Virginia Tech Post Game

[Irishize]

Virginia Tech threw for 30%(!) on the day despite the fact ND put the corners on an island (on islands?). They're going to look bad sometimes because that's the nature of defending balls thrown up for grabs.

Thank you. That 50 yd catch that Turner made w/ Pride blanketing him was one of the nicest catches you’ll see this year. On the TD pass, Hazelton got away w/ a push off. We love it when our WR gets away with it...this time the other side got the breaks. I thought it was one of Pride’s best overall games but acknowledge he’s not been the #1 CB we were led he had become coming out of camp.

Aside from inexcusably playing 8 yds off his receiver on a 3rd & 4 & letting Patterson get around the corner on him, Vaughn was solid in coverage. The kid has the ideal measurables but has struggled in every facet of his game since he’s been here. Granted, last season we find out he played w/ a torn labrum; but he’s looked bad this year too. After Patterson’s long run around Vaughn’s side, the QB rand the same exact play & Vaughn did a great job tackling him for little to no gain. Maybe the VT game gained him more confidence.

CB is the least appreciated position IMO. If you’re elite, they’re going to throw away from you. If not, they win some & they lose some.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

This is about as instant classic of a quote as you can have

Does she have any sisters?

My reactions to that post were, in order:

/r/ThatHappened; and

 

[Irish#1]

Post-VT Rakes Report:

As frustrating as most of that game was, you can boil it down to “Notre Dame outgained their 5-2 ACC opponent by over 200 yards, doubled them up in first downs and won” which is certainly leaving out a lot of relevant details but is accurate as far as words go. I am thrilled these seniors all got a really cool moment at home, because it would have been so easy for the Irish suffer defeat considering all the bad breaks. You all have watched Notre Dame lose that exact game many, many times and college football teams lose that game nearly every weekend but the Irish overcame it all and pulled through with a gutsy drive from a quarterback who’s now 15-3 as a starter.

I think some of us lost sight of this. How many times have we seen the opposite outcome over the last 15-20 years? It wasn't pretty, but give the boys their props for pulling this one out with the final drive.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I think some of us lost sight of this. How many times have we seen the opposite outcome over the last 15-20 years? It wasn't pretty, but give the boys their props for pulling this one out with the final drive.

Zero doubt that we haven't won games like that much in the past couple decades. Lesser character teams crumble and we've seen it time and time again. I thought this as I left the game; we haven't pulled one out in the last few minutes like that in some time. @ MSU 2006, Brady Quinn and Samardzija against UCLA, Clausen and Rudolph @ Purdue come are top of mind, but not many others.

I don't think anyone is mad that we won. I'll take an ugly win over a good loss/moral victory any day of the week.

But we have looked pretty damn bad now for the last 2.5 games, the latter 1.5 coming off of a bye week, which is perplexing.

Humble pie tastes like $hit and that's all we've been served the past few weeks.

 

[drayer54]

Was at the game, first time we've taken the whole family. Loved every bit of it.

I'll get the bad stuff out of the way...
-The crowd sucked. The small corner of VT fans were louder than ND at any point of the game. I actually commend ND for trying to bring excitement. Playing pumped up music. Hey we even have an intro video now!. Such a laid back crowd. I remember the last time VT came to SB. I brought a buddy of mine who is a Hawkeye fan. He straight up asked me "is it always this quiet?".

-Again about the OLine. They don't have a clue who they are supposed to be blocking. So many plays that get blown up, you see an offensive lineman just looking around like he's looking for a lost puppy. This is coaching. Get Heistand back and assign someone else for his recruiting duties. it's not good. But as a team they work hard, have grit, and get it done a hell of a lot more then they don't.
-All in on Book. He's got his flaws, but dude is a gamer and a leader. He's feet need to be more a part of the game plan going forward. Yes, that puts him at risk but this offense is lifeless with out it. I had zero

-Every year I go to a game, and every year I re-fall in love with that place. I was never smart enough (let alone could my mom afford it) to get into that school, but it's special. GO IRISH!

I’m in the same boat in that I didn’t graduate there, but I do enjoy the weekends in South Bend. My parents tuition ability was better aligned with me going to the Navy. Anyways, I recently moved from Iowa to Indy and am buying too many tickets, but yes the atmosphere is great.
But yes, the crowd isn’t exactly an SEC group of screamers. UVA had louder fans than us too. I don’t mind in coat season when a few people on every row decide to head out. Makes a bit more room for the wife and I, but the winds and that sleety crap may have kept some people quiet. While somewhat quiet, it’s still louder and a better environment than Kinnick any day.


I do agree that the weight of the world is on Book during these games and I just don’t get why they couldn’t execute better. The line is down two leaders, but I expected better during the run game.

 

[EddytoNow]

As I said earlier this week Ian Book is not the problem-so now he must be Joe Montana for 4 more games without a running attack-Kelly is coaching his *@$ off trying to get blood out of a stone-sometimes I just don't get our fan base-for my $$$$ that was a balls out big win for a team that is not elite by any means but Notre Dame proud.

Who put together this non-elite team that Kelly has to coach? If the team lacks the players to be more than above average, that falls back on the coaching staff that recruited and coached those players. To my knowledge the responsibility lies with the head coach, the offensive coordinator, and the defensive coordinator.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Post-VT Rakes Report:

5) Defense had a nice bounce back, holding the Hokies to under four yards per play and three yards per rush. Granted, Virginia Tech’s offense was Not Good as Quincy Patterson went just 9 of 28 but they locked down for some field goals in the second half when a touchdown would have been debilitating. They started the game by forcing three-and-outs on six of the first seven drives and allowed just 13 points, with the one touchdown they did give up aided by 30 yards in penalties and an inexplicable play where Donte Vaughn gave a 15-yard cushion on 4th and 4. Credit to the Hokie receivers for making a couple of incredible catches to give the offense any kind of life but this was not a great unit with Patterson at QB and Clark Lea’s defense did a nice job not letting them rise above their station.

Everyone is focused on Long and the offense, but this was not one of Lea's best performances as a DC. His sets late in the game was a bit puzzling and something that could bite you against better teams. For the record, I believe Lea is a really good DC. But I'm not ready to break out the anointing oil just yet on being a great DC. With all that said... Lea isn't in the conversation as being part of the issues at ND. That falls on the other side of the ball. But we can't just turn a blind eye to some of his questionable sets either.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Everyone is focused on Long and the offense, but this was not one of Lea's best performances as a DC. His sets late in the game was a bit puzzling and something that could bite you against better teams. For the record, I believe Lea is a really good DC. But I'm not ready to break out the anointing oil just yet on being a great DC. With all that said... Lea isn't in the conversation as being part of the issues at ND. That falls on the other side of the ball. But we can't just turn a blind eye to some of his questionable sets either.

I respectfully disagree here. He may not be perfect. But in a game that we won 21-20, when they had a 98 yard punt return for a score before the half to tie it 14 all, and the offense had no pulse for 2 full quarters after a 14-7 lead was established, I'm not going to criticize Lea too much.

The defense won that game for us, giving our inept offense every chance until they finally broke through on that final drive.

 

[T Town Tommy]

I respectfully disagree here. He may not be perfect. But in a game that we won 21-20, when they had a 98 yard punt return for a score before the half to tie it 14 all, and the offense had no pulse for 2 full quarters after a 14-7 lead was established, I'm not going to criticize Lea too much.

The defense won that game for us, giving our inept offense every chance until they finally broke through on that final drive.

I agree the defense won that game. But running two deep safties on the last Va Tech drive when everyone in America knew they were going to run the ball is a bit inexcusable IMO. The defense gave the ball back to the Irish offense so they did their job. But if it had been a better team with a better offense, the offense may have never gotten back on the field. That's really my reason for my initial post. I am a huge Lea fan no doubt and the Irish defense will keep them in more games than not.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

1. Good morning to everyone on the Irish defense except for Troy Pride.

2. Rackem didn't like ND's defensive alignments, but I loved it. They had a QB that was a tank but couldn't throw an accurate pass down field to save his life, so Lea put 5 on the line and took away his best trait. Good work and planning, IMO.

3. Chip Long needs to call every drive like it's the final drive in a game that ND is losing by 6. Move fast, let Book make two reads or run the ball, and sprinkle in a downhill runs when the defense is on their heels. If he can't get more from the offense than what we saw through the first half, and totally ignores how well Book operates with an up-tempo strategy, he can take a hike.

4. Shoutout to Chase Claypool for being a warrior.

5. Get Lawrence Keys on the field on offense.

6. Jahmir Smith should take every carry inside the 10 if TJ Jr. isn't on the field.

7. Julian Okwara... we need a little bit more in obvious passing situations. Opposing teams get the ball out extremely fast, but when you get your three opportunities to pin your ears, you gotta make it happen.

8. Asmar Bilal... really good job tackling this week after the shitshow last week, especially against a Cam Newton-sized QB.

9. Navy is going to beat ND.

I agree with every statement here except for the last one. I think ND beats Navy in a nail bitter.