Post Game Observations....

[phgreek]

1. Our DBs got worked! Every single one of them. They couldn't hang at all.

Pretty hard to disagree there...Really disappointed in them. as a DB, You get beat...it happens...but this was horrifying to watch...Barkley hung in...but he's not that good

2. What happened to the O Line? USC was in Clausen's face all day, while only rushing 4 guys.

I kinda expected them to have a tough time...I think we still lag in talent ...significantly...on the O line, and they excell on their D line...I thought they at least competed this year

3. ND needs to win out, for Charlie to keep his job. I still don't really agree with it, but this is ND. You HAVE to win at least some of these big games, if you want to stick around. Finish with 10 wins, and it will be hard to get fired. But your best chance for a quality win is probably Pitt. If you can't win 10, and have no real quality wins in the bag? You're probably gone.

eh...at this point, unless we have a monumental mealtdown, he stays...we could drop another, so long as we make a reasonable bowl and win...I have criticized his game management, and sometimes playcalling (although today it was ok) but I'd be shocked if he got canned because he recruits well...does he get too much credit there...yea...but it is one thing that makes the trustees and such happy...I'd like to see it translate to wins personally...but cupboard is stocked on O. Hope he tilts harder to the D side...Manti needs some buddies.

4. Matt Barkley played one hell of a game. Seriously, as much as I hate to give him credit, you have to. This true Freshman came into the most storied place in College Football history, and delivered.

I think we did it to ourselves more than he did it. Look, I get the kid is young, but I think 95% of the high school senior QBs in the country could have made the throws he made...granted he took what we gave him...A FREAKING BONANZA...I still keep replaying some of those plays...couldn't tell who USC was playing til the camera guy panned way out to see our dbacks looking like Moe, Larry, and Curley / keystone cops chasing them down...Ugh, that was disgraceful...So I give him credit for not giving it away I guess...

5. I feel bad for the team. This could have been a HUGE win for this team. They fought hard, even though the Defense was clearly outmatched. If not for Kamara's slip on the final play, they might have taken them to overtime, or even won it outright.

Soooo much was lost on that slip...beyond just a shot at OT...not blaming Kamara, but Jimmy's heisman hopes were right there...that moment...he needed to close the deal. As well, our BCS hopes were right there, that moment...as a team we needed that win. Look I know people think Jimmy locked on Kamara, but in reality Rudolph did not come free until after Jimmy saw the soft spot, and made up his mind...I think he made the right choice...When they lined up I was saying I hope he runs the out...look at that hole...he did, and I guess we'll never know if that ball was on the money...but it looked good. Point is no credit for "close".

This is a pretty empty feeling.

agree...I would add though...I thought for once the refs did allright...other blogs (SC) are screaming that the refs gave us 21 points...I think we made them pay for stupid penalties, but I didn't see anything that the booth or the field guys missed horribly...

I was a little disappointed in special teams play...a blocked XP...sheesh. Where are the big returns man...needed one today.

I also didn't like the 4th down call, last we knew, we had a hot kicker, and it was before we had the XP blocked...whats to think about...take the points. If we get the FG, and don't get the XP blocked we could have tied with another FG at the end, Vs needing another TD...spilt milk I guess

One final thought...in the darkest hours of '07, I did not think we'd be scraping to be in the top 25 in '09...still a tough pill for me...

 

[NDMontana]

I've already said don't expect a W in these 2 games for the forseeable future. USC is young at almost every position and everything returns next year, except for the secondary. But when you have a 4 man pass rush crushing your OLine, whats that matter?

My observations are as follows. Tough game. 34-14 and I know all of you had that same feeling in your gut. "Here we go again." They fought back and almost pulled it out. Aldridge in his first real action on 4th and 1? Kamara with the game on the line? Yes I am aware the guy slipped, but isn't it always something with him?

Since previous posters were using WhatIf scenarios, I give you this one. Kick a FG instead of going for it and its a 10 point swing, ND30 USC27.
Running game is being pretty effective, why abandon it? This was of course before the game was heading to the "Out of hand" category.

Robby Paris, pink hair and all (Yes I am aware of Breast Cancer), what player today. Hope he is ok.

Secondary, where art thou? If you told me before the game that ND would hold McKnight to 80 yards and ND scores 27, I would have bet the house that ND won. Heres a tip for you guys as well. When a guy starts dragging your ass for 20 yard gainers while you are trying to strip the ball, its time to start thinking about bringing him down first.

Manti. I talked to God and he said you need to stay at ND for the full 4 years brah.

Aside from the secondary play, there isn't much bad to say. Charlie should have kicked that FG, or at the very least ran something out of the wildcat or with another runner..

I feel bad for these kids, they certainly had their opportunities to pull this one out and at the 4 yard line I thought for sure Jimmy was going to finish it off.

Right before the interception in the fourth quarter I said, in the game thread, that to turn the game around the defense needed to make tackles until there were under five minutes left in the game with ND still losing. Trying to strip the ball every play when you're losing in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and early fourth quarter is asinine. It's also moronic of these guys to go for the strip when they are the only defender trying to make the tackle. You stand a guy up and then go for the strip when two or three other defenders get to the ball. But this secondary goes for strips when a guy catches the ball 20 yards down the field and they are the last line of defense.

That's a sign of poor coaching.

 

[phgreek]

Manti. I talked to God and he said you need to stay at ND for the full 4 years brah.

Wait...let me get my lightning protection on....ok, yea me too Manti...he said it...for reals.


Too funny...LMAO

 

[NDMontana]

Pretty hard to disagree there...Really disappointed in them. as a DB, You get beat...it happens...but this was horrifying to watch...Barkley hung in...but he's not that good



I kinda expected them to have a tough time...I think we still lag in talent ...significantly...on the O line, and they excell on their D line...I thought they at least competed this year



eh...at this point, unless we have a monumental mealtdown, he stays...we could drop another, so long as we make a reasonable bowl and win...I have criticized his game management, and sometimes playcalling (although today it was ok) but I'd be shocked if he got canned because he recruits well...does he get too much credit there...yea...but it is one thing that makes the trustees and such happy...I'd like to see it translate to wins personally...but cupboard is stocked on O. Hope he tilts harder to the D side...Manti needs some buddies.



I think we did it to ourselves more than he did it. Look, I get the kid is young, but I think 95% of the high school senior QBs in the country could have made the throws he made...granted he took what we gave him...A FREAKING BONANZA...I still keep replaying some of those plays...couldn't tell who USC was playing til the camera guy panned way out to see our dbacks looking like Moe, Larry, and Curley / keystone cops chasing them down...Ugh, that was disgraceful...So I give him credit for not giving it away I guess...



Soooo much was lost on that slip...beyond just a shot at OT...not blaming Kamara, but Jimmy's heisman hopes were right there...that moment...he needed to close the deal. As well, our BCS hopes were right there, that moment...as a team we needed that win. Look I know people think Jimmy locked on Kamara, but in reality Rudolph did not come free until after Jimmy saw the soft spot, and made up his mind...I think he made the right choice...When they lined up I was saying I hope he runs the out...look at that hole...he did, and I guess we'll never know if that ball was on the money...but it looked good. Point is no credit for "close".



agree...I would add though...I thought for once the refs did allright...other blogs (SC) are screaming that the refs gave us 21 points...I think we made them pay for stupid penalties, but I didn't see anything that the booth or the field guys missed horribly...

I was a little disappointed in special teams play...a blocked XP...sheesh. Where are the big returns man...needed one today.

I also didn't like the 4th down call, last we knew, we had a hot kicker, and it was before we had the XP blocked...whats to think about...take the points. If we get the FG, and don't get the XP blocked we could have tied with another FG at the end, Vs needing another TD...spilt milk I guess

One final thought...in the darkest hours of '07, I did not think we'd be scraping to be in the top 25 in '09...still a tough pill for me...

Nice post. Reps.

 

[irishtrain]

southern cal

southern cal

Just thought I'd fire another southern cal at 'em as I post, very proud of this team and every player no matter the outcome of this game and their positive or negative play today. They played like Champions in what they gave. The break I thought we would get never came-first half 3 times it showed but decided no. O line put forth the effort and did what they needed late but Jim Clausen needed a little more help the first 3 quarters. Clausen is a stud and I believe he is hurt more than we know. Tate should be in New York for the ceremony and southern cal is still in my mind classless. Not much else to say and I will wait for some jack@$# from southern cal to say something silly about this Irish team then I will respond, they way the showed themselves today would be something I would not be proud of if I was a southern cal fan. Next year ( in their own place would be a great win ). Can someone please keep Pete Carroll off the field or get him some pads and let him play. Charlie is not done and this team will get better. Keep your fingers crossed that those recruits today saw our class and want to come to make a difference. This football program is getting close to excellence.

 

[jason_h537]

This game was absolutely heartbreaking

the bad

1) The safeties played badly, got burned time and time again by McCoy

2) the first hald the o-line played horrible

3) gave up too many big plays and that is one of the things we could not do

4) The defense looked gassed in the 3rd quarter, the offense could not do a thing the whole first halfof the game

the Good:

1) the front 7 played much better and disciplined, until the 3rd quarter they were getting after people and got some good hits

2) Jimmy is the man, i cant believe he didnt get that last pass in.

3) this team is all heart, i hope they can get back up next week because this one was obviously painful. The players just looked heartbroken.

4) Gary Gray had a real good game

 

[Brown]

I always have a problem with people using hindsight (without acknowledging context) to blast a Weis' play call.

For instance: The now infamous decision to go for it on 4th down.

In Weis' press conference, he said he turned to his special team's coach and asked him if he was comfortable with sending Tausch out there, from 47 yards. Polian said "we need at least 3 more yards". Weis trusted the judgement of his coaching staff, and went for it. It was 4th and 2 on their 29 yard line; I thought it was a good decision to go for it, although it didn't pan out like we would've liked.

Had we decided to kick the FG and come up short, there would be a lot of criticism thrown Weis' way for not having confidence in the offense to pick up a few yards, and instead sending out a Fr. kicker to nail a 47+ yarder against the wind.

We lost for a lot of reasons today, but the decision to go for it--in that moment--wasn't one of them.

 

[Master Guns]

Jimmy's had a helluva year thus far and IS a top 5 contender for Heisman, but not the leader. That is still Tebow. Led his team to another game winning drive against Arkansas down in the 4th.

Heisman winners play on great teams that win almost all their games and has a great suporting cast. Tebow is still sitting at the helm until someone unseats him. Jimmy had a great second half but he's just not there yet. If he stays for 2010 it's his to lose.

Jimmy would be crazy to leave for the draft. He is not ready.....yet. Agree that the HT is his to lose next year. Still think he has a chance this year.

 

[irishfan]

Jimmy's had a helluva year thus far and IS a top 5 contender for Heisman, but not the leader. That is still Tebow. Led his team to another game winning drive against Arkansas down in the 4th.

by "another" game winning drive, you mean "a" game winning drive right?

 

[tankjeep]

worst defensive player for us....harrison smith. was constantly out of position and can't tackle my grandmother in a wheel chair.

as for the team, they showed heart and came back to nearly pull it out. weis did a good job for most of the game. where was rudolph for the last play???

overall, this was a great game to watch. i think the team will grow and learn from this experience.

go irish!!!!

 

[jason_h537]

I hate to say it because haysee is so talented but he has struggled all year and was picked on by USC alot. On both 3rd and shorts, Harrison was supposed to be on McCoy and bit on play action. I still cant believe hBarkley completed both passes, Brian Smith made him pay both times. The second one hurt the most, i am still stunned.

On the positive side Gary Gray had a great game and played with swagger. Our linebackers have really stepped up and the d line keeps getting better.

If i was told we would hold SC to under 130 rushing yards i would have said we win.

 

[tankjeep]

I hate to say it because haysee is so talented but he has struggled all year and was picked on by USC alot. On both 3rd and shorts, Harrison was supposed to be on McCoy and bit on play action. I still cant believe hBarkley completed both passes, Brian Smith made him pay both times. The second one hurt the most, i am still stunned.

On the positive side Gary Gray had a great game and played with swagger. Our linebackers have really stepped up and the d line keeps getting better.

If i was told we would hold SC to under 130 rushing yards i would have said we win.

good points. our defensive line is growing and getting better with each week.

 

[bert2834]

This team played hard!

I think you throw to Rudolph again, look at the catch he made after the juggle. One more jump ball and you know he is going to catch it.

Why is Walls still starting?

On the screen pass for a TD, he was practically sprinting for the endzone as soon as the Barkley got the snap. Even in Zone, shouldn't he see the WR not move towards the line a scrimmage and read the play? What is being taught to these kids?

Rudolph needs to be the focus of the passing game.

GO IRISH!!!

NC IN 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kmoose]

Rudolph needs to be the focus of the passing game.

GO IRISH!!!

NC IN 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know, man. Rudolph is a great receiver, but Golden Tate is still your best playmaker in the passing game. That and, as was pointed out in another thread, Rudolph was needed for pass protection on most plays.

 

[irishfan]

This team played hard!

I think you throw to Rudolph again, look at the catch he made after the juggle. One more jump ball and you know he is going to catch it.

Why is Walls still starting?

On the screen pass for a TD, he was practically sprinting for the endzone as soon as the Barkley got the snap. Even in Zone, shouldn't he see the WR not move towards the line a scrimmage and read the play? What is being taught to these kids?

Rudolph needs to be the focus of the passing game.

GO IRISH!!!

NC IN 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That screen for TD pissed me off just because it was so OBVIOUS. They ran the same play earlier in the game out of the same formation. I was just waiting for them to fake the screen and burn us deep, but they just ran the exact same play. I really don't get how the D didnt know it was coming ahead of time.

 

[bert2834]

But, if you use Rudolph more and more, Tate will be more open and able to make more plays. Rudolph is a physical mismatch with whoever lines up against him. I can't wait for Floyd to be back, just don't want him to come back before he is 100%!

Use your backs for pass protection. And if they are only bringing 4, your 5 OL should be able to block them for 3 to 5 seconds.

Oh well, on the BC.

LET'S GO IRISH!!!

 

[tankjeep]

That screen for TD pissed me off just because it was so OBVIOUS. They ran the same play earlier in the game out of the same formation. I was just waiting for them to fake the screen and burn us deep, but they just ran the exact same play. I really don't get how the D didnt know it was coming ahead of time.

even if they know the play is coming, our 2ndary is not athletic enough to stop the play. it's plain and simple. we need better tacklers and athletes in the 2ndary. cuz cats like walls and harrison are killing us.

first off their football iq seems low and their speed of play is slow. not a good combination to have on the field. zeke motta needs to be in the game.

 

[BeatSC]

I don't know, man. Rudolph is a great receiver, but Golden Tate is still your best playmaker in the passing game. That and, as was pointed out in another thread, Rudolph was needed for pass protection on most plays.

3 receptons for 9 yards to Rudolph all day is perplexing to me. HE has been mentioned as the best pas receiving TE inthe country by many people and we couldn't throw a slnat over the middle to him all day? Not until the end of the third quarter did JC show the fortitude to start zipping the ball into his receivers. HE needed to have more faith in himself and his guys to make the catches. He played paralyzed in the first half and threw the ball away too early too often. He put the ball where it needed to be all day onced he started to pull the trigger. I think he played better than BArkley because of the margin for error playing against a USC D vs our joke of a D. Rudolph should be thrown at 10 times a game evenif he is covered. HE has the size to shield the defender.

 

[kmoose]

3 receptons for 9 yards to Rudolph all day is perplexing to me. HE has been mentioned as the best pas receiving TE inthe country by many people and we couldn't throw a slnat over the middle to him all day? Not until the end of the third quarter did JC show the fortitude to start zipping the ball into his receivers. HE needed to have more faith in himself and his guys to make the catches. He played paralyzed in the first half and threw the ball away too early too often. He put the ball where it needed to be all day onced he started to pull the trigger. I think he played better than BArkley because of the margin for error playing against a USC D vs our joke of a D. Rudolph should be thrown at 10 times a game evenif he is covered. HE has the size to shield the defender.

Absolutely. I wasn't trying to say that ND shouldn't make an effort to get him the ball more. I was merely replying to the idea that he should be the focal point of the passing game.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

It's a tough day for Kyle because he had to stay on the line of scrimmage most of the 2nd half and keep Clausen on his feet

 

[BeatSC]

It's a tough day for Kyle because he had to stay on the line of scrimmage most of the 2nd half and keep Clausen on his feet

I didn't think of that. You would think he could release over the middle once in a while. I was bummed that our defense again is making players that are not as good as ours look better than us (Barkley, and USC's WR & TE). What could our offense do against our defense? 60 points I bet.

 

[irishtrain]

Rudolph

Rudolph

He was blocking all day-his helmet would tell you that. He was needed for help 'there' and the plan on offense did not lose this game. He's a great offensive weapon but he was needed in blocking. 3/4 big plays was just too much to overcome against a quality team.

 

[irishtrain]

questions

questions

Has anyone heard how Parris is doing, and do some of you guys agree with me that Tate should be invited to New York.

 

[irishfan]

Has anyone heard how Parris is doing, and do some of you guys agree with me that Tate should be invited to New York.

he should be, but he wont. especially with floyd coming back he wont keep up his stats.

 

[irishtrain]

Yeh guess your right but that guy is a player, and takes no $%#@ from anybody. He stared back at sc like a lineman. Man I hope he stays for next year with Floyd/Clausen/Rudolph

 

[irishfan]

Yeh guess your right but that guy is a player, and takes no $%#@ from anybody. He stared back at sc like a lineman. Man I hope he stays for next year with Floyd/Clausen/Rudolph

I dont think I will ever understand how he didnt get rocked when Taylor Mays tried to blindside him on that last TD. And ya, gotta love how he stares him down after. I'm pretty sure Mays was a little surprised.

 

[bert2834]

Tate isn't going anywhere! He wants a NC. He is physically gifted. If he were 6'2", he would be leaving, but he's smaller so he will stay one more year and ND will have 4 guys drafted in the 1st round, possibly top 15.

Clausen- 1st
Floyd- 3 to 8
Rudolph 10-12
Tate- somewhere before 32.

I will take Rudolph leaving if it means we won the NC!

 

[devolg]

1: Charlie once again cost us the opportunity to compete for the win. Kick the $%#&ing feild goal & take the points. Take the 3 on the 4th & 1 & scratch the missed extra point & we kick a field goal with 1 second left & head into OT carrying the momentum.

2: Said it before & will say it again. Football games are 4 quarters & until we start showing up to play all 4 rather then then just the 4th, we'll never beat the teams that matter.

3: Play calling. Cannot for the life of me figure out why we march the ball down the field running it & put points on the board only to come out the next 2 possessions with all passes?

Should of ran it to the right with Hughes on the final play. No way they expect a run, no reason not to run & you punch it in with the hardest guy to tackle on the team. Didn't understand the pass call.

4: Secondary Blows. Nothing more to say here.

5: Tons of things to be happy about but it's difficult to brag about anything after such a deflating loss.

 

[irishfan]

1: Charlie once again cost us the opportunity to compete for the win. Kick the $%#&ing feild goal & take the points. Take the 3 on the 4th & 1 & scratch the missed extra point & we kick a field goal with 1 second left & head into OT carrying the momentum.

2: Said it before & will say it again. Football games are 4 quarters & until we start showing up to play all 4 rather then then just the 4th, we'll never beat the teams that matter.

3: Play calling. Cannot for the life of me figure out why we march the ball down the field running it & put points on the board only to come out the next 2 possessions with all passes?

Should of ran it to the right with Hughes on the final play. No way they expect a run, no reason not to run & you punch it in with the hardest guy to tackle on the team. Didn't understand the pass call.

4: Secondary Blows. Nothing more to say here.

5: Tons of things to be happy about but it's difficult to brag about anything after such a deflating loss.

Agree for the most part, but Weis was told by Brian Polian that we needed 3 more yards to be in FG range going into the wind. And you can't blame Weis for the missed extra point so it doesnt matter in terms of OT anyway. And I wanted us to run it with 9 seconds left then call a TO if we were short but you can't blame him for keeping the ball in Clausen's hands.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I for one, think the Offensive line played pretty good - not great, but pretty good. They are only their first year for a real offensive line coach for these guys and they are improving by leaps and bounds. They hung in their with one of the best defenses in the nation and they improved as the game wore on. They got better in the fourth quarter which wouldn't have happened in a long, long time. Verducci is my MVP right now if you ask me and our Oline is going to get even better next year. More talent and another year of good coaching will help the line significantly.

I am proud of this team. I feel bad for them because there were alot of things that could have gone our way and it just didn't happen.

It will be just that much sweeter when Jimmy beats the Trojans next season in LA for his senior year in front of his home town crowd at the Coliseum.