Right Kinda Cracks

The opening question for Brandon Wimbush was “Good win?” His answer was, “Yeah, I loved it.” Me too.

This newfangled pass rush thingy the Irish are trying this year has possibilities.

“Close games and winning close games against really good football teams; that usually lends itself to you've probably got a pretty good football program,” Brian Kelly said after Saturday’s game. Close game performance wasn’t supposed to be discussed a year ago.

Asked about limiting the Irish to 3 points in the second half after allowing 21 in the first half, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said, “I thought we were stopping the run well. Brandon Wimbush made some big plays throughout the game, running the ball, getting out of the pocket. Credit to him. He played a heck of a ballgame. Thought we limited that in the second half.” An offense that relies on broken plays is not sustainable.

Wimbush still needs to work on his throwing mechanics. He still needs to work on reading the option. But this morning the thing he needs most is Ibuprofen.

Pinkel Award nominations for scheduling the most inexcusable patsy game usually go to a major conference team, but sometimes a mid-major team shows that it’s beyond desperate for a win. Case in point, our old buddy Bob Davie’s New Mexico Lobos played Incarnate Word on Saturday. The Cardinals compete in five men’s sports - baseball, basketball, cross country, fencing, and football. I’m pretty sure that last one is flag football.

Another note about Incarnate Word… A splash page displays before one can get to the football home page. Is it really necessary to display an option to skip the splash page permanently?

Brian Kelly wore a mic throughout the game. I suspect he was on a seven second delay.

“First thing I want to do, obviously, is give App State all the credit in the world,” James Franklin said after Penn State eked out an overtime win over Appalachian State. “I don't know what's in the water in Boone, North Carolina, but it seems like they've been doing this for a long time to whoever they play.” Not whoever, Coach Franklin. Just Big Ten teams.

The white shoes the Irish wore on Saturday made them look faster.

On the other end of the uniform spectrum, it will be interesting to see if the new helmets Notre Dame is wearing this season will make a positive difference. I wonder if it helped on the Alize Mac hit.

To refresh readers’ memories, the Hardin Award is earned by citing a nominally true but worthless statistic. It’s named for Drake Athletic Director and former Notre Dame sports information guy Brian Hardin who, unlike the original namesake for the award, wouldn’t mind poking fun at one or two of the dozens of statistics a sports information staff creates each week. Nominations usually go to Athletic Departments staffers, with some schools more prone to citation (Think letters M and N), but Brian Kelly closed the competition for my first nomination of 2018 by telling us Brandon Wimbush won nine games as a starter in 2017 during a pregame interview. That puts a notch Wimbush’s belt for the LSU victory.

What kind of a conference includes Miami and Florida State yet has members that are even more embarrassing? Yes, folks, it’s our very own ACC (for most sports). Both North Carolina and Louisville lost on Saturday, UNC to mediocre California and UL drubbed by Alabama. More please.

Along those lines, I can’t be happier about the way the Chip Kelly era began at UCLA.

Here’s a question that might be difficult for younger Notre Dame football fans to answer… What’s this?

Late in July, Bob's goal was to make it to the Michigan game. He knew that lasting until the USC game wasn't realistic, but one last chance to see the Irish beat Michigan was. Alas, he didn't make it. According to legend, George Gipp said, “I don't know where I'll be then, Rock; but I'll know about it, and I'll be happy.” Bob knows about yesterday’s game, and he’s happy. RIP my buddy. RIP with a smile.

Kayo