Miami Postgame Thread

[Dale]

Watching Beck sit back there with time and carve up soft zone coverage was incredibly frustrating. The first TD on the crossing route where Hobbs gets beat and Talich's just floating around in back... Yuck.

I don’t think we played much zone at all after the 1Q. That TD was man coverage, Talich was just a safety over the top

 

[Blazers46]

I’m worried about the OL because of what I saw AND the play calling showed the coaches are worried about the OL.

Love should be pissed.

In fact, every skilled player on the team should be pissed.

Both turnovers are on Denbrock.

Defense played like it was week 1.

Beck played like he has played before, got rid of the ball and moved around the pocket well. But he isn’t as good as the media will make him to be and will eventually be exposed.

Why are we back to back years playing AM at their place and then Miami at their place? Next year we have Wisconsin in Green Bay. Why?

I don’t think ND got into a groove until week 6 last year… Hoping they figure it out quicker.

 

[IrishWayDomer]

I’m not quite understanding the criticism of Denbrock and Ash. It was clear the plan was to ease Carr into the game. Freeman even said so in the opening interview on the sidelines. This was clearly decided by the whole coaching staff. It was clear they were also trying to use Love as a decoy with lots of misdirection to get the defense flowing toward him and then quick hit to the opposite side. That seems like a good idea to me. I was baffled that we didn’t see more price in the second half.

To me it seems like we lost because of one reason: we were undersized on both lines. We got bullied in the trenches. That has to be the main focal point going forward. How does that get fixed? Switch personnel? Figure out how to scheme around it? Good thing we got two weeks to figure it out.

Yes, and easing Carr into the game by running screen left, screen right for 3 quarters was the wrong call obviously. Carr has more gas in the tank than that, obviously.

 

[Free Manera]

I’m not quite understanding the criticism of Denbrock and Ash. It was clear the plan was to ease Carr into the game. Freeman even said so in the opening interview on the sidelines. This was clearly decided by the whole coaching staff. It was clear they were also trying to use Love as a decoy with lots of misdirection to get the defense flowing toward him and then quick hit to the opposite side. That seems like a good idea to me. I was baffled that we didn’t see more price in the second half.

To me it seems like we lost because of one reason: we were undersized on both lines. We got bullied in the trenches. That has to be the main focal point going forward. How does that get fixed? Switch personnel? Figure out how to scheme around it? Good thing we got two weeks to figure it out.

Everyone is ok with easing him in and that first drive was perfect for that. And I assumed all the screens were setting up something downfield. But they just set up more screens and it was eventually catastrophic.

The training wheels came off way too late. He didn’t give the offense a chance.

Honestly this looked like a Brian Kelly play not to lose because I’m scared gameplan.

 

[Blazers46]

I don’t think we played much zone at all after the 1Q. That TD man coverage, Talich was just a safety over the top

And over top he was… he was guarding the goal post.

 

[Blazers46]

Denbrock - they stack the box I’ll throw a screen right into the box…

 

[stlnd01]

I don’t think we played much zone at all after the 1Q. That TD was man coverage, Talich was just a safety over the top

Ok. But in that case Talich was too deep (or too slow). That ball was in the air a long time and he was still 5+ yards away when it was caught.
Maybe it was Toney's speed and/or good route running, but there were a bunch of plays early where they had receivers wide open in a way that felt like zone coverage.
After the game did they give any indication why Davonte Smith didn't play more? I kind of expected him to be a dude out there, but he only seemed to play a few series.

 

[MacIrish75]

The thing I’m still the most disappointed in is the last defensive drive. We had all the juice and came all the way back and they marched it down our throats. That looked like a BK squad. Disheartening.

 

[IrishTusker]

Everyone is ok with easing him in and that first drive was perfect for that. And I assumed all the screens were setting up something downfield. But they just set up more screens and it was eventually catastrophic.

The training wheels came off way too late. He didn’t give the offense a chance.

Honestly this looked like a Brian Kelly play not to lose because I’m scared gameplan.

Denbrock is from the Kelly tree; bringing him back meant a return to Kellyball on offense. Unwise.

 

[Dale]

Ok. But in that case Talich was too deep (or too slow). That ball was in the air a long time and he was still 5+ yards away when it was caught.
Maybe it was Toney's speed and/or good route running, but there were a bunch of plays early where they had receivers wide open in a way that felt like zone coverage.
After the game did they give any indication why Davonte Smith didn't play more? I kind of expected him to be a dude out there, but he only seemed to play a few series.

I’m not saying Talich played it well, but it wasn’t zone coverage.

No Toney was beating us in man. Mesh and whip routes are specifically man beaters. We were mainly in soft zone on the first drive.

We rotated because Freeman wanted to he said in the presser. Smith played a bit more than half the game. Hobbs like 1/3 and the rest we probably weren’t in nickel

 

[WildMan1]

I’m not quite understanding the criticism of Denbrock and Ash. It was clear the plan was to ease Carr into the game. Freeman even said so in the opening interview on the sidelines. This was clearly decided by the whole coaching staff. It was clear they were also trying to use Love as a decoy with lots of misdirection to get the defense flowing toward him and then quick hit to the opposite side. That seems like a good idea to me. I was baffled that we didn’t see more price in the second half.

To me it seems like we lost because of one reason: we were undersized on both lines. We got bullied in the trenches. That has to be the main focal point going forward. How does that get fixed? Switch personnel? Figure out how to scheme around it? Good thing we got two weeks to figure it out.

Apparently we only recruit big boys that can’t make it to the field like Sevillano, Jamion Franklin.. Dixon is obviously young too but I can only assume he falls into the same category.

As a university we just seem to be unable to get the big freaks on the DL. Even the guys with size tend to be mostly under productive ie Daniel Cage, Brandon Tiassum types..

It’s imperative that we get a Jarron Jones, Jerry Tillery or Tuitt perennially, alongside the skilled interior players like Sheldon Day, Cross etc

We just played the National Championship & we’re trotting Donovan Hinish out there on short yardage downs at 6-2 275 lbs.. Go re watch the game.. he’s a folding chair. That’s not to say he doesn’t have heart because he does.. but in a top 10 match up against a giant OL he’s a liability that we shouldn’t have to deal with.

 

[FWIrish4]

The thing I’m still the most disappointed in is the last defensive drive. We had all the juice and came all the way back and they marched it down our throats. That looked like a BK squad. Disheartening.

It all started with not kicking it through the endzone. Only kick we let them return and he takes it out to about the 35 and gifted them 10 yards. Guess what those 10 yards would have done…

 

[bkess8]

Assuming the outside WR screen was an RPO, why didn't we run an RPO with a slant over the middle. Also if you are running so many WR screens when do you call the fake screen go play? Our creativity on offense baffles me.

 

[Grahambo]

• Denbrock: Ditching the run game was awful. Not going to put the lack of downfield passing on him entirely though as Knapp and Wagner were on skates much of the night and you can’t throw a deep ball in 1 second. Definitely have to find a solution still and mix something in. Another thing is if we don’t have TEs to run heavy, spread it out then, not having Fields and Faison blocking in a tight formation. Was not always pretty, but RZ offense was still effective.
• Ash: Thought he was fine. Dawson is a fantastic OC and had some things ready to beat us, lot of man beaters. This is not an Ash thing and more a Freeman thing but rotation was heavy and some guys I don’t necessarily want always on the field were beat for big plays. This was the case versus OSU as well in years past. This was basically admitted by Freeman post game as a long term decision. I think you really have to change your diaper if you’ve made some huge takeaway of Ash here. Do people realize we forced FIVE 3 and outs? That Miami started twice in ND territory and scored 3 points? Frankly some of the takeaways seem completely made up and not based in reality. Of course it’s a lot of the same exact posters on the first few pages of the Golden thread….
• Carr: Poise. Arm talent. Check. Check. Assuming the INT was an RPO. That’s on him. Pressed man corner is a clear run read there. This was admitted in post game. But tough to poke many other holes given what was asked/available.
• WRs: Slot WR was literally AWOL. Nothing from Pauling or Greathouse at all. Faison be slippery.
• OL: Woof. Was Knapp hurt or benched? Probably bit of both. Wagner is not a NFL OT and I don’t know why anyone keeps pretending he is. Against NFL prospects he’s not strong enough. Will be intriguing how the coaches viewed Lambert/Absher. Can’t run a full offense when you can’t block.
• DL: Probably the main reason we lost. Basically nothing from the pass rush besides Traore. Beck all day to throw. Can’t play man with all day to throw. DTs caved in too often in the run game. No show from Bryce Young is disappointing. Hinish, don’t even have to elaborate. Why not get hands up more often like Dawson in 1Q if you can’t get home and most passes were short?
• LB: Bowen was underwhelming but that is also on the DTs. Ausberry seemed to play a lot? Not a good or bad just surprising. They cleaned up a lot and contained with the safeties which is why the run stats aren’t as bad as they seemed but more swallowing tackles rather than attacking.
• DBs: Moore was not his best in the 1H, maybe it was the surface. Hobbs is not good. Like was really not good. First TD Hobbs is beat and Talich is 8 yards into the end zone guarding no one. Second TD is on Moore if anything but amazing catch. Moore got beat off line. People blaming Shuler are idiots, the All-22 view also clearly showed he traveled distance, ball in air to get there. He was not simply standing there waiting as many implied from a slow mo 0.5 seconds. Beck made zero other costly mistakes which is closer to 2023 him when he has a NFL OL and all day to throw.

• In the end you lost the TO battle and Middle Eight, which included a miracle TD catch. Breakeven or win either as we usually do and you beat a Top 10 team on the road with a first time QB. Both teams are OL/DL driven programs, theirs is better and might be the best in the country.

Good write-up!

On Shuler - his mistake was going for the body catch INT and not ensuring a pass breakup but it took a helluva catch so I’m not bent out of shape about it.

Biggest gripe of the night was the OL. The broadcast mentioned Knapp was cramping. Reuben Bain Jr is one heck of a ballplayer who acted like a 1st round pick where the ND OL looked like the young unit they are.

 

[Grahambo]

Assuming the outside WR screen was an RPO, why didn't we run an RPO with a slant over the middle. Also if you are running so many WR screens when do you call the fake screen go play? Our creativity on offense baffles me.

Yes, it was an RPO. Freeman and Carr both said as much post game. It’s less about the call and more about Carr needing to handoff in that situation. It was clear from the coverage pre snap he should’ve given it to Love.

 

[NDFAN2008]

I said all spring Knapp shouldn’t be our LT and yet most of you on here thought I was crazy because he played decent last year. He got bailed out by Leonard a lot being a running threat.

 

[mrmcgrail]

That drive at the end of the half was what drove me crazy. Soft cover 4 almost the entire time and it was just check downs for 7 yards a pop

 

[bkess8]

Yes, it was an RPO. Freeman and Carr both said as much post game. It’s less about the call and more about Carr needing to handoff in that situation. It was clear from the coverage pre snap he should’ve given it to Love.

My point was this, to me its more about the call and the situation we are in. You don't trust our young qb to throw it down the field and loosen up the defense but you trust him in a high intense period of the game to make an RPO read instead of just calling a run with the pass fake included. I don't like the covering if the coaches ass when the blame should be shared by both the coach and player. Coach shitty call, player shitty read.

 

[Dale]

The install is just an inside zone RPO screen. Miami was playing off most of the game, hence the screens being open. That play was a pressed man corner. It should be pre-snap decided by Carr he is handing it off 100% of the time. It’s not a tough nor a quick decision to make.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Pardon my rant. If too long please just scroll ahead.

I assume all of this has already been said, but I'm absolutely livid that we lost a game with a roster whose supposed only "weakness" or question mark was a young QB, and it wasn't the young QB making any sort of mistake that cost us. It was ultimately the experienced coordinators.

Chris Ash was getting ZERO pressure all day and just insisted on soft zone that let Beck drive right down the field time and time again. He didnt take advantage of his elite corners enough, going man and generating pressure, which was his predecessor's bread and butter. Cleaned it up after the opening drive in 2nd half but holy shit we shouldn't be giving up 27 to anybody with the talent and depth on all 3 levels. Shuler looked lost on that late first half TD and should be ball hawking not playing center field. Pathetic effort on that play from our veteran in that group. Tae Johnson needs more burn, the safety group was dreadfully quiet.

Denbrock went from ultra conservative to letting Carr cook, with some of the worst playcalls in between. Screens to the boundary, on several occasions? On 2nd and 2 after an 8 yard run? We have the best RB room in the nation and our QB, not named Leonard, had more carries than both of them?! Wtf is wrong with you. Faison looked like an absolute weapon early and then just disappeared for a long, long stretch. Pauling? Greathouse? You're telling me we can't find a way to feed our best WR the football.

There is no reason to panic as they showed a lot of fight on the road against a quality opponent, even though it was too little too late. But this game was 100% on our coordinators. We got absolutely owned at the LOS on both sides. That cannot happen, ever. Freeman needs to clean this shit up and hold guys accountable. Lost opportunity.

 

[Dale]

Chris Ash was getting ZERO pressure all day and just insisted on soft zone that let Beck drive right down the field time and time again. He didnt take advantage of his elite corners enough, going man and generating pressure, which was his predecessor's bread and butter.

Chris Ash was getting zero pressure or the players?

We were in man most of the night.

You typed this like Ash simply decided not to get pressure.

 

[irishff1014]

Bryce Young and Sneed both MIA tonight

The defense looked boring and 0 creativity.

I am not gonna say Ash isn’t it but he has a lot to work on.

 

[IA4irish]

Postgame Thoughts:
1. Notre Dame beat Notre Dame, Miami was very beatable.
2. Denbrock called a worse game than Ash.
3. I've seen better O-line's at Notre Dame, last night's was not one of them.
4. 16 carries between Love & Price with 78 yards and no Williams= problem.
5. Get more out of Love, Price, & Williams opens up our passing game.
6. Happy to see Gilbert get a TD, ND should've left him in.
7. No Greathouse, no Pauling??
8. If KVA didn't start, he should be a starter, and be left in.
9. Did Bryce Young play?
10. I thought Jared Dawson played a solid game.
11. CJ Carr has the "it" factor, my favorite Carr moment was when he went up to Fields after fumbling the ball. Put a "C" on Carr's jersey.
12. ND rebounded and reacted after losing to NIU last year, time to rebound and react.

Go Irish!

Re: KVA - I believe he is our best linebacker. He is just always around the ball. Incredible instincts. I felt like Bowen got swallowed up all night. Ausberry did some good things. Lack of Sneed applying any pass rush was very disappointing. It can’t be an equal rotation if Sneed and Bowen are going to play like that.

 

[mrmcgrail]

Ash didn't call a terrible game. Watts was a bigger loss than I think people thought. He covered up so many mistakes on the back end. I think it was a 3rd and 8 and it was like a deep curl to the outside by the te or the slot and it was just a busted coverage. There was a lot more of that than we had last year.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Chris Ash was getting zero pressure or the players?

We were in man most of the night.

You typed this like Ash simply decided not to get pressure.

If that was man to man with that soft of coverage I dont even know what he was attempting to do schematically. Beck was too comfortable most of the evening and one of the few plays we did get to Beck, he floated that ball and Shuler flat out missed.

 

[Dale]

I distinctly remember playing zone on the first drive and right before half (common). Can anyone that keeps saying we were in soft zones all night point to a specific play or sequence outside of those that we were clearly in zone? It seems to be a convenient “Ash did this that Golden doesn’t” thing that frankly, is made up.

 

[Dale]

If that was man to man with that soft of coverage I dont even know what he was attempting to do schematically. Beck was too comfortable most of the evening and one of the few plays we did get to Beck, he floated that ball and Shuler flat out missed.

We weren’t in soft coverage. Toney roasted us a few times, all were man. Gray plays off at times as he did last year, he’s the field corner. Standard man to man. What plays do you remember soft coverage on?

 

[Edge]

I too think the play-calling was atrocious. But I also realize Freeman is wearing headset and has the authority to tell Denbrock to stop calling WR screens, authority to say, “run the damn ball with Love and Price”, could dictate what he wants on defense too.
This debacle begins and ends with the HC.

 

[mrmcgrail]

Yeah both touchdown passes on the first half were against man to man. I think some of you expected this defense to give up nothing on the back end. It's delusional. Hobbs got cooked and Moore on the second got cooked on a double move. They don't always play bump and run man a lot of times they show that and then bail out. They do that a ton with gray and did that a ton with him last year too

 

[DONTH8]

The install is just an inside zone RPO screen. Miami was playing off most of the game, hence the screens being open. That play was a pressed man corner. It should be pre-snap decided by Carr he is handing it off 100% of the time. It’s not a tough nor a quick decision to make.

Which is why I think Greathouse wasn’t blocking it tough. He saw and thought no way it’s coming this way.

Not saying it’s right or defensible by him. It’s just human nature.