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

PASSING YARDS - 62nd Overall

RUSHING YARDS - 96th Overall

POINTS FOR - 84th Overall

POINTS AGAINST - 43rd Overall

GO IRISH!

Godfather

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

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

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

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".

 

 

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:

 

 

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

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