What are your honest expectations for the rest of the season?

[fitz_bu47]

I could not agree more w/ BGif's comments itt anymore, he has hit the nail right on the head. The Irish are LITERALLY 2 plays away from being 2-0. That said, they didn't make those plays, and now they are 0-2, and one of those losses is to f'n Michigan, and it makes me sick. This team shows up Saturday, and plays sound football for 4 quarters and beats Michigan st. Notice I said sound, not perfect, b/c nobody is ever gonna play a perfect game. I think Michigan St. is just what this team needs right now, a very solid team, good challenge, but one who's style I think favors ND. Muck Fichigan, and Much Fichigan St. I am as frustrated as any of you guys, but we dominated both of the last two games for 3/4 quarters at least. There is no jinx/curse/whatever bad juju on us, the law of averages will kick in, we won't turn the ball over 5 times. ND 38 MSU 24. I am not doing anymore season predictions, one game at a time, just like the team.

 

[RDU Irish]

As far as expectations, I am content with 8-4 or better. I am disappointed with 7-5 or worse unless there is a serious rash of injuries or something.

 

[EifertPower]

2 weeks ago it was 12-0 and a national championship game

Last week it was 11-1 and BCS

Now it's 10-2 and BCS if Michigan wins the Big 10 and South Florida wins Big East

Next week it will be 9-3 and a champs sports bowl appearance.

Then after we split with Pitt with Purdue it will be to win our bowl game wherever it may be.

After the USC game, it will simply be to be bowl eligible

The goal will then be for us to go 3-1 in the games against Navy, WF, Maryland, and BC.

Then it will be to try and get a huge upset win on the road against Stanford.

Right now, if we want to have any excitement for the rest of the season we need to be 4-2 going into USC and that must start with beating Mich St this weekend.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

8-4 or maybe 9-3. I think we lose to Stanford and possibly USC or MSU. More than likely we lose at least one more possibly 3 even.

 

[Blue]

I envy you for your optimism. I just don't have the will to believe in this team or the program anymore. I should probably stop posting here because I realize that I am excessively negative.

You guys are giving up on your team way too early. You dominated both games this year only to lose because of 5 turnovers in both games and you still nearly won. It's a long season and ND will probably win a game or two where they were outplayed that's just how it goes. These things have a way of evening out over the course of a season. I know it sucks losing games the way ND lost this one. I was devasted when Michigan blew a 12 point lead against Miami with less than 5 minutes in the game and the Colorado loss still hurts to this day, but you have to forget about it now. I'll be rooting for ND to win the rest of their games this year especially next week. I thinking ND will end up 8-4 during the regular season with next weeks win over MSU giving ND a huge boost in confidence.

 

[koonja]

We're good enough to beat every team. I truly believe that, but we're not good enough to lose the turnover battle.

My prediction? We win every single game we win/tie the turnover battle in.

 

[BGIF]

I love you BGIF, can you honestly with a straight face say you think we can rattle off 11 straight wins after what we all have witnessed the last 2 weeks? I would love to have that kind of optimism.

Thanks for the love but when did I "dishonestly" post here? As for my perspective, read your own next sentence. You stated what I've seen.

We have a very potent offense,and our defense is good when playing as a cohesive unit.

Yes we do! The offense is churning out over 500 yards/game against quality opponents not San Jose St and Duke (Stanford's warmups) or the likes of Youngstown St or Florida Atlantic (Michigan St's fodder). Currently Rees is #19 on the NCAA Total Offense List but he's only played 1.5 games. Dividing his 610 yds by 6 quarters gives him almost 102 yds/quarter or a rate of 407 yds/game. On that basis Rees would be #2 in the nation in Total Offense.


Our Red Zone unforced errors are what's holding back the offense from being exceptional.
Imagine now what just one or two less turnovers a game does!

However, the amount of penalties and turnovers is frightening.

Yet, we only lost by 3 and 4 points. Hence my comment that one or two less turnovers/gaffes per game and we're 2-0. It's not optimism. If you actually look at the individual penalties there not as atrocious they seem. ND is averaging 8.5 penalties/game. BTW, USC and AUB are averaging 7, Virginia Tech 8, Michigan 9 and their all undefeated.

No doubt the penalties and yardage are high but can be trimmed. ND had 3 different OLs commit a false start against UM. Are those 3 OLs ALL fundamentally unsound? Or did they have trouble hearing the calls? They played in a stadium with 114,000 fans. The noise is reality, it contributes to false starts. Not an excuse; an observation. Were the timeouts that Rees called (plus the delay of game flags) due to shifting defensive alignments by UM? Or a combination of that PLUS the crowd noise causing difficulties with audibles.

Compare the USF to UM Personal Fouls. Harrison Smith had a pair of face mask penalties not because he was headhunting but because he was diving for an elusive runner trying to make a play. We had 2 late hit calls against USF. Against UM?

These kids have absolutely ZERO discipline and fundamentals.That is all on Kelly.

This sentence directly contradicts your "potent offense/defense is good" sentence. You can't have a potent offense and good defense with poor fundamentals, can you. ND's defense kept the elusive Robinson in check for 3 quarters largely through DISCIPLINE. The LBs didn't have many tackles as they kept Robinson largely behind the LOS forcing him to pass. The game plan worked except for a few blown assignments (which aren't part of any game plan) and a fortuitous bouncing fumble after a great goal line stand. Herbstreit kept commenting about Robinson skillfully underthrowing his receivers. A proficient QB can do that on short to medium ball but not when throwing 25 yds or more downfield. Actually Robinson passes were underthrown but his receivers made the great adjustment while our defenders didn't. When Floyd makes that catch we post "GREAT CATCH!" When the opponents make the same play, we post "Gray stinks!"

What's more to the point is our potent offense and good defense both break down at times. That's fixable.

ND had a 15 minute edge in Time of Possession in the UM game. Not one of us anticipated that to happen.

Right now I'm optimistic about being 7-5.That would be a great end to the season for me.It's almost certain we're going to lose to USC and Stanford unless something drastic happens...and then we will most likely lose to Mich.St. next week because they always give us a tough game.
That leaves us with Purdue,Pitt,Maryland,Navy,Air Force,Wake and BC.Now we always have at least one trap game,if not two....those will probably be Pitt and possibly Navy or BC.
Right now I would be ECSTATIC with 7-5.

If we persist with the turnovers 7-5 is possible but that's not being optimistic in the slightest. That's pessimism that there will be no improvement.

I'm not trying to be a downer,just realistic.If we don't change things absolutely now things could get 2007 ugly.

A comparison to 2007 is realistic? BS!

The wheels didn't come off the '07 team, it never had any. A Heisman caliber QB gone, 1000 yd rusher gone, 1000 yd receiver (or was it two) gone! And a lack of bodies to play the OL (and other places) due to horrid recruiting.

Right now in 2011, ND is on track for a 4000 yd passer, a 1500 yd rusher, and a 1900 yd receiver.

How can you possibly bring up '07. ND gave up what 53 sacks in '07? Averaging 1/game in '11. Got shutout by UM 38-0 in '07. Everybody ran through ND's defense then. Now?

I recall in '07 ND getting Holding Penalties by the bushel as Duncan and Turkovich were looked like turnstyles. Their best play was a Hold!

I saw a post by somebody else to bring back Zbikowski. Really! The '07 model that bit way too often on play action and then raced back to try and run down the receiver 20 yds downfield? The guy that played with a bum shoulder and frequently whiffed completely on a ball carrier giving up huge chunks of field because he didn't wrap?

Some of you have truly forgotten the horrors of '07 and '08 over protrayed the shortcomings of '11.

The '07 team was a clunker. This team has wheels, a motor, and a transmission and uses them. It more aptly needs a tire alignment and fine tuning of the timing.

I love you too, Irish4Life.

 

[connor_in]

Herbstreit kept commenting about Robinson skillfully underthrowing his receivers. A proficient QB can do that on short to medium ball but not when throwing 25 yds or more downfield. Actually Robinson passes were underthrown but his receivers made the great adjustment while our defenders didn't. .

This was the line that made my jaw drop...he said that right after a touchdown catch that DR underthrew it on purpose,, but if you watched the game, you know that underthrew, overthrew and to eitherside threw passes all night long. Only when he threw it high and gave his receivers time to adjust, did he actually connect (for the most part).

 

[Blue]

The WR's are so much better than the DB's nowadays. By just throwing the ball up for grabs you have a greater than 50 percent chance of making a completion.

 

[ND_HAS_RISEN]

Contrary to the gist of about 1000 posts since the UM game, ND doesn't need to fire Kelly, start Golson, bench Gray, go to a power offense, or other radical change. ND simply needs to make one or two less turnovers a game on offense. Make one or two less gaffes on defense. Hopefully the fortuitous bounces the football has taken taken on interceptions and fumbles will even out on it's own.

I agree with this 100%.

But, what I agree with, and what actually happens are always two different things when it comes to Notre Dame.

I DO think that BK is the man for the job, and he deserves at least the "full" opportunity to try and prove it. People on here calling for his head are entitled to their opinion, but quite frankly, don't know S***. The coaching carousal that has been going on for the past 15+ years is a big part of the problem that has plagued ND, CONSISTANCY!

 

[amazinblue]

Some very good posts. Execution is what the game is about - cutting down on turnovers and reducing the number of penalties can make an immediate difference.

MSU is a toss-up.

I think USC is a win and Stanford is a loss.

I expect ND will finish 8-4 or 7-5.

 

[ND_HAS_RISEN]

Some of you have truly forgotten the horrors of '07 and '08 over protrayed the shortcomings of '11.

The '07 team was a clunker. This team has wheels, a motor, and a transmission and uses them. It more aptly needs a tire alignment and fine tuning of the timing.

^ This ^

This team does have all the tools necessary to win, maybe not at the top 10 level, but should easily be in the top 25 with the talent, and probably within the top 15. The 2007 team wasn't in the top 75!

But, talent and potential don't mean squat if you squander away everything by beating yourself. And the way that ND plays its schedule year in and year out doesn't give any room for error.

I can't speak for everyone, but I'd be willing to bet that most of the people who have publicly come on this site and said that MSU will beat ND would not be shocked if ND won. Hell, I wouldn't be shocked at all if this team came out and put a trottling on MSU. But, that doesn't mean jack for me anymore. So what if they come out and win against MSU, does that mean that they are back and are gona finish the year 10-2? NO! Trust me, I WOULD LOVE THIS TO BE THE CASE, but there is no way (not anymore) that I can sit here and view any single opponent that we face as an automatic win.

Its not about being positive or negative. Its about realizing that until proven otherwise, ND can, and will, lose game(s) to anybody on its schedule.

 

[AlbuquerqueIrishFan]

If they continue to average 5 turnovers a game, they'll go 0-12, but if they can fix it, 10-2 or 9-3 is very possible.

 

[NDinFL]

I (as usual) agree with what BGIF has to say, and have something to add...

This might just be me, but the UM game last week reminded me a lot of the Tulsa game of last season.

Why? You ask....

Well, in my mind the Tulsa game was the true test of adversity. With the Sullivan tragedy amidst, and losing Crist, and losing the Tulsa game.. Well we pretty much had nowhere to go but up, plus our schedule at that time was looking pretty fierce.

After pondering this, it seems that the UM game last week is our Tulsa game of this year.

With the expectations, QB "controversy", and heart wrenching losses, well things look bad right now. However, if we recall, this team unified and got stronger because of these hard fought losses last year. Even while facing a daunting schedule.

We can get back up off of the mat, wipe the blood from our lip, and say "ok who's next?"

just like we did last season

 

[Old Man Mike]

Everything about this team says "fixable", and fixable to yield high quality results. We are performing at high levels on every criterion that relates to scheme and knowledge of plays and toughness --- these to me are the hard things and we have them right. We horribly underperform on exactly three things:
1). turnovers;
2). net punting;
3). penalties.
On these three things we are nearly LAST in the nation on all of them.

When I look at those three things, the thought comes to my mind: " Lord, those sorts of things MIGHT be EASILY fixable."

And so what if we do just a few things right in those areas?? We don't have fools for players. They should be able to hold onto the ball, and slow down on penalties --- they've already been good at that in the past. That would leave only poor old Ben Turk to get his act together. And, since he's about as low as it gets without punting backwards [knock on wood], this is bound to get better. Even if it doesn't, no one would beat us anyway if we cleaned up the other two, largely mental, areas.

 

[guiness4everyone]

ND will lose to MSU, USC, Maryland, and Stanford. This means they end the year with a record of 6-6. I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't look good for this team.

 

[Meacon Irish]

It seems there is some confusion throughout the thread of what we CAN do and what we more than likely WILL do.

Are we a team capable of ratting off 11 wins to end the season? Absolutely.

But we were also quite capable of winning our first two games, and that didn't work out too well for us.

The fact of the matter is football is a game on the field, not on paper. There are so many other things to consider than talent when you play. I have seen so many posts in here of people being upset at those of us not expecting them to win out. But honestly, if we don't correct our problems (turnovers and penalties) no amount of talent is going to dig us out.

I love Notre Dame football more than almost anything. We're an incredibly talented team, and if we get our heads on straight, we can cause damage. But after the first two games, I'll tone my expectations to the "Realisitic" setting, until we show that we really have changed for the better.

 

[k1ssme1m1r1sh]

We win all 10 games!