Post Game Observations.....

[kmoose]

1. I said it last week, and I'm saying it again this week (let's see how many people disagree this week): It's starting to feel like last season all over again. We have a very good offense, and a defense that can only play at a high level sporadically.

2. Congrats to Theo Riddick on an extremely productive game: 10 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD.

3. Kelly's decision to go for it, on 4th down from his own 42 with about 5:00 and some change left, was a BAD decision. With the score tied at that point, you punt the ball deep and play defense. If you go for it and don't make it, all they need is about 15 yards to get into position for a high percentage field goal. (Disclaimer: This doesn't make Kelly a bad coach, it just was a bad decision)

4. The officiating was horrible in the second half. There were at least 2 blocks in the back that they did not call, and numerous OBVIOUS holds that were not called.

5. If Manti Teo were a QB, came out of High School with the amount of hype that he got, and was playing at the same level that he is playing at now? People would be calling him a bust. I'm not sure he has the raw physical strength to play inside. He makes a couple or three very good plays a game, and then disappears for the next dozen plays or so.

6. The fake FG was a gutsy, BRILLIANT call. And why wasn't there someone playing "safety" in the middle of the field. It was a 46 yarder, which is not unmakeable in College Football, but is certainly a low percentage play. ND did not need 11 guys on the line.

7. Dayne Crist is a solid QB, but he can't throw to save his life, while moving to his left.

 

[Senoj13]

My only post game observation was that COACHING is the sole reason we lost this game. 4th down decision. Not taking one last shot before going to OT. 4th and a mile for 46 yards out in OT and no one thought FAKE. WTF???

 

[Jason Pham]

Re: number 6. Correct me if I'm wrong but H. Smith was back there and was tripped up as the TE went past him.

 

[TinyT]

I want to know why the coaches weren't going beserk over the expiration of the play clock on that fake...and what ref is responsible for that call?

 

[NDOM]

Were SNAKE BITTEN, CURSED, JINXED.

Notre Dame = were legends go to die.

Hate to say I told ya so, so I'm not gonna. Where are my vBUCKS?????

On to Stanford. We may start 1-4 or 1-5. Ouch. Always next year.

 

[TinyT]

You are correct Jason, but it wasn't so much tripped up as blocked down.

 

[rikkitikki08]

whatever im drunk now, this is heart breaking lose. How do you start a thread?

 

[tankjeep]

Re: number 6. Correct me if I'm wrong but H. Smith was back there and was tripped up as the TE went past him.

h. smith was on in coverage and got trucked by the fullback and that released the tight end for the td pass. um, correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that pass interference. but still, how do you not prepare for a potential fake fg??????

and what about the delay of game??? was the clock not at :00???? we got robbed.

 

[phork]

whatever im drunk now, this is heart breaking lose. How do you start a thread?

Sleep it off. Wait 24hrs. Rethink your position.

 

[Riddickulous]

General observations:

Offense - Good.
Defense - Absolutely pathetic.
Special Teams - Eh.
Coaching - Bad. Kelly's gameday coaching has not impressed.

Player observations:

Dayne Crist - A- - Improving by giant leaps and bounds each and every week. Showed great accuracy. His deep passes were much better. Still makes poor decisions.

Armando Allen - B - Looked good when he ran it.

Cierre Wood - D - Is explosive when he has room. Can't make his own room like Allen. Not a good kick returner.

Michael Floyd - A- - Good game. An outstanding grab for a touchdown. Still has the dropsies.

Theo Riddick - A+ - Responded well to Kelly's criticism with the best performance of the night, IMO.

TJ Jones - F - Didn't show up. One catch.

Kyle Rudolph - A - Another solid outing from Rudolph. He keeps up this production and he'll be the Mackey winner.

OL - B+ - Solid, but not outstanding. Great protection once again for Crist.

DL - F - Get out of here.

Kerry Neal - F - Failed on many levels tonight.

Brian Smith - ? - Didn't see much. Made one great play in OT.

Manti Te'o - A - Not a lot of mistakes and some solid plays.

Carlo Calabrese - B- - Okay.

Gary Gray - A+ - Absolute stud. Has he even given up a catch this season?

Darrin Walls - F - He gave up all the big pass plays tonight, aside from MSU TD #1.

Harrison Smith - D+ - Made one nice play and nothing else.

Zeke Motta - C - Fine, not great performance.

David Ruffer - Fine

Ben Turk - Fine

 

[GreatGolson]

i rele, rele, rele, do not feel good about the program anymore, but i ask everyone this, would you rather have charlie back? idk if thats right or wrong, just asking

 

[kmoose]

Re: number 6. Correct me if I'm wrong but H. Smith was back there and was tripped up as the TE went past him.

Actually, I stand corrected. I just watched the replay and Darius Fleming was the "centerfielder" on the play, and basically just stood there, as the play developed. Harrison Smith was trying to cover the TE, but he was lined up only about a foot behind the line of scrimmage. Someone should point out to Darius Fleming that the point of playing centerfield, on a play like that, is not to let ANYONE get behind you.

And yes, the play clock ran out about a full second before the snap.

 

[tankjeep]

General observations:

Offense - Good.
Defense - Absolutely pathetic.
Special Teams - Eh.
Coaching - Bad. Kelly's gameday coaching has not impressed.

Player observations:

Dayne Crist - A- - Improving by giant leaps and bounds each and every week. Showed great accuracy. His deep passes were much better. Still makes poor decisions.

Armando Allen - B - Looked good when he ran it.

Cierre Wood - D - Is explosive when he has room. Can't make his own room like Allen. Not a good kick returner.

Michael Floyd - A- - Good game. An outstanding grab for a touchdown. Still has the dropsies.

Theo Riddick - A+ - Responded well to Kelly's criticism with the best performance of the night, IMO.

TJ Jones - F - Didn't show up. One catch.

Kyle Rudolph - A - Another solid outing from Rudolph. He keeps up this production and he'll be the Mackey winner.

OL - B+ - Solid, but not outstanding. Great protection once again for Crist.

DL - F - Get out of here.

Kerry Neal - F - Failed on many levels tonight.

Brian Smith - ? - Didn't see much. Made one great play in OT.

Manti Te'o - A - Not a lot of mistakes and some solid plays.

Carlo Calabrese - B- - Okay.

Gary Gray - A+ - Absolute stud. Has he even given up a catch this season?

Darrin Walls - F - He gave up all the big pass plays tonight, aside from MSU TD #1.

Harrison Smith - D+ - Made one nice play and nothing else.

Zeke Motta - C - Fine, not great performance.

David Ruffer - Fine

Ben Turk - Fine

floyd still needs to hold onto the ball. that fumble cost us points in the red zone. plus, dayne's INT cost us more points as well. don't get me wrong, i love what i see in the offense, but they need to be more consistent. the defense got worn out cuz we couldn't sustain drives in the first half.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

Ouch. Always next year.

and theres always the year after next year.

well and then there's the next year after next year.

and then theres also the next year after nexts year's next year.



at least ND does things right.

 

[rikkitikki08]

I may be intoxicated because of this loss but i wont get banned, its just a heart breaking lose and i want to state my opinion on how everyone is now jumping off the BK bandwagon

 

[edgesofsanity]

Dayne Crist - I'd say B 1st half (he could not handle those bubble passes out to the R side; and underthrew Allen twice on those); but definitely A 2nd half - he showed great poise. In fact, the play that gave me the most confidence was when the pocket collapsed and he rolled out right, and ended up throwing it out of bounds. Right decision, and I hope to see it more coming forward.

 

[IRISHinKC]

We are screwed if it becomes a shootout.

Floyd needs to hold on to the ball. Not saying this loss falls on him, but it sure did irritate me.

Offense was pretty good, but we could be a little more 2 dimensional.

Kelly needs to quit taking so many risks.

The officiating was terrible.

Defense needs work. But they are out there quite a bit. Hard to not be tired when you are on the field 75% of the time.

 

[tankjeep]

I may be intoxicated because of this loss but i wont get banned, its just a heart breaking lose and i want to state my opinion on how everyone is now jumping off the BK bandwagon

i'm not jumping off bk's bandwagon. he's got alot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but our defense is showing depth issues and simply put, they are not that good.

 

[IrishinmI]

Or maybe we're 1 and 2 with 2 losses to pretty good teams. Yeah i know still painful though! Anyone wonder why on maybe the most critical 3rd down of year Kelly call option! Really! Like that's our strong point.

 

[DillonHall]

General observations:


Manti Te'o - A - Not a lot of mistakes and some solid plays.

Completely disagree on the A. Are you forgetting the absolutely terrible missed tackle on the screen play. They should have had to kick a field goal but instead later scored a touchdown.

 

[rikkitikki08]

I did mean you said that but a few others have already posted how charlie weis was better...thats pathetic, as ND fan we should support our coach...Lets be honest that was literally the worst way to lose but ND is still my team and hurts to see others jump ship so easily

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Completely disagree on the A. Are you forgetting the absolutely terrible missed tackle on the screen play. They should have had to kick a field goal but instead later scored a touchdown.

Agreed. WRAP. UP. We've lost to the 3rd and 4th place teams in the Big 10. So we are middle of the pack in the Big 10 this season. That's not ok. Any year.

 

[NDOM]

and theres always the year after next year.

well and then there's the next year after next year.

and then theres also the next year after nexts year's next year.



at least ND does things right.

True. thats all we do. At least we graduate our young men. we will settle for 6-6 as long as these choir boys get their degree. Notre Dame is like that really good store that stays open for so long that always has the sign in the window that says "under new management", but its just the same store. This program is a joke and the laughing stock of college football PERIOD!

 

[tankjeep]

Completely disagree on the A. Are you forgetting the absolutely terrible missed tackle on the screen play. They should have had to kick a field goal but instead later scored a touchdown.

yeah he should've wrapped up there. i was so pissed after that. the fumble by floyd, the INT by dayne and that missed play by manti really put us in a hole. we fought to hang in there and possibly win it, but imo we shouldn't have been in OT.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

2 Losses- Turnover battle ND 6; Opponents 1



I know turnovers on offense are going to happen so it isnt a knock on the offense (even though the location of their turnovers has been brutal)

The defense needs to be more opportunistic. I was just waiting for 1 big turnover the entire 2nd half. I was saying to everyone that i felt a t turnover for michigan st coming. Never happened.

 

[IrishinSyria]

h. smith was on in coverage and got trucked by the fullback and that released the tight end for the td pass. um, correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that pass interference. but still, how do you not prepare for a potential fake fg??????

and what about the delay of game??? was the clock not at :00???? we got robbed.

It also looked like he pulled a guy down with him. If anything, would have been offsetting penalties, touchdown stands.

The play clock had 0 impact on the outcome of the play. Would have been nice to get the call, but if it was close (didn't notice either way) then I have no problem with the refs letting the play go.

i rele, rele, rele, do not feel good about the program anymore, but i ask everyone this, would you rather have charlie back? idk if thats right or wrong, just asking

I think I've staked out my ground as the obnoxious CW defender and as a Kelly skeptic. This year, we might be a bit better with CW. But overall, no. I like a lot of what Kelly has done as a coach and in the long term, I think he's going to turn out to be a great one. Charlie went down and got the program out of the depths, Kelly's going to be one to get us over this final hump.

and theres always the year after next year.

well and then there's the next year after next year.

and then theres also the next year after nexts year's next year.


at least ND does things right.

God, country, ND. You don't give up on your country because you don't like the president or because we lose a few jobs, you don't give up on ND because they lose a few games. The school is about so much more than a football game.

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

We are a fumbling machine, and little to no takeways. We are in trouble. Because we are not going to get any faster on defense this year, and we are going to play fast teams coming up. Luck is going to pick us apart with all the time he will have to throw, since we have little to no pass rush.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

also, ive played NCAA football for playstation for about 7 years. I dont think ive ever hit anything but 'FG zone' on opponnet FG attempts to watch for the fake.

why try to block that? it was a 45 (i think) yd attempt. you gotta take the only option out of play that can END the game for you.

 

[phgreek]

1. I said it last week, and I'm saying it again this week (let's see how many people disagree this week): It's starting to feel like last season all over again. We have a very good offense, and a defense that can only play at a high level sporadically..

...feels to me like Lou Holtz's first year at the wheel ...last minute loses, but improvements being made. I'm beyond angry right now, but I still think the defense is better in that they don't seem confused as often as last year...they had some moments...and I started seeing the hayseed shoulder tackle again...now the disease is spreading to Teo and Walls...WRAP! still better though.

2. Congrats to Theo Riddick on an extremely productive game: 10 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD.

yea...good game...seemed to go away in the 4th though

3. Kelly's decision to go for it, on 4th down from his own 42 with about 5:00 and some change left, was a BAD decision. With the score tied at that point, you punt the ball deep and play defense. If you go for it and don't make it, all they need is about 15 yards to get into position for a high percentage field goal. (Disclaimer: This doesn't make Kelly a bad coach, it just was a bad decision).

I suppose so...but I was yelling go for it...but I guess it would be bad to hope kelly applied my irrational approach...

4. The officiating was horrible in the second half. There were at least 2 blocks in the back that they did not call, and numerous OBVIOUS holds that were not called.

Agree...and the return where he did call a block in the back on us...ticky-tack, and potentially impacted the outcome...

5. If Manti Teo were a QB, came out of High School with the amount of hype that he got, and was playing at the same level that he is playing at now? People would be calling him a bust. I'm not sure he has the raw physical strength to play inside. He makes a couple or three very good plays a game, and then disappears for the next dozen plays or so.

I tend to look at him as growing up...he has alot of the cerebral part of the game going on trying to be the guy in a new system...he's there, and coaches are scheming to keep him contained...he takes away alot because I believe he limits the other coach's play book...stuff we never see. He seems real active to me...until tonight he was tied with Calabreese for lead in tackles...again I think they scheme for him...not Calabreese. For him to be among the leaders in tackles, and also to target of most of the scheming is pretty good...

6. The fake FG was a gutsy, BRILLIANT call. And why wasn't there someone playing "safety" in the middle of the field. It was a 46 yarder, which is not unmakeable in College Football, but is certainly a low percentage play. ND did not need 11 guys on the line.

YEA...kicker gave it away to the TV viewing audience, but after...I saw kelly giving somebody (coach) a little WTF was that...so I think BK would agree with you too.

7. Dayne Crist is a solid QB, but he can't throw to save his life, while moving to his left.

...Rick Mirer...

only other things I saw were Floyd coughing it up again in the red zone...and AA coughing it up on a couple (didn't lose), and Dayne coughing it up...Seriously...take care of the footbal, and wrap up on tackles and we win.

 

[IrishinSyria]

2 Losses- Turnover battle ND 6; Opponents 1



I know turnovers on offense are going to happen so it isnt a knock on the offense (even though the location of their turnovers has been brutal)

The defense needs to be more opportunistic. I was just waiting for 1 big turnover the entire 2nd half. I was saying to everyone that i felt a t turnover for michigan st coming. Never happened.

Pressure creates turnovers (and, apparently, KY jelly on Floyd's gloves)... that also never really happened. Until the OT, when the D played well enough to win the game for us and we managed to find another way to pull off a miraculous loss.