Nov 24 | at Southern Cal

[woolybug25]

I for one, cannot trust a person with such a low hairline on their forehead. Somewhere between the evolution of homo sapiens, Mr Wittek seems to not have lost his monkey brow...

 

[Koreyirishkelly]

I don't think anybody remembers that we probably would've won last year had Crist not fumbled in the red zone.

 

[koonja]

I don't think anybody remembers that we probably would've won last year had Crist not fumbled in the red zone.

'Probably' is not accurate. When he fumbled, it was to tie IF we scored a TD. So USC would have +1 posession with a tie-ball game and a hell of a better QB. Crist's fumble was not why we lost that game. We couldn't run the ball on them and Woods/Barkley were just showing off.

 

[koonja]

For the record, it DOES sounds like Barkley's out:

Barkley said Tuesday he expects Wittek to smoothly lead USC.

"Just talking to the other guys about his huddle presence, it sounds like he's got it," Barkley said. "We'll see what it's like when he gets into the Coliseum for the first time, but I have no doubt. "He's played in big games before, and he's a tough kid. I think he's gonna have a great performance."

Barkley also said Wittek has the necessary tools to excel against the Irish.

"He's got a gun," Barkley said. "I think he will let it rip."

Barkley showed up to USC's Tuesday practice halfway through the session, with a sling supporting his shoulder. Afterward, he said he was dealing with the disappointment of his collegiate career potentially being over.

"To not be able to suit up and be with my guys, it's gonna suck," Barkley said. "But I don't think one game will define my time at USC. It's been a tremendous journey."

I trust Barkley more than I believe his coach.

 

[Emcee77]

I don't think anybody remembers that we probably would've won last year had Crist not fumbled in the red zone.

'Probably' is not accurate. When he fumbled, it was to tie IF we scored a TD. So USC would have +1 posession with a tie-ball game and a hell of a better QB. Crist's fumble was not why we lost that game. We couldn't run the ball on them and Woods/Barkley were just showing off.

True, but I do think the USC game last year was closer than some people remember. Crist's fumble was on the 1-yard-line and it was returned for a TD, so that's all but a 14 point swing. Even with the trouble we had handling the run, the defensive effort might have been enough to win, if the offense had been better and had avoided the turnovers (in addition to the fumble, Rees threw an INT and there was the botched pitch from Rees to Wood).

But the bottom line is we did have trouble handling the run and the offense was poor; USC outplayed us and deserved to win.

 

[Grahambo]

I just think ND is flat out stronger and tougher then USC.

 

[Meacon Irish]

Barkley is probably fine to play. He's just afraid his *** is going to have to cash the check his mouth signed after last year's game.

 

[Grahambo]

Love this quote from Kap. Sounds very business like in his approach. Very focused. Not buying into the hype.

Bob Wieneke ‏@BobWienekeNDI

KLM on Wittek quote: You don't expect him to say we're gonna lose. That's what you want out of your quarterback.

 

[Bluto]

True, but I do think the USC game last year was closer than some people remember. Crist's fumble was on the 1-yard-line and it was returned for a TD, so that's all but a 14 point swing. Even with the trouble we had handling the run, the defensive effort might have been enough to win, if the offense had been better and had avoided the turnovers (in addition to the fumble, Rees threw an INT and there was the botched pitch from Rees to Wood).

But the bottom line is we did have trouble handling the run and the offense was poor; USC outplayed us and deserved to win.

As I remember it we had a ton of trouble on the first two USC offensive series of the game. After that the defense played fairly well considering the blunders on offense. I think a good deal of the trouble we had stopping the run had to do with KLM going down on like the second or third play of the game if I remeber correctly. Also, Cwynar was not 100% and Nix was not as lights out as he has been this year. On that note. What's up with Kona Schwenke? Is he out for the season?

 

[caligold]

If SC continues to use their short passing game as illustrated on Subwaydomer.com, I hope Carlo lays a hit on either Woods or Lee like he did last week against #25.

Still can't feel great about this game. I hope my adaptive expectations are just getting the best of me. GO IRISH!

 

[Meacon Irish]

Kap getting hurt, Nix not being anywhere near as developed as he currently is, and Aaron Lynch not knowing that run-defense is an actual thing were contributing factors to last year's game.

I don't expect a steamrolling, as it's a rivalry game, and it's not often a rivalry game is a complete blowout. But I think we're a completely different team that hosted the Trojans last year.

Our boys are sharks. They smell the blood in the water. They know it's dinner time. And there ain't no foolin' when it's dinner time.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

From ITI

And in that corner… The Southern California Trojans | Inside the Irish

 

[Grahambo]

Manti Te'o ‏@MTeo_5

The worst thing you can do is fool yourself!
Expand

Manti Te'o Manti Te'o ‏@MTeo_5

The funniest part is I already know I got your attention!

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

I just think ND is flat out stronger and tougher then USC.

There are about 100 people who would even argue USC is as strong and tough as we are, and that's the players and coaches on USC. Even their fans know how much more physical and tough we are than them. They are a finesse team.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Phil Steele picks USC to win.

 

[rocket66]

I see Phil Steele picked the Trojans. Just about the only main stream media guy that has leaned towards SC. He also picked against the Irish against MSU and OU on the road, fwiw.

 

[rocket66]

Ha, nice timing Whiskey..

 

[brandonnash]

He also needs to be reminded that he had Oklahoma beating FSU in the championship game.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I see Phil Steele picked the Trojans. Just about the only main stream media guy that has leaned towards SC. He also picked against the Irish against MSU and OU on the road, fwiw.

He also needs to be reminded that he had Oklahoma beating FSU in the championship game.

IIRC, he picked OU to win 31-13. So he got the score right, just not the team.

 

[KPENN]

ND Players React To Wittek's Comments

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has been on media lockdown all season long. The redshirt freshman, aka “Johnny Football”, vaulted into the Heisman Trophy conversation nearly two weeks ago when he led his team to a shocking 29-24 upset of then No. 1 Alabama, but head coach Kevin Sumlin is yet to allow his precocious QB the chance to speak to the media all season.

Based on the swirl the comments of USC redshirt freshman Max Wittek caused this week, maybe Sumlin’s choice is wiser than many would have first thought.

Wittek, himself a redshirt freshman, is set to start for the injured Matt Barkley at quarterback when No. 1 Notre Dame ends its regular season this Saturday. He made the following comments on a Los Angeles radio station this week:

“We’re gonna play our offense,” Wittek began. “Whatever coach (Lane) Kiffin feels comfortable giving me. If he wants to air it out let’s air it out. If he wants to pound them on the ground let’s do that. Like I said, I’m gonna go out there (and) I’m gonna play within myself within the system and we’re gonna win this ball game.”

The first three and a half sentences is pretty innocuous stuff, but it’s the last seven syllables have Wittek in a class with Joe Namath in the current sports media cycle. Talking heads from east to west have taken Wittek’s words “we’re gonna win this ball game” as a guarantee from the youngster.

In this age of internet, social media and ESPN it never takes long for such “gotcha” news to travel. Irish defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore actually heard the news the old fashioned way when he got a phone call from his sister. He told her to “chill” and hardly shocked by Wittek’s words.

“What do you expect,” Lewis-Moore asked a group of reporters rhetorically on Wednesday. “You don’t expect him to say that we’re gonna lose. I think people are really making it a bigger deal than what it is. He’s a confident quarterback and you want to play for a confident quarterback. Him coming out and saying he’s gonna win…that’s what you want out of your quarterback.”

“It’s not hanging-up in the locker room. It’s no bulletin board material. We know about it. You just kind of shrug it off and then go to work.”

While Lewis-Moore heard the comments from his sister, Fighting Irish center Braxton Cave first saw Wittek’s “guarantee” on Twitter. Like his defensive teammate, Cave was hardly moved by what he read.

“He’s not gonna sit there and say that they’re gonna lose,” Cave said. “Any guy who’s competitive is gonna go out there and motivate his team and try and get a win. That’s really not a big deal. We’re gonna continue to prepare the same way and just go out there and execute.”

Broadway Joe guaranteed the New York Jets would beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. His was a simple boast that could hardly be mistaken “I guarantee it,” Namath said in his Miami poolside chat with reporters. Wittek’s comments this week make him anything but “Hollywood Max” though.

“It’s whatever,” Fighting Irish safety Zeke Motta said when asked if Wittek’s was a guarantee. “If I was on that team I’d want my quarterback being confident too. You can say what you want, but he’s gotta have some sort of motivation trying to go into this game and to get everybody else fired-up. I think at the end of the day he’s got nothing to lose, so that’s a little more dangerous than when somebody calculates what they’re doing.”

“That’s good for him,” Notre Dame cornerback Bennett Jackson commented. “He’s a confident kid. You gotta be a confident kid when you’re playing at such a high level. That’s his opinion and it really doesn’t have any effect on me. We’re gonna come and show up regardless.”

Notre Dame nose guard Louis Nix III is known to have his own knack for words and he puts neither a negative connotation nor derives any extra motivation from what Wittek said this week.

“He probably just mis (spoke) a few words, who knows,” Nix said. “I don’t try to take comments that people say (to heart), because sometimes people speak out of turn and people try to boost it up. If he said it, he said it. If he didn’t mean to, he didn’t mean to. I don’t really care. I’m just going out to the Coliseum to try to play some good football.”

Nix added Wittek’s comments do not change his approach to this Saturday’s game at all.

“I look at it the same as I did with Pitt or BYU or Michigan or Stanford,” Nix said. “I just wanna go out there and do my job and hopefully we get a win.”

Former Irish head coach Charlie Weis was more a “bulletin board guy” than Brian Kelly, whose message to his team has always been about focusing on what they can control. Who knows if Weis would have deemed “we’re gonna win this ball game” as bulletin board worthy, but it is obvious that Irish players have their focus in a different place as they prepare for their last step toward playing for a national championship.

“The biggest thing coach Kelly always says is avoid the noise and I guess that goes in that category,” Cave said. “If someone’s gonna talk we’re gonna go do our talking on the field. People can say what they want, but the game is where it’s gonna be decided.”

 

[greyhammer90]

ND Players React To Wittek's Comments

Love this team. Again.

 

[KPENN]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HLWh9cw8GPk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[greyhammer90]

JUST WIN THIS ****ING GAME.

 

[gatsby]

Will be at this game. So pumped. How's the atmosphere at the Coliseum?

It is electric and somewhat different than the typical, say, Oklahoma/Nebraska game. The two schools, believe it or not are not hateful rivalries. There are many alums of both schools in the LA and So Cal area and most of them are very well off and friendly. So the tailgates before the game are high class and amicable and mixed.

As for the Coliseum it is very large and most seats are far from the action, in stark contrast to Notre Dame Stadium. But the Trojan and the horse are a sight and the atmosphere rivals any college game because, historically, it doesn't get better than this.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Just once, I'd love to see that idiot condom mascot drive that sword through his foot when planting it.

 

[Grahambo]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jpcH0rls_XU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Love these interviews! Reminds me of the Giants..Steelers..Patriots type player interviews.

 

[CarrollVermin]

Just once, I'd love to see that idiot condom mascot drive that sword through his foot when planting it.

That made me laugh out loud...mainly because we have all thought it at one point or another.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Just once, I'd love to see that idiot condom mascot drive that sword through his foot when planting it.

so far the best post of the year. reps.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Brian Fremeau just posted an article on Similarity Scores, which are useful for predicting future games based on the outcomes of past games between teams with similar efficiency profiles. ND features prominently in it.

Using FEI, OFEI, DFEI, and STE data only, I compared the Notre Dame and USC matchup against every game over the last five seasons to find matchups that were most similar across those efficiency data points. The most similar game was a 38-14 victory by Alabama over Arkansas last season. That is, Notre Dame’s profile compared with 2011 Alabama’s profile and USC’s profile compared with 2011 Arkansas’ profile produced the closest game match.

 

[Patulski]

Also, as i think Whiskey pointed out yesterday, KLM got hurt in the USC game last year, and Aaron Lynch was totally ineffective against the run as his replacement. Just another reason why things are different this year, if we stay healthy.

IMO Tuitt was far less effective than Lynch. Lynch was beating their RT Graf consistently rushing the passer and was pressuring Barkley. Tuitt was a total non factor both as a rusher and a run defender as was Nix. I think both Tuitt and Nix have progressed a lot this year. I'm sure they remember last year and will want to show their stuff. Fleming also beat Graf inside a couple of times. Hopefully Shembo will have a big day as well.