Very Post Game Observations (Michigan State) ....

[kmoose]

1. The offense looked pretty bad; 82 yard net rushing, 142 yards passing on 34 attempts. Rees looked like he was off just a bit, for most of the night. And I have to wonder whether or not BK has a pass play in the playbook that is LESS than 20 yards down the field. We kept trying to go deep on these guys. Maybe the coaches saw something on film, but when that wasn't working a majority of the time, and your QB looks a little rusty; start calling some short and medium length pass plays. Let your QB, and your offense, get into a rhythmn.

2. The defense didn't play particularly well, but they didn't svck, either. They only gave up 254 total yards, and 13 points. But the philosophy is what worries me. It's not a big secret, that Diaco's philosophy is to keep everything in front of the Defense, fly to the ball to prevent big YACs, and wait for the offense to make a mistake. One of the things that I have noticed, this year, is that when ND gets off of the field on 3rd down, it is usually because of an offensive mistake, not a great defensive play. We play a lot of quality teams, with our schedule. Quality teams are quality teams because they don't normally make a lot of unforced errrors. So we need to get better on D. I'm sure this is no surprise to any of you, and certainly not to the coaching staff. But once you realize what it is that ND is doing, you watch the game a little differently. You don't have a stroke, every time your opponent puts a drive together. You don't freak out on every ND offense's 3 and out.

3. Not one single turnover by the offense. Great job of taking care of the ball, in what looked to be a pretty physical game.

4. The freshmen got their chances........ Corey Robinson probably earned himself a starting spot, or at least a spot in the WR rotation, for the rest of the season. This kid could end up being VERY good. Folston didn't impress much. Not enough for me, or anyone else, to clamor to give him more PT.

5. The run blocking by the Offensive line looked as bad as I have seen it, in the last two seasons. They pass blocked well, in that Rees seemed to have plenty of time in the pocket. But there were WAY too many defenders meeting the RBs, head on, in the hole.

6. This is not, nor is it likely to be, the same caliber of team as went to the BCS Championship Game, last year. But they are a talented team that never quits, and has not shown a propensity to panic, either, thus far. 10 wins are a fair possibility, although it may look ugly getting there.

 

[BobD]

I was wondering why the hell you hadn't posted this yet.

A wins a win. GO IRISH!

 

[kmoose]

I was wondering why the hell you hadn't posted this yet.

A wins a win. GO IRISH!

Been handling family obligations. Sorry to be so late.

 

[DCirishfan]

Our putrid running game is disgusting..

 

[BobD]

Been handling family obligations. Sorry to be so late.

No biggie, I'm just a creature of habit. If my wife moves my shoes, I walk around the house like rainman mumbling "where's my shoes, I always put them there".

 

[Irish YJ]

All in all, weak sauce except for Corey, and TJ's grab in the end zone.

 

[BobD]

All in all, weak sauce except for Corey, and TJ's grab in the end zone.

Yeah, weak sauce is a good description.

 

[NDWorld247]

1. The offense looked pretty bad; 82 yard net rushing, 142 yards passing on 34 attempts. Rees looked like he was off just a bit, for most of the night. And I have to wonder whether or not BK has a pass play in the playbook that is LESS than 20 yards down the field. We kept trying to go deep on these guys. Maybe the coaches saw something on film, but when that wasn't working a majority of the time, and your QB looks a little rusty; start calling some short and medium length pass plays. Let your QB, and your offense, get into a rhythmn.

I agree with this entire point, but especially the bolded. The game plan was big play or bust. I believe BK said as much in his post game presser, but that resulted in a lack of rhythm all afternoon.

2. The defense didn't play particularly well, but they didn't svck, either. They only gave up 254 total yards, and 13 points. But the philosophy is what worries me. It's not a big secret, that Diaco's philosophy is to keep everything in front of the Defense, fly to the ball to prevent big YACs, and wait for the offense to make a mistake. One of the things that I have noticed, this year, is that when ND gets off of the field on 3rd down, it is usually because of an offensive mistake, not a great defensive play. We play a lot of quality teams, with our schedule. Quality teams are quality teams because they don't normally make a lot of unforced errrors. So we need to get better on D. I'm sure this is no surprise to any of you, and certainly not to the coaching staff. But once you realize what it is that ND is doing, you watch the game a little differently. You don't have a stroke, every time your opponent puts a drive together. You don't freak out on every ND offense's 3 and out.

Agree here as well (this is going to be a theme). Mayock said during the telecast that the players expected to be better on defense this year. I believe this came up in his conversation with Nix. He also mentioned a lack of leadership on that side of the ball. I'm hopeful the players and coaches continue to get better each week. I think we have so far this season. At some point that progress will meet the pre-season expectations of the fan base, NDWorld247 included.

3. Not one single turnover by the offense. Great job of taking care of the ball, in what looked to be a pretty physical game.

This point will be underappreciated by the fan base, but it shouldn't be. We will be very tough to beat if we continue to protect the football (obvious, I know).

4. The freshmen got their chances........ Corey Robinson probably earned himself a starting spot, or at least a spot in the WR rotation, for the rest of the season. This kid could end up being VERY good. Folston didn't impress much. Not enough for me, or anyone else, to clamor to give him more PT.

The freshmen report:

Robinson = stud in the making
Fuller = remarkable catch. His targets will increase (ditto for Robinson)
Elmer = looked like a freshman lineman in his limited time. Not worried though.
Smith = Solid game, IMO.
Folston = I'm more impressed with Folston than you. I agree it was a small sample size and that none of the RBs have done enough to clamor for more touches.
Bryant = Disappointing he didn't get any touches.

5. The run blocking by the Offensive line looked as bad as I have seen it, in the last two seasons. They pass blocked well, in that Rees seemed to have plenty of time in the pocket. But there were WAY too many defenders meeting the RBs, head on, in the hole.

While watching the game live, Lombard has not played well. His missed blocks have been more noticeable than anyone else.

On a positive note, the pass blocking has been tremendous.

6. This is not, nor is it likely to be, the same caliber of team as went to the BCS Championship Game, last year. But they are a talented team that never quits, and has not shown a propensity to panic, either, thus far. 10 wins are a fair possibility, although it may look ugly getting there.

Not the same caliber due to the defense, but there's still time. The offense has looked better through 4 games than last year, IMO. It just comes back to execution. We'll know more after the next 3 weeks.

 

[Domer4ever]

Crazy game....

- I'm sure I'll get ripped for this, but I really have no idea what to make of Brian Kelly at this point in his fourth year. I just don't see a "great" coach out there when I watch this team play and have come to the personal opinion that the guy is just incredibly over rated. I appreciate the fact that he implemented a modern day strength and conditioning program and has streamlined a lot of things this program has needed for a long time, but on game day the team seems confused, unmotivated, and routinely makes mental errors. It's just sloppy football. His forte is offense, and we have yet to see this offense establish any sort of identity in year four. I don't buy that he is being hindered by QB's, offensive line play, or whatever else you want to throw out there. It's year four, these are his players, and there is ample talent to work with on this offense. What I think is hindering this team is bad schemes, play's that just don't work, and rotating players in and out of the lineup at a maddening rate. There is zero continuity. I understand this team was undefeated last year, but let's face the facts folks- this team benefited from a schedule that fell just perfectly into place, dumb luck, and a senior class that carried the team. It was a great season, but does that alone make Brian Kelly a great coach? I say no. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes, case in point being that Charlie Weis had this program in two BCS games before the truth revealed itself. I just don't think Kelly is very good at what he does. Someone convince me otherwise here.

- Can we please scrap the WR screen out to the flank? It's a completely worthless play that defenses can read from a mile away. The offense does not do a very good job disguising anything they do. If anybody watches much of this team at all, it's not hard to guess what's coming next based on formations and personnel groupings.

- Great job by the offensive line holding up in pass protection today. Still needs work run blocking.

- Is there really any question at this point that the defense plays much better when running a four man front? Played a lot of it in the second half and put lots of pressure on the QB. Shembo and Ishaq are different players with their hands in the dirt getting after the QB. I also liked seeing Tuitt inside next to Nix, just too big and strong pushing the pocket. Also much more stout against the run out of that formation with the big boys eating up blockers. More 4-3 Bobby D!

- Even though Shumate gave up that TD covering in the slot, I think having him start over Farley was the right move and made a difference in the play of the secondary. It would be great if Cole Luke can step up, reclaim that nickel spot, and just let Shumate play safety.

- Big game from Corey Robinson today. Kid is going to be special.

- I didn't think Tommy was great today, but he didn't really hurt the team either. Just off throwing the football today, but was able to get a lot of pass interference calls throwing it deep (some questionable).

Nice to win today, but lot's to clean up before Oklahoma next week.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Might as well simply respond to kmoose's points, since he covers most of the bases:

1. The offense looked pretty bad; 82 yard net rushing, 142 yards passing on 34 attempts. Rees looked like he was off just a bit, for most of the night. And I have to wonder whether or not BK has a pass play in the playbook that is LESS than 20 yards down the field. We kept trying to go deep on these guys. Maybe the coaches saw something on film, but when that wasn't working a majority of the time, and your QB looks a little rusty; start calling some short and medium length pass plays. Let your QB, and your offense, get into a rhythmn.

Rees and our WRs also gained 70 yards through penalties, so it's probably more accurate to say they got 212 yards on 34 attempts.

MSU's DBs were mugging our WRs all day long, and I agree with Kelly that the refs could have given us a couple more PIs (even if 1-2 of those actually called were borderline).

As wooly pointed out in the MSU thread, Daniels was targeted something like 17 times today with man coverage, and only recorded 6 yards on 3 receptions. Though I believe he drew 3 of the 4 PIs, so we should probably give him credit for another 45 yards. Still, rough day for him. Now that he's proven his chops as a playmaker, he's got to improve his physicality; he can't get abused like that in man coverage.

I'm more inclined to blame Rees for ignoring his short and intermediate routes that Kelly or Martin.

We seemed less predictable today than we've been the last three weeks, though I'm not sure how much of that was MSU simply deciding to give us man coverage all day no matter what. Other than the two screens they blew up early in the game, I can't recall any plays where they obviously knew where we were going.

2. The defense didn't play particularly well, but they didn't svck, either. They only gave up 254 total yards, and 13 points. But the philosophy is what worries me. It's not a big secret, that Diaco's philosophy is to keep everything in front of the Defense, fly to the ball to prevent big YACs, and wait for the offense to make a mistake. One of the things that I have noticed, this year, is that when ND gets off of the field on 3rd down, it is usually because of an offensive mistake, not a great defensive play. We play a lot of quality teams, with our schedule. Quality teams are quality teams because they don't normally make a lot of unforced errrors. So we need to get better on D. I'm sure this is no surprise to any of you, and certainly not to the coaching staff. But once you realize what it is that ND is doing, you watch the game a little differently. You don't have a stroke, every time your opponent puts a drive together. You don't freak out on every ND offense's 3 and out.

Their 3rd quarter scoring drive where they just pounded the ball made me nervous. Stopping that kind of power rushing attack is supposed to be our defense's strength, no?

Strangely enough, our pass rush seemed to be best in the 4th quarter when we were only rushing 3-4.

4. The freshmen got their chances........ Corey Robinson probably earned himself a starting spot, or at least a spot in the WR rotation, for the rest of the season. This kid could end up being VERY good. Folston didn't impress much. Not enough for me, or anyone else, to clamor to give him more PT.

He did well with his limited reps today. The big TFL that killed that drive was on our OL (Lombard specifically, IIRC).

5. The run blocking by the Offensive line looked as bad as I have seen it, in the last two seasons. They pass blocked well, in that Rees seemed to have plenty of time in the pocket. But there were WAY too many defenders meeting the RBs, head on, in the hole.

Absolutely. I put more blame on our OL's run blocking than on our backs, honestly. Mayock pointed out egregious failures by almost all of our OL on different rushing attempts; many of which killed drives. Lombard especially has looked bad. We all expected him to be a big upgrade over Golic, and I think he has been in pass protection, but Golic was at least competent at pulling.

6. This is not, nor is it likely to be, the same caliber of team as went to the BCS Championship Game, last year. But they are a talented team that never quits, and has not shown a propensity to panic, either, thus far. 10 wins are a fair possibility, although it may look ugly getting there.

I think we go 2-1 over the next three games, win out through our "soft" stretch, and then travel to Palo Alto with a BCS bid on the line.

 

[Irish YJ]

Crazy game....

- I'm sure I'll get ripped for this, .

Not from me, and shouldn't from anyone else who watched the first four games, and are willing to look at the numbers....

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Domer4ever. So it was dumb luck winning two national titles at Grandvalley. It was dumb luck winning the big east and going to back to back CBS bowls at Cincinati. Finally like you said dumb luck going 12-0 last year.

Yep I agree with you.


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[Irish YJ]

I think we go 2-1 over the next three games, win out through our "soft" stretch, and then travel to Palo Alto with a BCS bid on the line.

Do you think it's a L/W/W, or W/W/L, or W/L/W?
Personally I'd be overjoyed if we ended up 2-1 over the next 3 games. Thinking 1-2.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Whiskey... I'm wondering if Lombards struggles this year has to do with him learning the guard position or he is just not physical enough to play inside and is more of a tackle.


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[Irish YJ]

Domer4ever. So it was dumb luck winning two national titles at Grandvalley. It was dumb luck winning the big east and going to back to back CBS bowls at Cincinati. Finally like you said dumb luck going 12-0 last year.

Yep I agree with you.


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BK's O now, compared to his past teams, are obviously very different. He's got more talent at ND to work with, so why do we not seem to roll like his previous teams? Fair question.

Last year's record had a lot of luck baked into it. It's foolish to say otherwise given that 5 of those wins were by a touchdown or less, with two OT games, one in which went 3OTs. Nothing wrong with luck, and I'm very happy we had a good dose last year.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

Do you think it's a L/W/W, or W/W/L, or W/L/W?
Personally I'd be overjoyed if we ended up 2-1 over the next 3 games. Thinking 1-2.

I think it will be L/W/W over the next 3. I don't think we can beat OU this year but ASU didn't impress me at all tonight (granted it was against Stanford but they looked bad) and USC has been even more disappointing than ND.

 

[NDWorld247]

Domer4ever...I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to convince you BK is a great coach. I'll say this...

If you expected BK to be a program builder, you should be very happy with the job he has done. He's one of the best in the business.

If you expected BK to be a genius offensive mind that was going to light up the scoreboard, you're probably very disappointed and rightfully so.

If you expected him to be both, the jury is still out and the QB excuse is pretty valid. We'll know more after next season with Golson at the helm.

I fall into the third category. I have a very positive view of him due to the job he's done building the program while also disappointed our offense hasn't met the expectations I had when he was hired. His NCG appearance should have bought him some time with almost everyone in the fan base though. We're on the right track.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

BK's O now, compared to his past teams, are obviously very different. He's got more talent at ND to work with, so why do we not seem to roll like his previous teams? Fair question.

Last year's record had a lot of luck baked into it. It's foolish to say otherwise given that 5 of those wins were by a touchdown or less, with two OT games, one in which went 3OTs. Nothing wrong with luck, and I'm very happy we had a good dose last year.

Def fair question and I can't answer it really. Only thing that comes to mind is the game plans on offense are more conservative, because he has better defense here than Cincy.


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[Whiskeyjack]

- I'm sure I'll get ripped for this, but I really have no idea what to make of Brian Kelly at this point in his fourth year. I just don't see a "great" coach out there when I watch this team play and have come to the personal opinion that the guy is just incredibly over rated. I appreciate the fact that he implemented a modern day strength and conditioning program and has streamlined a lot of things this program has needed for a long time, but on game day the team seems confused, unmotivated, and routinely makes mental errors. It's just sloppy football. His forte is offense, and we have yet to see this offense establish any sort of identity in year four. I don't buy that he is being hindered by QB's, offensive line play, or whatever else you want to throw out there. It's year four, these are his players, and there is ample talent to work with on this offense. What I think is hindering this team is bad schemes, play's that just don't work, and rotating players in and out of the lineup at a maddening rate. There is zero continuity. I understand this team was undefeated last year, but let's face the facts folks- this team benefited from a schedule that fell just perfectly into place, dumb luck, and a senior class that carried the team. It was a great season, but does that alone make Brian Kelly a great coach? I say no. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes, case in point being that Charlie Weis had this program in two BCS games before the truth revealed itself. I just don't think Kelly is very good at what he does. Someone convince me otherwise here.

The only other active coach with a similar number of wins/ win % is Steve Spurrier, who is 16 years older. His 200th win (over Temple) put him in some elite company; IIRC, only two other legendary coaches (I think Paterno was one, can't remember the other) managed to rack up so many wins by the age of 50.

Point being, you're completely and utterly wrong. His record speaks for itself, and the only reason your expectations for this season aren't completely ridiculous is due to the miraculous rebuilding job he's accomplished over the last 3 years.

As a layman, it's far too easy to blame scheme and QB play. A closer look at the data indicates that our current problems are due to neither.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Domer4ever...I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to convince you BK is a great coach. I'll say this...

If you expected BK to be a program builder, you should be very happy with the job he has done. He's one of the best in the business.

If you expected BK to be a genius offensive mind that was going to light up the scoreboard, you're probably very disappointed and rightfully so.

If you expected him to be both, the jury is still out and the QB excuse is pretty valid. We'll know more after next season with Golson at the helm.

I fall into the third category. I have a very positive view of him due to the job he's done building the program while also disappointed our offense hasn't met the expectations I had when he was hired. His NCG appearance should have bought him some time with almost everyone in the fan base though. We're on the right track.

Man you are on fire tonight. Agree 100 percent once again


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[Irish YJ]

Def fair question and I can't answer it really. Only thing that comes to mind is the game plans on offense are more conservative, because he has better defense here than Cincy.


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I'm torn. Half the time I think it's due to the QB situation, but half the time I just don't understand why we are so predictable calling plays. God I hate the bubble screen xx times a game. The most frustrating part to me is the fact we struggle consistently with teams far inferior talent wise.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Do you think it's a L/W/W, or W/W/L, or W/L/W?
Personally I'd be overjoyed if we ended up 2-1 over the next 3 games. Thinking 1-2.

L/W/W.

Whiskey... I'm wondering if Lombards struggles this year has to do with him learning the guard position or he is just not physical enough to play inside and is more of a tackle.

I'd say it's a learning issue. He's bigger, stronger and more athletic than Golic, and he's been better in pass protection. Needs to get better at pulling, and maybe develop more of a nasty streak.

BK's O now, compared to his past teams, are obviously very different. He's got more talent at ND to work with, so why do we not seem to roll like his previous teams?

He was also playing in Big East. The quality of defenses he's faced while at ND has been vastly superior, and he hasn't had the athletes (particularly at QB) to really spread and shred.

Last year's record had a lot of luck baked into it. It's foolish to say otherwise given that 5 of those wins were by a touchdown or less, with two OT games, one in which went 3OTs. Nothing wrong with luck, and I'm very happy we had a good dose last year.

We've won two 1-possession games this year, too. Sooner or later, we'll have to stop attributing it to luck and say we've finally learned how to win close games.

 

[Irish YJ]

Domer4ever...I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to convince you BK is a great coach. I'll say this...

If you expected BK to be a program builder, you should be very happy with the job he has done. He's one of the best in the business.

If you expected BK to be a genius offensive mind that was going to light up the scoreboard, you're probably very disappointed and rightfully so.

If you expected him to be both, the jury is still out and the QB excuse is pretty valid. We'll know more after next season with Golson at the helm.

I fall into the third category. I have a very positive view of him due to the job he's done building the program while also disappointed our offense hasn't met the expectations I had when he was hired. His NCG appearance should have bought him some time with almost everyone in the fan base though. We're on the right track.

I think 95% of us are with you in that 3rd category. Need more points.

 

[Domer4ever]

Domer4ever. So it was dumb luck winning two national titles at Grandvalley. It was dumb luck winning the big east and going to back to back CBS bowls at Cincinati. Finally like you said dumb luck going 12-0 last year.

Yep I agree with you.


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I'm not going to get into Grand Valley state stuff. I give him credit for winning at Cincy, but again, they were beat down in those BCS games by Virginia Tech and Florida (sans Kelly)......sound familiar? Like I said, great season last year, but the schedule fell our way in a lot of instances and a lot of things just bounced our way.

 

[Irish YJ]

He was also playing in Big East. The quality of defenses he's faced while at ND has been vastly superior, and he hasn't had the athletes (particularly at QB) to really spread and shred.

We've won two 1-possession games this year, too. Sooner or later, we'll have to stop attributing it to luck and say we've finally learned how to win close games.

Didn't BK use multiple QBs at Cinci, some not so athletic? Not arguing, I just seem to recall 1, maybe Pike that had next to nothing rushing during their 12-0 season.

Happy to call it "we've learned how to win close games",,,, calling it that however does not negate a lot of great bounces our way last year. I have no problem with luck. Good teams tend to have more luck...

 

[Irish To The Core]

I don't know why anybody is organizing a lynch mob after this game. Michigan State is usually a tough win. Dantonio teams play hard a$$ football on both sides of the ball. We won without playing our A game, I have no problem at all with that.

Tommy played his weakest game of the season so far in my opinion. He missed open receivers frequently, and we still won.

The run game was effectively neutralized by a very strong run defense which gambled by loading the box ans which should have been burned over the top far more often...and we still won.

The o-line were unable to create holes for the running game but they were solid in pass protection. It is however important to remember that M. State was loading the box so it was going to be tough to run against them.

M. State fans are probably pissed about the interference calls but other than one which I thought was a mistake, they were all legit. Mayock was a db and he has always been biased about interference calls, so his views have to be taken with a grain of salt. But, that 15 yard penalty to Notre Dame after the Michigan player punched (Shumate was it?)...I could not believe it. Three refs stood there and declined to throw the flag on what should be an automatic 15 yard penalty, and then decide to penalize ND? So don't give me the "we got robbed by the refs b.s., the State dbs were grabbing and holding on virtually every pass play...they are coached to play that way.

Michigan State has been preparing for this game for weeks, they should have given ND a game...why panic?

I am glad Tommy got this one out of the way before Oklahoma. I expect him to be much better next week, when he has to be.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Didn't BK use multiple QBs at Cinci, some not so athletic? Not arguing, I just seem to recall 1, maybe Pike that had next to nothing rushing during their 12-0 season.

He did. But a guy like Tony Pike wouldn't have been nearly as successful in the SEC, or against ND's slate of opponents. If you want to run a successful spread against those types of defenses, you need a guy like Johnny Football, Tahj Boyd, or Everett Golson. 7 of the 13 teams we played last year were in the top 36 for DFEI; no other team faced so many elite defenses.

Happy to call it "we've learned how to win close games",,,, calling it that however does not negate a lot of great bounces our way last year. I have no problem with luck. Good teams tend to have more luck...

Lax addressed this in a recent article. Yes, we got caught some breaks last year, but we also overcame a whole lot of bad luck, too. Don't let ESPN convince you that last year was a fluke.

 

[Domer4ever]

Domer4ever...I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to convince you BK is a great coach. I'll say this...

If you expected BK to be a program builder, you should be very happy with the job he has done. He's one of the best in the business.

If you expected BK to be a genius offensive mind that was going to light up the scoreboard, you're probably very disappointed and rightfully so.

If you expected him to be both, the jury is still out and the QB excuse is pretty valid. We'll know more after next season with Golson at the helm.

I fall into the third category. I have a very positive view of him due to the job he's done building the program while also disappointed our offense hasn't met the expectations I had when he was hired. His NCG appearance should have bought him some time with almost everyone in the fan base though. We're on the right track.

Yes, I like what he has done upgrading the program in a lot of areas that had needed it for a long time, but have been less then impressed with his ability to actually coach the football team. Again too much; sloppy football, mental errors, lack of execution, and just a team that does not come out looking prepared or ready to play a lot of weeks. Those are coaching issues. How long is it going to take him to implement "his program" to "his liking" before we stop making excuses for him? It's year four!! These are "his guys!" I just don't see the improvement in quality of play that we should be seeing with the improved quality of overall roster talent.

On the QB excuse, Rees is playing good football and has actually made some nice audible calls for big plays that Golson probably doesn't make. The problems of execution on offense are not because Kelly can't "open the playbook" with Rees at QB.

 

[NDWorld247]

Yes, I like what he has done upgrading the program in a lot of areas that had needed it for a long time, but have been less then impressed with his ability to actually coach the football team. Again too much; sloppy football, mental errors, lack of execution, and just a team that does not come out looking prepared or ready to play a lot of weeks. Those are coaching issues. How long is it going to take him to implement "his program" to "his liking" before we stop making excuses for him? It's year four!! These are "his guys!" I just don't see the improvement in quality of play that we should be seeing with the improved quality of overall roster talent.

We are 15-2 in our last 17 games. It sounds like you're not impressed with the style points. You play the win the game!

 

[Domer4ever]

The only other active coach with a similar number of wins/ win % is Steve Spurrier, who is 16 years older. His 200th win (over Temple) put him in some elite company; IIRC, only two other legendary coaches (I think Paterno was one, can't remember the other) managed to rack up so many wins by the age of 50.

Point being, you're completely and utterly wrong. His record speaks for itself, and the only reason your expectations for this season aren't completely ridiculous is due to the miraculous rebuilding job he's accomplished over the last 3 years.

As a layman, it's far too easy to blame scheme and QB play. A closer look at the data indicates that our current problems are due to neither.

Those stats and win percentages are nice and all, but a vast majority were at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, and Cincinnati. Not exactly the same as doing it at Penn State, Florida or South Carolina. Good for him, but it is what it is. I don't think you can compare them because of that level of competition.

On my expectations, I don't think I am being unrealistic in expecting this team to have formed some sort of team identity by year four of the Brian Kelly era. Lot's stop the excuses and examine just what does this team do well? What can they hang their hat's on from a week to week basis? The talent pool has increased on this roster ten fold, so why are we still struggling to find an identity and looking sloppy in almost every aspect of the game at this point?