Post Game Observations....

[kmoose]

1. Our DBs got worked! Every single one of them. They couldn't hang at all.

2. What happened to the O Line? USC was in Clausen's face all day, while only rushing 4 guys.

3. ND needs to win out, for Charlie to keep his job. I still don't really agree with it, but this is ND. You HAVE to win at least some of these big games, if you want to stick around. Finish with 10 wins, and it will be hard to get fired. But your best chance for a quality win is probably Pitt. If you can't win 10, and have no real quality wins in the bag? You're probably gone.

4. Matt Barkley played one hell of a game. Seriously, as much as I hate to give him credit, you have to. This true Freshman came into the most storied place in College Football history, and delivered.

5. I feel bad for the team. This could have been a HUGE win for this team. They fought hard, even though the Defense was clearly outmatched. If not for Kamara's slip on the final play, they might have taken them to overtime, or even won it outright.

This is a pretty empty feeling.

 

[IrishChris209]

2. What happened to the O Line? USC was in Clausen's face all day, while only rushing 4 guys.

4 Sr's and played like True Freshman

As far as the DB's (That should be our main concern). We have to get some speed ! Some SEC caliber Db's would be nice !

Kyle was almost completely shut down!

 

[notredomer23]

1. Our DBs got worked! Every single one of them. They couldn't hang at all.

2. What happened to the O Line? USC was in Clausen's face all day, while only rushing 4 guys.

3. ND needs to win out, for Charlie to keep his job. I still don't really agree with it, but this is ND. You HAVE to win at least some of these big games, if you want to stick around. Finish with 10 wins, and it will be hard to get fired. But your best chance for a quality win is probably Pitt. If you can't win 10, and have no real quality wins in the bag? You're probably gone.

4. Matt Barkley played one hell of a game. Seriously, as much as I hate to give him credit, you have to. This true Freshman came into the most storied place in College Football history, and delivered.

5. I feel bad for the team. This could have been a HUGE win for this team. They fought hard, even though the Defense was clearly outmatched. If not for Kamara's slip on the final play, they might have taken them to overtime, or even won it outright.

This is a pretty empty feeling.

Number 1. Completely disagree. Harrison Smith got worked. He was responsible for over 100 yards. Give us a good safety back there taht doesnt miss every tackle Barkley has much less yards. I thought overall, minus a few lapses, they played pretty good.

Number 2. First half, agree 100%. 2nd half different story. We had time. Sometimes. They got the job done most the time.

Number 3. I can't see us losing any other game with this team. We fight fight fight fight fight til the end.

Number 4. Yes, albeit, Harrison Smith sure aided him.

Number 5. All comes down to this, Kamara not slipping, Rudolphs catch being ruled a TD, OR, kicking a field goal on that 4th and 1 in the 3rd Q. At the time it was the right call. If we make that field goal, and the XP doesnt get blocked, its a 3 point game.

 

[jmurphy75]

Some players played up and some down....as a team we lost. As fans we should accept nothing less than supporting our players and recruits walking out of that game with their heads held high. I'm proud to be an Irish fan!

 

[Irish74]

1. Our DBs got worked! Every single one of them. They couldn't hang at all.

2. What happened to the O Line? USC was in Clausen's face all day, while only rushing 4 guys.

3. ND needs to win out, for Charlie to keep his job. I still don't really agree with it, but this is ND. You HAVE to win at least some of these big games, if you want to stick around. Finish with 10 wins, and it will be hard to get fired. But your best chance for a quality win is probably Pitt. If you can't win 10, and have no real quality wins in the bag? You're probably gone.

4. Matt Barkley played one hell of a game. Seriously, as much as I hate to give him credit, you have to. This true Freshman came into the most storied place in College Football history, and delivered.

5. I feel bad for the team. This could have been a HUGE win for this team. They fought hard, even though the Defense was clearly outmatched. If not for Kamara's slip on the final play, they might have taken them to overtime, or even won it outright.

This is a pretty empty feeling.

3. They have won none of their big games. No one on the rest of their schedule is a big game. Pitt can be ranked in the top 25 by the time we play them, but buy the time their handing out bowl bids Pitt's gonna get an invite to the Poppa John's bowl.

 

[Riddickulous]

1. Jimmy Clausen should be the leading Heisman candidate. He throws for 48 yards in the first half, comes out firing and throws for 200+ in the second half, and almost leads a monumental comeback. I feel so bad for him, right now.

2. Golden Tate was great.

3. Robby Parris is a WARRIOR. A WARRIOR. It's a DAMN shame he got hurt.

4. The offensive line was inconsistent, but they blocked well enough to keep us in the game.

5. The defensive line played great.

6. TE'O! This kid is going to be a MONSTER one day. He was lighting people up all game long.

7. The secondary BLOWS. Harrison Smith is the worst free safety the Irish have had in a long time.

8. We found our kickoff guy. Good kicking by Ruffer today.

 

[RECON Daddy]

We have to get some top DBs. That is what killing us. IMO, if we put up 27 on USC, we should win. We need a FS with speed. I didn't see the pre-snap alignment on that long catch by their TE, but I feel a speedy FS could have made a play on the popcorn lob. But I am proud of the players. They have a HUGE heart!

 

[Irish74]

[QUOTE=

7. The secondary BLOWS. Harrison Smith is the worst free safety the Irish have had in a long time.



Bring back Jeff Burris

 

[HawaiianIrish]

F IT!!!!!!!!!! Helluva game......... GO IRISH

 

[GoIrish41]

Why Harrison Smith and not Kyle? Both of the safeties deserve some blame for that TE lighting ND up. They both made some plays as well. I just don't want one guy blamed for this loss. They live and die as a team.

 

[kmoose]

3. They have won none of their big games. No one on the rest of their schedule is a big game. Pitt can be ranked in the top 25 by the time we play them, but buy the time their handing out bowl bids Pitt's gonna get an invite to the Poppa John's bowl.

I know what you are saying. But, still, it's going to be hard to justify firing a coach who wins 10 games.

 

[Seanthornton]

Say all you want be we hung with those bast*rds !! We have no reason to hold our heads down. whos knows we might still be in the top 25 come Sun. night. It is possible.
Yes I wish we would have won but we didnt. I dont think Mr. Weis is going anywhere.




Keep the faith !!!

GO IRISH !!!

 

[bkess8]

Why Harrison Smith and not Kyle? Both of the safeties deserve some blame for that TE lighting ND up. They both made some plays as well. I just don't want one guy blamed for this loss. They live and die as a team.

Then they should die as a team. We should not be giving up 40 yard gains on 3rd and 2. Especially two times in a row. Not to mention we let a freshman QB run us. They had 501 total yds of offense. I find that really disappointing.

 

[NDFLA]

Wow, what a game. This game went better then I ever thought it would. I believe that I was one of the few that said we would lose, NDOM not included. The d backs sucked but they gave Jimmy the opportunity to win the game and he almost did. These kids were down by 20 going into the 4th quarter and came back in true Irish form this year and just ran out of time. It is a shame because we will still get beat up in the media and Jimmy's Heisman run will die down ( even though it should go up ). I still don't think Charlie is the man for the job, but I also don't think he will go anywhere. Hopefully we pull it together for the rest of the season and get a BCS berth so Charlie and the boys can get one more chance at that big win. Until then, we showed alot of heart today. I don't think this is a moral victory, but if we can win out, we can keep our heads held high.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

1. Jimmy Clausen should be the leading Heisman candidate. He throws for 48 yards in the first half, comes out firing and throws for 200+ in the second half, and almost leads a monumental comeback. I feel so bad for him, right now.

2. Golden Tate was great.

3. Robby Parris is a WARRIOR. A WARRIOR. It's a DAMN shame he got hurt.

4. The offensive line was inconsistent, but they blocked well enough to keep us in the game.

5. The defensive line played great.

6. TE'O! This kid is going to be a MONSTER one day. He was lighting people up all game long.

7. The secondary BLOWS. Harrison Smith is the worst free safety the Irish have had in a long time.

8. We found our kickoff guy. Good kicking by Ruffer today.

Jimmy's had a helluva year thus far and IS a top 5 contender for Heisman, but not the leader. That is still Tebow. Led his team to another game winning drive against Arkansas down in the 4th.

Heisman winners play on great teams that win almost all their games and has a great suporting cast. Tebow is still sitting at the helm until someone unseats him. Jimmy had a great second half but he's just not there yet. If he stays for 2010 it's his to lose.

 

[NDFLA]

Jimmy's had a helluva year thus far and IS a top 5 contender for Heisman, but not the leader. That is still Tebow. Led his team to another game winning drive against Arkansas down in the 4th.

Heisman winners play on great teams that win almost all their games and has a great suporting cast. Tebow is still sitting at the helm until someone unseats him. Jimmy had a great second half but he's just not there yet. If he stays for 2010 it's his to lose.

Tebow deserves the Heisman as much as you and I do. Great job by him today, but by no means should he even be in the race. Past merits mean shit! This coming from a Florida Grad!

 

[Irish74]

I know what you are saying. But, still, it's going to be hard to justify firing a coach who wins 10 games.

I'm not saying fire Weis. I don't think it makes a difference who the coach is. Pete Caroll is not winning a NC with this team, and it full of highly recruited OFFENSIVE SKILL POSITION players. Brian Kelly would not have won this game today. Until we are allowed to recruit the same athletes as USC & Florida it won't make a difference. Lower admission standards if you want to compete with the big boys.

 

[fortwayne_nd]

It could be a defining game for the team. They can decide to always play at this level, that they belong. Or, they can do like Quinn, Shark, Zippy did and its a coast downhill.

The team had a pretty somber look on their faces after the game. I hope it turns to resolve to be better.

Just wondering...did the O play in the second half look better than the first half? If yes, think dropping the gimmick plays made a difference?

 

[kmoose]

I'm not saying fire Weis. I don't think it makes a difference who the coach is. Pete Caroll is not winning a NC with this team, and it full of highly recruited OFFENSIVE SKILL POSITION players. Brian Kelly would not have won this game today. Until we are allowed to recruit the same athletes as USC & Florida it won't make a difference. Lower admission standards if you want to compete with the big boys.

I don't know if I agree or not. I mean, everyone here wants us to compete for NCs again, but most of us (I think) are proud of the fact that ND has done it while maintaining incredibly high academic standards. I think the "happy medium" is probably allowing two or three guys per year. But, they will HAVE to succeed, academically. Tony Rice was a Prop 48 guy, ND's first(and maybe only?). But Holtz guaranteed the administration that Rice would not only graduate, but graduate on time, which he did. If the football program can get one or two of those type of guys in, and have the same success with them, then maybe the Administration will be more willing to take a chance.

 

[kmoose]

It could be a defining game for the team. They can decide to always play at this level, that they belong. Or, they can do like Quinn, Shark, Zippy did and its a coast downhill.

The team had a pretty somber look on their faces after the game. I hope it turns to resolve to be better.

Just wondering...did the O play in the second half look better than the first half? If yes, think dropping the gimmick plays made a difference?

You would want the secondary to play at that level, all the time?

Yes, the O looked better in the second half. But, it had nothing to do with dropping "the gimmick plays", and everything to do with the Offensive Line giving Clausen more time.

 

[WabashFalcon]

Tebow's stats are terrible. If he wins the Heisman, the award will be bullshit in my eyes.

 

[BeatSC]

1. Our DBs got worked! Every single one of them. They couldn't hang at all.

2. What happened to the O Line? USC was in Clausen's face all day, while only rushing 4 guys.

3. ND needs to win out, for Charlie to keep his job. I still don't really agree with it, but this is ND. You HAVE to win at least some of these big games, if you want to stick around. Finish with 10 wins, and it will be hard to get fired. But your best chance for a quality win is probably Pitt. If you can't win 10, and have no real quality wins in the bag? You're probably gone.

4. Matt Barkley played one hell of a game. Seriously, as much as I hate to give him credit, you have to. This true Freshman came into the most storied place in College Football history, and delivered.

5. I feel bad for the team. This could have been a HUGE win for this team. They fought hard, even though the Defense was clearly outmatched. If not for Kamara's slip on the final play, they might have taken them to overtime, or even won it outright.

This is a pretty empty feeling.

1. I think are DB's made some plays and on others got worked. Blanton's dropped int in the 2nd quarter is typical of why we lose these games and don't win them. Blanton likes to tlak aot of shit but gets punked alot this year. He looked better last year.

2. I think JC took too long getting cofortable in this game and didn't start making plyas like he did against UW until the fourth qtr. The O=line wasn't too bad but CW should have had AA as a safety valve for dump offs all day.

3. I think 10 wins keeps CW's job. Whether that is winning out and losing in a bowl or getting our 10th win in a bowl game. 2 plays away from being 6-0.

4.Barkley played good for sure but he had ALL DAY! His receivers were wide open most of the time and his guys made big ards after the catch. IF Blanton makes that easy int he doesn't look as good. Most of his balls were floaters that his guys jogged under.

5. We deintely looked outmatched but we still could have won this game. This team showed great perserverance and is the most entertaining game to tune into week afer week.

6. I think like 2005 this game should have a positive affect on the 15 plus recruits we had in for the weekend.

7. Charlie stays. Not sure what to do about this D though. I would be Ok if Tenutu split. I think our personnel is currently better suited the the 3-4.

 

[NDMontana]

1. Our DBs got worked!

4. Matt Barkley played one hell of a game. Seriously, as much as I hate to give him credit, you have to. This true Freshman came into the most storied place in College Football history, and delivered.

Considering the competition....no, he didn't play a hell of a game. I could've thrown the passes he threw. When at least one of your receivers, on every play, doesn't have a DB within a 15 yard circumference you'd better have a big game.

 

[kmoose]

Considering the competition....no, he didn't play a hell of a game. I could've thrown the passes he threw. When at least one of your receivers, on every play, doesn't have a DB within a 15 yard circumference you'd better have a big game.

He threw a couple of nice balls, with an ND defender right in his grill, with almost no time to react. He just knew where to go with the ball. He played well. Don't take that away from him.

 

[NDMontana]

He threw a couple of nice balls, with an ND defender right in his grill, with almost no time to react. He just knew where to go with the ball. He played well. Don't take that away from him.

Sorry to be so contrarian but he knew right where to throw the ball because he a saw a white jersey without a soul around running down the field half the time. His yardage totals are also directly attritubtable to piss poor tackling.

 

[kmoose]

Sorry to be so contrarian but he knew right where to throw the ball because he a saw a white jersey without a soul around running down the field half the time. His yardage totals are also directly attritubtable to piss poor tackling.

No, there is a lot of truth in your view. I just think that he played incredibly well, for a true freshman. He didn't seem intimidated at all. He kept his wits about him, and just got the ball to the right spots.

 

[Irish74]

I don't know if I agree or not. I mean, everyone here wants us to compete for NCs again, but most of us (I think) are proud of the fact that ND has done it while maintaining incredibly high academic standards. I think the "happy medium" is probably allowing two or three guys per year. But, they will HAVE to succeed, academically. Tony Rice was a Prop 48 guy, ND's first(and maybe only?). But Holtz guaranteed the administration that Rice would not only graduate, but graduate on time, which he did. If the football program can get one or two of those type of guys in, and have the same success with them, then maybe the Administration will be more willing to take a chance.

According to that book "Touchdown Jesus" if they were allowed 3 of those players a year then Urban Meyer would be our coach right now, that's what he said, I don't know if I believe it. I think 3 of those types of players would be enough to compete and WIN against big time programs after a couple of years of building up their body count. 2 on defense and either a RB or WR a year should be do it. Let's hope the admin. sees the light and realizes Harvard will never win a NC.

 

[NDMontana]

No, there is a lot of truth in your view. I just think that he played incredibly well, for a true freshman. He didn't seem intimidated at all. He kept his wits about him, and just got the ball to the right spots.

Yeah. We don't seem to intimidate anybody any more. Two losses to teams lead by freshmen QB's this year....kind of makes you wonder what it's going to be like to play SC and UM when those guys are in their sophomore and junior seasons.

If Barkley (sic) progresses like Clausen he'll throw for 600 against us next year and 1,000 when he's a junior.

 

[NDMontana]

According to that book "Touchdown Jesus" if they were allowed 3 of those players a year then Urban Meyer would be our coach right now, that's what he said, I don't know if I believe it. I think 3 of those types of players would be enough to compete and WIN against big time programs after a couple of years of building up their body count. 2 on defense and either a RB or WR a year should be do it. Let's hope the admin. sees the light and realizes Harvard will never win a NC.

Armando Allen, GOlden Tate, Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph, Te'o and Clausen would all be starting for any school in the country at some point prior to their junior seasons.

 

[phork]

Yeah. We don't seem to intimidate anybody any more. Two losses to teams lead by freshmen QB's this year....kind of makes you wonder what it's going to be like to play SC and UM when those guys are in their sophomore and junior seasons.

If Barkley (sic) progresses like Clausen he'll throw for 600 against us next year and 1,000 when he's a junior.

I've already said don't expect a W in these 2 games for the forseeable future. USC is young at almost every position and everything returns next year, except for the secondary. But when you have a 4 man pass rush crushing your OLine, whats that matter?

My observations are as follows. Tough game. 34-14 and I know all of you had that same feeling in your gut. "Here we go again." They fought back and almost pulled it out. Aldridge in his first real action on 4th and 1? Kamara with the game on the line? Yes I am aware the guy slipped, but isn't it always something with him?

Since previous posters were using WhatIf scenarios, I give you this one. Kick a FG instead of going for it and its a 10 point swing, ND30 USC27.
Running game is being pretty effective, why abandon it? This was of course before the game was heading to the "Out of hand" category.

Robby Paris, pink hair and all (Yes I am aware of Breast Cancer), what player today. Hope he is ok.

Secondary, where art thou? If you told me before the game that ND would hold McKnight to 80 yards and ND scores 27, I would have bet the house that ND won. Heres a tip for you guys as well. When a guy starts dragging your ass for 20 yard gainers while you are trying to strip the ball, its time to start thinking about bringing him down first.

Manti. I talked to God and he said you need to stay at ND for the full 4 years brah.

Aside from the secondary play, there isn't much bad to say. Charlie should have kicked that FG, or at the very least ran something out of the wildcat or with another runner..

I feel bad for these kids, they certainly had their opportunities to pull this one out and at the 4 yard line I thought for sure Jimmy was going to finish it off.