Notre Dame outgained South Florida by a two to one margin on Saturday but could not overcome five turnovers in a painful 23-20 loss. The Irish trailed 16-0 at the half after a poor performance by the offense, but a rally led by Tommy Rees also fizzled due to costly miscues. A touchdown with 21 seconds remaining made the final margin appear close, but the Bulls were in control after a clinching score with four minutes remaining.
The victory for South Florida coach Skip Holtz was as difficult as it was gratifying. The Bulls had to sit on a lead for over two hours at the half due to a weather delay, and then were forced to wait again in the fourth quarter when victory was tantalizingly within their grasp. “I think it speaks volumes about these players and the way they have bought in and competed their tails off when so many people on the outside wouldn’t believe in them,” Holtz said. “They way they stayed poised, calm. There were a lot of opportunities to flinch today, but (I’m) really proud of the way they handled themselves.”
Notre Dame took the opening kickoff and marched 79 yards in seven plays to the South Florida one yard line, but Jonas Gray was stuffed and stripped of the ball by Jerrell Young on third and goal. Kayvon Webster scooped it up and ran 96 yards for a 7-0 lead. The stunned Irish continued to sputter while the Bulls added a 49-yard field goal by Maikon Bonani later in the period, and Terrell Mitchell chipped in with a 34-yard punt return to set up yet another three-pointer by Bonani.
Trailing 13-0 at the outset of the second quarter, Dayne Crist appeared to settle down as he marched his team deep into South Florida territory. The Irish reached the two yard line when disaster struck again. A dropped pass at the goal line was followed by a poorly throw interception in the end zone.
The Bulls reeled off four first downs before the drive stalled in Irish territory. Coach Holtz called upon Bonani to attempt a 52-yard field goal rather than play conservatively with a punt, but the kick was pulled wide. Notre Dame could not capitalize on the field position, however, and dug the hole even deeper a few minutes later when Theo Riddick fumbled away a punt inside his own 20 yard line. South Florida converted this opportunity into another Bonani field goal for the 16-0 halftime margin.
Severe weather allowed Brian Kelly more than two hours to evaluate his team’s performance, and he responded by inserting Rees into the lineup. A promising third quarter drive was stopped by another interception off a tipped pass inside the Bull’s five yard line, but the Irish came back a few minutes later to score their first touchdown of the season on a 24-yard pass to Michael Floyd.
Notre Dame’s comeback hopes were dealt another blow on the next possession when the drive stalled and David Ruffer missed a 30-yard field goal. As the third quarter drew to a close, the Irish were running out of chances and sorely needed a defensive stop. Quarterback B.J. Daniels chose this moment to put together the best drive of the game for South Florida, and his short pass to Evan Landi gave the Bulls a 23-7 lead with 11:05 to go.
The Irish responded with a touchdown drive capped by Cierre Wood’s one yard plunge at the 7:35 mark, but Rees misfired on a two point conversion attempt. The Bulls were able to hang on as Rees threw another interception, and a late 98 yard scoring drive was of little consequence except for the obligatory onside kick. South Florida recovered with 21 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Aside from the immediate uncertainty at quarterback, the loss deflated expectations for what was expected to be a breakout season for Notre Dame after a generation of disappointment. Kelly and his team showed resiliency after mind-numbing losses last season, but expectations were higher coming into this season. The loss amid an avalanche of self-inflicted wounds is certainly a bitter pill for Irish fans to swallow.
Let’s review the questions we asked prior to this game:
Will Crist’s performance in the passing game be consistent or erratic? Crist visibly deflated after his interception in the end zone, and was unable to recover sufficiently to be named the starter in the second half.
Can the Bulls run the ball against the Irish? The Bulls managed only 138 yards on 38 carries, but the game-clinching drive featured a few tough runs that kept the chains moving.
Will Kelly mix up the tempo or alternate quarterbacks? The move to Rees was not exactly strategic in nature. Although the team scored 20 points when Rees was in there, he made a few costly mistakes.
Can the Irish contain Lamar on special teams? Lamar broke free for a punt return to set up a first half field goal, and the final margin was three points.
Will Notre Dame’s defensive pressure force Daniels into mistakes? The Irish contained Daniels fairly well, but could not cause him to lose his poise or suffer turnovers.
How good are the new players in the Irish defensive rotation? We did not get to see much from the young players. Seniors Darius Fleming, Ethan Johnson and Kapron Lewis-Moore played well for the Irish.
Will the Irish offensive line dominate or struggle in the running game? Cierre Wood gained 104 yards on 21 carries, but the Notre Dame rushing attack struggled in the red zone.
The Irish now face Michigan in what is essentially a must win situation for Kelly. His team looked ragged against an undermanned opponent and must now face a long time rival in a hostile environment. Hopes for the 2011 season and a strong recruiting class depend on the ability to generate momentum and a positive buzz for the program this month, and Notre Dame fans are in no mood to allow their coach to use a Mulligan.
GraceHallChapel86 says:
What a shame. Tommy Rees is obviously the guy now. The Irish will recover but what an embarrassment–and so embarrassing to see ND’s head coach flipping out on the sideline.
terry says:
This was pathetic to watch.
Hopefully they made a season’s full of mistakes out there yesterday.
Hopefully they can’t play much worse.
Hopefully Kelly will realize badly he was outcoached – it seemed that every time the camera found him he was red in the face from screaming at someone and it was reflected in his team’s performance on the field – it did no good. For the most part the defense was fine (except for 2 straight face-mask penalties by Smith) but the offense was terrible in the 1st half – Crist clearly is NOT the leader the team needs.
Kelly was beside himself most of the day and Holtz kept his cool. The differences between them were reflected in their teams’ performances on the field. It would not surprise me if we lose some potential recruits because of Kelly’s histrionics yesterday, and please spare me the “if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen” analogies.
Give Hendrix a chance.
The Piper says:
I just have to disagree with the “badly outcoached” comment that I have seen everywhere. We turned the ball over 3 times inside their 10yard line. I haven’t seen ND do that in my lifetime of watching this team (I started during Faust), and I find it hard to fault the coach for Jonas Gray’s fumble or Rees’ first interception.
We outgained em 500 to 250, we held em to 2 for 14 on 3rd down conversions. And there was really no problems with any of the playcalls….not a one.
While I’m disgusted by the performance, and I hold that to the feet of the coaches, I just don’t see the “we were outcoached” argument holding any water.
Martinkus says:
Brian Kelly is an embarrassment on the sideline. Hard to see how his angry overreactions will help recruitment.
martinjordan says:
Would somebody PLEASE tell Brian Kelly that there is no exhibition season in college football?
Mark Napierkowski says:
Although it is excruciating to watch this team go minus-5 on turnovers and lose the opener in what is (was) supposed to be a very good season, it is easier for me to swallow the loss than to watch Brian Kelly’s lunatic melt-downs on the sideline after players make mistakes (crucial as they may be). He has zero composure when things are going poorly; maybe the pressure of the job is getting to him. If he had a weapon with him while he was ranting at TJ Jones, I’m afraid he would have used it. There is an element of self-control missing here. I don’t see any top-notch coaches with that crazed look in their eyes when players screw up. If after three years, BK can’t handle the job, bring in Skip. He’s ready.
RFDecker says:
I think we are looking at another Gerry Faust at the helm with a lot of talk and nothing to back it up…
No Trojan Horse Here says:
Most painful game to watch since the Miami massacre…clearly the more talented team, clearly the less poised team…”take care of the ball or you are in big trouble against any decent team” – scheme was good, defense was good, attention to detail and basics was horrific. Think every team on the schedule will attack the ball now? ugh.
Albemarle says:
I think it’s obvious USF didn’t beat ND, rather the Irish just gave this game away. I generally hold the coach accountable, but in this case, I blame the players. No coach is going to overcome the mistakes that were made in this game. I hope this was all first game stuff. I expect to see a much better effort against UM.
Kelly really needs to get one of his dual threat QBs ready to play. A QB who can run or throw will make this offense unstoppable.
Slicer says:
I know the coach isn’t on the field playing so it’s hard to hold him personally responsible for errors by the team. However, a lot of the mistakes that were made yesterday were Busch league. Personal foul penalties in particular killed the Irish in this game. I do blame the coach for that kind of mistake.
It was also clear that the team has far more confidence in Tommy Rees over Crist. My biggest concern is what Kelly and the coaching staff saw in Crist over the last few weeks. Also, why didn’t they make an adjustment on punt returns when Riddick was clearly out of his element. I’m starting to agree with others…Kelly is in over his head.
Jimbo says:
I have said from the day Kelly was hired that he is over is head at ND.
I still say the Irish will be 8-4 for the season.
The Piper says:
Over his head? He beat USC, Miami, Utah, and Pitt last year. Over his head?
wally says:
Jimbo, I agree 100% with you.
Dave88 says:
I was watching the game and unable to believe what I was seeing unfold before my eyes. I expected a hard fought game but didn’t expect to see the Irish literally implode in the first half. The South Florida Bulls were a vintage Holtz coached team wherein they did all the little things, avoided costly turnovers and penalties and executed at critical junctures during the game even thought they were out gained at a 2 to 1 ratio.
If ND gets manhandled by the wolverines then we’ll know that the supposed gains late last season were simply a fluke. If ND loses next week then an 0-4 September is a very real possibility. Perish the thought.
Remard says:
Terrible game. The team will get a proper lashing this week and we’ll see what happens at Michigan. The big mistake was not scheduling a patsy for the first game. Let’s not overreact and say Kelly needs to go.
Joe Schulz says:
The first fumble was a mental error. Every runningback knows that when you have been stood up you must get to the ground before they take the ball from you. He didn’t. That was at least a 10 pt play. Three (or seven) we didn’t get and seven that they got. Crist may be a great guy; but, he cracked under the pressure. He missed easy throws. When the team needed leadership he did not deliver.
There can be no doubt that Reese is the man. The only question is how far down Crist falls. If he were a Guard and played that abysmally he might be fourth string on Monday. But, he’s a quarterback and we all love his personality . . . Even the defense let down, at exactly the wrong time, to give SF their only TD. The game is all about character. Tommy gets it. Floyd shows it. The defense, other than that one drive, has it.
jmichael says:
My hope is ,Kelly lost the game and hope he did not lose his team with the profane rants on the sideline.
terry says:
Give Hendrix a chance.
Patrick McGuigan says:
Kelly’s ranting at TJ Jones after the interception was ridiculous. They had first and goal from the 7 I believe and then the interception is thrown. Blame the play caller, not the receiver. 13 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and you’re down 16 points. Plenty of time, but you need to be conservative and make sure you at least get 3 points. 3 runs and a kick may have been the difference in this one.
Paul says:
It was a embarrassing display by the players and coach Kelly. While I do understand his frustration, his ranting against players who made mistakes is inexcusable. I feel sorry for Crist who after such effort will again be shunted to the sideline; he’s a great young man and I pray he can handle the situation. Anyhow there are 11 games remaining and hope for redemption: wins against Michigan State and Stanford and all will be forgotten. GO IRISH.
Brenden says:
May be one of the hardest losses in recent memory. While everyone is patting the “D” on the back, BJ Daniels was hobbled by the hamstring that limited him in August. When they were running the zone read with him healthy we were getting gauged. We get to look forward to Denard next week.
I have no issue with Kelly losing his mind. Kids have to fear the wrath of losing. Think about the Holtz days. When they lost, everyone would say, “Would not want to be in their shoes this week.” I also hate to say it, but losing is contagious and kids like Harrison Smith, Crist, Ethan Johnson, and Gary Gray have had their share of losing. Kelly’s most profound comment was that in order to win you have to stop losing. Forget the end of last year, these kids still have some of that in them. Hopefully, it can be squeezed out very soon.
Biggest issue for this team is the confidence of Theo Riddick and Jonas Gray. Wood runs hard but gets turned around in the hole and hit hard in the lower back…watch the game and that is why he came out on 3rd and goal on the opening drive. Wood has to take some spells and Gray has a history of underachievement…see above. Riddick looked devasted and takes responsibility…great trait, but he is going to need some mentoring. That’s what seperates the great coaches from the also rans. See what Kelly does.
Jimbo says:
You are correct on why Wood came out. No one mentioned that he was nicked up a bit. He actually had to come out a few times. Also no matter what ND says about how great a shape they are in I saw many ND players sucking wind at various points in the game.
Ed Brazas says:
I guess anyone from Tulsa to USF can come into ur house and beat us.Give Kelly another year then hire Skip.Pathetic.
Scott says:
And then two years later, we can hire the next young guy who beats them, right?
Mark@ND says:
The team has potential. Sometimes lady luck just turns against you. Kelly needs to take a couple lessons in side line demeanor from Parsegian and Holtz and others. The coach has to keep his cool or the team will lose theirs. Kelly needs to grow up.
mpsND'72 says:
What’s all this nonsense about how Kelly reacted on the sidelines? He’s an emotional coach! What do you want? Another mound of pulsating jello managing the team?
Yes, this game stunk. Yes, the team blew-up and didn’t necessarily look prepared or motivated; especially after that first failed drive. Yes, all those same old questions are coming up. Again! Yes, I’m as sick and disgusted as all of you are. But . . .
What did we ALL say last year? Here’s a reminder: “Kelly gets 3 years to prove that he can bring back Notre Dame football.” REMINDER: this is YEAR 2. REMINDER: Last year ended on a positive note. REMINDER: Forget “Return to Glory.” Going into this season, there was “Return to Hope.”
Take a breath. There is still hope for the remainder of this season.
Congratulations to Skip Holtz. Call it karma. And call it a win for USF. If Charlie Jr., son of the other legend, was coaching the Bulls, the Irish would now be 1-0.
Brian says:
Holtz had his team prepared for battle. Kelly didn’t. It’s that simple.
irishhawk50 says:
I said ND would win by 3 TD’s, well they got 3 TD’s too bad they missed out on 3 or 4 more. I drank the kool aid. Kelly was way too over confident in this team and it rubbed off on me. I said in my pre-game post that I didn’t like Crist, never had. Too much “deer in the head lights”. He is done. Kelly had the wisdom to insert Rees. I don’t think it is too late to salvage the season. I can catch punts better than Riddick! Bring back Goodman, at least he knows how to catch the ball! The defense was not too bad, but honestly USF was not that good, nothing great just error free and let ND defeat themselves. I think ND can rebound and I really don’t care about Kelly yelling at players, let’s see how they regroup this week against Michigan. A really big game for the future of the team.
Ridgerunner says:
Good to see I’m not only one who see’s Crist’s “DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS”. Last Oct. I attended the dreadful Meadowland’s Navy disaster, and with Crist at the helm, the entire team looked flat. After his injury in that game, the entire team (Off, Def, and ST’s) seemed to be energized with hope. I don’t have a problem with Kelly reacting to his Senior’s making Freshman mistakes, but I do blame Kelly for fantisizing that Crist had any ability to start and lead this team. As soon as I saw Crist walk onto the field I knew ND had no chance of winning. Crist has absolutely zero talent for the QB position and has zero ability to lead. He couldn’t lead an army of ants to a picnic basket. At half time I was shocked to hear, during the Dough Flutie interview with Crist, that Crist is an admitted “Southern Cal Fan” !!! OMG! Who allowed Crist’s ND application to ever make it onto campus?!! Send this bum back to California!! Mind-boggling as to why he was ever handed the football. Let him be in charge of the wet towels during game rain delays. Gotta blame Kelly for not having the kicker ready to kick 30 yrd chip shots, not having veterns aware that 2 face masks in a row is a “Bad Thing”, and not having punt receivers ready to catch that brown leather thing coming at them. It looked as if this ND did not even set foot on a practice field all summer. Shocking….. like Lou said, you don’t play for yourselves, you play for the Lady on the Dome; but this team didn’t even want to play for themselves.
Shannon says:
Jimbo, were you watching the game? The players, not the coach turned the ball over 3 times inside the 10yd line. As far as Coach Kelly getting upset and yelling at his players for making crucial mistakes I have no problem with that. Football is a game of inches and playes don’t need to be cuddled on the sideline. If they make a mistake a coach is suppose to let them know so it doesn’t happen again. Dayne Crist was benched for example. If we were playing Kent St. or some other lacky this team could overcome 5 turnovers but South Florida is a decent team that didn’t turn over the ball and Coach Kelly is not over his head for the coach at ND. We dominated total yardage but loss the turnover battle. That was the game.
Jimbo says:
Shannon, yes I watched the game. I personally have never been on the Kelly bandwagon from the day he was hired and I stated that. I will stick to my guns on that comment. While the players of course made the mistakes, obviously, but who ultimately has to accept the blame? Do you really think that ND team yesterday was ready to play football? Tell me yesterday who was the better coach on the field Skip or Kelly? And I did not say anything about Kelly yelling at the kids. I could care less but he does make himself look like a horses you know what. And statistics mean absolutely zilch. The only stat that matters is W’s and L’s.
Ragingralph says:
What a waste. How long will be in the discussion? How long will we be on tv?
David says:
In 2010 Kelly threw the ball with a lead, failing to eat up the clock. In 2011 he fails to keep the guys’ heads up that they tore threw the d line on the first drive. Cushions by corners concern me, as well as lack of blitzing. smith did not appear to to take control of D but they somehow survived. Rees needs to practice picking up blitz (they didn’t test him). I miss Weis.
Scott says:
You made some good observations before you went and said something absurd. Give the guy a chance to show how he gets his team to respond.
Will says:
I am die hard Notre Dame fame, being born in South Bend in 1981 while my father attained his PhD from Notre Dame so the majority of my memories of Notre Dame Football has been average at best, but I still have faith that Notre Dame can once again be a dominate team once again. This is my first time to comment, but reading all these comments I couldn’t hold my tongue. Everybody seems to be commenting on Kelly and his behavior on the sideline, has anyone ever played football before? Coaches, including Kelly put their heart and soul into their teams. They put their families aside and give their players all that they have to make them the best team possible. It’s an emotional game, so yes when you see you’re players not performing and making bone head mistakes that a pop warner football team would easily perform it’s going to be upsetting. Kelly is a great coach and we have to put the blame where the blame lies and that is with the players. Ball security, interceptions, bad punts, dropped passes, missed field goals, need I say more. Kelly’s gameplan worked, we marched down the field the majority of the game with ease, it’s the players who lost this game for us, not Kelly. I can’t believe I read one comment stating that they missed Weis, C’mon do you forget getting slammed by USC, or losing to Syracuse!!! Kelly is the coach that the Irish need and people need to stop over reacting to his sideline behavior. This loss left me shell shock, but these players have too much talent not to bounce back and have a run at a great season. Go Irish
Scott says:
Well said. I was busy writing my own response to many of the issues you addressed while yours was posted.
You will probably hear the argument that Kelly is responsible for making sure the players don’t make these mistakes. While I would agree with that, I don’t think that the coach is really to blame in this situation. He obviously had a gameplan that worked, I’m not sure how much you can coach a senior quarterback not to be a headcase at the first sign of failure or how to tell a star athlete to get his feet planted under a punt.
Didn’t Kelly show last year that he knows how to respond to adversity? Let’s give him the opportunity to do that.
Thanks again for the post and for being a reasonable, rational human being.
LetsGoND says:
Will said, “put the blame where the blame lies and that is with the players”
—
I’m afraid Kelly may disagree with you to an extent. When Kelly was asked about quarterback play, in the red zone, he said, “it’s bad coaching” and essentially said, “and it’s my fault for not getting these guys ready”.
Bottom line: Kelly should have gotten these guys ready. And had a sound game plan in place. He didn’t.
Will said, “, C’mon do you forget getting slammed by USC, or losing to Syracuse!!!”
—
Not sure if you remember, but USC slammed everyone. They had the best players. They cheated. And, fielded some of the best teams I had ever seen in watching college football.
At least Weis put together teams with strong aerial attacks that hung points on teams. We’ve seen a major downgrade in offensive play and play calling, beginning with last year. Yesterday’s game was one of the worst offensive performances and preparedness seen in a while.
Aaron says:
DISGUSTING! KELLY MIGHT BE A GOOD COACH BUT THE BASICS (LIKE HOLDING ON TO A FRIGGIN’ BALL INSTEAD OF A LOAF OF BREAD) WOULD BE A GOOD START TO GETTING BACK INTO THE SEASON!!!!!!!!
Aaron says:
OH YEAH…..GO IRISH……I HOPE!?
Scott says:
First off, the loss last night was pathetic and difficult to stand. Tough losses in years past were the result of being an inferior team with talent that could not compete with the top teams in the country. Last night was total chaos.
Predictably, there are plenty of Irish “fans” who want Kelly’s head after one game. Is there any question why the program has had a historically difficult time hiring quality coaches after Lou Holtz left? The fan base is completely out of touch with reality and makes knee-jerk reactions informed by negativity and an unattainable demand for perfection. I’m stunned and disappointed to see how this team played tonight. I didn’t expect it, and I’m still trying to come to grips with one of the most bizarre and horrible games I’ve ever witnessed. To suggest that Kelly should be fired and was the wrong choice for hire is typically short-sighted and ill-informed.
“Let’s hire Holtz.”
Or Meyer or Stoops or Gruden. Anybody but whoever we have!
(Upset about Kelly screaming? Are you really that soft? You complained when Weis didn’t show enough emotion. Have you ever seen Lou on the sidelines?)
How exactly did Holtz outcoach Kelly last night? Kelly’s schemes were moving the football at will. He developed a balanced attack (something you like to complain about when he doesn’t), found mismatches in the defense, made the right personnel changes, and made sure the defense contained a very athletic quarterback. Kelly’s plan won the battle last night, but he can’t field punts and throw accurate passes in the red zone, that’s up to the execution of his players. Yes, the coach absolutely must make sure the players are avoiding these mistakes, no doubt Kelly is to blame in this aspect of preparation. I think BK took for granted the fact that these players know how to avoid loosing games. Changing the culture is going to take time.
Take a step back and realize that there’s a process to winning. If this team makes these mistakes next week, if this season is a complete bust, then you can talk about Kelly as the wrong hire. Until then, realize this isn’t 1966, the Irish have been losing for a long time and these players need to mentally and emotionally learn how to win. I firmly believe things are changing, and one game does not need to define the season.
As the Rocket said, enough with the unbelief. Be reasonable or stop watching.
Jim Prisby says:
Thank you Scott! Boy I’m tired of all this snap reaction negativity. I’m as devastated as the next guy, and cannot believe what happened yesterday, but I am NOT laying this ALL on Kelly’s doorstep. Look guys, Lou Holtz was not always calm and relaxes and frequently got in a guys face. One of my favorite memories was when Lou grabbed the facemask of a guy twice his size and laid into him. We al talked about his passion. We all complained about Weis being a business-like lump of Jell-O and not emotional enough. Nothing satisfies some people. I played some football. I believe you need a coach to put some foot to a— when needed and, as much as I don’t want to see it for 6 straight hours, that team needed it yesterday. Everyone step back and take 48 hours. As horrific as that game was, one game is no way to access a season of football. We had one year of mistakes in a single game. If it happens again and again, then we can officially note a ‘trend’ and can attribute 100% to the coaching staff.
Yesterday I dump a lot of this on the players. Jones and Riddick didn’t catch passes or punts despite being gifted athletes set up to flourish. Crist crumbled the second things went the other way. Is that a bad coaching decision? Probably. Crist always had ‘moments of inconsistency’ that followed momentum changes. He has the track record for it. He is not a leader that can overcome these moments. The hope that he matured into a leader type QB in the off-season hasn’t happened. But let’s face it, as much as I like Rees, he isn’t the long-term answer in this offense. Inserting Rees at that point was a GOOD coaching decision.
On a positive note, the O-Line was outstanding. One sack, and I attribute that to Crist hold the ball too long. Did they get penalized? They opened big holes for Wood. Except for the one forth quarter series, the defense played very well, despite what gets listed above. THEY gave up 16 points, including 3 on a short drive thanks to a muffed punt. 16 points should be enough to win a football game with a Kelly style offense so let’s not bad mouth the D. Let’s criticize the appropriate personnel! Ruffer missing a 30 yarder. Crist’s INT on 3rd down when you either find the open receiver or throw it away and take the 3. Let’s not gloss over or forget Floyd’s completely necessary holding call on the touchdown that was called back (7 points off the board).
Have some faith! Let’s see what happens at UM on Saturday night. Go Irish!
Zak H.` says:
I agree with you 100% The loss was hard to digest, but the ND communities reaction is downright disgusting. It was one game. Remember he is still a new coach, he is still changing the culture at ND, and he has been a great coach at EVERY other school he has coached at. When I was living in Grand Rapids, MI and I remember seeing him coach at GVSU. The same intensity, the same fire in his eye. He is passionate, quick tempered, and gets livid at mistakes. But there is no Coach that cares about his players more than Coach K. If a winner like BK can’t succeed at ND….then we are truly in trouble.
James says:
As great of a game Floyd had, I am shocked that he did not compete for the ball on the on sides kick. He had the angle and the size against the USF guy and he stood there and waited for the ball to come to him. Is this bad coaching or was Floyd too tired or just not paying attention?
Seems obvious to me that Kelly is waiting for Golsen to be ready. Neither of the two qbs who played last night are the answer.
E Murphy says:
Brian Kelly is the man for the job and if your ass was on the line and you had coached those kids up as hard as he did in the off season you would be pissed too. An old ball coach of mine once told me dont worry when i yell at you start worrying when i stop yelling at you….meaning the coach knows you can do better so he yells if he stops yelling at you he knows thats all you have to give and its time for the next man in
Oldschool says:
Kelly is a good coach overall. However he is not keeping his wits about him under pressure. Direct comparisons to Ara are in order. Kelly is extremely organized both in practices and during games…same as Ara. His game plans are solid as proven yesterday…doubled., the offense of SF. However, the divergence comes in a couple simple facts. Ara always told his players (personal experiences) that he would never single out or criticize any player in public. Kelly has his players so shell shocked that dependable “hands” turn to stone! Those players coming to the sidelines had that deer-in-the-headlights look all day long. The more the coaching staff pressed, the worse it got…frozen from fright! Kelly cooked his own goose trying to use 2 QBs that don’t quite fit his system. If you attended the spring game, both Golson and Hendrix moved the ball well and torched the #1 defense. What they lack in seasoning, they make up for in athleticism. Kelly chose he safe route with Crist and Rees…both great character guys and talented…chosen to manage the game but not necessarily perfect for optimizing the “system”! Kelly had it all laid out in his mind but faced with the pressure of starting strong for the “faithful”, he choose the conservative route…can’t blame him for going the safe route in order to get a win under his belt but changes in demeanor and personnel are in order. The Irish personnel and Kelly are still about a year away from greatness as that team speed still is not up to par with SEC teams particularly at linebacker pursuing laterally. Next week against another great spread QB should tell the tale.
Joe says:
I am not surprised by the loss. I am surprised how they loss. USF is no cupcake and of all the team on the schedule they were the team I feared the most. USF is a better team than Michigan is currently and if we go in into Michigan and play like we should play it won’t be close. As long as Brian Kelly does not go with his gut things will be fine. Rees should have started, he had momentum and his confidence was building. His arm looks stronger than last year and the one int was not his fault d/t the receiver not looking for the ball. Brian Kellys rants on the sidelines don’t bother me one bit. We have had too many softies on the sidelines and it’s refreshing to see a coach getting in someone’s grill when they screw up, instead of a pat on the butt. Irish will be motivated and I have no doubt we will see a different team in Michigan. Oh another thing, not one person expected ND to undefeated this season, the may at best go 9-3. Obviously I hope they go on a 11 game winning streak but I am a realist. Go Irish!
DenverJoeIrish says:
High hopes, pathetic results. I agree with Dave88, if yesterday’s performance is what we can expect for the season, The Irish will be 0-4 going into a night game before a frenzied Purdue crowd. I don’t think the shamrock helmets are going to be much help against the skunk bears. Anyway, Go Irish.
borromini says:
I wish some of you pansies would quit whining about Kelly’s emotion on the sidelines. We knew who we were hiring. This guy has always left it all on the sidelines. If you had seen him in 2009 at Cincinnati, you would have seen the same approach when the team didn’t perform…and that was an undefeated team he left. There are clips of Saban doing the same exact thing to his players and I’ve seen Stoops lose his composure when players make bone-head plays.
Players need to know that failure isn’t tolerated. Trying to compare Kelly’s sideline demeanor with other coaches like Ara is meaningless. Ara may have held his anger in, but it eventually caught up and forced him to retire after 10 years as Irish coach.
The 2nd worst part of losing is how Irish fandom switch to end-of-world mode and start spouting idiotic remarks about how Kelly is over his head or needs to get Hendrix or Golson in the game, or we need to hire Skip or the creme de la creme…Kelly is Faust. Nothing tops that last idiotic remark.
It’s good to know Kelly doesn’t bother reading the short-sighted comments from bandwagon fans on Sundays.
Jack says:
I’ve seen enough analysys about yesterday, what about where we are going? Notre Dame will learn from their mistakes and move on. I predict Notre Dame will BEAT MICHIGAN next Saturday. Notre Dame moved the ball well but just couldn’t score in the first half. You will see a different team out there. Stay away from the Kool Aid the media puts out every year about (fill in blank) team. I live in Southern California and if you believed everything you read about the Trojans you would certainly be brainwashed into thinking they already won the BCS Championship. GO IRISH! I have faith in you!
Mark Johnson says:
I am a ’78 grad. Reflecting on the years since I graduated leads to 2 obvious conclusions: First, the school is a superior institution now (and it was plenty good then). Second, the football program has now been mediocre longer than it ever was a dynasty. The only thing that we can count on year in and year out is that we will inevitably get upset (really? Are these really upsets?) by one or more unranked, unheralded teams every year. Sad really. Proud in one respect; very disappointed in another.
Grace Hall 1980 says:
A lot of interesting hyperbole out there. But I get it. It was a devastating loss (although I’ve seen plenty since I started attending games as a student in 1976). Couple random thoughts on Kelly’s demeanor. It seems out of place, but that’s got more to do with the day and age (i.e., everyone be nice and get their trophy) than it does football. No one complained when Holtz grabbed a face mask and pulled a player’s head down for a good “talk.” Same for Bo and Woody. But I think it also gets a bit more “TV coverage” than it deserves. Plenty of coaches do plenty of “talking” at football games; realistically, Skip did some yesterday. The impression that it has — at least on the fan base — depends upon the coverage it gets, and our “even-handed” focus is designed in part to highlight it with Kelly in part because it’s become such an issue among our over-reactive fan base.
Joe says:
ON NEGATIVITY: Negativity and complaining is easy and contagious. Making new season record predictions and giving up on the coach after the first game is useless banter. But venting is important and we all do it our own way. That’s why we post right?
ON THE GAME: I agree with Brian’s simple comment above. We were out-coached and out-played, reflected in a loss of motivation and mental strength to play hard and smart after mistakes – that will always be painful to watch. I can watch us lose if we’re playing with passion, but my worst Sunday heartburn comes from enduring a game of self-destruction. Mistakes get made but these kids have to learn to cope and overcome, faster. I take it personally. That interlocking ND on those uniforms means a lot to me, and to all of you I’m sure. Lack of discipline and focus should not be seen.
ON OUR TEAM: I think Weis and Kelly are fine coaches and know how to run a game – but they could still learn from Holtz senior (and junior it would seem): the drive to fight and win is the most powerful weapon on the field. A head coach cultures that motivation by leading by example, by reminding the players from time to time why they are on this team. Playing with heart is a catchphrase until you understand and believe that you don’t just play for ND, you are ND. You’re our family and you just happen to be on the field. If Kelly can get this team to love ND as much as they should, as we do, he’ll have a vicious squad in no time, full of guys that ‘ll leave it all on the field for the Lady on the dome.
Richard Irish says:
Holy smokin’ catfish! I heard that a new statue of Skip standing with one leg on top of Kelly’s belly and his arms held straight up will be erected outside the stadium.
I don’t even want to see the next game or the game after. It’s nothing but more humiliation.
Richard Irish says:
Wasn’t that an impressive performance by Kelly’s troops yesterday? They looked and played so off key that I thought they never practiced together.
I am afraid it’s going to be a long season. Michigan up next and then Michigan State. Kelly may go so blithering mad and wild on the sidelines that he will have to be institutionalized. I would like to have the opportunity to monitor his blood pressure during a game.
NDRAY says:
The day began with much expectation and anticipation as we felt we were on the road to success but ended with frustration and disappointment watching a team fall from motivation on the first drive to panic in the form of a coach loosing his cool when his players needed to rally around him and each other. Everyone knows mistakes were made but those outward attacks on multiple players belongs in the locker room not on public display. Sitting directly across from coach provided a sorry sight. Brian, you have what it takes in yourself, your coaches, your players, your students and your fans to make this season great. Let it begin with you.
Jim Kress says:
It’s official. For the rest of the Notre Dame football season, the area between the opponent’s 20 yard line and their end zone will no longer be known as the “red zone”. It will now be known as the “Twilight Zone”.
Actually, the defense did pretty well – given the continual balls of excrement handed to them by the “special” (especially bad) teams and the Dayne offense (in the 1st half). We have plenty of skilled players on D (on the line and in the linebacker corps), but they are young. What we need are better safeties and corners.
I was proud of the way Tommy (and the defense) brought the team back in the 2nd half. If there hadn’t been so many screw-ups in the first half, exhausting the defense, as well as some REALLY STUPID MISTAKES in the secondary, we might have stopped that last USF touchdown drive and actually pulled the game out.
Hoss says:
A lot of you guys are focused on Kelly’s behavior on the sidelines, God forbid he doesn’t tell the poor pumpkins how he understands we all make mistakes so as not to hurt the player’s self esteem (we had the “player’s coach”/BFF, Bob Davie, how’d that turn out.). That was the singular worst half of college football I’ve ever seen a team play…seriously, could they have screwed anything else up – mental error after undisciplined penalty after error, yet you’re worried about Kelly. Maybe you should worry he hasn’t been tough enough on them.
Andre K. says:
Reading you guys complain about coach kelley blasting his players explains why ND has been so soft lately……he must demand greatness and u fools are soft we beat our selves witch can be fixed tommy rees is the guy
Dan says:
Five Things I learned this week:
1. The ND offense needs to have situational practices if they don’t already have them. And if they already have them, they need to do more of them, ESPECIALLY red zone situations. I saw a team yesterday that had literally no problems driving down the field (sans Dayne Crist’s debacle of a second quarter, after he seemed to lose his head and cool because of the huge momentum changer when Jonas Gray got stripped). What I saw yesterday was an inability to punch the ball into the end zone.
2. Jonas Gray / Theo Riddick / Harrison Smith / Dayne Crist didn’t have their head in this game. Sure, you might say “that’s 4 out of 22 guys on the field!” but Dayne Crist was appointed the leader of this team. We can’t afford to have a guy now that hangs back and only does well when things are going well. We need a grinder, someone that’s going to go in and say “hey guys, we got this.” I saw that once Tommy Rees went out onto the field. Harrison Smith is the leader on the defense. His face mask penalties were INEXCUSABLE. Shame on you captain. Theo Riddick needs to have punt return duties removed, he’s a starter on the offense after all. Jonas Gray is a fumbling machine and it looks he’s never going to pan out into a reliable back up running back, much less a starter.
3. Cierre Wood is for real. His performance speaks for itself. It seems like only he, Michael Floyd, Tommy Rees and the defense (for a majority of the time) showed up to play yesterday.
4. The offensive line did its job. No matter who was in there at QB, they had time to throw the ball. Rees only got sacked once, and was forced to throw it away maybe two or three times that I remember. Included in this is the TE spot. We need to get those guys more involved. Eifert and Ragone had flashes of brilliance. NEED TO INVOLVE THE TEs MORE!
5.This team is close to being really good. If you consider all the red zone mistakes, we’re talking at least a 17 point turn around. With South Florida being shut down virtually all day (except for the one drive in the 3rd quarter), yesterday’s score at halftime could’ve easily been 17-0. Tack on the 20 points we scored in the 2nd half? Well, you can do the math.
Fellow domers and ND fans, calm down. Take it one game at a time. Michigan is next, and with better execution, it will be a hard fought game, but I expect the team to come out prevailing and with momentum back in our favor to take on the rest of the season.
Dan says:
Oh yes, and for those of you saying that South Florida has no talent – think again. They get all the players that aren’t “good enough” to get into Florida State, Florida and Miami. The same is the case with Boise State and California players. Look where they are at and what they did to Georgia yesterday. Some of you are ridiculously close-minded.
Zak H.` says:
Exactly Dan…..The times they are a changin’ . 20 years ago blue chip prospects would not dream of going to a USF or Boise. Nowadays will 300 cable channels and 24 hr college football coverage why would a McDonalds all american want to sit for 3 years at a top 25 school when they can go to a TCU or USF and start as a freshman? Too many people are living in 1988. The college football landscape has changed.
AZND says:
We will be lucky to win 5 games this year. We are no longer a top program. We will have a new coach next year and rebuild for the next 3 years and then a new coach again.
NW Ohio Irish says:
Notre Dame lost the game yesterday, South Flordia was just there to get the credit. There is not one person here who would be crediting Kelly had ND won the way USF did-so let’s just stop the love affair with Skip.
Gibber says:
Game plan was good enough. We drove right down the field before the fumble and return. Not a coaching problem.
We tacked up tons of yardage. Five turnovers, not a coaching problem unless they never worked on ball protection during pre-season.
Defensively, they played very weel. Two facemask penalties, a couple late hit penalties. Not the coaches fault.
Interceptions. Overthrown and underthrown passes. Not the coaches fault.
Dropped passes. Not the coaches fault.
Anyone speaking of a coaching change is an idiot.
Perhaps the players read too many articles about themselves prior to the opener.They have now been humbled. What matters most is how they react.
We need another receiver, preferably two, to step up and catch the football. We cannot continuously throw the ball to Floyd. Where was the pass rush that I have been reading about?
Perhaps moving Riddick back to his natural position will improve his play. You want him to be a receiver, throw to him coming out of the backfield. Wood needed a blow and we got nothing when he was out. We have other receivers who can perform.
No turnovers and fewer penalties and we hand Skipper a big W. The game is changed in a big way and we probably get a lopsided win.
I see no need to panic yet!
Tony says:
Kelly was an embarrassment. Its one thing to get on players but he was worse than Bo and Woody combined. Players have to be held accountable for mistakes but when teenagers are so scared to make a mistake on the field — knowing that some psychopath is going to berate them — they will inevitable make mistakes. Lou Holtz knew when yell and knew when to teach. This guy is just an idiot who thinks that his ridiculous rants are going to somehow scare his team into not making stupid mistakes. Never has worked, never will work. They hired Charlie Weis-light when they signed this guy and its more than time to send him packing. His system is crap, his coaching style is crap, and he can’t handle the big stage. Bring in a real Notre Dame man who knows how his players, the alumni, and the tradition of this program. We need to stop hiring ringers and hoping that they will someone restore the glory with spread offenses and solid records at small programs. Coaching for the Irish is different than coaching anywhere else in college football. Skip Holtz knows that. He was on the wrong sideline last night. Something tells me that when he up for his current position, had he been given the opportunity to coach the Irish, he would have made a different decision.
Scranton Dave says:
I’m still on board with Kelly. To me, yesterday is all on the players. Mistake after mistake after mistake. 3 turnovers inside the 10, a missed 30 yd FG, a fumbled punt and countless drops. I dont think it’s that the kids were not ready to play, I think it was just one of those games. I think they bounce back big next week.
martinjordan says:
Last year’s openner was almost as bad. The only reason they won was because Purdue was so awful. That’s two sloppy openners in two years for Kelly. Let’s hope this doesn’t become a pattern.
Shecky says:
I couldn’t agree more. At the end of that game, I couldn’t help but think that this loss was on the players. One bone-headed miscue after another, most of which…IMO…couldn’t be hung on poor coaching or lack of preparation. Critical fumbles, poor decisions by the QB’s, not looking when a pass is being thrown your way, etc…
They can take solace in the fact that I genuinely believe they will not play a worse game the remainder of the season.
T Domer says:
Game was pathetic with signs of potential. Can’t blame the coach for players that can’t catch the ball when they are hit between the numbers. The players at ND need to realize that’s exactly what they are Football Players for ND. Stupid mistakes like not catching the ball when it hits you in the hands and fumbling the ball on the 1 yard line shall not be tolerated. As far as Kelly’s actions on the sideline, good for him. I wish the players would have that much heart and passion. Quit babying the players, they need to be men and get their jobs done. If they can’t, replace them with someone can…..
dan says:
could it be that nd just cannot recruit the great players that will really make a difference between winning and losing on a consistent basis; the ones who in the clutch wont fumble or miss field goals. most often there is just a tiny bit of difference between the great and the good. the really greats are likely going to the sec, acc, pac ten and to florida. who would have ever thought south florida could play the way they do. its their recruiting. great players want to go to florida, the sec, ala, lsu, texas where it is warm and where the schools are large and fun. is nd that? no. the players and the parents know that. nd has lost its mojo due to societal and cultural change in the usa(for the worst) and it is in the middle of nowhere and small and becoming more insignificant each decade. academically it cant crack the top 10. the fact that the hierarchy there made the mistake of placing faust, davies, willingham, oleary and weiss there has only hastened the demise. and when was the last time nd landed a great qb. they just cant seem to do it, while lsu and other teams have 2 great qbs. i hope i am wrong but i think it is over for nd and i hate it. time to join the big 10 and slog through the winter. dg, nd ’67
Dsnay says:
I’m afraid ND will never be more than a quality academic school with marginal players. We will be like Stanford for years to come. Stanford is good now but they won’t be great forever. Academics plays to much of a role in terms of recruiting. We will have some good years, like Stanford. However, the days of having a dynasty are gone.
terry says:
After watching Saturday’s game for a while and then watching LSU-Oregon for a while (the difference in speed of the players was remarkable) I kind of have to agree with you but in this case you should have added one more letter ‘o’ to the word ‘to’, making ‘too’.
Dsnay says:
Point taken.
Scott Sweeny says:
Are you serious Dan? One loss and suddenly ND can’t get the best players? Jimmy Claussen and Dayne Crist could have chosen ANY school in the country from USC to the SEC to all the Florida schools. Same goes for Teo. In fact the roster is full of players at all positions in the same boat. ND has had five plus years of top notch recruiting classes and does have the players to compete. If you watched the game you would have seen that this had nothing to do with the outcome. Mistake after mistake after mistake cost the Irish. These mistakes are fixable and I would not be surprised to see ND reel off eleven straight wins! Then what will you have to say?
JP says:
Kelly’s biggest mistake was not to take the sure TD on the first drive with a QB sneak on 3rd down. Why risk a blown hand-off or fumble in that situation? Any time the ball is handled bad things can happen (especially with a RB with a history of fumbling). That 14 point turnaround was the game.
Mark says:
I thought the same thing for a moment,but, I then remembered Crist last year getting a concussion on a sneak. I bet Kelly remembered that, too.
Chuck says:
A QB sneak would have meant the risk of concussion on the QB. Clearly, too much of a risk for this particular QB. And his production points out to permanent benching, and possibly ending the possibility of a career as a QB.
jeff says:
The question isn’t why a QB sneak wasn’t called for. Instead, the question should be why can’t ND on first-and-goal from the seven run the ball three times and score? Why is third-and-two a passing down for this team? The O-line still can’t blow people off the ball when they have to.
jabe7 says:
Totally agree with you Jeff! Many comments on this board praise the O-linefor protecting the QB, which it did. However, short yardage gains in crucial situations are still a major problemo. Another situation, the two point conversion. After the penalty, the ball is placed on the one-and-a-half yard line. No confidence to be able to punch it in. And, this has been the case for years: failure on short yardage running plays. This needs to change!
Norm says:
I can’t believe everybody is ranting about Kelly’s ranting. Did all of you carrying on about that never see Lou Holtz get in the face of his players?
And about everyone wanting to see Andrew Hendrix, why throw another wrinkle in things? Rees played well enough to get the starting nod for the next game.
Jim Kress says:
You are absolutely correct. A favorite memory was Lou grabbing the face mask of one of his players, pulling his head down, and then providing a “teaching moment”.
Kelly is doing his job. The players need to do theirs, especially on “special” teams and the offense.
GraceHallChapel86 says:
How come Mack Brown can provide “teaching moments” without cussing a blue storm so loud that it makes the weather that caused the delay look like a tempest in a teacup? It is a question of degree. No one is saying Kelly can’t blister a play when needed. But his behavior went too far and embarassed ND nation. Stern? Yes. Heated? Absolutely. Disciplinary? Has to. Red faced rages? Makes him look like a doofus that has lost control.
Dsnay says:
I like Kelly’s fire. However, one has to question what a future player watching is thinking. Does anyone know what it is like being chewed out in front of millions feels like? Does anyone like getting chewed out at work in front of just a room full of people? Does that motivate you? There is a fine line. I just hope he doesn’t cross it too often.
george says:
Really, his antics affecting recruiting. Maybe it helps recruiting. Willingham was stoic on the sidelines, never showing any emotions and recruiting was pitiful. Perhaps Kelly’s passion and desire for players to do what he has developed them to do will be what recruits see. I am pretty sure that many ND fans were frustrated and bewildered by what we saw. I would be that many had a few choice words screamed at the TV or from the stands. Kelly has spent almost a two years working to develop a program that he thought was poised to take that next big step. Instead he got significant underachieving by most of his upper classmen.
Perhaps instead of thinking about how the players felt when Kelly was in their faces, we should think about how Kelly felt when his players went out and did not do the things that he had taught them to do. The offensive players spent a week talking about how important ball security was to have success and then they have 5 turn overs.
Not Kelly’s fault and I don’t have any issue with how many shades of red he turned or how many players might have been “offended”. Play better and your boss doesn’t have to react that way.
jeff says:
Check out Bob Stoops on the OU sidelines sometimes. Doesn’t seem to affect his recruting.
irish2 says:
Kelly was totally undone on national HDTV and whilst he had a teachable moment, he did not teach. I was embarrassed for the University.
Jerry says:
But he’s not fat, which is what most of you fat cat gold seat sitters complained so much about with Charlie.
Patrick Quinlan says:
Jim-that is one of my favorite”all time-Lou” moments! I have said for years that we need a coach that coaches the boys. Bob Davie was never a true motivator. Ty Willingham didn’t get a fair shake and one can only wonder what could have been had he been given time to develop his team. Charlie Weis treated (some of) the boys like they were already at the pro ranks. Brian Kelly is a proven winner, motivator and leader. He has already turned things around. We are on the verge of greatness once again. Go IRISH! Beat Wolverines!
Notre Dame Homer says:
Yeah right!
T Murphy says:
I’ve been a ND fan for 30 years but I am officially done. I have traveled all over the country to games and have been lucky enough to see them lose to Oregon State twice, Tulsa, Syracuse, Stanford and Navy at home. ND is not a relevant program, plain and simple. Kelly acted like a maniac on the sidelines as he saw everything slipping away. He didn’t create the turnovers or stupid mistakes but that team was so unprepared it was embarrassing. If he was such a good coach, why didn’t he start Rees, who is obviously a better QB, or prepare the kids/men to be ready for USF. I have two tickets to the Maryland game, on sale now. Goodbye ND.
Joe says:
T Murph, you’re probably not going to read this, but nice to have you as a fan for 30 years and sorry to see you or any ND fan, alum or not, jump ship – I know it wasn’t one game that put you over the edge. But hey, if you don’t expect your football team to give up on the field…then none of us should be giving up on them
theSpringZone says:
Chill out guys!!! Some of you are a bunch of haters and sound like school girls.
Crist is not the QB for this team. Tommy just “has” it and throwing just shy of 300 yards in two quarters is pretty damn impressive. Hopefully next week will turn out better for us.
Go Irish and God bless!!!
– Jon
chris says:
Lets stop giving Kelly a free pass…HE lost the Tulsa game and picked the wrong QB to start this season. HIS CRITICAL IN GAME DECISIONS ARE USUALLY WRONG. This team was not mentally ready to play.
Jerry says:
So you are an accomplished football analyst that has been to every practice and off-season session? Not.
George says:
Please don’t misconstrue these as indicating that I believe Tommy Reese is the next Joe Montana, but there are many similarities. Joe was a skinny kid who couldn’t throw the deep ball and was too slow afoot to be named the starter. Dan Devine had him on the bench and was forced to use him as a sfreshman due to injury. Montana came in and brought the team back only to be benched with a healthy started returning. Sophomore year, more of the same, not quite good enough even though all he had was success when given the opportunity to play as a freshman. He was called upon to come off the bench his sophomore year and found success once again. Even going into his junior year it was not clear that he would be the leader of the Notre Dame offense. He was finally named the starter and the rest is history.
Tommy Reese has, to me, many of the same attributes as Joe Montana. There is a quiet calm and confidence about him when he takes the field. The players respond to him and make catches that are not made when Crist is in there.
I understand Kelly’s thinking with Crist. All things being even on the practice field, a senior with longevity in the program, and maturity of age generally will get the nod. But, give Kelly credit for seeing that, as the pressure ratcheted up on Crist, his play diminished.
Reese came in and threw against a team that knew he was going to throw the ball. 2 rushed passes may have cost the Irish the game. But the poise and control he demonstrated in the mess that was the USF game may have salvaged the season.
Realistically ND was NOT going to be in the National Championship game. But, clean up the mental errors and play solid football going forward, toss in 1 more loss only and they are a BCS team. 2 or 3 losses and still a Bowl bound team looking to next year with more of Kelly’s RKG recruits in the system and there is still reason to be optimistic about the future of Notre
Dame football.
Jason says:
Well put George. I was at this game, all 5 hours and 59 minutes. I can tell you that the team played better under Rees. I believe it is a matter of attitude. For those Bear fans out there, think back to Jimmy Mac. He was an average quarterback that had a good running back and MOXIE. I think Rees has the same MOXIE though not sure about the running back. That attitude translates to all those around you and he makes others play with the same attitude.
Tim Tebow was a master at this. BTW- I appreciate Kellys fire on the sidelines and if the man says a few dirty words so what . Now lets see if it translates to his players. I do not think you can blame him for poor throws and missed kicks and costly fumbles. Totaly on the players. Take out even half of those errors and we beat a team like SF. Kelly has no control over those things once the players hit the field and that is where those foul mouthed rants come from.
Terrence says:
I think Kelly had a wakeup call during this game: you need tough competitors out on the field to win ballgames. The one area I most questioned Kelly is, “Why start the proven loser, Dayne Crist?” After his constant choking in pressure situations, and Tommy’s clutch play last year, didn’t he learn that lesson already? Dayne looked great, until the fumble, then he fell apart, throwing the ball 10 ft over Michael Floyd’s head on a wide-open slant, then a costly interception in the end-zone. The other area I question Kelly is the spread in goalline situations. On the 2 pt conversion you had the ball at the 1.5 yd line, yet you ran a shotgun formation. The spread only works in goalline situations when you have a running QB. Also, multiple receivers running routes in cramped goalline situations will lead to tipped balls, confused QBs and receivers, interceptions, and settling for FGs. Tommy looked good, and obviously has some maturing to do, but overall the offense did look potent, as long as it didn’t shoot itself in the foot. I do see a need for more of an identity and security in playcalling and short yard situations and keeping drives alive.
Kelly needs to continue to wake his team up, and turn Softy’s recruits into his men with some tongue lashings. Unfortunately, their SAT scores don’t translate into game instincts and toughness. I also thought the defense would be able to make more stops, especially coming off last year’s solid end, but I guess it still lacks the athletic playmakers that Kelly wants to bring onto that side of the ball. Better luck next week, because everything that could have went wrong did. Go Irish!
ill wind says:
” fall down, get up.” nd is now getting a taste of what storied ivy programs got eight decades ago and what the service academies underwent in th 50’s. nd can still compete with other “student athletes” but not the football factories. we had a great run !
Boone says:
Give Hendrix a chance? No
Start Rees? Yes
The Irish beat themselves yesterday. The gameplan/playcalling was fine and I thought the defense was great. You can’t blame Kelly for fumbles, dropped passes, and small mental mistakes. Those are on those players. What Kelly needs to do is get the players focused up this week and make sure they don’t loaf around feeling sorry for themselves. USF is a good team and beat the Irish fair and square, but it is over now and it needs to stay in the past. To adress the emotions of Skip Holtz and Brian Kelly during the game… of course Skip can keep his cool! What reason would he have to be angry when his team was winning??… no duh hes going to be composed… Brian Kelly had every right to be upset with the mistakes by the players and any other coach would be mad too, you just didnt see it from holtz because his team was doing fine. If you think the season is ruined and you have jumped ship then you are wrong. Get ready for a big win next week.
GO IRISH!
Glory to God!
Jerry says:
Totally agree with your assessment. Kelly I am sure sees an enormous disconnect between the practice tee and No. 1 Tee. Some of that is angst over failing and that needs to go out the window. A lot of focus on ND this off-season and rightfully so but the kids need to keep perspective, too. We need ballers on the field and that will happen. Crist may be marvelous off the bench as Montana was early on in his career. We will see. The dump Kelly sentiment is ridiculous.
terry says:
Start Rees? Yes.
Who’s next? Hendrix
Was Holtz cool because his team was cool or were they cool because he was cool? I think it was both.
IMO Kelly has the team on edge and they can’t just relax and play football.
terry says:
I disagree with the comparison between Kelly’s ravings and Lou’s ravings. When Lou raved he had a specific purpose in mind – he would focus on the ravee, he would rave, GET HIS POINT ACROSS and then it was history. Kelly just flat out loses it and nothing is accomplished.
GraceHallChapel86 says:
Agree 100%. “Anger resides in the lap of fools.” Cool it, Brian…
Jim Kress says:
Unless you were constantly standing on the sideline behind Kelly and were privy to everything in the exchanges between Kelly and the players, I don’t believe you have a basis for your argument.
NEPA FAN says:
ND beat themselves, IT WAS THAT OBVIOUS. Kelly is a good coach. unfortunately , you’ll have games like this. unfortunately, for ND, it was their home opener against a good USF team. This team has the potential to be very good. They simply need confidence and NEED TO REMOVE ANY “SHADOW OF DOUBT ” FROM THEIR PSYCHES. Even, Joe Paterno once said that you’re never as good or as bad as you play in your first game. The pieces are in place. There is elite talent in South Bend and quality depth. Any team/coach (i.e Alabama, LSU or Oregon) would also have a tough time winning a game given if they had 5 turnovers as well. You can put that on Kelly, but he’s not the one fumbling the ball, dropping passes or missing a field goal. As far as his behavior on the sidelines, I don’t believe there’s any time for political correctness in coaching football. COACH KELLY IS JUST TRYING TO INSTILL HIS PASSION FOR THE GAME INTO HIS PLAYERS.
ccb says:
We’re letting Diaco’s defense off the hook.
With the talent we now have in the front 7, we should have been in the QB’s face throughout the game w/ blitz’s – especially after falling behind.
Instead, Daniels had all day to pass, and our zone gave receivers a 10 yard cushion. Who couldn’t engineer a drive w/ throw and catch – zero pressure on QB or receiver.
On the critical USF TD drive, this cost us the game. USF is a far below average offense.
Playing a bend but don’t break soft defense against Mich. next Sat. will be a disaster. Robinson will
go wild. Expect Mich to score 35+ pts. – not to mention MSU, USC, and Stanford. Remember, Diaco
never did figure out Navy and the fullback dive plays. (He simply got lucky against a far inferior Army
offense)
Playing rush 3 or 4, no blitz, with a soft zone, is a waste of the great defensive talent we have recruited. Unfortunately, when kids see our defensive schemes in the future, they’ll go elswhere,
ie Michigan, the SEC.
Bill hawse says:
Does it appear to anyone else that, no matter who the coach is, it’s the same old team year after year?????
Jimbo says:
Yes, all the same from 1994 on.
Matt says:
Kelly ranting and raving was well deserved. He is a very patient coach finding something to teach and learn from, but everyone has their limits. They played like a pop Warner team, I’ve seen high school jv teams with more discipline. Rees should have started, they were 20-7at the half fees played. The penalties are unexusable. Im glad the coach has some fire and rage. Pampering these kids is only going to cripple them. They need that from time to time, if they don’t wake up and pull their heads out of their asses they’re going to end up 3-9. Football is a game for men, bring your balls or go home.
terry says:
Start Rees? Obviously. If he goes down or screws up? I say Hendrix. Crist has had his chance.
Passion on the sidelines? You say tomayto and I say tomahto.
Here’s hoping the Irish are dangerous after they’ve screwed up like they did.
DenverJoeIrish says:
All I know is, Mark Mays(SP?) and the rest of the ND-hating talking heads on ESPN are going to have a great week as they analyze why ND lost to Skip and Company and how they’ll lose against Meatchicken. I pray that BK can effectively teach the boys this week about learning from their mistakes and having a short-term memory as they prepare for the skunk bears. A good coach will right the ship and have the players executing better the week following a debacle like yesterday’s. This Saturday night will measure BK’s coaching ability. Even if they lose a close one, if the Irish make significant improvements in play execution and play with “it’s us against the world” passion (and it will be ND vs. the world playing at night in a bowl full of drunken screaming MU maniacs), BK will have taken the correct coaching measures that are needed this week. If they don’t, then we’re in for a 2007-like season and BK’s tenure at ND will be the object of many postings on this website. Go IRISH! BEAT SKUNKBEARS!
george says:
Mays actually said that he did not want to take back his comments from before the game. He said any time a team puts up 500 yards and holds the opponent to 250 yards, it is a good team. He thinks the dumb mistakes are correctable and the there is a lot of talent in South Bend. I was shocked when I heard him say that this morning.
Let’s be realistic, Gray takes the ball into the end-zone and/or Jones catches the TD pass and Floyd doesn’t get called for holding and there are 21 additional ND points on the board and 10 less USF points. I am not genius but when I do that math the game turns into a 41-13 ND romp. And, Kelly doesn’t ever turn red.
terry says:
Gray did NOT fumble – the ball was stripped from him and it was obvious that SF had practiced the play many times over.
George says:
Gray fumbled. Ball security is paramount at all times. USF worked hard on it because Gray has a history of giving up the ball. I don’t see a stat for Balls stripped by the defenders, only one for fumbles.
I can only hope that the 2 freshmen get up to speed quickly so that Jonas Gray never has to see the field again. 4 years of limited play because of lack of ball security are a body of evidence, not an aberration.
Geoffrey '73 says:
I didn’t see the game since there is no coverage in Australia. From the “highlights” I have seen and the comments I have read, it is enough to make me believe that if we are -2 or better in the turnover department, we will beat Michigan. I really can’t put my feet into the shoes of a coach who has done everything right but sees his players do everything wrong. I would have been very intent on seizing the moment to impart the gravity of the error. As the bone-headed mistakes become fewer, look to BK to have a more serene demeanour.
RT says:
All you posters that say ND is done as a program or can’t recruit players obviously are completely ignorant. Clearly, ND is getting players and the recruiting argument is complete crap at this point. One poster above, clearly with thoughts and spelling like yours, you are not an ND grad. Go away. All you others who are done following ND…goodbye, you won’t be missed.
MJL says:
Well said, RT. The joke will be on those who’ve decided to jump ship after that. Anyone who has any knowledge of football will recognize that ND still has the pieces for a great season.
Think about it: ND had twice as many yards as USF, five turnovers, a missed field goal, and three or four crucial penalties by the D (shame on Ethan Johnson)…yet we only lose by 3 points against a team that’ll likely contend for the Big East title. Call me crazy, but I still feel very confident about the coming season despite how things panned out. If we can beat Michigan and then State, which is more than possible given how they played against Western and Youngstown State, watch out. The ship jumpers will be climbing back on board in no time.
terry says:
Do you remember football Saturdays when the campus was completely alive and you realized how lucky you were and so you walked around with a “I GO TO SCHOOL HERE” look on your face?
If you are a typical Notre Dame grad then it is easy to see why so many people HATE Notre Dame – she does a lot of things well, but one thing she doesn’t do well well is humble. I shouldn’t have to say this but I will – for a University that claims to be Catholic that is a BIG drawback.
FYI – I went to ND for 2 years in the early 60s, flunked out and went into the service. I remember Joe Kuharich, Moose Krause, Gilbert’s clothing store – ‘one man tells another’. I remember my friend John Huarte, Norb Roy, Frank Butka, Mike Lind, Nick Buonoconti, I remember the Syracuse game when the Irish won on a field goal on the last play of the game after a roughing the kicker penalty on the Orange (with Ernie Davis) and I remember when we could NOT beat Northwestern because they had that coach named Ara Parseghian.
I watched the 1964 USC game on TV and listened to the 1966 USC game on a short-wave radio in the mid-east.
Richard Irish says:
Let’s face it folks. Losing a winnable football game is no way to start a season. On ND’s first drive they looked very much in control and focused. However, after that costly fumble everything went downhill. The Irish couldn’t even buy a point in the first half.
Andy says:
What’s amusing about these post is the irrational ranting and raving about “Kelly ranting and raving.” Give the man some credit about what his team needs. He’s with them every day.
This was only one game, albeit an extremely disappointing one. We don’t yet know how good USF is – much less ND. At least one commentator rated them a better team than UM – many others predict them to win the Big East. Clearly ND is a better team than USF on any day except yesterday.
Most “experts” were predicting a 9-3 record for ND. That’s still well within grasp, and the sense of urgency the team feels must only be enhanced by what was truly an embarassing loss from their point of view. Will this loss deflate them or fire them up? Let’s wait a few more games before we throw in the towel or sell our tickets.
terry says:
Well put. I disagree and I would make my argument by contrasting Kelly’s behavior with Holtz’ – Holtz stayed animated, but cool under the pressure and I would argue that his team reflected it on the field.
By contrast Kelly came apart at the seams when his team needed him to stay cool and in my opinion they reflected that on the field.
I’ve got plenty of towels, thanks, but about those tickets …..
Gary says:
They laid an egg plain and simple.Guys on bothsides of the ball made silly mistakes and poor judgement.I have a hard time seeing Kelly starting Crist against Michigan.They have a chance to
show everyone that Saturday was a fluke in Ann Arbor.This is going to be one angry football team .
terry says:
I don’t care how good Michigan is supposed to be – If the Irish don’t take out LAST Saturday on Michigan THIS Saturday then Kelly is not the coach I have been saying he is.
Rees should be the starting QB and Hendrix should be the next guy in. Crist is, I’m sure a fine young man but he is NOT a Notre Dame QB – he just doesn’t seem to have the stones for the job.
Eric says:
Rees is the starter against michigan Crist had his chance the stats are not even close! Players need to wake up realize where they are and who they are playing for. Kelly can’t be on the sidelines and field at the same time players need to step up. Stop with the dumb penalties hold onto the ball and lets beat Michigan!!!!
lairish says:
Holtz team has a problem with turnovers and we did not get one. Defense needs to get some turnovers if ND is going to win.
Royce says:
Kelly is out of control…the 2nd timeout of the 2nd half when he had Rees on the sideline trying to figure out what play to call for 2 pt conv. (a good coaching staff have go to plays), Rees was trying to get on the field and Kelly kept talking and they had to waste a timeout. What does Kelly do….start ranting like it was Rees fault….Kelly look in the mirror
Chuck says:
Michael Floyd had his chance and made it very well. Crist had more than several chances and drove us to the ground. The decision is very clear. Play Tommy Rees!
terry says:
Why is there even a question about starting Rees?
jack says:
i’ve been a fan of nd for over 60 years & thought i’d seen it all until this game. after 5 + hours i was exhausted & fell into bed & could not for the life of me fall asleep. i kept thinking about the mistakes & the could have beens. i finally fell asleep & woke up the next morning thinking it was a bad dream but sadly it was not. now it is 2 days later & i finally have gotten over it & am once again excited about the um game. good luck to coach kelly & all the players. go irish
JP says:
When Holtz coached there was no big-screen high definition tv. Now you can see Kelly’s stubble. You can see him piece together his expletive-laced rants and spit in the players’ faces. You can watch him demean his players. You think they respect this guy? Someone, the AD, should take him over the coals for this ridiculous display of lack of leadership. He takes responsibility for his actions in the game? How about an apology to the viewers for making a red-faced ass of himself?
JP says:
Red-faced dope?
Vortex says:
Thank you Brian for having old school values in an era of increased pressure to act like other schools/coaches. Your Gentleman’s decision to play the Senior after his loyalties to the school are commendable. You gave the kid his shot. Crist was never benched …injury took him out. However, the chance to solidify a starting job was blown. Enter Tommy Rees. I LOVE This kid..what moxie…calm…and yet so young. We have a great future at ND as long as young men like Rees continue to call ND home.
mark says:
It’s never Little Lord Fauntleroy fault, it’s always the players, he yell’s at everyone, and then Tom Lemming over inflates the recruiting class for the last 25 years because ND people are his biggest subscribers. Wake up. You need 3 deep at every postion, especially defense, you can’t get these kids in to ND, it just won’t work. Watch an SEC game it looks like it’s in fast forward.
TC says:
I said last week that if the South Florida game were close (assuming the Irish would still win), that Notre Dame would lose the next two games. With that being said, I think they can still win next week. I can understand Kelly getting upset the way he did, but to me it DOES look like a coach feeling the pressure of having to win. Lou Holtz got upset but did not berate individual players for physical mistakes, which is what Kelly seemed to be doing.
The amazing thing seems to be that the players in this program seem to carry the “weight of the world” on their shoulders. They seem nervous – uptight, whatever way one can describe it – instead of confident and having more of an arrogant demeanor that they are going to go out and destroy the opponent. You don’t see the Oklahomas, Alabamas etc playing the way the Irish did… and lastly… who are the leaders? where were the leaders in this game other than Floyd? The defense played ok but did not hit hard enought to cause turnovers and the overall demeanor of the team was a lack of confidence. Next week – they need to get the lead early or else…
altantadomer says:
Reading most of the commentary on here – I feel the same way a lot of you do with one exception. I in no way think Kelly’s tirades were out of line. Watch a kid get beat on a play by an opponent with more athletic ability, I mean just plain beat. You don’t see the “dress down”, do you? But let a student-athlete enrolled and qualified to attend “Our Lady’s” University, make a mental mistake – and the head coach comes unglued. Why? Because ladies and gentlemen, growing up and living here in SEC Country I know distinctly that we only have one chance to beat teams like LSU, Bama, Florida and Georgia. Being and playing much, much smarter. That’s when Kelly in my opinion, rightfully loses it on these guys. You see Les Miles upset when his guys have a mental let down? What do you think he would do if they got “out run”?
I have a feeling that Dayne Crist is like one of my teammates in high school – the greatest Practice Player of all time. Something happens when the lights come on at game time to this kid’s psyche, and he becomes mentally paralyzed at times. And I bet the exact opposite happens with Rees meaning that he probably looks very mundane at practice). That kid is cooler than the other side of the pillow.
If Rees starts next week and going forward, we should be favored in every game against a team not named Stanford.
J Dee says:
Just a bad day all around you can always second guess….agree though they must win at Michigan…still need more speed and…. QB lacking big time
terry says:
I like Rees for lots of reasons, one of them being that when he was getting reamed out by Kelly he had a look in his eyes that said “I would LOVE to cold-cock this mouthy sob.”
If Rees doesn’t start …..
JPNess says:
One of the calmest coaches I have ever seen is Ty Willingham.
One of the most animated coaches I have ever seen is Bo Pelini.
One of them is probably going to win the Big 10 this year. The other is out of football.
But what the heck do I know. Maybe you guys are right. Perhaps Mr. Kelly should have taken some time to calmly ask those young men why they didn’t seem to be following his instructions or playing the way they played in practice, and then figured out if he could give them some coping tools so that they could play better later in the game. Maybe he just needs to be a better listener, and have more concern about his players’ feelings. Or maybe just offer them a drink of water, and a pat on the head, and tell them he knew they were trying their hardest, and that he had confidence that they would do better next time.
They probably did better in the second half because somebody’s Mom gave them orange slices and juice boxes at halftime, and Coach Kelly led them in a really positive cheer of some sort.
Either that, or after two hours of ass chewing during an extended halftime, the players were more afraid of going back to the sidelines after making bad and stupid plays than they were of anything that could happen on the field. Maybe they will decide that being a smart, well-mannered group of underachievers doesn’t feel as good as kicking someone’s ass on the football field, and maybe they will find that Mr. Kelly is a really great guy to see on the sidelines after you make good plays.
Jim Kress says:
Nice one!
Kevin Casey says:
I appreciate a coach’s loyalty to his players, but it is time for some changes. Bench Crist (too inaccurate and jittery in games), replace the punter, don’t play Jonas Gray (except in extreme emergency or blowout), and temporarily bench Riddick (permanently on special teams). Some players just don’t have it when the pressure is on in a real game. Also, when Ara recruited real studs (Browner, Fry and Bradley), he played (started) them right away. They will learn faster during an actual game.
Colin says:
Kelly looked like a purple faced madman from the first fumble of the game on. That’s not the cool and collected Skipper a team needs, especially in the home opener. I think the move to Rees was too quick. You instill faith and confidence in your players as a coach through your demenor, choices, and actions. If Rees was the man, he should have started. I couldnt be more disappointed with Kelly so far this season. The team looked like it wasn’t even ready to play a blue/gold game, none-the-less a season opener. I also thought the atmosphere at ND was pathetic. Booing the team going off after the first half and the total lack of real mojo in that place is almost as disheartening as the actual performance. No heart from the players, the coaches, or the fans. What a dismal game all around.
NYND says:
Being at the game in the SW endzone, I think the booing was started by the USF fans in the SE endzone in response to their team taking a knee to end the half. I didn’t hear any booing from other parts of the stadium.
NYND says:
The crowd was deafening to start the second half, and overall kept up the noise throughout the half.
george says:
The most positive thing to come out of the Saturday disaster is that Kelly finally found (albeit a little late) his best quaterback. Crist has never possessed the inherent instincts of a natural passing quarterback, while Rees has and does. Those instincts (quick reading of defenses and quick delivery of the football to the open receiver) cannot be learned;, they are inherent and natural—ask the folks who coached Joe Montana. Kelly made a mistake starting Crist; that mistake cost ND a game. Time to move on with the right guy under center.
misha says:
One more step down the slippery slope of ND’s erosion.
Anger can be a useful tool for a coach, but Kelly’s anger is so much an outburst and a tirade that he stands to lose this team very quickly. Coaches who rant, rave, and fume are soon ignored. Lou Holtz had the ability to be serious, focused, and alternatively, charming and funny. His players loved him, and when he got angry, you can bet the team listened. His anger was a proper tool for coaching that he understood.
Kelly does not enjoy the status that Lou enjoyed, and his outbursts are more a reflection of his losing control of himself, and the team.
vegascat says:
ND had opportunities and didn’t covert them into points. SF had opportunities and coverted them into points except for 1 missed fg. Let’s play the big if game…IF ND had converted just a fg on first drive of game..that’s a 10 point difference. Make a fg instead of an interception, now we are talking 13 points difference. Make a 30 yard fg, now we are talking a 16 point difference. SF only scored 10 points against ND defense..the long fg in the first half and the td in the second. Plus when you throw in the horrible punts…SF didn’t beat ND, ND beat ND.
Now with all that said..ND cleans up its act on turnovers, penalties and special teams then Michigan will be raving about how good ND is when the Irish roll out out Ann Arbor on late Saturday.
Adam says:
I was born and raised a fan of ND. Like most of you, it literally makes me sick to watch ND lose a game! I’m only 23, therefore I dont even remember the last championship won but I can not give up on them no matter how badly I may want to sometimes. Obviously I’m no sports expert but it seems Notre Dames biggest problem is Notre Dame. Like vegascat said above me, ND flat out beat themselves. After watching and keeping up with ND football for many years, it feels like they think they deserve something. Like they just deserve to be an elite football program. And evidently they believe teams are just gonna give up because THEY are Notre Dame and YOU are some small “no-name” team from Florida. ND has rode on all the legends and hall of famers coat tails way to long, and as soon as they realize that teams/players now dont care about what they did in 1988 or any other year in the past, ND will be better off. Because when all comes down to it, it doesn’t matter what they have done in the past. What matters is what they do now! (btw USF is not as bad team. They are decent, and I hate to say it but so is ND)
Kevin says:
I can’t believe that some of you think ND is done? Notre Dame had over 500 yards of total Offense. How much did South Florida have? 252? Most all teams who have 500 or more total yards of offense win game. Notre Dame is probably one of the only teams to ever lose with having a 2 to 1 ratio like that. The ND defense played solid and did not get pushed around by South Florida ND pushed South Florida around to be honest. South Florida did not do much to win the game. Anyone would have beat ND with 5 turnovers and Crist as starter. Rees had 296 yards passing in 2 quarters coming off bench. If he is in all game he averages 592 yards passing. Not too many guys throw for 300 yards in a half. Not to mention South Florida went into a 3 deep shell with their cornerbacks and saftey in all of 2nd half, which means most time they dropped their corners and safety back to play the pass and deep ball forcing ND and Rees to make tough decisons and tough throws. they were rushin g 3 dropping 8 playing the pass. He did not have the luxury of Crist did when he was in with a “balanced” defense. It was smart of South florida to do that. They did not want to give up the big play, they forced Rees to thread that needle and his passes were right on target. Not many quarterbacks can do better than what Rees did coming off the bench against an 8 man pass defense. If Rees starts that game, ND wins by at least 17 points and the game isnt even close. ND WILL WIN against michigan I guarantee. It took a michigan comeback at last 2nd last year to even win the game against ND with horrible CRIST starting at quaterback that game. Just think how we will do with Tommy in the game now! Crist is not a leader. He may be a good guy and all and I like him but hes just not a good QB. Crist is scared of contact. Even when he ran on a broken play he slid before the first down marker and didnt even charge in to get the first down. Its little things like that that are very disapointing to see. The chemistry is awesome with Rees. Rees has the “it” factor. ND will win by at least 10 points this saturday. Its sad that Kelly decided to change the chemistry they had with rees and his 4 game win streak last year. I know ppl will say wait Rees had 3 turnovers in the USC game or something like that last year, but who led ND down for the go ahead touchdown at the end of the game? REES DID. The difference between him and Crist is Rees can make a mistake and come right back and throw a touchdown pass. Mistakes dont affect Rees the same way that they do Crist. and Rees just always finds way to win a game and lead his team. just like all the good ones do. They shine at the end of games and under pressure. And Brian Kellys career record as head coach is 179-62-2. brady Hokes record as head coach is 47- 50. He doesnt even have a winning record so you can not say that he is a better coach. not saying that michigan sucks they are a good football team, but they have a year or 2 to become really solid and precise with their game. ND is not Western Michigan. ND wins by 10 at least. They will clean up the turnovers and sloppy play.
wally says:
wait till next year we are going to be really good.