2019 Virginia Post Game Thread

[stlnd01]

Yeah, it's hard to understand why we don't take more shots downfield to Claypool. My dude is 6'4", 230.

Because our QB is unwilling (or unable) to throw the ball more than 20 yards downfield.

 

[ickythump1225]

All of the Book homers on here acting like the people who want to see PJ are haters or are saying Book sucks. Book doesn't suck, he just isn't elite and really doesn't have any business being the starter at a program like Notre Dame.

True enough we don't know PJ's ceiling or capabilities but we know Book's and his limitations are extremely apparent.

 

[Irish#1]

Book fundamentally is a really good college QB. Mentally and somewhat physically he’s a little bit of a nightmare. Long has to be pulling his hair out with his lack of willingness to throw the damn ball.

If you’re talking mechanics, but overall he’s lacking fundamentally from being able to keep a pocket presence to being able to go deep.

Book will get paid to play pro football. Write that on the wall.

Anywhere but the NFL.

I think you’re right based on comments from beat writers at the game watching from the booth. I’ve heard multiple writers comment or tweet how so & so was running wide open had Book just slowed down to find him. Getting stuck w/ that damn sideline cam & flutie not bothering to focus on that in the replays doesn’t help.

We were sitting in the end zone and there were several times we had guys who were past the D.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I like Book and I've been hoping the light goes on but this is 4 games and only one good-ish performance against Georgia. I mean, he struggled to find guys against UNM to start the game.

I think Kelly and Long need to get Phil a couple drives in the next game and see where he's at. If he's prepared to run some RPO and pitch some deep balls, he'd be very valuable. They could continue giving him a couple drives/game.

That would force defenses to show up with two game plans for very different QBs. I'm not a huge fan of that idea but I think it can be done effectively. I don't know that PJ is ready to operate by himself and maybe Book can still have the light go on but so far, he's looked absolutely lost when he's asked to go outside of a first read or checkdown.

 

[EifertPower]

Sky Cam was awful. Totally kills my viewing experience and almost makes the game unwatchable. I'm fine if they want to use Sky Cam for replays but not live action. It's brutal

 

[JD Irish]

Stock up:
Offensive Line
Tony Jones
C'Bo Flemister
Julian Okwara
Khalid Kareem
Jamir Jones
Kurt Hinish
TaRiq Bracy
Kyle Hamilton
Clark Lea

Stock down:
Ian Book
Chris Finke
Troy Pride
Chip Long
Tommy Rees

Losing Daelin Hayes and Shaun Crawford to injury is awful.

 

[Luckylucci]

Really hope they get C’bo a lot of action against BG. I really like what I’ve seen there and even from Fall camp videos, he seems to show up on film making tough runs.

 

[JD Irish]

I agree. I also hope other players like Wright, Tremble, Lenzy, Keys, McKinley, Simon, Lamb, JGH, Lamb, Lacey, Oghoufo, Foskey, Hamilton, Bracy, Griffith, DJ Brown, and Justin Ademilola get some opportunities against BGSU. These are the games we really need to have to get the next players in line some good experience.

 

[Luckylucci]

Agreed, I’d really like to see Lamb and Simon get a lot of work in the base defense. And a big game for Keys

 

[irishtrooper]

Happy with the defense, particularly in the 2nd half. Loved seeing Okwara be what everyone expected. Nice to see Jones have an impact. Hamilton and Gilman making big plays and the LBs were solid (especially in 2nd half). I’m just not liking what I’ve seen from Book this season. Maybe it’s me, but I’m almost waiting in fear for something bad to happen. I hate that I feel that way because I really like him and support him, but it’s time to get it together.

Running game looked great for large chunks of the game and there were nice runs by C’Bo, which was good to see.

Awful news on the injuries. Hopefully Crawford can come back and finish out the year healthy. I’m also hopeful Hayes is able to recover for next year....?

At the end of the day I have no problem beating a top 20 team at home after a physically and emotionally draining game on the road the prior week. This was a game this team needed. They didn’t just win, they dominated the 2nd half and covered the spread.

Fix Ian Shook and find a nickel corner to fill in for Crawford (Griffith? Hamilton? Vaughn?) and I think we’re in good shape down the stretch.

 

[Junkhead]

Book will get paid to play pro football. Write that on the wall.

I've been on here saying that Book is probably the best we have atm. But I highly doubt he will make an NFL roster, he just doesn't have the arm they crave. If Quinn and Clausen (and even Kizer) struggled so much in the NFL, I can't see Book having a chance. That said, PJ should get good reps against Bowling Green, hopefully they let him chuck it a bit.

 

[Irish#1]

Long needs to open the BG game the same way we did against USC when Kizer opened with a bomb to Fuller. Long needs to tell Book, there are no check downs, just drop back, find your guy and let it rip.

 

[IrishLion]

1. Clark Lea have my babies

2. Seriously, though, offer him a contract that makes it impossible for him to leave for anything that isn't his perfect idea of a first HC job.

3. Put MTA in for the "Hoss Cat Goal Line Package." Put Tremble and Kmet on the ends, then motion MTA through the backfield like they usually do with Tremble. Play-action --> soft toss to MTA --> TD big fella.

4. Ian Book needs to settle down. Idk what the answer is to him bailing out of clean pockets constantly. Maybe a tune-up against Bowling Green and plenty of film study will help him settle down.

5. If Book can't settle down after a tune-up and some film study, it's time to double-down on the power run game they showed against UVA, and take a few shots with play action to keep defenses honest when appropriate. Simplify the offense if Book's struggles are going to make things look vanilla anyway. Use the Ace and Pistol formations with 2 TE's and chip away at the opposing defense while leaning on your own defense, and win games in the second half. I don't think you should make a QB change when you know how efficient Book is capable of playing, but maybe it's not a crazy idea when you've got Clark Lea to cover your ass while the new guy settles in. But I'd rather them stick with Book and embrace the downhill running game, and give him some easy stuff to ease back into being the Book we all know and love.

6. Don't play Claypool against Bowling Green.

7. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE OUR CORNERS GET TO DEFEND RECEIVERS ON SOME STANDARD 50/50 BALLS, INSTEAD OF BEING VICTIM TO PERFECT THROWS AND CATCHES. I swear, dating back to UGA in '17, our DB's are screwed by once-in-a-lifetimes efforts from WR's more than any other team. It's ridiculous. You can't cover more perfectly than Pride did against Cager last week, or than Bracy did against Dubois this week, and yet our guys can't catch a break.

 

[SoIll]

SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE DEAL IS WITH HOUSTON GRIFFITH.. Just not that good? Bad egg?

 

[BabyIrish]

SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE DEAL IS WITH HOUSTON GRIFFITH.. Just not that good? Bad egg?

He got injured in camp and naturally fell behind, I think it's hard to move up once the season starts. With Crawford out, he has his opportunity to step up and try to take some of the reps at the slot corner.

They also could have moved him back to safety after Allen left. I'm pretty sure most of the analysts have said he looks his best when he has played safety in practices.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE DEAL IS WITH HOUSTON GRIFFITH.. Just not that good? Bad egg?

He and Vaughn can still save a year of eligibility if they don't go over four games this year. I don't think that would be an insane course of action given that ND will probably lose all four of its starters after this year.

 

[IrishLax]

SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE DEAL IS WITH HOUSTON GRIFFITH.. Just not that good? Bad egg?

He's naturally a safety and will likely start there next year with Hamilton. At corner, he is not better than Pride or Bracy. He may play some more with Crawford out, but Vaughn is also a more natural corner.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Crowd noise in the second half was one of the best I've experienced outside of a night game. Those D Boyz brought the energy and it was contagious.

Agree they need to pay Clark Lea. Retaining him has to be BK's top priority. Dude is a beast at adjusting mid-game.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

1. Clark Lea have my babies

2. Seriously, though, offer him a contract that makes it impossible for him to leave for anything that isn't his perfect idea of a first HC job.

Start praying for Vanderbilt to start winning some games. That's the job opening which scares me.

 

[greyhammer90]

Start praying for Vanderbilt to start winning some games. That's the job opening which scares me.

This. Pray Vanderbilt beats Tennessee. If that happens, I think we're golden for at least another year.

 

[zelezo vlk]

This. Pray Vanderbilt beats Tennessee. If that happens, I think we're golden for at least another year.

I know that Vandy is the alma mater, but are we sure that Lea would want to walk into that situation? Lea is a great coach, but can he take Vandy out of the cellar if the SEC East won't be historically bad like it was under Franklin?

Maybe we should worry about Tennessee calling after Vandy wipes the floor with the Vols

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I know that Vandy is the alma mater, but are we sure that Lea would want to walk into that situation? Lea is a great coach, but can he take Vandy out of the cellar if the SEC East won't be historically bad like it was under Franklin?

Maybe we should worry about Tennessee calling after Vandy wipes the floor with the Vols

Aside from the personal ties, lower tier P5 jobs are the kind of places that pursue top coordinators for their head coaching vacancies. I mean, that's where they got their current coach. And Notre Dame's academics make their assistants a natural fit for Vanderbilt's culture.

From Lea's point of view, there are a limited number of these opportunities and it's not a job like Tennessee where he'll shoulder ridiculous expectations. And I'm sure it would be a massive raise from his current generous salary.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Here's the post-Virginia Rakes Report:

1) The cool thing about college football is you can win games in a bunch of ways and they all go in the standings the same. Escaping because your quarterback got hot even though you can’t stop anybody on defense? Sure. Putting It all on a running back the other team simply can’t tackle even though the rest of your team is floundering? Yeah, still counts. Saturday's game was scary for a while and then really fun as the Irish tried a new path to victory: Just pummel the hell out of the opposition to the tune of eight sacks, five turnovers and four yards of rushing allowed even though you’re coming off an emotionally and physically draining loss and trailing at the half against a Top 20 team. It was shaky deep into the third, but eventually the Irish suffocated the Cavaliers and notched their 13th straight home win. When people look back at this game in the record books, it'll make no mention of third quarter special teams miscues or offensive woes and just count as yet another W.

2) Against the Cavaliers we saw the Defensive Line That Was Promised, as Julian Okwara awoke from his early-season slumber to stalk poor Bryce Perkins for four quarters. 13 total tackles for loss — an absolutely silly number — coming from Okwara (three sacks, two forced fumbles), Khalid Kareem (2.5 sacks and living up to his postgame threat/promise/declaration last week), Drew White, Alohi Gilman, Kurt Hinish, Jamir Jones, Ovie Oghoufo and Ade Ogundeji. The Cavaliers had negative yards rushing in the first half and they were outscored 7-3 by the Irish defense in the second half (and it was a few giant MTA steps away from 14-3). It was a masterful performance when the team needed one and a testament to Clark Lea’s halftime adjustments and motivational abilities.

When we were trying to figure out how this team might be successful, “Opposing offense harried by defensive line rushes throws into ballhawking secondary” was high on the list and we saw that as well, as Alohi Gilman and Kyle Hamilton both came down with interceptions. The Hamilton pick was just lovely and you really can’t say enough about how high the hype was and how he’s also lived up to that and then some. Credit to Perkins and his receivers for absolutely balling out for a half, but they couldn’t keep it up for a second thirty minutes. Also, that’s two straight games of quality play from the linebackers against two different types of offenses. Not bad!

3) On the less positive end of the spectrum, Shaun Crawford went down with a dislocated elbow set to keep him out 3-4 weeks, which means he’ll miss the Southern Cal game and probably the Michigan game. If karma is real, I hope Crawford reaps some extreme benefits down the road for the toll he’s taken during his time in South Bend. Notre Dame was going to need TaRiq Bracy, K.J. Wallace and Houston Griffith to step up in the coming seasons and that future is now, although Brian Kelly said JOK would be getting more snaps in the nickel to help manage the Crawford absence. We have also lost Daelin Hayes for the season with a torn labrum, a tough one because he had been so splendid in the first few games. This likely ends the Jamir Jones, Senior Redshirt Project and perhaps substitutes it with a Daelin Hayes, Senior Redshirt Project should he be willing to stick around. Crawford and Hayes had perhaps been the best players at their respective position groups so this is not ideal, but Jones had one of the forced fumbles on Saturday and looked good.

Before we get into the offense, I’m going to give you a blind item of two 2019 stat lines from FBS quarterbacks. Results shortly:

PLAYER A: 61.8% completion rate, 8.3 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, rating of 143.68

PLAYER B: 63% completion rate, 8.3 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, rating of 151.96

4) The running game finally got going a little bit, particularly in the fourth quarter as Tony Jones salted the afternoon away with a 131-yard, three-touchdown effort. For the crowd that thinks offenses should be focused on the ground, you should be pleased with some of the play selection on Saturday. On the first drive, the Irish faced 2nd and 4 on the Virginia eight, ran twice and scored. C’Borius Flemister had a great touchdown run on 1st and 10 from the 11, after a 13-yard reception to get the Irish into the red zone. After MTA’s fumble return, the Irish ran twice and scored. After Gilman’s interception, the Irish ran the ball four out of five plays and scored to go up 35-17 on a 30-yard run from Jones that featured a great block from Tommy Tremble, who’s coming along nicely. After Hamilton's interception, the Irish took over with 3:49 remaining in the game and ran out the clock with seven rushes. In all, Notre Dame ran for 5.1 yards per rush, or exactly 5.0 more yards per carry than their guests.

Not a great day for Ian Book, who continued to miss open targets while struggling with pocket presence, although there were a few busts in protection that didn’t help things combined with Chase Claypool tweaking his ankle and taking a favorite target off the board. One nice thing is Cole Kmet was great for a second straight game and as long as he stays healthy the Irish have an A-number one weapon to turn to in all sorts of situations in addition to getting another quality blocker in the running game. Michael Young was back and had a light day save for an early third down conversion, but good to have him in the rotation particularly as Chris Finke continues to struggle. The screen game is abysmal right now, between offensive linemen missing blocks, receivers dropping balls and poor passes. Please get better at this, it could be useful down the line.

Counter to much of the doom and gloom around Book, on Saturday he completed 68 percent of his passes, didn’t turn the ball over and guided the offense to four touchdowns in four red zone possessions. If Claypool’s ankle doesn’t give out late in the second quarter and Notre Dame has first down near midfield on a drive to go up 21-10, how do we view the offense that had just come off 13 plays for 75 yards, 4 for 54 and 13 of 55 on its first three drives of the game? (Also, Notre Dame should install a hot tub for Claypool to hang out in during the Bowling Green game. Can you have champagne on the sidelines during college football games? Let’s find out!) I would also note that Book was pretty good on balls down the field for the second straight game when he actually throws it, but whether it’s Chip Long’s calls or Book missing open guys, there haven’t been enough shots.

If the offensive line can run block like it did on Saturday while the skill positions get healthier it will make Book’s life much easier. He has to be better, yes, because it is extremely frustrating to watch him bail out of clean pockets as his internal clock is amiss but let’s not start talking quarterback changes just yet. If the line is run blocking better and Jafar Armstrong is back for the final seven games, you’re talking about a scheme that could maybe turn into more of a power rush attack with Book taking shots to big bodies and fast guys. I didn’t think the offense would be the work in progress that it is at the moment, but there’s some reason for hope to help balance out the wobbliness that could absolutely cost the Irish a game down the line.

The answer to the blind item? Player A is Trevor Lawrence and Player B is Ian Book. I don’t really know if I have a broader point but that’s interesting, right? If you were curious, Jalen Hurts is sitting at 77.6%, 15.2 yards per attempt, 12 touchdowns, one pick and a rating of 249.86

5) Roughest special teams game of the season thus far, but the specialists were still far short of disaster. Jay Bramblett failed to pin teams inside the 20 as he had previously, but still avoided any shanks or blocks. Jonathan Doerer missed a 47-yarder but remained solid on kickoffs and extra points, including one that was moved back on a penalty. The Wahoos pulled off a nifty onside kick that you could pin on Brian Polian but I’ll choose to tip the hat to Bronco Mendenhall for a gutsy call and his team for perfect execution. (Although it ended up not mattering because the defense immediately forced a punt.) I also don’t think you can blame Polian for a senior captain who’s received dozens of punts at this point muffing one. (And that ended up not mattering because the defense got a fourth down stop on a bizarre play call from the Cavaliers. Recurring theme of this review: Thank you, defense.)

6) If you were at the game, congrats on making a great life choice because that was a miserable television experience. Between the drone camera where you literally couldn’t see where the ball was going and incessant interruptions from the officiating consultant, it felt like The Bad Place of football broadcasts. Those in attendance did get to experience the yakety sax of officiating, which at one point included bungling a Jones conversion spot (his hip landed on the line to gain!), bringing the chains out to measure it and THEN doing a review. I listened to the first couple drives of the game on the radio (shoutout to the Sirius XM Catholic channel) because I was running late and that was a far more enjoyable experience, which should concern all executives at NBC Sports.

7) I hope Virginia has figured out their protections by the trip to Miami because I would really like them to win that game and get an early jump on the Coastal Division. It’s fun to lock in a victory over a team that might win a bunch of games but whose success won’t bum you out (see: the opening night victory last season). Considering Perkins’ talents, those two great wide receivers and Mendenhall’s consistently good defenses, I think this could be a really nice win come December, but they have to keep their quarterback alive. The 'Hoos have a bye week before the Hurricanes to work on it.

8) Winning Is Hard/Schadenfreude Round Up: A special weekend for this section because the first time “Winning is Hard” was ever written in a Report was after the 2015 Virginia game, Section 3 of Edition #17. If you’re a recent subscriber, this portion is not whataboutism or excuse making for the Irish, but a reminder that college football is a phenomenally stupid game in which upsets and errors happen each and every weekend across the country. If you only watch Notre Dame play and then compare them to some halcyon standard from back in the day that probably never existed you’ll be miserable. Misfortune befalls most if not all over the course of the season, not just Notre Dame.

Honestly, kind of light this week. No. 1 Clemson defeated Mack Brown’s Tar Heels by a single point in Chapel Hill after UNC went for two late and didn’t get it. (Imagine needing a two-point conversion against Clemson and just running your quarterback.) No. 2 Alabama was losing after one quarter against Ole Miss at home but ended up doing just fine. Cal was undefeated and up to No. 15 in the country but they lost at home to Herm Edwards, who is kind of decent at this college coaching thing. No. 23 Texas A&M was a three-touchdown favorite against woeful Arkansas and needed a fourth quarter rally. No. 25 Michigan State needed a late field goal to beat Indiana at home. USC couldn’t get anything going against Washington and lost in Seattle, putting the Clay Helton Era back on tilt with a trip to South Bend upcoming after the bye.

Maryland was so excited to host Penn State on Friday night they canceled classes and added seating to their stadium. They lost 59-0. Nebraska got to host both “College GameDay” and Ohio State, a primetime showcase for Year Two of the Scott Frost Era after almost winning in Columbus last year. They lost 48-7. Undefeated Minnesota won in West Lafayette and now the Boilers are 1-3 and heading to State College this weekend.

Pitt almost followed up their win over Central Florida by losing to Delaware but rallied. Baylor blew a 20-0 fourth quarter lead against Iowa State but then recovered for a 23-21 victory, another close loss for Matt Campbell and another nice win for Matt Rhule. Stanford barely escaped Corvallis and the Beavers. Dave Doeren and NC State got crushed at Florida State, who are looking pretty frisky. South Florida got crushed at home by SMU (who’s undefeated?!) and Charlie Strong is probably going to get fired. Virginia Tech got smoked at home by Duke and prayers up for Justin Fuente at this point for a collapse I don’t think anybody saw coming.

9) I feel like this season is sort of trending in the direction I feared, which is Notre Dame sitting at a hard-luck 3-1 after a tough loss in Athens and three perfectly acceptable wins (by 18 on the road in primetime, by 52 over a tomato can, by 15 over a top twenty team that was 4-0 entering the game) and everyone still kind of being down about things. The offense isn’t where we want it but there’s still room for growth while the defense has put together two really fun weeks in a row. Everyone was worried about the kicker and punter submarining things and they’re doing a-okay through the first third of the season. (Got my fractions right this week.) Things are pretty good even if Michigan and Southern Cal aren't going to be walkovers but this isn't supposed to be easy.

Considering Notre Dame has opened as a six-touchdown favorite against Bowling Green in their ByeVG, the main goals should be to keep everybody healthy and get Phil Jurkovec enough quality reps that people are calling for him to start in Ann Arbor if there are any struggles by Book in the USC game. (I kid but this seems like a thing that could and maybe will happen.) It’s been a tense couple of weeks so enjoy this breather and the chance to see some young guys play because there is still a lot to accomplish this season once we get to the other side of the Falcons. If this one is close? Well, then we can all panic.

10) If you want an audio supplement to this, Jess Smetana of Sports Illustrated joined Matt and I to talk about the Virginia game. You can listen to that here. Talk to you all next Monday.

 

[Dizzyphil]

This. Pray Vanderbilt beats Tennessee. If that happens, I think we're golden for at least another year.

Start praying for Vanderbilt to start winning some games. That's the job opening which scares me.

I know that Vandy is the alma mater, but are we sure that Lea would want to walk into that situation? Lea is a great coach, but can he take Vandy out of the cellar if the SEC East won't be historically bad like it was under Franklin?

Maybe we should worry about Tennessee calling after Vandy wipes the floor with the Vols

Aside from the personal ties, lower tier P5 jobs are the kind of places that pursue top coordinators for their head coaching vacancies. I mean, that's where they got their current coach. And Notre Dame's academics make their assistants a natural fit for Vanderbilt's culture.

From Lea's point of view, there are a limited number of these opportunities and it's not a job like Tennessee where he'll shoulder ridiculous expectations. And I'm sure it would be a massive raise from his current generous salary.

Vandy and Nashville loves Mason. He will beat TN this year and with Northern Illinois, UNLV, and East TN State on the schedule, they will go bowling - and that is all that Vandy alumni care about here. A 7-5 record, or 6-6 will not get Mason fired.



He got an extension in Feb of this year and is making $3 Million plus bowl bonus and incentives.

 

[RDU Irish]

No mention of Kareem in here? Dude was a beast from start to finish. One play he pretty much threw the O lineman AT the QB like a rag doll - I think he had three blockers on one play and still collapsed the pocket. Straight up monster.

The fact we all long for Dex and he is a marginal NFL back tells me where our RB position stands. With our OL pedigree of the last decade we should have a stable of NFL backs to pick from. Really frustrating.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The fact we all long for Dex and he is a marginal NFL back tells me where our RB position stands. With our OL pedigree of the last decade we should have a stable of NFL backs to pick from. Really frustrating.

Murtaugh wrote about this recently. As you've mentioned, Dex was far from being a complete RB, but he at least had a couple elite traits (namely explosiveness).

It's a shame for ND to be trotting out one of the best OLs in the country when we have no one capable of taking advantage of it.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Yeah, there were guys running free on most plays. He does not see the middle of the field while in the pocket... really that simple.

The middle of the field was open the entire fourth quarter against Georgia. Kirby was like "well, why defend it if he isn't going to throw there." Maybe this is something he can work on against Bowling Green when there isn't as much pressure.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Here's Murtaugh's review of the Virginia game. Notable grades/ stats below:

Offense
QB: D
RB: B+
TE: B
OL: B
WR: C+

Run Success
Jones – 11 of 18 (61.1%)
Book – 2 of 5 (40.0%)
Flemister – 2 of 6 (33.3%)
Smith – 1 of 3 (33.3%)
Young – 0 of 1 (0.0%)

Defense
DL: A+
LB: A
DB: D

 

[AllTimeIrish]

No mention of Kareem in here? Dude was a beast from start to finish. One play he pretty much threw the O lineman AT the QB like a rag doll - I think he had three blockers on one play and still collapsed the pocket. Straight up monster.

The fact we all long for Dex and he is a marginal NFL back tells me where our RB position stands. With our OL pedigree of the last decade we should have a stable of NFL backs to pick from. Really frustrating.

Word.

 

[BGIF]

Murtaugh wrote about this recently. As you've mentioned, Dex was far from being a complete RB, but he at least had a couple elite traits (namely explosiveness).

It's a shame for ND to be trotting out one of the best OLs in the country when we have no one capable of taking advantage of it.

The RBs seemed to take advantage of one of the best OLs in the country when two TE were added to it.