Stanford took advantage of a wretched first half by mistake prone Notre Dame to build a 21-0 lead and coasted to a 28-14 victory on Saturday night. The Irish fell to 8-4 under the weight of penalties, sacks, turnovers and a blocked pooch punt attempt by Tommy Rees. The night was not a total loss, however, as Andrew Hendrix came on to play the entire second half for Notre Dame and performed well enough to give Irish fans a glimmer of hope for the future.
The game looked like a mismatch at the outset, as the visitors committed two false starts before running a single play. When they did snap the ball, Rees was slammed to the ground by the Cardinal pass rush as he released his first throw of the night. Hendrix finished the series and Notre Dame punted the football to the Stanford 43. Andrew Luck quickly marched his team down the field, and the Cardinal took a 7-0 lead when the Heisman candidate hit Levine Toilolo with a short touchdown pass.
Rees was battered again on the next Irish possession despite gaining a couple of first downs, and he coughed up a fumble in Stanford territory on a sack by Chase Thomas. The defense held, and yet another drive by Notre Dame ran out of steam as the game moved into the second quarter. This time, the offense stayed in on fourth down near midfield. After failing to draw the Cardinal offside, Rees dropped back a few yards to punt the ball, but his attempted quick kick was smacked to the ground by a Stanford lineman.
The sloppiness continued as Luck returned the favor a few plays later. His screen pass was deflected and fell into the arms of Notre Dame’s Darius Fleming, who chugged deep into Stanford territory before being hauled down by a horsecollar tackle. The Irish found themselves in position to tie the game when disaster struck again. Another false start inside the five yard line and an errant Rees pass to a wide open receiver ruined the scoring opportunity, and David Ruffer came on to miss a chip shot from a tough angle to preserve Notre Dame’s goose egg on the scoreboard.
The Cardinal restored order by embarking on an 80-yard drive capped by a 28-yard strike from Luck to Cory Fleener. The senior tight end dragged Irish cornerback Robert Blanton the last seven yards into the end zone with just under five minutes left in the half. After a Notre Dame punt, Stanford appeared to be moving again when they fumbled the ball away to the Irish. With yet another chance to get on the board and back into the game, Rees then completed a miserable first half by throwing an interception at the Cardinal 36.
Luck used the clock to perfection and hit paydirt with only ten seconds remaining in the half by connecting with freshman Ty Montgomery on an 11 yard slant pass for a 21-0 lead. The Irish trudged to the locker room having gained only 75 yards to 287 by Stanford, and did not in any way resemble a team with a winning record in late season form. Whether it was the fact that the Irish mistakes were self-inflicted or that they were playing their first quality opponent since mid-October, the offense looked completely inept and disorganized.
To no one’s surprise, Coach Brian Kelly started Hendrix in the third quarter. The Cardinal had been teeing off against Rees in the pocket, rendering him bruised, battered and ineffective. The teams exchanged punts in the early going until Hendrix caught fire. A pass to Tyler Eifert was followed by an option style pitch to Cierre Wood, and suddenly Notre Dame was in the red zone. Hendrix completed the drive by rumbling for 13 yards and hitting Michael Floyd for a six yard score with 6:21 left in the third period.
Stanford’s offense suddenly could not move the ball against the rejuvenated Irish, who were sparked by Hendrix’ energy and began playing with intensity instead of seemingly going through the motions. A combination of crisp throws and tough runs by Hendrix put the Cardinal defense on its heels as the fourth quarter began, but they regained control with creative blitzes that confounded Notre Dame’s offensive line and turned away further scoring threats.
The Irish had to punt the ball down by 21-7 with 8:11 left, and Luck iced the game moments later. A few running plays lulled the Irish to sleep and Luck used a perfectly executed play action pass to Fleener for a 55-yard score as safety Zeke Motta slipped on the treacherous turf. With a 28-7 lead and Luck’s stats for the night now respectable enough for the Heisman voters, all that remained was for Hendrix to close the evening on a positive note for Notre Dame. In the final minute of the game, Hendrix displayed a strong arm and good touch as he moved the Irish 85 yards in three plays to the Cardinal two. With less than 30 seconds remaining, he plowed over the goal line in Tebow fashion for the final 28-14 margin.
Even though the game was essentially over by halftime, Hendrix provided Notre Dame fans a reason to watch the last 30 minutes. His arm strength was obvious but his accuracy in the pocket and on the move was a pleasant surprise. Certainly, he gave his team a lift when it appeared the night would yield nothing of value.
Let’s look at the answers to the pregame questions:
Will Wood effectively pick up the slack for the injured Gray? Wood ran hard on a couple of occasions, but the early deficit limited his attempts to just a dozen for 41 yards.
Can Stanford pressure the usually well-protected Rees in the pocket? Absolutely. Rees will be feeling a few of those hits for a couple of weeks, and Hendrix was walloped a few times as well.
Will Notre Dame have an effective answer if the Cardinal drop eight men into coverage? The Irish made a few plays down the sidelines, but a couple of throws over the middle were picked off by the Cardinal.
Can the depleted Irish defensive line slow down Stanford’s running game? Not often enough. The Cardinal had nearly 200 yards on the ground on a night when Luck was not exceptional. Notre Dame’s defense was hardly to blame on this night, though.
Will Notre Dame put a dent in Luck’s 70% completion rate? Luck was 20 of 30 for 67%, but the Irish contained him fairly well except for the last scoring bomb to Fleener.
Can the Irish avoid a negative turnover margin? No. Notre Dame had three turnovers, came away with no points inside the five yard line and screwed the pooch, while the Cardinal committed a pair of miscues.
Will Notre Dame be able to slow the Cardinal in the red zone? Unfortunately not. Two trips resulted in two touchdowns, while Stanford’s other two scores came from long range.
Will Luck be holding the Heisman Trophy in New York next month? Probably. He seems like a decent and humble team player with very good athleticism. He also displayed patience and made quality decisions against an above-average defense.
The Irish fall to 8-4 and await a bowl invitation that will hopefully provide an attractive matchup. The matter of his starting quarterback now becomes an issue for Kelly for the first time since early September, but most fans would like to see more of Hendrix after a few more weeks of repetitions in practice. If nothing else, Notre Dame followers have proven to be a resilient bunch, needing only a grain of hope to nurture on the long and often tortuous road back to relevance.
jimbofl says:
why did it take so long? may not have beat the tree either way, but hopefully we sW rees’s last start.
Colonel Dick Horvath, USA Ret says:
Now that we have a quarterback in Hendrix, maybe we can setup rnnning gam to go with the assig game.
Coach Kell’s frustrationin th first half of the Stanford game not getting the snap sooner than thy did during the first half wa felt by all of us.
Tommy did a goo job for us and even thugh he got us to a bowl he os not our QB of the future,
Let hope Hendrix can be what we are looking for.
FarEastLA says:
How many weeks late was this decision? Certainly, by midway through the 2nd quarter in the BC game, it was obvious that Rees was not working. He was so changed that I have to think he got his bell rung too many times. Last week on the sideline he did not look like he was focused.
Hendrix has some work to do, but his performance could have been helped greatly by the Oline holding like they had all season.
A side note … didn’t anyone think to bring long cleats – just in case?? It does rain in CA, but this field was in terrible shape. Stanford obviously knew. They rarely slipped. But, ND slipped all the time, failing to get a couple of 1st downs and allowing the last Tree TD, among other slips.
Just once this season I would like to have seen Michael Floyd have a pass thrown to him IN STRIDE with running room! Catch after catch he got less yards than he could have because the ball was thrown 3 feet behind him or when he was in traffic. ND has some terrific receivers. But, to see Floyd tonight recover from the tipped interception to run down the Dback on the other side of the field on the other side of the scrum was awesome. He’s going to make a heckava pro!
PF Steve says:
FarEastLA saw the same thing I did, Floyd busting butt to tackle a player after an interception. Most premier WOs in college don’t do that, and it speaks volumes about his character. It’s amazing to think were Floyd was in the winter and how Kelly and ND stuck with him. Michael and Eifert have created a certain offensive mirage. We might get better next year at QB but without apparent progress owing to the loss of these two (assuming Eifert goes enters the draft). I still maintain that our performance this year against Stanford was a step forward. Last year they just hammered us senseless.
flirish says:
Once again in a big game coach Kelly had poorly prepared team that was not ready to play with a big time team. Penalties, turnovers and a poor game plan is the signature of a Kelly team. Hendrix or anyone else is clearly the future for this team. Playing Rees all season was a huge mistake. His poor arm strength, lack of mobility and inability to look past his first choice of receivers has not improved over the past year. He is not a starting QB for any top 50 team. Tonight he was completely intimidated by the defense and yet the coach still let him play for a half. If ND is to make the next step of being better than average then Rees can never set foot on the field again. ND has a very long way to go to be competitive. I think Kelly is in this way over his head.
Scott says:
On this, I agree. I have been trumpeting for Rees all season long. However, after his play last week and this week no more. He looked intimidated the entire first half. Even while he was sitting on the bench, no fire whatsoever. It is almost as if he expected to lose the game. Hendrix, on the other hand, looked charged and ready to play. He directed the offense with authority. He took some hard licks, but got right back up and kept himself together. Hendrix is the future of ND football. As Herbstreit kept saying, he reminds me of UC’s Zach Calleros. Same type of physical QB. Rees, it’s time for you to take the back seat and simply enjoy the ride.
What the hell took Diaco so long to start taking chances against Tree’s offense? When his scheme changed, it worked and stuffed Stanford’s O until late in the second half. They should have used this scheme the entire game! Had they employed the same defensive gameplan in the first half, they might have had a chance.
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
I was a huge fan of Kelly getting the Irish job because of his creativity, will-to-win, ability to make in-game adjustments and willingness to get in the faces of coaches and players during the games catapulted the Bearcats into the national title discussion. His ascendancy to the Notre Dame is another example of the Peter Principle. Kelly’s simple in over his head. I rarely use the “C” word but so many people choked last night it was ridiculous. Kelly didn’t have his team ready, his play-calling in clutch moments was awful, he pulled Rees far too late, and failed to stick with Riddick in the running game half despite the fact he was far better than Wood. Bob Diaco – Does it really take a half to slide some guys down into the box to stop the run? Why stop bringing pressure and playing man-to-man when Stanford failed to show they could stop it? Tyler? Nice hands bro. You know who I feel sorry for? The D, which played it’s heart out and deserved to walk off that field winners. Really pathetic loss.
Zach says:
I agree with everything you said, the way Diaco plays that safe bend but don’t break defense the first half and then turns up the heat in the second is so stupid. This guy thinks he’s some kind of Zen master too, have you heard him talk, Diaco and Kelly walk around like they’ve won multiple BCS championships.
Scott says:
I remember Diaco’s statement before the loss to Navy last season – “I’ve seen just about every option offense there is”. Really? Well, looks like Navy used one that must have been new, right? If Diaco continues down this path, it’s time for him to go. And, Coach Kelly, if you do not get rid of the ST coaches, you’ll probably be next. There is a reason I always say, “Hey look, it’s ‘Fair Catch’ Goodman” every time he is back to return a punt. I have never in my life seen that many fair catches for a single team or by one single return man 0.3 yds average on punt returns. Are you kidding me? That can be achieved by never taking a single step after fielding the punt. And there have been times where he had 20 yards of green in front of him and he called for a fair catch. Is Goodman really the best they have? Why not Atkinson? He would be gone before anyone ever made it that deep in coverage.
Brian says:
Well said! Kelly comes unprepared to the big games and it shows!
M Curran says:
Kelly definitely in over his head. Team has been poorly prepared all season long. Everyone we faced this year is in better condition, better communication with play calling, fewer dumb penalties, and for the most part was playing their best quarterback. Rees is an average signal caller at best. When BC would rush two and drop nine, then you saw the lack of respect defenses have for Tommy R. Not to mention the turnovers from this guy alone. I don’t blame Rees, but Kelly is in charge of personnel. Coaching is more than just yelling at kids.
Long Suffering Irishman says:
Watching the game last night I could only think of what a wasted season it has been. We had some incredible players this year who never reached their full potential. We showed with an exclamation point that turn overs will cost you games; and in this instance, cost you a season. Hopefully Hendrix is a bright light in the future, as it seems that most of our turnovers came from Tommy Rees and Dayne Crist.
rockne says:
Two quick observations:
1. Refs sucked.
2. Field sucked. How does a school with Stanford’s endowment have such a shitty field?
NMark W says:
Stanford puts most of their $$$$$ into academics and not so much into turf for footballers. Maybe in a few more years they’ll bite the bullet and join the rest of us losers who care most about athletics.
rockne says:
Huh? Stanford wins the Director’s Cup every year.
SonOfAnAlum says:
Cost of Stanford Football Stadium: $90 million
Date Constructed: 2006
Amount of hair ripped out from slipping players: 3/4 of head
Number of cows applying for residency: 246
NMark W’s unfounded assertion: Priceless
ndforever says:
i believe stanford is getting artificial turf this offseason. As far as the slipping ND was using the largest regulated cleats they can, stanford was just used to playing on it and new they couldn’t make quick cuts
Scott says:
How do they get away with playing games on it? That’s the real question.
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
The refs called a very good game. The field conditions were no question the worst we’ve seen in many many years, but both teams had to play on that slop and complaints about refs and field conditions? That’s a cry for help.
rockne says:
How does a school with Stanford’s endowment have such a crappy field?
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
The better question is how does a school with Adidas as their sponsor gag on cleat length?
Fighting4jesus says:
Maybe the reality is that as long as Tommy won and didn’t collapse he was gonna play. When he did collapse today. Kelly pulled a long waiting trigger. Proves one thing. Brian Kelly isn’t married to Tommy Rees.
tom crawford says:
it seems clear that ND has a qb problem and a lack of focus issue. However, Andrew Hendricks clearly has many more attributes then Rees including throwing ability and running ability and big time college size( can take hits better and dish them out). This should be a non-brainer for B Kelly- Hendricks is your #1 from here on out. Go Irish! Beat FSU in the Champs Bowl
rockne says:
Terrible first half. Bottom line positive-in the second half ND outplayed Stanford with a rookie QB, without key players, and with officials who refuse to call holding and helmet to helmet penalties (ask Cierre Wood).
wardo4 says:
Reese era is over. We need a defense BAD. The good teams seem to get 5 yards a play easy.
Scott says:
No, ND needs a better D-coordinator. Takes too damn long to make the proper in-game adjustments.
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
Spot on.
MICKYNDS says:
Oh yes the old, glimmer of hope for next year.
PJM79 says:
1st quarter + 2 minutes, 2nd quarter: 6 penalties, one fumble, & one missed field goal.
The team did what it did for much of the season–beat itself with costly mistakes.
VonWinter says:
Dead last in punt returns out 120 teams. ND average .3 yards per return. Nothing more needs to be said about Kelly’s loser mentality. He Didn’t even try, and doesn’t care. Don’t question him he knows what he’s doing.
Sean says:
You hit the nail on the head. It’s pretty tough to beat good teams when you’re starting off ten yards worse than everyone else on every drive.
scott says:
start Andrew please in Orlando, let’s see what he has before Gunner takes over
Mike W says:
I also hope this was the last start for Rees. Hendrix has a stronger arm, better mechanics, can run better and plays with a chip on his shoulder. He gives us more options than Rees. I just don’t know why it took so long. Now we need consistency and execution!!!!
GraceHallChapel86 says:
I hate losses. But (after the first two games) ND faired decently this season, all things considered. We /are/ building. Next year much better…
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
“ND faired decently this season …” Last time I checked, having a decent season is the bar at Alcorn State, not ND and you look up “decent season” in scripture you’ll see losing to South Florida is regarded as roughly akin to getting horse-collared as you walk through the shadow of the valley of death. Think about it.
steven says:
Although we gopt our butts kicked and had a sub par season, not once did we get out coached this season. Every loss was the result of self inflicted wounds, sll ehich are worked on every practice. If we decide to take a chance on this much more talented Hendrix, we WILL be a better lead offense. Our defense has done enough to win every game so I don’t want to hear the blame game. Yes, Michigan beat us on a late TD,but they were only in the game due to self infulted wounds a.k.a. turnovers. Let’s set a new QB era and the Irish will return. Brian Kelly IS the real deal!!!
wally says:
Steven, what are you talking about- Skip Hotz, Brady Hoke, Lane Kiffen they all out-coached BK. Even though ND won against Pitt and BC I thought BK was out coached in these games also. Next year is going to be painful.
rockne says:
Wally-with all due respect, you have no clue what you are talking about. Steven is dead right on.
M Curran says:
The real deal .. give me a break. FSU game lost due to turnovers and an inability to contain their offense. One turnover is an individual error but when a team consistently makes the same mistake then it must be a systems problem and the systems are the coaches job. Mich game was lost in the last 5 minutes of the game when we ran out of gas. Mich was the better conditioned team and won in the end. USc game loss comes down to 2 key plays, a personal foul on third down and a fumble when a new qb enters the game. These fundamental mistakes trace to a lack of discipline and the discipline comes from the coach. Stanford game loss again because BK could not tear himself away from an obviously ineffective and proibably injured Rees. Dumb.
I say dump BK now before he does more damage.
Tyrel Wilson says:
I still think Golson will beat Tommy and Andrew next Spring and into the Fall, he’s just too talented to sit. Not a put down to Hendrix but he’s just the right guy for the spread we run.
DJT says:
Just wondering what it says about Kelly’s ability to judge talent. Two quarterbacks given the mantle of starter, same two now benched. On to number three – after eleven games. How about we try benching the coach.
Jimbo says:
A sickening performace from top to bottom. A blocked pooch punt? How is that possible. A missed chip shot fg. Penaties, missed tackles, poor coaching, no running attack. This teams needs alot more than Hendrix.
Bill '86 says:
The first half was an embarrassment….penalties, bad snaps, procedure calls…just plain amatuar hour all the way. Yes, Hendrix showed a little promise but these guys as a team were just not mentally ready to play. This falls on Kelly as he did not live up to his responsibilities as a big time college coach to get the team ready in all aspects of he game, in this case the motivational aspect…shades of Charlie W. Say what you want about Rees but I wonder how many of you out there would have performed at peak after that hit by an unblocked player during the first series. Lynch was one of the few players that seemed to come to play. I wish it wern’t true but for a number of reasons this team is definitly still second tier and just not ready for prime time.
Scott says:
Gee, Hendrix took a shot to his HEAD and got right back up and collected himself. Rees looked intimidated. He played “scared”. That is something that a QB can never do.
John says:
I agree totally.It was an embarrassment to have a major college QB scared to death.The one time he was about to get hit he flung the ball with both hands like a kid playing hot potato.I think that Golson better get a look this minth before the bowl too.
Scott says:
Amen. It should be Hendrix and Golson the rest of the way. They are the future and a glimmer of what the offense will look like. Rees and Crist are the past.
ndforever says:
i keep thinking back to kellys comments a few weeks ago about look at the guys i have recruited, now u can look at this in a negative way, maybe he should have kept it to himself but i see it as the tuth, when isee the younger guys like lynch, tuitt ,shembo,and niklas they play tough with a chip on their shoulder u look at the other guy on d and they are to passive and really not as athletic as made out to be. i think kelly knows what he wants in a player and its not stars on a recruiting web site. i also like how kelly waits till he feels players are ready till he plays them, if u just throw out a kid who isnt ready it can hurt his confidence. be patient kelly was winning with what he had wich is less then most people think, give him time for his offense and players
flirish says:
I would strongly disagree with the comments that we were not out coached this season. We were horribly out coached in the USC game and the USF game. Our inability to perform on special teams, the lack of discipline with multiple penalties and the inability to run any sort of hurry up offense are all signs of very poor coaching
NMark W says:
I’d say the ‘Domers improved this year. Losing the first game to USF was the worst, losing late to UMichigan was lousy but Denard Robinson is one heckuva great college QB and then losing to 2 of the top 3 Pac-12 teams was expected for 2011.
I think Rees must have had his bell rung a bit more than we thought last week – he looked dazed, slow and confused tonight.
terry mac says:
Two things 1. If you’re going to fair catch everything at least go for the block 2. Why go no-huddle when you still take all of the time to get the play off. The huddle is a good time to take a second to motivate players for the next play.
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
Terry – You’re spot on about the no-huddle. Not only did they take forever to run plays, they had to look for their mommy for directions and several times failed to get the play off. Really really pathetic.
lance says:
All I want to says is that I’m not a football referee but robbie toma made one heck of a diving catch that they over turned. Bad call.
Scott says:
He failed to control it as he slid out of bounds. Unfortunately, that was the right call.
ccb says:
Kelly may or may not be the answer – but, we will know by the end of year 3 or this time in 2012.
We do know that we don’t have a bcs level DC in Diaco
We do know that Kelly has not improved the special teams.
we do know that Kelly failed to develop a bcs level QB this year for 2012.
we do know that the offensive line deteriorated in big games ie USC and tonight and does not play
well w/ bcs level teams.
we do know that our secondary is weak
we do know that many subpar teams, ie Air Force are able to pile up yardage on our D.
we do know that our schedule is tougher in 2012 and we may lose Teo and Eifert in addition to loss
of Floyd.
We do know that Kelly will be ultimately judged on year 3 performance, fair or not.
NCHdomer says:
Kirk Herbstreit briefly observed near the end of the game that the first half indicated that ND may be farther away from being an elite team than he originally thought. He was clearly backing away from his early season belief that ND was headed in the right direction. Other than beating MSU, ND was outclassed by every other good team on its schedule and by some of the terrible teams, too. Michigan and USC are clearly back in the hunt for national championships. ND is not even close. The defense is terrible and No. 4 again watched a touchdown being scored while standing right next to the receiver (exactly like the winning score by Michigan). He did push the receiver after he caught the pass, with the same results he had against Michigan. While he is mercifully graduating, the coaches that saw fit to keep him on the field remain. ND will never be competive with coaches that cannot recognize talent, effectively coach that talent, game plan better than opposing coaches or keep their composure during a game. Too many times the cameras show a head coach berating players for mistakes. The time for that is on a practice field, not during a game. You cannot be focused on the next play when you are dwelling on criticizing a player for what he did on the last play.
As predicted, Meyer is heading to OSU. Hoke is moving Michigan forward in his first year and Kiffin has made USC into a formidable team again, all the while being on probation. And where is ND? Stuck in neutral. Herbstreit guessed during the game telecast that the last time ND beat a top ten team was in 1993. It wasn’t but that is the perception of ND and unfortunately, the reality is we have not found the right coach. The talent is there but the coaches either don’t recognize it until too late (Toma, Jonas Gray, Hendrix) or can’t develop it (Crist). I wish the coach would have shown the same patience with Crist as he did with Rees. Or at least pulled the hook on Gary Gray as quick as he did with Crist.
Alas, another lost season with the only glimmer of hope being the play of Hendrix in the second half of a blowout loss. Not much to go on. But at least we have loud and annoying music to pump the fans up before our defense gives up another coversion on third and long. And we have those new helmets, one version of which even Lou said were terrible. Kelly’s third year will yield no national championship nor will ND be any more competitive against the good teams than it was this year. Every year we are fed the nonsense that ND is moving forward when in reality we are mired in the mediocrity of our administrators, coaches and players. One traditional cheer was “Go Irish, Beat ___.” We should change that to “Go Irish, Keep it Close.” That now seems to be the most we can hope for.
SonOfAnAlum says:
“I wish the coach would have shown the same patience with Crist as he did with Rees.”
Preaching patience. Really??? After a diatribe lambasting the 2nd year head coach you want him to have more patience? Maybe you should practice what you preach.
Also, while Mr. Kirk did say the first half showed ND’s regression he immediately followed that up by saying the 2nd half showed their progression because of a QB that can run Kelly’s offense.
Gary Gray played his butt off and I would love to hear who you would put on a 6’8″ TE in that spot. Maybe Jack Cooley could have strapped his helmet on and had a chance at a perfectly thrown ball.
The defense is terrible??? They were the first team to hold Stanford under 30 and were missing two DEs and Teo is clearly bothered by an ankle injury. Outside of the last TD (where Motta slipped b/c of playing on a $90 million cow pasture) the D played great in the 2nd half.
“Too many times the cameras show a head coach berating players for mistakes.” Did you say that about Lou? Remember him grabbing people by the face mask and berating them?
The game sucked. Stanford came in with a good game plan and their defense, which was ranked fifth in the country in stopping the run, did just that. The OL missed Cave and could not handle the pressure. Rees played easily his worst game, which spelled disaster in the 1st quarter. When you are playing against the guy who will be the #1 overall pick in the draft, you can’t afford to flounder on O.
Overall, this is the first year in a while when I actually thought that an ND team had a chance to be in to top 15. As heart breaking and gut wretching as the season was, I saw freshman and sophmores (Lynch, Tuitt, Nix, GA3, Niklas, Isaq, Lo Wood, Bennet Jackson, etc.) show enough talent and promise to keep me hopeful. And maybe finally we will see a QB that can challenge a defense with his arm and legs for more than a few token plays. Kelly has proven that he gets it and I am a bit more optimistic that he will get ND back on track. So while you are mired in negativity, I’ll go ahead and support the team and cheer my butt off for whoever is in blue and gold.
Sean says:
I completely disagree here. Today, Hendrix had 85 of his passing yards on three completions on the final drive, which, I think we can all agree, was garbage time. That aside, he was 8/21 for 107 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He had one great drive while the game was still in question. To be sure, Rees didn’t have a great game either, but his offensive line was abysmal in the first half. Rees went 8-2 as a starter this year and is 12-3 overall. For my money, he’s the starting quarterback for the Bowl game. After that, you can reevaluate the situation and possibly have another open competition for the job (though one that involves selecting the starter more than ten days before the opener). You don’t build a program by changing quarterbacks on the basis of a single drive.
Scott says:
I sincerely doubt that it was on the basis of a single drive. That much, I can guarantee you.
BC says:
I have watched Kelly’s coaching style all season long and have come to believe this is a BIG part of ND’s struggles this year. From Reese’s constant “butt chewings” to poor starts on several big games as a team overall, I believe Kelly has put so much pressure on these players that they play well below their potential. The team is very talented and yet they play ‘tight’ (esp. in big games) and often start out slow and seemingly unmotivated. I don’t see them having much fun as a team. Somehow Kelly needs to loosen his grip on these guys and let them play to their abilities without grinding into them every time they are less than perfect. We’ll see what he does with Hendrix. If he pressures him into becoming as hesitant as Reese than we’ll know it’s “on the coach”.
Aaron says:
I as well have watched them and Kelly all season long. By the way Kelly reacts to his players it seems like he goes over the different situations in practice during the week. When they (aka. Reese and others) get into a game, all their intelligence and game preparedness goes out the window! This is big time! You don’t produce there’s a place on the bench! I don’t see other players from other teams (say Alabama) playing tight!? When Saban gets red faced and yells at his players. It seems to motivate them and he/team gets results! So I don’t see the problem getting after his (Kelly’s) players!? Seems like they are to BABIED to me!? Buckle the chin strap and start playing ball fellas!
Scott says:
The same can be said of WVU’s coach as well. I watched the “Backyard Brawl” and I have to say that when WVU was down 20-7, his fire ignited the bunson burner under their butts and they got it done. There are a ton of coaches who show this same fire. BK is no different.
Fred says:
Hendrix has always been the answer, Kelly was scared to start him at the beginning of the year because of the hype this team had at the beginning of the year, I might add that the hype was unwarranted. Realistically this was an 8 or 9 win team at the beginning of the year. I agree with the other posts when Kelly’s decision making is questioned. Tons of turnovers, penalties and poor special teams is coaching. I’m not advocating getting rid of Kelly..but lets hope he can learn from his mistakes. He is an excellent recruiter….lets see what he can do with the talent. We don’t need a quarterback who can’t move in the pocket, so please don’t start Rees against FSU…I hope your listening BK.
martinjordan says:
Ohio State gets Urban Meyer and we’re stuck with underacheiving, unprepared, sloppy, and undisciplined.
rational fan says:
Brian Kelly has to go. We regressed as the season went on. We have talent, but Kids have no confidence, and Kelly has already lost the team.. Sure Kelly won’t go for several years, but we are going nowhere with him…………. Before we all proclaim we are national championship contenders with inexperienced and unknown QB, let’s remember that Kelly wasted a season of experience on Rees.
sam reno says:
Only with new leadership in the administration and a coach with a proven ability to win championships will Notre Dame ever be an elite team again. I will always watch them and pull for them but in my heart I know they are not going to get there any time soon and maybe never again. The world has changed and the big state schools know it and they are agressively persuing what they have to do to win. Notre Dame is not and has not and apparently will not. And maybe they shouldn’t. There is something to be said about a quality academic program and a program with few player problems. I believe Notre Dame is trying to take the high road and that is good. Bad for being an elite football team though. To be a great football team ever again Notre Dame will have to change in the administration, perhaps coaching and also allow more risk players from around the country to enroll. If not, expect more of the same. And everybody reading this knows it .
NCHdomer says:
Montana was third string in 1977. He changed a sure loss into a victory in the second half of a game when the two qbs ahead of him went down. Devine decided to go with him the rest of that national championship season. Everyone is replaceable. I do agree with the next-man-in philosophy just not how Kelly implements it. I believe poster BC hit the nail on the head. Kelly has this team playing tight. Herbstreit said he was scared of Kelly after watching Rees get chewed out again and Kirk even said that this was so even though he was in the booth. Embarrassing to watch a grown man belittle kids on national television wearing my school’s colors. Anyone who has children between the ages of 18 and 22 knows that they are a long way from being the adults they and other people assume them to be. I have said it before, put someone with Pete Carroll’s sideline demeanor in charge of this team and the results dramatically improve. His players had fun, ours do not. If you played sports you understand that people play sports better when they are not afraid of being yelled at by their coach everytime they go to the sideline. That is not to say some players do not need an occassional tongue lashing. But every change of possession? Players worried about going to the sideline play worried on the field. They are playing not to get yelled at, not to make a play.
nd1990 says:
The defense is not the problem. Diaco has substantially improved the last two years and has shown the ability to make in game adjustments (hopefully, with a little more experience, he’ll move those adjustments up to the second quarter instead of the second half). The problem is 26 turnovers by the offense (and -13 or close thereto in turnover margin). The turnovers gave the other teams fantastic field position (or touchdowns) in most instances, killed the team spirit, and often forced the defense back out onto the field after minimal rest. I’m willing to bet that the defense will look much better next year if we simply fix the turnover problem on offense. We should be part way there in that we’ve found a quarterback for the bowl game and next year! I’m not saying that Kelly and Co will return us to a national championship – just that Diaco and the defense are taking too much heat for situations that the poor offensive performance has created nearly every week of the season.
Dave says:
18 years of mediocrity and counting with no end in sight and no hope for the future
Alex says:
A loss to a good team doesn’t make the coaches or players terrible, ill-prepared, unworthy, etc. Top 5 teams make other teams look bad, that’s what happens. The O-line got destroyed the entire night. The pocket disappeared before it was even formed on half the plays. Luck is an incredible QB and I’m surprised that our porous secondary didn’t get smoked for twice the passing yards and TDs. Fans need to settle down, take a deep breath and appreciate that we’re better off than we were 3 years ago.
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
“The O-line got destroyed the entire night.”
Alex – Last time I checked, coaches who fail to make adjustments that are obvious to everyone watching the game ARE terrible. Kelly’s abject failures: (1) failed to have his team ready to run silent count; (2) failed to pull Rees in the first half despite the fact Rees couldn’t hit the blind side of a barn; (3) failed to bring some people down in the box in the first half despite the fact the Irish were getting repeatedly gashed; (4) made the worst call of any coach in DI ALL SEASON … the pooch punt … (5) called plays during the no-huddle so slow the QB had no time to get the play off much less audible and then chided his QB … awful.
Kelly should take a page from the “next man in” and let someone else coach the bowl.
jimmykey says:
Every time the camera cuts to Brian Kelly bawling out some player he just looks like a complete psycho. This is not the way you motivate 19 and 20 year old kids to want to win for you. Weis was criticized for not being fiery enough, but Kelly has gone overboard.
Randall says:
We shouldn’t get caught up in the ABC hype. They don’t follow the Irish as closely as anyone on here, and it was obvious the only things they knew to focus on were “Mantee” Teo and Kelly’s fiery sideline demeanor. In week one Kelly totally lost control, it was embarassing. Last night he really wasn’t that bad, ABC just wanted to focus every moment they could to catching any reaction they could. If college players can’t handle his reactions last night, they shouldn’t be playing.
The Irish simply began the game with loser’s mentality they’ve carried the past decade. No player of significance played like they believed they could win in the first half. The only positive of the game was the mental and emotional change they displayed in the third quarter.
flirish says:
Kelly has done little to move the team forward — He loves to blame players when things are bad (especially the ones he didi not recruit–which on offense are all the good ones), special teams are close to the worst in the country and his game time coaching decisions are very poor. As good as the defense can be at times it is equally capable of allowing long sustained drives against mediocre teams. The QB situation this year has been embarrassing week in and week out.
Aaron says:
1.) We beat ourselves offensively!
2.) Defense came to play!
3.) Undisciplined on “O”, too many careless penalties!
4.) What the HELL is wrong with Reese? Should have pulled him for the second series with Hendrix! Reese looked like a deer in headlights…wide eyed and SCARED!
5.) Need to be BETTER PREPARED as a coaching staff!
6.) Now it is safe to say we are going to a bowl. Now it is time to play Kelly’s players and prepare for the future! See ya later Wies’s guys including Teo’!
r j flynn, class of '73 says:
Get used to this kind of season, Irish fans. We’re kidding ourselves if we think Brian Kelly will be anything more than another Mike Brey – a good man who runs a clean program, graduates most of his kids, and keeps off season felony arrests to a minimum. But Brey often fails to get the Irish into the tournament at the end of the year, which means ND usually doesn’t even rank among the top 65 teams in the country. Now that’s mediocrity. Kelly won’t get these kids into the top 25 at the end of any season, because top flight players WON’T COME HERE! The Irish haven’t been relevant in football since the mid-nineties (quick! Name five Irish alumni currently playing in the NFL, not counting backup QBS!), and most of the kids Kelly is trying to recruit were in diapers back then. The only things these young men associate with Notre Dame football are blowout losses on NBC and the Bad News Bears of Charlie Weis. Who wants to identify with that? Sure, ND might snag a linebacker or tight
KellyK says:
A few observations:
The next time Kelly even thinks about putting Rees into a game, I hope he has the opportunity to watch the second quarter of the Stanford game first. That quarter provides a complete summary of Rees’ abilities as a quarterback at this level.
I have never understood the “bend but don’t break” philosophy on defense. Bend enough and you’ll certainly break. We’ve seen it over and over and over.
For the last few years all of our blitzes seem to be eaten up by opposing teams. We blitz 7 or 8 up the middle, the quarterback rolls a bit, and it’s first down again. When other teams blitz off the end, our quarterback ends up on his butt.
What is the proper protocol when a punting unit (kicking and receiving) dies? Does one send flowers somewhere? A card?
This has been the single most frustrating season for me as a long-time fan (and alum). I have found myself looking like a jerk yelling at the television when players make bad plays (fumbling at the one, dropping easy passes, kickoffs going out of bounds), coaches make bad coaching decisions (Rees left in the games too long, setting up super short field goal attempts for a right-footed kicker from the right-side hash mark), and officials make bad calls. I basically now only watch one or two series before I begin spot-checking games; I can’t watch the entire game because my wife, children, and dog give me dirty looks when I become aggravated. So, I just “check in” from time to time to see what the score is and to watch a series or two. I’ ll bet there are a lot of people out there who have this experience.
Anyone named Gunner, Keith, Arik, Nelson, or Joshua, please, please consider how you’d look in the multiple uniforms, all under golden helmets, ND will be sporting over the next few years. The weather during football season is usually pretty good. The atmosphere is great. The fans are great. You’ll graduate with a degree that’s worth something. Most of the football players are great players; they’re probably all good young men. And the coaches are nice (at least during recruiting).
ND forever!
John says:
Kelly’s sideline behavior (like it has been all season) is embarrassing…..I agree with NCHdomer above who says that Kelly wastes critical time during time outs berating one player (while other players stand around and watch) instead of strategizing for “the next play”……..
Further, like many who have coached kids I always say to never give the “arms extended and palms up” when things don’t go your way….people who do that are implying that they were wronged….and yes, playing the “blame” game….Kelly is a master at this…..the cameras catch him blaming referees, opposing players, his players….and last night, he even appeared to blame the equipment manager on national tv….leaders and coaches need to take ownership…..if berating is his style, do it in practice…compare Kelly’s sideline antics to Saban, Stoops, Meyer, Miles (who all get upset from time to time)….there is no comparison. Not ready to pull the plug on Kelly, but please grow up & stand up.
Scott says:
I am Alabama alum, so I watch a fair amount of Alabama football. Nick Saban berrates players as well. So, your comparison in this case is nil.
Larry says:
Why did it take the whole season to realize they cannot win the big games with a statue like QB that cannot run out of trouble nor take a lot of physical punishment. Next year Hendrix and Golson from the start. The coaching also came up short on game plans and discipline . The soph class was recruited while ND was in a coaching transition so as with the frosh I hope future recruits will continue the upgrade. Definitely need it in the secondary.
Dave88 says:
Once again Brian Kelly and staff were unable to motivate and prepare the team for a big game. It happened against USC and now Stanford. The offense seemed confused and discombobulated from the opening whistle and Kelly and Warriner were unable to counter Stanford’s exotic blitz packages.
That ND has made progress this year is up for debate. They finished a pedestrian 8-4 with a weak schedule and failed to live up to the preseason hype and expectations. A veteran team and all BK could muster was a one game improvement? ND has proven themselves to once again be pretenders instead of contenders.
I’m starting to lose patience with Kelly.
ndforever says:
oh my the sky is falling, the sky is falling…ok everybody just relax, that was the least pionts stanford has scored all year and would have been less if we had an offense in the 1st half.AH came in and played very well. i remember back in lou’s first 2 seasons 1st year 5-6 2nd year we go 8-3 and feel pretty good going into the cotton bowl against Texas A&M then we lose 35-10 all the sudden the media is questioning him my friends and family didnt feel like they progressed very much,etc,etc…and what happened after that?national champs and many more good years. i think its tougher on kelly these days with the media also, people bashing him over everything. let the man coach its what he has been doing for over 20 years and been pretty successful. just saying lets watch and see we may have found a qb that could be our ticket back
ED says:
Feel like another wasted year.Kelly and his staff did another poor job preparing his team for a big game.He needs to shake up his staff.
Scott says:
Best post on this page. There needs to be a shake up in the staff. Lou did it a number of times and look at the results.
Greg says:
Seriously are we not better today than we were two years ago? Many games are decided by turnovers, referee calls, missed tackle, incomplete passes that change the momentum. Name one game this year that we were not in. Didn’t the defense hold great running teams to yearly low yards. This team played a lot better than their 8-4 record, which should be 10-2. Stanford and USC are great football teams that we played even with, if you eliminate the turnovers and the game changing referee calls. I think this team is whole lot better than you nay sayers give credit for.
Scott says:
They are. I just think a lot of us are just tired of waiting. I am patiently waiting… patience, though, eventually wears thin.
FrustratedND08 says:
I think NCHdomer summed it up fairly well. I was one of the biggest Brian Kelly supporters when he was hired and I’ve continued to be patient waiting for progress, but it absolutely does not seem to be coming. The one thing I hoped for at the outset of the Brian Kelly era was elite preparation and consistency, and arguably those have been the two things lacking most from these teams. We have had top ten recruiting classes since the Weis era and have been using elite talent to build medocre teams. What is the answer, I don’t know but even the most optimistic side of me has trouble seeing this program get back up to where it needs to go. USC had one down year, Michigan had a few, and both now look like they are well on their way back to being top 5 programs. We have had 2 down decades and look like we belong mid-way down the ACC. It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing, and saddening. I’ll be an irish fan forever, and continue to look for that glimmer of hope that we can once again return to a national powerhouse.
Allan says:
Did everyone feel that when Rees ran to ball to the right–toward the end zone, that he actually slowed down about 3 yards out–maybe a avoid a big hit? Looked like he should have scored on that–then he misses Riddick I think on the short pass for a TD. Seven points gone.
With said that, why all the negative stuff about Rees?–he’s a sophomore–who’s had a decent year–just not ready at this point. All of sudden, typical of ND fans…Hendrix is now the answer. Are you kidding me?
This all takes time–Kelly is building the talent pool AND is teaching—we haven’t had a teacher in the job for a long time. Maybe Holtz was the last one.
irishhawk50 says:
I have been a Rees backer since last year, but I clearly saw his limitations. I think Hendrix has a higher ceiling and added a spark against Stanford, but still his reads were not great. If he had been playing all year I think it would have been another story.
ND didn’t really play that badly, they were not really overmatched by Stanford, just too many mistakes especially in the first half. I think Kelly will probably prepare for the bowl with Rees & Hendrix 1 & 2 instead of giving number 2 reps to Crist.
As I have said in the past, I don’t know if Kelly is the answer but clearly a better choice than the last three coaches. The jury is still out and hope springs eternal for ND fans. Go Irish.
mike irish says:
When are we going to get physical on the line play????? Our O line as well as the D line sucked. We were bitch slapped around all night, and this wasn’t the only game it’s happened in this season.
Mark says:
Next time I want to watch a fat, short, little spoiled brat yell at players, ref’s, coaches, be a brat to the press at half time, I’ll just invite my drunk ND neighbor over to watch the game and he can yell at someone every 4 to 6 minutes or so. BK you are a complete Ass. Keep bringing on that red face you always seem to have, remember one more game and all of Charlie’s recruits are gone for good. By the way I don’t see Lynch staying at ND very long, one cold snowy winter should take care of that. You better hope you don’t get a SEC team in a bowl game, man that will blow your little fat head off your shoulders pretty quick. Jackie S. basketball, football programs not looking too good. Women’s basketball and hockey I’m in, GO Irish sports programs, down the drain.
ara era ire says:
I thought Rees got his bell rung hard and should have been pulled out of the game then completely. Are the docs asking the right questions and standing their ground?
MJThomas says:
BK’s reference last week to his guys was his way of dealing with his frustration in working with CW’s recruits. If Hendrix is any indication of his recruits toughness then some of CW’s recruits appear to be not as tough. Couldn’t believe Hendrix even got up after that vicious hit he took.
Give BK a chance to get his RKG’s (Right Kind of Guy) out there and then lets judge his coaching ability. CW didn’t leave the cupboard bare of talent but what he left was not the RKG that BK recruits. I think, with the exception of a few guys, CW got guys looking to pad their individual stats, get to the pros and winning was secondary. BK gets the “team player” who wants to win first and get to the pros second. If so, and his guys have a great next year, there are going to be a lot of people on here eating their words.
hoojoosay says:
No coach needs his RKG’s to prevent two false starts to begin the game. Kelly had a full week to tell the squad what the first play and snap count would be, and they still botched it. That set the tone for the game. Bad discipline on the players’ parts, and worse coaching. For once, I agree with Mark May who said the Irish are no better than they were this time last year.
Teo says:
Amen.
To start the football game, we have two false starts. I mean, it set the tone for the whole night. And it’s absolutely coaching. You cannot jump on the first play from scrimmage (let alone the first and second plays from scrimmage). This team needed a lot of work to contain Stanford. They found a decent quarterback but they still don’t have the discipline to compete with top-knotch.
That said, they are on their way. Things will get better with a quarterback who has lightening quick speed and an exceptional arm.
Andy says:
Clearly, Mark (“Dumb”) May cannot count: Last year, the Irish were 7-5 after 12 games, pre-bowl;
this year, they are 8-4, that’s a full game better. Unfortunately, like last year (Tulsa and Michigan?), we let two games (S. Florida and Michigan) go from the win column to the loss column due to
too many turnovers and mistakes. If ND is to have a successful season next year (when we add Miami in Chicago, and a trip to Oklahoma to the schedule; thanks, Jack) we cannot afford turnovers and mindless penalties.
Scott says:
Mark May is always prepared to say something negative about ND. What’s new? You can clearly see that his responses are always pre-meditated.
Mike G says:
Guys (and gals) there is no such thing as RKG (Right Kind of Guy) as there was no such thing as “Charlie gets it”. If Weis “got it” he’d still be here. Kelly is going after the best players possible. For every three “right kind of guys” I’ll take one Lynch. If there ever was a RKG it would be Crist. Two years in a row he blew out his knee, killed himself to be ready for the season and got buried after ONE half. ONE HALF! Never heard him complain, quit or transfer. Good luck Dayne Crist, see you playing on Sundays some day.
Terrence says:
To say they’ve found a legit QB is a stretch at best. Hendrix is neither a great runner, decent passer, or poised QB.
Other than that, I don’t feel like talking about such a pathetic team. I believed in BK, especially with his track record, but I’m speechless.
I do think the defense did a really good job against a tough offense and great QB. The problem was the offense kept letting them down. A lot of posters proved they don’t know anything about football by criticizing the defense after a gritty performance, especially the guy who writes the report cards
You gotta ask yourself, is ND Football a cursed coaches graveyard? One thing I’ll say for BK is he takes care of inferior teams, but his team comes out totally flat against good teams, the only 2 this year being Stanford and USC.
dan says:
You have got to be kidding me with this trash. Hendrix is a sophomore*. This was his first real game action all season (you cant really count AF) and he performed very well. The coaches rave about his arm strength and running ability. Poise will come in time, and I’d like to see you try to go into a game against a top ten team and play perfectly. Rees has been making mistakes like Hendrix did all season, and he has way more experience. I believe Hendrix is the QB of the future, and if not the bowl game, com Ireland next year, he will be the starter. On Brian Kelly: BK is in his 2nd year! He has now led us to 2 straight bowl games, and if we win the bowl, we improve in the winning column from year 1. Kelly’s type of QB is Hendrix, and year 3 is boom or bust. I’m not jumping off his bandwagon yet, because he hasn’t had enough time, and we still aren’t really running the offense he would like to run. This season, we are a few plays away from being 10-2 or even 11-1. The only games we really got beat in were this one and usc. And isn’t michigan st good? they’re in the the Big10 championship, and we made them look silly.
Scott says:
Not a great runner? You must be kidding?
Bill '80 says:
Football is a game of momentum. If we score to make it 14-7 the whole game changes. Instead we have 0 points and two possessions later Rees throws an unforgivable interception that gives Stanford the field position and time to score again before half time further deflating our team.
Even given the 21-0 score, I am certain all true ND fans believed we could still win or, at the very least, make it a game once Hendrix came in, rejuvenated our offense and shifted momentum. Look at each of our losses and you see the numbing effect of bad turnovers and the resultant positive offensive momentum by our foes. All 4 of our losses were not to superior teams, but superior— game changing quarterbacks. Put Luck, Barkley, Robinson and even USF’s BJ Daniels on the Irish and we win all 4 games. The problem is the quarterback position. The QB has the biggest effect on the result of a game and big momentum changing plays. Unfortunately for the Irish, we have not made the big QB plays on offense… only big plays for the other teams.
RT says:
There constantly seems to be frustration between the offense and Coach Kelly. If there is a communication problem it is a coaching issue! You can’t blame it on a young inexperienced quarterback(s).
Irish 75 says:
Clearly agree. BK’s demeaning and belittling faces can create nothing but resentment. Poor communication is on BK not the kids!
Scranton Dave says:
Hendrix absolutely has to get the first team reps in the next month and start in the Bowl game. He has a lot of potential and will only get better with experience. Rees is already at his ceiling, and it isnt a very high ceiling. For me, last nights game is a partial success if that’s the last we see of Rees.
tim says:
Is it me or is Manti severly overrated?? He disappears in big games. Pretty sure I didnt hear his name called once last night. Dont get me wrong he is a solid linebacker, but he isn’t nearly as good as people make him out to be.
Brian says:
Completely agree. He vanishes in the big games because he does not have what it takes to step up yet.
Aaron says:
OVERRATED! NEEDS TO BE WORRIED ABOUT PLAYING FOOTBALL! INSTEAD OF GETTING HIS FEELINGS HURT BY THE COACH THAT TELLS HIM TO GET HIS HEAD OUT OF HIS A$$ AND START PLAYING! NOT WORRYING ABOUT TWEETING AND TELLING THE WORLD, “HE’S PLAYING FOR HIS BROS”! WHAT A JOKE!
Scott says:
On that tweet, I lost a ton of respect for T’eo. He makes a ton of great plays and has all of the potential to take his game to the next level. The players on defense that I like are Tuitt, Lynch and the front 4. Lynch could be the next Zorich. Kid is physically strong and plays with toughness and grit. When he lines up, I have total confidence that something good will happen for the defense. I used to feel this way about Manti. But, after his tweet, he’s just another whiner. Did Kelly’s comments hurt Harrison Smith? Smith is another one. Truely strong and plays tough. He’ll be sorely meissed next season.
ndlaw12 says:
I’m pretty sure he’s been slowed by a nagging ankle injury. Not severe enough to sideline him (he’s still better than his backup), but it has slowed him by a step.
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
Teo is not overrated. He’ll be a first-round draft choice and will be a good but not great pro. I’m a life-long Packer fan. Manti reminds me of A.J. Hawk. Hawk doesn’t have Urlacher’s speed or cover skills, and has had few picks over the course of his career. He also doesn’t explode runners and receivers like some LBs do or cause turnovers that often. However, he’s invariably in the right position and is a tremendously sound tackler, perennially leads the team in tackles, rarely gets injured and is a high integrity team first guy. I’ll take that sort of guy over the flashy, trash-talking flashes in the pan any day. Manti’s been a very solid player for the Irish and he played well against Stanford as did the entire D. The defensive short-comings were mainly attributable to Bob Diaco being so slow to make adjustments, most notably bringing DBs down in the box to stop the run and consistently bringing blitzers to pressure Andrew Luck[y to be playing against Diaco]
NCHdomer says:
Very much enjoy the articles and posts on this site. Excellent give and take of differing viewpoints and a good place to vent frustrations. Everyone is passionate about ND and only want to see it return to what it has always symbolized – excellence in both the classroom and on the playing field. Have not given up on Kelly and yes, there has been significant progress from the Weis era. The nagging problem is attention to detail. Turnovers and special teams play are the province of coaches. If you don’t arresively coach both, you usually lose games because of one or the other. I do think that is what aggravates and worries most fans. These areas seem stagnant. No improvement from the USF game to the Stanford game in 1) eliminating turnovers, 2) having special teams help rather than hurt the overall team effort and 3) amazingly inept play by our secondary that was as bad against Stanford as it was in the second half against Michigan – the inept play reflecting coaching as much as talent (how can Gary Gray always be in position to make a play but rarely make one?). In any event, the worst teams of Ara and Lou always seemed to be well coached against the quality opponents. Haven’t seen much of that with Kelly. Hoping, as always, that next year our coaches and players turn the corner. Tired of coaching searches and hoping another one is not needed.
Pat says:
Rivals.Com had Andrew Luck as the 4th rated pro-style passer coming out of high school. The number 2 rated QB was Dayne Crist. Ok maybe rivals don’t know how to scout OR ND doesn’t know how to develop QBs.
We will see next year when Crist, like Russell Wilson did this year at Wisconsin, is playing QB for someone else. Stanford?
Zach says:
Yeah we will see how Crist plays, the Crist situation may be a huge nail in Kelly’s coffin if ND has a bad season.
Teo says:
Crist lacks the mental toughness, though, that Luck has. My hunch is that Crist was babied a bit when he arrived, while Luck was getting screamed at by Harbaugh as he developed into the quarterback he’s become.
If Crist cannot start at Notre Dame, he isn’t going to be anywhere near a starting job at Wisconsin.
rockne says:
All you guys who think Kelly was outcoached, tell us what defensive schemes and offensive schemes YOU would have run to win the game with Jonas Gray gone and a QB who played less than 1/2 of one quarter before last night.
Go ahead, please get as technical as you want-describe the offensive and defensive line stunts, pass plays and blitz packages you would have used.
Brian says:
One play was to have your QB fake a snap and then drop back and pooch kick a five yarder. Ridiculous! The game has to do with field position sometimes and he needed to put the punter in and punt since that is what he intended to do in the first place. Secondly don’t take 20 seconds to get a play into your QB and expect him to run it in 5, another bad decision by coach. Put Riddick in the backfield a few times to give the defense a different look even if he does not get the ball, that still is a body the D has to keep an eye on.
Uncle Joe's "nephew" says:
Read my post from the day before the game. I pretty much nailed it, saying, in simplest terms, the Irish needed to pound the rock with Oregon Duck-like creativity, run no-huddle to keep the Cardinal D-off balance, and on D, consistently bring at least 5 and preferably 6 rushers and jump routes to force turnovers. I also said Luck versus Rees would be a total mismatch. I stand by all those points. Kelly ran the no-huddle as though Charlie Sheen drew it up after a conversation with Hunter Thompson. In the second half, the Irish beat the snot out of the Cardinal by rushing the ball with some nifty calls. Hendrix simply had some bad throws, but his TE’s drop of a perfectly thrown ball was a momentum killer. As far as other X’s and O’s … they aren’t complicated. Stanford’s prolific runs pretty much stopped as soon as Diaco brought some guys down in the box, but it took him until the start of the second half to figure out what most high school coaches would do the second or third time they got gashed. Although he likewise awoke from his coma and began successfully bringing pressure in the second half, in many key second half throwing downs, he brought three or four guys, and sat back in zone, which made Luck’s life easy.
Scott says:
Spot on.
jeff says:
This makes no logical sense. I don’t need to be faster than Husein Bolt to know he outran someone, do I? If Stanford lineman are coming through unblocked, than the package isn’t right or the QB hasn’t been coached properly to make reads. This goes double for the false starts.
Althoough I do agree with the point I think you are making; people, especially on the internet, are overly critical.
Bill '86 says:
None of this matters at all if you start the game obviously metally unprepared to play. The error prone first half with stupid penalties and missed assignments and overall lack of enthusiasm is what doomed the Irish facing a very beatable Stanford team. I lay this mostly on Kelly. He is being paid to be a major leauge college coach which includes the responsibility to orchestrate motivation and show leadership and maturity on the sideline. He mostly failed in all these areas on Saturday night. What little was accomplished was done just as it was under Weis and the others…i.e. on athletic ability and talent alone.
Scott says:
This is all perpetuated by the QB, Rees. You could see no desire in his eyes at all. A field general needs to have the fire and pass that torch on to his teammates to light their torches. Tommy was none of the above. He looked scared, plain and simple, and the offense fed off of his fear.
Paul Hass says:
I have been advocating for Hendrix since the spring game. My faith in Kelly remains IF he will do what HIS OWN offense calls for. Hendrix runs the whole package; Rees cannot. I think Kelly got himself in a trick bag, 12-2 will do that to you, and as a result we lost a year of development for someone that can run the offense. I include in the “someone” Crist and Golson, assuming they will let them run. Crist CAN run but they have appeared reluctant to let him after all the injuries. Maybe we can finally move forward. I love our players, the coaching staff, and all that ND stands for; I just want the coaches to run ALL of their offense, explode on defense, and “go reckless, stay loose, and have fun”. Why does it change once Kelly gets BETTER athletes? Lets let ‘er rip.
ND Jim says:
Right on, Paul. Kelly sat his stud quarterback (Crist) while investing in flat footed, turnover prone Reese. Kelly’s stuborness and fear of a quaterback controversy hurt the team and this embarrassing mess is all on him. Hendrix clearly has the tools and should go to work and be ready for the bowl. The future is bright with Hendrix and Golson (we all know Crist is gone and will, no doubt, show Kelly up in the end), Tommy is the #3 quarterback; hopefully this coach finally gets it!
Teo says:
How can anyone, at this stage, think that Dayne Crist deserved a starting job? He’s a nice kid. And he played pretty well last year. But, well, SOUTH FLORIDA??? Were you awake for that game? No? That’s okay. How about Southern Cal?
I agree that he has the talent to be a big-time football player. But talent is only important if a player has the mental toughness to handle big-game situations. His fumbled snap/returned touchdown — from the 1 — was enough. By that point, he’d struggled against South Florida and likely didn’t get it done in practice.
Kelly wants to win. He would not be putting in Rees if he thought that Crist was better. And Crist isn’t better. Hendrix, though, is ready. The sophomore has a great arm and decent speed. I’d also point out that the offensive line was, well, offensive. It wasn’t just the first false start. It wasn’t the second false start a few seconds later. It was all night. There are some key guys missing (such as Cave) and some other guys that have to get a lot better.
bass-pgh says:
It has become ND urban legend that Crist fumbled against SF on the 1. Jonas Gray was the ballcarrier, and had gained a few yards before the tackle, so the fumble can’t be blamed on Crist. Hendrix has a ton of potential, “can’t run, not a great arm”??? Were you really watching the Stanford game? If he gets more accurate as a passer, he’ll be a total joy to watch the next couple years.
Scott says:
It has become urban FACT that he did fumble against USC on the one yard line with a chance to tie the game at 17 or at least cut it to 17-13. Did you forget about this?
rockne says:
Stanford has played 12 games this year. Who is the only team to hold them under 30 points?
Notice also that in the last part of the 4Q, ND played without Wood, who was injured by a helmet-to-helmet blow not called.
pjm79 says:
Um… hate to tell you this, but the fact we gave up only 28 points is utterly irrelevant. Who cares!
We still lost.
Scott says:
No moral victory in this at all. Big freakin’ deal, so the D only yielded 28 points. I hope you realize that this is a negative statement against the D.
Scranton Dave says:
Mark, I love the direction the hoops team is going in. With Abro out for the year this year will be a struglle, but Brey has some nice pieces comiong in the next 2 years.
As far as Kelly, he has done some very good things and they shouldnt be overlooked. I’m not ready to write him off yet, but he really turned me off by wasting a season on Rees. I think next year will be tough, but we are set up to have a really good team in 2013.
MJThomas says:
vitriolic
jack zepp says:
Hendrix definitly provided the spark – also runs the ball, reminded me of Tim
Tebow. The offense and defense both played with more fire with Hendrix in the game. Tommy Rees is fine for second string. Hendrix all the way. I’m optimistic about next year and looking forward to an exciting bowl game. I read below where someone wrote that Cryst should go to Stanford – sounds interesting. Wherever Dane Cryst goes, I wish him good fortune. GO IRISH!
mpsND'72 says:
I will reserve my comments about Coach Kelly and the football program for some other time. Today, I want to build upon a late Game Day post by “El Kabong” who asked readers to be sure to go to Rock’s House and read his “warning message” regarding appropriate criticism directed at coaches vs. players. More specifically: Coach Kelly vs. Tommy Rees. What I have to say here is meant to underscore EK’s comment, and add my own two-cents.
There’s a new page in today’s Sunday Chicago Tribune entitled “Perspective.” Under that banner, there is a piece by Charles M. Madigan with a caption “Dirty Words: Restraining the Use of Language.” Madigan teaches, among other things, a class called “Dirty Words” at Roosevelt University. His piece is an interesting take on the usage of vulgarity and the repression of language here in the U.S. vs. what is currently going on in China. For me it was a timely article, given the many posts that I read on Game Day yesterday. That said . . .
I’m all for free speech and really appreciate – and enjoy! – the clever and creative written word. But yesterday’s Game Day commentary was loaded with tasteless and vulgar profanity. (One particular comment from an SMC “lady” alum was even blasphemous.) Many of these comments were directed at Coach Kelly and Tommy Rees.
To reinforce El Kabong’s warning: Tommy Rees is a student at Notre Dame and will, one day, be a member of our alumni family. He has paid his dues and richly deserves his varsity letter. He has made an outstanding contribution to the Notre Dame Football Program. And yesterday, he did his best and took a beating in the process. He does NOT deserve to be blasted with classless vulgarities on Game Day posts or on any Notre Dame forum, for that matter. None of our players do. As pointed out by El Kabong: if you want to rant about the football program using tasteless obscenities and need a target to do so, target the highly-paid coach and/or his staff. Not a kid – any kid – who is busting his ass for Notre Dame.
I’ll say it once more: I’m all for freedom of speech. If anyone wants to show his or her true class by using obscene language on message boards, go for it! But, when it comes to our football team, think twice before choosing your target and your words.
~mpsND’72
ndforever says:
very well said Tommy is a student athlete and bailed us out last year and got us 8 wins this year, whil he may not be the right qb for ND he doesnt deserve all the negativity .
Joe says:
AMEN.
Aaron says:
HEY GOOD FOR YOU MPSND’72!,
DO YOU KNOW THAT IT WILL BE ALMOST 20 YRS. IN WHICH N.D. WAS EVEN CONSIDERED A LEGIT FOOTBALL PROGRAM/TEAM? SO DON’T GET ON HERE AND PREACHED TO US ABOUT TAKING IT EASY ON REESE OR BK! THEY BOTH KNEW THE PRESSURES OF THEIR POSITIONS! YOUR DEFENDING OF REESE BEING A STUDENT IS EXACTLY THE REASON WHY ND FOOTBALL HAS BEEN PUSHED AROUND ON THE FIELD!!! THEY ARE WAY TO BABIED!
ONE MORE QUESTION FOR YA TOO! DO YOU THINK CHRIS ZORICH IF PLAYING TODAY THE WAY HE PLAYED IN THE LATE 80’S AND EARLY 90’S WOULD PUT UP WITH THIS AVERAGE TEAM PLAY?! FOR ANYONE OF YOU WHO DO NOT KNOW WHO CHRIS ZORICH IS, LOOK HIM UP ON YOUTUBE. WATCH THIS ANIMAL PLAY SOME FOOTBALL! SOUTH-SIDE STRONG FROM CHICAGO AND LOVE TO DRIVE SOMEONE, ESPECIALLY OPPOSING QBS FROM OTHER TEAMS INTO NEXT WEEK!
pjm79 says:
You missed the point. Objective criticism is fine.
Blasting an ND player with vulgarity and obscenities is not.
Can you understand that, or can you only read things written entirely in CAPS?
Joe33 says:
Aaron,
Thanks for validating mps’s points for him. We’re all frustrated by the last 15+ years. Typing in all caps / yelling like an insolent child is not only counterproductive, it will cause others to simply ignore and laugh at you.
Scott says:
AMEN! It is about tim we started seeing more of the Chris Zorich type of toughness back at ND! Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt are a great start to this type of toughness.
Does anyone here remember Zorich? Does anyone remember how good ND’s defense was on the ’88 Championship team? Know why? Chris Zorich, that’s why. His fire and passion for the game. His desire to never fail on a play. That guy’s desire cause Lou Holtz to dismiss him from practice on a number of occassions because it would usually lead to fights. Where has that type of desire gone? Personally, I think it is well on its way back to ND in the likes of Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt (to name two players). These guys define toughness, grit, and desire to never fail.
terry says:
I remember those days and agree with you. It was said that his teammates played with the passion they did because they were afraid of what he would do to them if they didn’t. Whether or not the story is true I don’t really know but I don’t see the passion now. Jumping up and down after a good play and jumping up with chest-bumps, which strikes me as particularly moronic, doesn’t mean passion. More important – I don’t see leadership out there. I’ve said that a few times over the season and I still say it. I think that BK is looking for it too.
Lynch and Tuitt show some but hot-dogging after a good play is nothing more than hot-dogging. Just show the others how it’s done, get up and get ready for the next play.
FYI – I am an old fart. I have watched FB for more than 50 years and I remember when ANY hotdogging meant the hot-dogger would be knocked on his ass by his own teammates. I liked it better like that but that’s obviously my problem.
Joe33 says:
Very well said mpsND’72.
James says:
I swear if Rees starts the bowl I can’t watch it. His turnovers have taken most of the joy out of watching a game for me. I am also a Pitt fan, so having to watch Rees and Sunseri play all year long, well I am just thankful for hockey season. Watching pathetic qb play is like drowning a good steak in ketchup. Go Irish!
62NDGrad says:
I was at the game last night and in the first half it looked like the whole ND team had just gotten up from the Thanksgiving dinner table after a hefty overdose of tryptophan. Hendriks must have had a good nap on the bench the first half, or he could be a vegetarian. There seemed to be a heavy layer of dew on the grass. I’ve never seen so many slips by one team. Are we sure they had cleats on?
Irishfan says:
The most frustrating part of the first half was the lack of compusure. Everything seemed frenzied and chaotic, leading to multiple penalities, mental mistakes and poor communication. (False start on the 4 yd line was a knife to the heart)
I happen to like BK and think we will be successful at ND, but when the wheels come off he needs to find a way to settle his players down and execute. Seems like the only way we were able to move the ball for awhile was on some pass interference handouts. The Toma call was unfortunate, but they’re play calling after the completion reversal was terible.
Hendrix was impressive at times, should be interesting to see who starts in the bowl game. Need to win that game! I think both QBs have plus sides. Rees has done a solid job and his play yesterday largely reflected a pourous O-line that let him get hit too many times. He’s not a scambler, but when he gets protection he is decent.
Overall, ND IS showing improvement year to year. Compared to a few years ago when they were getting blown out by everyone, they are definitely better. Lots of underclassmen getting some good PT can only help. Need to stay patient and work with what we have. Coaching roullete doesn’t get us anywhere
Go Irish!
CJW says:
Well Urban obviously wants to go where recruiting non-student athletes is allowed and graduating is also not required. Look this is the legacy of schools like Tosu and Florida. ND took a run at him and he passed, because he wants to win and win without hassle. So quit worrying about it. As an institutation ND does so many things right that so many other campuses just whiff on. Look at the now scandal wracked big 10/12/15 whatever. Growing up I loved ND FB because it stood for excellence. It has been a long time since ND properly represented that on the field, but they are still trying, it still matters and I have to believe some day they will break thru again. In the mean time graduating 90+ percent of your kids is the right thing to do.
We can try to pin this on Kelly and certainly as the head man he deserves some flak. With all the talent on this team inlcuding multuple future NFL draftees on both sides of the ball it is hard to understand how we keep choking. I think an important thing to remember is this is not a problem unique to Kelly. This has been happening for nearly 20 years now. TWENTY years….just once I would like to see ND come out in a big game and perform, just come out and play their asses off without worry and roll.
I wish I could be this teams head shrink, but I have to trust that to Kelly and the rest of the staff. A reasonable question was asked last night on ESPN after the game and that is has ND progressed. Mark (I hate ND) Mays said nope pretty much the same. Lou (I love ND) Holtz said yes and that they found their QB choice for the future in Hendrix.
I think how we perform and the outcome of the bowl game should be considered before we answer that question. 9-4 is better than 8-3 and a ranked FSU would be a better matchup/win than last years Miami opponent. ND was 3-9, 7-6, and 6-6 in the 3 years prior to Kellys hiring. They now have two 8 win seasons in a row. I do believe progress was made this year and the record is less meaningful than how we played. We had our best rushing season in a long time and overall the O line play was improved. We still had too many penalties on the OL, but they are close and return 4 starters next year. Our running game took a serious blow with the loss of Grey, the kind you don’t really recover from in one game. With Wood, the young guys, and power back Roberson coming back from injury we are set to run well again next year. Hendrix is dynamic and so is Golson. The O could be much improved next year even with the loss of Floyd.
The D overall did regress this year compared to the end of last year, which is dissapointing. Injury was a factor, but again ND looked out of place or sync at times on D. Still the D the last 2 years has been vastly improved over the train wreck it was during that 16-21 period prior to Kelly’s hiring. If we lose Teo things could be ugly next year for the D so that is going to be a real test to see how we move on. Expect an all out recruitment campaign by Kelly like he did with Floyd last year. Lynch is already playing like a beast and gets held regularly. . I hope Diacco learned something from the play of the D in the 2nd half last night. He needs to turn these guys loose next year and understand he doesn’t have the hoarses at LB or DB to really play the kind of D he wants to play. He needs to study the 46 and 50 defenses in the offseason and atleast mix some of that in. We could be devastating on the DL next year and he has to turn them lose and let the reak havoc. We pressured Luck in the 2nd half and he didn’t perform that great. If he hadn’t been spotted 21 points it might have started to get in his head a little, but we never really threatened. You can hide a lot of weaknesses with a true pass rush, that is the best hope for next years defense being better.
To all winers out there who think Kelly is too tough, and also to those who care how ND looks winning, I say your opinions are weak and you don’t know much about football. In CFB championship level teams are created in the mold of their head coaches or in some rarer cases the coaching staff. The key is buy in. Kelly has the right temperment, and personality to impose his will on a team. Those that think that is what is wrong with what Kelly is doing are ignorant. This was the reality behind the bad statement he made a few weaks ago after the USC game. You haven’t seen a team really execute and buy in like his last 2 teams at Cinci did. Watch the Cinci-Pitt game that was the last game he coached there, and then tell me ND has taken on his persona already. They have not. I think we have to be patient. More change in coaching won’t help, and I still beleive Kelly knows what he is doing. Tell me how many undefeated seasons have you had as a coach at any level? Well BK has several and I believe he will have a few in his future here at the golden dome.
Go Irish…..never surrender, I know your fans won’t.
terry says:
Well said.
This team is 3/8 Kelly, and 1/2 of that 3/8 is freshmen, about 50% of whom are being redshirted.
Charlie Weis was a great OC in the pros. He was a floperoo as a college coach. BUT – he was a pretty good recruiter(Manti Teo, etc.)
And so here we are two years in on the BK gig.
Be patient.
We lack the turnaround game – that game where ND is the underdog on the favorite’s home field but wins. I wanted that game to be last Saturday in Palo Alto, but such was not to be.
For Lou it was USC in 1986. For BK it has not come yet.
Being 68 yrs old and remembering when ND couldn’t beat Northwestern because of the SOB who coached them, remembering the game against Syracuse (with Ernie Davis) when we beat them 17-15 with a field goal after the roughing the kicker penalty on the last play of the game.
(My) remembering listening to the 1966 USC game on a shortwave radio in Turkey (the country).
The 1967 game (in SB) against USC – one of the signs said “Trojans won’t last a period!” which was (the pinnacle? of) collegiate humor at the time. O.J. was there, and he was scary.
“Ara Stop The Snow”
“Go Schoen go!”
Be patient. Be thankful for the tradition of which you are now a part, and remember that 20 years from now you might be at a game and look at the dude next to you and realize that it’s Tommy Rees.
Feces occur
Sully 59 says:
Hendrix is the answer as I believed all year. I knew it was going to have to be a disaster to get Rees out and get Hendrix in. Did you see the renewed energy on the defense as well as the offense when Hendrix started moving the Irish? BK can fool a lot of people talking about Rees being 12 and 2 but some of those victories were won by the defense. Rees was horrible against SC and Stanford. He has no tools and it shows against better teams. BK needs to bench Rees permanently and let him play an Evan Sharpley role.When Rees took off for the end zone, first I couldn’t believe it, but he is so slow he couldn’t even get the first down. Every orthe QB for ND would have gotten into the end zone. PLEASE Kelly, don’t let Rees in the bowl game. Let Hendrix start and give Crist a chance. He deserves that. Sully
Dan says:
A few points I want to hit on:
– Lou Holtz went 8-4 in year #2 of his tenure as ND’s head coach, losing 3 straight to end the season.
– Our defense held Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal, a team built solely by Jim Harbaugh (who is 9-2 in the NFL right now btw) to 28 points. No one else on Stanford’s schedule can claim that.
– The field last night was AWFUL. That display, I feel, gave a pretty huge argument why artificial > natural grass
– Hendrix has A TON of potential. What we saw last night is raw talent. Once developed, the sky is the limit for the kid.
– The offensive line didn’t show up. They seemed to get tossed around by Stanford’s defensive line. As predicted, I knew it would take a running QB to get any offense going against them, given Jonas Grey is out, thus nullifying the power running game. Hendrix provided enough of a spark to put 14 on the board. Had Rees survived the game, I’m not sure we would’ve scored at all.
– I saw frosh out there playing in the secondary which is promising, considering Stanford didn’t put up 100 on us.
– It should’ve been 28 – 21. Rees completely missed Theo Riddick in the end zone after the interception. At the very least, it should’ve been 28-17, but Ruffer missed a chip shot.
I really think this team is good. We just need to pay attention to detail at this point – that’s part of what separates good teams from great teams. Teams like LSU and Alabama don’t make mistakes – and when they do, they don’t make multiple mistakes (with the exception of the mistakes each made when they actually played each other). I like where Kelly is taking this team and feel good about next year. If we get someone like Florida State in the Champ Sports Bowl, I feel we can pound them and win to end the year 9-4.
I hope we’re not pre-season top 25 next year. This team needs to feel like it has a chip on its shoulder to give it motivation to do better imo. The motto for the offseason needs to be ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
ndforever says:
i have been on many websites saying the same thing, not many people remember the 87 season and all the rumblings after that.People remember the next year and the 8 after that. let kelly build this team , he wants tough football players and if u look at the frosh that are playing they are playing tough
Jim Prisby says:
With next years schedule, and with Hendrix lack of experience, we will be looking at another 8-4 season and having this same conversation this time next year. Face it, Kelly made a huge mistake not playing Hendrix more and preparing for next year. Rees might be a good kid but he isn’t a NC caliber QB. I believe Kelly thought he needed Crist / Rees to start the season, and it’s hard to argue that point, but he should have known that Rees wasn’t the future and simply spent more time working on Hendrix and or Gholston (SP?). Waiting until the second half AT Stanford is inexcusible.
I’m also tired of people saying that these aren’t Kelly’s recruits. What a load of crap. CW had very highly ranked recruiting classes. It’s not like these kids are all 2-star recruits. They are 4 and 5 star recruits. Maybe they have the wrong attitude but they certainly have talent. BK should have flourished with these kids. When BK was hired, the talk was about how CW didn’t leave the cupboard bare like TW did. Kelly should be able to hit the ground running. That has all been swept under the rug. Where is this creative offense and high tempo we saw at Cincinnati? He knows that he needs a guy like Hendrix or Golston to run it yet kept them on the bench. That’s all on Kelly.
Last thing, say what you want about Diaco and the D, they played well enough to win. I’m not a big fan of Diaco’s scheme’s as I prefer a more aggressive, create turnovers, kind of system BUT the defense has played well enough for most of the season and his halftime adjustments have been well done.
pjm79 says:
The Holtz teams did not give away games with turnovers, penalties, and blown assignments/coverages as Kelly’s teams have. Holtz would never have thrown that pass against Tulsa.
Dan says:
So, you’re saying that there are losses that are better than other losses? As far as I know, you’re not awarded with “better” losses. At the end of the day, Lou Holtz was 8-4 in year #2, and so is Kelly ( so far ). We can talk after the end of next year and make these comparisons again.
Jim Prisby says:
We can wait until the end of next year but we won’t be winning a NC regardless of how this team improves. The 2012 slate is murder. Holtz had Michigan, Miami and USC as his three monster games. The rest of the schedule simply wasn’t all that tough. Even traditional powers we’re down that year. Penn State and MSU weren’t good. Navy was Navy. Rice? Please. Most teams were so bad that the games were blow outs. So who are next years ‘cream puffs?’ Purdue? Boston College? Wake Forest? Sorry but those might be tougher games than people think…and those are our easy games! Take Purdue and BC out of the equation and the remaining 10 opponents are currently 80-36 this year! (That’s a 69% winning percentage for those scoring at home.) Something tells me that Purdue and BC won’t be quite as bad as they were this year. I’m sure the remainder will be up and down but I expect that to even out across the board. We could be an awesome football team next year and only win 8 games. For Kelly, the real measuring stick will be 2013.
pjm79 says:
I think Holtz, with the talent on this team, would have done significantly better than Kelly. The team would have been tougher and more disciplined. This is obviously (worthless?) speculation and conjecture. My punchline: Holtz’s teams were defeated by better talent; Kelly’s teams defeated themselves with turnovers and mistakes.
DMC says:
I have been a notre dame fan for 40 years, my father for 80 and my deceased grandfather for 80 before that. I am totally disgusted with the whole show. The new bright gold helmets with the little piddly a– shamrocks and the jerseys with the green shirts with the huge shamrocks. Hell it was a French priest who stared the institution. Get back to the basics which made ND great. Brian kelly and his arrogance is palpable. There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence and he has crossed the line. I cannot believe it, but I am thinking about jumping ship, not because of the record but because of all the stupid a– anticks witjh shamrocks and all that crap. Knute Rockne said all the world loves a winner and has no time for a loser. He is rolling over in his grave.
wally says:
Well said DMC
Scott B says:
Wasn’t it Knute himself that demanded huge changes in the way the football program was operated? I don’t see the issue with alternate jerseys or why it tarnishes the legacy of the program.
Are shamrocks and music on third down really enough to make you stop watching? Why do those things matter at all?
robert witt says:
Sorry DMC, I’ve got ya by 5 years. My first ND game on TV was the 10-10 1966 MSU game, watched it on a small TV at a family reunion.
“Jump ship ?” Please do. It will have less drag on the boat.
Winning at any cost. No.
Its not so much that the Irish have slipped the last 20 years, its that other programs have improved. More money, better athletes.
I was an Notre Dame fanatic before my son graduated from there 2 years ago, and I’ll die one.
I hope you don’t think that cheering for ‘ol Notre Dame ‘ has anything to do with losing and winning?
With a bounce here or a tackle there and ND is 10-2 with another bounce here or a TD there and the Irish are playing in the NC, I’ll take that every time.
Go Irish BTW After a little research in the 8th floor at Hesburgh Library, I found my g-ggranfather ND 1871 was the 3rd baseman on the Irish 9 man ( thats what they used to call the baseball team)
Go Irish
jjwilliams says:
Unfortunately, we were shown to be a team that is not very deep. There are plenty of skill players, but the lack of an option when Gray went down was costly. The secondary looks confused and the offensive line was horrible last night. I don’t know if you can blame coaching or not, but the big players seem to come up small in the big games. Of the top 4 teams they played this year (Mich, M-State, USC, Stanford) they lost 3 of those. I say give Hendrix a chance in the bowl and fight it out at spring practice.
Bocceman2 says:
I still stand by my statement after the USF and Michigan collapses that I am not sure if Kelly is the man to bring ND back to relevance. That they were so horribly prepared in their 25th game with BK at the helm does not speak well for the future. He is consistently out schemed and out coached against good and sometimes not so good teams. The offensive line looked like they never played a down of football last night and senior Robert Blanton looked like a true freshmen. Sticking with TR until the second half of the last game this season was a horrible decision that affected the whole team.
I am from the south and ND would be a mid to lower SEC team. Believe me I am no fan of the SEC. No way ND can compete or probably ever compete in the top tier of FBS schools unless they get the right coach. I know some of you are satisfied with wins against poor to mediocre teams in poor to mediocre conferences, but I am not or ever will be.
I have been a die hard passionate ND fan ever since I can remember picking up a football. My Dad could have played the part of Mr Rutiger without a script.
It sickens me that year end and year out ND seems to settle for mediocrity when it comes to football. Please hire a relevant coach with big time experience in NC games. We blew it with Urban Meyer and now he is off to Ohio State. Let’s be the aggressor and pay Nick Saban, Les Miles or Mark Richt to bring ND back to glory!
Michael Barron says:
One thing that really hurt was losing Braxton Cave. He went down and all of the sudden Rees starts getting sacked, starting at Maryland. The more sacks, the less confidence. Even at Maryland he would not throw downfield. All of Floyd’s catches were quick outs and Floyd tries to beat the DB along the sideline. Nothing downfield. Then when Jonas Grey went down at BC there was no running threat. On some of those runs last nite by Wood I know Grey would have stayed on his feet. Stanford just simply had to drop men in coverage knowing that the run could not hurt them and Rees had no confidence in the pocket.
Teo says:
Exactly. Cave was a huge, huge loss. Golic has tried to keep up but the sacks came — often.
flirish says:
Jonas Gray being out hurt but lets get real. Wood is a very good running back. Losing Gray did not factor too large in the loss. However 9 penalites and complete lack of execution, poor coaching and team unready to play were much larger factors. Coach Kelly has not had his team prepared in big games this year.
I feel bad for Tommy R and agree that he is part of the ND community. Harsh comments aimed at him personally and not his skills are inappropriate. The truth is he is not a D-1 starting QB. Plain and simple and only Kelly can be blamed for having him in the position he was in as a starter. For all those that think he was good because he had a good completion percentage please look at the average length of the pass he threw—-less than 5 yards for over 50% of completions.
Rees however is only on of the reasons we cannot compete with good teams. It really mostly falls back on the coaching
Loooooong island Dan says:
CJW did a great job summarizing the state of the ND team. I will accept two 8 win seasons with a new coach. It is just disappointing that we did not have a better win than against MSU. Our O line had the worst game of the season hands down. This is why TR could not get started on the right foot, and this was his make or break game. He did not bounce back like he normally does, but he has lost another voice for him as a starter. His timing was off for the first half, and there were several times when he could have stepped up in the pocket to create more time. The turnovers and missed passes have already been addressed.
Crist lost the start early on, and now Rees is out. I wish that Hendrix got a few more snaps in the Navy game and the Maryland game since it would have been a better outcome. In the 4th quarter we need a better passing game to at least put us in the position to make it interesting. Hendrix, in his limited playing time, did not have the experience to accomplish this. As scranton dave mentioned, he needs his snaps with the first string to get comfortable for the bowl game.
Defensive was definitely the silver lining in that game. They played their best game this year imho with the exception of Blanton. He had some lazy penalties and got beat outright several times. In response to an earlier post about Teo, the Stanford line did a great job picking him up because they recognized if they wanted to run they needed a body on him every play.
In the begining of the year my prediction for a good season was 9-3, and an exceptable season was 8-4 because ND always of late has been able to find a way to lose to someone they should not (USF).
Cheer, cheer for Ole Notre Dame.
terry says:
Let’s keep in mind that this is only 3/8 a BK team in terms of recruits – in a game like this the upperclassmen should have stepped up but they didn’t until it was too late.
These guys have come a long way from week 1 when they couldn’t even beat South frigging Florida – now they beat teams they should beat. But they haven’t taken the next step, which is beating a team that is favored over them. It sounds as if I am damning with faint praise but I don’t mean to – it’s just a statement of fact. Getting back into the elite is going to be tougher this time than last, but I think BK is the right guy for the job.
Next year’s team will be 5/8 BK recruits.
terry says:
Interesting QB situation next year. Crist is gone, leaving Hendrix, Rees and Golson. Any news on Kiel?
We’ve just got to trust BK. He’s made mistakes but I trust him to do the best thing. IMO he’s been holding back on Hendrix until he decided Hendrix was ready and then – when his bluff was called – he put Hendrix in. Hendrix’ arm strength is impressive and he’s obviously been chomping at the bit to get in there – now is his chance.
Colin says:
mps72 you hit the nail squarely on the head. Get behind our players, don’t get on their backs. They are kids, after all.
We have a long way to go, but we can still enjoy the ride. Lets bring home a bowl win.
Go IRISH!
Jim Kress says:
“penalties, sacks, turnovers and a blocked pooch punt”
A summary of our season. Mercifully, it’s over. It will be interesting to see how many screw-ups are made in the bowl game.
These kinds of errors that have occurred since game one and continued throughout the season can be primarily attributed to poor coaching. One never saw this type of continual sloppy play with Leahy, Parseghian, Devine, or Holtz.
Occasional lapses happen, without a doubt. However, the continual pattern of mistakes, poor playing, bad decision making, errors, lack of any punt return effort, etc. are all indicative that changes must be made.
I’m not on a “get rid of Kelly” bandwagon. However, he must realize this litany of stupid, continuous, repetitive errors are, primarily, his responsibility and, as the Head Coach, he must be held accountable for their lack of rectification during the season.
Another season like this, with continual “penalties, sacks, turnovers and all the other errors we have made” should lead to serious reconsideration of whether or not he is the proper coach for a team that is supposed to be able to meet and beat the LSUs, Alabamas, USCs, Oregons, Stanfords, Oklahomas, etc. Or, is he just a good, second tier coach who should be satisfied with coaching teams like Cincinnati, The MAC and Grand Valley State?
Mack says:
I disagree with the posters that claim that this is a much improved team. The amount of turnovers, penalties, and clock violations this late in the season should be far less than they are!! Having said that; the field those young men were asked to play on was RIDICULOUS!!! I find it suprising someone did not have a very serious injury. I too am frustrated with the QB position. TR has shown us he does not possess the skills necessary to throw the long ball, and is basically inept at running it as well. Could not believe how slow he was on the attempt to run into the end zone!!!! If your going to run…MOVE IT!!! Have stood behind BK and want to give him a fair chance at turning this program around. But the penalties are lack of discipline and that is coaching. An 8-4 finish is an improvement to the CW era; just felt that with the amount of talent this team possesed we should have finished off at least South Florida and Michigan. I really hope that next year we defend our home field better than what the past has shown . Will be in Orlando on Dec. 29th and hopefully watching the Irish beat FSU in the CHamps Bowl. Go Irish!
Mike '75 says:
For the posters who commented on Te’o’s play: he led the team against Stanford with eight tackles.
Scott says:
He was, though, pretty much held in check and had virtually no penetration in Stanford’s backfield.
kmjackson says:
I cannot believe the amount of negativity here. This team has played well and with spirit. They have made a lot of mistakes and need to develop discipline, that is my only strike on Coach Kelly. It is clear to me however that we are in every game (certainly not true for previous 3 coaches). We fight to the final whistle (only disappointment was the deflation at the very end of USC). A lot of those kids that are getting tarred have played hurt for most of the season (Teo in particular). Am I disappointed that we have been error prone in games against Michigan, USC, and Stanford (1st half), of course, but in the 4th quarter of each game we were in striking distance and the team was still fighting.
My hope for next year:
1. Mobile QB who can throw the long ball.
2. Less penalties (more discipline).
3. Less turnovers, Lord please less turnovers (discipline).
4. Keep Bob Diaco for at least one more year, please.
With this we will have great success screaming coach and all (that’s how they all did it in the old days).
jack says:
i would be very surprised & disappointed if bk doesn’t start hendrix in the bowl game. rees did a decent job this year & is to be applauded for his efforts. hendrix in my mind is the qb from here on in.
one other comment – i can’t understand why nd’s first game next year is in ireland against navy. between jet lag & less time to prepare for the next game it makes no sense.
Loooooong island Dan says:
First:
It is Notre Dame versus Navy in Ireland…Do not make me explain the history
Second:
The USA wants to promote American-foooootball
Third:
Do you know how much people will pay for the tickets?
Fourth:
It is UND playing in Ireland
Bob says:
I’ve been a life long fan of ND football starting in the late 40’s when Coach Frank Leahy’s “Lads” finished the decade winning the national championship in ’46, ’47 & ’49, after winning the ’43 title as well. After the ’49 undefeated season, I was fortunate enough to meet Leon Hart, a graduate of Turtle Creek High School, at St. Coleman’s Catholic Church Hall and watch black & white film highlights of the season. Hart won the Heisman Trophy that year and was one of only two lineman to ever accomplish that feat. He never lost a game in high school or college, and the tie in ’48 kept the Irish from four straight National Championships. He was the #1 NFL dratee that year for the Detroit Lions and was an All-Pro. Those great ND teams were made up of many veterans from WWII and came from areas where it was tough growing up, particularly in coal mining towns and steel mill towns like Pennsylvania. Those were legendary years for ND football, following the great teams coached by ND’s greatest coach of all, Knute Rockne. Brian Kelly’s desired “RKG’s” were plentiful in those days, but much harder to come by today, with the lack of discipline fostered in the family unit, the schools and the family unit. BK has the temperment and personal drive to bring some of that “swagger” back to ND. I’ve been riding this “Subway” Alumni express for over 63 years and will never give up on the Irish.
terry says:
And they will never give up on you. These pups who post here with such elan and smugness just don’t get it.
Garrett says:
How can you not like Andrew Hendrix, the kid runs fast and hard, he can throw, and plays with a little reckless abandon out there!!! I think this is the kid that is gong to take Notre Dame to the next level, because our team will start winning games because of our quarterback rather than in spite of him. Once he gets some time to develop a good relationship with his wide receivers and gets those first start jitters out of his system, this kid is going to be one heck of a player.
What the heck is all this talk about Brian Kelly’s job? You guys can not seriously be considering that his seat is even remotely warm!!! The man is trying to reverse a stigma that has been at this school since Bob Davie, we can’t win the big game. I don’t understand how you change that, he inherited players from the previous regime that were completely and utterly underachievers, not to mention we were the complete opposite of any championship caliber football team, we were undersized and lacker athleticism, YOU CAN’T COACH THAT!!!!! You can still see it our lack of speed in certain areas has been exposed by the better teams (USC, Stanford and Denard Robinson), but times our changing, look at the recruiting classes he has brought in, they are all big, and fast. Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt, and Louis Nix are all mountains of men. And, this years class (so far) is loaded with one thing SPEED!!!!! the kids BK is bringing in have all the tools.
Quit blaming the coach for the faults of the players, granted there is something wrong when the same players keep making key errors at important moments in the game, however its not like BK is standing on the sidelines like its no big deal, it looks like he’s gonna pull his hair out, because they do work on it, and he does preach it to them!!!! It’s something that that individual player needs to figure out. Or the coach sits his sorry butt on the bench, but our depth isn’t the greatest so you work with what you have.
The future is bright, I expect a top 10 (possibly to 5) recruiting class, I believe 2012 is going to be surprisingly good for the Irish and Brian Kelly is going to be the next Lou Holtz rather than Bob Davie
GO IRISH!!!!!!!!
Jim Gaertner says:
Jim Harbaugh’s record at Stanford was :
2007 4 – 8
2008 5 – 7
2009 8 -5
2010 12-1
Give Kelly a chance and we will probably see a better result. I love the quote from Teddy
Roosevelt who said one man in the arena covered with blood is worth a thousand
of his critics