Now on to some bowl game somewhere. I think the Irish are the best 8-4 team out there so hopefully we can put a whoopin on some team in a bowl game to end the season on a high note.
Another solid performance last night and minus one or two interceptions we may have actually pulled off the upset. Thought we played tough but Stanford's running game just killed us.
Hey, USC and Alabama and Michigan lost so not a bad day. My son's plan to end the SEC reign of terror in the BCS championship is coming together. Now OSU and FSU have to win their games next week and we can all breath a sigh of relief.
If anyone knows what bowl we are going to, please tell me!
GO IRISH!
Sunday, December 01, 2013
The Better Team Won
So while we've beaten three teams ranked above us, today was not to be number 4. And while we kept it close, Stanford proved it is the better overall team tonight.
The ND Alumni Band was there in pretty good strength. I forgot to DVR the game before we left LA, so I hope someone will tell me you heard us (and that we sounded good!).
We fell behind, which is never good, and while Tommy had his good points, he didn't have a great game. Which is what we needed, since Stanford's offense did a very good job on our D overall, gaining over 400 yards.
Tommy's last INT was the costliest and most avoidable. He simply under threw an open receiver, and we could have been in definite scoring position with a good connection.
Our decimated defense showed its greenness and just wasn't able to make the plays it needed to.
We had a great time at the game (minus the loss); our band was about 25 strong and we filled the ND corner of the stands with lots of good noise. Anyone looking for a opportunity to play in 2015, please join is!
More later but very glad I was able to be in the stadium supporting the team.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT BOWL OPPONENT!!!
The Colonel
The ND Alumni Band was there in pretty good strength. I forgot to DVR the game before we left LA, so I hope someone will tell me you heard us (and that we sounded good!).
We fell behind, which is never good, and while Tommy had his good points, he didn't have a great game. Which is what we needed, since Stanford's offense did a very good job on our D overall, gaining over 400 yards.
Tommy's last INT was the costliest and most avoidable. He simply under threw an open receiver, and we could have been in definite scoring position with a good connection.
Our decimated defense showed its greenness and just wasn't able to make the plays it needed to.
We had a great time at the game (minus the loss); our band was about 25 strong and we filled the ND corner of the stands with lots of good noise. Anyone looking for a opportunity to play in 2015, please join is!
More later but very glad I was able to be in the stadium supporting the team.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT BOWL OPPONENT!!!
The Colonel
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Complete Performance
The Irish finally put it together on both sides of the ball for a solid win over a good team. A little sizzle in there as well with a long field goal and a blocked field goal! We have some very good young talent that once again made a big difference.
Man it was cold out there but something clicked for the Irish and the seniors got to sing the Alma Mater again. Now we need a repeat performance against Stanford. Will be a stretch but we can give them a game.
Go Irish! Beat Cardinal!
Godfather
Man it was cold out there but something clicked for the Irish and the seniors got to sing the Alma Mater again. Now we need a repeat performance against Stanford. Will be a stretch but we can give them a game.
Go Irish! Beat Cardinal!
Godfather
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Send Them Out on a High Note
Senior day at ND and it is snowing sideways at the moment. Actually considering watching the first half on TV cause it is not real pleasant out there right now.
Anyway, I think the sting of the Pitt loss, the two week prep time and the Senior day emotion will combine to put us over the top today. Weather will be a factor though BYU is certainly used to the cold. Guessing pass game will be difficult so maybe it is time for the big uglies to lead us in a great rushing performance. Odds makers call this a pick em game which is a diss to the Irish; I also think the over/under will be under.
Prediction:
ND 24, BYU 20
GO IRISH! STAY WARM!
Godfather
Anyway, I think the sting of the Pitt loss, the two week prep time and the Senior day emotion will combine to put us over the top today. Weather will be a factor though BYU is certainly used to the cold. Guessing pass game will be difficult so maybe it is time for the big uglies to lead us in a great rushing performance. Odds makers call this a pick em game which is a diss to the Irish; I also think the over/under will be under.
Prediction:
ND 24, BYU 20
GO IRISH! STAY WARM!
Godfather
Monday, November 11, 2013
Brutal, Terrible, Lousy, Awful, Etc.
Well we owed one to Pitt. We should have lost to them last year (when once again we played down to the competition) on our way to an undefeated season. We simply played our way out of it on Saturday. Just a terrible outing. Sure we suffered a couple terrible calls but in the end we did not execute and made plenty of flubs.
I wish I could say that the stadium was rocking over the top and the crowd inspired Pitt to go above and beyond but it was a pretty normal away game. The crowd was awake but hardly anywhere near home crowds at Michigan or even Purdue this year.
The Tuitt ejection was preposterous, they have to figure out that rule in the off season. Hard to say how much that hurt the defense but really they had several key stops during the night and played good enough to win. The offense was another matter. Tommy decided to flip out at the worst possible time - he can be blamed for two losses now. Always with Tommy it is "please don't lose the game" but this time he did. I have sincerely sung his praises this year because he has won us a couple and he is definitely our best QB. And there is the problem. We can only be 8-4 with Tommy but I do think we can be 12-0 again with a better QB. Our young receivers and backs show a lot of promise. But of course we need to see it on the field. Why we cannot get a consistent running game bewilders me. We never seem to give it a chance and stick with one guy. Using TJ in the end arounds worked great but was also an admission of failure in the regular run game. Golly gee, we cannot run it in from the one yard line! Our line blocks great for passes and lousy for running; go figure.
Well we have to put it behind us and get ready for two good teams. Maybe the team needs the BIG game to play their best. Hope so because we have to play much better against BYU and Stanford as both will be loaded for bear and smell blood in the water. Will be interesting to see if the younger players get some more time.
Trip Notes:
Nina celebrated her 29th Birthday again with the family - see the proof below. Happy Birthday Nina!
Unfortunately the lucky Band shirts displayed below did not work this time. Big shout out to Nancy-Rose for nabbing us some great seats on the 40 yard line (that also did not work!).
Let's get them next time.
GO IRISH! BEAT COUGARS!
I wish I could say that the stadium was rocking over the top and the crowd inspired Pitt to go above and beyond but it was a pretty normal away game. The crowd was awake but hardly anywhere near home crowds at Michigan or even Purdue this year.
The Tuitt ejection was preposterous, they have to figure out that rule in the off season. Hard to say how much that hurt the defense but really they had several key stops during the night and played good enough to win. The offense was another matter. Tommy decided to flip out at the worst possible time - he can be blamed for two losses now. Always with Tommy it is "please don't lose the game" but this time he did. I have sincerely sung his praises this year because he has won us a couple and he is definitely our best QB. And there is the problem. We can only be 8-4 with Tommy but I do think we can be 12-0 again with a better QB. Our young receivers and backs show a lot of promise. But of course we need to see it on the field. Why we cannot get a consistent running game bewilders me. We never seem to give it a chance and stick with one guy. Using TJ in the end arounds worked great but was also an admission of failure in the regular run game. Golly gee, we cannot run it in from the one yard line! Our line blocks great for passes and lousy for running; go figure.
Well we have to put it behind us and get ready for two good teams. Maybe the team needs the BIG game to play their best. Hope so because we have to play much better against BYU and Stanford as both will be loaded for bear and smell blood in the water. Will be interesting to see if the younger players get some more time.
Trip Notes:
Nina celebrated her 29th Birthday again with the family - see the proof below. Happy Birthday Nina!
Unfortunately the lucky Band shirts displayed below did not work this time. Big shout out to Nancy-Rose for nabbing us some great seats on the 40 yard line (that also did not work!).
Let's get them next time.
GO IRISH! BEAT COUGARS!
Saturday, November 09, 2013
Beat Pitt
Should be a cool but clear night here in Pittsburgh as the Irish take on the Panthers in another stepping stone game for our shot at the BCS. Paper has the line at 4.5 which seems a bit closer than I expected but certainly the Irish should win. Pitt may still have a burr up its saddle about giving away the game last season but that feeling will disappear shortly after kickoff. As usual, our opponent will treat this like the super bowl complete with having their high school recruits watching in a sold out stadium. We have to endure another night game thanks to ABC but at least I won't have to listen to Brent Musberger since we will be in the stadium.
The defense has been hurt by a bunch of injuries but the starting d-line is finally back together and that will help the backers and dbacks play better. Facing a more traditional offense will be a welcome change as well. On offense, I expect our receivers to shine again and am really looking forward to seeing Folston play. If we can find balance on that side and hold on to the ball, we should be able to take control of the game.
The place will be rocking early so a calm good start would be best. Take the crowd out of it and plod through a modest victory would be the idea. If Pitt gets ahead or picks up a turnover, I still think our guys will persevere but it could be another nail biter. We have been scoring points though so hopefully that will make it easier.
Some interesting developments in the BCS this week. Stanford beating Oregon is good for us but scary for that last challenge. Baylor stomping Oklahoma not great for our strength of schedule. Perhaps most important is that Florida State may be lined up for the National Championship instead of the Orange Bowl. If we sneak into the BCS, I do not want to face the Seminoles. But we have plenty to do before a bowl game.
Prediction:
ND 33, Pitt 27
GO IRISH!
Godfather
The defense has been hurt by a bunch of injuries but the starting d-line is finally back together and that will help the backers and dbacks play better. Facing a more traditional offense will be a welcome change as well. On offense, I expect our receivers to shine again and am really looking forward to seeing Folston play. If we can find balance on that side and hold on to the ball, we should be able to take control of the game.
The place will be rocking early so a calm good start would be best. Take the crowd out of it and plod through a modest victory would be the idea. If Pitt gets ahead or picks up a turnover, I still think our guys will persevere but it could be another nail biter. We have been scoring points though so hopefully that will make it easier.
Some interesting developments in the BCS this week. Stanford beating Oregon is good for us but scary for that last challenge. Baylor stomping Oklahoma not great for our strength of schedule. Perhaps most important is that Florida State may be lined up for the National Championship instead of the Orange Bowl. If we sneak into the BCS, I do not want to face the Seminoles. But we have plenty to do before a bowl game.
Prediction:
ND 33, Pitt 27
GO IRISH!
Godfather
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Finding Ways to Win
This team has a lot of heart. They never stop battling and have won games with offense, with defense and even with simple toughness. The signs of a real football program with staying power continued yesterday. Despite an almost perfect game by the Middies, we made a few key plays at the end and won the game. We had to go 3 or 4 deep on the depth chart to make it happen as the injuries piled up on defense. Again, the great programs play just as well with the 2nd and 3rd string and we saw some of that at the end of the game with scrubs helping to stop the Navy attack.
A BIG tip of the hat to Navy, the offense played to perfection and seemed to always make the right call. When we played the dive, the QB kept it. When we had the QB covered he tossed a perfect pitch. They even killed us with a couple choice passes. Incredibly frustrating to watch because Navy played so well. Not really a lot to be mad about but we could not pull away and the few "moments of truth" went against us with a penalty or turnover. Do not feel either pick was Tommy's fault but they did hurt in a game where every possession has to count.
How about Tarean Folston? Wow! The kid can play. In fact the offense looked fantastic and never had to punt. If we can just get the defense and offense clicking in the same game we good give even Stanford some serious trouble. But the injury report is not good, we lost a couple more players for the season and several guys are nicked up; particularly on defense. It will be hard to play at a high level with so many key players missing. Hopefully we can have some kind of breather game against Pitt but I would not count on it.
You probably saw it, but it is worth another look at the Blue Angel fly over. Six jets in tight formation going South to North. Then they came by again East to West unexpectedly which was super cool. Fly Navy!
GO IRISH! BEAT PANTHERS!
Godfather
A BIG tip of the hat to Navy, the offense played to perfection and seemed to always make the right call. When we played the dive, the QB kept it. When we had the QB covered he tossed a perfect pitch. They even killed us with a couple choice passes. Incredibly frustrating to watch because Navy played so well. Not really a lot to be mad about but we could not pull away and the few "moments of truth" went against us with a penalty or turnover. Do not feel either pick was Tommy's fault but they did hurt in a game where every possession has to count.
How about Tarean Folston? Wow! The kid can play. In fact the offense looked fantastic and never had to punt. If we can just get the defense and offense clicking in the same game we good give even Stanford some serious trouble. But the injury report is not good, we lost a couple more players for the season and several guys are nicked up; particularly on defense. It will be hard to play at a high level with so many key players missing. Hopefully we can have some kind of breather game against Pitt but I would not count on it.
You probably saw it, but it is worth another look at the Blue Angel fly over. Six jets in tight formation going South to North. Then they came by again East to West unexpectedly which was super cool. Fly Navy!
GO IRISH! BEAT PANTHERS!
Godfather
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Gold & Blue Angels
Yes, the Blue Angels plan to do a fly over today (weather permitting). This will be their first public appearance since the Sequester induced hiatus las April. The jets buzzed campus around noon yesterday. I was in the Huddle and did not see them but heard and felt the roar. Should be very cool today.
No need to do a review of the game last week as it turned into a laugher. Notable that Tommy and our receiving corps had a terrific day. Lots of young players saw time and one has to feel good about next year.
BUT we still have a lot of work to do this season including taking care of business against Navy today.
Prediction:
ND 35, Navy 17
We crept into the BCS at #25 last week, hopefully we can move up a bit more tomorrow. It is the time of year where many of the top 25 teams will have to lose in top tier rivalry games. Quite a few good ones today actually including ones in Florida and Michigan.
7-2 has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
GO IRISH!
No need to do a review of the game last week as it turned into a laugher. Notable that Tommy and our receiving corps had a terrific day. Lots of young players saw time and one has to feel good about next year.
BUT we still have a lot of work to do this season including taking care of business against Navy today.
Prediction:
ND 35, Navy 17
We crept into the BCS at #25 last week, hopefully we can move up a bit more tomorrow. It is the time of year where many of the top 25 teams will have to lose in top tier rivalry games. Quite a few good ones today actually including ones in Florida and Michigan.
7-2 has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
GO IRISH!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Ground the Falcons
Latest Line states Irish by 20 today. Seems about right. We really should dominate Air Force even though we are missing a few players. Of course we always struggle covering the spread so no money on today's prediction but let's get it out there right away.
ND 31, Air Force 13
I expect the offense to shine today as our receivers should have their way assuming Tommy gets the ball to them. Been an interesting week for Mr. Rees. Many of the naysayers have come around to give him his due and I hope he responds with a big game. Would be nice to send Tommy out with a strong senior season; he has been a real trooper for the Irish. Very good article by David Haugh about Tommy yesterday in the Chicago Tribune. Want to quote a section that nails it in my view:
One day when Rees is coaching football instead of playing it, he will reflect on everything he has endured in South Bend and realize how much better he is for the experience. Perhaps he already does. Rees could have transferred as coach Brian Kelly kept recruiting quarterbacks who were supposed to bury him on the depth chart. He could have responded to the trouble he made for himself in an off-campus incident 17 months ago by creating more. He could have checked out mentally as Everett Golson's backup in 2012 or withered under the uncommon scrutiny of a Notre Dame quarterback.
Instead, Rees responded in a way that still makes college football special for the majority of those privileged enough to play it. He grew up. He got up after getting knocked down. Now, Rees will lead Notre Dame at Air Force amid questions about his health. But, finally, they represent the right kind of concern for a quarterback with more moxie than talent whose value was proven.
Speaking of media darlings, how about the week Cam McDaniel had in cyberspace. If you want to cringe, watch the NBC Today Show segment embedded below. Do grown women really act like this?
The kid better watch his back the next couple weeks as defensive players may want to permanently scar him after all this hullabaloo about his looks. Very Scary.
So let's have a comfortable win today and keep everyone healthy. We really should sneak into the top 25 this week and start climbing the polls as the season progresses. Statistics can be misleading because of our schedule but the rankings below are hardly stellar in these four categories.
2013 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS
GO IRISH!
Godfather
ND 31, Air Force 13
I expect the offense to shine today as our receivers should have their way assuming Tommy gets the ball to them. Been an interesting week for Mr. Rees. Many of the naysayers have come around to give him his due and I hope he responds with a big game. Would be nice to send Tommy out with a strong senior season; he has been a real trooper for the Irish. Very good article by David Haugh about Tommy yesterday in the Chicago Tribune. Want to quote a section that nails it in my view:
One day when Rees is coaching football instead of playing it, he will reflect on everything he has endured in South Bend and realize how much better he is for the experience. Perhaps he already does. Rees could have transferred as coach Brian Kelly kept recruiting quarterbacks who were supposed to bury him on the depth chart. He could have responded to the trouble he made for himself in an off-campus incident 17 months ago by creating more. He could have checked out mentally as Everett Golson's backup in 2012 or withered under the uncommon scrutiny of a Notre Dame quarterback.
Instead, Rees responded in a way that still makes college football special for the majority of those privileged enough to play it. He grew up. He got up after getting knocked down. Now, Rees will lead Notre Dame at Air Force amid questions about his health. But, finally, they represent the right kind of concern for a quarterback with more moxie than talent whose value was proven.
Speaking of media darlings, how about the week Cam McDaniel had in cyberspace. If you want to cringe, watch the NBC Today Show segment embedded below. Do grown women really act like this?
The kid better watch his back the next couple weeks as defensive players may want to permanently scar him after all this hullabaloo about his looks. Very Scary.
So let's have a comfortable win today and keep everyone healthy. We really should sneak into the top 25 this week and start climbing the polls as the season progresses. Statistics can be misleading because of our schedule but the rankings below are hardly stellar in these four categories.
2013 OVERALL FBS RANKINGS
PASSING YARDS - 62nd Overall
RUSHING YARDS - 96th Overall
POINTS FOR - 84th Overall
POINTS AGAINST - 43rd Overall
GO IRISH!
Godfather
Monday, October 21, 2013
Weird Game - But We Beat USC
One of the stranger games I can recall last Saturday. Something that looked like a shootout with both teams zipping down the field in the first half turned into a defensive slugfest in the second half. I knew we had a good chance regardless of the QB situation when I saw so many USC players wearing SKI MASKS under their helmets. Babies!
Anyway it was so nice to see the defense take another step forward and that development bodes well for the future. Lots of players saw gametime including several freshmen yet the defense was stout when they had to be and won the game for the Irish. Tuitt was some kind of unstoppable animal out there and showed how good he can be when healthy and on top of his game. Our special teams were not stellar, particularly on punt coverage but once again the defense responded on a short field just like the good old days in 2012. Tip of the hat goes to the USC field goal kicker who had a terrible night. Boo Hoo for him.
But what was the deal with Hendrix? He looked like a freshman who never took a snap for some reason. Not sure if it was nerves, or USC, or what but he has to play a little better than that. I was troubled that we were going nowhere on offense and any little break or turnover would allow USC to score and win the game. In that arena, just think how bad they must feel after missing an opportunity to steal one from us on our home turf. Boo Hoo for them again!
This game did not have the exciting feel it normally does but there is no such thing as a "bad" victory over USC. We had to beat them this time around and we did. Now hopefully Tommy heals and we can get another few wins leading up to the Stanford game. Speaking of Tommy, he did play well during his time in there. Our first drive was a beautiful thing despite the fact that we cannot convert 3rd and short. We saw the offense firing on all cylinders there against a good team. If we can get both sides of the ball performing at the same time this can be a very formidable team. Still time to get it all together and maybe shock some people. The only way we get to the BCS is to win out in my opinion given that we are still not in the top 25. But let's take it one game at a time.
Go Irish! Beat Falcons!
Godfather
Anyway it was so nice to see the defense take another step forward and that development bodes well for the future. Lots of players saw gametime including several freshmen yet the defense was stout when they had to be and won the game for the Irish. Tuitt was some kind of unstoppable animal out there and showed how good he can be when healthy and on top of his game. Our special teams were not stellar, particularly on punt coverage but once again the defense responded on a short field just like the good old days in 2012. Tip of the hat goes to the USC field goal kicker who had a terrible night. Boo Hoo for him.
But what was the deal with Hendrix? He looked like a freshman who never took a snap for some reason. Not sure if it was nerves, or USC, or what but he has to play a little better than that. I was troubled that we were going nowhere on offense and any little break or turnover would allow USC to score and win the game. In that arena, just think how bad they must feel after missing an opportunity to steal one from us on our home turf. Boo Hoo for them again!
This game did not have the exciting feel it normally does but there is no such thing as a "bad" victory over USC. We had to beat them this time around and we did. Now hopefully Tommy heals and we can get another few wins leading up to the Stanford game. Speaking of Tommy, he did play well during his time in there. Our first drive was a beautiful thing despite the fact that we cannot convert 3rd and short. We saw the offense firing on all cylinders there against a good team. If we can get both sides of the ball performing at the same time this can be a very formidable team. Still time to get it all together and maybe shock some people. The only way we get to the BCS is to win out in my opinion given that we are still not in the top 25. But let's take it one game at a time.
Go Irish! Beat Falcons!
Godfather
Saturday, October 19, 2013
The Second Half Begins
I can state one thing categorically about tonite’s contest: this is the most under-hyped ND/SC game since I moved to LA in 2004. A combination of factors contribute. Both teams already have two losses and are unranked. The Dodgers were in the playoffs. UCLA is undefeated. And the locals don’t quite know what to make of the post-Kiffin Men of Troy. While they did win their first Ed Orgeron-coached game, they still managed to give up 31 points to Arizona. So nothing’s been fixed much on defense yet.
As Godfather stated earlier today, this could continue our push back toward thinking about a good bowl game. Teams in the Top 25 have already lost (Louisville, Florida, Georgia (to Vandy, no less!), South Carolina), so we can move from the “also receiving votes” ranks into the Top 25 with a good win today.
As I shared on my FB page yesterday, watch for the ND Drumline’s pink drums in honor of breast cancer awareness month. They look pretty cool. Great idea on someone’s part!
I’m predicting a high scoring, close game. SC’s defense is porous, and I think their offense is starting to click. It will come down to turnovers, as usual. I’m hoping Tommy can do better than his season to date states of 52% completions and a 13-6 TD/INT ratio. He’ll need to for us to win today.
The first half of the season seems like 3 months ago, given all the football and baseball I’ve watched since the ASU game! But I seem to remember our defense coming up with key stops when needed, and I think they’ll keep improving this week. They began to show a personality; I hope the week off doesn’t stunt that personality’s growth.
Don mentioned the weather; looks like high 40s for most of the game, with some rain possible, although maybe not until after the game. It’s been nice and warm here in SoCal so the Trojans haven’t had any practices below probably 65 degrees here. Might be a factor.
Look for several backs to run for us and several receivers to catch passes. Really love our receiving corps this year. THROW TO THE TIGHT ENDS!
If Tommy and the backs protect the ball, we should win. And we will.
Irish 38, Southern Cal 27.
GO IRISH!!!! BEAT TROJANS!!!!
The Colonel
As Godfather stated earlier today, this could continue our push back toward thinking about a good bowl game. Teams in the Top 25 have already lost (Louisville, Florida, Georgia (to Vandy, no less!), South Carolina), so we can move from the “also receiving votes” ranks into the Top 25 with a good win today.
As I shared on my FB page yesterday, watch for the ND Drumline’s pink drums in honor of breast cancer awareness month. They look pretty cool. Great idea on someone’s part!
I’m predicting a high scoring, close game. SC’s defense is porous, and I think their offense is starting to click. It will come down to turnovers, as usual. I’m hoping Tommy can do better than his season to date states of 52% completions and a 13-6 TD/INT ratio. He’ll need to for us to win today.
The first half of the season seems like 3 months ago, given all the football and baseball I’ve watched since the ASU game! But I seem to remember our defense coming up with key stops when needed, and I think they’ll keep improving this week. They began to show a personality; I hope the week off doesn’t stunt that personality’s growth.
Don mentioned the weather; looks like high 40s for most of the game, with some rain possible, although maybe not until after the game. It’s been nice and warm here in SoCal so the Trojans haven’t had any practices below probably 65 degrees here. Might be a factor.
Look for several backs to run for us and several receivers to catch passes. Really love our receiving corps this year. THROW TO THE TIGHT ENDS!
If Tommy and the backs protect the ball, we should win. And we will.
Irish 38, Southern Cal 27.
GO IRISH!!!! BEAT TROJANS!!!!
The Colonel
Climbing to the Top 14?
I think we have to get to the top 14 in the BCS standings to be eligible for a BCS bowl and though that may feel like thinking way ahead, now is the time to get started. We all know that every bowl game salivates at the idea of crazy ND fans like me bringing economic activity to their venue. ND will certainly have a good shot at being picked for one of the big games if we are fortunate enough to be eligible. Lots of teams ahead of us in the standings will be losing in the next six weeks as the schedules get tougher. So today we start the BCS climb and the only way to do it is to play like a BCS caliber team.
But there is plenty of work to do before worrying about that. Today we face a USC team in a state of limbo, which probably makes them more dangerous in some ways. The Trojans will see this as a big game for lots of reasons, but I also think they will fold up if we can get ahead. The cold weather will also trouble them (and a few of us in the stands this evening!).
Keys to game are the usual things: no turnovers, pressure the USC QB, balance on offense, etc. I think we have a better team than the Trojans but we have to play like one. There were enough glimmers of hope in Dallas to make one think we have turned the corner and are ready to play at a higher level. Vibe on campus feels good and I have a good feeling about the game.
My son and I made a rare visit to the pep rally last night. The speakers included Digger Phelps, Barry Alvarez, the 1988 team captains, Brian Kelly and Lou Holtz. Pretty good lineup. 1988 team will be honored today. Holtz was great as always and Digger was trying to control things as always. I felt like I was in some kind of Back to the Future moment.
Anyway, we put it all together today and beat a good but not great USC team.
ND 27, USC 20
GO IRISH!
Godfather
But there is plenty of work to do before worrying about that. Today we face a USC team in a state of limbo, which probably makes them more dangerous in some ways. The Trojans will see this as a big game for lots of reasons, but I also think they will fold up if we can get ahead. The cold weather will also trouble them (and a few of us in the stands this evening!).
Keys to game are the usual things: no turnovers, pressure the USC QB, balance on offense, etc. I think we have a better team than the Trojans but we have to play like one. There were enough glimmers of hope in Dallas to make one think we have turned the corner and are ready to play at a higher level. Vibe on campus feels good and I have a good feeling about the game.
My son and I made a rare visit to the pep rally last night. The speakers included Digger Phelps, Barry Alvarez, the 1988 team captains, Brian Kelly and Lou Holtz. Pretty good lineup. 1988 team will be honored today. Holtz was great as always and Digger was trying to control things as always. I felt like I was in some kind of Back to the Future moment.
Anyway, we put it all together today and beat a good but not great USC team.
ND 27, USC 20
GO IRISH!
Godfather
Monday, October 07, 2013
Over the Top
Hey, we played like a football team on Saturday and came away with a well deserved victory. Go Irish! I feel like maybe we are finally putting it all together so this was an over the top turning point for the team in an over the top stadium.
Fun weekend once again as the university does a lot around these Shamrock Series events. I knew we would win when the Saturday ND mass was a Votive Mass to Mary at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Come On! We enjoyed watching the band march to the pep rally behind a "Herd" of longhorn steers. They actually had to practice marching around poop! Note the cowboy hats to signify our presence in the town that signifies the beginning of the "West".
Fun weekend once again as the university does a lot around these Shamrock Series events. I knew we would win when the Saturday ND mass was a Votive Mass to Mary at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Come On! We enjoyed watching the band march to the pep rally behind a "Herd" of longhorn steers. They actually had to practice marching around poop! Note the cowboy hats to signify our presence in the town that signifies the beginning of the "West".
AT&T Stadium is some kind of shrine to excess, everything is first class and expensive but a great place to watch a game in climate controlled comfort. The photo below will give you some idea of the crazy big video board (almost distracting from watching the field) and also how terrific our seats were.
Gave us a chance to fully enjoy the band music and formations. By the way, we kicked ASU band's butt, not even close!
As for the game, let's focus on the many positives. Here are my "gold shamrocks" in honor of the angelic Shamrock Series uniforms:
- Coaching Staff for getting the team ready and designing a scheme that worked against a good ASU team
- Kyle Brindza - a weapon on punts, kickoffs and field goals. His 53 yarder ended up being the difference even though he missed early.
- Defensive line and backers. Dialed up the pressure and caused several turnovers and sacks. Best performance of the year easily. Jaylon Smith is a beast.
- Tommy Rees. Yes he threw a horrible pick 6, but otherwise played solid.
- TJ Jones - this year's goto receiver had a monster game and several big time receptions.
So now we get to play USC at home and try for our first victory in South Bend since 2001 (can you believe that?). The Trojans are reeling a bit from the Kiffin firing but you can count on them treating this game like the Super Bowl so we will have to play great to beat them. But I am all for kicking them while they are down. So a picture is worth a thousand words:
Sunday, October 06, 2013
The Big Save
Pardon my absence, dear reader. I've been as uninspired as I've sensed the team has been.
Until tonite.
I do believe the team worked out some identity issues in this well fought, and well deserved, victory.
It was nice to win a game as an underdog. Overall, I give the defense more credit than the offense. However, our offensive drive at the end of the first half to answer for a rather quick ASU score probably set the tone for the rest of the game.
We used that to pretty much dominate the third quarter, and then were able to overcome Tommy's dreadful Pick 6 early in the 4th. And as Godfather noted to me multiple times during the game (isn't text messaging great?!?), our "prevent" defense sucks. So we had to bite a few nails before we put it away.
I do believe we deserved the win. We played smarter, overall. ASU's special teams are not very good in any aspect. And it was great to see Kyle Brindza booming touchbacks, kicking a 53 yard field goal (tied ND record) and punting well too.
The defense did have a spark tonite, for the first time, in my mind. Even though we held MSU to 13, I thought that was more due to their ineptness than our talent. But when The Prince of Shembo (TPOS) gets 3 sacks in one game and we double our season total in one night against a team who went for 62 against the Trojans last week, that says something. And our only pass interference penalty was on a WAY uncatchable ball so it should not have been called. Big Louis was a big factor as well. He runs fast for a 350 pound man!
And Cam is the Man. Tommy was not excellent. He was maybe good. I'd say definitely good without the Pick 6. We had them on the ropes and he almost gave the game back to them. Unforgivable. But he hung tough, as he always does, and kept things moving on offense.
So, looking ahead, we will probably be favored until we go to Stanford. If we play like we did today, we should be 9-2 going into that game. That sounds good. By the transitive property, we're better than SC, so let's start getting ready for the Trojans. I was mad when they fired Kiffin--they might get better now! But not before we beat them in two weeks!
I will try to (pre)rally for the rest of the season. When I was out for the MSU game I was appalled at the 6 PM Pep Rally start time--no time for Pre Rallies! Homeric!
Anyway, very good win today, and the season may be saved.
GO IRISH!!!! BEAT TROJANS!!!!
The Colonel
Until tonite.
I do believe the team worked out some identity issues in this well fought, and well deserved, victory.
It was nice to win a game as an underdog. Overall, I give the defense more credit than the offense. However, our offensive drive at the end of the first half to answer for a rather quick ASU score probably set the tone for the rest of the game.
We used that to pretty much dominate the third quarter, and then were able to overcome Tommy's dreadful Pick 6 early in the 4th. And as Godfather noted to me multiple times during the game (isn't text messaging great?!?), our "prevent" defense sucks. So we had to bite a few nails before we put it away.
I do believe we deserved the win. We played smarter, overall. ASU's special teams are not very good in any aspect. And it was great to see Kyle Brindza booming touchbacks, kicking a 53 yard field goal (tied ND record) and punting well too.
The defense did have a spark tonite, for the first time, in my mind. Even though we held MSU to 13, I thought that was more due to their ineptness than our talent. But when The Prince of Shembo (TPOS) gets 3 sacks in one game and we double our season total in one night against a team who went for 62 against the Trojans last week, that says something. And our only pass interference penalty was on a WAY uncatchable ball so it should not have been called. Big Louis was a big factor as well. He runs fast for a 350 pound man!
And Cam is the Man. Tommy was not excellent. He was maybe good. I'd say definitely good without the Pick 6. We had them on the ropes and he almost gave the game back to them. Unforgivable. But he hung tough, as he always does, and kept things moving on offense.
So, looking ahead, we will probably be favored until we go to Stanford. If we play like we did today, we should be 9-2 going into that game. That sounds good. By the transitive property, we're better than SC, so let's start getting ready for the Trojans. I was mad when they fired Kiffin--they might get better now! But not before we beat them in two weeks!
I will try to (pre)rally for the rest of the season. When I was out for the MSU game I was appalled at the 6 PM Pep Rally start time--no time for Pre Rallies! Homeric!
Anyway, very good win today, and the season may be saved.
GO IRISH!!!! BEAT TROJANS!!!!
The Colonel
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Bounce Back Time!
Chilly day here in Dallas - thank goodness the stadium is climate controlled. Lots of ND fans in town for all the Shamrock Series events of course. Fort Worth downtown area is being redeveloped and shows some promise. The band marched down Main Street last night following a herd of longhorn cattle.
I expect the Irish to turn it around today and put enough together to get by the Sun Devils but we are going to have to score some points to do it. Just have a feeling the loss to Oklahoma will be a wake up call to some of our players.
So watch for a lot of scoring but we continue winning these offsite home games. This time in an upset.
ND 40, ASU 30
GO IRISH!
Godfather
I expect the Irish to turn it around today and put enough together to get by the Sun Devils but we are going to have to score some points to do it. Just have a feeling the loss to Oklahoma will be a wake up call to some of our players.
So watch for a lot of scoring but we continue winning these offsite home games. This time in an upset.
ND 40, ASU 30
GO IRISH!
Godfather
Monday, September 30, 2013
Things Ain't What They Used to Be
Great classic jazz tune, and unfortunately a good description of where we stand with Irish football. I guess the lesson is that every year is different and nothing can be taken for granted. Consistency is simply lacking for the team and that makes the difference against good teams like Oklahoma. Hey at least USC lost and Lane Kiffin got canned! Of course, they got smoked by the very team we face this coming Saturday so no cake walk in this year's Shamrock Series game.
I was looking at our season summary scorecard on Sunday and realized how far our defense has fallen this year. OK, we cannot count the pick 6 but regardless our defense has yielded a tremendous number of points and lots of yardage this year. What a difference from last year and what a surprise. Manti was more than just a great player, he must have been one heck of a great leader as well. With the offense showing some inconsistency, we have a combination that falls far short of any BCS hopes we might have had.
Oklahoma looked like the better team on Saturday, no turnovers, made key plays at key moments, responded when we closed the gap. For the Irish, 3 turnovers were simply too much to overcome though I did admire our perseverance and grit. We came back several times and actually had momentum going in our favor a few times. A couple key penalties, a couple blown coverages and a couple poor execution plays on offense kept us from turning the tide. But again, a good team like Oklahoma will make the opposition pay for short comings like that.
There was some small bit of good news. Atkinson looked great, both on his long run and on some tough inside running. It is still very difficult to run up the middle on the Irish. We finally threw to the tight end again!
For a final electric shock to see where we stand, ASU is favored by 5 points in the latest line. Wow, never thought that would be the case. But with challenge comes opportunity to right the ship. Tommy needs to play error free, George continue to run hard, and defense needs to continue its improvement trajectory. Again, we knew we might be 3-2 at this point so we can get back in the conversation with a string of victories over the next several opponents. But we have to play better and not be hoping to just get by with a win after another sub-par performance. ASU and USC will not let us get away with just being OK.
I am hoping the loss lights a fire under enough of the players to inspire some better play. Kelly seemed a bit frustrated with the mental mistakes and is seeking some changes (a little Hendrix at QB, differenct players at a few spots). Maybe we got to the championship too soon and need to reclimb the mountain. Should be a good week to find out what is on the inside of this team as we face a talented opponent in ASU.
Game Notes: NBC has demanded that the bands be off the field TWELVE minutes before kickoff now so they can have their sideline pregame talk show. That means a reworked pre-game sequence and no more "ND" band tunnel for the players. Great. Kelly has now decided no Alma Mater at home when we lose. Anyone remember Digger Phelps trying to orchestrate every element of the Notre Dame experience? Things change.
We need a victory!
GO IRISH! BEAT SUN DEVILS!
Godfather
I was looking at our season summary scorecard on Sunday and realized how far our defense has fallen this year. OK, we cannot count the pick 6 but regardless our defense has yielded a tremendous number of points and lots of yardage this year. What a difference from last year and what a surprise. Manti was more than just a great player, he must have been one heck of a great leader as well. With the offense showing some inconsistency, we have a combination that falls far short of any BCS hopes we might have had.
Oklahoma looked like the better team on Saturday, no turnovers, made key plays at key moments, responded when we closed the gap. For the Irish, 3 turnovers were simply too much to overcome though I did admire our perseverance and grit. We came back several times and actually had momentum going in our favor a few times. A couple key penalties, a couple blown coverages and a couple poor execution plays on offense kept us from turning the tide. But again, a good team like Oklahoma will make the opposition pay for short comings like that.
There was some small bit of good news. Atkinson looked great, both on his long run and on some tough inside running. It is still very difficult to run up the middle on the Irish. We finally threw to the tight end again!
For a final electric shock to see where we stand, ASU is favored by 5 points in the latest line. Wow, never thought that would be the case. But with challenge comes opportunity to right the ship. Tommy needs to play error free, George continue to run hard, and defense needs to continue its improvement trajectory. Again, we knew we might be 3-2 at this point so we can get back in the conversation with a string of victories over the next several opponents. But we have to play better and not be hoping to just get by with a win after another sub-par performance. ASU and USC will not let us get away with just being OK.
I am hoping the loss lights a fire under enough of the players to inspire some better play. Kelly seemed a bit frustrated with the mental mistakes and is seeking some changes (a little Hendrix at QB, differenct players at a few spots). Maybe we got to the championship too soon and need to reclimb the mountain. Should be a good week to find out what is on the inside of this team as we face a talented opponent in ASU.
Game Notes: NBC has demanded that the bands be off the field TWELVE minutes before kickoff now so they can have their sideline pregame talk show. That means a reworked pre-game sequence and no more "ND" band tunnel for the players. Great. Kelly has now decided no Alma Mater at home when we lose. Anyone remember Digger Phelps trying to orchestrate every element of the Notre Dame experience? Things change.
We need a victory!
GO IRISH! BEAT SUN DEVILS!
Godfather
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Today We Finally Find Out
There is no winning ugly against Oklahoma, there is only winning. So any kind of W today will be a springboard to a good season should the Irish pull it out somehow. Unfortunately I do not think we will. The Sooners have had two weeks to prepare, are mad about last year, and will not be awed by the Notre Dame Mystique. We have to play our absolute best to win.
Keys to the game:
So far Oklahoma looks better on paper than we do. I think they probably win but we make a game of it and play well. A turnover or two could be the difference.. Expect Brindza to play a key role again.
My prediction:
ND 20, Oklahoma 27
Go Irish!
Godfather
Keys to the game:
- Defense has to stuff the run, and I think they will
- Keep the pass plays in front of you, Oklahoma has speed on the outside. We will lose any footrace down the sideline.
- Establish the run and have better balance on offense, if we have to win it through the air we are dead
So far Oklahoma looks better on paper than we do. I think they probably win but we make a game of it and play well. A turnover or two could be the difference.. Expect Brindza to play a key role again.
My prediction:
ND 20, Oklahoma 27
Go Irish!
Godfather
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Thank You Mark!
Mark D'Antonio that is. Your team comes out in the second half with a nice sustained drive that leads to a game tying field goal. Your defense stuffs the Irish immediately afterward. You get the ball back and start moving for a potential score to take the lead. Then for some bizarre reason you throw in a halfback option flea flicker that is intercepted by ND. We go on to score a short-field TD and it turns out to be the game winner. Weird.
Very frustrating game to watch. We were adjacent to the MSU section and did a lot of commiserating with the Spartan fans on how bad both teams looked. Winning ugly is still winning but we are going to get spanked by Oklahoma if things do not improve.
Bad Stuff:
Lots of drummers in town for the game though we only shared a beer with the Colonel. Sightings of Kevin O'Brien, Rosie Tenney and Kevin Dix according to rumors.
So the early line for next Saturday has Oklahoma as 3.5 point favorites. Seems right. Oh yeah, Oklahoma has had two weeks to prepare also. I doubt I will pick the Irish this weekend, but even if we lose I will be watching to see how we perform. No shame in getting beat by a better team but I don't really know what kind of team we can be yet. Have not looked like a BCS caliber squad so far and our #22 ranking seems about right. On the other hand we are 3-1 and on track for a very good season if we win all the games we should win. This Saturday will be a key inflection point on whether 10 wins is even in the picture.
GO IRISH! BEAT SOONERS!
Godfather
Very frustrating game to watch. We were adjacent to the MSU section and did a lot of commiserating with the Spartan fans on how bad both teams looked. Winning ugly is still winning but we are going to get spanked by Oklahoma if things do not improve.
Bad Stuff:
- Tommy had a terrible day. Not sure if he ate something bad for breakfast or broke up with his girlfriend but hopefully it is an anomaly. The whole plan was based on hitting the wide outs downfield and he consistently missed them. Thank God for pass interference.
- Still cannot get a running game going; we did not even try on several short 3rd down plays. A great team can run sometimes, even when the opposition stacks the box. George Atkinson does seem to go down on the slightest hit.
- Creativity is lacking a bit on offense and it appears we are easy to scout as many of our formations seem to telegraph the play we intend to call.
- No turnovers, and the interception by Farley played a huge factor in the outcome.
- Defense played a bit better. Seems like some of the starters realize they have to step up or they will get to sit on the bench. First game this year where Kelly gave it to the defense to win the game and they came through in the second half.
- Brindza got the game ball from Kelly for his kicking. I thought he would be the hero for lots of field goals, but his punts in the 4th quarter may have been the difference in a very close game.
- Our receivers can play and we are deep. Very tough to cover all our weapons as we saw once again.
Lots of drummers in town for the game though we only shared a beer with the Colonel. Sightings of Kevin O'Brien, Rosie Tenney and Kevin Dix according to rumors.
So the early line for next Saturday has Oklahoma as 3.5 point favorites. Seems right. Oh yeah, Oklahoma has had two weeks to prepare also. I doubt I will pick the Irish this weekend, but even if we lose I will be watching to see how we perform. No shame in getting beat by a better team but I don't really know what kind of team we can be yet. Have not looked like a BCS caliber squad so far and our #22 ranking seems about right. On the other hand we are 3-1 and on track for a very good season if we win all the games we should win. This Saturday will be a key inflection point on whether 10 wins is even in the picture.
GO IRISH! BEAT SOONERS!
Godfather
Friday, September 20, 2013
Time to Play Defense
OK, time for the defense to show its stuff against the Spartans. MSU has a pretty good defense so I do not think we will continue at our average point total of 30. So the defense needs to give the offense something to work with tomorrow. It is time to play up to our potential.
I do feel that there were some encouraging signs on both sides of the ball last week during the second half. If we start with the right attitude and build on what was good about last week we should win. But if we have another sluggish first half watch out for Sparty to steal one.
Latest line says Irish by seven and I agree that the parking lot will probably not be emptying out early due to a blowout. Which means more stress and anxiety for me tomorrow afternoon but I think we will pull it out in a close one with Brindza being the man of the hour.
ND 23, MSU 17
GO IRISH!
I do feel that there were some encouraging signs on both sides of the ball last week during the second half. If we start with the right attitude and build on what was good about last week we should win. But if we have another sluggish first half watch out for Sparty to steal one.
Latest line says Irish by seven and I agree that the parking lot will probably not be emptying out early due to a blowout. Which means more stress and anxiety for me tomorrow afternoon but I think we will pull it out in a close one with Brindza being the man of the hour.
ND 23, MSU 17
GO IRISH!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Not Exactly
Not exactly the defense we had last year. Not exactly an unpredictable offense. Not exactly a comfortable win. But we will take the W.
Ok, one third of the way into the season and there is a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball. Here are the priorities for the offense and the defense.
Ok, one third of the way into the season and there is a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball. Here are the priorities for the offense and the defense.
- Defense must improve its tackling - cannot play a bend defense and allow intermediate passes to turn into big gains or scores
- Defense must improve coverage - way too many easy completions
- Defense needs speed on the edge - we are stout up the middle but keep getting beat to the edge
- Offense is obviously too predictable - Purdue coach hit the nail on the head when he complimented his team on seeing the Irish formations and our tendencies
- Get the running game going. Purdue stacked the box most of the game, but we ran out the clock with a 7 minute drive at the end when everyone knew we would run. Need a bit more balance despite our success through the air.
- Receivers had a good game but need to cut down on the drops - a couple tough catches in the first half were needed when Tommy was a bit off
Lots of things to like:
- Tommy Rees showed his leadership and poise after a very shaky start
- Team showed a lot of heart and perseverance - would have folded in the Weis era
- Cam Mcdaniel - the kid is a warrior
- Our receiver corps is super and is going to score some points - great confidence builder last night
- Team put the game away at the end with ball control drive
We will have to play better to beat our next few opponents. MSU, Oklahoma, and ASU all seem to be on the upswing. We have good players, now is the time for better coaching, better schemes and field leadership. Let's go!
Go Irish! Beat Spartans!
Godfather
Saturday, September 14, 2013
It's Clobberin' Time!
Sorry Purdue. Notre Dame is coming off a tough loss and the coaches are mad. We are going to take it out on the Boilers. We all know the opposition plays their best against the Irish but that will be no where near enough tonight.
What to Expect:
ND 40, Purdue 10
GO IRISH!
Godfather
What to Expect:
- Expect more points from the Irish (yes, more than 31)
- Expect a little tighter game by Tommy with a better completion percentage and hopefully no interceptions
- Expect a couple hundred yards on the ground with all 5 halfbacks carrying the ball
- This will be a turnaround game for the defense, a lot less yards and points yielded
- Expect several QB sacks from defense with Tuitt shining in particular
- Predicting at least two takeaways by the Irish D
ND 40, Purdue 10
GO IRISH!
Godfather
Monday, September 09, 2013
Where For Art Thou Defense?
Okay, we got terribly spoiled last year with our championship caliber defense. But man, 41 points and 460 yards for Michigan? Ouch. Kelly seemed to be down on the offense after the game but not on the defense. Then on Sunday he was a little more balanced. We can score points, but if we have to score in the 40s to win we will be in big trouble.
Michigan played very well and once again we thrust a Wolverine QB into the national spotlight by letting him run and pass all over the yard. Gardner was 21-33 and averaged 9 yards per pass. Cannot win against a good team like that. We will not really know how good Michigan is until November when they play some good teams, but they sure played good against us.
Let's start with the negatives and end on a high note:
Defense simply could not stop Michigan all night. We seemed to lose every 50/50 play on passes and could not corral Gardner despite throwing every blitz in the book at him. I kept yelling out "can someong make a play on D!" to no avail. The interception in the end zone was one of the most amazing and exciting moments I ever remember BUT it was Gardner's stupidity that caused that one. Tackling was absolutely horrible; let's wrap up boys. The Colonel pointed out to me during the game that Michigan was a lot faster than ND. We saw this in how many times they got to the edge before we did and it hurt on many plays.
Tommy did okay but once again tossed 2 interceptions which both hurt A LOT. One could argue that was 14 points right there. The big difference between him and Gardner was that Gardner was very accurate when hurried, Tommy was not (29-51). We had only 96 yards rushing.
A few things to like:
Kicking game made a big turnaround. Brindza was very solid and we actually had some decent return yardage. The team seemed poised and calm throughout the game despite the atmosphere as I expected. We responded well to adversity and changed momentum a couple times in the game never giving up.
It was a heck of college football game to watch and there will be much lamentation on the "end" of the series in the coming days. We will play them again in the next decade so cool your jets folks. By the way, is Brent Musberger actually getting worse? When he commented on the Michigan band on the sideline while the camera showed our ND logo on the bass drums I almost lost it. The interview with Eminem was one of the weirdest moments ever. Put the guy out to pasture already!
This team can still be very good, let's see how they bounce back against Purdue. Lots of time to get our act together for the season and we all knew this Michigan game was going to be tough one. We got beat, now let's learn and get better.
GO IRISH! BEAT BOILERS!
Godfather
Michigan played very well and once again we thrust a Wolverine QB into the national spotlight by letting him run and pass all over the yard. Gardner was 21-33 and averaged 9 yards per pass. Cannot win against a good team like that. We will not really know how good Michigan is until November when they play some good teams, but they sure played good against us.
Let's start with the negatives and end on a high note:
Defense simply could not stop Michigan all night. We seemed to lose every 50/50 play on passes and could not corral Gardner despite throwing every blitz in the book at him. I kept yelling out "can someong make a play on D!" to no avail. The interception in the end zone was one of the most amazing and exciting moments I ever remember BUT it was Gardner's stupidity that caused that one. Tackling was absolutely horrible; let's wrap up boys. The Colonel pointed out to me during the game that Michigan was a lot faster than ND. We saw this in how many times they got to the edge before we did and it hurt on many plays.
Tommy did okay but once again tossed 2 interceptions which both hurt A LOT. One could argue that was 14 points right there. The big difference between him and Gardner was that Gardner was very accurate when hurried, Tommy was not (29-51). We had only 96 yards rushing.
A few things to like:
Kicking game made a big turnaround. Brindza was very solid and we actually had some decent return yardage. The team seemed poised and calm throughout the game despite the atmosphere as I expected. We responded well to adversity and changed momentum a couple times in the game never giving up.
It was a heck of college football game to watch and there will be much lamentation on the "end" of the series in the coming days. We will play them again in the next decade so cool your jets folks. By the way, is Brent Musberger actually getting worse? When he commented on the Michigan band on the sideline while the camera showed our ND logo on the bass drums I almost lost it. The interview with Eminem was one of the weirdest moments ever. Put the guy out to pasture already!
This team can still be very good, let's see how they bounce back against Purdue. Lots of time to get our act together for the season and we all knew this Michigan game was going to be tough one. We got beat, now let's learn and get better.
GO IRISH! BEAT BOILERS!
Godfather
Saturday, September 07, 2013
Big Time in the Big House
Well, here we are at Exam #1. On the road. The Big House. Under the Lights. Again. But hey, this rivalry doesn’t mean that much to us, right?
Personally, I put this rivalry as # 2 behind USC during my HS/college adult life. My first time in ND Stadium was for Michigan, 1978 during my visit to campus senior year of HS. A loss, but oh well. I snuck into a TV room during Pre Cana weekend to see the Reggie Ho game in 1988. I’ve played once at Michigan. And it has been a GREAT rivalry for the last 35 years. Sorry, coach.
But as for tonight, what are we to expect? I think Godfather points out several important things, none more important than so many of our players played in a lot of big games last year. They know what to expect and will play well, I believe. While the temps will be in the low to mid-70s, our depth should play a factor. Big article in the Trib today about how the staff is not afraid to play the freshmen, which is great and will serve the team well down the road.
Look for three backs and 5-6 receivers to be in the mix tonight. Look for Troy NIklas to play a big role. Hopefully I’m right in that the D last week was intentionally vanilla and we’ll see more blitzing and “mix-up” packages.
Noticed how I haven’t mentioned special teams yet? My final score will not include any field goals. Nuff said.
Michigan will not go down without a fight. But I think they will go down.
Look for us to win with 4 touchdowns and a two point conversion to have to force Michigan into scoring a TD late to tie/win that they won’t be able to do. Irish 29, Michigan 23.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT WOLVERINES!!!
The Colonel
Personally, I put this rivalry as # 2 behind USC during my HS/college adult life. My first time in ND Stadium was for Michigan, 1978 during my visit to campus senior year of HS. A loss, but oh well. I snuck into a TV room during Pre Cana weekend to see the Reggie Ho game in 1988. I’ve played once at Michigan. And it has been a GREAT rivalry for the last 35 years. Sorry, coach.
But as for tonight, what are we to expect? I think Godfather points out several important things, none more important than so many of our players played in a lot of big games last year. They know what to expect and will play well, I believe. While the temps will be in the low to mid-70s, our depth should play a factor. Big article in the Trib today about how the staff is not afraid to play the freshmen, which is great and will serve the team well down the road.
Look for three backs and 5-6 receivers to be in the mix tonight. Look for Troy NIklas to play a big role. Hopefully I’m right in that the D last week was intentionally vanilla and we’ll see more blitzing and “mix-up” packages.
Noticed how I haven’t mentioned special teams yet? My final score will not include any field goals. Nuff said.
Michigan will not go down without a fight. But I think they will go down.
Look for us to win with 4 touchdowns and a two point conversion to have to force Michigan into scoring a TD late to tie/win that they won’t be able to do. Irish 29, Michigan 23.
GO IRISH!!! BEAT WOLVERINES!!!
The Colonel
Bye Bye Blue
Tonight will be the last game in the Big House for the Irish for a while. This "schedule-gate" nonsense and coaches comments about the rivalry seemed silly fodder for the newspapers and blogs. Of course this is great rivalry and the recent history of close games has made it must-see TV. I expect ND will own 4-5 of the top watched games this season again with USC, Oklahoma, Stanford and Michigan being up there for sure. I am confident the Wolverines will appear on the schedule again before too long.
But now it is time to leave them with some bad memories. The spread has us as 4 point underdogs which is fine with me, we seem to do well when we are not favored. The game 2 years ago was such a raucous and crazy loud affair it is hard to imagine it being even louder but stay tuned. It may be. Michigan fans talk about that night like it was a sacred event. We know there is almost nothing more fun than winning on the last play of the game and the first night game factor added to the excitement. Would be nice to disappoint the Michigan faithful and send them home early, but I doubt we will see that. Expect another nail biter.
I do think we will win for a few reasons. #1 and most important is that we have a better team than Michigan. I think we can handle them on the line of scrimmage both ways and that is where the game will be won. The other advantage for the Irish is our depth, the second string can play and will give our front guys a break when they need one. Finally, we have been in a lot of big games in big stadiums and have the poise to play 60 minutes. We can hang in there on close games too as we have shown again and again. In particular it would be nice to score early and quiet the crowd a bit.
Keys to the game are pretty obvious. No turnovers. Make Michigan earn every score with long drives. On offense, spread the ball around to keep Michigan on its toes. Tommy is pretty good at getting the Irish in the right formation and protection but Michigan will throw in some new wrinkles. We are likely to see more pressure from our D and 1/1 coverage on the corners. I think the Linebackers are key for us this week, need to step up a bit there. And finally, can we please win the special teams battle with some good kicks and perhaps field goals? This cannot be a liability.
So I say we win a close one again with a pretty decent point total. Band of the Fighting Irish will be there to add our music to the effort.
ND 31, Michigan 28
GO IRISH!
But now it is time to leave them with some bad memories. The spread has us as 4 point underdogs which is fine with me, we seem to do well when we are not favored. The game 2 years ago was such a raucous and crazy loud affair it is hard to imagine it being even louder but stay tuned. It may be. Michigan fans talk about that night like it was a sacred event. We know there is almost nothing more fun than winning on the last play of the game and the first night game factor added to the excitement. Would be nice to disappoint the Michigan faithful and send them home early, but I doubt we will see that. Expect another nail biter.
I do think we will win for a few reasons. #1 and most important is that we have a better team than Michigan. I think we can handle them on the line of scrimmage both ways and that is where the game will be won. The other advantage for the Irish is our depth, the second string can play and will give our front guys a break when they need one. Finally, we have been in a lot of big games in big stadiums and have the poise to play 60 minutes. We can hang in there on close games too as we have shown again and again. In particular it would be nice to score early and quiet the crowd a bit.
Keys to the game are pretty obvious. No turnovers. Make Michigan earn every score with long drives. On offense, spread the ball around to keep Michigan on its toes. Tommy is pretty good at getting the Irish in the right formation and protection but Michigan will throw in some new wrinkles. We are likely to see more pressure from our D and 1/1 coverage on the corners. I think the Linebackers are key for us this week, need to step up a bit there. And finally, can we please win the special teams battle with some good kicks and perhaps field goals? This cannot be a liability.
So I say we win a close one again with a pretty decent point total. Band of the Fighting Irish will be there to add our music to the effort.
ND 31, Michigan 28
GO IRISH!
Friday, September 06, 2013
Nice Start
Sorry this is so late—one of those weeks I guess.
Well, just call us the Big Play Irish I guess. Six plays of 20 or more yards in the first half, including 5 that were over 30 yards. And three of them were TD passes. Pretty nice.
Given our special teams play, we’re going to need long gainers like that putting us in the end zone. Yikes those two field goal attempts were attempts in name only. And why can’t we just recruit a punter any more?? Glad to see Coach Kelly is spending more time with the special teams—yeah that’s helped. Not.
Oh well. All in all, a better than decent showing by the team as a whole. As Godfather mentioned, Tommy did miss a few open receivers, mostly on overthrows. Timing will come through the year. Overall he was solid, and his big plays allowed him to throw for over 200 yards in the first half alone, over 300 for the game. Good confidence builder.
And I was worried about the defense and the amount of yards they gave up. But as I’ve thought about it this week, I believe BK played a good game of Vanilla D on Saturday. I don’t think he wanted to show Michigan too much. Lots of three man rushes, very little blitzing. I think we’ll definitely see some (Irish) Chocolate and Strawberry tomorrow.
I think we will have a very able receiving corps. It was great to see Niklas go over the top at the end of the first half. That’ll get some D coordinators thinking. Running backs played well, too. Outside of special teams, I think this was a very good start. Of course, we have to consider the competition, and Temple is not a very good football team.
Several good things to note: NO TURNOVERS! Lots of second stringers got to play. No big injuries, although I don’t see DaVaris Daniels on the two-deep depth chart in the Trib, so maybe his groin injury is keeping him out tomorrow.
I’ll save previewing the Wolverines for tomorrow.
Positive first week.
One down, eleven to go.
GO IRISH!!!! BEAT WOLVERINES!!!
The Colonel
Well, just call us the Big Play Irish I guess. Six plays of 20 or more yards in the first half, including 5 that were over 30 yards. And three of them were TD passes. Pretty nice.
Given our special teams play, we’re going to need long gainers like that putting us in the end zone. Yikes those two field goal attempts were attempts in name only. And why can’t we just recruit a punter any more?? Glad to see Coach Kelly is spending more time with the special teams—yeah that’s helped. Not.
Oh well. All in all, a better than decent showing by the team as a whole. As Godfather mentioned, Tommy did miss a few open receivers, mostly on overthrows. Timing will come through the year. Overall he was solid, and his big plays allowed him to throw for over 200 yards in the first half alone, over 300 for the game. Good confidence builder.
And I was worried about the defense and the amount of yards they gave up. But as I’ve thought about it this week, I believe BK played a good game of Vanilla D on Saturday. I don’t think he wanted to show Michigan too much. Lots of three man rushes, very little blitzing. I think we’ll definitely see some (Irish) Chocolate and Strawberry tomorrow.
I think we will have a very able receiving corps. It was great to see Niklas go over the top at the end of the first half. That’ll get some D coordinators thinking. Running backs played well, too. Outside of special teams, I think this was a very good start. Of course, we have to consider the competition, and Temple is not a very good football team.
Several good things to note: NO TURNOVERS! Lots of second stringers got to play. No big injuries, although I don’t see DaVaris Daniels on the two-deep depth chart in the Trib, so maybe his groin injury is keeping him out tomorrow.
I’ll save previewing the Wolverines for tomorrow.
Positive first week.
One down, eleven to go.
GO IRISH!!!! BEAT WOLVERINES!!!
The Colonel
Sunday, September 01, 2013
Okay, Now Just Work On The Little Things
Tommy Rees has his best day as a QB, no turnovers, lots of big plays by different offensive players, keep the score low by opponent. Lots of things were positive. Defense gave up a lot of yards, field goal unit was a bust, let an inferior opponent hang around too late into the game. Not perfect but a solid opener to start the season.
Things to like:
Tommy did look good, very poised and patient, made a lot of good reads and spread the ball around nicely. Couple bad throws but overall very nice. We are deep at receiver and running back and I liked the team play on that side of the ball; downfield blocking was solid. TJ Jones shows some potential as a punt returner. Cornerbacks looked good on defense, no big pass plays yielded. Our kickoffs and punts were good.
Need to improve:
I think we decided to play a bend not break defensive scheme and that helped Temple march down the field between the 20s. We will need to step up the pressure against Michigan and I expect we will. I thought our defensive line was solid on the run but not great on the pash rush. A few mistakes in the front seven who clearly can play better. What the heck was with the field goal attempts. Maybe a new snapper? We are going to need field goals against good teams.
Hot one in the stadium but we benefited from cloud cover except on the 3rd quarter. Loud speakeer music was modest and band put on a nice show before being allowed to take off their uniform tops and cool off.
Things should be rockin' next Saturday night in Ann Arbor. We will learn a lot more about this team during that game. So far so good.
Go Irish! Beat Wolverines!
Things to like:
Tommy did look good, very poised and patient, made a lot of good reads and spread the ball around nicely. Couple bad throws but overall very nice. We are deep at receiver and running back and I liked the team play on that side of the ball; downfield blocking was solid. TJ Jones shows some potential as a punt returner. Cornerbacks looked good on defense, no big pass plays yielded. Our kickoffs and punts were good.
Need to improve:
I think we decided to play a bend not break defensive scheme and that helped Temple march down the field between the 20s. We will need to step up the pressure against Michigan and I expect we will. I thought our defensive line was solid on the run but not great on the pash rush. A few mistakes in the front seven who clearly can play better. What the heck was with the field goal attempts. Maybe a new snapper? We are going to need field goals against good teams.
Hot one in the stadium but we benefited from cloud cover except on the 3rd quarter. Loud speakeer music was modest and band put on a nice show before being allowed to take off their uniform tops and cool off.
Things should be rockin' next Saturday night in Ann Arbor. We will learn a lot more about this team during that game. So far so good.
Go Irish! Beat Wolverines!
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Hootie Hoot - Beat Dem Owls!
Before I start, congratulations to Kevin and Chris O’Brien, who successfully married off daughter Katie last week. And OB seems to like his new son-in-law, which is a plus! We’re all very happy for you OB!
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
We got ourselves a ballgame tomorrow!
But hopefully not much of a ballgame. Not when we’re 29.5 point favorites.
Ah, but we know what can happen in first games. 33-3 loss to Ga Tech in 2007, anyone?
Well, we know that’s not going to happen tomorrow. And I do believe we should acquit ourselves well and provide a good showing. Not sure that we’ll beat the spread, though.
As I said in my season preview, the pressure this year will be on the offense. Will we see TD Tommy or TO Tommy this year? And there aren’t many familiar names aligned to the skill positions. George Atkinson, TJ Jones and Troy Niklas are the three that I really remember from last season, so there’s plenty of opportunity for new blood to make names for themselves.
I can’t talk myself into getting concerned about this one, folks. Solid execution, no injuries, get our sea legs for that 175 mile trip to Ann Arbor next week for Big Test #1.
But again, I don’t think we’ll cover the spread. Irish 34, Owls 13. But it won’t feel that close. Owls get some points late to make it look more respectable than it was.
I’m sure you could hear the cool jazzy strains of Sadao Watanabe’s Ngoma Party playing as I typed this.
NGOMA!
And GO IRISH!!!! BEAT OWLS!!!!
The Colonel
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
We got ourselves a ballgame tomorrow!
But hopefully not much of a ballgame. Not when we’re 29.5 point favorites.
Ah, but we know what can happen in first games. 33-3 loss to Ga Tech in 2007, anyone?
Well, we know that’s not going to happen tomorrow. And I do believe we should acquit ourselves well and provide a good showing. Not sure that we’ll beat the spread, though.
As I said in my season preview, the pressure this year will be on the offense. Will we see TD Tommy or TO Tommy this year? And there aren’t many familiar names aligned to the skill positions. George Atkinson, TJ Jones and Troy Niklas are the three that I really remember from last season, so there’s plenty of opportunity for new blood to make names for themselves.
I can’t talk myself into getting concerned about this one, folks. Solid execution, no injuries, get our sea legs for that 175 mile trip to Ann Arbor next week for Big Test #1.
But again, I don’t think we’ll cover the spread. Irish 34, Owls 13. But it won’t feel that close. Owls get some points late to make it look more respectable than it was.
I’m sure you could hear the cool jazzy strains of Sadao Watanabe’s Ngoma Party playing as I typed this.
NGOMA!
And GO IRISH!!!! BEAT OWLS!!!!
The Colonel
Friday, August 30, 2013
Trash Temple!
Ok, we finally get to see a college football game tomorrow!
What to watch:
What to watch:
- Tommy Rees at the helm. Has he become the starter we all hope he can be or does he still make a few mistakes?
- Is the defense actually even better than last year? Will we blitz a bit more because of all the talent?
- Will our special teams become more of a weapon?
- How many running backs will carry the ball?
- How many Band members will faint in the heat?
Regardless of the answers we will win.
ND 33, Temple 9
Go Irish! Beat Owls!
Under the Lights??
OK, either the countdown clock is 12 hours off, or I need to set my alarm to watch the game at 12:30 AM Saturday morning. Hope the clock is off!
Lucky 2013??
From Chris Dufresne in yesterday’s LA Times “Questions for a New Season” article: Can Notre Dame get back to the BCS title game if quarterback Tommy Rees cuts down on his turnovers? Yes, and Chris Christie could win Mr. Universe if he cuts down on his meat dishes.
Ouch—taking down ND Football and the NJ Governor in one fell swoop!
But there, in a nutshell, is the crux of the season. The defense will be sound, special teams acceptable, and it falls to the offense. And the offense falls to the QB. Tommy Rees, c’mon down!
The Godfather points out some very positive statistics ole TR brings into this season. And I don’t see that he has anyone in his immediate rear view mirror to make him anxious that one mistake could mean getting yanked. That should help. We know he’s not Coach Kelly’s prototypical QB, but, oh well, BK is going to have to make do.
I’ve seen us ranked as high as 9th, by SI. That sounds a bit on the optimistic side. That would probably mean 10-2, and if we lost two first half games (say Michigan and Oklahoma), then we’d have to beat Stanford at Stanford with perhaps their BCS championship berth at stake. Tough duty.
That being said, at least in the SI preseason poll, Stanford is our only opponent ranked ahead of us. Michigan, MSU and OU are in the 15-20 range and SC is unranked. I should note that even Dufresne in the LA Times does not have SC in the Top 25. He has us at 20, with Stanford, Michigan and Arizona ahead of us, Oklahoma 25th, and MSU unranked as well. He’s not an SC homer, but he does like to dig at the Irish when he gets the chance. BTW, Trojans did NOT look good at Hawaii last night. I’m not too worried about them this year.
I’m looking at the SI staff’s predictions, compiling the inputs of seven writers. Five of them pick ND as the “Flop of the Season”. One of the other predicts us for a BCS bowl. The all predict Stanford for a BCS bowl, with four predicting them in the championship game. Other ND opponents projected to make a BCS bowl: OU (3 writers); Michigan (2), and MSU (1). All seven predict Alabama in the championship game, against either Stanford (4), Oregon (2) or Ohio State (1). Interesting.
Godfather has it right—Michigan, OU and Stanford are our make or break games. I’m actually going to be an “optimist” this year and project 9-3. We’ll lose to two of these three teams, and maybe to Arizona State—new team, new venue for a “home” game, etc. I’ll be at MSU so of course we can’t lose that game, and as I said, SC doesn’t scare me this year.
So fasten those chinstraps boys and girls, it’s time to git your game on! Last season certainly was a special ride for the first 12 games anyway. Let’s hope we catch some pixie dust again this year and stay in the hunt. Enjoy the season, and I hope to see many of you for MSU in three weeks!
GO IRISH!!! BEAT OWLS!!!
The Colonel
Ouch—taking down ND Football and the NJ Governor in one fell swoop!
But there, in a nutshell, is the crux of the season. The defense will be sound, special teams acceptable, and it falls to the offense. And the offense falls to the QB. Tommy Rees, c’mon down!
The Godfather points out some very positive statistics ole TR brings into this season. And I don’t see that he has anyone in his immediate rear view mirror to make him anxious that one mistake could mean getting yanked. That should help. We know he’s not Coach Kelly’s prototypical QB, but, oh well, BK is going to have to make do.
I’ve seen us ranked as high as 9th, by SI. That sounds a bit on the optimistic side. That would probably mean 10-2, and if we lost two first half games (say Michigan and Oklahoma), then we’d have to beat Stanford at Stanford with perhaps their BCS championship berth at stake. Tough duty.
That being said, at least in the SI preseason poll, Stanford is our only opponent ranked ahead of us. Michigan, MSU and OU are in the 15-20 range and SC is unranked. I should note that even Dufresne in the LA Times does not have SC in the Top 25. He has us at 20, with Stanford, Michigan and Arizona ahead of us, Oklahoma 25th, and MSU unranked as well. He’s not an SC homer, but he does like to dig at the Irish when he gets the chance. BTW, Trojans did NOT look good at Hawaii last night. I’m not too worried about them this year.
I’m looking at the SI staff’s predictions, compiling the inputs of seven writers. Five of them pick ND as the “Flop of the Season”. One of the other predicts us for a BCS bowl. The all predict Stanford for a BCS bowl, with four predicting them in the championship game. Other ND opponents projected to make a BCS bowl: OU (3 writers); Michigan (2), and MSU (1). All seven predict Alabama in the championship game, against either Stanford (4), Oregon (2) or Ohio State (1). Interesting.
Godfather has it right—Michigan, OU and Stanford are our make or break games. I’m actually going to be an “optimist” this year and project 9-3. We’ll lose to two of these three teams, and maybe to Arizona State—new team, new venue for a “home” game, etc. I’ll be at MSU so of course we can’t lose that game, and as I said, SC doesn’t scare me this year.
So fasten those chinstraps boys and girls, it’s time to git your game on! Last season certainly was a special ride for the first 12 games anyway. Let’s hope we catch some pixie dust again this year and stay in the hunt. Enjoy the season, and I hope to see many of you for MSU in three weeks!
GO IRISH!!! BEAT OWLS!!!
The Colonel
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Good reading from Sports Illustrated Blogger Stewart Mandel
Stewart, Notre Dame in a BCS bowl? With "Turnover Tommy" Rees as quarterback? So it's only going to lose two of the following games (at Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, USC, at Stanford)? Not a chance! -- Chris, D.C.
This will hardly come as a surprise, but I received more flak for my Notre Dame-to-the-BCS pick than all the other picks combined. Old habits die hard, I suppose. I'm not particularly worried about Rees. In between the turnovers, he somehow managed to win 78 percent of his starts, complete 64 percent of his passes and flat-out rescue the Irish on multiple occasions last season. If Notre Dame loses more than two games, it likely won't be because of the quarterback. And the reason I don't think they'll lose more than two of the games Chris cited? To be blunt, it's because the Irish are better than every one of those teams except Stanford. Sorry to break it to you, America, but Notre Dame is trending upward -- not downward -- under Brian Kelly. The roster is getting more -- not less -- talented, especially on defense. Last season, the Irish were playing with house money. That doesn't mean they're going to start 12-0 again. It took a whole bunch of breaks to go their way a year ago, and that's not likely to happen again. But 10 wins is a perfectly attainable number, and even 9-3 might be enough as long as the Irish finish in the top 14. Oregon State went 9-3 and finished 13th last season.
This will hardly come as a surprise, but I received more flak for my Notre Dame-to-the-BCS pick than all the other picks combined. Old habits die hard, I suppose. I'm not particularly worried about Rees. In between the turnovers, he somehow managed to win 78 percent of his starts, complete 64 percent of his passes and flat-out rescue the Irish on multiple occasions last season. If Notre Dame loses more than two games, it likely won't be because of the quarterback. And the reason I don't think they'll lose more than two of the games Chris cited? To be blunt, it's because the Irish are better than every one of those teams except Stanford. Sorry to break it to you, America, but Notre Dame is trending upward -- not downward -- under Brian Kelly. The roster is getting more -- not less -- talented, especially on defense. Last season, the Irish were playing with house money. That doesn't mean they're going to start 12-0 again. It took a whole bunch of breaks to go their way a year ago, and that's not likely to happen again. But 10 wins is a perfectly attainable number, and even 9-3 might be enough as long as the Irish finish in the top 14. Oregon State went 9-3 and finished 13th last season.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Video!
And, here's a video of today's march out! (Courtesy of the Notre Dame Alumni Association). Don Ginocchio, I would say your assessment is right on!
Go Irish!
Let's Get This Party Started!
Once again the seemingly eternal off-season is drawing to a close and it is finally time for college football again! Despite my lack of preparation and research, I have decided to share my full season prediction in detail below. This will allow the Colonel to poke holes in my logic and choose a season record that is 2 games less optimistic than mine. Bring it on Donny!
I must start with a couple factoids for all you band nerds out there. Nina and I made our annual pilgrimage to watch the first ND Band Camp march-out this morning and had a chance to gather a couple insider tidbits for you. Turns out there were 40 guys signed up for the 4 open spots on the Irish Guard, but only 20 showed up today. I gather the seniors figure out they have no shot at it and drop before camp begins. I always enjoy watching those big guys lumber along out of step on the first march out but have to say today's bunch was particularly poorly coordinated. Will be interesting to see how they whip the new guys into shape. The "manager" team of 6 needs 3 new people and 7 have applied to try out. That thankless property job of moving the ladders and the water and the props (can you say fire extinguisher?) around takes an upbeat personality and willingness to live in the shadow of the musicians but it is very important to the overall band operation. The drummers looked like they know what they are doing. I imagine that section will be a tough cut to make as it always is these days. Here is wishing all the newbies the best as the try to make the 2013 Band of the Fighting Irish! SIX games (band going to Michigan and Purdue) in a row for the band starting next Saturday so they have their work cut out for them.
Well on to the football team. My headline for this coming season is we will continue to be good because the program has built some depth and some guts in the Kelly era. Probably not going the National Championship this year, but we could have had an outside shot if dunderhead Golson had done his homework. Instead we are stuck with old reliable Tommy Rees and I figure that will cost us a couple wins. The defense will be stellar again and hopefully the offense protects the ball and scores once in a while to get us the wins. Once again we face a challenging lineup and here is how I see it.
Laughers (5-0):
We should beat Temple, Purdue, Air Force, Navy and Pitt handily this year. That puts 5 W's in the bank.
Interesting (3-1):
MSU at home - they always play us tough, ASU in Dallas - the Sun Devils will give us a game but I expect the Shamrock Series helmets will carry the day, BYU at home - we should win but we barely got by these guys last year and we are not as good. USC - I think we have them outmanned again, but hey it is USC.
Trouble (1-2):
I have a bad feeling about another Michigan night game, particularly since they fall off our schedule in a couple years. Oklahoma is looking for revenge (though I think we will win). I have to pick Stanford in the final game - they are looking very strong and will be looking for revenge.
So add that all up sports fans and we will earn a 9-3 record. 10-2 not out of the question, either way we will be in the mix for another BCS bowl or top tier contest in the post-season.
I am totally psyched to get crackin'. Temple score prediction next week!
GO IRISH! BEAT OWLS!
I must start with a couple factoids for all you band nerds out there. Nina and I made our annual pilgrimage to watch the first ND Band Camp march-out this morning and had a chance to gather a couple insider tidbits for you. Turns out there were 40 guys signed up for the 4 open spots on the Irish Guard, but only 20 showed up today. I gather the seniors figure out they have no shot at it and drop before camp begins. I always enjoy watching those big guys lumber along out of step on the first march out but have to say today's bunch was particularly poorly coordinated. Will be interesting to see how they whip the new guys into shape. The "manager" team of 6 needs 3 new people and 7 have applied to try out. That thankless property job of moving the ladders and the water and the props (can you say fire extinguisher?) around takes an upbeat personality and willingness to live in the shadow of the musicians but it is very important to the overall band operation. The drummers looked like they know what they are doing. I imagine that section will be a tough cut to make as it always is these days. Here is wishing all the newbies the best as the try to make the 2013 Band of the Fighting Irish! SIX games (band going to Michigan and Purdue) in a row for the band starting next Saturday so they have their work cut out for them.
Well on to the football team. My headline for this coming season is we will continue to be good because the program has built some depth and some guts in the Kelly era. Probably not going the National Championship this year, but we could have had an outside shot if dunderhead Golson had done his homework. Instead we are stuck with old reliable Tommy Rees and I figure that will cost us a couple wins. The defense will be stellar again and hopefully the offense protects the ball and scores once in a while to get us the wins. Once again we face a challenging lineup and here is how I see it.
Laughers (5-0):
We should beat Temple, Purdue, Air Force, Navy and Pitt handily this year. That puts 5 W's in the bank.
Interesting (3-1):
MSU at home - they always play us tough, ASU in Dallas - the Sun Devils will give us a game but I expect the Shamrock Series helmets will carry the day, BYU at home - we should win but we barely got by these guys last year and we are not as good. USC - I think we have them outmanned again, but hey it is USC.
Trouble (1-2):
I have a bad feeling about another Michigan night game, particularly since they fall off our schedule in a couple years. Oklahoma is looking for revenge (though I think we will win). I have to pick Stanford in the final game - they are looking very strong and will be looking for revenge.
So add that all up sports fans and we will earn a 9-3 record. 10-2 not out of the question, either way we will be in the mix for another BCS bowl or top tier contest in the post-season.
I am totally psyched to get crackin'. Temple score prediction next week!
GO IRISH! BEAT OWLS!
Monday, January 07, 2013
Destiny Destiny Destiny
OK sports fans, this is it. Pretty cool, huh?
Fasten the chin straps and get ready for some extremely physical football.
Everett Golson is the key--if he doesnt turn it over more than once, we win. I think he's matured enough this year to take care of business.
IRISH 23 'BAMA 16
GO IRISH!!!!! BEAT 'BAMA!!!!!
The Colonel
Fasten the chin straps and get ready for some extremely physical football.
Everett Golson is the key--if he doesnt turn it over more than once, we win. I think he's matured enough this year to take care of business.
IRISH 23 'BAMA 16
GO IRISH!!!!! BEAT 'BAMA!!!!!
The Colonel
This is the TeamB
iSun Life Stadium. Atmosphere is electric; many more ND fans than bad guys. prediction - ND 20 - Bama 14
GO IRISH!
GO IRISH!
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