My Concern

[nayers]

Ok so here it is guys...we all have sat here and griped about our D, and have been justified in doing so, what concerns me is, while SC is getting ready to play our O by playing the likes of Cal, and UCLA, we are getting our D ready to play there O with the likes of two option teams and UNC...what worries me is that it might take a while in the game for our team speed to catch up with the likes of Jarret and Smith etc

 

[Seymore]

Ok so here it is guys...we all have sat here and griped about our D, and have been justified in doing so, what concerns me is, while SC is getting ready to play our O by playing the likes of Cal, and UCLA, we are getting our D ready to play there O with the likes of two option teams and UNC...what worries me is that it might take a while in the game for our team speed to catch up with the likes of Jarret and Smith etc

I agree ! Hopefully adrenaline takes over. Hopefully Booty gets overwhelmed with "big-game pressure" and lays an egg. Smith and Jarret are worthless if he cant deliver the ball.

 

[Clotho]

This isn't really a sensible concern. If ND were playing against teams with offenses that'd "prepare" our D for the talent on SC's offense, guess what- we'd probably have more than 1 loss by now, and the game would be meaningless for us- because our D is bad. And it was going to be bad whether it was playing top talent every week or not. Facing Calvin Johnson and the Penn St wideouts didn't help us stop Manningham, did it?

This is just another of those fan misconceptions, I think, or simplifications.

Also, USC doesn't face UCLA until after they play us, though it doesn't matter, since UCLA's offense is nothing like ours, nor their talent on offense. Cal has talent on offense but they're not particularly like us, and don't have Brady Quinn.

If the Irish D gets torn up, it's not because they'd been facing bad offenses the past few weeks, but because they suck.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Ok so here it is guys...we all have sat here and griped about our D, and have been justified in doing so, what concerns me is, while SC is getting ready to play our O by playing the likes of Cal, and UCLA, we are getting our D ready to play there O with the likes of two option teams and UNC...what worries me is that it might take a while in the game for our team speed to catch up with the likes of Jarret and Smith etc

Yeah, that's definitely a valid concern. Honestly, we know two things are going to happen in this game:
1) USC will not try to stop the run by stacking the box. They will try to stop the run with 4 on the line.
2) USC will attack the corners, before they try to run

Unfortunately, they are good at doing both of these things.

RAY OF HOPE:
Last year USC was far better than they are this year...and dammit they had to cheat to win.

So, can we win???

YOU BET YOUR ASS!!!

Will I be sweating bullets?

YOU BET YOUR ASS!!!

 

[benneboy]

I agree that USC was a much better team last year, but I fear that it may be more difficult for Notre Dame to beat them this year considering their offensive strength (passing) is going to be difficult to stop with our less than stellar pass defense. Their defense is also much better this year. As a whole I think USC has a slightly more favorable matchup vs. us this year than they did last year. This big question is how much better are we this year than we were last year, or even earlier this season. I guess we will find out next Saturday.

 

[Clotho]

If you honestly think SC matches up better with ND than they did last year, you're nuts. I'll take them without Leinart, Bush and White, thank you.

 

[jiggafini19]

Their defense is cause for concern, without question. That Oregon State game was a lot of turnovers by their offense.

Both team aren't nearly as good, on each side of the ball, as they were last year. Yet both currently only have one loss.

This game could end up being another epic like last season. Special teams will figure into a key moment.

 

[maison bleu]

Ok so here it is guys...we all have sat here and griped about our D, and have been justified in doing so, what concerns me is, while SC is getting ready to play our O by playing the likes of Cal, and UCLA, we are getting our D ready to play there O with the likes of two option teams and UNC...what worries me is that it might take a while in the game for our team speed to catch up with the likes of Jarret and Smith etc

For the record, USC plays UCLA after the ND game, on 12/2. USC's opponents leading up to ND: Stanford, Oregon, Cal.

I still see your point. I kind of agree, but I'd put it this way: in ND's last 7 games, only once (UCLA) did they face a team on there level in terms of size/speed/talent.

 

[brecht]

although our D can spike my blood pressure at times, I do feel they're better than last year. I think our D line is appreciably better this year, which in case you haven't noticed, makes the entire defense more effective (especially the secondary...it sure is hard to hit that wide open man with landri going guerilla through your O-line).

Harking back to last year's game, our defense played way beyond their potential against USC, and i imagine the emotion and implications of the approaching contest will have a similar effect on our entire team.

also, we're playing on the road, and have we ever lost an away game (neutral sites excluded)? honestly, that might be coincidence, but i say we ride that stat and keep it going.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

This is going to be a shootout just like last year. I think ND experience, especially in close games, is the difference. I have only seen USC play once or twice. Their d looks the same to me. They have given up 20+ as much as ND has and the turnover ratio is nowhere near where it was the last few years. I think special teams plays will be huge.

This Cal game will tell us what we need to know about their d.

 

[jiggafini19]

This Cal game will tell us what we need to know about their d.

Great point.

Playing Duck Hunt against Oregon Saturday was a start. They put in that kind of effort on Cal, CW better throw it all out there.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

This is going to be a shootout just like last year. I think ND experience, especially in close games, is the difference. I have only seen USC play once or twice. Their d looks the same to me. They have given up 20+ as much as ND has and the turnover ratio is nowhere near where it was the last few years. I think special teams plays will be huge.

This Cal game will tell us what we need to know about their d.

I think the Cal game will help...but it won't be a 1:1 match. Cal really has a great running offense and will challenge USC in ways we simply can't. They will force the USC D into crowding the line a bit more.

When USC plays us, they are going to use the front 4 to get to BQ. And if that does not work, they will blitz like crazy...that will undoubtedly work, unless Weis thinks up something QUICK.

USC is not nearly the juggernaut they were last year, but their D is generally better. I think the key to beating them is really finding the one chink in the armor of their D and exploiting it...assuming there is a glaring one there.

http://www.cfbstats.com/2006/team/657/defense.html
USC's D is 13th against the Rush and 63rd against the Pass. [last year they were 31st and 75th respectively] So while their pass D has not improved...their Run D has. That does not bode well for us. They are 14th overall in terms of Scoring Defense. That's not good for us at all either...they are making stops when it counts. If you look at the teams they played, they have held EVERYONE to 22 points or less...except OSU who they gave 5 turnovers too.

They are basically even on Turnover margin...however, they gave up 5 of their 14 turnovers to OSU. They have gained 15 turnovers...we have gained 12...but only given up 9. So we do have a slight edge on Turnovers.

This game definitely worries me more in recent weeks knowing that USC will not be concerned with expending extra resource in stopping the run.