General team info

[Dizzyphil]

I think you gotta give Tony the talk that this bowl prep and next year are going to be for the next generation of RB's at ND. Give him 10-15 carries and then move on with the position group in the off-season. If he chooses to stay and we don't need spots then his leadership will be welcome but this can't turn into 2 years of Tony Jones slugging around the backfield.

I don't think Tony is thaat bad, and would like him as a no. 3 option. I rate him higher than C'Bo and Jahmir, and probably Jafar although who knows how good a healthy Jafar is. C'Bo runs hard, but honestly has extremely minimal talent. We keep talking about what a natural RB Jahmir is, but he doesn't flash very often to me. I'd like to see what Kyren can do, and obviously Tyree, next year. But if we gave C'Bo or Jahmir the same amount of carries as Tony had, I don't think they would have had 4 or 5 100 yard games.

As far as next year, it probably is going to be a true toss-up on who will/could be the best back. It truly starts at the OL and, with those returning next year - I would hope to say that there should be a good improvement on the line barring injury.

 

[benneboy]

I don't think Tony is thaat bad, and would like him as a no. 3 option. I rate him higher than C'Bo and Jahmir, and probably Jafar although who knows how good a healthy Jafar is. C'Bo runs hard, but honestly has extremely minimal talent. We keep talking about what a natural RB Jahmir is, but he doesn't flash very often to me. I'd like to see what Kyren can do, and obviously Tyree, next year. But if we gave C'Bo or Jahmir the same amount of carries as Tony had, I don't think they would have had 4 or 5 100 yard games.

I don't agree with this at all. He looks like the most talented back on the the team when he gets the ball. I'm guessing he's struggling with other parts of the game.

 

[fightingirish26]

I don't agree with this at all. He looks like the most talented back on the the team when he gets the ball. I'm guessing he's struggling with other parts of the game.

Yea i mean the 3.1 ypc is pretty attrocious. Idk he puts his head down and I like him in short yardage situations but he looks really slow and not very shifty. Plus, it seems like his penchant for putting his head down means he isn't looking around for holes.

 

[BabyIrish]

Interesting note is that Tony Jones had a higher PFF rating than Dexter Williams from last year. Certainly I’d take Dex over Jones every time but I also don’t think Jones is as bad as we’re making him out to be. He did suffer a rib injury against Michigan and I’m sure that affected him the rest of the season.

 

[ThePiombino]

Interesting note is that Tony Jones had a higher PFF rating than Dexter Williams from last year. Certainly I’d take Dex over Jones every time but I also don’t think Jones is as bad as we’re making him out to be. He did suffer a rib injury against Michigan and I’m sure that affected him the rest of the season.

His YPC certainly plummeted since the Michigan game. There could be something to that.

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[Dizzyphil]

His YPC certainly plummeted since the Michigan game. There could be something to that.

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OL injuries ??

 

[ThePiombino]

OL injuries ??

I'm sure it didn't help.

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[Irish YJ]

Interesting note is that Tony Jones had a higher PFF rating than Dexter Williams from last year. Certainly I’d take Dex over Jones every time but I also don’t think Jones is as bad as we’re making him out to be. He did suffer a rib injury against Michigan and I’m sure that affected him the rest of the season.

I do remember seeing a PFF shout out for his USC performance. Are you saying he's rated higher for the year? Can you link if you have a second.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Let's take a look at how often in 2019 the current CFP top 25 played like or better than an elite team (E+), played like or better than a good team (G+), played like or better than an average team (A+), or played like a below-average team. FBS game results only. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CFPprofiles?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CFPprofiles</a> <a href="https://t.co/WCiYOXo4kC">pic.twitter.com/WCiYOXo4kC</a></p>— Brian Fremeau (@bcfremeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/bcfremeau/status/1202782050278920192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Pretty compelling evidence that we should be ranked above at least Oregon and Florida.

 

[Luckylucci]

Thanks for posting. And, Oregon has no business being ahead of ND.

 

[IrishLion]

Pretty compelling evidence that we should be ranked above at least Oregon and Florida.

It's the loss to scUM, holding the entire program down right now.

Had that game been competitive, even with a 14-17 point loss, ND would be in the top-12 comfortably.

It has also been a weird year, in general, with a bunch of top-15ish teams beating eachother without totally falling off, which keeps things more crowded.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Note that this includes only games against FBS opponents (as is right and just), which is why 11 of the teams ranked above us show as having played 1-2 fewer games.

 

[Bluto]

Thanks for posting. And, Oregon has no business being ahead of ND.

Ehhh...Oregon had Auburn on the ropes and lead the entire game until Auburn’s final score. If I’m recalling things correctly had Oregon not fumbled late in the game they would have run out the clock. Based on that alone they deserve to be ranked higher.

 

[stlnd01]

It's the loss to scUM, holding the entire program down right now.

Had that game been competitive, even with a 14-17 point loss, ND would be in the top-12 comfortably.

It has also been a weird year, in general, with a bunch of top-15ish teams beating eachother without totally falling off, which keeps things more crowded.

Funny thing about the Michigan game. It was 17-7 with five minutes to go in the third quarter. We had just scored, and held them scoreless for a couple of drives. It had even stopped raining.

And that's when things went to hell, starting with a ~50 yard run right up the middle of our defense (about the only one of those we gave up all year) and then the one baller play Shea Patterson made all night when he threw a TD on 3rd and goal from like the 8 with an all-out blitz in his face. Kareem, I think, drilled him but the WR came back for the ball and made a nice catch. 24-7. Ballgame.

If our defense holds on that possession that stays a relatively close game, even if the offense kept struggling. Instead, like you said, that 31-point deficit in the final score has been hung on our neck ever since.

 

[stlnd01]

Ehhh...Oregon had Auburn on the ropes and lead the entire game until Auburn’s final score. If I’m recalling things correctly had Oregon not fumbled late in the game they would have run out the clock. Based on that alone they deserve to be ranked higher.

Oregon's a good football team. They're talented on offense and physical on defense. That Auburn game could've gone either way. ASU on the road was the sort of tough loss that happens sometimes. They demolished USC in a way we didn't, and totally outclassed Utah last night.
Honestly, of the non-SEC teams that aren't in the Top Three they might be the one I'd bet on to actually win a playoff game.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Funny thing about the Michigan game. It was 17-7 with five minutes to go in the third quarter. We had just scored, and held them scoreless for a couple of drives. It had even stopped raining.

And that's when things went to hell, starting with a ~50 yard run right up the middle of our defense (about the only one of those we gave up all year) and then the one baller play Shea Patterson made all night when he threw a TD on 3rd and goal from like the 8 with an all-out blitz in his face. Kareem, I think, drilled him but the WR came back for the ball and made a nice catch. 24-7. Ballgame.

If our defense holds on that possession that stays a relatively close game, even if the offense kept struggling. Instead, like you said, that 31-point deficit in the final score has been hung on our neck ever since.

Went to hell when the Irish had them pinned on their own two yard line, punting - and special teams tries to pick up a dying, wet ball on their 40ish yard line....

 

[texbender]

Went to hell when the Irish had them pinned on their own two yard line, punting - and special teams tries to pick up a dying, wet ball on their 40ish yard line....

Definitely seemed to turn the flow completely around and it never returned in favor of ND.

 

[greyhammer90]

Note that this includes only games against FBS opponents (as is right and just), which is why 11 of the teams ranked above us show as having played 1-2 fewer games.

Sort of.... New Mexico and Bowling Green are worse football teams than many non-FBS opponents.

 

[phork]

Funny thing about the Michigan game. It was 17-7 with five minutes to go in the third quarter. We had just scored, and held them scoreless for a couple of drives. It had even stopped raining.

And that's when things went to hell, starting with a ~50 yard run right up the middle of our defense (about the only one of those we gave up all year) and then the one baller play Shea Patterson made all night when he threw a TD on 3rd and goal from like the 8 with an all-out blitz in his face. Kareem, I think, drilled him but the WR came back for the ball and made a nice catch. 24-7. Ballgame.

If our defense holds on that possession that stays a relatively close game, even if the offense kept struggling. Instead, like you said, that 31-point deficit in the final score has been hung on our neck ever since.

Despite the score being 17-7 the game was over. I was there watching semi-truck size holes being punched in our front seven. I was there with my wife and I told her we could leave whenever she was ready because the game was over. She said, "You guys just scored its a 10 point game".

As a football coach and someone who has been watching football for a lot of years you just know when a game is done. Couldn't run the ball, couldn't stop the run. There was nothing funny, or entertaining, about that game.

 

[koonja]

With some time between now and the bowl game, I'd like to actually understand the Booster-football relationship. I think we all get it at a high level: "They provide money to the program", but beyond that I couldn't speak about that relationship at all.

- What is a booster?
- Why do they contribute?
- What are they given in return?
- How much do they give (I'm sure it depends)?
- Who manages that relationship from the University (AD, President, BOT)?
- Are they locked in by any means, or do they decide to donate/not donate on an annual basis?
- How do they actually influence? Is it a "get me UM and I'll donate $100,000"?

Again, I think most of us get it at a high level, but I have no idea of the stipulations, management, or commitment at a granular level.

 

[Armyirish47]

ESPN continues to crank out top 150 content for the history of college football and this morning put out an article on the 150 greatest coaches of all time...OF ALL TIME. Below is a link and some highlights.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/CFB150coaches/the-150-greatest-coaches-college-football-150-year-history

3. Knute Rockne
10. Frank Leahy
15. Ara Parseghian
23. Lou Holtz
88. Dan Devine
89. Brian Kelly
131. Jesse Harper

 

[snoopdog]

Despite the score being 17-7 the game was over. I was there watching semi-truck size holes being punched in our front seven. I was there with my wife and I told her we could leave whenever she was ready because the game was over. She said, "You guys just scored its a 10 point game".

As a football coach and someone who has been watching football for a lot of years you just know when a game is done. Couldn't run the ball, couldn't stop the run. There was nothing funny, or entertaining, about that game.

As a football coach you absolutely know these type of games happen. They are inexplicable but happen nonetheless.

I have been on both sides of these games as a player...once beating a ranked opponent 52-10 when we were huge dogs. I remember after yet another long running play sitting on the turf besides an OT teammate laughing out loud...."where the hell did this come from".

 

[ACamp1900]

Leahy is too low

 

[GreenGemsOmally]

As a football coach you absolutely know these type of games happen. They are inexplicable but happen nonetheless.

I have been on both sides of these games as a player...once beating a ranked opponent 52-10 when we were huge dogs. I remember after yet another long running play sitting on the turf besides an OT teammate laughing out loud...."where the hell did this come from".

I mean Ohio State got absolutely destroyed by Purdue just last year. It was so weird of a game, completely looked like the mirror dimension. Sometimes it just happens. Clemson barely escaped UNC just this year, lost to Syracuse two years ago, etc.

It sucks that it seems to happen with ND vs good-to-elite teams pretty often, but these shit games happen to almost everybody. The only team I can honestly say that I don't remember the last time they had a true pants-shitting-loss to a team they really shouldn't have even sniffed losing to is Alabama. When they lose, either it's a nail biter OR it's vs a championship team like Clemson.

 

[Wingman Ray]

Leahy is too low

And the fact that the Bear never beat ND

Couple with both Bear and Saban has a larger W-L ratio than Rockne

Seems fair right?

 

[SoIll]

sounds like Cooks is a forgone conclusion to replace Lyght? I never thought I'd see that reunion..

Edit: Loy says nothing to see here.

 

[tko]

No thanks on Crooks returning.

 

[IrishBryan77]

Sort of.... New Mexico and Bowling Green are worse football teams than many non-FBS opponents.

Completely agree!

 

[IrishBryan77]

Sort of.... New Mexico and Bowling Green are worse football teams than many non-FBS opponents.

Bowling Green has not been relevant since the Urban Meyer days!

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Bowling Green has not been relevant since the Urban Meyer days!

They won the MAC Championship in 2013 and 2015 with Dave Clawson and Dino Babers, respectively, both coaching P5 schools with pretty good success for their respective programs. Not sure this is entirely true.