Negative comments by Stanford player fired up Notre Dame

Oct 5, 2008 - 1:30 AM By Bob Birge PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

With Notre Dame, there is never any middle ground.

As the only school in the country with a true national following, the Fighting Irish inspire either intense affection or intense dislike.

Stanford offensive lineman Chris Marinelli would be in the latter category. Early in the week, Marinelli spoke of his dislike for all things Notre Dame.

The object of his ire was those fans who cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame, yet have never stepped foot on the campus. They are otherwise known as the Fighting Irish's legendary band of "Subway Alumni."

"I grew up with a bunch of Irish and Italian Catholic people back home," said Marinelli, a native of Massachusetts, where they are plenty of Irish Catholics. "And all the Irish Catholic people, all they talk about is Notre Dame this, Notre Dame that. And they've never even been there, ya know. So I hate those guys, I hate that school."

Marinelli did not stop there.

"We are going out there (to South Bend) to mash them up, and that's all there is to it," he said this past Tuesday.

Marinelli later apologized for his comments, but the damage was done. You do not diss the "Touchdown Jesus," as his words gave Notre Dame plenty of bulletin board material.

The Fighting Irish made Marinelli eat his words, defeating the Cardinal, 28-21, Saturday as sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen surpassed 300 yards passing for the first time in his career. He completed 29-of-40 passes for 347 yards, setting a career high for the second straight week.

After the game, Clausen did not talk about Marinelli's choice of words, but sophomore Harrison Smith did.

"We didn't downplay it like a lot of people say they do," Smith said. "We really took that to heart, and we stepped up and did what we had to do. We're not going to let anybody come into our house and talk like that to us."

After winning just one game at Notre Dame Stadium during last season's nightmarish 3-9 campaign, the Fighting Irish (4-1) have defended their turf so far this year, winning all four of their home games.

"We were really fired up before the game, and we even gathered at the 50-yard line," Notre Dame linebacker Brian Smith said. "We wanted to let (Stanford) know that we were ready and were not going to back down to anybody, regardless of what was said or what the circumstances were."

The Fighting Irish think they are getting their swagger back, but they still have to learn how to put away games.

After building a 28-7 lead late in the third quarter, Notre Dame seemed to let up, allowing the Cardinal to score a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

"The comments (by Marinelli) weighed on our emotions, but that wasn't the only thing that has us fired up," Notre Dame safety David Bruton added. "It's a game, and we're always fired up for a game. The comments before the game helped."

If the Fighting Irish want to show they have truly turned things around, they also are going to have to show they can win on the road. Four of the next five games are away from Notre Dame Stadium, including a contest at North Carolina next week.

"It's not a bad start at all," defensive end Pat Kuntz said. "Sure we would like to be 5-0, like every other team in college football. We've played some good games, and we're a team that's improving. We are just going to keep getting better."