Post Game Wake Forest

[Giddyup]

ND o line gave up zero sacks and were efficient in run game! Props to Fisher and the boys. Got to give ‘em credit when they bounce back and ball out!

Now if they can just do it on the road finally.

 

[forkbeard3777]

Has it been addressed by MF who called yesterday’s plays?

If not, will it be addressed at Monday’s press conference or, is that a no go?

 

[tussin]

Nice win. My primary takeaway is that Wake is horrible.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Has it been addressed by MF who called yesterday’s plays?

If not, will it be addressed at Monday’s press conference or, is that a no go?

BK never announced Chip Long’s internal demotion.

 

[forkbeard3777]

Nice win. My primary takeaway is that Wake is horrible.

Yea, they’re a pretty bad team. Their offense and Kern really struggled.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

At the beginning of the season the 5 running backs really did t hurt us against shit teams. But in this game every time Payne was in the game is looked like it killed the offense.

I tried to be fair and considered the play call or the blocking but it’s hard to make a case that he deserves reps over the others. He’s not a good pass blocker (none of them are TBF) and not a better ball carrier.

 

[IrishLax]

Sampson & O’Malley both made the point that Sam hasn’t been efficient at PA this season nor was he efficient going back to his WF days. I can’t argue w/ numbers & don’t blame them for stating the case. But WTH was that today? You’re telling me he miraculously gained the confidence &/or experience to successfully beat the WF defense on a consistent basis!?! Don’t get me wrong WF ain’t exactly OSU or Clemson on D but they aren’t the worst D ND has faced. Boggles the mind. And definitely has me wondering ‘what could’ve been’

Sometimes I feel like people are overly-simplistic. At WF, he ran slow mesh RPOs… there wasn’t really much true “play action” because you don’t need that in an offense that has built in options/deception.

At ND, you’ve got to ask “why” he wasn’t good at play action. For example, if you called play action on 3rd and 18 it’s not going to fool anyone. Same thing applies to other scenarios… and then you have to be really honest about the guy who is/was the OC. His answers to why/how play action works and implying you should only run it against zone coverage shows he doesn’t even understand what play action is trying to achieve at a basic level.

Gino has actually run a good offense with a good passing attack. He understands passing concepts. He had two weeks to be like “ok here are some PA looks and here’s how they should create an advantage for us and scheme guys open.” Wake Forest is bad but that doesn’t take away from ND’s passing game being much better designed. What we saw against Clemson in those last six drives was malpractice.

 

[texbender]

Irish did what they should have done...dominate an inferior opponent. Need to follow up with same vs Stanford.

 

[NDMatt91]

According to a commenter on the ISD youtube, Loy is saying that Fisher isn't coming back for his Senior year. Can anyone confirm? Hopefully it's just someone trolling.

 

[notredomer23]

According to a commenter on the ISD youtube, Loy is saying that Fisher isn't coming back for his Senior year. Can anyone confirm? Hopefully it's just someone trolling.

Exact comment was “I’d be surprised if Fisher came back next year”. No further info or comment.

 

[PutuporShutup]

I mean, yay? Would’ve been nice to see this against OSU or Louisville or Duke or Clemson.

PA would have helped for sure, but those 4 defenses played a lot of press man, wake did not. Not sure why, other than their dbs just aren’t good enough to do it. We can crush zone and off man, but I’m still not confident in our wrs vs a good D playing man.

 

[PutuporShutup]

Exact comment was “I’d be surprised if Fisher came back next year”. No further info or comment.

Fisher has absolutely no business going pro… he struggled some vs the top DEs he faced

Yes he would get drafted but much later than he should or could if he improved

 

[Grahambo]

Exact comment was “I’d be surprised if Fisher came back next year”. No further info or comment.

Yeah, on one hand I get trying to get your pro career started but on the other more realistic hand, OL is not the position you want to be underprepared for in the NFL.

He needs to come back for his own professional development; has nothing to do with ND.

 

[irishff1014]

Yeah, on one hand I get trying to get your pro career started but on the other more realistic hand, OL is not the position you want to be underprepared for in the NFL.

He needs to come back for his own professional development; has nothing to do with ND.

He is one that would probably benefit more from NIL then going as a late round draft pick.

 

[BeatSC]

He is one that would probably benefit more from NIL then going as a late round draft pick.

Promise him the left tackle gig which is usually the big money lineman position. We need a good one to replace Alt.

 

[FWIrish4]

Exact comment was “I’d be surprised if Fisher came back next year”. No further info or comment.

Estime sort of let something along those lines slip as he was talking to the media after the game. I’ll have to check in with someone I know.

 

[stlnd01]

ND o line gave up zero sacks and were efficient in run game! Props to Fisher and the boys. Got to give ‘em credit when they bounce back and ball out!

Now if they can just do it on the road finally.

Wake’s DL is not Clemson’s or Duke’s DL but both our run game and protection were so much better. I wonder how much of that is playcalling and how much was the new personnel?

And yeah Fisher has no business going pro. Move him over to the left side and let him develop into the draft pick his natural talent suggests he should be.

 

[ThePiombino]

Promise him the left tackle gig which is usually the big money lineman position. We need a good one to replace Alt.

I forgot which one, but one of the podcasts was talking about this a few weeks ago. They mentioned that Fisher was asked about this in an interview and he made it seem like he had no interest in playing left tackle, that would be too difficult to learn. Or something along those lines...

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Huntr]

Snap counts

 

[NDisme]

ND needs an OC with proven experience in big games.

Nothing has changed my mind.

2 things that ND needs year in and year out to be able to win a title more so than any other title contender is a Heisman candidate QB and extremely high caliber assistant coaches and they have not had a QB like that in some time and continue to settle on assistants at certain spots that lead to under achieving. I like a lot of the assistants but this year more than any other you needed a veteran OC

 

[irishandy]

Sam sprinting away from the interview to make sure he got there for the start of the Alma Mater is why it will forever be very hard for me to be critical of his tenure here. He’s done nothing but embrace all the best parts of ND and be a great representative of the program. He’s gotten a raw deal between Tommy leaving, no receivers, and Gerry being his OC. He’s going to succeed in whatever he does in life.

Great post and classy move by Hartman to get to the Alma Mater! Sam has been an asset to the program. Before kickoff he went over to the student section and got them pumped up. When Freeman took him out, the crowd started to boo a little, but got behind Angeli. His stats should be better, but I agree it was a raw deal and he has still made the best out of his time at Notre Dame this season. He will be missed!

 

[irishandy]

Post Game Thoughts:
1) Hartman played great and he had a nice connection with Flores
2) I sure hope Freeman is noticing Angeli. What type of QB transfer is ND after? Someone who is guaranteed the job for next year or someone who is willing to come in and compete for the job.
3) Estime with over 1,000 yards for the season!!
4) I am excited to see the development of Greathouse, Flores, and Faison.
5) Raridon is going to be the next great catching ND TE.
6) Flanagan is going to be the next great blocking ND TE
7) Mills/Cross are a nice duo on the line, if they both come back they could be the best duo next season
8) JJB has been a solid pick up for ND, he's been consistent this season

Go Irish!!

 

[irishff1014]

Great post and classy move by Hartman to get to the Alma Mater! Sam has been an asset to the program. Before kickoff he went over to the student section and got them pumped up. When Freeman took him out, the crowd started to boo a little, but got behind Angeli. His stats should be better, but I agree it was a raw deal and he has still made the best out of his time at Notre Dame this season. He will be missed!

Hartman has been nothing but a grade A example for ND. He wasn’t set up for success here with the OC but Sam did t help himself a lot this year either. He is a good Qb but an excellent salesman for the Irish.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

PA would have helped for sure, but those 4 defenses played a lot of press man, wake did not. Not sure why, other than their dbs just aren’t good enough to do it. We can crush zone and off man, but I’m still not confident in our wrs vs a good D playing man.

I believe WF best corner was out w/ injury. With a freshman replacing him, I suspect they went more zone. They have a respectable secondary w/ a CB & Safety that will be NFL draft picks.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

ND had success w/ PA vs NC State in Raleigh. Best road performance of the year against a solid (& very aggressive D). Didn’t see much of it again until yesterday. Did NC St run zone? I thought they ran a lot of man concepts vs ND?

 

[PutuporShutup]

ND had success w/ PA vs NC State in Raleigh. Best road performance of the year against a solid (& very aggressive D). Didn’t see much of it again until yesterday. Did NC St run zone? I thought they ran a lot of man concepts vs ND?

They ran a ton of man but the big plays vs nc state came off busts (tyree and staes twice) and zone (Tobias)

 

[Huntr]

 

[NDohio]

Chris Wilson write-up for Wake game:

1) Between the Clemson loss and the bye, the feel around these final two games was almost like they were extraneous, a post-credits teaser for a film franchise where you already know there will be no sequels. But the contest with the Demon Deacons was one of just a dozen Saturdays we get every year and the Senior Day emotions in the aftermath were a wonderful reminder of how much work the players, coaches and staff put into every single game and every single season. The Irish have now won seven Senior Days in a row, and the last six have all been blowouts against ACC teams, the slimmest margin clocking in at three touchdowns. Getting to spend a peaceful fourth quarter celebrating those who are playing their last game is always a joy, and Marcus Freeman had his team prepared in a manner that allowed us to do so.

2) It was in no way joyous to start, beginning with a three-and-out, a poor punt and a missed field goal, but the defense was never going to let Wake Forest establish any kind of lead. The lone touchdown drive allowed was Dave Clawson going Oops! All Trick Plays and just emptying the clip. The visitors put on a few other longer drives as far as play counts but they could never threaten this defense with explosive plays, not achieving any gain longer than 20 yards (which came on one of the aforementioned trick plays). Overall, the Deacons averaged just four yards per snap and were inefficient, clocking in at a success rate that would rank in the 16th percentile.

I don’t have any idea which of the upperclassmen in the front seven will or won’t be back but if this was the last game for a lot of them, they went out in style. Loved seeing J.D. Bertrand, Marist Liufau and Rylie Mills all converging on the strip sack that put the game out of reach. (This photo of Bertard, Liafau and Jack Kiser before the game is what it’s all about.) Loved seeing Howard Cross pile up nine tackles and get some extended love from the broadcast booth. Loved seeing yet another impactful game from Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who has been a rock all season. Al Golden has done a great job without an overwhelming amount of NFL talent and if this was his last game at Notre Dame Stadium, he deserves a round of applause for what he’s built.

(I possess zero clue of what Golden is going to do. My understanding is if an NFL defensive coordinator or good enough college head coaching job were to come open, he’d take it, but that’s all tea leaves and guesswork. Pete Thamel did throw his name out as one of many for Syracuse to potentially consider now that they’ve dismissed Dino Babers.)

3) After a slow start, the offensive performance checked three key boxes: a) Score a lot of points b) Give us some green shoots of hope for the wide receiver room c) Pile up some stats for Audric Estime because I want him to be showered with postseason accolades. In what had to be an extremely emotional game for Sam Hartman, he bounced back from a poor performance against Clemson against a Wake defense that had been solid all season (49th in F+ coming into the game). After being stuck in the mud on conversions for the last two months, Gerad Parker schemed out 6-for-11 on third or fourth downs. In other great news for the rest of this season and seasons to come, Ashton Craig and Billy Schrauth acquitted themselves quite well in their first starts along the interior of the line and Eli Raridon made a great touchdown catch. And yet again, Steve Angeli looked like a guy who knows exactly what he’s doing out there.

But to be whiny for a paragraph, it’s hard to watch that game and not be further annoyed at what we’ve seen for a lot of this season. Ample play action leading to big plays down the field. (I understand Hartman’s numbers weren’t great on play action, but that’s something you have to figure out.) RPOs early and often. On the fourth down conversion, they put Rico Flores in motion and that helped get him open, a wild concept. On the first touchdown, they used a wheel route to Devyn Ford, taking advantage of the talented stable of backs in a creative way. In general, there were plenty of deep shots, which we didn’t see nearly enough at times. I understand the Irish have played some quality defenses and there were concerns about protection, but imagine showing someone the NC State and Wake Forest games and asking them to guess how much pre-snap motion, play action and shot plays were involved in the games betwixt them. It was always there!

Rosier note: There have obviously been issues with the wide receiver room all season, but the arrow seems to be pointing up. Flores, Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison all look the part as true freshmen and will have an offseason of growth ahead of them. Tobias Merriweather has not had the season he wanted or we expected but he’s still out there competing. Jayden Thomas can return to health, Braylon James (the highest rated of these freshman receivers, but the rawest prospect) could be ready to go and then you have another talented class coming in, plus whatever you can get from the transfer portal, plus potentially another season of Chris Tyree if the staff can make its case convincingly enough. That’s more than enough to get yourself a stew going.

If you were wondering if Hartman was planning on playing in the bowl, both Freeman and his quarterback referenced “two more” following the game. People can change their minds but it seems like he’ll be suiting up in Orlando, Tampa, San Diego or wherever the Irish land.

4) What a stretch for Marty Biagi getting the blocked field goal and the sneaky onside kick, which was rude but excellent. (We shall not talk about the playcalling that followed it.) It cannot be overstated what a disaster it was to spike the ball in the closing seconds of the first half and then use your final timeout, but at least moves were made to get the offense the ball back on Wake Forest’s final possession.

Other positive news: The television deal with NBC was extended with Jack Swarbrick giving the quotes you want to hear about maintaining independence. As of this writing, I haven’t seen an exact figure given, but unless the general sense of the reporting is wrong it’s going to be where we need it to be to at least stay competitive financially. There will always be an independence tax, but it’s one worth paying.

5) Winning Is Hard Round Up: There was a lot of fun stuff that almost happened but still plenty that actually did. Do you remember when the USC Trojans were undefeated and a top ten team with the Heisman winner and playoff hopes? Well, an interesting fact is they got crushed at home by a UCLA team that maybe wants to fire its coach to finish at 7-5 and Lincoln Riley’s seat is quite warm for year two.

James Madison had College GameDay in town and a point to make after the NCAA screwed them over but they needed a late rally to force overtime against Appalachian State. There was no storybook ending, however, as the Mountaineers prevailed. Florida was on the verge of a top ten road upset at Mizzou but allowed a 4th and 17 conversion and totally collapsed. For Billy Napier to make a bowl he’ll need to defeat Florida State, which trailed North Alabama 13-0 before scoring next 58. The CW Network curse extended beyond the early deficit, as they lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis to injury.

Washington gutted out a tough, soggy, brawl of a win in Corvallis. Tennessee was the No. 13 team in the country but they followed up a 29-point loss at Missouri by losing by 28 at home to Georgia. Michigan took a break from doing various crimes, computer and otherwise, to struggle with Maryland. Utah got walloped by Arizona. Oklahoma struggled in Provo but prevailed. Auburn was a 25.5-point favorite in its Iron Bowl tune-up against New Mexico State and lost 31-10.

Air Force lost at home to a quality UNLV team and now they’ve gone from a potential New Year’s Six entrant to on the outs for the Mountain West title game. Nebraska lost a 14-0 lead at Wisconsin and then bungled the end of regulation so they'll need to defeat Iowa to go bowling. Louisville had a rough time in Miami but pulled out a win in front of dozens of Cane faithful. Oklahoma State rallied against a bad Houston team.

I said Notre Dame was probably going to finish this season without a win over a team that finishes ranked but NC State beat Virginia Tech to improve to 8-3 and if they can defeat a reeling North Carolina squad (losers at Clemson) they would almost certainly find themselves in the Top 25.

6) Basketball paragraphs: My heart was broken when Sonia Citron went down in the home opener with what looked like another one of the ACL tears that have been haunting the program but Niele Ivey said Saturday that it was a sprain that won’t end her season. That’s great news, because I need to see what kind of offensive rating a healthy quartet of Citron, Olivia Miles, Hannah Hidalgo and Maddie Westbeld can put up so so so bad. If you’re yet to watch Hidalgo play, she is the personification of phenomenal swag on both ends of the floor. It's one thing to accrue 27 steals in the first four games of your career, but when you're also shooting 50% from three and leading your very good team in scoring while also trash talking like a veteran, it's another level. I cannot believe that at some point we’re going to get to see her and Miles share a backcourt.

Also, a shoutout to the men’s team, which gutted out a nice win over Oklahoma State on Friday. It’s going to be a work in progress all season as Micah Shrewsberry figures out exactly what he has but to lose a big lead in the second half, fall behind immediately in overtime and then scratch your way to a victory less than 24 hours after you got run by a very good Auburn team, that’s a nice step. Speaking of talented freshman point guards, Markus Burton pull-up jumpers are a thing I’m excited to see for the next few years.

7) One game left! Both an honor and an indictment that this trip to Stanford is the Pac-12 Network’s final football game. (FuboTV has the network and offers a free trial, if you’re looking for a legal means to watch.) We can debate exactly what “unacceptable” and “must-win” mean but boy you cannot lose to this Stanford team (currently 3-8 and ranked 108th in the SP+) two years in a row. I understand there is a malevolent energy emanating from that entire area and this team has not played well on the road but simply have to do it.

This season has been a frustrating one at times, but Saturday was a reminder of how easy it is to root for this team. I’m glad we get the opportunity for a final time before everyone makes their bowl and transfer portal decisions, and I hope this opportunity results in blowing that stupid tree halfway to the moon.

Please have a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe travels. I am thankful you’ve all read and listened and hung out this season, through the times good and bad. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

2) I sure hope Freeman is noticing Angeli. What type of QB transfer is ND after? Someone who is guaranteed the job for next year or someone who is willing to come in and compete for the job.

Freeman sees Angeli every day. All we've seen are the snaps he's taken in games, none of them really meaningful. Freeman and the staff should know what he's capable of more than anyone else.

 

[thekid33]

(FuboTV has the network and offers a free trial, if you’re looking for a legal means to watch.)

Very good info to know!