Post Game: USC

[Polish Leppy 22]

1) Can't understand why ND won the coin toss and decided to let SC start off hot like that on offense. Set the tone for the whole game.

2) One more game with Pyne at QB.

3) Really gonna miss Mayer.

4) Dline is most disappointing group of the year. I have major questions about Al Washington.

5) This should be a an above average 10-2 football team.

 

[Dale]

ND had a pressure rate of 44% last night. They played 3 DL a ton of the night. Weird game to take issue with Washington. We played 3 DL and we have 1 true NT on the entire roster. Jayson A and Cross were playing NT.

Game plan hinged on LB play. LBs didn’t play well. Caleb bailed them out amidst near dominant rush by Foskey and Mills.

 

[PigtownIrish]

ND had a pressure rate of 44% last night. They played 3 DL a ton of the night. Weird game to take issue with Washington. We played 3 DL and we have 1 true NT on the entire roster.

Yup, if anything take issue that we only played 3 DL when LB is our weakness.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

ND had a pressure rate of 44% last night. They played 3 DL a ton of the night. Weird game to take issue with Washington. We played 3 DL and we have 1 true NT on the entire roster. Jayson A and Cross were playing NT.

Game plan hinged on LB play. LBs didn’t play well. Caleb bailed them out amidst near dominant rush by Foskey and Mills.

Agree wholeheartedly. We are undersized in the middle up front and have mediocre LBs. We are still in the upper 10% in college football in sacks. I have not been disappointed with Washington or Golden for that matter. They may not be Clark Lea, but not many are.

 

[Dale]

Yup, if anything take issue that we only played 3 DL when LB is our weakness.

Flip side ND basically took away the passing game. USC had nothing besides picking on Mickey in clever 1 - 1 sets 3 or 4 times. We probably could have gone 4 - 2 - 5 like normal and they would have passed a bunch more and attacked Lewis/Henderson like Stanford did. Hart and Bracy out really put us in a pickle.

Credit Riley took what we gave them which was the run and Caleb circus show.

 

[stlnd01]

We probably needed to roll dice on the younger/more athletic LBs when it became apparent that Williams was just going to run circles on us out there. How much did Kollie and Junior even play?

 

[ulukinatme]

If you had told me that Pyne would have thrown for over 300 yards and 3 TDs and that Williams would have less and only 1 TD pass, I would have thought ND would have smoked them. I didn't get to watch the game, but hard to find fault in Drew's numbers. Holy cow. USC's pass D must be terrible. I am somewhat surprised to come on here and see all the complaints about Drew with those numbers. Sounds like he brought his A game.

Outside of the turnovers, Drew really did play pretty well, especially since we were passing heavier in this game. I think if the defense got a few stops we could have fallen back on our OL and backs a bit so Drew wasn't having to do so much. 318 yards and 3 TDs is real good production from Drew. He hung in the pocket a number of times and was hitting the WRs for big gains and in a 2 minute operation, something we haven't seen much of this year. It's a shame it took 10 games to get the QB and WRs together but there really wasn't much of a need with how dominant the defense and running game was this year.

 

[WildMan1]

I think our sentiments are all pretty similar.. Bracy & Hart being out was brutal, especially with Caleb being an escape artist & extending plays.

Pyne’s fumble & pick were the real game changers as we simply weren’t in a defensive position to absorb those mistakes.. otherwise we were scoring easy enough & likely would have taken it down to the wire.

We’re in a much better position than I expected after the Marshall loss.. the running game has a a VERY bright future with deep OL talent & a stable of Estime, Diggs, Tyree, Price, Payne, Love, Edwards, Limar.. i mean.. HOLY HELL

WR depth also getting the injection of talent it needs.. the future is bright.. figure out the QB position & we’re in the running

 

[IrishBoognish]

I think our sentiments are all pretty similar.. Bracy & Hart being out was brutal, especially with Caleb being an escape artist & extending plays.

Pyne’s fumble & pick were the real game changers as we simply weren’t in a defensive position to absorb those mistakes.. otherwise we were scoring easy enough & likely would have taken it down to the wire.

We’re in a much better position than I expected after the Marshall loss.. the running game has a a VERY bright future with deep OL talent & a stable of Estime, Diggs, Tyree, Price, Payne, Love, Edwards, Limar.. i mean.. HOLY HELL

WR depth also getting the injection of talent it needs.. the future is bright.. figure out the QB position & we’re in the running

I was going to comment but this sums up my feelings 100%

Pyne gave every bit of what he had and I respect the hell out of him for what he did without a speck of big time talent.

The future is bright.

Go Irish.

 

[NDRock]

Outside of the turnovers, Drew really did play pretty well, especially since we were passing heavier in this game. I think if the defense got a few stops we could have fallen back on our OL and backs a bit so Drew wasn't having to do so much. 318 yards and 3 TDs is real good production from Drew. He hung in the pocket a number of times and was hitting the WRs for big gains and in a 2 minute operation, something we haven't seen much of this year. It's a shame it took 10 games to get the QB and WRs together but there really wasn't much of a need with how dominant the defense and running game was this year.

The turnovers, unfortunately, were brutal. Both occurred when we had a chance to cut it to a one score game. He did make some very good plays. I think his problem will always be that if you ask him to do a lot he will probably turn the ball over a couple of times.

Kid is a gamer and had no problem hanging on in the pocket and taking a hit. Tough kid.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

ND had a pressure rate of 44% last night. They played 3 DL a ton of the night. Weird game to take issue with Washington. We played 3 DL and we have 1 true NT on the entire roster. Jayson A and Cross were playing NT.

Game plan hinged on LB play. LBs didn’t play well. Caleb bailed them out amidst near dominant rush by Foskey and Mills.

My comment wasn't based on this game alone. Dline was supposed to be the strength and it wasn't. Foskey and JA were underwhelming from game 1 to game 12.

 

[T-Boone]

On one of the important big runs Williams made Rylie Mills nearly sacked him but got up and was a bit lazy covering when if he put in he probably stops him at the line. Mills is great but that was a below standard effort in a big game.

 

[irishff1014]

Outside of the turnovers, Drew really did play pretty well, especially since we were passing heavier in this game. I think if the defense got a few stops we could have fallen back on our OL and backs a bit so Drew wasn't having to do so much. 318 yards and 3 TDs is real good production from Drew. He hung in the pocket a number of times and was hitting the WRs for big gains and in a 2 minute operation, something we haven't seen much of this year. It's a shame it took 10 games to get the QB and WRs together but there really wasn't much of a need with how dominant the defense and running game was this year.

The problem is he was still missing reads. So yes the stats were good but over all was still just and ok game for him. He had Diggs open in the flat one time and there was no one around for yards. The INT he could have ran to the same side he threw from and picked up a chunck of yards.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I'm not so much disappointed that they lost this game.

I'm very disappointed in the lack of dominance they had up front. I was expecting ND to win in the trenches, and they simply didn't. The OL couldn't adjust to the stunts and gave up penetration way too easily. The DL got leaned on and the LBs were just not fast enough.

If ND wants to compete with USC, they're gonna need more speed in their back 7 and more size up front.

Thankfully, that seems to be getting addressed.

Onye and Rubio are both pushing 300. Vernon and Houstan are probably going to be at or near 300 by the time they set foot on campus. I love Cross and Jayson, but you can only get away with playing 280 pounders at tackle for so long.

I really hope we see more Prince, Jr and Sneed in the bowl game. They're clearly more athletic and physically imposing than Bertrand or Kiser.

I also think Joseph should come back for another year. He's not NFL ready.

Drew Pyne was so frustrating. He both kept ND in it while simultaneously losing the game for them. He made some excellent throws, but fumble at the start of the 2nd half was a back breaker that we never recovered from.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

I'm not so much disappointed that they lost this game.

I'm very disappointed in the lack of dominance they had up front. I was expecting ND to win in the trenches, and they simply didn't. The OL couldn't adjust to the stunts and gave up penetration way too easily. The DL got leaned on and the LBs were just not fast enough.

If ND wants to compete with USC, they're gonna need more speed in their back 7 and more size up front.

Thankfully, that seems to be getting addressed.

Onye and Rubio are both pushing 300. Vernon and Houstan are probably going to be at or near 300 by the time they set foot on campus. I love Cross and Jayson, but you can only get away with playing 280 pounders at tackle for so long.

I really hope we see more Prince, Jr and Sneed in the bowl game. They're clearly more athletic and physically imposing than Bertrand or Kiser.

I also think Joseph should come back for another year. He's not NFL ready.

Drew Pyne was so frustrating. He both kept ND in it while simultaneously losing the game for them. He made some excellent throws, but fumble at the start of the 2nd half was a back breaker that we never recovered from.

Drew Pyne did not lose the game for them. The defense’s inability to get off the field on third down is why they lost the game if you are making me pick something, but very rarely if ever does one singular person lose a game for the team in football.

 

[GATTACA!]

Drew Pyne did not lose the game for them. The defense’s inability to get off the field on third down is why they lost the game if you are making me pick something, but very rarely if ever does one singular person lose a game for the team in football.

Both of his turnover were back breaking.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

Both of his turnover were back breaking.

I mean the INT while it was a poor decision but doesn’t happen if Lenzy comes back to the ball. The reality though is that turnover took place with 5 minutes left in the game, down 10, with 80 yds to go against a team and QB that we hadnt stopped all night long. It was untimely, but barring a VERY unlikely ending the game was mostly in hand at that point.
All the pick did is destroy our hopes for something just short of a miracle.

SC was 9 of 13 on 3rd and 4th down, put up 38 pts and possessed the ball for almost 36 minutes. Drew Pyne is not why ND lost this football game.

 

[calvegas04]

Both of his turnover were back breaking.

So was the defense giving up 38

 

[ulukinatme]

Drew Pyne did not lose the game for them. The defense’s inability to get off the field on third down is why they lost the game if you are making me pick something, but very rarely if ever does one singular person lose a game for the team in football.

This. Defense only had one stop all night that wasn't aided by penalties, and it was the one where Foskey was able to Sack Williams. USC went 6/8 as far as successful scoring drives. They weren't even scoring drives where they held USC to a FG more often than not, they were all TDs but one. We had to hold USC to less than 30 points knowing our offense. Drew was asked to do a lot because our defense couldn't get stops and our running game wasn't making a lot of progress. He was making plays like this all night and taking shots.

 

[BeatSC]

Bertrand is good

Good against a Navy or BC but not against a team as fast as USC.

 

[Irish#1]

Drew Pyne did not lose the game for them. The defense’s inability to get off the field on third down is why they lost the game if you are making me pick something, but very rarely if ever does one singular person lose a game for the team in football.

They couldn't get off after third down, because we were terrible on first down.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

They couldn't get off after third down, because we were terrible on first down.

True statement. Too many 3rd and 2 or less. The way the D and Caleb Williams were playing I am not sure there would have been too much difference between 3rd and 1 and 3rd and 6 though.

 

[Bluto]

One thing that was evident is that ND needed more length and speed on the edge against a QB like Williams/mobile QB’s in general.

The only true rush end on the roster was Foskey.

He needed a better compliment on the other side.

Mills is too slow (should move to interior permanently).

Justin A is too short/slow.

Bothelo has had problems setting the edge against the run.

Anyhow, what’s Keith Gilmore up to these days? He sure had an eye for talent/could recruit on the dline.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

1) Can't understand why ND won the coin toss and decided to let SC start off hot like that on offense. Set the tone for the whole game.

A lot of football coaches like to win the "middle eight" (the last 4 minutes of the first have and the first 4 minutes of the second half) as there is all kinds of evidence that supports your odds of winning the football game if you can score on the last possession of the first half and the first possession of the second half.

As many have alluded to, that fumble on the exchange by Pyne was a total back breaker. We never got it back within 10 points from there. If we score and make it a 3 pt game, USC may have pressed a bit more than having the comfort of a 2 score lead the rest of the way.

 

[RDU Irish]

I am happy we saved the Mitchapalooza counter play for the bowl game and not to knock our hated rival out of the playoffs. Would hate to play like two score underdogs on the road and pull out all the stops.

LSU lost to a 4-7 TAMU team to eliminate them from playoff contention - they lose to UGA this week to have just as many losses as ND on the season. I take significant comfort in that because I am a petty little bitch.

 

[Free Manera]

I am happy we saved the Mitchapalooza counter play for the bowl game and not to knock our hated rival out of the playoffs. Would hate to play like two score underdogs on the road and pull out all the stops.

LSU lost to a 4-7 TAMU team to eliminate them from playoff contention - they lose to UGA this week to have just as many losses as ND on the season. I take significant comfort in that because I am a petty little bitch.

In all seriousness I thought they were running the sneak all year to set up an eventual pass from him (he played QB in high school right?). And I thought that was the moment he would throw a pop pass for a long gain.

Nope, just run the play the same way they ran it all year, except this wasn't 4th and inches and it was 4th and a full yard, when the O line was struggling to get a push.

 

[NorthDakota]

I am happy we saved the Mitchapalooza counter play for the bowl game and not to knock our hated rival out of the playoffs. Would hate to play like two score underdogs on the road and pull out all the stops.

LSU lost to a 4-7 TAMU team to eliminate them from playoff contention - they lose to UGA this week to have just as many losses as ND on the season. I take significant comfort in that because I am a petty little bitch.

I too am willing to suffer terribly if it means my enemies will suffer as well.

 

[NDohio]

Really frustrating game while watching in real time, but on reflection I feel a lot better about it.

USC first down plays on offense were an absolute killer. They were constantly in 2nd and short and that was a complete killer on the ND defense. I was surprised that their running game was as successful as it was.

Really, really impressed with Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts. They both played really well. I am pretty excited about Watts getting more playing time next season.

Gonna have to hit the portal to replace Foskey. There is no one on this roster that can do what he does. Stats may not have shown it, but he played really well.

There is no possible way that a QB can scramble with that many changes in direction and his OL is not holding.

The early struggles on offense for short 3rd and 4th down situations for ND put too much pressure on the ND defense to be perfect.

If Pyne doesn't fumble on that first possession in the second half and ND score a touchdown there, I kinda like our chances of pulling out a miracle victory. That swing from getting within 3 to going down by 17 was HUGE.

Thank you Michael Mayer. You have been a true joy to watch.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I'm always late to these threads because I like to sleep on my thoughts, especially after emotions are high when we lose to USC. I'm sure much has been mentioned already.

This game came down to losing the turnover battle and not stopping the run (missed tackles), imo. USC scored touchdowns after both the INT and fumble. You can't gift a high powered offense point swings like that and expect to win. The turnover on downs ultimately didn't result in points for SC, but it took away a scoring opportunity for ND (or at the very least, time off the clock to limit their possessions).

I don't like to blame refs, but they missed an absolute shit ton of holding calls Saturday night. Many of which resulted in Williams making a huge play. I saw Mills completely blow his man off the line only to be blatantly held as Williams escaped. This ND team has such a thin margin for error that they can't afford those types of blown calls in games like this.

 

[phork]

For me, as mentioned, the absolute abomination of not calling any holding. I counted a bunch and on plays where Williams was allowed to escape. And of course the 2 turnovers.

And queue the inexplicable loss per year from Kelly. Lol