No Panic Button Yet....

[GoldenDomer87]

Has everyone forgotten that it took a last second field goal to beat Purdue last year AT HOME. That was a NC team. This team goes on the road and beats Purdue by 7, a larger margin than last year.

And to those complaining about the defense, did you expect the defense to be the same after losing the players we lost? I think this team will allow 20+ ppg, double last year. Look at the Bama A&M game. The best coach in college football allows 42 points to a spread offense. Defenses are still trying to figure out how to stop the spread. Yes I know they have Manziel, but think about how well respected Saban is for his defensive prowess.

This is a new year and new team. Teams are going to spread us out and put up points. As long as we stay away from shoot outs, the season will still end up around 9-3, which everyone thought would happen.

 

[dre1919]

My thought is, with having no Manti, no Everett Golson and no KLM did anybody REALLY expect us to be awesome this year? I mean, National Championship bound awesome? Even with the supposedly good recruiting Kelly did (and those recruits we won't know how good they really are for awhile) we still had major holes to fill. Most notably, QB. This team is exactly who I knew they'd be coming in.

I've been watching and cheering Notre Dame football on long enough to know that all expectations must be tempered. And even with as much as I like Kelly and feel he will make a good fit for the program he's still not Saban, Stoops, etc. (elite D-1 coaches).

 

[ickythump1225]

I mean our offense is clearly better than it was last year. Our defense dropped off and we're missing a lot of those leaders we had last year. We're going to be fine this year, this year was never going to be a NC year anyway. We'll just make due this year and hope Golson comes back ready or Zaire is ready to step up.

 

[Honey Nut Irish]

I think 14 was a fair ranking for this team and a BCS game is still a good goal. Looking at the schedule the toughest remaining games are OU, ASU, and Stanford. I don't think it is a stretch to say at best ND wins 2/3 and at worst 1/3.

 

[LoveThee]

I think 14 was a fair ranking for this team and a BCS game is still a good goal. Looking at the schedule the toughest remaining games are OU, ASU, and Stanford. I don't think it is a stretch to say at best ND wins 2/3 and at worst 1/3.

At worst I would say they go 0/3

 

[Honey Nut Irish]

At worst I would say they go 0/3

Clearly. The point I was trying to make is that I believe the the probability of ND losing all three of those games is negligible. In my eyes, most likely the worst that will happen is they lose 2/3.

 

[BobD]

 

[anarin]

 

[stlnd01]

In two out of three years (2010, 2012) since Kelly arrived we got better over the course of the season, not worse. Unless the next month is a total debacle and the wheels come off, I think that happens again this year. Our issues so far have more to do with focus and inexperience than they do with talent.

Also, in the "potential losses" department, I wouldn't sleep on Southern Cal. If they get their head on straight they've got the sort of offense that could cause us lots of problems, and their defense appears to be quite good.

 

[PJWhitfield]

"Has everyone forgotten?" ...Apparently so. The accounts make it sound like we beat Purdue 40-17 last year rather than 20-17. Coach is right. This team is a work in progress. It will be interesting to see what level N.D. will be at when Irish play Stanford in November.

 

[Buster Bluth]

My thought is, with having no Manti, no Everett Golson and no KLM did anybody REALLY expect us to be awesome this year? I mean, National Championship bound awesome? Even with the supposedly good recruiting Kelly did (and those recruits we won't know how good they really are for awhile) we still had major holes to fill. Most notably, QB. This team is exactly who I knew they'd be coming in.

I've been watching and cheering Notre Dame football on long enough to know that all expectations must be tempered. And even with as much as I like Kelly and feel he will make a good fit for the program he's still not Saban, Stoops, etc. (elite D-1 coaches).

This is just silly.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

This is a good point. ND didn't blow anyone away other than Navy and Miami last year and yet they played for a NC. This year, we lost a game that we probably should have lost last year and we beat a team that we barely beat last year. I don't really see a huge difference in this team from last year's team except they are slightly worse on D and they seem to actually be better on O. I think we lost 2 more this season and have a shot at a BCS.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

This is just silly.

You're right -- there's no way Stoops should be considered in the same tier as Saban.

 

[philipm31]

You're right -- there's no way Stoops should be considered in the same tier as Saban.

There is no coach on the same level.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

No reason to be have panic. They are 2-1. Do things need to be ironed out? Heck yeah. Same could be said for Bama, Ohio St, Oregon, FSU, etc. Its week 3. There will be improvement and moves made. ND has experience, but also young at positions that they could cover up last year, and cant cover up this year. They changed their schemes up and it does take some getting used to, they will get there

 

[dwshade]

This is just silly.

x10000. Stoops? What the hell has he done lately. Did we not kick their *** in Norman last year?

 

[Junkhead]

. I don't really see a huge difference in this team from last year's team except they are slightly worse on D

I get what you are saying, but slightly worse on D is being too nice.

 

[dwshade]

No reason to be have panic. They are 2-1. Do things need to be ironed out? Heck yeah. Same could be said for Bama, Ohio St, Oregon, FSU, etc. Its week 3. There will be improvement and moves made. ND has experience, but also young at positions that they could cover up last year, and cant cover up this year. They changed their schemes up and it does take some getting used to, they will get there

Yep, Bama gave up 628 yards of offense most ever by a Bama defense and 2nd most in SEC history. Manziel's 2 int.'s killed A@M's chances.

 

[ARALOU]

Anybody recall Tulsa, South Florida, and some other games where ND was shocked? I do and I respectfully would like to wait until the season plays out before I am too critical.