Sep 24 | at Pittsburgh

[tdnjesus]

Ya I came into this game wanting to see a blowout something we haven't done to bad teams in a long time. Are we too nice or just lay down to bad teams??

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

I am confued...BK said "...and that is why (Rees) is our starting QB." What was he watching....yes Rees made some good throws last drive, however if he would of made them for more drives we would of beaten Pitt by three TDs. Either BK is keeping his cards close to the chest or he watched different game then i saw.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

The offense and the coaching is just terribad.

I like you. I just think what you said right there is really dumb.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

Dayne would not make a difference. Wake up people!!! He's as bad if not worse. And don't tell me he's a more mobile qb who can make plays with his feet. Both knees surgically repaired and he makes an old lady with a walker look like Carl Lewis.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

I am confued...BK said "...and that is why (Rees) is our starting QB." What was he watching....yes Rees made some good throws last drive, however if he would of made them for more drives we would of beaten Pitt by three TDs. Either BK is keeping his cards close to the chest or he watched different game then i saw.

Good teams don't always win by blowout. We won a game that was close. It wasn't a great performance. But, we had a big time drive when we needed it. Tommy came up big late. That's new.

 

[ohara831]

Very happy with a victory, but not feeling so good about how close this was to a loss. We have to be much better. Take a deep breath.

 

[Irish Fam]

i'm really not a fan of rees. or crist for that matter. but in the end Rees is 6-1. I'm really not mad at him

 

[DuffHouse12]

and Crist is not an accurate passer. Tommy was threading needles that Dayne never could. he had 1 "bad" pass (that was still caught btw) and NO INCOMPLETE PASSES on that drive. not 1.

again look at his #s, he went 24/41 for 220 yards and a TD/INT ratio of 1/1.

how do you BENCH someone after a game like that? not like he's offensive player of the week but he should not be benched.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

Good teams don't always win by blowout. We won a game that was close. It wasn't a great performance. But, we had a big time drive when we needed it. Tommy came up big late. That's new.

+1 The 2003 Buckeyes come to mind -- scraped together like 14 ugly victories.

 

[ThePiombino]

Dayne would not make a difference. Wake up people!!! He's as bad if not worse. And don't tell me he's a more mobile qb who can make plays with his feet. Both knees surgically repaired and he makes an old lady with a walker look like Carl Lewis.

I would argue that Crist would NOT have committed the two turnovers that Tommy committed today. Rees, as much as he doesn't seem to realize, DOES NOT have the arm strength to make a late throw to Eiffert on that interception. And on the fumble, he needs to either get rid of the ball or tuck it. The issue might be small hands- the ball wasn't even batted when he lost is (also think back to the fumble against MSU where the ball just fell out of his hand).

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

What bothers me the most is.. How do you let one of the worst passing Ds in the country double and take Floyd literally out of the game and not be able to pass the ball at will????

 

[ThePiombino]

and Crist is not an accurate passer. Tommy was threading needles that Dayne never could. he had 1 "bad" pass (that was still caught btw) and NO INCOMPLETE PASSES on that drive. not 1.

again look at his #s, he went 24/41 for 220 yards and a TD/INT ratio of 1/1.

how do you BENCH someone after a game like that? not like he's offensive player of the week but he should not be benched.

Crist got benched after 1 bad half. Reed played like crap for 3 1/2 quarters. 1 good drive does not make a good game. That's how.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Good teams don't always win by blowout. We won a game that was close. It wasn't a great performance. But, we had a big time drive when we needed it. Tommy came up big late. That's new.

I understand that....however, we were damn lucky to win. We as a team had turnovers, personal fouls, bad reads....honestly if we were playing a good team they would of blown us out. Fundemental Football is missing from the Irish.

 

[IrishLax]

It's funny because if Rees just had either:

1. More arm strength
2. Led Eifert instead of throwing it behind him

That play is a TD and not an INT. Tommy is still learning... but my god are his physical tools limited. He needs to stop fumbling the ball inexplicably with his small hands.

 

[ThePiombino]

What bothers me the most is.. How do you let one of the worst passing Ds in the country double and take Floyd literally out of the game and not be able to pass the ball at will????

Because Tommy doesn't have the ability to read through his progressions quick enough, nor does he have the arm strength to make a "late" throw without getting intercepted.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Auburn won the national championship last year.

They beat Mississippi 17-14.
They beat Clemsen 27-24.
They beat South Carolina 35–27.
They beat Kentucky 37–34.

I left out a few close games against elite teams because they don't really apply.

 

[RadioSean]

This does not feel like a win.

Totally agreed! There isn't much to celebrate.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

I understand that....however, we were damn lucky to win. We as a team had turnovers, personal fouls, bad reads....honestly if we were playing a good team they would of blown us out. Fundemental Football is missing from the Irish.

The last drive was not luck. It was effective and surgical.

 

[ThePiombino]

Auburn won the national championship last year.

They beat Mississippi 17-14.
They beat Clemsen 27-24.
They beat South Carolina 35–27.
They beat Kentucky 37–34.

I left out a few close games against elite teams because they don't really apply.

Did they lose to USF or Mich after being up 3 possessions in the 4th quarter, too? No they didn't. You're comparing apples to oranges here.

 

[WaveDomer]

My main concern is the O Line today. But I think people are overlooking the fact that Pitt had a good defensive game plan and put it into effect pretty well. They took Floyd away completely. And they confused Rees to no end. He settled in for the last drive, which is a GOOD thing. A GOOD thing. Jonas, who some people said should never see the field again, played unreal. Our D stepped up big at the end. If it wasn't for that roughing the kicker garbage, that would have been a great D stop. But they stepped up big and got pressure on the QB when needed. Ben Turk punted really well today. And ND won by driving down the field late, making a D stop, then sealing it by getting a 1st.

Every bad play doesn't mean someone stinks. Just like every good play doesn't mean someone is awesome.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

What bothers me the most is.. How do you let one of the worst passing Ds in the country double and take Floyd literally out of the game and not be able to pass the ball at will????

Because Tommy doesn't have the ability to read through his progressions quick enough, nor does he have the arm strength to make a "late" throw without getting intercepted.

These are things MAINE was able to do against PITT. There is no excuse with the talent we have.

Rees makes it tough to bench him when he goes 8 for 8 on a game winning drive.. but the 3 quarters before that were just plain bad.

His inability to make reads and throw deep turns a dominant rushing attack to mediocre and forced in obvious situations..

 

[DuffHouse12]

"Crist got benched after 1 bad half. Reed played like crap for 3 1/2 quarters. 1 good drive does not make a good game. That's how."

wrong - Crist got benched after just as many bad games as Rees has had good - they just weren't all this season.

people need to wake up - Rees has lost 1 game as a started. the Pitt Defense was better prepared than our offense today. that simple. thats on BK and the OC, not on the Quarterback.

Crist has never ever ever once in his entire career had a drive like Rees had in that TD drive. Kid was 8-8 with a TD and a 2pt. Crist is a SENIOR, never played like that in his life. but he has turned the ball over, so has Tommy, so in my eyes thats a wash.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

The last drive was not luck. It was effective and surgical.

Where was the surgeon the rest of the game?

 

[Kak7304]

I'd like to see Hendrix in some mop-up duty before being anointed the starter. How do you all know Hendrix doesn't lock on to one receiver more than Rees does? Or if he's an accurate passer? Does he know the offense? Yes, Tommy makes mistakes but he also does a lot of things well. Making a change just to make a change isn't always a bright idea.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Did they lose to USF or Mich after being up 3 possessions in the 4th quarter, too? No they didn't. You're comparing apples to oranges here.

No, I'm not. My argument is not that we're national championship material. But, we have been losing these close games for 3 years. We made a good late run today. We won.

That's new.

 

[Sportster]

Not at all a satisfying win. This was one of the worst pass D's in the land!! We should have lit them up like a Christmas tree! It's pretty bad when you've got one of the best wideouts in all of college ball and barely win to a bad Pitt team with a horrible pass D. ND just looked totally flat till Gray lit em up with that impressive run. Till that point,they were asleep. This is inexcusable!

 

[The Polish Irishman]

My main concern is the O Line today. But I think people are overlooking the fact that Pitt had a good defensive game plan and put it into effect pretty well. They took Floyd away completely. And they confused Rees to no end. He settled in for the last drive, which is a GOOD thing. A GOOD thing. Jonas, who some people said should never see the field again, played unreal. Our D stepped up big at the end. If it wasn't for that roughing the kicker garbage, that would have been a great D stop. But they stepped up big and got pressure on the QB when needed. Ben Turk punted really well today. And ND won by driving down the field late, making a D stop, then sealing it by getting a 1st.

Every bad play doesn't mean someone stinks. Just like every good play doesn't mean someone is awesome.

+1--Oline was not good today

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Where was the surgeon the rest of the game?

A fair question. Part of it was the pass protection. But, yes, we should have scored more points. No argument.

I'll take a win and 400 yards of offense.

 

[Kak7304]

No, I'm not. My argument is not that we're national championship material. But, we have been losing these close games for 3 years. We made a good late run today. We won.

That's new.

I agree. Our D would not have made a stand like it did today.

 

[DuffHouse12]

"Where was the surgeon the rest of the game?"

we won last i checked.

he was "surgically" throwing the ball in the dirt when the screens were being blown up time after time after time.