Notre Dame 37 Arizona State 34

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Wow – who the hell expected that. ND goes down to Texas and beats a red hot ASU TEAM. Tommy Rees out-duels a red hot QB Taylor Kelly with some picture perfect passing and great receiving especially by TJ Jones who had an All American game. Ben Koyack (TE) gets his first touchdown. ND even had a good kick return by Jones, Niklas TD and 5th year line backer gets a pick 6 to seal the game.

Kyle Brindza 3 FG’S including a 53 yarder. Looks like 6 sacks by ND for minus 45 yards as Shembo (3) and Tuitt came alive. Constant harassment of the ASU QB won this game for the Irish in the 2nd half. The Notre Dame “D” finally came alive to slow down a warp speed offense that I thought would have had them exhausted by the 4th quarter.

The ND defense got a lot of help from the offense which had long drives, ate the clock, scored and kept ASU off the field. ND’s OL really did a terrific job pass blocking for Rees who actually completed some roll out passes. Cam McDaniel led rushers going 15 attempts for 82 yards.

Game Ball to the OL and McDaniel, if I was giving them out. While McDaniel may not have the break away speed he does read the holes much better than GAIII at this stage. Some sad news – ILB Grace went down with a fractured lower leg, just when he was starting to be a force in the middle. Senior WR Daniel Smith fractured his ankle. Both are finished for the year.

Some strange coaching at the end of the game almost snatched defeat from victory. Very strange and ASU almost got the onside kick. Don’t understand why Calabrese in for coverage when all ASU was going to pass, needed to pass and they scored in like 50 seconds.

Anyhow a good win and now they have 2 weeks off to forget everything they’ve learned so far this season. Here are the game highlights:

Oklahoma 35 Notre Dame 21

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Well that didn’t take long, about 3 minutes before we were down 14-0 on 2 interceptions. I know Rees is going to take all the heat on this one but that 1st pick – not on him plus he almost got killed on the hit. Just great when he comes to the sideline and Kelly all over him and you know Rees didn’t even know what happened to him and you know further it must have hurt. 2nd pick was a bad pass that was tipped right to a Sooner player. Kinda lucky how the ball bounced on these plays and Rees rounded out the 1st half with another pick.

ND rushing attack finally came to life, starting with a burst of 36 yards by Tarean Folston setting up ND’s first touchdown. He only carried the ball once more in the game. George Atkinson finally put it together rushing for 148 yards on 14 carries including an 80 yard run for a TD in the third quarter. ND had a total of 220 yds rushing to Oklahoma’s 212 which included QB Bell’s 59 yards rushing.

Look, with Tommy’s limitations he needs his receivers to run the correct route and he needs pass protection. We all know he can barely run and is not very good passing on a rollout so – you gotta deal with it. Bright spots in this game – biggest is the rushing attack and the emergence of Folston and Atkinson. At this point you have to wonder what the deal is with Freshman Greg Bryant – he was the big catch for the 2013 class. If he’s not hurt and doesn’t play this year it’s going to be – See Ya come January.

Carlo Calabrese played his best game in a ND uniform. Jarrett Grace, while still learning is going to be good. Freshman WR’s Robinson and Fuller are future stars. TJ Jones is just a very good receiver.

The Bad: The defensive line – believe me they are not the best DL in College Football. Tuitt just isn’t getting it done on a consistent basis and while Nix tries hard on every play he also , many times, is pushed back 3-4 yards. We have no depth and the attrition of DL – Aaron Lynch (transfer) Tony Springman (injury) Chase Hounshell (injury) and finally losing Eddie Vanderdoes before he even arrives all really hurts. And Gunner Kiel leaving made a mess of the QB depth.

Gotta say though, these guys did not quit, never gave up – but that being said, how do you let a big lumbering QB run for 59 yards? Where the hell was the pressure when he’s running around on 2 bad legs and then throws a 50 yard TD to a wide open receiver and 2 ND guys just watching him catch.

Oh well we are now 3-2 and the future getting dimmer.

What else was going on:

*** USC JUST FIRED LANE KIFFEN ***

Arizona State 62-41 over USC. ASU QB Kelly 351 yds passing and 79 yds rushing.
USC had 542 total yds with 295 passing and 247 rushing. The good news is – we get them back to back.

Pitt is 3-1 and BYU is 2-2
Stanford beat Washington State 55-17 and is now 4-0

What else – well Purdue with their vaunted defense is 1-4 and lost back to back – Wisconsin 41-10 and yesterday to Northern Illinois 55-24. Well,at least we should get that linebacker recruit.

Let’s wrap it up with 2 clips from watchnd.tv. Kelly not a happy camper.

Notre Dame vs Oklahoma

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So far I haven’t liked much about the first 4 games of this season – coaching first, motivation second. Most lethargic and confused team I’ve seen in a long time. At this stage, when getting the play called just about uses the clock, something very basic is missing. Further, looks to me that players are confused and are having trouble knowing what the coaching staff wants them to do – tentative and too much thinking going on, better to just let these guys play.

If we keep the bend/break style on defense we won’t win. I am a devout believer in Buddy Ryan’s Bears 46 defense – get the QB every play, constant pressure.

In addition to most teams loading the box on our offense, MSU’s Dantonio added a new wrinkle – jam the WR’s at the line and force them to the sidelines and it worked so expect Oklahoma to do the same and they have better players than Michigan State.

Actually, we have not played any decent teams so far – Michigan is no damn good, neither is Purdue. Michigan State has no offense and my guess is that they go 6-6 this year. Temple is not a Division 1 team and I originally thought this was a joke. Tulsa would beat Temple.

Unless Kelly has been holding back and unveils a totally new offensive scheme and ramps up this offense including the running game this game looks hopeless.

ND goes 3 and out in 1st possession while Oklahoma scores a touchdown and the rout is on.

Prediction:

Oklahoma 38 Notre Dame 17

NOTRE DAME 17 MICHIGAN STATE 13

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Not at all pretty as ND edges MSU in a battle of the trenches. With State loading the box, only alternative was to pass – oh, let’s skip those down the line passes, someone is going to get a pick 6 one of these Saturdays. Tommy Rees was 14/34 for 142 yards and generally put up a catch-able ball and if not completed at least it drew 4 interference calls which ultimately decided the game.

This was a ho-hum hard to watch game won on Brindza’s kicking. Nothing really newsworthy to write about except perhaps the emerging freshman receivers Robinson – 3 catches and Fuller’s 1 catch, his first of the season. It was interesting to note how State jammed the receivers and forced them to the sideline leaving little room for error but were caught out of bounds. Cam McDaniel had a 7 yd TD run and TJ Jones had another TD catch. ND had 224 yds to MSU’s 250.

ND fans cannot expect Tommy Rees to be Tom Brady–he’s not and while he missed a lot, he threw no picks. Workman like job.

Calabrese had a good game and he and Grace worked well together as the ILB set.

Let’s see what some other games looked like:

  • Wisconsin ran all over Purdue winning 41-10
  • Michigan barely beat UConn 24-21
  • Stanford walloped Arizona State 42-28 uh oh
  • Pitt beat Duke 58-55 real defensive game.
  • USC edged Utah State 17-14

Next 3 weeks will decide the season but unless ND can find a consistent offense and put up a lot of points the future looks mighty bleak.

Notre Dame VS Michigan State

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Traditionally and usually, 3 teams give ND fits despite inferior talent – Michigan State, Pitt and Purdue. This week will not be any different. MSU comes to South Bend with a very good defense (they usually do) and an improving offense banging out over 500 yards against Youngstown State and they found their QB – Connor Cook, who can pass and run. Regardless of who they played – the ND game is very special to their season, so they will be up – sky high.

Notre Dame, on the other hand has stumbled along in their first 3 games with Kelly and Diaco going very vanilla until it’s almost too late. He is relying on Tommy Rees to pass ND out of trouble in the 2nd half of each game and that is not good. Rees is really trying but it is just too much asking him to throw 50 times a game. Rees also can throw 5 picks in a game and since he is so immobile and can’t throw on the run, their is a great likelihood of injury which would end all hopes of a successful season.

Mark Dantonio has an interesting dilemma should MSU win the toss, but will kick off and let his defense blitz Rees unmercifully – make him complete passes behind an under performing offensive line. MSU bottles up the run in this game and ND will have to pass to win.

Notre Dame simply is not getting tough line action from either the OL or DL. I would not risk Sheldon Day(ankle) in this game – I would opt for Kona Schwenke, at least he has played a lot and he deserves a shot as a starter. ND should go with Grace as a starter – time to step it up at this ILB position.

This kid is good but he’s been standing around for 2 tears watching Manti – that’s part of the problem I have with Kelly, he just plays starters and that is no way to build quality depth. On defense, I would also move Shumate to ILB for Carlo & Fox in obvious passing situations and let’s get Jaylon Smith more involved in Blitzing the QB. Finally Tuitt – somehow or other light a fire under him. Many times he is being handled by the OT going one on one.

Kelly cannot rely on this defense to win games, they look confused and unmotivated. Kelly, also has to up tempo this offense and stop fooling around – just get the ball and go and go fast no huddle just for the hell of it.

Don’t have a good feeling about this game which could go either way.

Notre Dame 17 Michigan State 13 or the reverse.

Notre Dame 31 Purdue 24

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Brian Kelly, Chuck Martin and Broyles Award winner Bob Diaco (did I mention Broyles Award) better get their head phones checked for tampering – it’s either that or opposing coaches are living inside their heads. Everything is just so predictable on both sides of the ball and to consistently run the ball against 8 in the box is madness – no matter how many 5 star RB’s on the roster.

Sooner or later and I predict sooner, some team is going to blast ND right out of the stadium. Another poster said Tuitt belongs on a milk carton – I like that, so true. Is he still injured or just still out of shape?

Well, enough compliments – a win is a win and we can all thank Tommy Rees who again threw for 300 yards. Memo to receivers – when the ball hits your hands, the whole idea is to catch it. Where the hell would we be without Tommy? Try 0-3.

WR D. Daniels had a great game and TJ Jones was clutch. Cam McDaniel, despite limitations is a tough kid and hard runner. Frosh RB’s had no room to run at all – don’t be surprised if Bryant and Folston hop a jet to Florida if things do not improve in the running game – and the snow arrives.

Lackluster effort for the most part. ND simply cannot play Night Games, in prime time and on national TV – scaring the hell out of recruits. The good news is the Michigan State game is a day game at ND – the bad news is that they found a QB, 4 TD passes against Youngstown State and MSU had 547 yards total offense. Time for Bob Broyles to spring into action – move a few guys around, just for the hell of it.

Items of further interest ;

Temple( 0-3) lost to Fordham!!! 30-29, we only scored 28 against Temple. I didn’t even know that Fordham had a football team.

Next opponents in a row – Mich. State, Oklahoma, Arizona State and USC – last 2 are night games and once you get past them we finish the season with BYU and Stanford. That’s 6 potential losses unless we have drastic improvement in all aspects of this football program.

Don’t mean to be a downer but I see no improvement in this team from game 1 to 3.

Notre Dame Vs. Purdue

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This game, every year is THE most important game for Purdue. Purdue, traditionally, has always played ND tough and last year it took a last minute FG to beat a rather poor Boiler team.

I expect that Notre Dame, as they usually do, will play down to the competition level. When you look at the athletic superiority of ND they should easily put up 40 pts and just coast with the subs getting plenty of playing time – I doubt it will work out that way.

What I would like to see in this game for ND:

  • Jarrett Grace – time to see if this kid can play Manti’s position–he’s been waiting 2 years and Dan Fox belongs backing up Calabrese.
  • Bryant & Folston – time to see what they can do–freshman for other teams playing and running all over the place. Not clean up but touches in every quarter. I suspect that both of them know they are the best RB’s on this team
  • TJ Jones – I would not play him in this game.
  • Amir Carlisle – want him in space–slot receiver –quick hits to him.
  • OL – back ups need quality time, especially Elmer, Hanratty and Hegarty.
  • Hendrix – inside the 15 let him be Tebow. If he still can’t cut it then it’s Zaire time.
  • Defense – do something in this game.

I hope I’m wrong but I expect a Temple like game.

I’ve added Kelly presser from Sept 12 provided by watchnd.tv – Kelly said – well this week we decided to get the coaching staff more involved and we made them rerun plays until they got them right – shades of Vince Lombardi.

Notre Dame 33 Purdue 17

Michigan 41 Notre Dame 30

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Once again a barn-burner of a game as Kelly loses 3 out of 4 to Michigan. Michigan coach, Brady Hoke, apparently coaches the whole game without knowing what plays are being called ala Joe Paterno.

It looked at times that ND would be blown out but these guys kept fighting back – no quitters on this squad. With that said – they need a ton of work especially the defense. The DL is just not that good – Tuitt and Nix a real disappointment – seemed they were easily handled for most of the game and Day was just swallowed up.

Which brings me to Bob Diaco – does he know what the hell he’s doing or is it just the players that are hopelessly confused? He just made Devin Gardiner (QB Michigan) an All American – kid just ran and tossed terrifically the whole game. Diaco just seems to be always behind the curve during the game and at times the “D” players seem lost.

On offense – no imagination on play calling at all and it was just way too predictable. I’m not going to hang this loss on Rees, although he did throw one boneheaded pick at the end of the first half.

His job is to manage the offense and not be solely responsible for winning the game by himself – some imaginative play calling from the coaches to help him out would have been nice – that together with some blocking would have been nice also.

Michigan would rush 4 against ND’s 5 and get a lot of pressure on him. The OL really needs to improve on their run blocking – ND had only 96 yds rushing.

With all of the above Rees was 29 of 51 for 314 yds – 2 games in a row Rees over 300 yds passing. One bright note is the emergence of TE Troy Niklas – kid is a stud.

Running back – Carlisle is the real deal and Atkinson isn’t, but Amir is small. With Purdue next, ND must get Bryant and Folston into the game early. These kids have to play NOW!!! Don’t tell me they can’t pick up a blitzer – look at the arms on Bryant.

I’d start Bryant against Purdue and put Carlisle in for the home run–hell why not play 2 RB’s at the same time and just rotate the 3 of Them – again – get some plays, some imagination please. Of course the OL would have to block – just a little bit.

So next is Purdue. A truly dreadful team that just barely eked out a win over Indiana State 20-14.

Other News:

The Good – USC lost to Washington State 10-7.

The Bad – BYU clobbered Texas and racked up 550 in rushing yardage – BYU 40 Texas 21 – seems BYU has a running QB.

Notre Dame VS Michigan

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Michigan Wolverines vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Tickets

Unless Michigan QB Devin Gardner throws 5 intercepts or fumbles 5 times Notre Dame will lose this game. Last year Denard Robinson coughed it up 5 or 6 times and ND still barely won.

Notre Dame, take away one 45 yard run, simply could not run the ball against Temple and only scored 1 TD against Temple in the 2nd half. Third down production was horrible and all this is just the offensive side of the ball. I think the Michigan defense is maybe just a tad better than Temple.

Now the Notre Dame defense. What defense – 8 starters back from last year and Temple gets 300+ yds. What I saw last week was not only discouraging but downright scary considering the schedule we have.

The DL simply did not play and the ILB’s were awful – this makes no sense at all considering both Fox and Calabrese have been playing regularly for 4 years. We can only hope that Grace emerges big time.

Temple’s QB in his very first start ran all over the place and if even a few of his passes were caught that game would have been closer – take that with the missed FG’s and ND maybe only wins by 7.

I’m still not sold on Bob Diaco and his philosophy on defense – you just can’t let a team dink and dunk it’s way between the 20’s and expect to win the big games. Michigan has the players to take a dink for a TD, plus they have an excellent FG kicker. They also have a massive OL with a top 5 pick in LT Lewan.

Unless ND comes out in uptempo fast offense like the old Kelly teams I just can’t see them even in this game. I originally thought Michigan by 3 to 7, but after last week they win by at least 14.

Michigan 34 Notre Dame 20

Michigan Week, Temple After Thoughts

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I’m not privy to what the ND coaches are thinking during the course of a game, but I just do not understand what the 1st string OL was doing in the game in the final 10 minutes. Surely Elmer and Hanratty could have been put in for Z. Martin and C. Watt at LT and LG.

Why risk your best linemen in meaningless mop up time. Surely, at some time this season they will play so why not play them in the Temple game?

Temple After Thoughts:

  • After re-watching this game I do not feel good about the defense especially the front 7.
  • On a few plays when watching the line play Temple pushed the DL 2-3 yds backwards bunched them up thereby giving the ILB’s no gap to hit.
  • I think the DL is out of shape or taking plays off.
  • Moreover, this team at least in the 1st game sorely misses the leadership of Teo, Kap Lewis and Zeke Motta.
  • We can’t rely on this defense to save games for us – so I say junk the bend/no break defense theory.
  • Play aggressive football not wait around ball and hope to get lucky.
  • Kelly opined Sheldon Day a star – didn’t even look like he was even in the game – buried by Temple linemen.

Now Michigan:

  • Brady Hoke has done an excellent job recruiting, especially on the OL – he snagged a few that ND really wanted and they are big dudes.
  • Michigan LT Taylor Lewan is an All-American and maybe the best LT in the country – so we should see quickly how good Tuitt is going against him.
  • Their RT is no slouch either, so we’ll see how Day does there.
  • Michigan starting Center Jack Miller is new – so Nix – no excuses.
  • Thinking about Devin Gardiner – can run but also a decent passer.
  • I would use Jaylon Smith as a spy and give, in this game, one assignment – go get the QB every play.

Here’s Kelly’s Tuesday presser from WatchND.tv: