Post Game: Wisconsin

[Dale]

So more Justin A and Mills than all season. The S spot and Rover were also just not on the field at times which I believe is where we can find Botelho’s snaps. I’d be intrigued by a focused breakdown of his usage.

 

[texbender]

Best win in a while
D was awesome
Pyne played like a starter
O line woes not getting better
Special Teams had great game. Bramblett 70 yard punt was critical. Tyree runback was backbreaker
Not aware of injuries besides Coan
Congrats to Kelly. He rescued ND football

 

[notredomer23]

To put in perspective how dominant the defense was, that was the least yards Wisconsin had rushed for since the 2017 Big 10 championship game.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Best win in a while
D was awesome
Pyne played like a starter
O line woes not getting better
Special Teams had great game. Bramblett 70 yard punt was critical. Tyree runback was backbreaker
Not aware of injuries besides Coan
Congrats to Kelly. He rescued ND football

Yeah excluding Clemson last year, this is the best win since...Michigan 2018? USC 2017?

 

[irishandy]

Postgame Thoughts:
1) Congrats to Coach Kelly becoming ND's winningest coach; well deserved.
2) The game changer was Tyree's KO return...GIVE HIM HIS 5TH * BACK!!
3) If our defense keeps playing like this, watch out.
4) I loved how Pyne overall handled this game and took over the offense.
5) It was a pass to Austin from Pyne and Kyren had a heck of a block on the Wisconsin player blitzing. If Kyren doesn't make that block, Pyne gets sacked.
6) I still think you start Coan at QB, if he gets the pass protection he can pass for 300 yards and 3 TD's. If ND needs to go to option 2 at QB, they will be fine.
7) More Botelho on defense please!
8) My only complaint of the game: Baker got beat by the Wisconsin DL (it happens), the DL causes a QB fumble (it happens), Baker was so sluggish going after the loose ball!?!?

We are 4-0 Go Irish!!

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

To put in perspective how dominant the defense was, that was the least yards Wisconsin had rushed for since the 2017 Big 10 championship game.

They also held the security blanket Ferguson to 4 yards on 1 reception and had consistent pressure on the quarterback.

I’m not saying Mertz played well but ND did a lot of good things on defense to induce that meltdown.

 

[BeatSC]

So just finished watching the game without much stress so I could take some mental notes instead of cursing too much. Here’s the good and the bad from my POV:
Good:
1) Punting
2) Less dropped passes
3) Continued improved tackling
4) While the Dline was only credited with one sack they wreaked a lot of havoc. Didn’t see any drop off with Hinish out.
5) Secondary play and confidence level.
6) Dline depth
7) The return of Kevin Austin
8) The agility of Pyne and zip on his balls
9) Some good balls by Coan (some)
10) The luck of avoiding a sure pick 6 on Coans missed pass to Tyren.
11) Doerer having a short memory
12) Oline getting alot of players gaining valuable experience (had to find some silver lining in that Schitt show).
13) ND playmaking. We didn’t drop the long ball, we didn’t drop the Ints and we executed when we needed to.
14) Obviously the progress of this new D.
15) Only person who should be leaving for the NFL early on this team is Hamilton.

Bad:
1) Oline, Rees playcalling and Coan short drops and lack of any quickness or pocket awareness making the Oline look even worse.
2) Sorry really like Coan in many ways especially the person but the combo of this Oline and his statuesque approach to playing QB is resulting in 5 sacks a game no matter the quality of the opponent. He is also killing our ground game. Other two QBs open it up the offense with their option as a run threat. Very short leash for him. His pick six against Toledo and what should have been another against Wisconsin is enough to bench him. Sorry.
3) Play calling by Rees. Sorry but he is the Joe Schmidt of OCs. Getting the gig based on being the teachers pet. We can and should be doing much better with a top 10 recruiting class of talent.
4) Still not a fan of how Wisconsin was able to move the ball when we went up two scores. Sure we got the turnovers but before that Mertz was throwing to some wide open guys for 10-20 yard gains.
5) Too many penalties (11)
6) Not enough sacks but alot of pressure…..usually.
7) I know Wisconsin is a top level defense but this offense should be putting up 30+ against everyone without the defenses help. If not improved then change the QB, OC and Dline coach. Anyone going to cry about that?

Still more good than bad and we keep playing to the level of our competition. Oline is heavy but are they strong? Arms don’t look 20+ And if they are it doesn’t look like muscle.

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

Not as impressed with the win as many here. Offense will continue to struggle due to erratic QB play. Pyne played well but is not the solution.

Give credit to Freeman for being more judicious with blitzes.

We are athletically better than every team on our schedule. Just playing basic percentages, our guys will physically win one on one matchups at most positions on the majority of plays. Only problem is we lack a QB.

 

[arrowryan]

Soldier Field sucks.

No drama with Badger fans. I saw some light trash talk after the game. But it was 99% respectful interactions.

I love this defense. Say what you want about Purdue's and Wiscy's offense. I really like how this defense is playing.

Howard Cross and Jacob Lacey were incredible. I thought they deserved a game ball.

I don't know what was going on with Wisconsin and Kyle Hamilton. I'm rewatching the game now. Never thought of Wiscy as a dirty team. Props to BK for looking out for his guys.

Rees needs to figure out what he wants to do in the passing game. It isn't working. A statue of a QB and a leaky OL isn't a good match. BK and Tommy have something to figure out.

Coach Quinn needs to start looking over his shoulder and update his resume. I expect a new OL coach after this season.

Great games by Mayer and Austin.

Best ST game I have ever seen by ND. The Tyree TD was the most electric play I have seen in person.

Two pick sixes!

Mike Elston is the best position coach on the staff.

 

[ND88]

He makes the team worse. I am sorry he got hurt and thank for trying to help the team but we have players that make the offense better. Thanks for being a great team player but you will no longer be starting.

As long as his ankle is good to go, Coan will be starting next game though. You know Brian Kelly by now.

 

[Greenore]

As long as his ankle is good to go, Coan will be starting next game though. You know Brian Kelly by now.

I'm okay with that at his point in the season. I suspect he will be on a much shorter leash. Pyne gave us glimpses of a mature, starting QB. That's awesome! Hopefully Buchner's hamstring woes are resolved too. Good to have choices this year and let's let the best athlete play. My "hidden agenda" is to try and get Buchner lots of reps this year.

I wasn't sure at the beginning of the season but I think we are in pretty decent shape at QB this year. Pleasantly surprised.

Cheers and Go Irish!!

 

[arndtjc]

[tweet]1442263599494406145[/tweet]

Caught this rewatching the Tyree KR for the 100th time. Love the energy, and hope to see him get some sort of expanded role on the team at some point

 

[Huntr]

Who got the game ball?

Hart and Pyne

 

[Irish#1]

Bad:
1) Oline, Rees playcalling and Coan short drops and lack of any quickness or pocket awareness making the Oline look even worse.
2) Sorry really like Coan in many ways especially the person but the combo of this Oline and his statuesque approach to playing QB is resulting in 5 sacks a game no matter the quality of the opponent. He is also killing our ground game. Other two QBs open it up the offense with their option as a run threat. Very short leash for him. His pick six against Toledo and what should have been another against Wisconsin is enough to bench him. Sorry.
3) Play calling by Rees. Sorry but he is the Joe Schmidt of OCs. Getting the gig based on being the teachers pet. We can and should be doing much better with a top 10 recruiting class of talent.
4) Still not a fan of how Wisconsin was able to move the ball when we went up two scores. Sure we got the turnovers but before that Mertz was throwing to some wide open guys for 10-20 yard gains.
5) Too many penalties (11)
6) Not enough sacks but alot of pressure…..usually.
7) I know Wisconsin is a top level defense but this offense should be putting up 30+ against everyone without the defenses help. If not improved then change the QB, OC and Dline coach. Anyone going to cry about that?

Still more good than bad and we keep playing to the level of our competition. Oline is heavy but are they strong? Arms don’t look 20+ And if they are it doesn’t look like muscle.

2. The Oline is a mess, but as others have pointed out, Coan has a tendency to hang onto the ball a little to long. If he would just learn to move in the pocket, the sacks might be cut in half.
3. We watching the same Rees? There is no way BK is going to put his job on the line by making a teachers pet the OC.
4. Freeman went a little prevent, which I hate. If you go prevent, I would prefer to keep four linemen for pressure and replace an LB.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Not as impressed with the win as many here. Offense will continue to struggle due to erratic QB play. Pyne played well but is not the solution.

Give credit to Freeman for being more judicious with blitzes.

We are athletically better than every team on our schedule. Just playing basic percentages, our guys will physically win one on one matchups at most positions on the majority of plays. Only problem is we lack a QB.

"Erratic QB play." Very interesting observation.

Do you know many QBs in the history of this sport that have been stellar and lived up to your standards with less than 2.0 seconds to throw the ball? Do you know many QBs that light up the scoreboard with 3 yards of rushing offense to help them keep defenses honest? Not to mention there were several more drops from the pass-catchers on Saturday afternoon.

This offense deserves plenty of criticism but I'm not sure how much I'd put on any of our three QBs given what they have by the way of protection and our lack of a running game makes it really hard to be balanced and take advantage of play action.

There are plenty of areas to improve upon, but this was a total team win. Offense did enough against a stout defense, special teams came through in a big way, not just that back-breaking return by Tyree, but Jay Bramblett and the PR coverage unit did a fantastic job flipping field position all afternoon, and the defense harassed Mertz all afternoon, stuffed the run, and caused five huge turnovers.

In a year where each and every team so far has looked vulnerable, the only stat that matters is 4-0. Even UGA's win over Clemson isn't looking as strong as we originally anticipated.

This has the make up to be the most chaotic football season since '07. We are one of the few remaining undefeated programs and we have a ton of things to improve upon. But in a year where even Alabama is saying the same thing, enjoy the ride.

But erratic QB play....give me a break.

 

[RDU Irish]

That was the most fun in one quarter of football I can remember. Just when you thought the cake didn't need any more icing - PICK SIX..... AND ANOTHER! Having lived in Wisconsin I really have an unhealthy distaste for the Badgers so this was extra sweet for me. Hope we don't play them for another 57 years, probably won't b/c they prefer directional D2 schools for their non-conference schedule.

Coan is good for a run first offense. Maybe he picked ND thinking our OL U would restock to be another elite unit adding to our returning RB duo to make his job easy. Kid is tough and glad to have him... but..... Team looks like it plays harder for Pyne. Maybe it is a shortened playbook (would the 2nd year guy really have a shorter book than the transfer) but I think that extra year of working together counts for a lot and you can add an extra year+ for the recruiting process being around the program too. I think that intangible is what CBK needs to latch on to if we want to take this team to the next level. As everyone else has said - Coan is too much of a statue and the OL is not getting fixed over night - that much is grossly obvious and provides plenty of cover to do the right thing. However the REALLY right thing to do is increase Buchner's involvement as the season progresses assuming he is nursed back to health.

 

[zelezo vlk]

 

[dublinirish]

[tweet]1442263599494406145[/tweet]

Caught this rewatching the Tyree KR for the 100th time. Love the energy, and hope to see him get some sort of expanded role on the team at some point

Estime pancaked his dude on the return too, all in all kudos to the KR team, not bad for a mash unit of freshman and walk on's

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Here's the post-Wisconsin Rakes Report:

1) We spend a decent amount of time pondering Notre Dame’s place in the hierarchy of college football, which thankfully for much of the last few years has been Near The Top. A program in a similar neighborhood over that same stretch was Wisconsin, with the Badgers notching a couple of the New Year’s Six bowl wins that have eluded the Irish and finding sustained success atop the Big Ten West. In a clear piece of evidence that while Notre Dame may remain a few paces behind the Tide they are indeed better than pretty much everyone else, the Irish went into Soldier Field with an offensive line and run game that’s barely functioning, down the services of a captain on the defensive line and in need of turning to their third quarterback in a close game against a Top 20 team.

What was the result? They ended up shattering the Badgers. Paul Chryst’s job stability is being questioned, the faith in the much ballyhooed quarterback who was going to take them to another level has given out and a season where they returned a gazillion starters (versus Notre Dame’s post-2020 exodus to the NFL) for another run at the Big Ten title game is already on the brink. Not a bad day’s work for the Irish as they improve to 4-0 on the season, winners of 20 of the last 22.

For much of the afternoon, Notre Dame was caught in a Big Ten West body swap horror film, where every single yard, play and first down felt pivotal. But shortly after “Jump Around” and the Badgers taking a 13-10 lead, the game was played on more friendly terms. Chris Tyree had what will almost certainly be considered one of the plays of the season, returning a kickoff at his team’s most desperate moment as called by a giddy Gus Johnson. That was followed by the defense stepping up for a strip sack and then a tidy drive by Drew Pyne, thrown into the fray for his first snaps of the season. He was aided by Kevin Austin, who recovered from a poor showing against Purdue to help Pyne extend the lead, pulling in a nifty third down conversion to keep things moving before scoring his second touchdown of the game. (Michael Mayer also made a nice, large target for a 22-yard gain.) From there, Wisconsin’s drive chart was Sad Missed Field Goal, Interception, Pick Six, Pick Six. The first 15 quarters of Irish football this season were not the most aesthetically pleasing, making the 31-point explosion a joyous occasion.

2) With the Badgers bottling up the Irish rushing attack Jack Coan had a lot on his plate against his former team, performing with mixed results. He manufactured some extended drives in the early going and found Austin for a bomb to give the Irish their first lead. He also underthrew a few deep balls — I’m telling you, one of these games Braden Lenzy is going to have a four-catch, 150-yard day — and participated in my least favorite parlor game, “Was that sack on the quarterback or the offensive line?” Loved the early second-and-17 conversion to Avery Davis as well after two of the first offensive snaps were sacks.

Brian Kelly said he expected Coan to be available for Saturday and that if he was healthy he’d be the starter. Kelly also said they expected Tyler Buchner to be ready for the Bearcats, and considering how well Pyne played in limited reps, the tilt-a-whirling quarterback situation continues apace.

A few additional offensive notes: On the second drive of the game, the Irish got all the way down to the Wisconsin ten-yard line throwing the ball, only to see Tommy Rees call consecutive runs. That wasn’t good, nor were a couple of the second-and-long run calls, but I understand there’s only so much he can do with the current line situation and likely some hesitancy to fully embrace the Throw The Damn Ball ethos. I like the addition of Joe Alt and Andrew Kristofic to the blocking fray, which might help elevate things this year but also help them get more reps for the future. Please hurry back, Blake Fisher – as fun as it was to win by four touchdowns, I’m not sure it will be easy to keep doing that with just three rushing yards on the day. Kyren Williams’ blitz pickups were A++.

Another positive was that Pyne was quite poised upon entering game. One fair criticism of Kelly’s tenure is that he’s been unable to get that A1, no-doubt, first-round elite talent at quarterback, but for over a decade we’ve seen guys pulled from the sidelines who step in capably to do the job. I want the Heisman contender at quarterback as much as the next fan, but as you watch a day of college football and see how many teams have huge holes at that position it’s worth appreciating a long stretch of consistent competency.

---

Quick sidebar: If you want some of these thoughts in audio form, Jessica Smetana and I recorded an instant reaction podcast on Sunday morning, which includes a dramatic reading of the Badger blog post linked above. Keep your eye on your preferred podcast app later this week for an advanced stats review of the first trimester. Okay back to it.

---

3) One thing that made me feel better about the early struggles of the defense is that much of what was going wrong was so obvious (mainly, weird alignments as Marcus Freeman adjusted to his personnel and missed tackles as that personnel adjusted to the flow of the new system) that even a total scheme dummy like me could identify potential tweaks. After shutting out Purdue on third-down conversions in the second half last week, the Irish took it to another level on Saturday, holding the Badgers to just 1-of-14 on third down for the day, with the early fourth-down suffocation thrown in for good measure. They were without Kurt Hinish in the middle, but it was Next Man Up, with Rylie Mills, Howard Cross and Jacob Lacey capably stepping further into the fray as Jayson Ademilola continued an All-American-caliber September.

The Irish were 91st in the nation in opponent third down conversion going into the Purdue game, moved to 67th after its conclusion and are now all the way up to 24th. Small sample sizes obviously early in the season and there’s no opponent adjustment in that — I don’t think the Irish have faced anything above maybe an average offense at this point, but defenses appear to be way ahead of their counterparts across the sport so maybe that’s just how it is this season — but it’s a key sign that things are continuing to trend in the right direction.

Delighted for Cam Hart to come through with a pair of picks as he continues to settle in at corner – on his second one, it looked like he was running the route for Wisconsin. The Jack Kiser and Drew White pick sixes are rewards for guys who’ve continued to grind as they transition to the new system, Kiser showing incredible awareness to peel off on Graham Mertz’s comically floated out route and White doing the same in a frenzied middle of the field. These are three-star recruits who’ve now been coached by both Freeman and Clark Lea, essentially giving them doctorates in linebacking, and you’re seeing that preparation and work come to fruition. It was also nice to see Jordan Botelho go from zero defensive snaps to over two dozen, as he has the capability to change one of these upcoming games in the backfield.

Against Penn State, Wisconsin was able to actually move the ball before melting down in the red zone, with their top two tailbacks piecing together 177 yards (on 44 carries) and the pass-catching combo of Danny Davis and Jake Ferguson getting 151 yards (on 17 receptions). Ferguson, a Mackey Award contender in the preseason, was eliminated from the game with a single catch for 11 yards which is what happens when you’re a tight end lined up across from Kyle Hamilton. Chez Mellusi, the lead tailback, mustered 54 yards on 18 carries, with a long of just ten. Even Mertz was at least close to 60 percent on his pass attempts against the Nittany Lions versus tumbling to 18 of 41 on Saturday. Michigan’s new defense has been good against some weak competition through the season’s first month, so will be curious to see how the Badgers and Wolverines match up on Saturday.

4) We’re already running long and I don’t want to spend much time bagging on Mertz here, but I would like to say I remain very pleased about the result of last season’s Notre Dame/Boston College game, considering all the potential narrative baggage that accompanied it. The early shining success of Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields combined with the stretch Lincoln Riley had going in Norman perhaps deceived people into thinking the process of quarterback recruiting and development is easy and that is not the case.

5) Following a shaky start, with Jay Bramblett losing the field position battle early and Jonathan Doerer missing his first attempt, it was a pretty good day for Brian Polian’s unit: Bramblett bombed a 72-yarder, Doerer made his next two (including from 51 to tie it early when the idea of 41 points seemed fantastical) and Tyree changed the entire game. I know folks love to talk about punt returns so worth noting the Irish are average nationally (between 55th and 65th) in punt return yardage per game, yards per punt return attempt and punt return attempts per game.

6) Winning Is Hard/Schadenfreude Round Up: Where to even start. Clemson picked up their second loss of the season against NC State, barely mustering 200 yards of offense as the folks in Death Valley begin to appreciate the Lawrence/Etienne backfield even more. (After DJ Uiagalelei averaged 5 yards per passing attempt against Georgia Tech last week, he was down to 4.3 on Saturday.) They weren’t the only Top 10 team to lose, as Arkansas took out Texas A&M. Remember when Iowa State was a trendy preseason playoff pick? Well, they also enter October with two losses after falling in Waco.

Auburn trailed Georgia State for much of the game. Iowa trailed Colorado State, a team that lost to Vanderbilt, in the first half. Ohio State was down early to Akron. Oklahoma mustered 16 points at home against West Virginia as fans chanted for the back-up quarterback. Scott Frost’s special teams melted down and cost the Huskers a chance to steal one in East Lansing. Mack Brown and Sam Howell lost on the road again, getting blown out at Georgia Tech as a double-digit favorite. Florida State is 0-4 after losing at home to Louisville. Michigan struggled with Rutgers. TCU lost at home to SMU as a double-digit favorite.

Minnesota was a 31-point home favorite against Bowling Green and lost. I’m comfortable keeping the current Notre Dame coaching staff in place versus replacing them with P.J. Fleck. Southern Cal’s post-Helton bump quickly receded Saturday night, as they were blown out by Oregon State in the Coliseum. Hey, do you know who beat the Beavers to open the season? Purdue! Who barely beat Illinois on Saturday but hey any win is a good win when you’re in the rough and tumble Big Ten West.

7) I understand that there are Notre Dame fans who don’t like Brian Kelly, as conceding he’s good at his job would mean they’d have to admit they were wrong about his hiring and their sundry calls for his termination, and hey some people choose to work out issues via their college football fandom that would be better addressed with some sort of professional counseling. That’s fine, and it’s not my job to change their minds, but I will say I do not know how much better Kelly could have handled the breaking of Knute Rockne’s school win record. He’s been asked about it nonstop for a fortnight and at every opportunity he shifts the praise to his players and the administration, finally landing on the self-deprecating and accurate “I’m the guy with the most wins without a national title.” I also liked these two quotes from Saturday’s postgame press conference:

Like last year, we knew what we had. Right? We were a veteran team. We had some holes. Right? We hunkered down. We put three tight ends on the field. This is what we were. And, you know, kind of lived with it. This is like we're trying to figure it out as we go. We're in no back one play, and then we score a touchdown. Next time, we're in three tight ends. We're trying to cobble it out as we go. And three tackles later on the left side. We've gone through three quarterbacks this year. We'll keep the continuity the best we can. But, like I said, we'll be challenged again next week against a really good Cincinnati team. We'll figure it out then too.

…

Now, we've got a long way to go still. But they're getting better each week. I just -- I'm having fun coaching them. They're not perfect by any means. But they're going to be better in November. And that's the nice part about it. And that's what energizes you as a coach. We're not a perfect team, but I like coaching them.​

In an ideal world, our favorite team would just roll out week after week with no glaring issues and crush people. We’re not living on that timeline this fall, so I will accept “A hardworking roster and coaching staff trying to piece together enough positive plays to build enough successful drives to keep winning as the team finds its footing and identity.” There will likely be some disappointments over the next two months but I appreciate a team that isn’t even quite sure what its fastball is yet finding a way to win. You don’t have to give them back, even if they’re ugly.

8) As far as big-picture narrative potential, the Fox crew was effusive in their praise for the Irish in the game’s aftermath, with the studio crew loving them up during subsequent halftimes in addition to a kind Joel Klatt reaction video that was circulated on social media. For the rest of the season, if the top of the rankings or playoffs are being discussed and the Irish have maintained a presence in those conversations, you know Gus Johnson is going to say something along the lines of “And we saw what the Irish could do with that defense a little earlier in the season and wow! Ha ha!” The Irish are also now shareholders in the Badgers and should they right the ship — a possibility, not a prediction, because yikes that passing game — all that transitive glory will be sent Notre Dame’s direction. Also it’s just fun the Irish have a 41-13 win over a Top 20 Wisconsin team forever in the record books, because the context of that fourth quarter will quickly fade.

9) Major test upcoming, as Cincinnati is off a bye week trying to achieve the biggest win in school history, understanding that with all the chaos at the top there might actually be a chance for a 13-0 Group of Five team with a win in South Bend to steal a playoff bid. They bring in a defense as tough as the Irish have seen and a quarterback who is much better than what we saw on Saturday, with Desmond Ridder combining lethal legs with a nice touch on the deep ball thus far. It did not seem like our lads lacked for energy or confidence in the closing minutes at Soldier Field so I suspect they will be ready. On defense, they’ll need to dominate a so-so Bearcats offensive line while keeping Ridder corralled while the offense will have to grind out whatever they can regardless of who’s getting snaps, targeting the dudes who will not have their names called in the first few rounds of April’s draft.

The gauntlet has commenced and there are no gimmes, despite the many warts festooned across October’s opponents. The bye week and a potential perfect first half to the season are both starting to appear on the horizon but there’s so much to be done before then with a great Cincinnati program and a tricky trip to Blacksburg standing in the way. Keep working, keep getting better and most importantly keep winning. Go Irish, Beat Bearcats.

 

[BeatSC]

Wow! I hope you were using a mic for that post or at least had an admin input it for you!

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Wow! I hope you were using a mic for that post or at least had an admin input it for you!

To clarify, the Rakes Report is a newsletter delivered via email. It's written by Chris Wilson who used to run the NDFB blog Rakes of Mallow.

If you're interested in signing up to receive these emails directly, you can do so here.

 

[EifertPower]

1. Gus Johnson is not a good announcer. It's fun when he's calling games that your team is winning because of his enthusiasm but the 4th down stuff by ND in the first half was 2 yards short of the first down and Gus yelled out "it's gonna be close." That's awful.

2. The Notre Dame offensive line is disappointing but a lot of the sacks are on Coan. Make quicker reads or get out of the pocket sooner. He obviously can't move out of the pocket, so if he also can't make quicker reads and isn't accurate on his throws, then what's the point of having him as first-string QB?

3. Related to #2, it's astounding that ND hasn't had one elite QB under Brian Kelly in over a decade. I'm not optimistic Buchner will be either (looks a lot like Andrew Hendrix) nor will Drew Pyne (slightly more athletic Tommy Rees). The closest was Kizer's first year and Ian Book although Book was exposed in big games against bigger, faster defensive lines.

4. Notre Dame's defensive line is deep. I think we always knew that but it was great to have that proven true this week.

5. Finally a big play by Notre Dame's return game. I don't think ND would've won that game if Tyree doesn't make that play.

6. Graham Mertz is awful. Might be the worst QB at a big program that i've seen in a long time.

7. Get Kyren Williams off punt returns. Kyren doesn't have explosive speed, great hands, or ball security, and it's just another opportunity for him to get injured. He's too valuable to the team as running back to risk him getting hurt on punts.

8. Kyren Williams' fumbling is a problem. It's lasted multiple years and isn't improving. I love his effort and leadership but fumbling the ball every game is going to cost them some games.

9. Michael Mayer is a great passing target but is he good at blocking? I'm simply asking because i don't understand why Notre Dame can't use its tight ends to to help its tackles in run/pass protection.

10. Where are the other Notre Dame tight end's this year. Notre Dame is Tight End U and it's like no one other than Michael Mayer exists. George Takacs has contributed in previous years. Can't they go with two tight end sets?

11. It's great to see Kevin Austin on the field and healthy and producing after hearing so many great things about him over the past couple of seasons.

12. Kyren Williams pass blocking has been the underrated aspect of this team the last two seasons.

 

[Dale]

I just rewatched Kiser’s pick six. Man Mertz. ND is basically just soft zone across the board and instead of the dump off to the left of him at the LOS a few feet away, he chooses the guy at the LOS completely across the field. Even if Kiser doesn’t jump it he’s tackling the guy for zero gain.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

To clarify, the Rakes Report is a newsletter delivered via email. It's written by Chris Wilson who used to run the NDFB blog Rakes of Mallow.

If you're interested in signing up to receive these emails directly, you can do so here.

For the "TL;DR" crowd, i highly recommend you reconsider. His reports and fun and insightful.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I just rewatched Kiser’s pick six. Man Mertz. ND is basically just soft zone across the board and instead of the dump off to the left of him at the LOS a few feet away, he chooses the guy at the LOS completely across the field. Even if Kiser doesn’t jump it he’s tackling the guy for zero gain.

Two plays before they did the same thing and got about 10 yards out of it because Kiser got caught in a rub and didn't close. I guess Mertz was just being lazy, looking off the coverage and assuming the throw would be open again.

 

[Dale]

Two plays before they did the same thing and got about 10 yards out of it because Kiser got caught in a rub and didn't close. I guess Mertz was just being lazy, looking off the coverage and assuming the throw would be open again.

Gotcha that makes sense there was vertical that Kiser pushed him and kept moving. So kind of same theme as Hart’s INT where Mertz/Chryst had one piece of success and went back to it not expecting a easy adjustment from our guys

 

[IrishLax]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1442557250552274947?s=20[/TWEET]

I posted this in Drew Pyne's thread, but check out his pre-game body language and how he leads the huddle after Coan gets injured.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

As mentioned a while ago, I got married on Saturday. At 2:30pm EST. In the church. For this venue we had 2 options: 9/11 or 9/25, and I wasn't celebrating anything on 9/11. Needless to say...the day was perfect from start to finish. We watched the first half in my hotel room eating Chick Fil A.

Icing on the cake: a high school teammate and good friend is a Catholic priest who married us. The organist played the theme song from Rudy when my guys and I walked out, my priest gave everyone the score on the altar during his homily, and we had celebratory beers on the party bus when we found out about Kiser's pick 6. Priest also wore the personalized ND jersey I bought him for the reception. Even used the phrase of "God, Country, Notre Dame" in his blessing
at dinner.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

As mentioned a while ago, I got married on Saturday. At 2:30pm EST. In the church. For this venue we had 2 options: 9/11 or 9/25, and I wasn't celebrating anything on 9/11. Needless to say...the day was perfect from start to finish. We watched the first half in my hotel room eating Chick Fil A.

Icing on the cake: a high school teammate and good friend is a Catholic priest who married us. The organist played the theme song from Rudy when my guys and I walked out, my priest gave everyone the score on the altar during his homily, and we had celebratory beers on the party bus when we found out about Kiser's pick 6. Priest also wore the personalized ND jersey I bought him for the reception. Even used the phrase of "God, Country, Notre Dame" in his blessing
at dinner.

Congratulations on getting married! Unfortunately your life is over, especially once you have children. But enjoy it man!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IrishRazor82]

Rees's play calling is Coan's quarterbacking. It's OK at times but frustrating too often, and you start to wonder if there's a better option out there.

You don't get to learn on the job while the OC at ND making close to 7 figures.