irishtexan
Oklahoma smells like pee
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Matt Hayes, who writes for the Sporting News, had a nice read about the game saturday. He noticed what we have all known all along: the coaching is why ND was losing games.
Here is an excerpt from his article:
Weis completely outcoached Wannstedt, just like they were back in the AFC East. But now Weis is with Notre Dame, and because of that the Irish are more confident, more eager, more aggressive offensively. Last year, Notre Dame stumbled in a late-season 41-38 home loss to Pitt. This year, the game was over midway through the second quarter -- and neither roster has changed much.
Examine what transpired over the past two years at Notre Dame and you see a dysfunctional, disorganized team that never played to its potential. The popular excuse: The Irish had little talent. Maybe Notre Dame always has had talent; maybe it hasn't had the right guy pushing the buttons. Need proof?
Exhibit A: Quinn, a onetime megarecruit who played erratically and with zero confidence the past two seasons. He played like Tom Brady against Pitt, throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns and methodically managing the game.
Exhibit B: Senior Rashon Powers-Neal, who was misused at fullback the past two seasons and now shares carries at tailback with Walker. A burly, deceptively quick 240-pound load, Powers-Neal gashed the Pitt defense for three touchdowns and is the perfect changeup to Walker's scatback style.
Exhibit C: Junior wideout Jeff Samardzija, who as a football player the past two seasons was a hell of a baseball player for the Irish. "But football has always been my first love," says Samardzija, whose leaping 19-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter sucked the air out of the biggest regular-season game at Pitt in more than two decades.
By halftime, the Notre Dame P.R. machine already was pumping out "first" stats, as in, the first time the Irish had accumulated so many yards or first downs or points in a half. All you need to know is the previous opponent usually was Rutgers.
During a timeout in the second quarter, a fan in his 40s threw a football through a hole in a board 25 yards away for $500,000. And if that guy had any eligibility left, you got the feeling Weis could make him a first-rounder, too.
"He's going to put us in the right play every time," Quinn says. "That's a very comforting feeling."
He's meticulous, all right. Moments after the game ended, after his team celebrated in the end zone with delirious fans, Weis was asked about his emotions from his first game.
"I'm thinking about Michigan," he said.
That's better than Nowheresville.
Senior writer Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. Email him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.
Here is an excerpt from his article:
Weis completely outcoached Wannstedt, just like they were back in the AFC East. But now Weis is with Notre Dame, and because of that the Irish are more confident, more eager, more aggressive offensively. Last year, Notre Dame stumbled in a late-season 41-38 home loss to Pitt. This year, the game was over midway through the second quarter -- and neither roster has changed much.
Examine what transpired over the past two years at Notre Dame and you see a dysfunctional, disorganized team that never played to its potential. The popular excuse: The Irish had little talent. Maybe Notre Dame always has had talent; maybe it hasn't had the right guy pushing the buttons. Need proof?
Exhibit A: Quinn, a onetime megarecruit who played erratically and with zero confidence the past two seasons. He played like Tom Brady against Pitt, throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns and methodically managing the game.
Exhibit B: Senior Rashon Powers-Neal, who was misused at fullback the past two seasons and now shares carries at tailback with Walker. A burly, deceptively quick 240-pound load, Powers-Neal gashed the Pitt defense for three touchdowns and is the perfect changeup to Walker's scatback style.
Exhibit C: Junior wideout Jeff Samardzija, who as a football player the past two seasons was a hell of a baseball player for the Irish. "But football has always been my first love," says Samardzija, whose leaping 19-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter sucked the air out of the biggest regular-season game at Pitt in more than two decades.
By halftime, the Notre Dame P.R. machine already was pumping out "first" stats, as in, the first time the Irish had accumulated so many yards or first downs or points in a half. All you need to know is the previous opponent usually was Rutgers.
During a timeout in the second quarter, a fan in his 40s threw a football through a hole in a board 25 yards away for $500,000. And if that guy had any eligibility left, you got the feeling Weis could make him a first-rounder, too.
"He's going to put us in the right play every time," Quinn says. "That's a very comforting feeling."
He's meticulous, all right. Moments after the game ended, after his team celebrated in the end zone with delirious fans, Weis was asked about his emotions from his first game.
"I'm thinking about Michigan," he said.
That's better than Nowheresville.
Senior writer Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. Email him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.
