Post Game Observations....

[kmoose]

What a big win for the program!!

There are all kinds of positives to choose from, but first....

1. The decision to go for it, on 4th and 3 in the first drive, was dumb. It's not like you were deep in their territory. Kelly gambled and lost (again), and left Utah a very short field to play with. Luckily, the D rose up and held them to 3 points. But it was too easy. Utah only needed about 20 yards to get into FG range. The smart call would have been to punt them deep, and make them really work down the field for any points that they got.

Now on to the positives...

1. Way to go, Tommy Rees. You Hendrix folks can just STFU now. Kid's first start, and he looked like he was ready to play major college, D-IA football. He's not great, and he has some weaknesses, but he looks like he belongs on the field. If he just makes steady improvement over the next 3 years, he might even end up being a first day NFL draft pick.

2. The defense played a very good game. I'm not sure what that means, beyond today, though. I looked at Utah's stats, coming into the game. I wasn't all that impressed with their offensive skill people. I know that they put up a lot of points, but the two leading rushers on the team were both averaging under 5 yards a carry. Their QB had an excellent completion percentage, but only about an 8 yard per attempt average. So a lot of dinking and dunking. He also threw a fair amount of INTs. But hey, it's been a while since the defense looked like it was in control of an opponent's offense, so I will take it.

3. How long has it been since ND has "won" the first half of the 3rd quarter? We certainly did, today. Kudos to the coaches for making whatever adjustments they needed to, at halftime, to keep their foot on Utah's throat.

4. I think we might have seen a preview of what this team can look like, against top competition, in the future. Kelly drives me nuts with his risky play calling, but I think he is still probably the right guy for the job.

5. Today was a good illustration of how important momentum is, to the college game. ND had momentum for practically the entire game, and the scoreboard showed it.

Congratulations to all of these kids on a job well done. They have played hard this year and a win over a Top 15 program, as well as most likely securing bowl eligibility, should feel pretty damn good, about now.

 

[NDMontana]

What a big win for the program!!

There are all kinds of positives to choose from, but first....

1. The decision to go for it, on 4th and 3 in the first drive, was dumb. It's not like you were deep in their territory. Kelly gambled and lost (again), and left Utah a very short field to play with. Luckily, the D rose up and held them to 3 points. But it was too easy. Utah only needed about 20 yards to get into FG range. The smart call would have been to punt them deep, and make them really work down the field for any points that they got.

Now on to the positives...

1. Way to go, Tommy Rees. You Hendrix folks can just STFU now. Kid's first start, and he looked like he was ready to play major college, D-IA football. He's not great, and he has some weaknesses, but he looks like he belongs on the field. If he just makes steady improvement over the next 3 years, he might even end up being a first day NFL draft pick.

2. The defense played a very good game. I'm not sure what that means, beyond today, though. I looked at Utah's stats, coming into the game. I wasn't all that impressed with their offensive skill people. I know that they put up a lot of points, but the two leading rushers on the team were both averaging under 5 yards a carry. Their QB had an excellent completion percentage, but only about an 8 yard per attempt average. So a lot of dinking and dunking. He also threw a fair amount of INTs. But hey, it's been a while since the defense looked like it was in control of an opponent's offense, so I will take it.

3. How long has it been since ND has "won" the first half of the 3rd quarter? We certainly did, today. Kudos to the coaches for making whatever adjustments they needed to, at halftime, to keep their foot on Utah's throat.

4. I think we might have seen a preview of what this team can look like, against top competition, in the future. Kelly drives me nuts with his risky play calling, but I think he is still probably the right guy for the job.

5. Today was a good illustration of how important momentum is, to the college game. ND had momentum for practically the entire game, and the scoreboard showed it.

Congratulations to all of these kids on a job well done. They have played hard this year and a win over a Top 15 program, as well as most likely securing bowl eligibility, should feel pretty damn good, about now.

Any win is a good win. I would've preferred to see the offense do a bit more but that probably stems from the pessimism I have about ND's defense that I just can't shake. The offense took advantage of some short fields and Utah didn't do themselves any favors with the penalties and the special teams blunders. Still, at the end of the day, ND took advantage of the opportunities presented to them and that hasn't always happened the last four or five years.

 

[kmoose]

Any win is a good win. I would've preferred to see the offense do a bit more but that probably stems from the pessimism I have about ND's defense that I just can't shake. The offense took advantage of some short fields and Utah didn't do themselves any favors with the penalties and the special teams blunders. Still, at the end of the day, ND took advantage of the opportunities presented to them and that hasn't always happened the last four or five years.

Amen.

 

[irishff1014]

I think the defense did good. They always had a different look they didn't knoiw what we were going to do not to mention with our 4 man front we were getting alot of pressure.

 

[Legacy]

Great to see all the Irish fans celebrate with the players on the field. A definite high.

 

[Riddickulous]

- Tommy Rees was great. He wasn't asked to do a whole lot, but when he was, he delivered. Really great touch passes. He had a great laser throw to Eifert on a third down in the first half. Two beautiful throws to Kamara for a couple of touchdowns.

- Running game looked good for once. Cierre Wood looked like crap early but ran with a purpose in the second half. He has excellent burst and once he gets vision he'll be very deadly. Jonas Gray had a couple of nice runs, as well. We have depth, for once. Nice.

- Duval Kamara went out with a bang. Two touchdowns.

- The offensive line was subpar in the first half and gelled in the second, asserting their will on Utah and allowing Wood to burst free several times. Rees has great protection, as well.

- Two freshmen came in and stood out: Prince Shembo and Kona Schwenke delivered.

- Brian Smith was phenomenal. Played perhaps the best game of his career. Showed none of the mental mistakes that he's previously shown.

- Good job by the secondary. No huge plays and Hayseed with the pick.

- Great game by Diaco. Great great defense.

 

[IrishinSyria]

- Tommy Rees was great. He wasn't asked to do a whole lot, but when he was, he delivered. Really great touch passes. He had a great laser throw to Eifert on a third down in the first half. Two beautiful throws to Kamara for a couple of touchdowns.

- Running game looked good for once. Cierre Wood looked like crap early but ran with a purpose in the second half. He has excellent burst and once he gets vision he'll be very deadly. Jonas Gray had a couple of nice runs, as well. We have depth, for once. Nice.

- Duval Kamara went out with a bang. Two touchdowns.

- The offensive line was subpar in the first half and gelled in the second, asserting their will on Utah and allowing Wood to burst free several times. Rees has great protection, as well.

- Two freshmen came in and stood out: Prince Shembo and Kona Schwenke delivered.

- Brian Smith was phenomenal. Played perhaps the best game of his career. Showed none of the mental mistakes that he's previously shown.

- Good job by the secondary. No huge plays and Hayseed with the pick.

- Great game by Diaco. Great great defense.

Agree with all of this, would add great gameplan by Kelly too. Even though the running game was slow to get going, he stuck with it. Didn't ask Rees to do anything he couldn't.

 

[IrishBlood81]

We rocked Rocks house...what other observations are necessary!?


81

 

[davydoc]

We rocked Rocks house...what other observations are necessary!?


81

Lock the thread, nothing else needed ..

 

[Dizzyphil]

Very happy for the Seniors and the players. I could see the 'heart' playing in this game than of many I have seen in the past couple of years.


Dizzy

 

[aubeirish]

My post game observation:

This feels good, I mean really good.

 

[kmoose]

We rocked Rocks house...what other observations are necessary!?


81

I wouldn't get too excited. It was a very good win for ND, for sure. But, like I said in my initial post, Utah's stats were not overly impressive coming into the game. So I'm not sure what this game meant, in terms of the maturation of the ND football team. It might be that Utah was a true Top 15 team, and ND took a giant leap forward today. Or, it could be that Utah was vastly overrated, ND had some breaks go their way, and we really aren't much better than the team that lost to Tulsa last week.

 

[ryno 24]

Finally!!! I appreciate it I dont expect them to be consistent yet though... but congrats

 

[davydoc]

My heart went out to the guy ( Costello I think his name was ) you see him every game beside Coach Kelly giving the instructions, this was his first( it'll also be his last as he's finished after this year ) game he's played and he's brought on for the last few plays......it was so like Rudy its not true - especially when you see all his team mates treating him like he was the game winner afterwards........outstanding IRISH........we have more history and tradition than the rest put together ......

 

[IrishBlood81]

I wouldn't get too excited. It was a very good win for ND, for sure. But, like I said in my initial post, Utah's stats were not overly impressive coming into the game. So I'm not sure what this game meant, in terms of the maturation of the ND football team. It might be that Utah was a true Top 15 team, and ND took a giant leap forward today. Or, it could be that Utah was vastly overrated, ND had some breaks go their way, and we really aren't much better than the team that lost to Tulsa last week.

I was just making an observation . but of course reality has to come and ruin my little party sigh. lol
Utahs stats had to be better than Tulsa! I mean I know for a fact (in my special fact book of course ) that that team wasn't the same as the Tulsa team. Look at the Defense! Look at special teams!
Huge improvements. They played with emotion and passion. Maybe they just really had momentum with them but they looked completely different than Team Tulsa.


81

 

[IrishBlood81]

My heart went out to the guy ( Costello I think his name was ) you see him every game beside Coach Kelly giving the instructions, this was his first( it'll also be his last as he's finished after this year ) game he's played and he's brought on for the last few plays......it was so like Rudy its not true - especially when you see all his team mates treating him like he was the game winner afterwards........outstanding IRISH........we have more history and tradition than the rest put together ......

True that. Man, ditto here. I was really moved to see him out there. wish he couldve done more but still, I was happy he got in there at all. Really cool. thats the Irish man!


81

 

[davydoc]

I wouldn't get too excited. It was a very good win for ND, for sure. But, like I said in my initial post, Utah's stats were not overly impressive coming into the game. So I'm not sure what this game meant, in terms of the maturation of the ND football team. It might be that Utah was a true Top 15 team, and ND took a giant leap forward today. Or, it could be that Utah was vastly overrated, ND had some breaks go their way, and we really aren't much better than the team that lost to Tulsa last week.

Fuk off and at least let us enjoy the night without p*ssing on our parade ....ffs...

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

The D set the Tone...and KEPT the intensity the ENTIRE game.

 

[davydoc]

True that. Man, ditto here. I was really moved to see him out there. wish he couldve done more but still, I was happy he got in there at all. Really cool. thats the Irish man!


81

Where else would that happen - if I were him, I'd be in tears in the dressing room right now.....maybe till next year......really was a nice touch of class from Kelly and whoever alse.......Rudy2....

 

[irishff1014]

You lost your mine. 98 % of the people were picking against us because this was top 15 team. We came out and played better then them in all phases of the game.

 

[davydoc]

98% of the people were wrong ....!! thats unbelief speaking..as Rocket says, we should put him out of our house......WE DID THAT TONIGHT ,,,,,,,,YES WE DID....

 

[irishff1014]

Yes sir we did and it felt good to geta big win.

 

[IrishBlood81]

Where else would that happen - if I were him, I'd be in tears in the dressing room right now.....maybe till next year......really was a nice touch of class from Kelly and whoever alse.......Rudy2....

I know right? Its like wow, I'd rather lose every game as a Fighting Irish than win 200 NC as a _________ (insert ANY team) just for that fact. Thats what we're all about!


We Are The Fighting Irish. What Do You Fight For?

 

[jmurphy75]

I can't believe all of the criticism......I think if we beat Alabama for the NC there would be people on here pointing out all of the mistakes. The team came out and every one of them played with desire, they went out on that field tonight and had fun while playing solid football. I loved watching them play with confidence, aggression and a smile on their faces. Anyone that has played knows that sometimes there is a point where everything just comes together on the field....it just clicks and that is the way you play from then on out. I hope and pray that that's what happened on the field tonight, because I for one am not looking at the "what if's" or the "negatives" I'm just enjoying the fact that they looked like a hungry team out there tonight.

 

[phgreek]

I wouldn't get too excited. It was a very good win for ND, for sure. But, like I said in my initial post, Utah's stats were not overly impressive coming into the game. So I'm not sure what this game meant, in terms of the maturation of the ND football team. It might be that Utah was a true Top 15 team, and ND took a giant leap forward today. Or, it could be that Utah was vastly overrated, ND had some breaks go their way, and we really aren't much better than the team that lost to Tulsa last week.

Liked the intitial post... Maybe its not a W over Florida, but this is a VERY solid football team/program/coaching staff...Utah may not finish top 15 but they are a top 15 team, and have been for a few years...this is a HUGE win.

Its meaning...what I saw was the "beginning" I have been looking for all year. Kelly got one today...So critical was this win...so critical.

...we shall see if they can get army...I expect them to.

 

[PapaIrish37]

Great game all around.

Costello, Rees, Kumara, Smith, Blanton (who had a great game), Te'o - I could go on and on talking about kids I am really happy for.

Is this the turning point? Who knows but I hope it is.

At least for today, "the thief" (unbelief) was shown the door.

My biggest observation - this coaching regime is 1 - 0 on Senior Day and 1 - 0 in November. At at time in a season like this when it wouldn't be unusual to see a bunch of 18 - 22 year olds pack it in and give up, many played the game of their ND careers.

Even when the game got off to a rocky start and they got punched in the mouth on the 4th down. They hung in, hung together, stayed with the plan and picked each other up. Turning point or not, I will take the W and be happy - especially for those who had the success today.

GO IRISH and BELIEVE.

 

[Senoj13]

This was a top 15 team (not really...they struggeled with Pitt at Home). but that doesn't matter. ND kicked their ***. Everyone talked about how bad they were going to win this game. This game goes with the Special teams and then the Defense. Offense did what they could after the fact

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

I wouldn't get too excited. It was a very good win for ND, for sure. But, like I said in my initial post, Utah's stats were not overly impressive coming into the game. So I'm not sure what this game meant, in terms of the maturation of the ND football team. It might be that Utah was a true Top 15 team, and ND took a giant leap forward today. Or, it could be that Utah was vastly overrated, ND had some breaks go their way, and we really aren't much better than the team that lost to Tulsa last week.

Dude....Are you really that miserable a b.astard that you can't enjoy a win against a top 15 team for once? This felt so good. I felt like we belonged. Do us all a favor and take your "Utah's stats were not overly Impressive" A.ss somewhere else until tomorrow. We're here to celebrate. Go to bed.

 

[GreatGolson]

For the first time this season (or any season in a while) they played like they wanted to win and had that intensity theyve lacked (think blocked punts, forced fumbles, interceptions, tough running)

 

[choo choo]

i was very interested in seeing what we would look like coming off a bye week to prepare...i was really worried that we would suck even with an extra week to prepare, but it looked like this team was very prepared and ready to play...hats off to the staff...maybe this wasnt oregon or alabama, but they were still ranked and it showed on the faces of the players after the game...big win for this group of kids...i loved the intensity of the defense and i thought kelly did a good job with the game plan...but most of all, happy for the seniors...now - on to yankee stadium!!!