Post Game Observations (Syracuse '14)...

[Whiskeyjack]

You aren't going to worry about the running game, but you ARE going to worry about some completely made up "consistently turning the ball over"? We had a terrible game, in terms of turnover, against Syracuse. But, other than that, ND's ball security has been OUTSTANDING! The only turnover, prior to the Syracuse game, was a fumble in the Purdue game. So where is this "consistently turning the ball over" that you refer to?

To put a finer point on this, ND was #1 nationally in TO margin prior to the Syracuse game. Even after going -4 against the Orange, we're still ranked 16th.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Bull. UGA was not and is not a defensive team. Their strength was on offense where they were averaging 37 points a game. That vaunted UGA defense gave up 44 points to Tennessee, 35 points to USCe, 32 points to Alabama, and 31 points to Nebraska. UGA's defense was pretty crappy that year giving up over 20 in 8 games.

At least argue your point honestly. UGA's defense was not their strength, their offense was and your defense didn't do it's job for the most part and got bailed out at the end of the game because Richt gonna Richt and Murray gonna Murray.

Your initial post eluded to the fact that a team can not impose their will on another team. I disagreed and cited the Ga/bama game as an example. The second half of the Ga game is a textbook example of one team doing just what you stated could not be done. That's all.

Instead of derailing a thread, maybe I should have just passed on by. The conversation should be about Notre Dame's performance against Syracuse and what they need to do to have success against Stanford. That's much more relevant than a game from 2-3 years ago.

 

[ickythump1225]

Your initial post eluded to the fact that a team can not impose their will on another team. I disagreed and cited the Ga/bama game as an example. The second half of the Ga game is a textbook example of one team doing just what you stated could not be done. That's all.

Instead of derailing a thread, maybe I should have just passed on by. The conversation should be about Notre Dame's performance against Syracuse and what they need to do to have success against Stanford. That's much more relevant than a game from 2-3 years ago.

The second half of the UGA/Bama game was exactly what I, and others, have said: a nice example of a team exploiting the weakness of another team and taking what is being given. I know UGA had a (vastly over)hyped defense coming into the season but it was shoddy all year long. Trust me I was living 40 minutes from Athens at the time, deep in Red and Black territory, so I knew all about the ***** Bulldogs from EVERYONE that year. I watched a soft defense quit in the second half of the SECCG and Nick Saban exploit said soft defense over and over again. If UGA had been vulnerable to the air raid Saban would have done that. Saban is a good coach who wants to win. He doesn't care about "imposing" his will, he just wants to win. He'll do what it takes.

 

[T Town Tommy]

The second half of the UGA/Bama game was exactly what I, and others, have said: a nice example of a team exploiting the weakness of another team and taking what is being given. I know UGA had a (vastly over)hyped defense coming into the season but it was shoddy all year long. Trust me I was living 40 minutes from Athens at the time, deep in Red and Black territory, so I knew all about the ***** Bulldogs from EVERYONE that year. I watched a soft defense quit in the second half of the SECCG and Nick Saban exploit said soft defense over and over again. If UGA had been vulnerable to the air raid Saban would have done that. Saban is a good coach who wants to win. He doesn't care about "imposing" his will, he just wants to win. He'll do what it takes.

The Bama offensive line had nothing to do with it then? Ga just quit. Gotcha.

 

[NDdomer2]

T town tommy has to be the greatest "non-ND" fan in history of IE. I use quotes because we all know he sleeps in an Irish onesie.

 

[T Town Tommy]

T town tommy has to be the greatest "non-ND" fan in history of IE. I use quotes because we all know he sleeps in an Irish onesie.

I wear green underwear when Bama plays.

 

[ickythump1225]

The Bama offensive line had nothing to do with it then? Ga just quit. Gotcha.

It is like arguing in circles with you. Bama's strength was their stout offensive line and good RB's. Saban knew this, he also knew that UGA was poor in the trenches and had a soft defense. Thus exploited the s**t out of it over and over again. UGA, being a normally soft team without strong leadership under Richt, appeared to phone it in defensively the second half. But it didn't matter too much because it was already strength (Bama's o-line and RBs) vs weakness (UGA's defense).

Where it was closer to "strength vs. strength" was UGA's offense vs. Bama's defense. UGA had pretty good success moving the ball that day. Of course Richt Richt'd at the end of the game to blow it though.

 

[T Town Tommy]

It is like arguing in circles with you. Bama's strength was their stout offensive line and good RB's. Saban knew this, he also knew that UGA was poor in the trenches and had a soft defense. Thus exploited the s**t out of it over and over again. UGA, being a normally soft team without strong leadership under Richt, appeared to phone it in defensively the second half. But it didn't matter too much because it was already strength (Bama's o-line and RBs) vs weakness (UGA's defense).

Where it was closer to "strength vs. strength" was UGA's offense vs. Bama's defense. UGA had pretty good success moving the ball that day. Of course Richt Richt'd at the end of the game to blow it though.

Good grief. Ga phoned it in the second half? Really. They got that ass beat in the ground by Eddie L., Yeldon, and the OL of Bama. Geez.

And that great Ga offense had managed just at 300 yards until the last 85 yard drive. Murray was barely over 50% passing for the game and they were aided with a blocked punt for a score and a fake punt that led to a score. Yeah... that Ga offense was pretty salty that day.

 

[ND NYC]

what the...did ND just play Georgia...and i missed the game?

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

Nobody gives a shit about the SEC or Georgia.

 

[ickythump1225]

Good grief. Ga phoned it in the second half? Really. They got that ass beat in the ground by Eddie L., Yeldon, and the OL of Bama. Geez.

And that great Ga offense had managed just at 300 yards until the last 85 yard drive. Murray was barely over 50% passing for the game and they were aided with a blocked punt for a score and a fake punt that led to a score. Yeah... that Ga offense was pretty salty that day.

They moved the ball on Alabama better than any team that year sans A&M. And yes GA did phone it in. You could tell that defense was defeated in part because they were so horribly exposed. That defense sucked all year and I recall UGA getting by on some borderline miracles at the end of the game and Murray masked a lot of the deficiencies on that team, mostly on defense.

I understand you have your crimson glasses on and what to see a world in which UGA put all 11 people in the box and Alabama just IMPOSED THEIR WILL over and over again will Nick Saban let out an evil chuckle. But in reality UGA was soft as Charmin on defense and Alabama took was being so obviously given to them. It wasn't "strength vs. strength" no matter what you think. UGA's defense sucked all year long and the only reason they gave up only 20 points a game was because they played some FCS teams and the worst Auburn team perhaps ever.

I will say this will be my last comment on the matter because it is way off topic.

 

[stlnd01]

The 2012 SEC championship was one hell of a football game but what does it have to do with ND vs. Syracuse in 2014? I just keep reading about THE IMPOSITION OF WILL!!!

 

[phgreek]

Raise your game son(s)!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cD8GVAJk2lM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

...kinda like that...only for us MUCH slower...and fewer formations

 

[phgreek]

Anybody see this fight break out? I was on the lower bowl so I had no idea:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>VIDEO: Man dropped with single punch in brawl at Notre Dame-Syracuse game. <a href="http://t.co/Ci0pDcLytM">http://t.co/Ci0pDcLytM</a></p>— Deadspin (@Deadspin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/516632141040717824">September 29, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

saw this earlier and pissed myself..."Blew him up"...now, the dude that got cocked was either hammered or part snail because his punches were SSSLLLOOOWWW...and then the guy that knocked him out...haymaker deluxe...you gotta be drunk to get hit that clean with that punch...but it was AWESOME....you know you got cocked when the guy that hit you tumbles on top of you...WOW.

 

[dublinirish]

...kinda like that...only for us MUCH slower...and fewer formations

are you preparing your guys for the next level with your rinky dinky offense? Nice Job Urban!

I've played amateur football here for over 6 years and this year finally our club is setting up a junior (under 18's) team, i am amped to start coaching this year

 

[dublinirish]

Wow, I didn't notice Bonner, Watkins or Morgan out there. I thought we might try to preserve a 5th year for at least the first two. Guess not.

Im rewatching the game now, Morgan made the tackle on the opening kickoff of the 2nd half. I'll keep an eye out for Bonner and Watkins

EDIT: i didnt see watkins or bonner on the field

 

[NDohio]

OFD's Eric Murtaugh just posted his breakdown of the Syracuse game:

3 & 7- Golson 22 yard rush (fumble)
3 & 5- Folston 14 yard rush
3 & 7- Golson 9 yard sack
3 & 4- Fuller 3 yard pass
3 & 7- Folston 7 yard pass
3 & 4- McDaniel 8 yard rush
3 & 2- Golson 3 yard rush
3 & 6- Fuller 7 yard pass
3 & 2- Bryant 7 yard rush
3 & 5- Bryant 5 yard rush
3 & 1- McDaniel 1 yard rush
3 & 1- Golson 2 yard rush
3 & 1- Bryant 5 yard rush
3 & 5- Golson INT
3 & 23- Prosise 7 yard pass

For all the angst we feel about the run game, this is pretty impressive.

 

[GoldenDomer]

Is that fight ND fan on ND fan? Lol that dude got dropped, slid like 3 rows down

 

[Buster Bluth]

I rewatched the game. I was surprised to see Luatua block the wrong guy multiple times, and Folston's vision, which is normally great, lacked at times. In particular on one drive Luatua's whiffs for a TFL and then later Folston doesn't follow Koyack outside for a huge gain but drives into the middle for nothing. I really liked the packages, execution not so much.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Originally Posted by Whiskeyjack
OFD's Eric Murtaugh just posted his breakdown of the Syracuse game

:

3 & 7- Golson 22 yard rush (fumble)
3 & 5- Folston 14 yard rush
3 & 7- Golson 9 yard sack
3 & 4- Fuller 3 yard pass
3 & 7- Folston 7 yard pass
3 & 4- McDaniel 8 yard rush
3 & 2- Golson 3 yard rush
3 & 6- Fuller 7 yard pass
3 & 2- Bryant 7 yard rush
3 & 5- Bryant 5 yard rush
3 & 1- McDaniel 1 yard rush
3 & 1- Golson 2 yard rush
3 & 1- Bryant 5 yard rush
3 & 5- Golson INT
3 & 23- Prosise 7 yard pass

For all the angst we feel about the run game, this is pretty impressive.

I was watching the game, and all of a sudden had this sort of burning, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had been enjoying watching a game with an extremely talented young team playing gonzo football. Sure they made a lot of mistakes, but they did a lot of things really right, too. I noticed like others that the team plays with extreme violence; it is just a part of their nature.

When you talk about their youth and their mistakes, this is what you have to accept. It cannot be changed by any of us. The team just needs to outgrow it. Like last year; as impressive of an athlete as Jaylon Smith was, he had plenty of rookie mistakes, plenty from which to learn.

I felt bad, not because of the mistakes, but because I knew I would come back to read this with fans calling for heads after a blow out victory! What does anyone want? This team is mostly freshman and sophomores. A few of the seniors are having a hard time holding on to their positions.

The run game was fixed for Syracuse.

The run game will never look like "Michigan man-ball."

Our defense is on the verge of being epic. (My son asked me to use that word.)

Remember what it felt like to have coaches more like the Michigan mess than what ND has now, and when it felt that Michigan had coaches more like our current staff?

 

[House16]

Is that fight ND fan on ND fan? Lol that dude got dropped, slid like 3 rows down

I was there, one guy was in an Nd shirt, other guy in. NJ Devils shirt. But since it's blue and we were in the ND section, fair to say ND fan

 

[Black Irish]

I was there, one guy was in an Nd shirt, other guy in. NJ Devils shirt. But since it's blue and we were in the ND section, fair to say ND fan

I'm pretty sure it was ickythump and T Town Tommy arguing about the 2012 SEC Championship game.

 

[NDdomer2]

I rewatched the game. I was surprised to see Luatua block the wrong guy multiple times, and Folston's vision, which is normally great, lacked at times. In particular on one drive Luatua's whiffs for a TFL and then later Folston doesn't follow Koyack outside for a huge gain but drives into the middle for nothing. I really liked the packages, execution not so much.

yeah Luatua looked lost at times. The effort is there tho and he is a strong SOB. Those game reps were huge for him as his was very limited until Cuse.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I just re-watched the first quarter and tried to rewind the running plays which stunk to see what went wrong. In my view, although the line didn't look like the Dallas Cowboys' line, they seemed to effectively do their part. Instead of watching "defective line play" I found myself watching defective running [mainly as Bogs said by Folston,] and defective HBack blocking.

.... what MAINLY I saw though was EVERY Drive with ball security issues terminating it. It's a wonder that we got out of the first quarter alive. Kelly at least had to be nearly homicidal. One of the worst was the sack where Everett either didn't see the overload blitz situation, or panicked and didn't switch to a leftside run. Kelly caught him at the sideline and said, loudly, why'd you run that play? Meanwhile everyone was blaming an innocent line of five guys not only trying to block six, but aligned heavy the wrong direction.[because a false blitz was shown there but backed off in time for Everett to alter the play, but not the OLine to initiate that change.]

The next series or perhaps the one after that, we saw the same array, and Everett checked out to a Bryant run to the left which succeeded. I hope that everyone begins to see that a lot of our run-blocking troubles, and troubles period, are complex, and often are due to people not weighing 300 pounds who don't understand THEIR parts of the job. [AND, just to release more of my old irritations, maybe just give Tommy a little more credit for almost always getting us OUT of those sort of fiasco plays during his tenure].

 

[ickythump1225]

I'm pretty sure it was ickythump and T Town Tommy arguing about the 2012 SEC Championship game.

I had to impose my will on him...

 

[ickythump1225]

I just re-watched the first quarter and tried to rewind the running plays which stunk to see what went wrong. In my view, although the line didn't look like the Dallas Cowboys' line, they seemed to effectively do their part. Instead of watching "defective line play" I found myself watching defective running [mainly as Bogs said by Folston,] and defective HBack blocking.

.... what MAINLY I saw though was EVERY Drive with ball security issues terminating it. It's a wonder that we got out of the first quarter alive. Kelly at least had to be nearly homicidal. One of the worst was the sack where Everett either didn't see the overload blitz situation, or panicked and didn't switch to a leftside run. Kelly caught him at the sideline and said, loudly, why'd you run that play? Meanwhile everyone was blaming an innocent line of five guys not only trying to block six, but aligned heavy the wrong direction.[because a false blitz was shown there but backed off in time for Everett to alter the play, but not the OLine to initiate that change.]

The next series or perhaps the one after that, we saw the same array, and Everett checked out to a Bryant run to the left which succeeded. I hope that everyone begins to see that a lot of our run-blocking troubles, and troubles period, are complex, and often are due to people not weighing 300 pounds who don't understand THEIR parts of the job. [AND, just to release more of my old irritations, maybe just give Tommy a little more credit for almost always getting us OUT of those sort of fiasco plays during his tenure].

Yeah I saw GB dance his way into short runs and Folston follow the wrong lanes a few times as well. The o-line worries are overstated, as our the run game woes, but it seems as though some people just like to have something to worry about so I leave them to it.

 

[T Town Tommy]

I had to impose my will on him...

Is halftime over?

 

[NDdomer2]

.... what MAINLY I saw though was EVERY Drive with ball security issues terminating it. It's a wonder that we got out of the first quarter alive. Kelly at least had to be nearly homicidal. One of the worst was the sack where Everett either didn't see the overload blitz situation, or panicked and didn't switch to a leftside run. Kelly caught him at the sideline and said, loudly, why'd you run that play? Meanwhile everyone was blaming an innocent line of five guys not only trying to block six, but aligned heavy the wrong direction.[because a false blitz was shown there but backed off in time for Everett to alter the play, but not the OLine to initiate that change.]

The play you mention here. If I am remembering correctly, when they showed the replay, that one of our guards was blocking the air. I am not going to say it's his fault as Golson should have either changed the play or slide the protection. But doing NOTHING while someone gets lit up is also unacceptable and not so innocent.

 

[kmoose]

The o-line worries are overstated, as our the run game woes, but it seems as though some people just like to have something to worry about so I leave them to it.

I'm not worried about the O Line, perse', but the weakness of the running game is certainly warranted. ND is averaging less than 160 yards a game, rushing. That's good for 77th in the country. A few of the teams that have had more success running the ball, than ND: Arkansas State, New Mexico State, Tulane, and Appalachian State. When you look at the competition that we have played, you would expect that average to be MUCH better. That's not to say that it won't improve. If the relative inexperience of the backs is a major part of what's holding the running game back, then as the season goes along, it should get better. But it is going to have to get better, to beat the better defenses on our schedule.

 

[kmoose]

The play you mention here. If I am remembering correctly, when they showed the replay, that one of our guards was blocking the air. I am not going to say it's his fault as Golson should have either changed the play or slide the protection. But doing NOTHING while someone gets lit up is also unacceptable and not so innocent.

Which guard?