"The Trojans outrushed Notre Dame by 204-90"...

"The Trojans outrushed Notre Dame by 204-90"...
by Scoop80 (2022-11-28 13:22:10)

In reply to: Vannie's analysis of game accurate but ND could have won posted by Erasmus

Any plausible scenario of ND winning included the Irish outrushing USC, probably by something similar to the margin that USC ended up outrushing them by. We all knew that Williams was highly dangerous and that he would pick up ample passing yardage. Our hope was that Irish would be able to run the ball, control clock, and keep Williams off the field as much as possible.

ND went into the game 7-0 when it controlled time of possession. USC controlled ball for 35:23. Irish lost to Marshall & Stan when they didn't control TOP, and they sure as hell weren't beating USC w/ that kind of TOP deficit.

There's a visible gap between these programs now, and closing it will require visible steps. We all agree that replacing Rees and having a better QB are 2 obvious steps that must be taken. My guess is that the latter step will happen, but I have my doubts on the former step. If Rees does return, that will tell us most of what we need to know about ND's commitment to closing gap w/ USC.

Finally, I will also note that it was a positive to be reminded of BK's obvious limitations on Sat. night. Ironically, in the same season where he finally got the kind of signature win that eluded him at ND, he also had a bad loss to a bad opponent that he managed to avoid once Savvy applied the new coat of paint. That game renewed the desire to see MF succeed at ND.

Generally agree with your comments but ...

I think with better play calling ND running game would have been fine. Heistand can only do so much. Rees needed to run counters and check downs to Tyree coming out of the backfield.

As for Riley, his 100 million $$ contract means he will leave SC soon for pros. Plus it's not hard to improve dramatically after bringing in 22 from the portal. Parseghian went 9-1 (should of been 10-0) with a team that scored 105 points in '63 and was 2-7. And there was no freshman eligibility rule in '63.

Riley will do fine going forward but he will never again have a game changing recruiting class like he had this year: I'd rather have my pick of 22 prospects with college experience than 25 or 26 high school prospects, many of which are 5 star athletes.

And with current rules for players making money after SCOTUS antitrust decision, I like ND's chances going forward with Freeman. There is no other school with the name recognition of ND or marketing stature. Alabama's freshman QB last year made millions of dollars. Put the same guy at ND and I would bet he would double his take.

Your subject line says it all. Game, set, match. *