Jan. 3, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; West cornerback (3) Anthony Standifer against the East during the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl high school football game at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Anthony Standifer, a highly recruited cornerback for Notre Dame, seems to be backing away from attending Notre Dame. He couldn’t meet the academic standards Notre Dame has.

In order for Standifer to attend Notre Dame, he would have had to take an online Spanish class to meet admissions requirements. He decided against taking the class and announced it on his Twitter page. He said that it just didn’t workout and then ended the tweet with a frown face.

Unlucky break for the Irish, he is a decent CB that could have helped stack up the defensive side of Brian Kelly’s incoming recruiting class.

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The key for the Irish to win this game is to increase their production from the bench; in their loss against the Huskies Notre Dame’s bench only scored a total of six points.  On the other hand Rutgers looks to improve their rebounding totals, in their last game they were out rebounded 45-33. Neither teams are solid on the boards, so expect that to be one of the main focuses throughout the game.  Jack Cooley will have to capitalize on rebounding tonight if  Notre Dame plans on bringing a victory back to South Bend.  The Irish will again look towards their two leaders, Scott Martin and Eric Atkins, to get another key Big East victory. If the rest of the team does not start providing a boost, the next four games could be a long stretch for the Irish.

The Irish could easily be caught looking ahead to their big game against  #1 Syracuse in South Bend, but I expect them to pull out a come from behind win in Piscataway.  Look for Eric Atkins to have another big game tonight and the Irish to win the rebounding category in order to improve to 12-7. Follow Slap The Sign on Facebook as well as on Twitter @SlaptheSign.