I knew Sanders was going to have the game of his life b/c all we heard from the ND beat writers was how he couldn’t handle adversity & pointed to all his picks…especially in the B12 CG. I wonder if the D thought the same thing. You can’t just blitz every play and rarely get home and expect Sanders to self-implode. He simply did what he was known to do: avoid the rush and when the middle opened up like the Red Sea, run for the easy first down. Kudos to the Sanders kid…I think he set a total offense record for the Fiesta Bowl.
FIrst quarter was great. So was most of the 2nd quarter. ND blitzes were getting home enough to affect Sanders & the WR. ND contained their run game. Rees had a perfect gameplan and it worked perfectly. I can’t speak for rest of the fanbase, but my concern begin when Okla St went right down the field in their last possession of the 2nd quarter. It was too easy and gave them a ton of motivation considering they would start the 2nd half w/ the ball as well.
ND was criticized for not trying to push the ball down the field in hopes a few chunk plays could get them in FG range right before half. I was torn and realized ND was just as liable as throwing a pick six as they were making some key chunk plays so I understood the decision. But that was under the assumption that ND would make halftime adjustments and compete in the third quarter. Instead their D gave up another TD drive to begin the third quarter before the offense began a string of 3 & outs. I thought if they were ever going to introduce a package for Buchner it would be in the 3rd quarter. Instead, it was ND stubbornly doing basically the same thing that worked in the first half despite OSU defensive adjustments.
My take from listening to all the podcasts going into this game was OSU had an unintimidating offense. Good but methodical but all the ND beat writers assumed the ND defense would stifle them while the OSU defense would eliminate ND run game. Rees short passing worked great in the first half. I was hoping he’d introduce more runs in the second half but it never happened.
The OL seemed to really keep the OSU defense at bay b/c Coan had plenty of time to pass. I think he was only sacked twice but since he was no threat to run, it really became a feast or famine game plan by the second half.
ND haters will be happy tonight but they’re always going to move the goalposts to suit their hate. Time to look to the future & hope ND can convince Lenzy, Austin, Foskey, Patterson, Ademilola, Davis & WIlkins to return…or some combo of those kids returning. I think Lenzy knows he’s not ready for the NFL but is he ready for another season in South Bend? I hope so. Austin had a Jekyll & Hyde game where he flashed some elite talent but then looked to lose some one on ones due to lack of physicality. The film won’t move the needle for his NFL aspirations.
