Post Game Observations.........

[JoeyGetherall]

They didn't for Dayne against USF !!!

hahaha riiigghttt i forgot

 

[Kak7304]

I have another post game observation. Andrew Luck is the real deal.

And sadly, USC is a pretty good team.

 

[Riddickulous]

And sadly, USC is a pretty good team.

They've turned a corner.

But sanctions are going to kill them.

 

[JoeyGetherall]

Te'o was a beast today....

That is all.

I was proud to watch him play the way he did today especially after last week and "twittergate" (f+ckin hammond). I am big Manti fan.

 

[koonja]

WI OHST game is coming down to a hail mary. Note it!

 

[IrishJayhawk]

I really enjoyed this game. This is what we're supposed to do to the service academies.

(p.s. Thank you for your service, but stop cutting my knees out...I have ligaments that you're hurting)

 

[koonja]

Not to pat myself on the back but I called it when there was 1:18 left.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

Not to pat myself on the back, but I called it when there was 1:18 left.

Thanks Epitome.....

 

[koonja]

Great games tonight. WI vs OSU and now USC Stanford. Gotta love college football.

 

[JoeyGetherall]

I enjoyed some of the traditional under the center sets ND ran today... Taking snaps under center isn't so hard after all it seems.

 

[WhoDeyIrish]

We played a pretty good football game. We seemed pretty inspired today. Wonder why? Just hope it continues we have 3 games we should win in a row with Stanford as a pray we play perfect game.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Final call out...

NDOM, you changed your avatar to Navy's mascot. You thought we'd lose. We won by 40. Any thoughts?

 

[koonja]

Watching USC vs Stanford just makes me pray we never see OT with how susceptible to TOs our red-zone offense is. These two teams look good right now.

 

[WhoDeyIrish]

Watching USC vs Stanford just makes me pray we never see OT with how susceptible to TOs our red-zone offense is. These two teams look good right now.

Great football game. The games tonight have been great. Can't ask for anything more.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

But, it also makes you think that losing to USC wasn't as embarrassing as people think.

We're close.

 

[WhoDeyIrish]

But, it also makes you think that losing to USC wasn't as embarrassing as people think.

We're close.

I think everyone is sick of being "close". I really believe we should be a BCS team this year but if the struggles are what it takes to see a National Title I will take it.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

-The defense was phenomenal today. The gameplan was great and well executed. We stopped the points, but not the yardage against Air Force, but today we held Navy to low point and yardage totals. I think its safe to say we have finally put our triple option demons to rest.

-T'eo was all over the field making plays. He really stepped up and provided some leadership.

The running game was awesome. Even though he's not the starter, I think Gray is probably better than Wood. We need to run the ball at least 20-25 times a game.

-Although he still didn't stuff the stat sheet, Ishaq showed some glimpses of his massive potential, especially on his chase down and big hit on the QB. He is the perfect prototype for 3-4 LB so once he gets down the mental side of the game, he should be a monster.

-It's a shame Crist could never put it together mentally because he has shockingly more zip on his throws than Rees.

-GAIII is a star in the making. He is electric on returns and looked good at running back today.

 

[Riddickulous]

-The defense was phenomenal today. The gameplan was great and well executed. We stopped the points, but not the yardage against Air Force, but today we held Navy to low point and yardage totals. I think its safe to say we have finally put our triple option demons to rest.

-T'eo was all over the field making plays. He really stepped up and provided some leadership.

The running game was awesome. Even though he's not the starter, I think Gray is probably better than Wood. We need to run the ball at least 20-25 times a game.

-Although he still didn't stuff the stat sheet, Ishaq showed some glimpses of his massive potential, especially on his chase down and big hit on the QB. He is the perfect prototype for 3-4 LB so once he gets down the mental side of the game, he should be a monster.

-It's a shame Crist could never put it together mentally because he has shockingly more zip on his throws than Rees.

-GAIII is a star in the making. He is electric on returns and looked good at running back today.

With below average blocking, no less.

 

[koonja]

But, it also makes you think that losing to USC wasn't as embarrassing as people think.

We're close.

We lost to USC by 2 touchdowns. Would have been 20 had they made their two field goals. We're not that close.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

With below average blocking, no less.

Yeah and its even worse on punt returns. Did I hear correctly during the game today that we are averaging .3 yards per punt return? If so, that is pathetic.

 

[Chicago Irish Fan]

We lost to USC by 2 touchdowns. Would have been 20 had they made their two field goals. We're not that close.

We were on the goal line, about to tie the game in the 4th quarter before Dayne Crist fumbled. We came out rusty, but we bounced back and were in great position to win the game. All of our losses have had an insane combination of bad bounces and freak turnovers. We are close.

 

[irishog77]

I enjoyed some of the traditional under the center sets ND ran today... Taking snaps under center isn't so hard after all it seems.

I'd like seeing this a bit more as well, on passing and running plays. If nothing else, I think, it could almost be like a "change of pace" tactic-- it would give the defense more to prepare for.

I still firmly believe if OU could run plays from under center (besides on a couple OBVIOUS running downs/plays), they would've beat Florida in the NC a couple years ago.

This isn't an anti-Rees or anti-Kelly rant by me. Just something I would like to see ND do a little bit more to help keep the opposing defenses a little more honest.

 

[koonja]

We were on the goal line, about to tie the game in the 4th quarter before Dayne Crist fumbled. We came out rusty, but we bounced back and were in great position to win the game. All of our losses have had an insane combination of bad bounces and freak turnovers. We are close.

We have beat really bad teams pretty handily (Navy, Air Force), we're 3-2 against 'decent' teams (USF, Michigan, Pitt, Purdue, MSU), and lost by 2 TDs to the only good team we've played. You can point to the TO at the goal line, but that's who we are. After 18 TOs it's not 'dumb luck' anymore. It is what it is, and we are a team that turns it over against good (and sometimes just decent) competition. We're not that close yet.

Sure, we may not fumble on the goalline but they might not miss 2 FGs. The final score was a pretty good reflection of who we are compared to a team like USC.

 

[georgia irish]

Outside of turnovers what we need to work on is our passing secondary and punt returner. Theo needs to practice more till he feels comfortable out there, or Toma ,Atkinson,and I would like to see somebody get more time in TJ'S position to challenge him more.

 

[Domer4ever]

Glad to see some of what I was suggesting after the USC loss come to reality in this game:

- Jonas Gray is the man at RB. He sets a physical tone and should be the featured back with Wood being the change of pace/third down back. That happened today and Gray delivered.

- Four man defensive line. They took advantage of the young talent along the defensive line with Tuitt and Nix controlling the interior all day long. Lynch, Hounshell, Ishaq and Niklas also had their moments playing along the defensive line today. Diaco needs to take advantage of the talent, stick with the four man front, and release the dogs.

- Not coincidently, Teo had a much better day with more big boys in front of him with the four man line. I dont think blockers are able to get on him as easily with Nix and Tuitt pushing the pile.

- I dont care that he was flagged, Kendall Moore's hit was sweet! Thats some of the "swagger and balls" this team has been lacking this year and I hope to see more of it.

- Great game by the offensive line. They rebounded nicely after having a tough time opening running lanes against USC.

- Brian.... take the swing pass/wheel route to the running back out of the playbook. It's too risky (as the last couple weeks have shown) and it has not been a huge factor play for the offense anyway.

- Rees played pretty well, but he still has a handful of throws a game that leave you just shaking your head and that was the case again today. I still have my doubts as to whether this is something that he will improve on or if it's just who he is as a QB. Watching Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley tonight made me realize how much growing Rees still has to do.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Final call out...

NDOM, you changed your avatar to Navy's mascot. You thought we'd lose. We won by 40. Any thoughts?

You do realize he does that for good luck, right? Whenever he rooted for ND, we lost. So he started rooting for whoever we were playing, and we started winning a lot more. He's a bit cynical, yes, and I hated his guts because like the first post I ever read on this site was him making a fat joke about CW, but he is an Irish fan.

 

[Al H.]

The touchdown that you are talking about was with about 2 minutes or so left in the half. The band had left their post for the halftime show, hence no Victory March.

This happened last week for the FG against USC at the end of the first half. Now that we have music going, they should add the Victory March for situations just like this.

That's a good idea.

 

[kmoose]

We have beat really bad teams pretty handily (Navy, Air Force), we're 3-2 against 'decent' teams (USF, Michigan, Pitt, Purdue, MSU), and lost by 2 TDs to the only good team we've played. You can point to the TO at the goal line, but that's who we are. After 18 TOs it's not 'dumb luck' anymore. It is what it is, and we are a team that turns it over against good (and sometimes just decent) competition. We're not that close yet.

Sure, we may not fumble on the goalline but they might not miss 2 FGs. The final score was a pretty good reflection of who we are compared to a team like USC.

It's funny how, prior to this week, Michigan State was 6-1 and ranked #9. But they're no good because they lost to another Top 15 team. Michigan State is good (not great, but good), and ND handled them pretty well.

 

[JoeyGetherall]

I really liked the victory today but thought it was a really bad day for Tommy. He made many inaccurate throws (to receivers' feet or behind them or over their heads) and his throws down field for the most part left much to be desired. He's accurate when making short passes (though some today were not very good) but that's pretty much all I've seen that is good.

He has a good completion percentage, but personally I believe that says more about our receivers than Tommy. Floyd made some great catches today that could have easily flown right by. Since this game was basically won on the ground today, I wish that Andrew Hendrix had a lot of playing time. He could have probably moved the ball very well.

Tommy's a cool kid, but just not what we need. Dayne's couple passes were crisp and looked great compared to Tommy's.

I wondered a lot about why Hendrix didn't come in... especially some time in the second half (I know Kelly said it was because Dayne was 2nd in line, but let's face it, he skirts around the truth sometimes like a politician). Hopefully it's because he knows of another QB who is more likely to start next year than Hendrix, so he doesn't feel the need to get him as much PT.

Probably got Dayne in there because if Tommy were to get hurt again Dayne would start and not Hendrix so BK wanted to get him reps. Also I think BK was sending a message to his upperclassman by playing Dayne that he is behind him. I doubt BK has written Hendrix off as starter next year... Don't wonder too hard big guy.

 

[BobD]

It's funny how, prior to this week, Michigan State was 6-1 and ranked #9. But they're no good because they lost to another Top 15 team. Michigan State is good (not great, but good), and ND handled them pretty well.

I think we have a great team that just doesn't know how to be great yet....if that makes any sense.