Post Game Thoughts - Michigan State

[STLDomer]

Looking at Georgias schedule they could easily go undefeated and be in the sec title game they may lose 1 game Florida or auburn but don't see anyone else beating them

If Georgia loses to Florida I’ll quit life and give you all my money.

 

[aubeirish]

I'll tell you what. We have gone from one of the worst tackling team to one of the best in a very short time. That is impressive.

 

[Wild Bill]

I'm confused by the love for the offense? 350ish yards is not much to brag about? I think we got real conservative second half with our lead which is just fine. But it felt like we were fighting bad down/distance all night.

Tons of those MSU yards were against soft prevent defense that are clock, which was the real goal anyway. Dictating what your opponent does is like a good thing.

Can't remember the last time we forced three TOs like that - I mean forced, not gifted. Good to see D stripping and fighting for every ball - no passive play.

I love the red zone offense right now. You don't need a ton of yards if you can score TDs rather than FGs.

Their willingness to impose their will on defenses is nice too. They just want to punch defenses in the mouth.

 

[BobbyMac]

Would have sent you a 1000 reps if possible. Hopefully the world will get some more Michelle Branch now that she's marrying the drummer from the Black Keys.

One think I wish we would do differently is go after blocked punts a lot more like USC two years ago when st brown blocked the punt now it's like we don't send anyone

Either go after it OR set up the return. 2-3 players break clean from the line unblocked nearly every punt. Finke has a guy breathing down his throat on every kick.

 

[NorthDakota]

Kelly looks pumped to be here.

Defense looks very competent. Offense is looking capable as well.

11-1 is very possible. I'm guessing 10-2 somehow.

I would love to get a 2nd crack at Georgia.

 

[Redbar]

Hat is off to Jack Swarbrick for forcing some much needed change. Coaches Elko and Balis are making their marks in South Bend. Coach Long is also bringing enough to the table where Coach Kelly can do some of the things he neglected the last few years. The post game celebration was awesome to see.

This team is locked in. Very young, but they enjoy playing together, and have bought into what the coaches are teaching. Improving each week and that is how you play in big bowl games.

Brandon is finding his game. Showed what he can do with his legs last week. Showed that he can spin the football this week. When he realizes he can dominate games from the pocket...watch out!
Defense is really scrappy. Crawford, Tranquill, Love, Okwara, Coney, even Myron looked good last night.
Offensively that opening serious threw them IMO, I think they bought the headlines that Brandon could only run and when he came out slinging and then scored, they were shook.
Really solid win, played a lot of kids, great to see Dex and Claypool featured. Also, nice to see McIntosh get some work.
If this team gets better everyday, 11-1 is not pie in the sky.
Excellent job by the staff and the players!

 

[Free Manera]

Said it in his thread too but - Crawford is honey badger 2.0

 

[FLDomer]

Looking at Georgias schedule they could easily go undefeated and be in the sec title game they may lose 1 game Florida or auburn but don't see anyone else beating them

Florida and Auburn are both TERRIBLE offensive teams. I see UGA handling both those teams.

 

[yankeehater]

I just read in the Indy Star that ND has converted 8 of 9 turnovers into TD's. Creating TO's is important, but capitalizing once you do is the sign of a championship level team.

 

[dwshade]

I'm confused by the love for the offense? 350ish yards is not much to brag about? I think we got real conservative second half with our lead which is just fine. But it felt like we were fighting bad down/distance all night.

Tons of those MSU yards were against soft prevent defense that are clock, which was the real goal anyway. Dictating what your opponent does is like a good thing.

Can't remember the last time we forced three TOs like that - I mean forced, not gifted. Good to see D stripping and fighting for every ball - no passive play.

Confused about the offense? Seriously? Great balance, no turnovers, converted three defensive turnovers into TD's. Got more players involved in game. Total number of yards can be very misleading. MSU had a big advantage in number of plays run and time of possession. So we simply didn't run as many plays as we normally would have. Great efficiency on offense by ND.

 

[Cackalacky]

Confused about the offense? Seriously? Great balance, no turnovers, converted three defensive turnovers into TD's. Got more players involved in game. Total number of yards can be very misleading. MSU had a big advantage in number of plays run and time of possession. So we simply didn't run as many plays as we normally would have. Great efficiency on offense by ND.

Agree. I cant wait to see where ND is sitting in terms of FEI rankings. Got to be near the top so far.

 

[calvegas04]

Confused about the offense? Seriously? Great balance, no turnovers, converted three defensive turnovers into TD's. Got more players involved in game. Total number of yards can be very misleading. MSU had a big advantage in number of plays run and time of possession. So we simply didn't run as many plays as we normally would have. Great efficiency on offense by ND.

Offense was decent last night, the refs had a lot to do with us winning the way we did.

 

[wizards8507]

I'm seeing AP ballots with West Virginia and Florida ranked ahead of us. Seriously? West Virginia has wins against East Carolina, Delaware State, and Kansas, wile Florida got stomped by Harbaugh. Even Louisville and Auburn are stretches among one loss teams.

ESPN FPI has us at #10 FWIW.

 

[IrishLion]

I know he got some mentions in the game day thread but Julian Okwara looks like he is going to be a hell of a player too.

Also did we burn the Jordan Genmarks RS last night or has he been playing, i dont recall?

Pretty sure Genmark-Heath has been on special teams all year. It was basically redshirt him or JOK, and JOK was the lucky redshirt winner.

 

[Cackalacky]

I'm seeing AP ballots with West Virginia and Florida ranked ahead of us. Seriously? West Virginia has wins against East Carolina, Delaware State, and Kansas, wile Florida got stomped by Harbaugh. Even Louisville and Auburn are stretches among one loss teams.

ESPN FPI has us at #10 FWIW.

FPI is dead to me.

We should be ranked though not more than 20.

 

[NDdomer2]

Pretty sure Genmark-Heath has been on special teams all year. It was basically redshirt him or JOK, and JOK was the lucky redshirt winner.

Thanks! Our second units look the part physically.

 

[wizards8507]

FPI is dead to me.

We should be ranked though not more than 20.

Why not? I don't necessarily feel like we're elite yet but I don't think 19 other teams are either.

 

[NDdomer2]

20-23 is my expectation

 

[Cackalacky]

Why not? I don't necessarily feel like we're elite yet but I don't think 19 other teams are either.

I am a pessimist regarding rankings and playing ranked teams. If we can beat a team like USC then i will feel better. Until then my benefit of doubt is reserved.

 

[greyhammer90]

Not to be a parade ruiner, but where is everyone else getting the "this changes my opinion of the year" thing from? I know it was East Lansing at night, so I was also a bit nervous going in, but MSU went 4-8 last year and unlike some other bad teams (like us for example) had nothing but turmoil and bad news all off season. They were supposed to be pretty bad going into this year. They were 2-0 sure, but those wins were against Bowling Green and WMU.

It was encouraging for sure, but I'm surprised how many board members are treating this like a "the season is back" moment.

 

[wizards8507]

Not to be a parade ruiner, but where is everyone else getting the "this changes my opinion of the year" thing from? I know it was East Lansing at night, so I was also a bit nervous going in, but MSU went 4-8 last year and unlike some other bad teams (like us for example) had nothing but turmoil and bad news all off season. They were supposed to be pretty bad going into this year. They were 2-0 sure, but those wins were against Bowling Green and WMU.

It was encouraging for sure, but I'm surprised how many board members are treating this like a "the season is back" moment.

My feeling has much more to do with Georgia and Boston College (though that final score wasn't pretty) than it does Michigan State.

 

[greyhammer90]

My feeling has much more to do with Georgia and Boston College (though that final score wasn't pretty) than it does Michigan State.

I agree that we've looked good, I wasn't talking about you in particular. I was going back and reading some of the statements last night, and honestly I would've expected those kind of reactions from beating Georgia, not this MSU team.

I agree that one point loss keeps looking better and better though.

 

[koonja]

Not to be a parade ruiner, but where is everyone else getting the "this changes my opinion of the year" thing from? I know it was East Lansing at night, so I was also a bit nervous going in, but MSU went 4-8 last year and unlike some other bad teams (like us for example) had nothing but turmoil and bad news all off season. They were supposed to be pretty bad going into this year. They were 2-0 sure, but those wins were against Bowling Green and WMU.

It was encouraging for sure, but I'm surprised how many board members are treating this like a "the season is back" moment.

Troll! We're awesome!

 

[stlnd01]

I just read in the Indy Star that ND has converted 8 of 9 turnovers into TD's. Creating TO's is important, but capitalizing once you do is the sign of a championship level team.

Also we've scored all 19 times we've been in the red zone this season. 17 of those times have been touchdowns. That's another thing very good teams do.

 

[Legacy]

2017 National Leaders - Red Zone Conversions - Games vs. FBS (I-A) Teams Only, through 09/23/2017 . (Adjusted for FBS opponents only, and sorted by TD % of red zone conversions)

 

[IrishLax]

Not to be a parade ruiner, but where is everyone else getting the "this changes my opinion of the year" thing from? I know it was East Lansing at night, so I was also a bit nervous going in, but MSU went 4-8 last year and unlike some other bad teams (like us for example) had nothing but turmoil and bad news all off season. They were supposed to be pretty bad going into this year. They were 2-0 sure, but those wins were against Bowling Green and WMU.

It was encouraging for sure, but I'm surprised how many board members are treating this like a "the season is back" moment.

So I'm not really in the camp you're referring to, but there were a couple things last night that surprised me:
1. The way the game was coached and the way the team responded to the coaching staff (fast start + post game) to me shows they're dialed in.
2. Georgia just absolutely pasting MSST now gives us the following body of work... blowouts over every team we've played except a top 10 SEC team with a likely top 5 defense. BC was also tied with Clemson in the 4th quarter.
3. I thought the defense was a bit fraudulent heading into the game, and when you really look at the drives one-by-one they played a complete game. Both the Georgia and MSU games show me that they can defend power running teams adequately which is encouraging given what's left on the schedule.

In short, looking at 1/3 of the season it's now evident that we're playing at a top 20 level.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Solid win Irish. Improving in those areas that need it and gaining a little momentum. Great job overall.

 

[irishandy]

Postgame Thoughts:
1. The Megaphone video is great-- nice to see BK and the players celebrate. Very much deserved.
2. If anyone read any off season stories Kelly has preached "consistency" and "attention to detail." This game showed both.
3. The consistency our running game:
-- Josh Adams is our power runner
-- Dex has the quick first step and burst of speed
-- Deon also has a nice burst of speed and a nice addition to the group with Tony Jones Jr.
4. Attention to detail:
-- our defense is improving each week
-- they are tackling better
-- they are diving after fumbles
I see our best defense since the 2012 team
5. I still would like to see more out of our passing game, Wimbush definitely looked better against MSU than he did against BC.
6. Anyone hear Robert Smith talking during the pregame: "Brian Wimbush" and "Equanimeous Brown"-- know your $hit dude!
7. In looking at our schedule moving forward today Miami and NC State are going to be tough. Stanford is having a down year and I think we can beat them. USC had problems with Western Michigan & Cal, but pulled ahead...let's see how they can hang with our D.

Impressive win, a confidence booster for this team, the University, the alum, it's fans....and go post something positive in the Brian Kelly revisited thread!

Go IRISH!

 

[Ndaccountant]

Think Kelly was so relaxed in the locker room because MVG provided a little "relief" to Kelly in the 2h. Can't wait to see that gif.

 

[NDRock]

I'm confused by the love for the offense? 350ish yards is not much to brag about? I think we got real conservative second half with our lead which is just fine. But it felt like we were fighting bad down/distance all night.

Tons of those MSU yards were against soft prevent defense that are clock, which was the real goal anyway. Dictating what your opponent does is like a good thing.

Can't remember the last time we forced three TOs like that - I mean forced, not gifted. Good to see D stripping and fighting for every ball - no passive play.

I thought the offense played quite well. We had 8 "real" drives in the game (we sat on the ball at the end of the half and just ran it out the last possession of the game), In those 8 drives, we scored 4 TDs and 1 FG, and punted 3 times (31 points on 8 drives is good). Even on the drives we punted, we ran 6, 6, and 7 plays. So no 3 and outs. Averaged 4.6 ypc and 8.6 ypp which were both pretty good. Still room to improve for sure, but happy with the results.