Same old Ty

Willingham as calm, stoic as ever after first loss at ND

Tyrone Willingham won't dwell on a controversial first-half call that waved off a potential Irish TD. AP

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Tyrone Willingham reacted to his surprising first defeat at Notre Dame the same way he did to his surprising 8-0 start: calmly and stoically.

He didn't blame players, even though they made more mistakes than usual in Saturday's 14-7 loss. He didn't blame officials, even though TV replays appeared to show a pass ruled out of bounds actually was a touchdown. And he credited Boston College, even though the fourth-ranked Irish had the statistical edge.

"Boston College did some very good things and put themselves in a situation to win. We did not execute as a football team like we should have to be victorious," he said.

There were no tirades and no shouting. Watching Willingham on the sideline, there was no clue to what was happening on the field.

"He was the same after a loss as he was after a win," tailback Ryan Grant said. "He didn't assign blame, he just told us we could have played better.""

Just as he credited the team during its eight victories -- even though the defense had outplayed the offense in each occasion -- he said the team shared in the loss.

"It's a team thing. That will always be our focus," Willingham said. "Our team did not live up to our expectations today."

Willingham had high expectations for this team from the start, but many outside the program had their doubts following Notre Dame's 5-6 performance last season. But with each passing week, the expectations of those outside the program appeared to grow closer to those of Willingham's. A 34-24 victory over Florida State a week ago had wiped out many of those doubts.

They resurfaced as the game against BC wore on.

Willingham said the Irish didn't overlook Boston College. They weren't busy worrying about the Bowl Championship Series standings or a national championship, he said. It was just a matter of being outplayed.

"I do believe that every young man was playing to win that football game -- that, I'm proud of," he said. "I'm disappointed in the outcome."

The Irish had 22 first downs compared with just nine for BC, and 357 yards of total offense compared with just 184 for the Eagles. Willingham took no solace in that, just as he showed no alarm three weeks ago when Pittsburgh dominated the Irish statistically despite a 14-6 win by the Irish.

"The key is to score points and win. They did a better job than we did," Willingham said. "How many yards you gain doesn't mean a thing."

He also said he didn't want his team to focus on the possible missed touchdown call early in the second quarter, which came on an 18-yard pass from Carlyle Holiday to Omar Jenkins. Willingham said he didn't see the play clearly enough to make a judgment, but the coach said people who saw the replay said it should have been a touchdown.

"That's the way the ball bounces. Everything has human error. Obviously we had human error today. The officials had that, if that's the case," he said. "This coaching staff and team is not one that whines and complains about calls. Those officials are trying to do the best job, and they wanted to make the right call."

 

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