachel O’Grady Sports Writer

g olf is inherently a boring spectator sport. It’s simply hard to watch for extended periods of time.

o ver the summer, however, I decided to at least try and pay attention to all the relevant golf tournaments, despite routinely confusing a bogey and a birdie. With the help of The observer sports department, past and present, “r o g. Understands g olf 2016” ended up being a mild success — I have the pg A Tour app downloaded on my phone, I marked my favorite players and I developed an allegiance to rory mcIlroy. While I had my heart broken when I realized he was engaged again, the bigger heartbreak was when he missed the cut at the pg A c hampionship.

With all of this said, I paid close — well, close enough — attention to almost every tournament this summer. I competed in a masters pool, I watched the U.S. o pen on an airplane bound for New York c ity and I woke up early for the british o pen tee times. When the pg A c hampionship rolled around, I was excited. I had a better grasp of the sport, I wasn’t texting members of the sports staff every five seconds to ask questions about what was going on and I was feeling good. That weekend, however, I was sorely disappointed to learn just how boring the pg A c hampionship is, particularly when compared to the other majors.

Every major has it’s “thing.” The masters is the masters, with the theme music, Augusta National and “a tradition unlike any other.” It’s a brand unto itself, and it’s arguably one of the most fun weekends in golf. The U.S. o pen is always gritty — this year it was rainy — and frequently, the winning scores aren’t up to par with other tournaments. The british o pen is traditional links golf, which makes for enjoyable play. but the pg A c hampionship has no “thing” that makes it special. It’s just the pg A c hampionship.

g olf can be fun, though. And practically speaking, there are a number of ways to make the pg A c hampionship more fun. A simple solution would be just to put it on the West c oast — always and with no exceptions. It can become the West c oast tournament — the one everyone else can watch when they get home from work. The time zone change will push a lot of the later holes into prime time, which could be exponentially more fun for the viewer. There are a couple more, less realistic alternatives. First, make the players carry their own bags. This makes the tournament a test of not just skill but also endurance. Imagine phil m ickelson carrying his bag around the whole course. I don’t know this for sure, but I’d hazard a guess he hasn’t done that in years. In contrast to all the pomp and circumstance of the other tournaments — particularly the masters — having these golf superstars carrying their bags around like any other guy playing golf would absolutely make it more watchable and enjoyable. Alternatively, the players should have to ride in the cart with their groups. While simply a fun way to add variety to the game in the first two rounds, requiring players to ride with their groups adds a serious element of competition between the leaders. It wouldn’t achieve quite the same effect as having the guys carry their own bags, but at least the pg A c hampionship would finally have its “thing.” maybe I’m not a real golf fan if I can’t appreciate the blandness of the pg A c hampionship, and I can accept that. but the real thing I learned this summer isn’t how to get my phone to autocorrect “gpA” to “pg A,” but, rather, that golf is a fun sport, and there’s no excuse for the pg A c hampionship to be the exception to that rule.

Contact Rachel O’Grady at rogrady@nd.edu

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Irish freshman outside hitter Jemma Yeadon readies for the next point during Notre Dame’s 3-0 loss to Coastal Carolina on Friday at Purcell Pavilion. Yeadon had a team-high 13 kills in the match.

Volleyball

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used the momentum from the run in the second to propel themselves throughout the remainder of the match. Irish head coach Jim mcLaughlin said he was pleased with the progress of his team and how they stuck to their game when facing a deficit.

“[ our opponent] doesn’t change who we are,” mcLaughlin said. “We are who we are, and I hope the conditions don’t change that. We are still developing our identity and trying to increase the value of each player. We approach each game one way, which is the Notre Dame way — which is to play hard and play smart.”

The third set was the closest of the match, with Notre Dame squeaking by howard to win, 33-31, after a kill by Irish junior middle blocker Samantha Fry, who had a match-high 19 kills. Notre Dame managed to outlast howard after the grueling third set, taking the fourth, 2522, and dominating the fifth, 15-7, on its way to victory. Irish senior middle blocker Katie h iggins was a big factor in the win, contributing 16 kills for the Irish. Early in the season, the Irish are continuing to improve in many areas while still needing improvement in others, according to mcLaughlin.

“We got a little better at passing and serving, but we got to develop our toolbox hitting and hit with some range so these big blockers don’t get us,” mcLaughlin said.

Notre Dame finished up its weekend on Saturday evening against p urdue. The Irish

started off strong and, behind a kill and block from Yeadon, took an early 4-2 lead. The b oilermakers quickly fought back and tied the set, 7-7. b oilermaker redshirt sophomore Sherridan Atkinson checked in for p urdue and immediately changed the tone of the contest. The 6’5” outside hitter tallied two quick kills to force an Irish timeout. Towards the end of the set, a service ace from Fry cut the b oilermaker lead to four. p urdue did not allow the lead to shrink any more, however, as it closed out the set, 25-21.

The second set began evenly, until a service ace by redshirt sophomore defensive specialist carissa Damler put p urdue up 5-3. In the middle of the set, the Irish worked their way back to close the deficit to one. The boilermakers bounced back with a run to extend the lead to 15-12, but consecutive points by the Irish closed the lead to one again, forcing a boilermaker timeout. With a strong block at the net, Irish junior setter caroline holt pushed the Irish lead to two late in the set. After an immediate response from p urdue to knot it up at 19, the Irish grabbed the lead by winning a point off of a kill by junior outside hitter maddie plumlee in the longest rally of the match. Notre Dame carried the momentum forward into the closing moments and won the set on their second set point, 2624, handing p urdue its first set loss of the tournament.

The boilermakers started aggressively in the third set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and forcing the Irish to call a

timeout. The Irish did not back down, however, and climbed back into the game behind kills from plumlee, holt and Yeadon. With the lead cut to three, Irish junior outside hitter Sydney Kuhn landed a service ace, which was followed up by another plumlee kill to narrow the Irish deficit to one, 13-12. Notre Dame was unable to gain control of the ball from that point, with p urdue converting on six straight points and extending its lead, 19-12, before later closing out the set by a score of 25-16. p urdue continued their hot streak into the fourth set, opening the set on a 10-3 run. The boilermakers kept control throughout the set and eventually clinched the match with a final set victory, 25-16.

The Irish were balanced in their attack against the boilermakers, as four players contributed five or more kills. Jemma Yeadon led the team with 13 kills, and sophomore libero ryann DeJarld led the team in digs with 20. The tournament marked continued growth for the team as they search for an identity, mcLaughlin said.

“Number one, we played hard, and that’s the most important thing,” mcLaughlin said. “And now, we got to just settle down and focus on the game better and play the next play. We got a little better at that [in this tournament], but we still have some way to go.”

The Irish will be back in action Friday at the Art carmichael Invitational in Kingston, r hode Island.

Contact R.J. Stempak at rstempak@nd.edu

p ineda, who had just entered the game seven minutes earlier with Klawunder. It was Klawunder’s third career goal and second career game-winning score.

“I thought the goal was great,” Irish head coach Theresa r omagnolo said. “It was very opportunistic and great timing considering Kaitlin had just come into the game recently. She has shown herself as a goal scorer who is going to play brave and going to put herself in the mix.”

The second half of Friday night’s match was highlighted by the play of the Irish defense, especially the three saves by Little. o ne of the night’s most significant plays came in the 85th minute when Little made a sprawling save to her right, which ultimately secured the victory for the Irish, as the r edbirds’ only other shot over the last five minutes was also saved by Little. The shutout marked the 26th clean sheet of the

senior goalkeeper’s career.

In Sunday’s matchup against the Tigers (4-2), the first half belonged to the Irish. Notre Dame outshot m issouri 12-3 during the period but was unable to convert any of the opportunities. Freshman forward Jennifer Westendorf led the first-half effort with a team high of five shots. o n the other end of the field, Kaela Little made a save on the Tigers’ lone shot on target over the course of the first half. The defense as a whole held the Tiger attack at bay in the period, as m issouri only took three shots and two corner kicks, leading to a 0-0 score at halftime.

The second half started with both teams trading opportunities in the opponent’s half of the field, as m issouri took two corner kicks while Notre Dame had two shots in the first 15 minutes of the period. It was not until the 61st minute, however, that the scoreless tie was broken, as Westendorf connected on her third goal of the season with a strike from 20 yards out to put the Irish up 1-0.

The Tigers would take four shots the remainder of the game, including three on goal, but Little made three saves to keep the Irish lead intact. b ehind the defense’s third consecutive shutout, the Irish would end the game with a 1-0 victory.

After the game, r omagnolo said she was proud of the improvements her team has made since its only defeat of the year, a 2-0 loss on the road against m ichigan on Aug. 25.

“We’re a young team, but now we’ve got a standard for how we can play and what we can bring to each game,” r omagnolo said. “o ur defense has grown a lot, and, as a group, we’re doing a good job of making better decisions on the ball and creating a lot more chances for ourselves.”

The next match for Notre Dame is set for Friday, as the team heads out West to San Jose, c alifornia, to take on Santa c lara in b uck Shaw Stadium. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m.

Contact Alex Bender at abender@nd.edu

the second half and two overtime periods.

“Stanford is not an easy team to play,” c lark said. “I thought we struggled with it in the first half, but I thought the second half we got the grip of it. We had a couple of really good opportunities to score … and once they get the player sent off with 20 minutes left, we really took control of the game at that point.”

After giving Stanford its first loss of the season and earning three points, the Irish battled with the g olden b ears (1-2-1) for a chance to at least claim a share or win the tournament title. Indiana also had three points heading into Sunday after their 2-1 over c alifornia on Friday.

The Irish picked up right where they left off from Friday and tallied their first goal of the game in its first 38 seconds. graduate student midfielder Evan panken received a cross from g allagher and placed it perfectly in the right corner of the net for his second goal of the year. 13 minutes later, senior goalie c hris hubbard sent a kick over c alifornia’s defenders, and g allagher sped past the defense to break away for a score past the right post.

but Notre Dame’s high-octane offense didn’t stop there. Sophomore midfielder Thomas Ueland scored on a header from 15 yards out

towards the right post in the 40th minute. At the end of the first half, Notre Dame held a commanding 3-0 lead. Then, in the second half, Ueland recorded his second goal of the game off an assist from panken, and senior forward mark g ormley scored his first goal of the season off an assist from g allagher two yards in

pAID A Dv E rTISE m ENT

front of the goal.

“We were able to transition well, and we were able to pressure well in their half,” c lark said. “We came up with a big result, and it was a good game. m ichael c asper, the assistant coach, his dad was at the game, and he said that it was the most entertaining 5-0 game he’s ever watched

because they kept attacking and they were good. They were skillful, but we got the goals our way.”

The 5-0 victory over c alifornia gives the Irish 12 goals and three shutouts in their first four games of the season. After Indiana and Stanford played to a scoreless tie, the win also gave the Irish their second-consecutive tournament title. The fourgame winning streak has surprised a few, including c lark, who didn’t think the Irish would be as dominant as they are now so early in the season.

“The team is coming together nicely,” c lark said. “If someone had said to me before the start of the season — with the caliber of teams we’ve played at both tournaments — that we’d be 4-0, I would have said ‘I would like to be, but most unlikely to win all four games.’” hoping to continue adding to the win column, the Irish will play their conference home opener this week when v irginia Tech visits Alumni Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.

Contact Manny De Jesus at mdejesus@nd.edu

men’s soCCer

Notre Dame tops Stanford, Cal over weekend

By MANNY DE JESUS Sports Writer

No. 4 Notre Dame’s momentum from last weekend’s title win at the m ike b erticelli memorial Tournament carried it to yet another tournament title at the IU c redit Union c lassic.

The Irish (4-0-0) started the tournament off by defeating the defending Nc AA national champions, No. 15 Stanford, in a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory Friday. The Sunday finale saw Notre Dame beat No. 22 c alifornia, 5-0, which allowed them to clinch the tournament title.

Friday’s thriller against the c ardinal (0-1-3) marked the second-straight game that senior defender brandon Aubrey scored the game-winning goal. In the 104th minute of the match, Aubrey set himself up for a free kick 30 yards away from the net and hit a powerful right-footed strike that hit the crossbar and bounced just far enough inside of the goal to win the game for the Irish.

“[Stanford’s] goalie is a very good goal keeper,” Irish head

coach b obby c lark said. “he made a few really good saves prior to [ brandon’s goal], but he had no chance. It was a great shot.”

Stanford controlled most of the game — holding onto a 1-0 lead late into the second half — but the momentum shifted swiftly when Stanford sophomore defender Justin Kahl was given his second yellow card in the 70th minute, giving the Irish offense a personnel advantage. There was no time wasted on making the most of the opportunity, as junior forward Jon g allagher tied the game up 1-1 in the 86th minute for his third goal of the season.

“I must say, I was very happy [with the result],” c lark said.

“It wasn’t that tidy of a game.

… Stanford is a very direct team getting the ball through the inside and pressuring you, so they’re not what I would call a smooth, silky soccer team, but they’re a very good team and very well organized.”

The Irish both outshot the c ardinal 13-3 and were able to get off three corner kicks in

see m SoccEr paGe 11

Irish senior

Brandon

an exhibition match Aug. 22

Irish post two shutouts in weekend sweep

By ALEX BENDER Sports Writer

No. 23 Notre Dame won a pair of tight contests this weekend, as it defeated both Illinois State and m issouri by a score of 1-0.

o n Friday night, the Irish (51) played host to the r edbirds (2-4) at Alumni Stadium. The lone goal of the game would come off the head of junior forward Kaitlin Klawunder, who connected on a corner kick in the 41st minute to give the Irish a lead they would not relinquish. The team secured its second consecutive shutout — as well as its fourth overall this season — behind four saves, three of which came in the second half, by senior goalie Kaela Little. Despite outshooting the r edbirds 23-8, the Irish were unable to convert any of their opportunities until Klawunder’s goal. The corner kick came off the foot of senior midfielder c indy

see W SoccEr paGe 10

ND suffers first two losses of year

By R.J. STEMPAK Sports Writer

Notre Dame hosted the Irish Invitational this weekend, hoping to continue its strong start to the season with matches against coastal carolina, howard and No. 24 p urdue.

The Irish (4-2) began the weekend against the c hanticleers (5-1), suffering their first loss of the year in straight sets. In the second matchup of the tournament, the Irish demonstrated their resilience by taking three straight sets after dropping the first two against the bison (4-3). Ultimately, however, p urdue took the championship after winning all three of its matches of the tournament. Notre Dame was unable to keep up with the boilermakers (5-1). The Irish finished the tournament in third place, 1-2 on the weekend and 4-2 overall on the year.

Notre Dame got off to a slow start against coastal carolina with seven service errors in the first set. The c hanticleers took the first two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-20, respectively.

In the third set, Notre Dame jumped out to a 14-6 lead. It continued its strong play until coastal carolina put together a stretch in which it won eight of 10 points and eventually tied the game up at 25. The c hanticleers closed out the match and the game a few points later, taking the final set by a score of 28-26. coastal carolina senior middle blocker Annayka Legros led her team with 13 kills and also contributed five blocks on the day. on the other side, the Irish were lead by freshman outside hitter Jemma Yeadon, who had teamhighs of 13 kills and 12 digs. on Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame returned to the court to face howard, who lost their first game in the tournament against p urdue in straight sets. The match was close from the beginning, with howard winning the first set, 26-24. In the second set, the bison jumped out to an 19-12 lead before the Irish clawed back to tie the game at 21. howard was able to close out the set, but the Irish

winning outright after the Irish defense watched the Longhorns march 68 yards in eight plays to take what in most cases is a three-point lead.

It didn’t get better after regulation: Texas moved the ball to the Irish 5-yard line on the first play of the first overtime.

In the second extra frame, the Irish had a chance to force the Longhorns to settle for a field goal on third-and-1. Instead, senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes burst through for 10 yards to put the Longhorns in striking distance and then finished the Irish two plays later.

“We misfitted plays and Swoopes is obviously very difficult to tackle,” Irish head coach brian Kelly said. “he’s a big physical player. clearly we were not in some positions to make some tackles, and then when we were, they ran through some tackles as well.”

While junior DeShone Kizer and senior malik Zaire flipflopped at the Irish offensive controls for the first half, the defense had trouble getting the Longhorn offense off the field.

And it didn’t matter who flying the Texas ship: the Irish struggled all the same.

After Kizer led a touchdown drive to quiet Darrell K. royal–Texas memorial Stadium after kickoff, buechele and junior running back D’onta Foreman marched the Longhorns on an 11-play, 75-yard drive right into the teeth of the Irish defense to

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Zaire as the red-zone quarterback — like Texas did when it needed to punch it in during the second overtime with senior Tyrone Swoopes — that would’ve been fine, too.

Instead, you pulled the quarterback that led you to an opening-drive touchdown, then went three-and-out with the other guy.

When you needed a touchdown on your first drive of the second half, down 28-14, you didn’t go with the guy that got you those 14 points. You instead went with the one that had done much of nothing on two drives.

Why? by the time Kelly figured things out, he’d not only wasted three drives, but also a chance for Kizer to build up a comfort level in the game.

perhaps the Irish offense wouldn’t stall for a good part of the first half if he weren’t playing musical quarterbacks. We saw how good Kizer was in the second half when he got in a rhythm. but he never had the chance to do that during his four, non-consecutive first-half drives.

The defense wasn’t great, no. That shouldn’t have had to be the difference, though. remember the 2014 North carolina game, where the Irish outpaced the Tar heels on offensive talent, not defensive?

tie the game.

Twice Notre Dame had a chance to get Texas off the field, and twice the Longhorns converted, once on a third-and-2 and the next on a fourth-and-1 when the Notre Dame defensive line wasn’t set.

Swoopes gave Notre Dame problems on the Longhorns’ first drive of the second quarter, carrying the ball six times for 35 yards to push the Longhorns into Irish territory. buechele re-entered facing a third-and-7 on the Notre Dame 34 and promptly hit wide-open junior receiver Jake oliver for 21 yards down to the Notre Dame 13. The freshman quarterback capped the 16-play, 88-yard drive with a sneak of his own to give the Longhorns their first lead of the game.

Again though, the Irish defense missed chances to get Texas off the field before the score.

Aside from the buechele conversion to oliver junior defensive lineman Andrew Trumbetti lined up offside on a third-and-6. D’onta Foreman converted the resulting thirdand-1, bulldozing through the Irish line for three yards.

Texas receivers flew past the Irish secondary all night, too.

While the one that will make the highlight reels was buechele’s 72-yard touchdown bomb to sophomore receiver John burt on the second play of the second half, burt flat-out dropped a would-be touchdown on Texas’ second drive of the game.

“We were in cover 3 when we got beat,” Kelly said. “We were

It sounds a little preposterous on the surface, sure, but there’s no reason Notre Dame couldn’t have scored more than 37 regulation points Sunday night.

It was a heisman-caliber performance from Kizer. And you wasted it.

So let’s circle back to that defense.

A year ago, defensive coordinator brian vangorder’s defense wasn’t particularly good. It straight-up cost Notre Dame the game at Stanford, and if it had shown up during the first quarter against clemson, the Irish maybe would’ve won that game, too. of course, that defense had the best player in college football on it, Jaylon Smith. And it never really worked.

Why did I think the Irish defense was going to be anything better this year?

Notre Dame had fits all game when Texas went to tempo — and why are you going for a threedown lineman formation against a team that’s trying to run the ball down your throat? — and that showed once more when the Longhorns picked things back up again late in the second half and into overtime.

vangorder’s now starting his fourth year here, and it’s been a tenure chock-full of regression. A 2012-level defense shouldn’t be the expectation, no, but with the raw talent Notre Dame has on the field, there’s no excuse for giving up 37 regulation points to Texas.

in flat-out cover 3. We weren’t even man-to-man. So the inability to play cover 3 and not be effective in that requires better coaching.

“ … We’ve got to coach better. We’ve got to be better as coaches. I think it starts with me and our staff coaching better, and then our players have got to do their job.”

both times burt ran right by Irish sophomore defensive back Nick coleman, Texas’ favorite target on the night. coleman was pulled on the drive following burt’s touchdown after getting flagged for pass interference on yet another deep route.

“[Texas’] perimeter speed was outstanding,” Kelly said. “ … obviously we gave up big plays on the perimeter, caused us to make some changes out there, but it’s definitely the perimeter speed that is the game changer for their offense.

“ … but we ended up finishing the game with two freshmen safeties and a freshman corner. And they’re going to have to play a lot of football, and they’re going to be really good players.”

There was a consistent message from Kelly and the rest of his team following the loss: The team showed resilience in fighting out of the hole it’d dug itself.

“We were resilient and I think that says a lot about our team moving forward,” senior linebacker James onwualu said.

“but it does suck.”

This year, that’s just not going to be good enough.

Contact Zach Klonsinski at zklonsin@nd.edu

None at all.

It’s probably time to admit the defense doesn’t work, but that decision should’ve been made in January, after Notre Dame gave up 82 points in two games against Stanford and ohio State.

The Irish defense should at least be passable, and with the talent on the offensive side of the ball, there’s no reason Notre Dame shouldn’t be able to win a shootout against an unranked Texas team.

Kelly’s two calls kept those things from happening. had Kelly made the decision to part ways with vangorder a few months ago, perhaps the Irish defense would’ve been better equipped to deal with Texas’ offense. had Kelly just made the call to go with Kizer from the start, perhaps points are scored on one of the three series Zaire ran instead. points that would’ve been enough to win the game.

Instead, the Irish now find themselves in a position where perfection the rest of the way might not be enough.

It’s a position they shouldn’t be in.

but it’s one Kelly created. Now it’s his turn to get them out of it.

Contact Alex Carson at acarson1@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

n otre d ame 7, texas 0

Equanimeous St. brown 13-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick)

12:28 remaining

Drive: Six plays, 78 yards, 2:32 elapsed

texas 7, notre dame 7

Armanti Foreman 19-yard pass from Shane buechele (Domingue kick)

9:30

remaining

Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 2:58 elapsed texas 14, n otre d ame 7

Shane buechele 1-yard run (Domingue kick)

7:13

remaining

Drive: 16 plays, 88 yards, 5:13 elapsed

n otre dame 14, texas 14

Equanimeous St. brown 30-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick)

3:44

remaining

Drive: Seven plays, 75 yards, 3:29 elapsed

texas 21, n otre dame 14

Tyrone Swoopes 1-yard run Domingue kick)

1:12 remaining

Drive: Seven plays, 80 yards, 2:32 elapsed texas 28, n otre dame 14

John burt 72-yard pass from buechele (Domingue kick)

14:29 remaining

Drive: Two plays, 75 yards, 0:31

texas 31, n otre dame 14

Trent Domingue 25-yard field goal

9:14 remaining

n otre dame 21, texas 31

DeShone Kizer 29-yard run (Yoon kick)

7:39 remaining

Drive: 4 plays, 61 yards, 1:35

n otre dame 28, texas 31

Torii hunter Jr. 5-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick)

5:06 remaining

Drive: Three plays, 6 yards, 1:14 elapsed

n otre dame 35, texas 31

Josh Adams 17-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick)

10:57 remaining

Drive: Seven plays, 46 yards, 2:48 elapsed

texas 37, n otre dame 35

D’onta Foreman 19-yard run

3:29 remaining

Drive: Eight plays, 68 yards, 1:54 elapsed

n otre dame 37, texas 37

Shaun crawford defensive pAT conversion

3:29 remaining

texas 44, n otre dame 37

Tyrone Swoopes 3-yard run (Domingue kick)

0:00 remaining

Drive: Four plays, 25 yards

n otre dame 44, texas 44

c.J. Sanders 25-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick)

0:00 remaining

Drive: One play, 25 yards

n otre dame 47, texas 44

Justin Yoon 39-yard field goal

0:00 remaining

texas 50, n otre dame 47

Tyrone Swoopes 6-yard run

0:00 remaining

Drive: Five plays, 25 yards

a blocked extra-point attempt for two points in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame’s

Memorial Stadium. Crawford’s return tied the score at 37 with 3:29 remaining in the game, pushing it into overtime.

texas-sized le tdown

loss

DeShone Kizer found his rhythm, accounting for six total touchdowns while sharing time with Malik Zaire. But Brian VanGorder’s young defense struggled, giving up 50 points and 517 total yards. Shaun Crawford sent the game to overtime with a defensive two-point conversion, but the defense sputtered and allowed Tyrone Swoopes to score the game-winning touchdown.