Oct 22 | Southern Cal

[Buster Bluth]

Nasty.

I'm ready for Saturday...

 

[Black Irish]

I'm feeling pretty comfortable with this game. Sure, anything can happen and we know all too well how the Irish can shoot themselves in both feet in games they should win. That being said, I like how ND has gotten consistently better since those 2 losses.

And I have to say, from what I saw of USC against Cal, I wasn't too impressed. That game could've been a lot closer if Cal didn't make so many mistakes. USC can break off plenty of big plays and has talent, but they also have gaping holes on both side of the ball that ND can exploit all day if the Irish stay sharp.

 

[CanadianIrishFan306]

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that video was so sick, i cant wait any longer for this game
BEAT SC!

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

that video was so sick, i cant wait any longer for this game
BEAT SC!

I liked that a lot. Thanks for posting.

 

[NDdomer2]

Kelly will NEVER say this team has arrived. There will always be room for improvement. The only time I think he could say that is right after winning the National Championship game. After a win over USC, we're sittin 5-2 and still have a ways to go to get achieve a BCS berth. The team hasn't arrived anywhere yet. SC's not even ranked!

Maybe our definitions of arrive defer. In no way did I mean we can't improve. By arriving, I mean develop that mindset of we are going to win no matter what and you can't do anything about it. That doesn't always mean it's going to be pretty.

 

[gmnysdad]

that video was so sick, i cant wait any longer for this game
BEAT SC!

That was amazing. I am ready for this game now. I really hope Manti gets another of those huge hits in the first quarter to set the tone.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Seems Appropriate....

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[NDTH91]

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Goodness, that part of Lou's speech gets me every time. We are ND. Let's show usc what it's all about.

 

[BurningRiver]

Mr. Barkley, meet Mr. Lynch.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

<a href="http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/FightingIrish80/?action=view&current=derp4.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/FightingIrish80/derp4.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[koonja]

I never look at other team's boards but I'm avoiding my accounting homework like the plague and I searched 'USC is going to kill Notre Dame' on google so that I could find a USC thread. Here's one person's assessment (I scrolled through a full page and he seemed like a decent guy).

"When the offense doesn't turn it over, and they did the first 4 games, haven't the last 2, they are pretty good.

The front 7 on defense is pretty good, the secondary is pretty weak, except for Blanton, and he isn't great, just pretty good.

The run game, which most ND fans will tell you is great, is just ok. IMO, part of being a great running team is being able to run when the other team knows you are. 3rd and short, and 4th and short."

 

[Buster Bluth]

The criticism with the running game was true...five weeks ago.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

I never look at other team's boards but I'm avoiding my accounting homework like the plague and I searched 'USC is going to kill Notre Dame' on google so that I could find a USC thread. Here's one person's assessment (I scrolled through a full page and he seemed like a decent guy).

"When the offense doesn't turn it over, and they did the first 4 games, haven't the last 2, they are pretty good.

The front 7 on defense is pretty good, the secondary is pretty weak, except for Blanton, and he isn't great, just pretty good.

The run game, which most ND fans will tell you is great, is just ok. IMO, part of being a great running team is being able to run when the other team knows you are. 3rd and short, and 4th and short."

Being able to run the ball when the other team knows you're going to? So kind of like the game winning drive against USC last year?

 

[BGIF]

Being able to run the ball when the other team knows you're going to? So kind of like the game winning drive against USC last year?

And "most ND fans" (and everybody else) will tell you ND wasn't great last year either.


But good enough.


And this year they're better.

 

[JughedJones]

Being able to run the ball when the other team knows you're going to? So kind of like the game winning drive against USC last year?

Word.

 

[NDdomer2]

Word.

 

[Buster Bluth]

Word.

 

[Andy in Sactown]

Say what?

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[Sherm Sticky]

I've benn nervous for the past two weeks for this game, but this morning I woke up and I'm f*ckin pumped. Go get it go get it! Dem boys are crunked!

 

[NDdomer2]

I know that not everyone on here is from Indiana, but woke up this morning took the dog outside and the sun was shining,it finally had stopped raining after two straight days. It felt like football. Can't wait to make the trip to the Bend. Go Irish.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Many of you scoffed at F/+'s prediction of a 22.1 margin of victory for ND against USC.

Brian Fremeau's PWE (one half of the F/+) projects a 17 point margin of victory:

85.2% PWE :: NOTRE DAME 37, USC 20

That 85.2% reflects the probability of a ND victory. PWE has thus far been 83% accurate in predicting games that project at that level of certainty.

 

[johnnykillz]

Many of you scoffed at F/+'s prediction of a 22.1 margin of victory for ND against USC.

Brian Fremeau's PWE (one half of the F/+) projects the 17 point margin of victory:



That 85.2% reflects the probability of a ND victory. PWE has thus far been 83% accurate in predicting games that project at that level of certainty.

Damn.

We have to feel good about our chances.

Reality will be different than our perception somewhere along the lines, but that's why they play the game.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

"Notre Dame Vs. USC 2011: Can Anyone Besides The Irish Stop The Irish?" by Football Outsiders' Bill Connolly is an incredible read.

Through two weeks, Notre Dame had committed ten turnovers, worth approximately 55.3 equivalent points (as defined here), and lost two two solid teams by a combined seven points. On a play-for-play basis, they were performing at an incredibly high level, but by eschewing common mistakes for a series of apocalypses, they began the season 0-2 and fell off the national radar.

Since then, the Irish have continued to play at the same high level, only without the ridiculous glitches. After failing to score in seven of their first 15 trips inside their opponent's 30, they have scored in 22 of their last 25 and each of their last 14. They scored 31 points on Michigan State, which currently ranks 10th in Def. F/+, sixth in Def. S&P+ (granted, with help from a kick return touchdown and a short-field field goal). The last two games, they have racked up 1,111 yards and 97 points. Now, in one of the bigger recruiting weekends the Irish have ever seen, they welcome USC to town. The Trojans still wear USC jerseys and look like USC-caliber athletes, but taking their opponents into consideration, the USC defense has been lacking to a dire degree in 2011.

In terms of Def. F/+, USC's defense currently ranks 72nd in the country, worse than any Notre Dame opponent not named Air Force. And they have not been able to hide their primary weakness. In general, teams run about 60 percent of the time on standard downs, 33 percent of the time on passing downs. Against USC, those percentages are 49 and 22, respectively. The Trojans have not been particularly adept at stopping the run either (they rank 74th in Def. Rushing S&P+), but breakdowns in pass defense have allowed inferior opponents (Minnesota, Syracuse, Arizona) to stay much closer to USC than should have been the case.

The F/+ numbers project a near-massacre in this one: Notre Dame by 22.1. And to be sure, if the Irish continue to stay out of their own way, USC will struggle to keep up. But the damage Notre Dame did to itself in the first two games created quite the lasting image. Tomorrow offers them a high-profile opportunity to prove that they are, or are not, as good as the numbers say they are.

 

[woolybug25]

I put on my Irish underwear today... i'm not taking them off until we lose.

 

[irishog77]

I put on my Irish underwear today... i'm not taking them off until we lose.

You see, I kind of did the opposite-- I stopped wearing underwear altogether and won't wear it again until we lose.


(I guess there is a lil' part of me that hopes they don't run the table, win their bowl game, then go on a prolonged winning streak into '12-'13. That could get kinda nasty...particularly in the summer months.)

 

[GreatGolson]

ONE.MORE.DAY

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

ONE.MORE.DAY

 

[johnnyoooo]

Defensive Scheming

Defensive Scheming

What Jerry DiNardo said on a Big Ten TV Show was Michigan State's defense out schemed Michigan causing defensive mismatches. He added there are two ways to beat a team out hit them physically, out scheme them or a combination of both. That is what the Pitt Coach did for over three quarters against us his defense out schemed our offense. For S. Cal to beat us doubt they will over power us physically so my hunch is they will try to out scheme and confuse Rees. On offense think they will grab bag from the get go and Barkley will have to roll out take a deep breath and end up on his sacked butt. I suspect he will be pressured into a lot of forced passes.

 

[irishff1014]

As long as we don't turn the ball over we are going to be in very good shape. Our guys are rested and had 2 weeks to prepare for this game even though i hope they already started look towards navy as well.

 

[johnnykillz]

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