2018 Pittsburgh Post Game

[ickythump1225]

It makes sense given the time and score and potential two-possession scenarios. You go for a 1 and FG coming back gets you a win even if they score a TD. You go for 2 and get it and that doesn’t change. You go for 2 and miss and you no longer get a win you go to OT.

Yeah I was fine with the decision to not for for 2 at the end of the game. I didn't like chasing points when we went for 2. I also hated the play call.

 

[T-Boone]

Would love to know the rationale for NOT going for two later in the game...

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I thought the commentators said it was because you risk the 2 point play resulting in a turn over and taken the distance

 

[IrishFanJMercy]

I thought Kelly should have went for it when he decided to punt when it was 4th and 3. You got a QB who was 80% in the game you take your chance pitt scores there it’s gsme over

 

[tko]

I'd like to see us convert on 4th and 1 with a run and end the game without the turnover on downs. Let's be men.

 

[ThePiombino]

Obviously I'm no expert, but I feel like it would have made more sense going for two the 2nd time than the 1st.

It makes sense given the time and score and potential two-possession scenarios. You go for a 1 and FG coming back gets you a win even if they score a TD. You go for 2 and get it and that doesn’t change. You go for 2 and miss and you no longer get a win you go to OT.

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[ab2cmiller]

Obviously I'm no expert, but I feel like it would have made more sense going for two the 2nd time than the 1st.

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Of course it does ..... if you knew at the time that you scored the first touchdown that you knew you were going to score a second touchdown.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I was grateful to be a few rows below the sPitt band, and surrounded by their trashy fans.

My favorite part was the group who reeked of pot, and taunted us with expletive filled rants all first half as a toddler sat on my lap. Freaking losers......


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[irishnd31]

I was grateful to be a few rows below the sPitt band, and surrounded by their trashy fans.

My favorite part was the group who reeked of pot, and taunted us with expletive filled rants all first half as a toddler sat on my lap. Freaking losers......


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Par for the course. I live among them. Classless trash.
Sorry the little one had to endure that.
Really surprised the seller took food stamps for the seats.

 

[ACamp1900]

Wait we played Pitt and not the Red Sox this past weekend right??? Because that’s dead eye Red Sawx fan...

 

[aaronb]

I still think he has a higher ceiling, physically, and coaches get seduced by that. Also was, what, 9-3 as a starter

8-4 if not for Book coming back against LSU. And truth be told we are probably better than that with Book at the helm last year.

 

[calvegas04]

I thought Kelly should have went for it when he decided to punt when it was 4th and 3. You got a QB who was 80% in the game you take your chance pitt scores there it’s gsme over

you also thought Wimbush should have been playing in the 2nd quarter and benching Book

 

[Sherm Sticky]

8-4 if not for Book coming back against LSU. And truth be told we are probably better than that with Book at the helm last year.

Probably right about last year. Having Book in as the starter the UGA and Stanford games could have been wins. I honestly don’t even know if Alabama could have beaten Miami in Miami last year. That stadium was jacked up.


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[IrishFanJMercy]

you also thought Wimbush should have been playing in the 2nd quarter and benching Book

I actually said it wouldn’t hurt to have Wimbush in for one drive considering we didn’t do shit until the 4th. Even numerous older guys in the stands were saying same thing

 

[Kingbish01]

Was I ever wrong about this game, I thought for sure we were going to beak this "close games against Pitt" train. Glad to get out with the win, the team showed great poise. GO IRISH

 

[Section20Row27]

I actually said it wouldn’t hurt to have Wimbush in for one drive considering we didn’t do shit until the 4th. Even numerous older guys in the stands were saying same thing

Really? So that is a good reason to have BW take over...

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Was I ever wrong about this game, I thought for sure we were going to beak this "close games against Pitt" train. Glad to get out with the win, the team showed great poise. GO IRISH

The 2015 was not a “close game against Pitt”. Kizer and ND blew the doors off Pitt. Pitt made it look a little respectable with two late TD’s. One being a Wimbush fumble returned for a TD.


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[calvegas04]

I actually said it wouldn’t hurt to have Wimbush in for one drive considering we didn’t do shit until the 4th. Even numerous older guys in the stands were saying same thing

sorry I was wrong, you wanted Wimbush to play the whole 2nd half

Give me Wimbush in the second half

 

[Irish Insanity]

8-4 if not for Book coming back against LSU. And truth be told we are probably better than that with Book at the helm last year.

Probably right about last year. Having Book in as the starter the UGA and Stanford games could have been wins. I honestly don’t even know if Alabama could have beaten Miami in Miami last year. That stadium was jacked up.


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I don't think we can say Book last year would've been the same as Book this year.

 

[BeatSC]

Probably right about last year. Having Book in as the starter the UGA and Stanford games could have been wins. I honestly don’t even know if Alabama could have beaten Miami in Miami last year. That stadium was jacked up.


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Giving Dexter the rock more often against UGA and Stanford would have done the trick.

 

[BeatSC]

Books first start last year was nothing to write home about against a crappy UNC team. Wimbush was done until the Miami meltdown.

 

[irishtrain]

What I was most impressed with was how Pitt was woofing and the Irish seemed to pay little attention and kept their poise-mark of a truly good team who is coached very well- I liked what I saw on a bad day.

 

[Irish#1]

If your as glass half full guy some positives:

1. Lots of ranked teams lost and many who won were sluggish, so this win was in context of the weekend.

2. Pitt always plays us with an attitude and given we just came off two huge victories along with the team having mid-terms, a mental letdown is not surprising. Yet the team showed resiliency to keep plugging away and finding a way to win like good teams do.

3. Book got a lot of looks he had not seen before. A good learning lesson moving forward.

4. This type of game gives the coaching staff teaching points for practice.

 

[IrishLion]

Copied from Ian Book's thread, concerning the end of the game:

With the season in the balance, Notre Dame’s Ian Book was almost perfect

...with Notre Dame driving, Jazzee Stocker picked off an Ian Book pass. At this point, Book was 16-for-22, but for just 130 yards and two interceptions.

Here’s a list of the passes Book threw following the Stocker pick (not including a two-point conversion attempt):

1. Complete to Chase Claypool for 21 yards
2. Complete to Dexter Williams for minus-3 yards
3. Complete to Chris Finke for 26 yards
4. Complete to Finke for two yards
5. Complete to Finke for 15 yards
6. Complete to Claypool for a 16-yard touchdown
7. Complete to Claypool for nine yards
8. Complete to Alize Mack for one yard
9. Incomplete bomb to Claypool — defensive pass interference called
10. Complete to Miles Boykin for 12 yards
11. Complete to Boykin for a 35-yard touchdown

With the game in the balance, Book went 10-for-10 for 134 yards and two touchdowns. His only incompletion didn’t count.

That's... pretty good.

 

[Kingbish01]

The 2015 was not a “close game against Pitt”. Kizer and ND blew the doors off Pitt. Pitt made it look a little respectable with two late TD’s. One being a Wimbush fumble returned for a TD.


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That's right, I forgot about that game. But for the most part, over the last decade every time we play Pitt (when ND wins), it's always too close for comfort. And growing up in Pittsburgh, I gotta hear my buddies busting my chops for 4 hours...lol

 

[koonja]

So did this game make you think differently about the Irish this season?

It doesn't for me. We won back to back butt kickings of 2 big teams in 2 big environments, and this was expected.

Secondly, is Finke a NFL player?

 

[PANDFAN]

So did this game make you think differently about the Irish this season?

It doesn't for me. We won back to back butt kickings of 2 big teams in 2 big environments, and this was expected.

Secondly, is Finke a NFL player?

patriots will take him as an undrafted free agent...

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Here's the post-Pitt Rakes report:

1) As Saturday afternoon rolled along at Notre Dame Stadium, you could fill almost every box on the “This is how you lose as a three-touchdown favorite” bingo card. A couple of insanely stupid special teams errors? Yes. The underdog putting on a long first quarter drive that soaked up nearly ten minutes of clock time, aided by one of the aforementioned stupid special teams errors? Hell yeah. Turnovers? Wouldn’t dare to miss them. Settling for field goals instead of touchdowns on your first two trips to the red zone? Mark it. Then consider the context: The almost inevitable letdown coming off consecutive games against ranked teams, midterm exams limiting sleep and focus all week, the bye just waiting for you on the other side and an uninspiring opponent with a history of pulling this nonsense coming in for an afternoon game. It was the perfect formula for an ugly loss that would have tarnished the season.

But the Irish kept their poise and pulled it out in the fourth quarter, making just enough plays after facing both their largest and longest deficit of the season, and perhaps most importantly not panicking when it felt like everything was going against them. (I thought "Oh, that's going to be a fumble" on nearly every Irish snap from the second quarter on, just presuming the worst.) Now they’re 7-0, and as painful as that game was you can now count the number of teams who wouldn’t trade places with the Irish at this very moment on a single hand after a Saturday filled with absolute carnage. The Irish got away with one against the Panthers, but if the Irish keep winning no one will care that the margin was only five. A win is a win is a win and this train rolls forward.

2) Pat Narduzzi threw the kitchen sink, most of the countertops and some cabinetry at Ian Book and it worked for a while, a woeful Pitt defense rising to the challenge, playing like this was their Super Bowl and taking advantage of Irish mistakes. Book took bad sacks and missed some throws, frantic and uneasy in the pocket. Book's tough start was exacerbated by a running game that couldn’t get going as you could feel the loss of Alex Bars reverberating as Pitt came crashing in waves, selling out against the run and making the Irish quarterback look uncomfortable for the opening half. The Irish could barely move the ball and any time they started to get into a rhythm they’d trip over themselves, best represented by the nightmare sequence at the end of the first half where they had the ball at first and goal from the 9 and promptly went backwards 15 yards. (Micro note: Why on earth was Avery Davis in to block on a clear passing down?)

But in a game where Book struggled he still completed his final ten passes following the second interception where he was hit on the throw, going 10-for-10 for 134 yards and two scores along with the pretty deep ball to Chase Claypool that drew a pass interference. (He did miss slightly on the two-point conversion attempt, but that doesn’t go on the stat sheet.) Book completed 81 percent of his passes on the day, remains undefeated as a starter and now has the bye week to dive into film and try to anticipate the future game plans coming at him before the back portion of the slate. (It seems useful that Virginia Tech and Pitt threw different strategies at him and he eventually worked through them both.) Book is, by completion percentage, the most accurate passer in the nation and still ranks 12th in overall efficiency despite the two picks on Saturday. You can win a few games with that.

The receiving corps continues to grow along with their quarterback, with Miles Boykin covering the final 47 yards of the go-ahead drive on two receptions. Claypool scored the first touchdown, one of his five catches, while Chris Finke and Alize Mack both had six grabs. Michael Young held on for a nice fourth down conversion in a pressure spot. In a game where the Irish averaged two yards per rush, the receivers had to carry the load and they did so with aplomb. The bye week should be helpful for an offensive line that’s still trying to find itself after losing its best player against Stanford. Also shouts to Dexter Williams and Tony Jones for grinding out some short yardage conversions on a day where there wasn’t a lot of daylight. Fingers crossed Jafar Armstrong is ready for the Midshipmen and beyond.

3) I liked going for it at the end to potentially seal the game even though it didn’t work. I did not like punting it away on 4th and 2 from midfield early in the fourth even though that did end up working. I loved Narduzzi trying to be way too cute with the fake punt everyone saw coming to the point the Irish were basically in a normal defense at the time of the snap. Was it as dumb as refusing to double cover Will Fuller in 2015? Tough competition. I adore those Pitt uniforms and do not understand why they don't wear them all the time.

4) The defense was really strong on a day the offense and special teams needed it to be, holding Pitt to 4 yards per play and that lone touchdown drive. Freshman corner TaRiq Bracy looked quite solid in his first extended action, which should provide some nice depth down the stretch as Brian Kelly said Troy Pride will be back for Navy. Julian Okwara remains a monster, with seven QB hurries and a clutch third down tackle in space. Khalid Kareem is a bad man and is now doing sacks with just one arm. The linebackers remain so good. S&P+ has the Irish as the fourth best defense in the country and I would find it tough to argue with that ranking considering the performances they’re bringing week in and week out.

The Irish got lucky that the Panthers missed a couple second half field goals but if you keep college teams out of the end zone as this unit does they are going to miss field goals because they have college kickers. Also it should be noted that when Pitt got the ball back with a chance to go down and win the game they ran four plays for negative 19 yards and absolutely did not win the game. Chip Long owes Clark Lea dinner after this one.

5) Just kick the ball through the end zone, please. Please. That is the extent of my special teams commentary for this edition save for a shout out to Justin Yoon for making the two first half kicks when everything was teetering on the precipice. Both "Shanked field goal" and "Field goal blocked for a touchdown" were left unfilled on our bingo cards of sorrow and that's not nothing in a game this tight.

6) Winning Is Hard/Schadenfreude Round Up: As the afternoon devastation carried on into the evening it was suggested on Twitter that this section was going to have to be the length of a novel and it's close, although tilting more toward George Saunders short story in terms of both word count and dystopian theme. Let’s do it:

No. 2 Georgia got ground into tiny little bits of dust at LSU, turning the ball over four times and allowing the Bayou Bengals to convert all four fourth down attempts. The Dawgs have a bye to consider things before a stretch that could easily add another L to the column prior to the SEC title game with neutral site Florida, at Kentucky and then Auburn, although more on Auburn in a moment. With the recruiting Kirby Smart is doing the Dawgs may eventually become Bama but they ain't there just yet and are likely staring at a quarterback controversy.

No. 6 West Virginia got trucked in Ames, losing to Iowa State 30-14 in a game where the Cyclones outgained the Mountaineers 498 yards to 152 and only allowed one offensive touchdown. West Virginia still has games remaining against both Red River participants along with TCU and Oklahoma State, although more on TCU and Oklahoma State in a moment. Also, this is now a newsletter dedicated to the Iowa State marching band.

No. 7 Washington lost at Oregon in overtime after they missed a 37-yard field goal at the end of regulation. Chris Petersen is a really good coach but the Huskies are 0-2 this season when playing ranked teams away from home, and one of those ranked teams was Auburn soooo.

No. 8 Penn State blew another fourth quarter lead at home, this time of the field goal variety to a Sparty team that spent last week losing at home to Northwestern by 10. A few weeks ago the undefeated Nittany Lions had a double-digit lead over Ohio State and now they’re sitting at two losses with games remaining against Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin along with scrappy Indiana and Maryland teams. Seasons can turn quickly.

No. 15 Wisconsin got destroyed in Ann Arbor. At one point during the wedding cocktail hour we checked the box score and Alex Hornibrook was something like 2 for 12 for 25 yards and two picks, so the list of quarterbacks to put up 21-point, turnover-free halves against the Wolverines remains at one (Brandon Wimbush). Hornibrook somehow did not have the worst quarterback performance of the day in the Big Ten.

(Important aside: Friends, we’re not rooting for Michigan. I understand some of you want to have a shiny win for the playoff committee but there are certain principles on which we do not compromise and honestly this might be 1B to the 1A of “Rooting for Notre Dame.” Imagine if you spend the next six weeks supporting Michigan and then the Irish lose at Southern Cal and fall out of the playoff. Not only will you be sad but you’ll also have an irreparable black mark on your immortal soul. This is bigger than football and it’s not worth it.)

No. 16 Miami lost at Virginia, No. 19 Colorado finally played an opponent with a pulse and lost at USC, and No. 21 Auburn lost at home to Tennessee as a multi-touchdown favorite and just like that the Tigers are 4-5 in their last nine dating back to last year. Oklahoma State lost to a Kansas State team that had looked awful all season and Mike Gundy is looking at his worst campaign in years while TCU already has loss number three on the season after losing at home to Texas Tech.

Those are just the losses! No. 3 Ohio State was losing to Minnesota in the second quarter and struggled to put the Gophers away at home. No. 9Texas scraped by Baylor by just six at home. No. 10 Central Florida had to come from behind against Memphis. No. 14 Florida was down 18 to Vanderbilt before rallying. But there were plenty of other losses outside the ranking: Nebraska is still winless after blowing a lead at Northwestern. UCLA is no longer winless after blowing out a Cal team that previously seemed respectable. Mike Sanford and Western Kentucky lost to Charlotte. Arkansas blew a game against Ole Miss at home and sits at just 1-6 in Chad Morris' first year. Navy lost at home to Temple. South Carolina lost at home to A&M. If you can feel bad about a win of any kind after that chaotic Saturday, you’re following the wrong sport.

Oh, one quick professional digression: Jon Gruden is 1-5 as the Raiders head coach with an overtime win over the Browns.

7) Notre Dame is 17-3 in their last 20 games, a stretch that dates back to the start of the 2017 season. Some things that have happened in those contests:

* The first time beating six straight opponents by 20 points since 1966.

* The first time beating consecutive AP Top 15 teams by 20 points since 1944.

* Beat Michigan.

* The largest margin of victory over an AP Top 25 team on the road since 1966.

* The first win in a Top 10 vs. Top 10 game at Notre Dame Stadium since 1993.

* A 49-14 win over the eventual Pac-12 champion, a score that was not indicative of the thoroughness of the beating.

* A bowl win over a Top 25 SEC team that has begun this season 6-1 and ranks near the top of the polls.

* Beat Michigan. It was just one time but I do think it’s important to make sure you didn’t miss the bullet point about this above.

* Beat a 10-3 Sparty team on the road by 20 and that somehow never gets mentioned because they weren’t ranked at the time and to be fair it's maybe the fifth or sixth best win of these most recent 17.

* Lost one home game in that stretch, a one-point defeat to the SEC Champion and national title runner-up. The other two losses were on the road to teams who won Power 5 divisions.

There is still much work to do between now and the end of November but this season has been a blast despite a few close calls. With the bye week there is going to be a plethora of national pundits and reporters talking about Notre Dame and the playoffs and eye tests and chances of winning out and blah blah blah. I encourage you to tune out anything that even slightly bothers you, because there is a long way to go and these next two weeks should be used only for consuming cheeseburgers and celebrating the 7-0 start before five teams throw their hearts and souls into being the one that takes down the Irish. Winning is really, really hard and Notre Dame has done a ton of it over the last 14 months. Let’s embrace the unhealthy stress that comes with rooting for a team in title contention and hope the victories keep coming. Navy is next but not before we put our feet up and rest.

Worth remembering that we're in the midst of a historically successful run. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[ACamp1900]

Worth remembering that we're in the midst of a historically successful run. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[ickythump1225]

I mean 17-3 probably has to be our best 20 game run in a long time, maybe since the late 80s?

 

[ickythump1225]

I overlooked the start of 2012-7 games into 2013 because I thought we had dropped an additional game earlier than we did for some reason. We were 17-3 at the same point in 2013. This time feels better because we've truly dominated some teams and won our bowl game against a SEC team, unlike the 2012-13 run...