Nov 24 | at Southern Cal

[beryirish]

We're the only ones that know what we want to accomplish on a day to day basis. We don't worry about the big picture.

We clearly talk about the differences that Notre Dame offers to a recruit than at other schools. We do that to be clear right away.

Sheldon Day has great quickness and does not stay blocked. We are all big Sheldon Day fans.

 

[beryirish]

Stopping the run and running the football and taking care of the football is how we are built and that's the way we will be against USC.

Yards after contact has been a big point of emphasis with the RB's the season

 

[ACamp1900]

Most important game Notre Dame has played in 24 years of fandom... I find it hard to focus this week

 

[ickythump1225]

Well all this crap talk by USC so far will sure lend to keeping our young men and coaching staff focused!

I said somewhere else, any small chance Notre Dame had of getting overconfident and overlooking is USC is being erased by all of the crap flowing from the Spoiled Children. God I hate Lane Kiffin more and more everyday that goes by. I wish Kiffin was playing the game so Te'o could crush him. I normally don't hate native Minnesotans but Kiffin is a giant douche and he really fits in well at USC and that atmosphere.

By the way I'm pretty BK would stomp a mud hole in Kiffin's @$$ and would it dry.

 

[beryirish]

Golson is a better QB when he runs, but we have to put another coat of armor on him in the weight room before we run him too much.

Freshmen QBs must have a certain football IQ to be successful in their rookie season. Golson has that...

The team will spend a lot of time at coach's houses Thursday night because none of them will be traveling for Thanksgiving.

 

[beryirish]

Manti won't be found running the ball or anything like that. He will play linebacker and only linebacker.

Ara Parseghian writes me a note every week to talk about the season.

Lou Holtz has been an extremely valuable asset to me. Charlie Weis sent me a nice note last week as well.

 

[beryirish]

You put an offense against our defense on a long field and they will have trouble scoring.

Manti represents everything great off the field who just happens to be a great football player on it.

Grace Hall has a tradition of showing the #1 sign and all of our kids saw it and understand it.

The USC rivalry needs to become more of a rivalry by us winning some games.

 

[ickythump1225]

Most important game Notre Dame has played in 24 years of fandom... I find it hard to focus this week

Same here. Been a fan for a decade. Hell I've only been alive 24 years haha.

 

[beryirish]

We will practice out on the grass as much as we can this week -- at least two days.

 

[beryirish]

END...sorry I missed Wake Forest week...and almost this week

 

[brandonnash]

This "backup" qb of theirs is no joke. I know people aren't giving two $#!+$ about him but he has the goods. He is a qb that has a good quick drop, he can scramble pretty well, his play action passes look very good, and he is also mobile. He has just enough speed to pick up 15 yards on the ground. And if he has any kind of protection he is a long range threat. With those receivers that is dangerous. He needs to be heavily pressured.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

This "backup" qb of theirs is no joke. I know people aren't giving two $#!+$ about him but he has the goods. He is a qb that has a good quick drop, he can scramble pretty well, his play action passes look very good, and he is also mobile. He has just enough speed to pick up 15 yards on the ground. And if he has any kind of protection he is a long range threat. With those receivers that is dangerous. He needs to be heavily pressured.

He's also a RS Freshman who hasn't started a single game yet. No one is writing off Wittek, but it's madness to argue that he's somehow more dangerous than Barkley would have been.

 

[PraetorianND]

He's also a RS Freshman who hasn't started a single game yet. No one is writing off Wittek, but it's madness to argue that he's somehow more dangerous than Barkley would have been.

Obviously we should prepare like he's part Payton Manning and Part RG3 but in reality he is probably not. There is little chance he is as good or better than Barkley. Otherwise I'm sure he would have been starting all year.

 

[Emcee77]

He's also a RS Freshman who hasn't started a single game yet. No one is writing off Wittek, but it's madness to argue that he's somehow more dangerous than Barkley would have been.

True, but Lax made a good point in another thread ... Barkley has been part of the problem for USC this year; his poor decision-making and turnovers have been a factor in their losses. Barkley may be a senior and 4 year starter, but he has played erratic football this season -- the kind of football you expect a RS freshman to play. Obviously he has done a lot of great things too, but if Wittek goes out there and slings it all over for big plays and a few big mistakes, well, that's not much different from Barkley.

 

[Grahambo]

He's also a RS Freshman who hasn't started a single game yet. No one is writing off Wittek, but it's madness to argue that he's somehow more dangerous than Barkley would have been.

Completely agree. If some of you have a few minutes, I encourage you to listen to this clip of Kurt Warner from the SVP Show yesterday. They get to talking about backup QBs and hearing it from Warner makes me feel a bit at ease about this kid.

Kurt Warner - ESPN

It starts about the 3:15 mark and ends about the 4:30ish mark.

 

[Rocky2820]

He's also a RS Freshman who hasn't started a single game yet. No one is writing off Wittek, but it's madness to argue that he's somehow more dangerous than Barkley would have been.

Agree. Diaco and our veteran D should be able to confuse any first-time starter. Show him different looks, with pressure mixed in. And don't leave our corners on an island any more than necessary, which shouldn't be much at all.

 

[clashmore_jon]

USC is a very talented football team and the WRs are the best in the country

USC has great weapons and great balance on offense

we don't know too much about Barkley's back-up, but he is on scholarship at USC

FTFY: but he is one of the highest paid college athletes

 

[Whiskeyjack]

True, but Lax made a good point in another thread ... Barkley has been part of the problem for USC this year; his poor decision-making and turnovers have been a factor in their losses. Barkley may be a senior and 4 year starter, but he has played erratic football this season -- the kind of football you expect a RS freshman to play.

He obviously hasn't been perfect, but his 2011 season is a good indicator of his true capabilities. I don't follow USC closely enough to know how the Trojan OL performed in their losses to Stanford and UCLA; I'd be stunned if the Cardinal wasn't in his face all night. And against UO, Barkley's TD/INT ratio was 4:1.

Barkley has a ton of experience (~45 games started), so he has all the intangibles that come with that. It's virtually impossible that Wittek will be able to read our defense, audible into better pass protection, etc. as well as Barkley can.

We've seen what a RS freshman who's being ultra-cautious with ball security looks like in some of the Golson's earlier games; standing too long in the pocket, late on throws, lots of half-field reads followed by balls thrown out of bounds.

I simply don't buy that Barkley's injury is anything but a boon for the Irish.

 

[IrishFBfanatic]

True, but Lax made a good point in another thread ... Barkley has been part of the problem for USC this year; his poor decision-making and turnovers have been a factor in their losses. Barkley may be a senior and 4 year starter, but he has played erratic football this season -- the kind of football you expect a RS freshman to play. Obviously he has done a lot of great things too, but if Wittek goes out there and slings it all over for big plays and a few big mistakes, well, that's not much different from Barkley.

Barkley's been a problem for them this season, yes. Kiffin has even called him out for his erratic play and underachieving (cause he's such a tactful coach). Yet Max hasn't done enough to dethrone Barkley as the starter either...he hasn't been able to outplay the struggling Matt Barkley.

He's a redshirt freshman making his first start against the #1 team in the country. Let's see how that goes for him...

 

[Emcee77]

Barkley's been a problem for them this season, yes. Kiffin has even called him out for his erratic play and underachieving (cause he's such a tactful coach). Yet Max hasn't done enough to dethrone Barkley as the starter either...he hasn't been able to outplay the struggling Matt Barkley.

He's a redshirt freshman making his first start against the #1 team in the country. Let's see how that goes for him...

Certainly Wittek has done nothing to prove he is better than Barkley, and yes, Wittek will likely struggle. I just wanted to point out that losing Barkley isn't exactly like losing Johnny Manziel. He isn't the Heisman contender we thought he'd be, not even close.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

Barkley's been a disappointment, but he can still get hot and have great games. I rather go against a hot Wittek than a hot Barkley.

 

[DomerInHappyValley]

Wittek is only scary to me in the sense that he is to dumb to realize what he's trying to do.

 

[IrishBlood81]

Anyone know if there will be an ND pep rally in LA before the game??

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Certainly Wittek has done nothing to prove he is better than Barkley, and yes, Wittek will likely struggle. I just wanted to point out that losing Barkley isn't exactly like losing Johnny Manziel. He isn't the Heisman contender we thought he'd be, not even close.

I feel like this is a bit of an overstatement. Barkley will get drafted. There is no way he has been a net-negative for the Trojans this season.

 

[peoriairish]

Anyone know if there will be an ND pep rally in LA before the game??

I know there is one on Friday, I just can't remember where. I'm searching for it and reaching out to those who would know. I'll let you know if I hear anything or figure out where I saw the message about it.

 

[Grahambo]

I feel like this is a bit of an overstatement. Barkley will get drafted. There is no way he has been a net-negative for the Trojans this season.

He will go Top 3. Not sure why Barkley is garbage all of a sudden to some people. Guy was a legit Heisman contender. Can argue the team let him down in areas due to coaching.

Guy leads the nation in TDs. His sack total is up as are his INTs but nothing can beat his 40 something starts. It goes beyond physical abilities. Mentally is Wittek ready? Doubtful. Not impossible but doubtful. He is already over confident.

 

[West Coast Domer]

Anyone know if there will be an ND pep rally in LA before the game??

I know for sure there is a pep rally on Friday at the Hyatt regency in Garden Grove which is orange county

 

[TheChosen1]

Anyone have today's presser on video?

 

[Classic Irish]

If our defense can't stop a RS frosh with very limited playing time, then frankly I'm not sure we deserve to be in the championship game.

 

[brandonnash]

If our defense can't stop a RS frosh with very limited playing time, then frankly I'm not sure we deserve to be in the championship game.

Point.