Trailing 16-7 in the fourth quarter at Michigan State, for example, Clausen connected with Duval Kamara (yet another sophomore) on a third down that gave the Irish first-and-goal at the Spartan 5. The play was negated, however, by a false start on running back James Aldridge. Two plays later Brandon Walker, yet another sophomore, missed his third field goal attempt of the season in as many tries. Game over.

On a most sublime Saturday afternoon in South Bend, though, this post-Brady Quinn edition of the Irish put together its most complete game yet. The offense committed zero turnovers and Walker, after missing a 31-yarder in the first half, connected on a 41-yarder in the second. The 38 points were the most the Irish have scored in regulation since Quinn’s final home game in 2006, a 41-9 defeat of Army. And the offensive line, the most experienced unit on this squad with four juniors and one senior, created holes you could fit a subway alumnus’s expectations through.

“The biggest holes I’ve ever seen here?” said Allen, repeating a question. “I think it’s safe to say that. It’s one thing to do it in practice, but to actually go out and do it in a game is…overwhelming.”

The key was the third quarter. The score was knotted at halftime, and little had happened in the first 30 minutes to lead anyone to think that the Irish were going to take ownership of this contest.

“So it’s 14-14 at halftime and basically I told these guys the most important job of the entire season is here,” said Charlie Weis, whose Irish have now won five of their last six. “Because that game could obviously have gone either way at that point.”

It was only one game — one half, really. However, 12 of Notre Dame’s 14 touchdowns this season have been scored by underclassmen (Grimes, a senior wideout, has the other two). In addition, eight different freshmen and sophomores have scored those dozen TDs.

At a university in which freshmen are so eased into college life that they all are enrolled in what is known as the Freshman Year of Studies (so as to alleviate the pressure of having to major in, say, engineering, only to flail and transfer into American Studies by Christmas), the current sophomores on this team had a most rude introduction into college life. A 3-9 season. The denomination of being known as the worst team in Notre Dame history before they’d even received their first semester grades.

“We don’t like to talk a whole lot about last year,” Allen said today.

And with good reason. But if Notre Dame continues to show improvement as they’ve done today, the 2007 season will grow in meaning to this year’s sophomore class. Players such as Clausen, Allen, Tate, running back Robert Hughes, and linebackers Brian Smith and Harrison Smith were all freshmen last year. Someday, today’s game seemed to indicate, and sooner than we think, they may very well be flush with success.

And if that happens, the 2007 season will cease to be only a dark footnote in this program’s history. It may be a lesson as to how much people can grow from their first year of college to their last.

“We’re capable of making some plays,” said Weis. “But until you know, capable doesn’t mean anything. It’s until you actually show it, until you actually do it.

“I think today is a good day.”

I think Notre Dame fans would agree. And I think they have reason to believe that there are far better days ahead. For those types who watch things happen, I think they saw that they’ve got a team that can make things happen. A team that will leave opponents such as Purdue, who cruised out to a 23-0 first-half lead a year ago against the Irish with most of the same starters who took the field today, wondering what just happened.

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