Post Game: Texas

[Luckylucci]

So MSU had 171 rushing yards against Furman and they will get 250 against ND?


EDIT: Oh, and Texas had 237 rushing yards.

While I'm not currently predicting that to occur. On at least a few occasions we've given up season highs or close to during BVG's tenure. Heck, NW which had minus 9 yards rushing against Michigan, but rushed for 263 yards and had 547 yards of total offense, both season highs.

BVG is setting records, just not the ones that fans like.

 

[NDohio]

So because they didn't run for more than I predicted against someone else, they can't do it against us?

I'm not following your logic. Sure, 250 is being a bit overdramatic, but I can see us giving up a TON of yardage this year. MSU's line is better than UT"s and they pushed us all over the place.

I would say MSU didn't take Furman seriously and almost got caught with their pants down.

This is my logic. I am just pretty tired of the overly dramatic, negative responses from our fan base.

And, we don't know if MSU's line is better than Texas' line. Each have played one game this season and Texas played a much better team than MSU did. Which O-line looked better?

 

[Wild Bill]

I've stewed on it.

My postgame thoughts, aside from wishing harm upon the Big XII video reviewers and the ACC refs on the field for (1) failing to protect our player and (2) costing us points:

1. If our defense plays to even one less degree of terrible football, we win by two scores. So, if we played like "Burning Couch in West Virginia" rather than "Runaway Train With Cars Full of Dumpsters on Fire," we win by 10.

Agreed. We basically saw it all unfold on the the 87 play drive TX put together in the 2nd quarter. TX came out with Swoopes, two receivers, an H back, a tight end and a 250lb running back. The only person in the world who thought Swoopes would start throwing strikes is paid to be ND's defensive coordinator so he comes out in a nickel. He was wrong. TX rammed it right up our ass while BVG poured on the nickel lube. They moved the chains with relative ease, breaking tackles, dragging defenders and taking advantage of formation until they get into ND's side of the field. I was happy to see the staff not call a time out on the first thirty or so yards of this drive. They're far too valuable to waste on getting tired players a break, making a substitution, or helping the players adjust to the QB who just changed the pace of the game.

ND finally gets a third down stop but Trumbetti is offside. I was actually surprised he was so eager to engage a blocker after getting his ass kicked for the first fifty yards of the death march. A light bulb goes off in someone's head on 3rd and short and the base defense marches onto the field. They get a stop - must have been luck. TX goes for it on 4th and 2, defense doesn't get lined up, TX picks up 2.5 yards and a first down. ND gets another shot to stop them on 3rd and 7. TX throws a three yard pass, safety misses an easy tackle and they pick up 20 yards. yada yada yada...130lb freshman QB punches it in with authority from the 1.

2. If Kizer plays the whole game, from the start, we win by one score, maybe two. The guy is unbelievable, and an early-game rhythm might have resulted in a bit more success on a couple of our early drives that stalled.

Hard to tell. Malik had three possessions, I think. The first one was a three and out. Two short runs and nobody was open on 3rd and 5. The second was a decent drive that stalled on an offside penalty. Maybe Kizer puts some points on the board here. The third was a three and out. Two short runs and Zaire was sacked within a moment.

6. Despite giving up 50 points, and despite the fact that Swoopes was made to look like the Incredible Hulk on the same simple power plays over and over, I have hope for the front 7 simply because of two guys. The DL looked awful at times, and wasn't offering nearly enough help to the LB's... But Nyles showed some of the big-time flashes at MLB that we've been waiting for since Manti left, and Onwualu played out of his mind. It's nice to see a guy in the middle that can legitimately shoot through a gap and pop somebody in the backfield, and I think that Onwualu should retain that #1 jersey and keep wrecking shit off the edge.

A front seven is only as good as it's weakest link which is why I'm less optimistic. Tillery is soft and Jones is winded after a play. They may improve as the season progresses. Trumbetti is past the point of rescue. It's shocking how little he's developed since starting as a freshman. He cannot hold the point of attack. He got smacked around the entire game. Everyone was in on it - the tackle pulling guard, tight end, h back, running back, and QB. If he remains the starter the only coordinator dumb enough to not run at him is currently coaching our defense. They'll run at him and it'll make life hell for the linebackers.

 

[IrishBroker]

This is my logic. I am just pretty tired of the overly dramatic, negative responses from our fan base.

And, we don't know if MSU's line is better than Texas' line. Each have played one game this season and Texas played a much better team than MSU did. Which O-line looked better?

I'm not totally buying into the logic that because UT played better in a game against a ranked opponent, in prime time, on their turf, that they are better than MSU in any way. UT was hyped for this. It was a record crowd. The governor of Texas was there.

UT will still probably lose 2-3 games this year.

 

[NDohio]

While I'm not currently predicting that to occur. On at least a few occasions we've given up season highs or close to during BVG's tenure. Heck, NW which had minus 9 yards rushing against Michigan, but rushed for 263 yards and had 547 yards of total offense, both season highs.

BVG is setting records, just not the ones that fans like.

I get that, and I am not trying evoke confidence that BVG can or will get the job done, but my goodness the negativity is just way over the top. Could MSU run for a ton of yards against us? Absolutely. I just don't see it.


People act like we just lost to South Florida. There was a reason that many were picking Texas over us. They have recruited very well, they have a lot of young talent, and they had last year's loss on their minds. It was great game between two blue bloods and I believe Texas is going to have a successful season. I am not ready to jump off the roof yet.

 

[tko]

I'm bringing a boat to South Bend this week and burning the fuk out of it. The run starts now boys, seize the city.

 

[NDohio]

I'm not totally buying into the logic that because UT played better in a game against a ranked opponent, in prime time, on their turf, that they are better than MSU in any way. UT was hyped for this. It was a record crowd. The governor of Texas was there.

UT will still probably lose 2-3 games this year.

And I am not convinced that we are as bad off as many are portraying us to be because of the bold...

 

[IrishBroker]

And I am not convinced that we are as bad off as many are portraying us to be because of the bold...

If you can't get up for that game, then I don't know what to tell you.

I think we are absolutely that bad on defense.

We are fine offensively.

 

[koonja]

I'm bringing a boat to South Bend this week and burning the fuk out of it. The run starts now boys, seize the city.

Burning the boat should be easy since Texas sent our defense back to south bend on fire.

 

[Legacy]

Notre Dame at Texas: Most-Watched Kickoff Weekend Game On Record Across All Networks - ESPN MediaZone

From above:

Sunday night’s two-overtime thriller between No. 10 Notre Dame and Texas (7:30 p.m. on ABC) delivered a total live audience measurement (TV + Streaming) of 11,093,000 average viewers, the most-watched college football kickoff weekend game on record across all networks*.

As documented in this morning’s release, the streaming audience for the Longhorns’ 50-47 victory set new ESPN records for a regular season college football game, with an average minute audience of 194,000 and a total of 786,000 unique viewers viewing 49,900,000 minutes overall.

Late Game Drama Peaks Viewership
Last night’s ABC audience peaked at 13,522,000 average viewers between 11 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. ET as the fourth quarter came to a conclusion and overtime began.

I hope this leads to more home-and-home series between top national teams. If a recruit wants to play before national audiences weekly...

Anyone, anywhere, anytime

 

[IrishBroker]

From above:



I hope this leads to more home-and-home series between top national teams.

I was there...crazy atmosphere.

The crowd was electric. And us Irish fans held our own...when the comeback was on in the 3rd quarter, the "lets go Irish" chants were deafening.

 

[Legacy]

Duplicate

 

[Legacy]

Texas-Notre Dame is most-watched season opener ever on ABC/ESPN

ESPN now has revised its television numbers from Sunday night’s double-overtime thriller of a win with Notre Dame.

According to the network:

Sunday night’s two-overtime thriller between No. 10 Notre Dame and Texas (7:30 p.m. on ABC) delivered a total live audience measurement (TV + Streaming) of 11,093,000 average viewers, the most-watched college football kickoff weekend game on record across all networks*.

The television audience was measured at 10,899,000 viewers. The streaming accounted for 786,000.

What happens when two tradition rich programs face each other in a dramatic, double overtime game?

Big, big, TV numbers. ESPN described the TV audience watching the Longhorns knock off the Fighting Irish, 50-47, as “massive.”

The game, which was shown in prime time Sunday on ABC , drew an overnight rating of 7.0.

That’s the second-highest rating ever for a season opening telecast by ESPN/ABC. The only other game that was more watched came in 2005, when Miami played Florida State. (That was the year that Texas last won a national championship).

In addition, Austin was the top market for the game with a rating of 25.4. That was the highest rating the city has registered for an opening weekend telecast. Five other cities also set records: San Antonio (15.1), Dallas (13.1), Indianapolis (11.2), Albuquerque (7.1), San Diego (6.8) and Philadelphia (6.4).

The game also registered big live-streaming numbers, with 786,000 unique viewers watching the game on ESPN’s app. That was a regular-season record.

These were the top 10 markets overall:

Rank Local Rating Market
1 25.4 Austin
2 17.3 Birmingham
3 15.1 San Antonio
4 13.1 Dallas-Ft. Worth
5 12.8 Oklahoma City
6 12.7 Columbus, OH
7 11.5 Houston
8 11.2 Indianapolis
9 11.0 Knoxville
10 10.7 Greenville


ABC/ESPN is drawing incredible numbers for its season opening weekend that will end with tonight’s Florida State-Mississippi game.

The other ratings for the weekend: USC-Alabama (4.9 overnight), LSU-Wisconsin (4.9), Oklahoma-Houston (4.0), and Clemson-Auburn (2.8)

.

 

[phgreek]

Texas-Notre Dame is most-watched season opener ever on ABC/ESPN

.

I'm not sure this helped recruiting...at least on the Defensive side of the ball.

Last 3 games took a wooden stake and drove it into BVG's image. Even if they play respectably the rest of the way out...no 5 star D tackle is coming to ND to play for BVG. No 5 star corner is coming to ND to play for BVG....They may come for other reasons...because they've always wanted to play at ND...but not to be part of BVG's Defense.

Maybe when Bronco Mendenhall gets the boot from UVA, someone could convince him to be the d coordinator at ND...there is a guy that can build a defensive program like McGuyver can build a bomb from a quarter, chewed up gum, and ear wax...which is about what we'll have by the end of the BVG experiment.

 

[koonja]

I'm so over being so close and knowing "if we did this we would win". Clemson, Stanford, now Texas. Just win baby.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Texas at #11 in the AP, 20 in the Coach's

 

[koonja]

Texas at #11 in the AP, 20 in the Coach's

Awesome for us, Route hard you fools.

 

[BoredIrish]

I was there...crazy atmosphere.

The crowd was electric. And us Irish fans held our own...when the comeback was on in the 3rd quarter, the "lets go Irish" chants were deafening.

I heard that on TV and pointed it out to my kids. Really impressive.

 

[NDRock]

I'm so over being so close and knowing "if we did this we would win". Clemson, Stanford, now Texas. Just win baby.

You forgot FSU

 

[GowerND11]

Quick hits. I didn't read all of the thread so some may have been said:

1A. I don't count the 50 they hung on us because two scores were in overtime. Still, we gave up 37. That's too much.
1B. I will say the defense played well in spurts. The first quarter, sans the 1st drive was well done. So was the 3rd quarter and first 5 minutes or so of the 4th quarter minus the first drive of the 3rd.
1C. That offense was ran very well. I'm sorry, but, while I agree BVG needs to do something to stop spread up tempo teams, this is college football today, and this kind of offense scores points, even against good defenses. Like I said, we had about a half (total) of shutting them down. Against this kind of offense, that is a good job. I know some will point to talent level, and only Texas's first game in this offense, but it's tough to keep down.

2. Kizer is the man. No doubt about it. He has ice in his veins and needs to be number 1.

3. I thought the OL performed well. This isn't a bunch of scrubs we were playing against. They were highly rated recruits that are young. Texas has talent, just young talent. We still ran the ball, even if people thought we should have done more. NEWSFLASH: We were down 17 at one point. Hard to run the ball then. Even so, we scored on a 30 yard TD run by Kizer.

4. WRs will be good. THJr is the clear leader, but ESB is awesome. Need another guy (Sanders) to step up consistently.

5. Targeting. Needs to be called. Game changer.

6. I really thought we should have went for the 1st down when it was 4th and 1 when we were up 35-31. Convention says kick since we were on our own 44 yard line, but we have a good enough OL and Kizer that if we quick snapped under center he would have fallen forward for the first down. I was calling for it as everything was happening.

7. Tough, tough, tough loss. Still upset about it, but I'm actually not mad somehow.

 

[NDRock]

Quick hits. I didn't read all of the thread so some may have been said:

1A. I don't count the 50 they hung on us because two scores were in overtime. Still, we gave up 37. That's too much.
1B. I will say the defense played well in spurts. The first quarter, sans the 1st drive was well done. So was the 3rd quarter and first 5 minutes or so of the 4th quarter minus the first drive of the 3rd.
1C. That offense was ran very well. I'm sorry, but, while I agree BVG needs to do something to stop spread up tempo teams, this is college football today, and this kind of offense scores points, even against good defenses. Like I said, we had about a half (total) of shutting them down. Against this kind of offense, that is a good job. I know some will point to talent level, and only Texas's first game in this offense, but it's tough to keep down.

2. Kizer is the man. No doubt about it. He has ice in his veins and needs to be number 1.

3. I thought the OL performed well. This isn't a bunch of scrubs we were playing against. They were highly rated recruits that are young. Texas has talent, just young talent. We still ran the ball, even if people thought we should have done more. NEWSFLASH: We were down 17 at one point. Hard to run the ball then. Even so, we scored on a 30 yard TD run by Kizer.

4. WRs will be good. THJr is the clear leader, but ESB is awesome. Need another guy (Sanders) to step up consistently.

5. Targeting. Needs to be called. Game changer.

6. I really thought we should have went for the 1st down when it was 4th and 1 when we were up 35-31. Convention says kick since we were on our own 44 yard line, but we have a good enough OL and Kizer that if we quick snapped under center he would have fallen forward for the first down. I was calling for it as everything was happening.

7. Tough, tough, tough loss. Still upset about it, but I'm actually not mad somehow.

I really agree with #6. The strength of the team is the offense. A few times on Sunday I thought we should have put the game in their hands. The one you pointed out, the 3 and 12 and going for two in OT. I would not have been upset if we went aggressive on any or all of those occasions.

 

[RDU Irish]

Agree with Gower - I rewatched the game Monday (and sober) and while the defense was not acceptable it was not nearly the shitshow I remembered through my beer goggles. Texas was getting the ball out quick so should not expect much production from DL. Don't think I saw a single Texas WR get jammed all night, might as well give a huge cushion if you aren't even going to play paddycake off the line. Someone forgot to scout Burt's speed.

I was willfully ignorant of the youth on our team. Watching so much recruiting you see these names for a few years before they see the field - making it easy to forget frosh and sophs are only frosh and sophs.

Someone should lose their job over the THJr no-call - If I am Swarbrick I would black list that booth crew from EVER participating in an ND game again.

Like our young WRs, going to be fun to watch them grow up fast this year. Will stand by a previous statement that well placed throws are that much more important for green WRs.

If Zaire sees the field in non-mop up time - I would air it out. Kelly gets so predictable with tendencies some times that would be damn refreshing. Instead I am sure I will be rolling my eyes as Malik runs 80% of the time and never throws it over 10 yards down field.

 

[Luckylucci]

Agree with Gower - I rewatched the game Monday (and sober) and while the defense was not acceptable it was not nearly the shitshow I remembered through my beer goggles. Texas was getting the ball out quick so should not expect much production from DL. Don't think I saw a single Texas WR get jammed all night, might as well give a huge cushion if you aren't even going to play paddycake off the line. Someone forgot to scout Burt's speed.

I was willfully ignorant of the youth on our team. Watching so much recruiting you see these names for a few years before they see the field - making it easy to forget frosh and sophs are only frosh and sophs.

Someone should lose their job over the THJr no-call - If I am Swarbrick I would black list that booth crew from EVER participating in an ND game again.

Like our young WRs, going to be fun to watch them grow up fast this year. Will stand by a previous statement that well placed throws are that much more important for green WRs.

If Zaire sees the field in non-mop up time - I would air it out. Kelly gets so predictable with tendencies some times that would be damn refreshing. Instead I am sure I will be rolling my eyes as Malik runs 80% of the time and never throws it over 10 yards down field.

I believe it was Kmoose in another thread explained this as well. I would venture that in almost all of Kizer or Zaires snaps that they have run/pass options. He either didn't get into the right plays or can't complete those throws. This isn't the first game Zaire has struggled completing balls downfield. He's only had 1 game in his entire career where he was able to push the ball downfield consistently. This isn't a new phenomenon, he's just not very consistent at it. Where Kizer is actually becoming quite exceptional at it. Less about playcalling more about Zaire not being able to keep up with Kizer's production.

 

[koonja]

BTW, hats off to Charlie Strong. Dude got whooped last year, has everyone on his ass, and he put all of his chips in by moving this to Sunday night with no other game on tap. And he showed a royal flush.

 

[TomHaverford]

USC look locked in for the first 1.75 quarters, then things didn't go their way and they fell apart. If they had a little luck or went against a worse defense and scored points, I think they would've stayed locked in. They have an incredible amount of talent and they will put up big points.

That all points to coaching. Can the coach make adjustments and keep the team together when things aren't going their way? That's what the great ones do. They don't let the ship sink.

Helton is now 0-3 as SC's official head coach. With two pretty bad blow-out losses.

I just don't trust the guy. Talent is only half the battle. Coaching trumps talent every day of the week. You can have all the talent in the world but if you have bad coaching, doesn't matter.

 

[IrishBroker]

Quick hits. I didn't read all of the thread so some may have been said:

1A. I don't count the 50 they hung on us because two scores were in overtime. Still, we gave up 37. That's too much.
1B. I will say the defense played well in spurts. The first quarter, sans the 1st drive was well done. So was the 3rd quarter and first 5 minutes or so of the 4th quarter minus the first drive of the 3rd.
1C. That offense was ran very well. I'm sorry, but, while I agree BVG needs to do something to stop spread up tempo teams, this is college football today, and this kind of offense scores points, even against good defenses. Like I said, we had about a half (total) of shutting them down. Against this kind of offense, that is a good job. I know some will point to talent level, and only Texas's first game in this offense, but it's tough to keep down.

2. Kizer is the man. No doubt about it. He has ice in his veins and needs to be number 1.

3. I thought the OL performed well. This isn't a bunch of scrubs we were playing against. They were highly rated recruits that are young. Texas has talent, just young talent. We still ran the ball, even if people thought we should have done more. NEWSFLASH: We were down 17 at one point. Hard to run the ball then. Even so, we scored on a 30 yard TD run by Kizer.

4. WRs will be good. THJr is the clear leader, but ESB is awesome. Need another guy (Sanders) to step up consistently.

5. Targeting. Needs to be called. Game changer.

6. I really thought we should have went for the 1st down when it was 4th and 1 when we were up 35-31. Convention says kick since we were on our own 44 yard line, but we have a good enough OL and Kizer that if we quick snapped under center he would have fallen forward for the first down. I was calling for it as everything was happening.

7. Tough, tough, tough loss. Still upset about it, but I'm actually not mad somehow.

1A. No giving excuses and overtime TD's count.

1B.The D was as bad as advertised. I'd argue most of their drives the sputtered were because of their own mistakes. Twice we were bailed out by bad snaps and then a couple times we were bailed out because Burt dropped a TD pass, or let one go right through his hands for the INT. Lets not sugar coat it.

2. 100% agreed. He's awesome.

3. Our OL was ok. They still got too much pressure for as much fanfare as we gave our Oline.

4. THJ was just a blip. I don't think he's a true #1. ESB is an absolute star. And CJ is our playmaker. Was fantastic in the return game (UT has a STUD punter) and is as shifty as they come.

5. Clear targeting that was missed. Also, what I love about the UT fans is that when an opposing player is hurt, they throw up the hook em sign and demand their own people be quiet and show respect for the opposing player. Amazing respect.

6. Ehhh...who knows? I could've gone either way. We couldn't stop them and I didn't have faith that our D would hold them.

7. I would be more upset if it wasn't such a classic. Was an amazing game. Hard to be mad when you are in the stands witnessing it. Good stuff.

 

[Circa]

I believe it was Kmoose in another thread explained this as well. I would venture that in almost all of Kizer or Zaires snaps that they have run/pass options. He either didn't get into the right plays or can't complete those throws. This isn't the first game Zaire has struggled completing balls downfield. He's only had 1 game in his entire career where he was able to push the ball downfield consistently. This isn't a new phenomenon, he's just not very consistent at it. Where Kizer is actually becoming quite exceptional at it. Less about playcalling more about Zaire not being able to keep up with Kizer's production.

We would have lost to Virginia last year had Zaire not been injured. I'd bet on It but....

Watching him on the sidelines during the game showed me that he needs to be on the field participating because he's a winner. BK has to find a way.

 

[IrishBroker]

That all points to coaching. Can the coach make adjustments and keep the team together when things aren't going their way? That's what the great ones do. They don't let the ship sink.

Helton is now 0-3 as SC's official head coach. With two pretty bad blow-out losses.

I just don't trust the guy. Talent is only half the battle. Coaching trumps talent every day of the week. You can have all the talent in the world but if you have bad coaching, doesn't matter.

100% agree...Look at UofH and Tom Herman. Not a shred of traditional "5 star" talent on that team except Oliver.

Stanford and MSU are also good examples

 

[IrishBroker]

We would have lost to Virginia last year had Zaire not been injured. I'd bet on It but....

Watching him on the sidelines during the game showed me that he needs to be on the field participating because he's a winner. BK has to find a way.

I'm not interested in putting guys with a "winners" attitude on the field if they aren't the best at their spot.

Sorry, he doesn't belong on the field if he's not the best option. And I wouldn't try and shake up a great offense just to pat Malik on the back

 

[Circa]

I'm not interested in putting guys with a "winners" attitude on the field if they aren't the best at their spot.

Sorry, he doesn't belong on the field if he's not the best option. And I wouldn't try and shake up a great offense just to pat Malik on the back

I'm saying on the field. Not QB unless Kizer goes down. He would be great in another position if he would let himself do it. The dude knows football and writing about his faults will just ruin him.