What Would be Unacceptable to You?

[tommyIRISH23]

My bad, perhaps i jumped the gun because last year everyone was calling for John Goodman's head when he would fair catch. Even though he had 3-4 guys in his face every time.

Still no excuse. He should have made two miss, ran the third over, and sent the fourth running in fear

 

[A Pac]

One word, TURNOVERS. Unacceptable period! Just can not have them. They were the number 1 reason we lost last season.
Also, secondary performance if it is anything similar to last season would be unacceptable.

Agreed. It also seemed that the turnovers came at the worse possible times as well (deep in the opponents territory after long drives).

 

[jason_h537]

Agreed. It also seemed that the turnovers came at the worse possible times as well (deep in the opponents territory after long drives).

Agree times 3. Turnovers lead directly to every loss except Stanford and FSU. FSU was just **** poor execution, Stanford was just a superior team.

 

[obi wan mahoney]

My bad, perhaps i jumped the gun because last year everyone was calling for John Goodman's head when he would fair catch. Even though he had 3-4 guys in his face every time.

No worries, the main point is LSU and 'Bama averaged nearly 13 yards a punt return and we were down around the 3 yard mark; we need to provide better coverage and get some good returns to help the offense.

 

[IrishYYC]

1. No doubt another loss to Michigan would be unacceptable. We have to beat them this year.

2. Anything less than 8 wins would be pretty heartbreaking regardless of the tough schedule. It's year 3, time to buck up.

3. No negative turnover ratio. Last season was atrocious, especially when we got into the redzone. Have to clean that up this season or else we'll be lucky to even get 8 wins.

 

[BurningRiver]

I know redzone turnovers are inevitable no matter how good of a team is on the field, but a rash of turnovers in the redzone-backbreaking variety ala last season would be absolutely unacceptable.

 

[EifertPower]

Losing to either Navy or Purdue. The schedule we have is tough enough. Beating USC and Oklahoma is pretty unlikely. Michigan is pretty tough too. Many other games are challenges too. If we can't start 2-0 then we quite possibly miss out on a bowl.

ND has to start 2-0
...then they have to at least split against Mich and Mich State
...then they need to win 2 of 3 against Miami, Stanford, and BYU
...they will likely lose at Oklahoma
...they will have to win the next 3 (Pitt, BC, and Wake Forest)
...then they will likely lose to USC

Do this and they are 8-4 and it can't be considered a bad season by anyone since probably we will play 3 teams that finish the season in the Top 10. And maybe if you wind up beating Oklahoma or USC or Michigan by some miracle then you are 9-3 with a statement win that catches the eye of the college football world.

 

[ACamp1900]

If the class falls apart for any reason or we lose more than six games I'll go beyond disappointed... if both happen... ugh...

 

[NDinFL]

If the class falls apart for any reason or we lose more than six games I'll go beyond disappointed... if both happen... ugh...

Seemingly those could go hand in hand

 

[ACamp1900]

Seemingly those could go hand in hand

very likely yes... I guess I have a "just survive this season" mentality... with our questions and this schedule it's just silly to expect an undefeated season... we will lose somewhere... I just hope they hold the class together and have a winning record... if that happens I'll be thrilled heading into 2013

 

[Domer4ever]

I think last year was a disaster and anything resembling last season would be a major disappointment. This includes:

- Brian Kelly sideline antics that are so easily used by guys like Meyer and Kiffin in negative recruiting against Notre Dame. Getting upset is one thing, going ballistic on an 18 or 19 year old on national television for making a mistake is another.

- Brian Kelly not internally dividing the team with comments to the media after difficult losses where his team looked unprepared and failed to execute.

- Poor QB play. It's year 3, and Kelly's specialty is supposed to be QB development and offense. It's time to step up or shut up. There are some talented guys on the roster who are smart and certainly have the ability to grasp an offense, so he needs to get production from that position. No more excuses and no QB by committee approach. Pick a guy and go with them.

- Gut wrenching losses in big games and losing those games in catastrophic fashion. It's time for this team to step up and start winning some of these big games. In my opinion Kelly needs a signature win this season.

- Turnovers. At what point does it become a coaching issue?

Again, anything resembling last season and I would shed no tears if Kelly was shown the door. To me this team has talent and should improve in the win column despite the more difficult schedule. Anything less then 9 wins would be unacceptable to me.

 

[Patulski]

Michigan is pretty tough too.

Michigan is in year two of rebuilding. We're in year three. So, Kelly has three years to implement his system and two full recruiting classes compared to two years of Hoke's system and one recruiting class.

And let's look at what Hoke has compared to Kelly according to Scout's Team rankings:

2008 (5th year): ND #2/ UM #6
2009 (Seniors): ND #23/UM 14
2010 (Jr.s): ND 19/UM 12
2011 (Soph): ND 8/UM #29
2012 (Frosh): ND #16/UM#4

These two teams are close in talent.

We're at home and we are in year 3 of building our program. This is one of my barometer games. If we lose this game it would be Kelly's third straight loss to Michigan, which would not bode well for the future. He needs to win this game.

 

[irish1958]

More bone head plays and stupid penalties.
A loss to better talent: that's the way it is, BUT we should win an occasional one.
Loosing to teams made up of players who wouldn't make the traveling squad at ND.
Being out coached. (Navy and--finger on the blackboard--USC��

 

[dre1919]

Unacceptable?

1. The uniforms they are wearing to the Miami game in Chicago. Horrific and needing to be burned as an effigy. Let's just go ahead and make that "all the Shamrock Series" unis. They're all terrible and need to go far, far away forever.

2. 5 or 6 losses.

3. A third tier bowl.

4. Missing a bowl altogether.

5. Losing to U$C by more than 10 points.