Jimmy Clausen: We had to dig ourselves out of a hole

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw for 283 yards and a touchdown in the Irish's 27-22 loss to Pitt. Clausen met with Sporting News' Matt Hayes and other reporters after the game.   Q: Any specific reason you guys struggled early on offense? Jimmy Clausen: We were down a little bit in the first half. For whatever reason, we weren't moving the ball. Whether it was a penalty, a poorly thrown ball, a misread; a lot of little things. We just couldn't consistently move down the field without mistakes and put it in the end zone.   Q: Do you feel like the season has slipped away? JC: I don't think anything has slipped away from us. Together as a whole, we've put ourselves in position where we've had to dig ourselves out of a hole.   Q: Earlier the talk was about a BCS bowl, now this team will be lucky to play on New Year's Day. How hard is that to accept? JC: Everything that I know, none of us were talking about the BCS in the ...