We Have a Bowl Game Winning Streak!

A lot to like and some things to ponder out of today’s not-as-close-as-the-score Irish 33-17 victory over the Hurricanes.

At halftime, up 27-3, I said to myself, “we didn’t play very well”. Getting 3 INTs on successive series definitely made for a lopsided half, and I knew they’d replace Jacory Harris at QB. Good decision for Miami—Stephen Morris completed 2/3 of his passes for over 280 yards. Fortunately for us, they didn’t start scoring TDs until it was too late.

A very vanilla defense today; we mostly just rushed the base 4 linemen, didn’t blitz much at all. When you get that big lead early, it leads to just playing a “hold” defense. But I guess I can’t argue with a defense that kept Miami out of the end zone until 10:30 left in the game.

At that point, though, I wrote “we need a drive”. Momentum was slipping a bit, and we’d had FG/missed FG/3-and-out so far in the second half. We didn’t score on the next drive, but we burned four minutes on just 7 plays, which put the game into “too far of a reach” for the Hurricanes.

Give Miami credit; they definitely could have packed it in at half time, but they didn’t. They fought hard, especially on defense (good defensive line) to keep the game from getting totally out of control. We were less than inspirational at blocking up front in the second half; although Robert Hughes and Cierre Wood combined for 169 yards on the ground. Tough running for most of it. I count 12 runs for losses; not usually a good sign.

We did have good pass protection; don’t see a sack on the ledger for Miami. On the flip side, our vanilla defense didn’t really force the Miami QBs to do much they didn’t want to do.

We finally saw a missed field goal by Daivd Ruffer. I believe he hurt his left knee on the kickoff previous to that. Looked like he planted a little funny, and I think he was a little gimpy coming off the field. The announcers didn’t notice/say anything. Although Ruffer didn’t kick the last one, so there’s probably something there.

We’ll have to see what happened to Mantei’s knee, and who knows what’s up with Michael Floyd? Seems like Rees’ knee was OK after that shot he took before half time.

Other random notes: Looked like the band actually had seats in the stands. 13 of TR’s first 23 pass attempt were to Floyd. Crowd was too bundled up to make a lot of noise, but it sounded mostly pro-Irish. Correct? We play Miami again in 2012 at Soldier Field. Hard to believe it had been 20 years since we played. We had seven plays from scrimmage of 20 or more yards, including two of our TDs. No turnovers for the Irish. Miami was one of the most penalized teams this year and that definitely showed up today. We were only penalized three times, all in the first half, two were on our first possession.

Too early to start prognosticating about next year. Let’s see what Floyd and Rudolph decide about playing or not next season before we do win projections. As I noted on my Facebook page, however, only 246 days until the season starts, on September 3rd, when we host ND grad Skip Holtz’s University of South Florida Bulls. They won their bowl game today, by the way…

HAPPY NEW YEAR! AND GO IRISH!!!!! BEAT BULLS!!!!

The Colonel

In Under the Wire

Can't disagree with anything Godfather says below. The key will be our offesne, I believe. If we look "15 practices better", I think we win by 10 or 14. We were starting to gel in November, and if we extrapolate forward progress, that bodes well. Never a good deal having to play in an "interim coach regime", so I don't see the Canes rallying around that.

As I'm sure Godfather knows, it's 34 degrees in El Paso 30 min before game time, with 16 mph winds. Looks like they even got an inch of snow in the last 24 hours! Benefit--IRISH, in a big way. Toto, I don't think we're in Coral Gables any more.

So I'll be a stupid optimist and give us a 10 point victory: IRISH 27, CANES, 17.

GO IRISH!!!! BEAT CANES!!!

The Colonel

Should be a Good One

Expecting a very good game this Friday. Have to get the prediction in today as we are off to Texas tomorrow for the bowl extravaganza.

First a bit of news, Linda Battista, our drum major of the 1980 season is in the El Paso paper. She was a good one, I hope we get a chance to see her. You can read the article here:

http://elpasoinc.com/readArticle.aspx?issueid=318&xrec=5996

So on Friday we have two 7-5 teams that may be a bit better than their records indicate but on paper you have to like Miami in this one and that is why they have earned a 3 point spread. There are a lot of x-factors in my mind for this game. How will Miami respond to an interim coach and the upcoming change of head coaches (usually not good)? How will ND improve and learn the Kelly system with the additional 15 practices? How will the return of Ian Williams and Theo Riddick help the Irish? Will Tommy Rees continue to improve and cut down on the dumb throws? Will cool weather (forecasted high is 49 degrees) throw a chill into the poor Miami players? Can the Irish build on a great November and win one that sets up the early over optimistic forecast for the 2011 season? I hope so.

I think Miami is a lot like USC this year in term of speed on both sides of the ball and talent in general which means we are going to have our hands full. I expect both defenses to play well and this to be a relatively low scoring game as was the case for USC. Turnovers will be a big deal in this game should either team get one.

I am guessing the interim coach, new coach factor will tip the scales in ND's favor so I am going to go with the good guys but only in a squeaker.

ND 17, Miami 14

GO IRISH! Beat Canes

We Made a Record Once...

Hey friends. Some time during my tenure, we cut a record with the Marching Band, and in addition to the Victory March, I thought we did the National Anthem. Can anyone confirm that? If so, does anyone have an electronic (vice wax) version of that? I'd like to use the National Anthem recording at my retirement luncheon on January 5th if possible.

Just taking a shot in the dark here.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

The (soon to be former) Colonel

Another National Title!

This time it's for the band.  The ND Marching Band just received the Sudler Trophy.  According to the Sousa Foundation, "The purpose of the Sudler Trophy is to identify and recognize collegiate marching bands of particular excellence that have made outstanding contributions to the American way of life.  The Sudler Trophy will be awarded biannually to a college or university marching band which has demonstrated the highest of musical standards and innovative marching routines and ideas, and which has made important contributions to the advancement of the performance standards of college marching bands over a number of years."

Not too shabby!  The award was given to the band today at the Midwest Clinic - an international band and orchestra conference that's held in Chicago every year around Christmas (my dad used to go every year!).

Congratulations to the Notre Dame Marching Band - Go Irish, Beat Hurricanes!


Can you tell I'm a proud band mom???

My Retirement Ceremony

Hello All

As I told you in September, I'll be retiring from the Air Force in January. My retirement ceremony will be on Friday January 7th at 2 PM, at Los Angeles AFB in El Segundo, CA.

I most sincerely invite you all to attend my ceremony. I also most sincerely don't expect any of you to drop your real lives to be here. But if you're looking for an excuse to come to LA during the winter, this could be it! We'll have the ceremony Friday afternoon, a reception on the base after that, and an "open house" at a local resort hotel on Saturday.

So, let me know if you might swing out here. Jill and I would love to share the occasion with any and all of you.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT HURRICANES!!!! (THAT SOUNDS SOOOOO GREAT!)

The Colonel

Anyone going to El Paso?

Should I try to order tickets for you? We won't be getting to Texas this bowl season.

National Champions!!!

No, not your men's football team. But the Irish women's Soccer team just beat previously undefeated and #1 Stanford 1-nil to win the national championship! I watched a bit of the first half, then taped the second half on my way out to church. I'll try to watch it later today after boss' holiday party and church gala, at which I get to sing and play timpani, bells, bongos and conga. Not all at the same time, but sometimes it seems like it. Onward, and congrats to the Lady Irish!!!

The Beauty of College Footbal

Good Evening, friends. We love to hate USC, but I just have to say, there's a beauty in watching USC/UCLA, at the Rose Bowl, with both teams wearing their home jerseys. They'll get fined by the NCAA for that, but they've agreed that it's a fine worth paying, and I agree. I must admit that watching these teams play each other was always something I enjoyed growing up. Of course, it's easier to watch these days when one is on probation and neither are going to bowl games!

And say goodbye to the Oklahoma/Nebraska rivalry. I'm sure the Big 12 (or whatever they'll call themselves next season) were VERY happy to see Oklahoma pull out a win today and not have a Big 10 (or whatever they'll call themselves next season) bound Nebraska take the conference championship trophy with them to points East.

So let's see what Phil Knight cooks up for Oregon's BCS Championship Game uniforms. Today their dominant color was grey, which was a bit odd. I'm sure the Green and Yellow will be prominent on 10 January. I'm glad we'll have a contrast in colors with Auburn. Don't know who will be the "home" team, but I'd love to see Auburn in their dark blue jerseys and Oregon working some yellow with green accents. Nice clash!

Have a good week all.

The Colonel

Deal or No Deal?

When the devil showed up early Saturday in the USC coaches’ offices, do you think they took this offer?

Coach Kiffin, do I have a deal for you. I can promise you the following in your upcoming game versus “God’s Team”:

1. SC will win the turnover battle 4 to 1.
2. In addition to ND’s 4 turnovers, they will punt 6 times.
3. ND will miss an extra point attempt.
4. ND’s average starting field position for the game will be their own 19 yard line. They will start one possession at their own 1 yard line, and their best starting field position will be their own 38 yard line.
5. On ND’s first six possessions of the second half, they’ll gain 30 total yards. Three of those drives will gain zero yards. Three will end with turnovers.
6. SC will be inside ND’s 30 yard line 5 times.
7. SC will score 4 times after an ND turnover.
8. For good measure, I’ll throw in a second half driving rain that an ND freshman QB must face. And, what the heck, SC will lead in time of possession.

Not a bad deal, huh?

Too bad it didn’t result in victory for the now 7-5 Trojans. I still remember when I heard on the first Saturday in January that Uncle Pete had left for the NFL. I thought to myself “things are finally looking up”. Well, it’s been a long season for the Irish, but I think I’m right in that feeling. 7-5 feels monumentally better than 6-6, especially given the circumstances.

After losing our last 4 games last year, and 4 of our last 5 in 2008 (not counting the bowl game), going out with three wins (not counting this year’s bowl game) certainly feels like we’re maybe getting on the right track.

And props to the defense (when’s the last time we said that three weeks in a row?). They were the reason we won the game. They’ve basically given up one 2-yard drive for a TD (that took all 4 downs for the score) in the last 3+ games. That’s stellar, regardless of who is on the other side of the line. The media here are all whining about how conservatively SC played on offense, but all I can say to that is “boo hoo”. They called what they thought would work and we stopped them. Next question.

I don’t know which 7-5 team is better, top to bottom. But I do know which team played with more heart and desire last night. And I know which team is feeling better about themselves going in to bowl season and next season. That would be your Notre Dame Fighting Irish, sports fans. Been a long time since we said that too.

This was a big game for the program, after the season they’ve been through. It’s heartening to see that the coaching staff had them up and ready. And ready to fight through some adversity. It’s scary to talk about our defense being “good” again. But it’s amazing how much easier it is to win when you play good defense.

One final, personal note. This was the first game I really cared about in quite a while. I was shushing family members. Throwing clipboards on the floor. Yelling when we scored. Felt good, I must say. I’ll have some more of that, please.

Time to stop gushing. It is only one game in a 7-5 season, after all. But it will definitely go down as the biggest win of the year. Archrival. On the road. Improving our bowl outcome. Breaking a long losing streak. Near national (sorry Rosie) TV. Prime Time (at least back east). 3-0 in November! It all adds up to one big W.

Coach Kiffin, Satan just picked your pocket.

GO IRISH!!!! BEAT _INSERT BOWL OPPONENT NICKNAME HERE_!!!!

The Colonel

We Beat USC!

The big takeaway from this game was that the better team won and the better team was Notre Dame. Without a couple bad plays by Rees this game is a total smackdown. Who would have predicted this just a few short weeks ago? Not the best USC team ever but then we were missing many talented players ourselves. And we got murdered on field position all day but just took it in stride.

This was a game of memorable moments. These included the many defensive stands, the 3 terrific Irish drives, the painful turnovers, the amazing USC drop near the end, the smash mouth running game when we desperately needed it, and the final turnover that sealed the win. Kudos to the coaches for having this team playing so well in November, kudos to Hughes for literally putting the team on his back, and kudos to the defense for terrific play throughout. I have to admit I had several "here we go again" thoughts when we tried to throw it away a few times but the ND players never had their heads down.

Stadium notes. Our seats were somewhere near the rings of Saturn so I could not see all the finer details but it was fun to have so much to cheer about out here in LA for a change. The Irish fans definitely made some noise. I have to say the USC campus vibe was not as obnoxious as it has been in the past; I can only think of one or two obscene yells toward us all day. There were a few loud trojan fans mixed into the ND section, but in general the home fans were not raucous. Maybe they are a bit humbled this year. A heck of a lot of them left when it started raining which made it more fun when we went berserk at the end.

So now at 7-5 I expect we will be in the Champs Sports bowl on Dec 28. We hope to attend and watch the band and the team close out the year with a win.

GO IRISH!

The Drought is OVER!

After 8 losses in a row, we finally beat USC, in the rain at the Coliseum. It was worth sitting here at the computer to see it. Tommy Rees did a pretty decent job staying focused, although I could have done without those interceptions. Robert Hughes is my new favorite player - he kept churning out the yards and scored when we needed it.

I'm looking forward to an in-depth analysis, which I'm sure we'll have tomorrow from both the Godfather and the Colonel.

In the meantime, which bowl will invite ND? My husband thinks possibly the one in NYC at Yankee Stadium; it's possible that Syracuse could be invited there. If both of our teams are invited, there's a good chance that there will be six Tenneys in the stands for that one.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I count all of you when I'm counting my blessings.

The Thrill of Victory

Wow. Wasn't very pretty, but what a beautiful W!!! Shamrock tie at church tomorrow!

Let's Win a Squeaker

Well, this is our best shot in several years, sports fans. I must say it's as muted a build-up as I've seen here in SoCal in the 6+ years we've been out here. That's what happens when the teams have a combined 9 losses coming in.

Seems like Mustain will play vice Barkley. But if Barkley plays, I don't think he'll be near 100%, so who knows what situation is better for us. A gimpy Barkley might be easier to catch!

Don's right; if our defense shows up, we've got a very good chance of winning. I think we'll need either a special teams score, or a defensive play that puts us in the red zone or gets a score.

I'm picturing our defense on the field with a 4 or 5 point lead in the closing seconds, Southern Cal needing a TD for the win. And we stop them.

I think this is because I can't bear the thought of another 6-6 season.

So, what the heck, let's predict a win: IRISH 21, TROJANS 17.

GO IRISH!!!! BEAT TROJANS!!!!

The Colonel

Defense will tell the tale today

It comes down to this in my view. If our defense performs well again today we will win. We are unlikely to score a lot of points today, so to keep it close the defense has to hold the Trojans to moderate success. USC defense is pretty poor so I do think we will move the ball but we will be facing a much faster team on both sides of the ball than our last few opponents.

I was leaning toward picking the Trojans this week but two small but significant things have pushed me the other way. In listening to Kelly press conferences this week, he said he would have the first offense going against the first defense in practice to make sure they can simulate game speed and talent. The other tidbit is about playing the USC fight song at practice. There has been a recent tradition to blast "Fight On" during ND practices so the team could get used to the monotonous soundtrack we all have come to expect from the USC band. Let me quote Kelly: "we are not going to be doing that". Screw those guys and their fight song!

With Barkley out of the equation I think we will win. We will be there to watch and I will give you my stadium perspective tomorrow or probably Monday. One way or another we hope to be making bowl trip plans next week!

ND 20, USC 14

GO IRISH!

Here Come the Irish!

This is a different team right now. Very different for lots of reasons. We saw a dominating defensive performance, a solid freshman QB, and a terrific running game all in the same day for the second week in a row. We are going to give USC a hell of a game and our bowl opponent (doesn't "bowl" sound good?) a lot to worry about. I am starting to remember what it feels like to see a good Notre Dame team take the field.

The stats were spectacular yesterday but underneath them all were some terrific individual performances. Eifert looked great, our cornerbacks played fantastic and the entire defensive scheme was well designed. OK, it was Army, but they have a good team this year and we had the Navy experience on our minds. What is most encouraging to me is the way this team is actually improving in November. Look at all the studs we have out of the lineup yet we still look more prepared, stronger and more emotional out there. When was the last time we could say that in the month of November? Long time.

On a side note, my experience watching Northwestern and Illinois at Wrigley Field was a lot of fun. Very electric atmosphere and it turned out to be a score-a-thon for both teams. Really crazy.

Be sure to note the Times Square photo I included below in my band post. We hear the entire weekend was "awesome" and the band had a terrific time. Also grab the image above for your PC desktop background. This is the week to use it! Oh yeah, USC got stomped yesterday at Oregon State. That won't affect things next week, they will be ready and so will we though an injury to USC QB Barkley could be a big factor.

This might finally be the year. GO IRISH! BEAT TROJANS!

Learning Process Continues Today?

Today should be an interesting chapter in the Irish football season. Can we figure out the option? Will Rees continue to develop? Can we build on the Utah game momentum and get bowl eligible?

Since I do not have enough college football in my life, I will be attending the Illinois - Northwestern game today in Wrigley Field today thanks to one of my nephews. Kind of funny that it is the same day the Irish play in another famous baseball venue. The game in Chicago will feature an unique "offense always go west" dimension due to safety concerns about the east endzone bordering the outfield wall. That should be something. I may miss the beginning of the ND game but I will catch up quickly.

Anyway today the Irish face the Black Knights in a much hyped return to Yankee Stadium complete with the green jerseys. Army is 6-4 and has been playing well but they have not beat a winning team so far. I don't think they will today. Irish are favored by 8 points and hopefully will be surrounded by a lot of subway alumni cheering them on as they did many years ago in NYC.

Keys to the game. Have to start with the "stop the fullback" theme for our defense against the option. Feeling here is that seeing it again and trying to prove Navy was an aberration will inspire the defense to step up and shut down the running game. No one stops it completely but limiting the big plays and forcing Army into long 3rd downs will be a key indicator. On offense, we need to be very efficient as possessions will be limited again. Tommy played a near perfect game last week, he needs to repeat that type of performance; make good choices etc. Really looking for Cierre Wood to be a factor today, I think we want to establish the run behind the big uglies. If we fall behind that will be impossible. On the other hand building a lead will force Army out of its rhythm. But I doubt we will build a big lead at any time unless Army starts dropping the ball (they won't). So I am expecting a win but not a big point total.

Last week felt like a big turning point to me so here we go. My prediction is ND 24, Army 14.

Hope to be writing about the complicated bowl scenario at this time tomorrow. GO IRISH!

New York, New York and the BAND

I thought you loyal readers might enjoy the inside scoop on what The Band of the Fighting Irish is doing this weekend at the second off-site home game. Last year was a ball in San Antonio but we will miss this one. Quite a schedule! Two long days on the bus bracket two days in NYC.

Thursday

8:00 am Load buses
9:00 am Depart campus, Bus Trip is about 13-14 hrs including a stop
2:15 PM - Arrive Strongsville H.S.
3:00 PM - Open rehearsal/demonstration at Strongsville H.S.
4:00 PM - End rehearsal. Depart Strongsville.
12:00pm Arrive hotel - Marriott Teaneck at Glenpointe, New Jersey:

Friday

9- 10am (TBA) Check out of NJ hotel
TBA arrive Sheraton Hotel and leave items until 4pm check in
TBA(approx 4:30) Walk to Pep Rally location Lincoln Center Plaza
5:30pm to 6:15pm Pep Rally at Lincoln Center Plaza
Free time Friday Night (WOW!)

Saturday

TBA(Approx 11:00) depart Hotel (walk) to Concert Set up Times Square
12:00 to 12:45pm Concert on the Steps – Times Square
Box lunch after concert
1:00pm Board special BAND ONLY subway train from Manhattan to Bronx
2:00pm Rehearsal Exhibition -Macombs Dam Park (across from Yankee Stadium)
TBA walk to Yankee Stadium
Rehearse with Glee Club
Free time until pregame
7:00pm Kick off
Return to the Sheraton after game

Sunday

8:00am load buses and depart hotel for campus
11:00pm arrive campus

Long weekend but it should be a ball. That concert in Times Square would be something to see.

Go Irish Band!

"You're gonna eat lightin', and you're gonna crap thunder!"

OK, OK my prediction was way off again. Well I guess I should have referred to another movie quote instead from Rocky's trainer Mickey which I have used as my title today. Who were those guys and where did this come from? A complete game that was incredibly fun to watch and I really cannot remember how long it has been since we beat somebody good and more difficult to recall when we manhandled a team as good as Utah. Amazing. Go figure.

Obviously we are not as bad as we looked against Navy and we are probably not as good as we looked against Utah. Utah was probably a bit overrated as well. But just how good a performance was this? It has been 59 games since we beat a top 25 team and we broke an 11 game losing streak against ranked opponents. We held Utah to only 265 yards (they average 422) and as noted by the Colonel it has been 44 games since they have not scored at least one touchdown. The defense and special teams came up big in a big game and dominated throughout. Rees was 13-of-20 with 3 touchdown passes and we had ZERO turnovers. Our run and pass offense was exactly 50/50 and we were able to put the game out of reach fairly early in the second half.

Campus and Game notes. The ND fans get criticized for sitting on our hands sometimes but it is amazing how just a couple plays can awaken the faithful. When Blanton blocked the punt, it was like someone set off a stick of dynamite in the stadium. The crowd really did get into it at that point and I think never wavered. It was pretty loud and electric. As important as that blocked punt was, I feel the turnover on the 2nd half kickoff was even bigger. Utah was only down 14-3, getting the kickoff with halftime adjustments on their mind. They drop it, we get it, we score on next play. It was a huge dagger in the momentum of the game.

Man there were a lot of Utah fans in town, seemed like there was RED everywhere on Friday and Saturday before the game. They were at all the campus landmarks and weekend events in droves including the concert on the steps. It was like they were in Disneyland; a good reminder of how special our gameday traditions can be. Did not see as much Red in the stadium besides the visitor section but then most of us were wearing rain suits at that point. Those Utah fans obviously travel well and I almost felt a bit bad that they got rained on and stomped so thoroughly. They never got ANYTHING to cheer about as we dominated the whole game. The poor Utah band could not even get out of the place due to the extended post-game celebration. If you did not see the ND band show, you must watch the replay on NBC.com. I am proud to say my daughter Angela was one of the 16 bandies doing double time across the field as the "football" in the forward pass. Very creative.

ND fans, let's bask in the glow of this great win for one day and then figure out how to tackle the fullback in the triple option.

Go Irish! Beat Army!

What Was That??

Look, out on the field--it's a bird, it's a plane, it's SUPER TEAM!

OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but hooray for the good guys!

While you'd figure that the Utes would come out trying to prove last week's shellacking at the hands of TCU was a fluke, they just didn't bring their A game, did they?

Although early on it looked bad, didn't it? The went right down the field and scored, we couldn't do squadoosh on offense, and I was settling in to watch us get bowled over.

I'll wait to see Godfather's impression, but I believe the blocked punt was the game changer. After that, Utah more or less went away. Harrison Smith's "play of his life" interception was another great momentum stopper.

And in the second half, we snuffed them with the opening kickoff fumble recover and ensuing one play TD drive. Basically, game over at that point.

Props to the defense and special teams, who helped keep the offense out of bad field position and out of having to play from behind. Utah had averaged 41 points prior to yesterday (even with scoring only 7 last week). And they hadn't been held without a TD in 45 games.

Hopefully, our first win on Senior Day since 2007 can propel us forward to a big win at Yankee Stadium and then a date with the Trojans in the Coliseum. Interesting: in three consecutive weeks, we play in 3 of the most famous stadiums in the country. 7-5 is possible; the Trojans are definitely beatable. But let's worry about the Black Knights first.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT ARMY!!!

The Colonel

I can't help this negative feeling either

I'm afraid Godfather has it pretty close to right, although I STILL hope that ND will pull something out of the archives and make this a winning effort.

I don't know too much about Utah, but in thinking about this game, I remembered that Sunday morning after the band reunion/Stanford game, I sat in the airport next to an older gentleman. By his size, I guessed that he'd played college football. After he finished reading his sports page, he turned to me and asked if I would like to read it. In our brief conversation, he mentioned he was from Utah and came to see the game. Perhaps he was a scout for Utah. That makes me very nervous because by my recollection, the Stanford game was when the wheels either got very loose or came off the team.

This team has had nearly every handicap thrown at it this year - a new coach, plenty of injuries, hard losses, a death in the student ranks, and plenty of doubters in the media and even in the stands. (Not referring to you, Godfather!) This is when we'll find out what the program has for backbone. Will they come together and give a good showing, and at minimum scare the Utes? Or will they go armadillo on us and curl up in a ball by halftime and hope to deflect futher attacks and injuries?

I'm hoping they'll dig deep within themselves and play beyond all expectations. I hesitate to do this and will probably be wrong, but I'm picking ND by 3. Irish 24, Utes 21. Go Irish! Give the Godfather a huge traffic jam! Score that winning field goal at :03 left in the 4th quarter!

Yo Adrian!

Well I promised my Rocky reference in this week's prediction so here it is. I am referring to the first Rocky movie not the other five (Yes, there have been six total!) with this blog entry. They should have stopped after Rocky III.

Right before the dramatic boxing match Rocky realizes he cannot win against Apollo Creed, but he makes a commitment to give it his all and stay standing until the final bell. Of course he does so in dramatic fashion and we have the most exciting loss in boxing. Kind of like how we lost to USC in 2005 as you recall. So my feeling is we cannot beat Utah tomorrow. I mean we have our top 5 offensive guys out or hobbled, Utah is going to be out to prove something and they have a much better team any way you slice it. Even in my most optimistic moment, I cannot see a scenario where we pull it out. We have a better shot at beating USC this year (though I doubt we will). Of course anything is possible in college football and I will certainly be hoping all the breaks bounce our way for an upset. But they won't.

So now that I got all that out, what can we hope for tomorrow? We need a Rocky moment in my view. Let's take the underdog mentality and play tough for 4 quarters to hopefully turn around the current downward trend for the Irish. This is one time I hope the traffic after the game will be bad because everyone has to stick around for an exciting finish. There have been a lot of comparisons in the press of this year's team to the Holtz first year team which lost a lot of close games against top 10 teams (but beat USC!). They not only played tough but kept improving throughout the season. It would be nice to see that kind of performance tomorrow. Losing always hurts, but not so much when you play your best and the other guys just play better. A bummer, but I can live with it tomorrow. What I don't want to see is the game get out of control early and the Irish fold up the tent.

Spread in the paper says Utah by 5.5. I will go with Utah 30, ND 21

GO IRISH!

Smash the Horned Frogs!

That's right, as Rosie stated last week, the best thing for ND football this week would be for Utah to pull off an upset against TCU. The game is in Utah, so who knows. If they win they will probably come into ND stadium ranked something like #3 or #4 in the country. That would set up the biggest game at ND since the "Bush-Push" non-game (since NCAA vacated USC wins of that season - boo hoo!) of Charlie Weis' first year. Would make it interesting anyway. Even if they lose to TCU we will be underdogs next week which has not happened much this year.

The open week for ND football has provided time and space for many news and sports articles about Notre Dame. Could not let a week go by without blogging, I am too enamored with my deep thoughts to sit on the sidelines. So read and react if you like.

The Declan Sullivan tragedy will continue to be in the news until some official report comes from ND. There is a combination of traditional ND haters, investigative reporters, and legitimately concerned fans that want some answers. I doubt there will be the clarity some seek but I don't think there is some conspiracy afoot. Clearly some stupid decisions were made or more likely people simply did not think about the potential danger on a day that was windy but clear and sunny at the same time. The Sullivan family does not seem to be seeking someone to blame, but at the least all concerned should learn how to avoid a repeat of this terrible accident.

The other off week pile of articles and blogs about how "ND football will never be good again" has appeared as expected. Maybe time will prove that contention is correct but I still refuse to believe it. There just simply are not any logical reasons ND cannot compete on the highest level again. We either have or can get the best facilities, top athletes, great coaches, tough schedules and national attention required to be in the top echelon. ND has some disadvantages but also many advantages in this quest. We will never get the brainless JUCO transfers that other schools get to stack the rosters with talent but heck we don't want those guys do we? We still attract many fine athletes that want to be part of the ND tradition, get a great education and are kids we are proud to see represent Our Lady. To say we have made several stumbles in the coaching ranks is a huge understatement but Kelly should be the guy we need over the next several years. Time will tell.

Speaking of the future, have you looked at that 2012 schedule? Wow: Michigan, Miami, Stanford, BYU, Oklahoma, Wake Forest and USC to name a few. Navy, Purdue, MSU, Pitt and BC are not slouches either. Run the table that year and we will be making room in the trophy case for some new national championship hardware. One can dream, right?

Spoiler Alert! The title for my prediction blog next week will be Yo Adrian! Stay tuned to learn what that will mean!

GO UTES! Beat Horned Frogs!

This One Really Hurt

Boy I can talk through this game in so many ways. We had a ton of freshman out there, our defense only gave up 13 points against a decent team. We saw Tommy Rees play great really under tremendous pressure. Unfortunately it all came crashing down on one play.

I kept thinking if we could just get ahead by two touchdowns we would probably be okay and even at the end I felt like a 2 point win would be a happy outcome considering all the dynamics of the day. But this team plays up and down and lets opponents hang around and then one play can make the difference and unfortunately for us many of those "one plays" this season (Michigan, MSU, Tulsa) have gone the wrong way. We had several chances to step on Tulsa's neck and just kept blowing it with turnovers or key plays. Man it was very depressing at the end, particularly given we were just about to win.

Since the Colonel asked, I will report that the mood did not seem overly somber and the crowd seemed typical in its noise. I will say that there was the usual kind of "who is Tulsa" vibe to the day. I know it is pompous to say it but the crowd just does not have the same feel as it would for a Michigan or USC or other top program. No excuse for apathy however and I was a bit pissed when the students tried to get a wave going in the 3rd quarter when we were up by a touchdown or maybe less. Get in the game man! Another coach from a lower tier team leaves South Bend with the "biggest win ever" for his program. How many of those have we seen recently?

Of course I feel particularly bad for this year's seniors who already have the distinction of seeing more losses during their 4-year stint than any ND class in history. Wow. If only we can somehow pull off one big upset, knock off Army and make a bowl game. But man that is hard to see happening. Just a few weeks ago we looked like we might be on our way. Not anymore.

So next we face the Utes. I agree with Rosie in hoping they come in here undefeated after beating TCU. They would be ripe for an upset and ND stadium would be rockin'. Even if they lose to TCU we will be the underdog and maybe that is something we can rally around because the Irish have to play above their heads to win. Crist, Rudolph, Williams, Allen, Riddick and God knows who else out of commission is quite a collective handicap.

I will close by looking at the bright side. The weather was terrific and the band show was great! We have it in us to beat a top program in 2 weeks. Let's DO IT.

Go Irish! Beat Utes!

Season Lost

I haven't watched the whole game yet, but I watched the important part--the end. And I'm a bit taken aback that in the post game press conference Coach Kelly said he'd throw that pass again.

Last time I checked, we have a field goal kicker who has not yet missed an attempt this season. And I checked 30 seconds ago. David Ruffer is 13 for 13. He should be 14 for 14.

There was NO reason to throw for the end zone. Or throw anywhere. We were almost in chip shot range. Two more runs into the line to set up DR's preferred position, kick the field goal and escape with a much needed win.

Getting greedy down a point is not a recipe for success, as was demonstrated this afternoon.

With Dane Crist, Ian Williams, Armando Allen and Kyle Rudolph out for the season, it feels like mop-up time is beginning.

Anyone else notice that Navy lost to Duke today? Let's not go transitive property on that one, please. And undefeated Utah is winning by an average score of 45-14. I'm just sayin'...

GO IRISH!!! BEAT UTES!!!

The Colonel

How 'Bout Them Dawgs? (Read on)

I just found out I’m related by marriage to Buck Belue. Name ring any bells, sports fans?

Just some comic relief to break the palpable tension going in to today’s game, given the tragedy that occurred Wednesday. I’ve read a lot of articles in the Trib this morning, and I’m not feeling a very good vibe for today’s game, or the rest of the season. Let’s hope the University handles this with dignity and transparency. I know many pregame rituals were canceled. Although one article in the Trib specifically mentioned that the midnite drummers circle did go on as scheduled last night.

Godfather, I’ll be very interested to get your birds eye view of the day, pre-, during and postgame.

I haven’t scouted Tulsa, so I won’t go on and on in pre-game analysis. I’m predicting a subdued crowd, so the team is going to have to do it on its own. Believe Michael Floyd will be back, which should help. But I’m guessing we’ll be uneven as usual. Defense is still a mess, to put it politely.

I’ll go along with Don’s high scoring prediction. We’re favored by 8 this morning, with an over/under of 62. Which translates to 35-27. Let’s go 35-28 Irish.

Back to good ole Buck. As you might remember, a certain national champion University of Georgia football team had a quarterback by the name of Buck Belue. The Buck Belue that went 1 for 13 for 7 yards against the Irish in the 1981 Sugar Bowl. Through the miracle that is Facebook, Jill discovered today that one of her first cousins’ daughters is married to the one and only Buck Belue. But wait, it gets better. Buck and his family live in Atlanta, and, I kid you not, one of their three children is named Rhett Butler Belue. It just doesn’t get any better than that, friends.

Back to our regular programming. Let’s hope for a victory and the start of a strong last third of the season. This time next month we’ll be somewhere between 4-8 and 8-4. Like I said last week, 6-6 is looking more likely. Yuck.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT HURRICANE!!!!

The Colonel

Dealing with a Tragedy

The ND family is responding to a terrible tragedy this week, the death of Declan Sullivan. Grant him, Lord, eternal rest, and let everlasting light shine upon him.

Impossible to know how these circumstances will affect the mindset of the team or fans. Each in his/her own way I suppose. There will be a moment of silence preceding the game, players will wear a decal in Declan's honor and dedicate the game to his memory. Pep rally and many football Friday events have been cancelled.

The last point spread I saw had ND favored by 8, considering we were favored by 6 over Navy that is little comfort. The odds makers are always a little too positive about ND, perhaps because of all the ND lovers who bet too much on the Irish. Some interesting stats about the odds and spread for ND. Notre Dame is 4-1 against the spread in their last five games following a game which they didn't cover, 5-12-2 against the spread in their last 19 games overall, and 5-16 against the spread in their last 21 home games against a team with a winning record. Tulsa is 4-0 against the spread in their last four games overall, 2-5-1 against the spread in their last eight road games, and 3-1-1 against the spread in their last five games following a win. Try to make some conclusions from that!

Have to pick the Irish in this one but again I expect us to have our ups/downs in perhaps a high scoring affair. Tulsa features a shifty QB and fast team which usually causes our defense fits.

Let's go with ND 35, Tulsa 30

Go Irish!

"The Bottom is Out of the Tub" A. Lincoln

That is a quote from our great president during one of the low points of the Civil War, seemed appropriate to me today as I try to get this debacle out of my mind.

Maybe it was silly to think Kelly could turn it all around so quickly and maybe it was silly to see the few positive threads in our play this month as a trend. But to get BLOWN OUT by Navy? Wow that really hurts. Talk about letting the air out of the balloon.

Sounds like (I did not see it) the defense was absolutely porous. That combined with a couple turnovers is going to be game, set and match when you play Navy. What the heck happened?! I cannot bring myself to watch it for more observations but I will be listening to Coach Kelly's observations to figure out how we got beat so bad. Now I really don't know what to think about this team.

Maybe we can get well against Tulsa, we better start somewhere and pull off an big upset against Utah or USC or it will be "I'll be home for Christmas" again for the Irish. Incredibly bummed out right now.

Go Irish! Beat Hurricanes!

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm...

What the Hell was that?

I’m gonna write this one while it’s fresh.

I had to consult the archives this afternoon to figure out the last time we got beat down by a non-top tier team. My conclusion: December 2003, when we lost to Syracuse 38-12. I don’t recall any of us seeing that coming. And I certainly didn’t see this coming today.

Would things have been different had we scored on our first drive? I’d like to think they would have, but I honestly don’t think so. The Middies were more motivated, executed (much) better, and our defense looked absolutely lost for most of the game. When we were still potentially in it, Navy completed on of their two (2!!!) passes after cornerback Gary Gray made three mistakes on one play: he tripped himself, he held the receiver, then he totally quit on the route, enabling the Navy receiver to be open by more than 5 yards.

That’s right, folks—Navy only completed two passes (they threw 3; the other one we got flagged for interference on another stupid play by a DB), and yet we still couldn’t stop the run. Navy averaged 6.1 yards per carry, and it seemed like more. We were the first team ever (ever!) to let a Navy fullback run for 200 yards. The defense will NOT be enjoying the film sessions this week.

And our offense was no better than mediocre (at best). DC’s two interceptions were terrible throws. Play calling seemed uninspiring, for lack of a better word. And will we ever be anything above average on kick and punt returns again? There’s been one game where that’s been a positive factor. One for eight ain’t great.

Now, emotion can cut both ways for a college team. But I think it’s fair to say at this point of the season that this team lacks emotion. They don’t seem excited when things go well. I don’t see a lot of rah rah, charge up your teammates activity from anyone on defense. Are they having any fun, even when they’re winning? I can’t tell. My assessment is that’s a byproduct of coaching style, so maybe BK & staff are very business-like and don’t do the “fire them up” thing. Has anyone been to a pep rally? I wonder what they’re like.

I’ll yield the floor to others now, but I’m really scratching my head on this team. 6-6 is looking more likely now, which is unfortunate given the close losses to UofM and MSU.

Thoughts, anyone?

GO IRISH!!! BEAT GREEN WAVE!!!

The Colonel

We Interrupt this Winning Streak...

Well, it's halftime and boy we look uninspired. And uninspiring. Navy came to play, and it's showing on the scoreboard. I thought our momentum had shifted after our TD and then our stop of them, but then a punt drops dead inside the 5, we have a lackluster set of plays culminating in DC throwing into triple covereage and then our defense reverts to its "we can't play the option" ways.

Their first drive was really sickening. On the two long plays, their ball carrier moved 50 and 30 yards on two different plays UNTOUCHED by the defense. Ain't gonna stop the option that way. They've thrown two passes, one for a TD and one for a completely stupid pass interference call.

And Navy gets the ball to start the second half. Godfather's always talking about half time adjustments. Well, never have we needed an "adjustment" more than we do in the next 15 minutes.

I hope we don't panic and put Floyd in the game. He's not the reason we're not winning, and he can't make any tackles on the Navy offensive ball carriers.

I'm glad I didn't blog before the game. I was feeling cocky and was going to predict a 31-10 win. Ha!

GO IRISH!!!! BEAT MIDDIES!!!!

The Colonel

Tough and Close

Newspaper says Irish by 6.5 tomorrow. If we continue to improve that is probably a good spread because we should beat Navy.

Keys to the game. Defense has to stop the run or should I say all options of the run. Ian Williams has to stuff the fullback dive and the linebackers have to get off blocks and cover the other backs. I like the discipline we have been playing with on the road this year and think we will do ok but Navy does not stop hammering away as we have seen. Have to do it for 4 quarters. We are without a couple offensive weapons like Riddick tomorrow so we may not be able to score a lot of points. If we could it might force Navy out of its game plan. But I think this one is going to be close again. Turnovers could be a factor in either direction.

Once again I think we find it difficult to cover. But we will win and keep building on our momentum.

ND 20, Navy 14

Go Irish!

Shake, Rattle, and Roll (finally in Q3)

The offense was shaky and the defense looked rattled in the first half but we did see what the Irish can be in the second half. The crowd did a double wave late in Q3 when the outcome was no longer in question. Long time since I have seen one of those and a long time since we scored 44 points (Colonel, need a history check there - probably the bowl game against Hawaii).

Have to feel good about a 44-20 win regardless of the competition so I will not dwell on the poor plays too much. We do have to say the Irish are still not firing on all cylinders. Crist looks confused or flustered often, also looks terrific often. He just needs to keep learning. Defense allows a lot of intermediate passes when faced with a good QB, would like to see us cover the middle of the field better.

On the plus side we got some production from the run game in the second half. Floyd looked super and was not 100% healthy. We held WMU to 2 of 14 on 3rd down (but 2 of 2 on 4th). We FINALLY won time of possession and learned to run some ball control in the 4th quarter. Hope we have a chance to do that again. Only one turnover and it was a bad luck tip so we took care of the ball again. Penalties were a concern but we cleaned that up a lot in the second half. Again, very encouraging to see us come out significantly improved in the second half and exert our will over the Broncos.

So next week we face Navy, the team that has given us fits for the past 3 years. Kelly says he has been preparing the team for the triple option all season so we will see how that works out soon.

GO IRISH! BEAT MIDDIES!

BTW, the WMU fight song is in 2/4. Very good band; check it out on NBC.com.

A Snoozer, Please

Let's just have a sit back, put your feet up, sip on a mimosa kind of afternoon, for once. I agree we won't beat the spread, but a 20 point win would sure be nice. No turnovers. Good kick returns and coverage setting up both our offense and defense with field position. Make it easy, not hard.

IRISH 34, WMU 14.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT BRONCOS!!!

2/4 or 6/8?

That's right, the most important question of the day may be what is the time signature of the Western Michigan fight song. I hope it is anyway.

During a press conference this week Kelly was asked what he used to do back in the day when his small school teams faced a storied program similar to ND. He said they had a lot of fun by putting in every trick play, flea flicker and fake kick from the playbook. It is a good bet that we will see some theatrics today so that will be something to watch for when WMU has the ball. Expect at least one play that catches the Irish napping.

Irish are favored by 24 in the local paper and not even Mark May of ESPN is picking WMU. If it is a blowout, I hope we see many of the subs get some quality playing time and also see the offense work out some of the kinks that have plagued us in recent weeks. One thing to watch for will be the use of the two new tight ends with Rudolph out for the season. Also Armando Allen may sit out which will give us a chance to see Wood and Hughes more. I would like to see more runs in a game like this as we ought to be able to pound them on the line.

We will win big but I don't think we will cover the spread. Hopefully we will take care of business early by stomping them into submission and everyone can enjoy the expected beautiful weather while the backups show what they can do. I am trying a new parking location today as well so I want lots of cars to leave the campus area early if it is a laugher for a change.

ND 38, WMU 17

GO IRISH!

Looking Up

Well, it wasn't pretty, especially the second half. I watched the first half, and (finally) the entire halftime show, but then had to leave to perform Dad Taxi duties during the second half. "Watched" the rest of the game on my Blackberry, getting updates from time to time. Late last night I watched the second half for real, and while it wasn't as bad as I thought it was on the Blackberry, it wasn't great.

But while we had all the momentum going into the half, and we didn’t exactly play flat in the second half, to only score 6 points is definitely disappointing. Had the opportunities to get at least 2 TDs and couldn’t capitalize.

Godfather, not sure why you said "no penalties" on the good side when the "pick" penalty cost us a TD on what would have been the most beautiful play of the season. I forget whether it was Riddick or Jones that got flagged, but whoever, he could have been a lot less obvious and still sprung Floyd for his route. Overall penalties were low, but this one cost us breaking the game open. Oh well.

Props to Don for giving Ruffer props. It was great that his record breaking field goal for consecutive makes was a long one—50 yards! And this was a game where we kinda got the breaks, with Pitt’s missed FGs, their one interception that was just a gift, etc.

I still can’t rave about a defense that gives up almost 400 yards (or more) every week.

Rudolph is definitely not healthy. You could see it on that one go route he was overthrown on. Gimpy.

It was nice to see Floyd fully involved. On our first TD drive, the color commentator (whose name I can never remember) said something like "Michael Floyd has been an integral part of this drive". I think that's the first time we could say that in a good way this season. Hopefully we'll get to say that a lot more over the next 6 games.

AND SOUTHERN CAL LOST! ON A LAST MINUTE FIELD GOAL FOR THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW!

But I digress.

Hard to believe the regular season is half over. I haven't looked, but I'm guessing our strength of schedule to date is pretty highly rated, so I guess we should be OK with 3-3. But 4-2 sounds so much better. Oh well.

Now we enter what should be the "easy" phase of our schedule. Navy will play us tough, but they’re down a bit this year. Utah’s 5-0, but Pitt is the best team they’ve played, and we get them after they have to play TCU and Air Force on consecutive weeks. We get in trouble looking ahead like this, but in theory, we could be 8-3 coming into the USC game. We shall see…

For now, let’s celebrate the victory and get ready to put up another one next week.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT BRONCOS!!!!!

Thank you David Ruffer

Star of the game: David Ruffer. If Pitt performs as well in their kicking game we probably lose. The kid is a rock.

OK, so I think this is something to build on. Pitt is a very good team despite its record. They lost to Utah and Miami before facing us and they still have a lot of talent. We did not exactly knock it out of the park but the defense had several opportunities to fold and did not in the 4th quarter.

Good stuff: No turnovers! Crist looked good in general and he made a difference with his feet on several plays. Floyd and Riddick are the dynamic duo in the passing game. If we get Rudolph healthy and Jones to kick it up a notch I don't know how anybody covers us. Defense played stout when it really counted and that was particularly satisfying considering how many times we folded in similar situations in the past. Controlled the run pretty good and only gave up a couple big pass plays. We held Pitt to 4 of 12 on 3rd downs and kept them out of the end zone on several long drives which ended up being a very big deal.

Bad stuff: Want Crist to learn to throw it away when necessary. Defense gave up 382 yards a small improvement that needs to accelerate. Running game seems pretty anemic right now and we continue to see defenses drop 8 when they know we are a pass first team. We were only 5 of 15 on 3rd down and could not eat up clock late in the game when that would have ended it all. We had Pitt on their heels for much of the game and did not display the killer instinct.

But all in all a lot to like yesterday and we get back to 3-3 as we enter what should be a easier sequence of games. One at a time as they say but if we continue to improve we will win the next 3.

GO IRISH! BEAT BRONCOS!

I'd love to hear the clog too

But (and isn't there always a but) we're really going to have to crank it up today to hear it. I took a quick look at the team comparisons and unless our defense can keep Pitt to a minimum on the ground game, we could be in a world of trouble. It looks like Pitt has a better rushing game than we do, but if Crist can turn on the passing game and our receivers can hold onto the ball, we could make this very interesting.

The weather shouldn't be a factor, but the home crowd should make the difference in this one. Godfather, get them on their feet and yelling!

One source picks Pitt to win 33-29. I'm going to turn that around and say we pull out a close one, ND 33 Pitt 29.

Time to Play the Clog Again!

No post-game clog since the opener; I think it has been long enough without that huh? So let's get back to 500 tomorrow with a victory over Pitt so I can see the Irish Guard "skilled marchers" do their thing after the game.

Irish are favored by 6 which is a pretty big spread on college bets. Over under is about 50 from what I read so a good amount of scoring is expected. Feel like the odds makers are a bit optimistic on us again. Pitt has had some big injuries including the star running back Dion Lewis who burned us big time last year. Their WR was expected to be a stud and has only caught 15 passes. They did win big last week and might be on a uptick and we seem to save Wannstadt's job too often so I am a bit concerned about the outcome.

Godfather keys to the game. Once again is starts with us stopping the run; if we do that we will win. Only really one big play by BC last week but Pitt may have more, we should try to keep it to 2-3. On offense, I hope to see more consistency; particularly no 3 and outs. We should score a chunk of points again. Most important in my view is whether the team continues to show improvement across the board. If we do, we will win and I will feel very good about the remainder of the season particular how good we can be in November when we face Utah and USC.

I had this down as a loss in my original season layout but in order to get back to my mid-season prediction of 3-3 I need it to be a win so let's pick the Irish in a hard fought but satisfying victory.

ND 28, Pitt 24

GO IRISH!

BC Stinks, But it is a W (and USC lost!)

Yes, it was sweet to see USC bite the dust last night as I was flicking around the TV stations. What a shame!

Did anyone else feel shocked by how far BC seems to have fallen? This is the team that manhandled us on the line of scrimmage for many years in recent history but last night it felt like we were playing a high school team a couple times. No decent QBs, no skill position talent, an uninspired line, and no speed on defense. Their recruiting must have really gone down the toilet for a few years. Certainly the Irish and our quick start had something to do with the play, but still. Almost felt a little bad for the eagles. But not really.

Colonel is right again, not exactly a stellar performance by the Irish. We were very inconsistent on offense. Here is a scary question, what would have happened if our backup QBs had played instead of Crist? Four great drives but the question is will that be enough against a better team. Should we ever go 3 and out with our talent? We have to cut down on the turnovers as well. Defense continues to improve and only allowed really one big play.

My favorite moment of the TV coverage was the "Kelly yelling" highlight reel. The man is really into the game for sure. Hope his fire in the belly passes along to the troops.

So good stuff included a dynamic offense that looks like a super bowl team when all the cylinders are hitting. We dominated the line of scrimmage for much of the game, particularly on defense. Mixed in some nice blitz packages also. Very few penalties was nice. We looked good on those 3rd and 1 situations with our power dive and Riddick looked good again in the pass game.

Concerns. Rudolph is clearly not 100%, did he have more than 1-2 catches? Inconsistent offense needs to smooth out the highs and lows. Crist missed many, many throws that could have put this game away in the first half.

Pitt is next and appears to be in disarray but that was the same story 2 years ago when they beat us at home. I think we will have our work cut out for us.

Go Irish! Beat Panthers!

It's a Start

Well, it was obvious we were the better team, especially when their QB went out for the game. It wasn't always pretty, but we took care of business, on the road, against an inferior team. And the result was positive. Good prediction Rosie--you just about nailed it.

DC didn't have a great night, but he didn't need to. We basically had a great first quarter and one good 3rd quarter drive offensively. The rest wasn't all that impressive.

The defense, with the exception of the one long TD, was solid, but they weren't playing against the Greatest Show on Turf. But again, mission accomplished. One step at a time.

AND SOUTHERN CAL LOST!!!! Was fun watching the shots of people in the stands after UDub kicked the game winning FG as time ran out. I knew they weren't as good as they thought they were. Proved it tonight. Too bad Stanford couldn't hold off Oregon. They led 21-3, but Oregon broke 50 by the end of the night. Oh well.

So time to hit the always under performing Wannstedt Pitt Panthers. Here's hoping we have a good home crowd ready to help the Irish back to .500.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT PANTHERS!!!

The Colonel

I Hope You Guys Are Right!

But I'm down in the dumps on the Irish, if you couldn't tell. And to add to the indignity, the game's not on here. I"m going to have to go to espn3.com and watch it on the web. Oh the Humanity!

But BC isn't up this year, as Rosie noted. So we'll see.

I certainly can't predict a two TD victory.

Another nail-biter. IRISH 21, BC 17. GO IRISH!!!! BEAT EAGLES!!!

Was it them or was it us?

The burning question of the week seems to be whether the caliber of the opposition was more of a factor than ND's quality of play the last few weeks. Tomorrow should help answer that question.

Point spread was ND by 4 earlier in the week but today it is ND by 2.5 which seems more like it. We have better talent but not a better record.

We do need a win to help right the ship so tomorrow becomes ANOTHER key turning point in the arc of the season. I don't think it will be a layup, but I think we will win.

I am going to agree with Rosie. ND 31, BC 17

GO IRISH!

Trying to get excited here

This week the game is at 8 PM eastern on ABC or maybe ESPN2. That means I’ll be up late and the 8:30 Mass Sunday is the 10th anniversary of my dad’s passing. Plus we have tickets to our local arts council to see an illusionist; he starts at 7. I will be recording the game and then speeding through it after I get home to see what I’ve missed, and probably watching the rest of it Sunday sometime. On the west coast, you’ll probably get Stanford-Oregon or USC-Washington.

BC doesn't look that good this year. Virginia Tech shut them out last week, and the other two games they’ve played were like Weber State and Marshall? Not really powerhouse teams. We might just have a chance at winning this one, although we will not be at home. That adds to the difficulty. But in a comparison of players, ND has a better balanced game. BC can run the ball, but they appear to have a very weak passing game. Let's hope our defense actually finds the drive to play for four quarters and keeps the pressure on the BC running backs.

. Our players don’t seem to have that spark they had when we were there; it looks like they walk around in a dream state. Individually there’s a ton of talent on the team, but it doesn’t come together (well, not that I could see from my POV last week. I saw more of the NBC sideline worker’s butts than I did of football.) I’m beginning to wonder if ND football will ever come back to its high-test, heart-attack excitement the way it was played when we were in school.

Whatever you do, don't smoke any cigars or try to sneak some alcohol. You never know who will be watching, she said snidely. Really, if I wanted a lecture last weekend, I'd have called my mother. And I don't believe that we are leaving a nasty world for our children. Instead, I'd say that the majority of us are working to leave our corners of the world a little better than when we found them. I was quite offended at the three-time lecture on morality and behavior. Flag on the director. That was major disappointment for me. It's a good thing that I saw so many of you that I hoped to see and got some good pix as well. Other than that, well, I don't want to call it a disappointment, but it was less than ideal. I didn't feel welcomed or respected by the current band administration.

Go Irish! ND 31 BC 17

Where are the Good Pictures?

Hey, I expected some good Ginocchio Pary House After Midnight pics. What gives??

And Then, Depression Set In

I don't know if it looked any worse up close and personal, but that was not a good showing yesterday. The last two games looked like equal opponents knocking each other around. Yesterday, Stanford showed they are clearly (!) the better team.

Stanford’s defense had everything covered, literally. I won’t repeat Godfather’s blog, but they had us figured out from start to finish.

And yes, our defense played their hearts out, but it wasn’t near good enough. The third down situation was fatal; again and again we gave up the four or six or ten or thirteen yards that were required for Stanford to advance. So while the on air commentary focused on our offense not giving the defense any rest, the D could have helped themselves as well. But, alas, they could not.

Our “turnaround specialist” head coach now has a new challenge before him: how to salvage a season. Fortunately for us, BC doesn’t seem that good, Pitt is a pretender again, and then we enter the soft part of the schedule prior to Southern Cal.

Time to start rooting for 6-6.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT EAGLES!!!

Pictures Saturday Drummers Circle - more pictures available on Facebook

PIctures from Friday, Sept. 24

What we do

I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, but when I came home, my family couldn't wait to show me a program that aired this morning at home. In case you're curious as to what we do in Sherburne to earn a living, our company is the first one featured in this 'hometown' program. Take a look! (and if you need any printing done, let me know.)

http://www.youtube.com/mvliving#p/u/0/T0U5k5-HnoQ

A Phew Photos

Just a few pictures from the game...it's hard to carry both cymbals and a camera at once...carrying just one cymbal doesn't cut it, so the camera didn't get a lot of action.

Rehearsal on Saturday Morning.

 

The snare drum line from Band 1.  These guys stepped off at about 1:30 p.m.  A formidable crew.

The cymbal line from Band 2.  Kate has her best bad@$$ look on in this picture.  I love it!  It was obvious to all that Band 1 was full of the 'old timers' and Band 2 was the 'young kids'.   We stepped off at 1:40 p.m.

Do these guys look like trouble or what?

 Always ordering others around...

Band 2 Bell Babes.

We all had fun together, but, man, was that a hard game to watch!  Perhaps the next band reunion will be with a better football team.  Go Irish, beat Eagles!

Growing Pains?

One of the story lines developing this season is the "new system", "young kids" line that our team is still settling in with new coaches and a new scheme. There may be some truth in that line of thinking, but we will have to wait for more of the season to unfold before we can see if the trajectory turns around.

We got whupped yesterday by a better team, nothing much good to say about it. My visiting band vantage point did not allow me to see much of the game so I cannot bore you with my analytical observations. But one stat backed up my feeling of dread during the game. Stanford was 11 of 16 on 3rd down conversions with an additional 2 of 4 on 4th down. The Irish were 4 of 13 and 0 of 1 respectively on the same stats. That really tells the tale of the game. Ouch.

Good stuff? Not much of ringing endorsement to say the defense played its best game so far but they did in my view. Stanford is a very good team and we kept it close most of the way and kept them out of the end zone till late in the day. Ruffer was solid again on field goals and has a streak of 12 in a row going. Floyd showed some encouraging signs yesterday. We won the turnover battle 3-2.

Offense could not get any flow or rhythm going. We squandered potential momentum changing turnovers a couple times by going 3 and out. We could not get the short yardage gains again and possess the ball for some longer drives. Crist regressed a bit and threw another interception. Stanford seemed to be extremely well prepared for our offense by shutting down Rudolph and dropping 8 into coverage on most plays. We could not figure it out and it surprised me that our offense was the weaker side of our performance yesterday.

Well on to BC. We need a win real bad next week to get things heading in the right direction. I am still hopeful but discouraged of course.

Go Irish! Beat Eagles!

time to win a squeaker

Typing this from kofc steak sandwich spot. Really hard to pick the irish today but I will anyway. ND 35, Stanforb32

We win a close one this time. T

Greetings Drummer Alums!

I know at least one of you will get this on your Blackberry while you're gathered, so please when you do, give a shout out to the assembled masses from me. Hope you're having a great weekend. Thd main job tomorrow is for you to not let the crowd suffer an emotional let down after two tough losses.

I'll be watching for very straight lines tomorrow, and you'd better all trot off the field!

Have a great time. Jill and I miss being there. ENJOY!!

And Remember...ROCK IS UP!!!!

The Colonel

Vote for the Band!

Help the ND Band win $25,000 in the CBS Hawaii Five-O Marching Band Mania contest by clicking here. You do have to register, so they're capturing some personal information. You can vote once a day through Oct. 4.

Book 'em Danno!

Hail to Sparta

Credit where credit is due. MSU played a good game. Incredibly gutsy call at the end that was executed well and won the game. QB Cousins was 22/33 for 245 yards with a string of something like 14 in a row in the second half. Great balance by the MSU offense with 477 yards total. I wish I was stating all this stuff about the Irish.

We are getting better in some ways and worse in others. Have to say overall trajectory feels DOWN right now when you throw in the emotional hurt of two tough losses. Just too many little things going wrong to win a close game as we have seen two weeks in a row. We have to get better.

Areas for improvement. Stop the big runs and the broken play passes down field. Simply cannot expect to win when you give up 477 yards to the other guys. We had another 10 minute deficit in time of possession that has to be wearing on the defense. Turnovers have to diminish we lost that battle 3 to 1. Penalties were way up last night as well.

A couple things really bug me. We need a reliable way to get 1-2 yards on the ground when we need it. The great ND teams of our era could reliably run the ball even when the other guys knew it was coming. Our current scheme seems to be a Crist dive or a Crist toss to Rudolph; both of which are not always working. We also need a package that can get 2 -3 first downs when we need to give the defense a rest. Our 30 second 3-outs don't help anybody. And then we need to stop the run more effectively. At times our D-line looked very good stuffing the run up the middle but we were dismal at the edges.

On the plus side, Crist looked fantastic for most of the game. Spread the ball around much more including helping Riddick to have a breakout performance which bodes well for the future. Floyd caught several key passes but I still feel he is in a bit of a funk given his sloppy ball handling and occasionally displays of frustration. Grow up and get it together man! Statistically the defense was terrible (MSU averaged about 5 yards per rush and 8 yards per pass) but they did have several big stops that helped shift momentum at key points in the game. Unfortunately our offense gave it right back a couple times.

So now we face a Stanford team that has Mt. Rushmore on the offensive line and is averaging 242 yards per game on the ground (and 233 in the air!). We are in for a real fight and while the trajectory is down now we can turn it around quickly with an upset (Stanford is bound to be favored heavily). If we lose again, the Irish may not be able to turn it around anytime soon.

GO IRISH! BEAT CARDINAL!

I Think the Play Clock Said :00

If anyone taped the game, go back to the "winning" play. I'm pretty sure MSU didn't get the snap off on time and there should have been a 5 yard delay of game penalty. I'm just saying...More tomorrow.

A Must Win (and so early in the season, yet)

Godfather's right; this is the "trajectory" game. Are we wokring our way up or wallowing in the mire. As this game goes, methinks so goes the season.

When I see a 3.5 home team advantage, that tells me they think we're better but playing on the road. So let's see how the road treats us.

Hopefully DC will have both eyes functioning tonite, which means we should have a better balance of both methods of offense, running and passing. We need it. And I think the defense will play well against the MSU offense.

And Rosie is right (Don too) that we always play MSU tight and this should be no exception. The over/under is 54; I'm taking the under tonite, especially if there's weather to contend with. Irish 24, Sparty 20.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT SPARTANS!!!

The Colonel

Expect a close one

Our paper has MSU favored by 3.5 tonight which is pretty much a home field advantage spread so I am thinking this is a pick 'em game for the odds makers.

Godfather's keys to the game: How will our defense do against a more traditional smash mouth offense, particularly against the run? Will our defense have the stamina to overcome a 10 or 15 minute deficit in time of possession? Will Floyd finally have a few big plays? How will Crist and other young players respond to a hostile crowd on the road? Weather may also be a factor again as there is likelihood of rain tonight in East Lansing. The Band of the Fighting Irish will be there to spur our football warriors on to victory.

So my pre-season prediction had this down as a loss but I randomly picked MSU as the one Big Ten team we would lose to this year. Since that happened last week, I am going to try to keep my season total on track and pick the Irish tonight but I think it will be a close dogfight. The next four games will be interesting. If (and this is really possible) we lose all four, the Kelly effigies will be out in force. If we win all four we will be on a BCS trajectory. Right now I would like to win 2 or possibly three of the 4 given the talent we have. But let's win one first.

ND 33, MSU 30

GO IRISH!

Deja Vu All Over Again

Ouch.

When we scored late, how many of you were worried by how much time was on the clock? Raise your hands. How many of you said, “just like last year”? Keep those hands up.

Frustrating game all around. I “viewed” by a combo of watching most of the first half, trying to listen to a radio station from who knows where for the last part of the second quarter and most of the third quarter, following on my Blackberry for the first half of the fourth quarter, and watching the bitter end in a restaurant when we were out with friends for a late lunch. I haven’t gone back to watch all from start to finish. Not sure I will, either. We’ll see.

Michigan will go undefeated if Denard Robinson continues on his current trajectory, and he’ll be the hands down Heisman winner. Their defense isn’t that good, but it doesn’t have to be. This guy is money. And he seems like a good kid, too. Doesn’t mean we can’t hate him, in a Rick Leach, Desmond Howard kind of way. But if he’s the real deal on the field, I hope he holds up off the field, too.

Way too many shades of yesteryear on defense, huh? No team that gives up 500 yards TO ONE PERSON deserves to win, so we didn’t, in fact, deserve to win.

That being said, if DC wasn’t monocular for most of the first half, I’m confident we would have one. We would have scored at least 40 points. How many of you, after our first drive, said, “OK, we’ve got this one covered”? I know that’s what I was thinking. That drive was a thing of beauty, even with the AA block in the back that took away our first of three TDs on that drive. I haven’t gone through today’s papers to see if DC got bonked on his TD sneak, but if AA doesn’t illegally block, maybe the game is totally different.

One more gripe. On the last play of the game, down by 4, you need to give your receivers a chance to catch the last pass in the end zone. DC sailed it way over everyone’s head. Horrible pass, just horrible.

Oh well, turn the page.

I’m totally ignorant of what Michigan State has been up to so far. I’m guessing they’ll be favored Saturday. I think I’ll be able to sit and watch a game from start to finish for the first time this year.

One thing I do know, as a follow-on to Don’s post. When we do get the Crist/Floyd thing going, this offense has the chance to be prolific. I think it’s a “when”, not an “if”. I’m sure the offensive coaches realize this, and I hope it will be a focus area this week.

On to East Lansing.

GO IRISH!!! BEAT SPARTANS!!!

The Colonel

Forgot about the BAND

I carelessly forgot to mention the band of the Fighting Irish in my post-game analysis so one more short entry.

We were pleasantly surprised to have a pretty dry afternoon after expecting the worst so that meant the band was able to keep the cheapo rain ponchos in their pockets and put on a heck of a show. NBC is screwing up the half time show taping for some reason (we just sent a nastygram to Jack Swarbrick - please pile on) and you can only see half of the show. It featured "Rhapsody in Blue", "Hawaii-Five-O" and "God Bless America" with the final number as a tribute to the 9-11 victims. The band is competing for some kind of special prize by the producers of the new Hawaii-Five-O series for the best song performance. They pulled out all the stops with surfer graphics, exploding volcanoes and a great arrangement.

Ken Dye is a terrific band leader and fantastic arranger in my view. He has an extra gear he can bring to new arrangements when he thinks it is special and I am sad you cannot hear the entire song on the recording because it had some wonderful segments. Great show overall.

The Michigan band did a cute tribute to Lady Gaga music and all their flags and dancers donned blond wigs and Gaga style attire for the tribute. It was good (but not as good as the Irish Band).

The band buses to East Lansing mid-day next Saturday for a night game and will get back to ND about 2 AM on Sunday. Doesn't that sound like fun?

The Real Deal

Always tough to lose a close game because you have to think of every key play (or injury) that may have made a difference. Our team has made a lot of opposing quarterbacks look like Heisman candidates over the years but I have to say that Denard Robinson is one heck of a player. We sat at ground level near the South 10 yard line so I got a good look at the game speed and moves of that kid; he is really something. I kept hoping he would just make one mistake: fumble, interception, bad read, a sack, whatever. Did not happen, the guy had a pretty near perfect game: 502 yards total offense and kept bouncing up after getting tackled about 30 times. The guy single hand-idly beat us.

There are no moral victories on a Kelly team; but we turned it over 3 times, played one half without our #1 QB, gave up 532 yards and still had a good chance to win the game with one minute to go. How did that happen? The team hung in there and showed some heart for sure but great teams figure out a way to win the close ones. My keys to the game both went the wrong way for ND. We could not contain Robinson and Michigan did keep it away or take it away from our offense.

The good news: Dayne Crist made a big step forward. He looked so much better in the pocket and put the team on his shoulders in the second half. If he stays healthy we will be ok. Defense gave up 532 yards so no game balls there but then again they could have really folded and did not. The last drive was a killer and I have to wonder if our 10 minute disadvantage in time of possession is wearing down the defense. The offense is prolific: 535 yards with a decent running game again. Ben Turk looked very good on punts (though I wish he had had less of them!). Only 4 penalties for 29 yards against the Irish. Rudolph and Teo both had very good games. Once again we made some good adjustments over half time and played better in the second half.

Bad news: Floyd is not able to get into the game. He is a game changing player for us and we have to get the other guys to fill the void or find a way to get him the ball more. Defense gave up 532 yards; simply cannot do that. Our backup QBs need A LOT of work as I feared.

We have several weeks of tough games ahead starting with MSU. I think we make or break the year in the next 4 contests. I think we will play well, but as we saw yesterday, the other team often plays well too.

GO IRISH! BEAT SPARTANS!

Let's Go Two-and-O!

30-27, Irish.

Yes, I know, I save my score prediction for the end, but as I was driving home on the 405 tonight, that score came to me, so I figured I should share it up front. I don’t always know at the beginning of my typing what score I will predict. I tend to look things up (ND home page, SB Trib, ESPN, etc) while I’m typing, and the things I find do impact my prediction.

But not this week.

Now, of course, this score appeared before my eyes before I knew of the rain forecast for tomorrow. So if it’s 20-17 Irish, that will be my weather-adjusted prediction.

But, barring weather-induced turnovers, I think offense will be king, on both sidelines.

I’m hoping Don’s right in that our simplified defense will continue to “keep things in front of us”. But I still worry a bit based on the one drive where Purdue brought in their running QB, and broke off several 10+ yard runs. That being said, we’ve had all week to prepare for Denard Robinson. We’ll see.

I remember the down-to-the-wire nature of last year’s game, and I believe we’ll have similar nail biting to do this week. The big difference could be if DC and Michael Floyd are in better rhythm. Floyd’s our game changer, but he didn’t do much positive game changing last week. His fumble changed things in the wrong way. If they’re rhythm is on, then we might see a two touchdown romp like Don predicts. But with the weather and no evidence we’re able to go down the field on big strikes last week, I’m thinking we’ll be living in “Closeville” again.

We’ll need continued solid special teams play (we were really good in all aspects of that last week) and we’ll need to continue to keep penalty totals low.

It’s an hour to game time so I’ll wrap things up. I obviously started this last night and am finishing now. And, lo and behold, the weather looks less foreboding, with just 10% chance of precip, temps in the low 60s. So I’m sticking by my score:

IRISH 30, WOLVERINES 27

GO IRISH!!!! BEAT WOLVERINES!!!!

The Colonel

Revenge Time against Wolverines

Tomorrow we face another early season "big" game for both ND and Michigan. Both teams had decent opening games and need to win to keep the momentum going. Michigan probably needs it more than the Irish given Rich Rod's status but I don't think that will matter at all. With all the big top 25 matchups on tap for tomorrow, this game may get lost in the shuffle as both teams are appropriately unranked at this juncture. The winner might sneak into the top 25 or at least get a few votes on Sunday. The loss to Michigan last year was a real heart breaker as I felt we deserved to win (unlike a few wins where we deserved to lose)but blew it at the end. Time for payback in my view.

So the keys to this game appear to be whether ND can contain another elusive Michigan QB (we blew that last year!) and whether Michigan can keep the ball away from our prolific offense. I am betting things will go our way for a few reasons. First, our simpler defensive scheme is less susceptible to big plays. We may have the best ND cornerback duo in many years and our LBs seem to be playing well. The d-line will be challenged against Michigan but overall I think we keep the Wolverines within reach. Our offense is going to eat up Michigan's secondary and I expect us to show balance again with the run game. I expect Crist to kick it up one notch and get a couple big throws. So bottom line we run away from Michigan in a high scoring affair.

The over/under is 52 according to my paper and the Irish are favored by 3.5 which indicates a close game. Weather looks lousy as we expect a lot of rain tomorrow which could be a wild card and keep the scoring down. Turnovers may also be a big factor with the ball being wet all the time. Hoping for a few hours of dry time when we need it!

So we win tomorrow. ND 38, Michigan 24

GO IRISH! BEAT WOLVERINES!