Nov 3 | Northwestern

[BGIF]

I've watched a couple of their game on the tube and the QB is accurate and gets it out fast. It will be a good test for our secondary and our D-line.

Interesting observation, ESPN's ranks NW's QB Clayton Thorson with a QBR of 56.2 which puts him at #73 out of 135 QBs ranked.

Below are the QBs for ND's Opponents, as well as our own, Ian Book. Their QBRs are Adjusted for the quality of the defenses they faced. Book is ranked 19th while NW's QB, Clayton Thorson is 73rd. Note that Thorson is rated among the 4 lowest QBs ND will face this year. Of ND's remaining 4 games only SYR's Dungey is ranked is in the Top 50 Rated QBs.


11 K.J. Costello, STAN 80.0
13 Shea Patterson, MICH 78.9
15 Ryan Willis, VT 78.4
19 Ian Book, ND 77.6
41 Kyle Shurmur, VAN 68.8
44 Eric Dungey, SYR 65.5
56 Sam Hartman, WAKE 61.5
61 Riley Neal, BALL 59.7
70 Kenny Pickett, PITT 57.5
72 JT Daniels, USC 56.8
73 Clayton Thorson, NW 56.2
96 Malcolm Perry, NAVY 47.8
97 Deondre Francois, FSU 47.7

 

[BGIF]

Clayton Thorson Stats
PASSING STATS

YEAR	TEAM  CMP	ATT	PCT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	INT	RAT
2018	 NW    193	318	60.7	2072	6.5	10	77	10	119.5

A TD: INT ratio of 10:10 or 1:1 is not impressive.

Nine of his 10 TDs were thrown in just 3 games, Duke (L), MSU (W), and Nebraska (OT-W).

He threw 3 Ints against Wisconsin (W), and 2 each against Akron (L), MSU (W), and Nebraska (OT-W).

Thorson gained 590 yds rushing in his first 3 years.

So far in 2018, he has -80 yds on 45 carries for a -1.8 yd/attempt.

Of NW's 8 games, Thorson has had negative yardage 6 times. Only positive games were Purdue and Wisconsin.

Thorson's been sacked 18 times this year, 14 times at home.

11 of the sacks were in games losses.

By Downs, his sacks were:
1st 5
2nd 6
3rd 6
4th 1

 

[Irish YJ]

Thorson has really went backwards since 2016. I remember thinking he was going to be really good a few years ago. He does have some throwing skills, but like BGIF said, he's capable of tossing a lot of INTs and getting sacked. NW's line is one of the worst (outside of top 100) in most advanced stats. Not sure if his line as just gotten a lot worse over the last two years, or if his development went in reverse.

Their new(er) RB Bowser has had two 100+ yard games in a row, so not sure if the OL is getting better or what. If Bowser gets off for a third straight week, things could be closer than expected.

Regardless, our DL should feast, and our DBs should get at least 2 INTs IMO.

 

[arrowryan]

This game has me nervous. Please don't lay an egg here.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

you guys are freaking out over nothing. Northwestern isn't the kind of team that can get up for two big games in a row. ND rolls.

Not only do we struggle after Navy as was previously pointed out, but ND is 7-10 in November since 2014, and 2-6 in true road games.

There is no doubt we are more talented than NW, but history under BK shows us there are no guaranties in November, especially after playing Navy.

I'm approaching this weekend with VERY cautious optimism.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Thorson has really went backwards since 2016. I remember thinking he was going to be really good a few years ago. He does have some throwing skills, but like BGIF said, he's capable of tossing a lot of INTs and getting sacked. NW's line is one of the worst (outside of top 100) in most advanced stats. Not sure if his line as just gotten a lot worse over the last two years, or if his development went in reverse.

Their new(er) RB Bowser has had two 100+ yard games in a row, so not sure if the OL is getting better or what. If Bowser gets off for a third straight week, things could be closer than expected.

Regardless, our DL should feast, and our DBs should get at least 2 INTs IMO.

Although the bolded is true, if you take a deeper dive in his stats the past two weeks, he's had over 55 carries and is averaging less than 4 YPC. He's had a very high work load to get to 200+ yards over 2 games.

 

[Irish YJ]

Not only do we struggle after Navy as was previously pointed out, but ND is 7-10 in November since 2014, and 2-6 in true road games.

There is no doubt we are more talented than NW, but history under BK shows us there are no guaranties in November, especially after playing Navy.

I'm approaching this weekend with VERY cautious optimism.

Yup, a strong November would be huge for us given the past.
I do think this team is different, and I think we've done a much better job conditioning, keeping injuries under control, and keeping some (not all) rested via playing youth/depth.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Thorson has really went backwards since 2016. I remember thinking he was going to be really good a few years ago. He does have some throwing skills, but like BGIF said, he's capable of tossing a lot of INTs and getting sacked. NW's line is one of the worst (outside of top 100) in most advanced stats. Not sure if his line as just gotten a lot worse over the last two years, or if his development went in reverse.

Their new(er) RB Bowser has had two 100+ yard games in a row, so not sure if the OL is getting better or what. If Bowser gets off for a third straight week, things could be closer than expected.

Regardless, our DL should feast, and our DBs should get at least 2 INTs IMO.

He tore his ACL in their bowl game at the end of 2017 and was in the lineup for their opener this season. I'm sure that had a big effect on his preparation and his knee probably hasn't been 100% for this season.

 

[Irish YJ]

He tore his ACL in their bowl game at the end of 2017 and was in the lineup for their opener this season. I'm sure that had a big effect on his preparation and his knee probably hasn't been 100% for this season.

I'm sure it did, but he also took a step back from 2016 to 2017. He went from 22TDs/9INT in 2016, to 15/12 in 2017. Now after the injury, he's 10/10. His total yardage has decreased each year too.

 

[Ndaccountant]

I'm sure it did, but he also took a step back from 2016 to 2017. He went from 22TDs/9INT in 2016, to 15/12 in 2017. Now after the injury, he's 10/10. His total yardage has decreased each year too.

I think Justin Jackson & Carr in 2016 provided enough of a run/pass threat to keep defenses honest. In 2017, it was just Jackson and now it 2018, it is just the passing game (with running game finally having a pulse).

 

[Irishize]

 

[BoredIrish]

Clayton Thorson Stats

Wasnt this the name of the rich guy stuck on Gilligan's Island??

 

[Legacy]

Interesting observation, ESPN's ranks NW's QB Clayton Thorson with a QBR of 56.2 which puts him at #73 out of 135 QBs ranked.

Below are the QBs for ND's Opponents, as well as our own, Ian Book. Their QBRs are Adjusted for the quality of the defenses they faced. Book is ranked 19th while NW's QB, Clayton Thorson is 73rd. Note that Thorson is rated among the 4 lowest QBs ND will face this year. Of ND's remaining 4 games only SYR's Dungey is ranked is in the Top 50 Rated QBs.


11 K.J. Costello, STAN 80.0
13 Shea Patterson, MICH 78.9
15 Ryan Willis, VT 78.4
19 Ian Book, ND 77.6
41 Kyle Shurmur, VAN 68.8
44 Eric Dungey, SYR 65.5
56 Sam Hartman, WAKE 61.5
61 Riley Neal, BALL 59.7
70 Kenny Pickett, PITT 57.5
72 JT Daniels, USC 56.8
73 Clayton Thorson, NW 56.2
96 Malcolm Perry, NAVY 47.8
97 Deondre Francois, FSU 47.7

Nice find. Three of the four QBs for our remaining opponents rank in the bottom four.

Against us,
Costello had his third worst game - 71.2
Patterson had his second worst game - 64.1
Willis had his worst game against us - 65.9.
Shurmur had his best game - 80.7

 

[GowerND11]

Can anyone embed the picture? I can't see anything Twitter related at work.

 

[Irish YJ]

Can anyone embed the picture? I can't see anything Twitter related at work.

it just says NW's field is garbage, and shows a bunch of divots circled.
nothing we didn't already know. Shouldn't be a big deal. No rain, upper 40s.

 

[indianamouse]

They're trying to slow us down.

 

[NDBoiler]

I’m not sure what would be expected for a natural grass field in that climate this time of year. It’s not like it’s ideal grass growing/rooting weather to make repairs.

 

[GowerND11]

it just says NW's field is garbage, and shows a bunch of divots circled.
nothing we didn't already know. Shouldn't be a big deal. No rain, upper 40s.

Got it. Didn't know if it was a close up looking like a goat track.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

It basically just looks like ND Stadium before we switched to the turf. Midwest falls are way too cloudy and rainy to maintain IMO. I'm glad we made the switch.

 

[KPENN]

Can anyone embed the picture? I can't see anything Twitter related at work.

 

[irishog77]

Height and weight of divots?

We have pics, so we should be able to accurately assess.

 

[Irish YJ]

Height and weight of divots?

We have pics, so we should be able to accurately assess.

very short, but taller than your penis. weight varies depending on temp and stiffness.

 

[ThePiombino]

Not only a different team, but new coordinators, new S&C program, new culture, etc.

We good.

Not only do we struggle after Navy as was previously pointed out, but ND is 7-10 in November since 2014, and 2-6 in true road games.

There is no doubt we are more talented than NW, but history under BK shows us there are no guaranties in November, especially after playing Navy.

I'm approaching this weekend with VERY cautious optimism.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[shortynd01]

Wasnt this the name of the rich guy stuck on Gilligan's Island??

Thurston Howell III I believe.

 

[CHIDomer9]

I've never liked this guy. If Kelly sounded like this in a press conference there would be an article about it on ESPN.com within the hour. Such a douche.https://youtu.be/ClFh-n95ZuM

 

[Blaise]

Curious to see Book against a defense not currently ranked over 70 in pass efficiency.. Can he still complete at a 75% clip?

Should be a fun game

 

[Huntr]

Mack out. Yoon 100%.

 

[BobbyMac]

Irish roll or cover or win.

Book is 25/28 - 375 yds - 5 TD but 2 Int's by Greg Newsome reminds us to ask, why didn't ND offer again?

Devin O'Rourke ties his season high in tackles (5 vs Duke) but Isaiah Foskey commits Saturday morning and the combination of him and NaNa in the '19 Class cures 99% of ND fans suffering from Waggoner-O'Rourke Syndrome.

Ben Skowronek has a 6 rec / 83 yd / 1 TD day with a couple of nice 50/50 wins. When the announcers say he's from Fort Wayne and desperately wanted an ND offer, ND fans who've never heard of him (99.9%) go berserk and flood NDNation's site with... 'Close Indiana's borders" and 'Thought we owned white kids from FW?'

Lastly, when Paddy Fisher collects his 20th tackle, ND fans around the globe simultaneously lose their collective minds that a human named... Paddy Fisher was not offered by the second trimester.

 

[BGIF]

Clayton Thorson Stats

Wasnt this the name of the rich guy stuck on Gilligan's Island??

Thruston Howell, III frequently fumbled (bumbled?) but he on any down and yardage he was capable of out throwing the coverage with his checkbook.

 

[Irish YJ]

Mack out. Yoon 100%.

yup, saw that

Northwestern
Date Pos Player Injury Status
10/29/18 K Drew Luckenbaugh Undisclosed is probable Saturday vs Notre Dame
10/29/18 WR Solomon Vault Undisclosed is probable Saturday vs Notre Dame
10/28/18 RB John Moten IV Lower Body is "?" Saturday vs Notre Dame
09/24/18 RB Jeremy Larkin Undisclosed is out for season

Notre Dame
Date Pos Player Injury Status
11/01/18 TE Alize Mack Concussion is OUT Saturday vs Northwestern
10/03/18 OL Alex Bars Knee is out for season
09/14/18 LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Foot is out for season
09/02/18 DL Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa Foot is out indefinitely
08/30/18 CB Shaun Crawford Knee is out indefinitely