So far, it's freshman hazing: But during 0-4 start, Irish can find hope in Clausen's progress.

Byline: Brian Hamilton

Sep. 28--SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- His regimented, overstuffed schedule doesn't allow Jimmy Clausen much casual television intake. It is just as well. If Notre Dame's freshman quarterback happened upon a piece about his team, he would be channel surfing into a wipeout.

Most likely, Clausen would see himself propelled to the ground repeatedly by defenders, the programmers' preferred means to symbolize the Irish's copious struggles. In just four games, Clausen has been sacked an almost criminal 18 times. So the carnage becomes a montage.

TiVo? More like TiV-Oh, no, not again.

"Football is a physical sport," Clausen said. "If I didn't want to play football and get hit, I should have played golf or something like that."

That's good, really, because resiliency and defiance may be what will allow the vaunted freshman to survive Notre Dame's 0-4 start and beyond. On Thursday, Clausen spoke publicly for the first time since late August, and it can be reported safely that his limbs, mental faculties and confidence remain intact.

That has to suffice for now as Clausen negotiates the learning curve, three starts into his career. On the scale of prodigies, this isn't Mozart composing a symphony before the age of 10. Clausen is completing 57.4 percent of his passes, having thrown for 305 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.