Toryan Smith News

Manti Te'o made a tackle. He doesn't remember the play, or even the game, but he remembers looking up into the stands and seeing his parents smiling.

After glimpses of Manti Te'o in Notre Dame's first four games this season, the freshman linebacker was cut loose in the fifth game.

Prior to the beginning of the 2009 Notre Dame football season, I picked out 10 impact players/coaches for the season .

While it's always exciting to see what freshman will make an impact every fall, there was one first year player this year that received more attention than any freshman since Jimmy Clausen himself.

Week 4 taught us even more about future Irish opponents. In our weekly edition of "Opponent Watch" we look at keys to upcoming match-ups with Washington, Washington State, and Stanford.

We are a quarter of the way through college football's regular season already...unbelievable isn't it? Here are some thoughts on my beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish and other topics as well.

Warning: In all aspects of life, I view things as if the glass were half full. Now that I have made that known, here is my vent session that needed to be made public.

Notre Dame linebacker Brian Smith, bottom, and safety Kyle McCarthy spearhead an attacking Irish defense.

Michigan State rotated quarterbacks and made several big fourth-quarter plays, but couldn't do enough Saturday against Notre Dame.

The word spread to Golden Tate on his MySpace page, back when the Notre Dame receiver paid attention to internet social networking.

Saved by Kyle McCarthy, again. As he's been every week, Notre Dame's senior safety was the team's leading tackler against Michigan State, and his third interception in as many games saved the season and Charlie Weis' job.

At the barber shop, at the grocery store, while dragging lawn clippings to the curb, the question was as relentless as it was universal: Why did Charlie Weis throw the football on second and third downs late in the game against Michigan? Strangely, that question was asked only once in this week's Twitter Mailbag.

Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, right, reacts during an NCAA college football game against Michigan, Sept.

It's not panic time at Notre Dame or Michigan State -- yet. That likely will change for the loser of Saturday's game between the Fighting Irish and the Spartans .

"It's going to be easier for us this week because they line up in an I pro and they're going to come at you and try to run between the tackles," linebacker Brian Smith said.

Notre Dame senior linebacker Toryan Smith answered the five questions this week.

The final few minutes of a 38-34 loss to Michigan on Saturday surely will sit in the gullets of Notre Dame fans like a boulder, but the sight of Michael Floyd crumpled to the stadium turf was the first sight that truly inspired an acid-reflux outbreak.

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Great, Before I get into the ramifications of this past weekends loss to Michigan, let's hand out some grades to specific Notre Dame positions: Quarterback: A You can't really put much blame on Clausen in this game as he continues to be Notre Dame's best player and is putting together a scorching start for an Irish quarterback.

Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier says he's never been nervous, and if it didn't happen Saturday, it probably never will.

Michael Floyd didn't have a chance to undo the history he saw unfolding before his eyes.