28 Dec | Pinstripe Bowl vs. Rutgers

[IrishSteelhead]

Natives getting restless over the headline:

 

[koonja]

Natives getting restless over the headline:

Only 7 likes?

Come on trolls, crank up the hate a bit.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I don't think you have to be a troll to feel the way that guy does.

 

[notredomer23]

* outside of New Brunswick

Inside of New Brunswick, too.

 

[DillonHall]

Lol it highlights the non BCS slate because it is on ESPN.

To be fair, pretty much every single bowl game (except Sun and Cotton bowls) are on an ESPN network

 

[tko]

There's a great memento. Some day they can show their grandkids how they worked hard and got a video game.

Sorry, I'm not a fan of video games.

Awesome!

 

[MJ12666]

I am actually pretty excited about this game. A decent opponent that is from a state we try to recruit heavily. On top of that it is in New York so that may help continue our nice pipeline there as of late. I wonder if this will help us a little but with Holley? I am not really sure where we stand with him anymore at all? Obviously it is a little disappointing considering how amazing last season was but, we are a much better team under this regime and we are moving in the right direction!

Calling Rutgers a decent opponent is a little bit of a stretch. Living in NJ I have have watched a lot of their games and quite frankly this is a really bad team. They lost to Conn. and should have lost to Temple. Neither Nova or Dodd is any good so if you stop the run they can't move the ball. The only possible exception is Coleman is big and may be difficult to cover but I don't know if he is a little banged up because he was not of a factor in the second half of the season.The Rutger's blitz package is better then ND's (but whose isn't), but assuming the weather is reasonably decent (not extremely windy), Rees will look like a top 10 pick against their secondary.

 

[IrishLion]

I committed to getting tickets to the Belk Bowl to watch UC beat up on North Carolina and then sob softly over losing Hood to them, only to realize later that the Pinstripe Bowl is at 12pm the same day. Bummer.

 

[domerfreak]

im not guaranteeing a victory when i say this but it looks like things may now be a little bit easier.

Report: Rutgers fires three coaches, including DC | CollegeFootballTalk

 

[TheChosen1]

im not guaranteeing a victory when i say this but it looks like things may now be a little bit easier.

Report: Rutgers fires three coaches, including DC | CollegeFootballTalk

Already posted but on this point, people are saying he did this in order to hopefully save his job. You wonder if the AD for Rutgers will be scouting Diaco as a possible replacement if he does get fired.

 

[KPENN]

Natives getting restless over the headline:

 

[johnnycando]

Natives getting restless over the headline:

I love the pun in his name.

 

[NCND]

ND is on "upset alert" according to Mark May. Lol

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

If this gets above 21 - give me Rutgers.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pinstripe Bowl: Notre Dame Fighting Irish -18½ over Rutgers Scarlet Knights.</p>— Johnny Detroit (@Johnny_Detroit) <a href="https://twitter.com/Johnny_Detroit/statuses/409887632886231041">December 9, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[irishtrooper]

Any TV ratings will be because of Notre Dame. I've never in my lifetime heard someone say...."Oh I wanna watch the Rutgers game"

I think they usually play on ESPN8[/QUOtTE]



THE OCHO !!!!!

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

It is kind of embarrassing from going to the National Championship to playing in the New Era Bowl againsts a 6-6 team. Actually, totally embarrassing. The only worse thing would not going to a bowl all together. Just embarrassing. I know we beat 3 top 25 teams. But, we still lost to 2 other top 15 teams and 2 not ranked opponents. Still not a good season. Should have beat Michigan and Pitt and be 10-2.

Saying that, the Sun Bowl was a blast to go to. But, it was BK's first year and Miami was playing with interim coaches (Al Golden just got hired and was in the pressbox). So, after the Weis debacle it was good to be there. But, does it feel good to be here on this one?

Then again, it is the next game and lets send the seniors out with a win (and guys leaving for the NFL). I will always root and watch ND. ALWAYS. But, to me this was one of the most bad feeling seasons I have had at ND in a long time. And I have to say it started with Kelly interviewing for th Eagles job the day after the Nat. Championship. 4 years in and looking already. Heck, even Steve Sark gave it 5. The transfers/injuries/expulsions/Rees' turnovers/bad loses/NFL and playing a 6-6 team.

I guess it can be turned around in two swings IMO (or three with Tuitt staying)--Beat the crap out of Rutgers and have a great recruiting class with Letters of intent. Then this season will be in the rear view mirror and the positives will begin for the next season.

Go Irish, take care of business. And most if not all of us fans/Alums will root and support you all no matter what (even if we piss and moan here--me included)

GO IRISH

 

[DillonHall]

Nobody's thrilled to be in the Pinstripe Bowl, but I don't think anyone should be embarrassed either.

 

[gkIrish]

It is kind of embarrassing from going to the National Championship to playing in the New Era Bowl againsts a 6-6 team. Actually, totally embarrassing. The only worse thing would not going to a bowl all together. Just embarrassing. I know we beat 3 top 25 teams. But, we still lost to 2 other top 15 teams and 2 not ranked opponents. Still not a good season. Should have beat Michigan and Pitt and be 10-2.

Saying that, the Sun Bowl was a blast to go to. But, it was BK's first year and Miami was playing with interim coaches (Al Golden just got hired and was in the pressbox). So, after the Weis debacle it was good to be there. But, does it feel good to be here on this one?

Then again, it is the next game and lets send the seniors out with a win (and guys leaving for the NFL). I will always root and watch ND. ALWAYS. But, to me this was one of the most bad feeling seasons I have had at ND in a long time. And I have to say it started with Kelly interviewing for th Eagles job the day after the Nat. Championship. 4 years in and looking already. Heck, even Steve Sark gave it 5. The transfers/injuries/expulsions/Rees' turnovers/bad loses/NFL and playing a 6-6 team.

I guess it can be turned around in two swings IMO (or three with Tuitt staying)--Beat the crap out of Rutgers and have a great recruiting class with Letters of intent. Then this season will be in the rear view mirror and the positives will begin for the next season.

Go Irish, take care of business. And most if not all of us fans/Alums will root and support you all no matter what (even if we piss and moan here--me included)

GO IRISH

Auburn went 8-5, then 3-9 the two seasons following their National Championship win. You can't be in the Natty every year. And while most of us expect to win championships (hopefully sooner rather than later), this season wasn't "embarrassing." I don't understand how you can judge a season based on who our bowl opponent is.

 

[NCND]

This should make u feel better.. Everett Golson Senior Season Highlights - YouTube

 

[Ndaccountant]

Auburn went 8-5, then 3-9 the two seasons following their National Championship win. You can't be in the Natty every year. And while most of us expect to win championships (hopefully sooner rather than later), this season wasn't "embarrassing." I don't understand how you can judge a season based on who our bowl opponent is.

Exactly, especially considering that we had ZERO contractual tie-ins to bowls.

 

[Emcee77]

It is kind of embarrassing from going to the National Championship to playing in the New Era Bowl againsts a 6-6 team. Actually, totally embarrassing. The only worse thing would not going to a bowl all together. Just embarrassing. I know we beat 3 top 25 teams. But, we still lost to 2 other top 15 teams and 2 not ranked opponents. Still not a good season. Should have beat Michigan and Pitt and be 10-2.

Saying that, the Sun Bowl was a blast to go to. But, it was BK's first year and Miami was playing with interim coaches (Al Golden just got hired and was in the pressbox). So, after the Weis debacle it was good to be there. But, does it feel good to be here on this one?

Then again, it is the next game and lets send the seniors out with a win (and guys leaving for the NFL). I will always root and watch ND. ALWAYS. But, to me this was one of the most bad feeling seasons I have had at ND in a long time. And I have to say it started with Kelly interviewing for th Eagles job the day after the Nat. Championship. 4 years in and looking already. Heck, even Steve Sark gave it 5. The transfers/injuries/expulsions/Rees' turnovers/bad loses/NFL and playing a 6-6 team.

I guess it can be turned around in two swings IMO (or three with Tuitt staying)--Beat the crap out of Rutgers and have a great recruiting class with Letters of intent. Then this season will be in the rear view mirror and the positives will begin for the next season.

Go Irish, take care of business. And most if not all of us fans/Alums will root and support you all no matter what (even if we piss and moan here--me included)

GO IRISH

I could not disagree more. I typed this earlier in this thread:

All I was trying to say is that this is a year we can be proud of, if not satisfied with. I just like to see us compete, week in and week out. I'm still scarred by the Willingham and Weis years, when we would get blown out regularly. In the last three seasons, there's been one (1) game that got out of hand on us, and it was against the best football dynasty in decades. Just trying to keep things in perspective.

If you find this past season "one of the most bad feeling seasons" you can remember in a long time, then you must not remember the Weis and Willingham years, or you must consider that "a long time" ago. We were a hapless program then, below second tier. Now we are in every game we play right up till the end. It's natural to be disappointed but to call this year embarrassing is overreacting, imo.

 

[wizards8507]

It is kind of embarrassing from going to the National Championship to playing in the New Era Bowl againsts a 6-6 team. Actually, totally embarrassing. The only worse thing would not going to a bowl all together. Just embarrassing. I know we beat 3 top 25 teams. But, we still lost to 2 other top 15 teams and 2 not ranked opponents. Still not a good season. Should have beat Michigan and Pitt and be 10-2.

It's not really reasonable to to judge our season based on the bowl we're in or our opponent. This season was basically "BCS or bust" simply due to the fact that there just weren't many bowl options available to us this year. Yeah, a BCS bowl would have been nice, but the "second tier" non-BCS-but-still-prestigious bowls just weren't available to ND. Let's look at the other 8-4 teams.

Texas - Alamo Bowl vs. #10 Oregon
Iowa - Outback Bowl vs. #16 LSU
Texas A&M - Chick-fil-a Bowl vs. #24 Duke
Virginia Tech - Sun Bowl vs. #17 UCLA
Georga - Gator Bowl vs. Nebraska
Nebraska - Gator Bowl vs. Georgia
Minnesota - Texas Bowl vs. Syracuse
Washington - Fight Hunger Bowl vs. BYU
BYU - Fight Hunger Bowl vs. Washington
Boise State - Hawaii Bowl vs. Oregon State
Houston - Compass Bowl vs. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt - Compass Bowl vs. Houston
Buffalo - Potato Bowl vs. San Diego State
Middle Tennessee State - Armed Forces Bowl vs. Navy
North Texas - Heart of Dallas Bowl vs. UNLV
Louisianna-Lafayette - New Orleans Bowl vs. Tulane

The prestige of these games and, in many cases, the opponent, is largely driven by conference bowl tie-ins. We didn't have that benefit, so it's unfair to say that our the Pinstripe Bowl versus Rutgers is indicative of an embarassing season in and of itself. An 8-4 record is good enough for Texas to play a top-10 opponent but we just didn't have the tie-ins to make that happen this year.

If you find this past season "one of the most bad feeling seasons" you can remember in a long time, then you must not remember the Weis and Willingham years, or you must consider that "a long time" ago. We were a hapless program then, below second tier. Now we are in every game we play right up till the end. It's natural to be disappointed but to call this year embarrassing is overreacting, imo.

This. My four years at Notre Dame:

3 - 9
7 - 6
6 - 6
8 - 5

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

No I remember the Weis and Willingham eras. But, I am talking in total--so many bad things happened. When playing for a National Championship there was one bad thing after another for us. That is what I am talking about.

1. Day after game, Kelly looking at another job. And then leaves the country.
2. Neal, ferguson, Gunner, Eddie, Tee?? transfers
3. Everett getting kicked out of school
4. 8-4
5. Major injury issues
6. Nix to the NFL
7. Nix hurt
8. Lost to Pitt
9. Rees's costly turnovers against Pitt/Michigan/Stanford
10. Spond's retirement
11. Nick Martin's injury
12. Playing a 6-6 team in the bowl game
13. Tuitts ejection
14. Hunter's leg fracture
15. Farley every game


One thing after another. That is what I am talking about . The bad feelings/bad things never stopped. I have to give you credit on Willingham though, he was horrible. And living here in Washington, he killed the Huskies too. Or maybe I should have said disappointing feelings versus bad feelings????

Now what we have to hang our hats on are the following IMO.

-Jaylon Smith is a superstar in the making
-WE will have a mobile QB no matter what, and that was a major issue this past year
-Corey and Will look like really solid to good WR in the making
-TF looks like the real deal at RB
-Russell looks so good at CB
-Our TE's are studs
-Rochelle and Day look really good at DE
-Kyle B is really good at both kicking areas
-We lose Martin, and Nick has a major knee injury but Elmer/Conner/Matt H/Stanley look really good on the line. ANd the redshirt guys are coming.
-Davarius looks like he is stepping up.

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

wizz and emcee, good points. I guess I am just really disappointed on how many things didn't go well for us. And so many were within our control. Anyhow, good points.

 

[wizards8507]

1. Day after game, Kelly looking at another job. And then leaves the country.
2. Neal, ferguson, Gunner, Eddie, Tee?? transfers
3. Everett getting kicked out of school
4. 8-4
5. Major injury issues
6. Nix to the NFL
7. Nix hurt
8. Lost to Pitt
9. Rees's costly turnovers against Pitt/Michigan/Stanford
10. Spond's retirement
11. Nick Martin's injury
12. Playing a 6-6 team in the bowl game
13. Tuitts ejection
14. Hunter's leg fracture
15. Farley every game

1. Your coach getting NFL interest is a sign of success, not failure.
2. Transfers are a very legitimate concern.
3. Everett made a poor decision.
4. 8-4 is about as good as it was going to get with this team.
5. Injuries are COMPLETELY out of anyone's control and don't contribute to "embarassment".
6. Your nose tackle to the NFL is a sign of success, not failure.
7. See #5.
8. Agreed.
9. Agreed, though Stanford would have beaten us anyways.
10. See #5.
11. See #5.
12. Out of our control due to bowl tie-ins.
13. BS call out of our control.
14. See #5.
15. No excuse for Farley.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Win the bowl game and finish strong in recruiting and ND can head into the off-season a proud program that will be looking to make a statement in '14.

Go Irish. Beat Rutgers.

 

[DillonHall]

If you find this past season "one of the most bad feeling seasons" you can remember in a long time, then you must not remember the Weis and Willingham years, or you must consider that "a long time" ago. We were a hapless program then, below second tier. Now we are in every game we play right up till the end. It's natural to be disappointed but to call this year embarrassing is overreacting, imo.

I agree with your overall sentiment, but when is it no longer good enough to simply be competitive in every game? When do we need to start winning more games? Is anyone else a bit scared that 2012 was the anomaly, not the future?

 

[Emcee77]

I agree with your overall sentiment, but when is it no longer good enough to simply be competitive in every game? When do we need to start winning more games? Is anyone else a bit scared that 2012 was the anomaly, not the future?

Good questions. I did not mean to suggest that I am satisfied with 8-4. Just saying that I am not embarrassed by the way the team played this season and I didn't get a "bad feeling" from this season -- although I now better understand Olympia's point to the extent that he was saying that misfortune just kinda seemed to hang over us in some ways this off-season and season.

To take a stab at answering your questions ... I will have real concern if I don't see the offense take a big step forward next year under Golson. Right now I'm sanguine about the program in large part because I feel like a lot of our problems can be explained by the fact that we don't have the kind of player we want and need at QB, and that's due to a lot of bad luck, with Kiel leaving for no good reason and Golson getting suspended. We know Golson is that type of player, so I want to see us light it up from time to time next season or I'm really going to wonder why we can't.

 

[wizards8507]

I agree with your overall sentiment, but when is it no longer good enough to simply be competitive in every game? When do we need to start winning more games? Is anyone else a bit scared that 2012 was the anomaly, not the future?

8-4 being "normal" is better than 6-6 being "normal." I know a lot of people would like to get comfortable at 10-2 year after year, but I don't really see that happening for anyone in the modern era.

That being said, I'm no expert and the real answer could be any of the following.

1. BK has us on the right trajectory and we're going to continue to rise and be a perennial BCS contender.

2. BK has peaked. He's a good but not great coach and we should get used to 8-4, with some BCS anomalies once every four years or so.

3. BK has the ability to get us to #1, but the administration and the "challenges" of ND make it impossible so this is as good as it will ever get.

 

[notredomer23]

I got word yesterday form my buddy that I will be joining him in the Delta suites, whatever that is. I am guessing it will be nice!