Jan 7 | BCS National Championship | Alabama

[irishtrain]

This is not directed at anyone in particular, but 2 days after the fact I am growing kind of weary of the discussion reifying the idea that Bama and the SEC are at a different level than ND and the rest of college football.

Alabama beat us easily because of some combination of at least 4 factors:

1) They executed. I didn’t watch too many of their games this year but from what I saw we got one of their best games of the year. If they played against us like they did against A&M things would have been very different.
2) ND played poorly. We just didn’t have a great game, as has been mentioned here—tackling was awful, our linebackers looked lost, Golson made some bad throws, we didn’t convert on some fourth downs, etc.
3) They got some game-changing breaks early. The fumbled punt stands out, obviously. That's a game changer.
4) They are more talented. This is undeniable, but it’s not shocking. We entered this season with a redshirt FR at qb, an entirely new secondary after Slaughter went out, inexperienced WRs, a thin offensive line and depleted special teams. Bama has a truckload of experienced, elite players across the field. Their offensive line dominated the game.

The point here is that #4, talent, was not the only reason we lost. If we played better, they played badly, and we got a couple of breaks we could have beaten Alabama. Moving forward, Alabama will certainly be good next year, but I don’t think they’ll be close to this year’s team after they lose 3 O linemen and multiple D linemen to the draft. Becoming a great team takes a combination of experience and talent – my prediction is that they’ll take a step back next year, despite their soft schedule.

Meanwhile, the gap in talent and depth is closing. In my mind, we will have our most talented team in a long while next year. We’ll likely take a step backward the following year with the loss of so many linemen, but our talent level will still be on the rise. When the combination of talent and experience converges, which could happen next year, 3 years down the line, or some other time, ND can play with anyone.

Alabama destroyed us, but let’s not overreact. They were a better team this year, they caught some breaks, and they played a much better game. They are not invincible.

Embrace the pain and let it fuel you. Remember this @$# whipping and use it.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Embrace the pain and let it fuel you. Remember this @$# whipping and use it.

Along those lines, here's something to think about from a Bama fan. There are a lot of similarities between Bama '08 and ND '12. We were coming off a decade of mediocrity and we had our breakout season in Saban's 2nd year as our HC, going 12-0 and spending the last several weeks of the season ranked #1. We thought we were fully back.

In the SECCG, we faced #2 Florida with Urban and Tebow. We hung with them for 3+ quarters and even had the lead early in the 4th, but UF had too much Tebow and we had too little depth and experience. We weren't quite there yet, but we found out where the bar was and what it would take to get there. That loss fueled us. The 4 years since show how much.

You can let this year's loss in the BCSCG knock you back down the ladder and shake your confidence, or it can show you where the bar is, what it takes to get there, and it can be the catalyst to drive you to the next level. Up to you.

 

[D-BOE34]

Along those lines, here's something to think about from a Bama fan. There are a lot of similarities between Bama '08 and ND '12. We were coming off a decade of mediocrity and we had our breakout season in Saban's 2nd year as our HC, going 12-0 and spending the last several weeks of the season ranked #1. We thought we were fully back.

In the SECCG, we faced #2 Florida with Urban and Tebow. We hung with them for 3+ quarters and even had the lead early in the 4th, but UF had too much Tebow and we had too little depth and experience. We weren't quite there yet, but we found out where the bar was and what it would take to get there. That loss fueled us. The 4 years since show how much.

You can let this year's loss in the BCSCG knock you back down the ladder and shake your confidence, or it can show you where the bar is, what it takes to get there, and it can be the catalyst to drive you to the next level. Up to you.

I'll run with this. I agree. I think we could be pretty shocked next year. We just need more experience. If we keep the way we are, we will continue to get worked in the NC. You have to be perfect to beat Bama or whoever is the best of the SEC, period! Years are the only thing that will get us there. I am ok with the steps, as long as we continue to make them.

 

[Old Man Mike]

First, an apology to those who don't like wasted electrons: this is a double post. I posted it on the BK/ND thread because related comments bubbled up there, but it really belongs here. So, electrons or not -----

There was what was to me a very significant thing said by Barrett Jones after the game about our defense [and to preface this: I believe that comments by veteran "coaches-coming-to-be" players like Jones are VERY much worth listening to]:

"They're good because they're simple. But they're simple." He went on to say that given all the time that they [read: Saban] had to prepare for the game, the Notre Dame defense was simply patterned and predictable to the point where he and his buddies knew exactly where they would all be, angles and all, if they did certain formations and motions. That unusual foreknowledge allowed subtleties of knowing exactly who to block and how. Jones said that this made it relatively easy for linemen to get to the second level and at the right angles.

What does this say? Well, it explains a lot about the game, of course. But it also says that while Bobby-the-D is a very bright young coach, he's still only a few layers deep. As he grows he will have more inscrutable arrangements and goings on pre-snap, and be more diverse and unpredictable. So, good as he is, he is not even QUITE there as a DC let alone a head coach. He vitally needs more time with oldtimers like Kelly, Martin, Elliott, Hiestand.

The reason that this didn't hurt us during the season is that nobody had the amount of film nor the time to figure it all out, and almost no one is Nick Saban. Also, during the season we could make up for sometimes being figured out by just being so dammed superior physically that it didn't matter. Against Alabama, we saw that Nix was obviously physically superior to Jones on almost every play, but in the eleven man plan it almost never made any difference.

Was this "on" Diaco? Well, only philosophically. It was merely that Bob's at one stage in his evolution and Saban's at another. Add in the time needed for Saban to make use of his experience advantage and we got an uneven playing field. None of this diminishes the fact that Alabama won the football game decisively. It indicates something important to me, however. Our players were closer to their players in talent [by far] than it looked. Each play was loaded before it was snapped.

 

[philipm31]

Never a waste to spread the knowledge!!

Thanks!!!

Again

 

[Bogtrotter07]

I can never get over people claiming that we "played poorly" or had "tremendously less talent"! They say these things without any evidence, whatsoever. We had a gameplan which put our kids at risk (Kappy). And now these people that look and don't see have hung our kids out to dry. Why?

Our conditioning was superior, too.

 

[gkIrish]

If anyone is still feeling bad about the game, you can be glad that you weren't there to see it. I'm the guy in the white Manti jersey basically crying next to the Alabama dudes going wild

BCS Championship Gigapixel - Powered by Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

The #5 under the lights jersey has been very, very, very, very bad luck for me.

I wore it to the UTL game, another game from 2011 (I think USC), and wore it against FSU. I will never wear it again.

God that picture is depressing.

 

[gkIrish]

The #5 under the lights jersey has been very, very, very, very bad luck for me.

I wore it to the UTL game, another game from 2011 (I think USC), and wore it against FSU. I will never wear it again.

God that picture is depressing.

I wore it every game this season and never before this season. So I was 12-0 in that jersey going into the game.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

I wore it every game this season and never before this season. So I was 12-0 in that jersey going into the game.

To each is own. I would have felt confident as well. The guy above you with his head in his hands sums it up pretty well. And you look completely bummed.

 

[ARALOU]

I wore the same 12-0 hat for the NC game. My son wore a #5 Irish shirt....for the first time this season. Christmas gift. Dang it! Sorry guys.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I wore it every game this season and never before this season. So I was 12-0 in that jersey going into the game.

Wore a pullover to the game. It was off 75 minutes before kickoff. My undershirt was off 10 minutes into the game. I wanted to take my skin off by halftime.

 

[phork]

<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=e7e908eebffd4efeb96a3096aa9b4bd0&ec=doaGx4ODpE9zQn0uagQ7SQCPNN6pZyXM"></script>

 

[dshans]

Sheesh, Phork – calm down! You're ranting and rambling and making no sense!

 

[greyhammer90]

Hahahahahahahaha....

 

[Black Irish]

Hahahahahahahaha....

Still too soon, man. I can barely talk about the game, much less chuckle about it.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

So, uh, yeah, this is the new Bama weight room. Holy ****.

Anyone know if there is a picture of the ND weight room somewhere?

 

[Irish Insanity]

^Saw that earlier this AM. I also believe there was a price tag of like $900k to go with it

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Anyone know if there is a picture of the ND weight room somewhere?

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

Nice. Thanks Whiskey. I've never seen that view, looks awesome!

If I am being completely honest I think Bama's weight room is nasty.

 

[phgreek]

Nice. Thanks Whiskey. I've never seen that view, looks awesome!

If I am being completely honest I think Bama's weight room is nasty.

...psht...you can't even see the best part of Bama's...the envelopes taped under the benches...ahahaha...just messin with Bama fans. It is a really nice facility.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Nice. Thanks Whiskey. I've never seen that view, looks awesome!

If I am being completely honest I think Bama's weight room is nasty.

Of course. The painted floor is sexy, and it looks a little bit bigger. But I really don't think there's much difference between them, at least from a recruiting perspective.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Of course. The painted floor is sexy, and it looks a little bit bigger. But I really don't think there's much difference between them, at least from a recruiting perspective.

Definitely no difference from a training perspective. Weights are weights, and they don't lift themselves. I think a badass old school sweatlodge on the side for guys who want to put in the extra work would be cool personally.

 

[Walter White]

I would rather work out in ND's weight room. The lighting is better. I might be slightly biased though

 

[BeauBenken]

My question about Bama's weight room is, are those built in mats underneath their squat racks?

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Meanwhile in Oregon:

 

[arrowryan]

Meanwhile in Oregon:

speed kills

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Mississippi State:

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Purdue:

 

[arrowryan]

Meanwhile at Michigan...