Stanford shut down Notre Dame’s one-dimensional attack and the Cardinal ground game eventually overcame a gritty performance by the Irish defense to record a 37-14 victory in South Bend. The outcome was in doubt for three quarters despite Notre Dame’s inability to capitalize on numerous opportunities, but the failure to gain one yard in two plays from midfield at the outset of the final period opened the door to a lopsided finish. Notre Dame fell to 1-3 on the season while Stanford improved to 4-0.
The Irish fortunes appeared to turn in the right direction early in the contest when Stanford’s Doug Baldwin fumbled away a punt at his own 21. Notre Dame moved inside the ten yard line, but was forced to settle for a short field goal. The Cardinal answered on their first offensive possession as Andrew Luck avoided an all-out blitz and hit tight end Coby Fleener for a 16 yard score. Immediately following the ensuing kickoff, the Cardinal sacked Dayne Crist and recovered his fumble at the Irish 15. The defense held, however, and Nate Whitaker came on to kick his first of five field goals on the day for a 10-3 Stanford lead.
The teams traded another set of field goals in the second quarter and Stanford led 13-6 as the game approached intermission. The Cardinal began to march with three minutes remaining, but an interception by Jamoris Slaughter on a deep pass tipped to him by cornerback Robert Blanton ended the threat with 1:21 left. Starting at their own 14 yard line with Stanford playing a deep zone defense and only one timeout remaining per side, the situation called for Notre Dame to run out the remaining seconds.
A first down run for no gain was inexplicably followed by a quick, no-huddle pass, which fell incomplete. Stanford then stuffed a third down run and used its final timeout. The Cardinal took over near midfield with 34 seconds remaining after the Irish punt, and this proved to be plenty of time to move into field goal range. Whitaker converted from 36 yards and the Irish trailed by 16-6 at the half. Had the Irish simply run the ball for three plays from the shadow of their own end zone, Stanford would have been unable to regain possession.
Luck moved his team downfield in the opening series of the third period, but good pass coverage by Notre Dame halted the drive. Whitaker was ready again, however, and he kicked his team to a 19-6 lead at the 10:44 mark. Crist tried to answer with a drive of his own, but another sack forced a punt from midfield that Ben Turk shanked to the Cardinal 33. The Irish defense did not fold, and were rewarded for their efforts a few plays later when Darrin Walls intercepted a pass that was tipped by teammate Kerry Neal. Notre Dame had new life at its own 45.
Unfortunately, Crist followed with three straight incompletions caused by solid coverage, and the Irish punted the ball away to the Stanford 11. The Cardinal used its running attack almost exclusively in the next sequence, and it started to pay dividends. An extraordinary effort by linebacker Manti Te’o, who finished the game with 21 tackles, finally stopped the Cardinal before they reached scoring territory. Their first and only punt of the day was downed on the Irish two yard line.
With barely more than fifteen minutes left and trailing by 19-6, Crist found Michael Floyd and Notre Dame began to move the chains. After Armando Allen ran for nine yards on a second down draw play, the Irish failed to convert a third and one pass and a fourth down plunge into the line lost yardage. This was essentially a turnover and ended any chance Notre Dame had to win.
Stanford wasted no time in marching downfield for a touchdown. Fullback Owen Marecic pounded in from a yard against the still tough but fatigued Irish defense, and a two point conversion stretched the visitors’ lead to 27-6 with eight minutes left. Marecic, who doubles as a starting inside linebacker for the Cardinal, added insult to injury on the next play from scrimmage when he cut in front of Crist’s pass and rumbled 20 yards into the end zone. Only thirteen seconds had elapsed since his previous score.
Notre Dame finally scored a touchdown late in the quarter on a pass to Theo Riddick. A successful two point conversion was followed by a failed onside kick, and Stanford called on Whitaker once more to complete the scoring for the final 37-14 margin.
The loss was a bitter pill for Irish fans who believed that a bit of bad luck and untimely turnovers in the previous two weeks represented a narrow gap between Notre Dame and top 25 status. Stanford administered a systematic and thorough beating which served to underscore the fact that the road back to elite status will be longer and more uncertain than most believed.
Statistically, it was a familiar story for the Irish offense in losing efforts over the past few years. There were twice as many passes as rushing attempts, and the team gained only 44 yards on the ground. The Cardinal held the ball for more than 36 minutes, and it’s no surprise that they pulled away in the fourth quarter. The Stanford defense recorded three sacks to none for Notre Dame, and the visitors were able to bring pressure with only a three man rush.
Let’s look at the answers to the questions discussed in the game preview.
Will the Irish defense keep Stanford from running downhill? Notre Dame held its own for a while, but the Cardinal ran effectively in the second half.
Will turnovers once again hurt Notre Dame? The Irish surrendered ten points through their two turnovers, but a bad series at the end of the first half and the failed fourth and one discussed above led directly to ten more. Also, the Irish managed to score only three points off three Stanford miscues.
Can the Irish cornerbacks cover Baldwin and Owusu? Pass coverage was very good for the most part. Walls, Gray and Blanton played well and Slaughter’s return to action made a positive difference at safety.
Will Dayne Crist be able to exploit Stanford’s secondary? Crist threw 45 passes but completed only 26, and his success was almost exclusively between the 20’s.
Which defense will apply pressure to the passer? Stanford did a better job overall, but the Irish did force Luck to make several poor throws. That’s why it’s nice to have a reliable running game.
Can Notre Dame approach the offensive balance of the Cardinal? No, and therein lies the problem.
As predicted, Stanford showed why it has achieved success in the fourth year of Harbaugh’s regime while Notre Dame is starting over. The Cardinal have adopted the tough guy persona of their coach and are well-coached. Their physical nature makes it less important that they out-scheme opponents, since they have been able to control the line of scrimmage. It is not clear yet as to whether Kelly’s vision for the Irish will include the hard-hitting identity that defined the program over the years, but hopefully he has learned from his predecessor that a finesse style that is heavily reliant on the passing game is a risky proposition. While Kelly called for patience in his postgame remarks, there is a finite amount of this precious commodity in the world as the losses continue to mount.
YAHNER says:
WHY CAN’T WE RUN THE BALL? WELL THAT’S SIMPLE. OUR OFFENSIVE LINE WAS BLOWN OFF THE BALL EVERY PLAY. THESE GUYS JUST DON’T HAVE THE ATTITUDE NEEDED TO MAN HANDLE A DEFENSIVE LINE. THEY DON’T HAVE THAT MEAN STREAK. THEN… AS SAID ABOVE THE OFFENSE BECOMES ONE DIMENSIONAL WHICH IN TURN LEADS TO THREE AND OUTS, WHICH IN TURN LEADS TO A TIRED DEFENSE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER. DON’T BE FOOLED. THERE IS NO REAL FIGHT IN THIS IRISH TEAM. ATLEAST NOT IN THE MOST INPORTANT AREAS. THE TRENCHES!!!! MY HAT GOES OF TO MANTI TE’O HE IS A BIG TIME PLAYER AND I WISH WE HAD TEN MORE LIKE HIM ON THAT SIDE OF THE BALL. YOU SIMPLY CAN NOT WIN WITH THIS SCHEDULE WITH OUT A STRONG RUNNING GAME.
Jimbo says:
My pre-season prediction of 7-5 suddenly looks a bit too enthusiastic on my part. I have said since the day BK was hired that Cincy is not ND. He sure is proving me correct.
Dave says:
Cincy is not ND. Damn right, Cincy nearly upset Oklahoma last night. Cincy has been a better program for half of the last decade.
Jimbo says:
You misconstrued my point. Obviously Cincy has outplayed the Irish for years. My point is the pressure to win @ ND is magnified a 1000 X over. Hence Cincy is not ND.
coffeeNteafreak says:
Jimbo, the Cincy teams of the last 2 years under BK would have killed the Irish on the field…they were fast, tough, athletic, & scored like crazy….look at a nobody QB like Pike & how he turned out……PERHAPS Kelly is saying “I left an undefeated Cincy team that won the Big E twice for this??”… I don’t think he is…. but you’ve got to give him time
Kevin says:
I have to agree that my biggest fear is that he was not ready for the national stage, and especially not ready for ND. Cincy is a fine little mid-western outpost for the Big East, but I wondered all along if it should have been his last stopping off point before a major program like ND. I fear that I may have been right, but then, what other choices did we honestly have?
BMAX says:
The problem hasn’t been Kelly at all. He is a good coach in a tough position. If you have watched the games you have to admit that there have been very few and small if any coaching errors. Think back to last year when at least once a game you would have a HUGE WTF towards a CW decision. This isn’t the case now. Give the man a chance. Think future with this coach. He has proven himself everywhere he has gone. He will do the same here.
El Kabong says:
BMax, I don’t know what games you’ve been watching, but the last three have included huge WTF moments:
Michigan:
Running the punt team out at the last second
Eschewing the sure three points at the end of the game
Not using timeouts at the end of the fourth quarter
Michigan State:
Going for it on 4th and 1 at his own 45 with less than six minutes left in a tie game
Stanford:
Snapping the ball with 15+ seconds on the play clock when trying to run the clock out at the end of the first half
Those are the things that are disturbing, not the losses
BMAX says:
All good points, although I think they are all minor errors. The closest is the Stanford first half blunder. I think he was actually trying to get into fg position though. (Not run out the clock.)
patiently believing says:
I also found the Wildcat formation after the gift Q1 fumbled punt disturbing — I did a quick sideline check to see if CW had snuck back onto the sideline… Hopefully that was failed experiment that BK buries deep in the play book. Taking the ball out of Crist’s hands and the threat of the Floyd fade or Rudolph sneaking off the edge as a receiver hardly makes us a more menacing team in the red zone… When we start out-executing teams rather than trying to out-scheme them — we’ll have turned the corner and we’ll see some quality wins. I hope BK didn’t waste valuable practice time last week installing a Wildcat package, thinking it’s part of the solution…
mpsND'72 says:
Kelly did say, before the game, that this season was like “Chapter 1” and we should all keep reading, because we’re going to like the book/story/whatever.
In Lou Holtz’ first season, as Lou could only put it, he said something like: “I can promise you this: Notre Dame will win another national championship. I just can’t tell you when!” That was Lou’s message, which he delivered across the country. I heard it at the annual Rockne Awards Banquet in Chicago. A few others of you were also there, I’m sure. You heard it, too.
I’m not going to comment on yesterday’s game. But, I do want to say this:
It doesn’t make sense to compare Lou’s first season to Kelly’s first season. They’re not the same. Different coaches. Different pedigrees. Different philosophies. Different circumstances. Different teams. Different times. There is a different smell about them, so-to-speak. Not the same.
When Kelly completes his book, I hope that it’s a good read. But, I’m not going to be putting my advance order in any time soon.
Jimbo says:
Greay post. I agree 100%
NeverWrong says:
Agreed. But it might be a good idea for the team to watch film of all of the games in Lou’s first year. That team, without a winning record, had all-field awareness and full-time intensity. They were exciting, because they were so close to something amazing and always going in the right direction.
UmmWhat says:
That team Lou coached in his first season was fun to watch. First team to move into the Top 20 (it was only 20 at the time) after a season opening loss (last second to #2 ranked Michigan). I’m probably off a litte, but I think all of our losses were by a total of 14 or 15 points, so we were in every game. I thought this team might be close to that until Stanford…
mpsND'72 says:
Thanks, Jimbo. In another day or so, we can stop pinching our noses and get some fresh air again. Until next Saturday . . .
terry says:
“Stanford administered a systematic and thorough beating which served to underscore that fact that the road back to elite status will be longer and more uncertain than most believed.”
That sums it up – they were outplayed, outscored, outcoached and outfought.
If they DON’T take it out on Boston College next week – …..
Dave says:
Where in the heck is our running game? Where is Cierre Wood? Where is the bigger badder O line? Im just disgusted with the way we played.
Brian says:
As long as this coach continues to loose the time of possession battle and could care less about his defense then ND will continue to be the mediocre team they have been for 14 years and running.
BMAX says:
Were you watching the same game as the rest of us??? The defense did GREAT. The offense put them in ridiculous positions and they held tough for as long as they could. At some point you have to give them a breather. The offense didn’t. Who do you think would win a marathon??? The guy that runs it from the starting line or the guy that comes in halfway totally rested?
Teo says:
Great job? Did Stanford score 37 points? Come on. A great job is what Alabama does to teams week in and week out. You limit the yards and limit the scoring opportunities.
I thought Stanford’s defense looked great. We had some good plays, too, but we still give up too many yards. Christ on nearly every third down, Stanford converted. This is not a defensive team. If we scored some points, we’d still have trouble on defense.
BMAX says:
Alabama isn’t a good analogy because their offense doesn’t have trouble supporting the D. Name another team that you would consider GREAT on defense that their Offense leaves them on the field for 2/3 of a game. Eventually they will get tired.
coffeeNteafreak says:
Kelley does not really care about TOP….in Cincy he worked to score quickly & often…. but that is the key…you have to score…
…was it me, or did the Irish look like they were playing in super slow-motion??
Cutty Sark says:
“It is not clear yet as to whether Kelly’s vision for the Irish will include the hard-hitting identity that defined the program over the years”
Baloney, you and I weren’t watching the same defense yesterday. Manti Teo was a beast. I saw other guys making hits too. If the offense had been effective yesterday, our defense would have kept Stanford under 20, and won.
“While Kelly called for patience in his postgame remarks, there is a finite amount of this precious commodity in the world as the losses continue to mount.”
Baloney again. I’m so freaking tired of the new generation of whining ND fans. It’s not just the players who used to be tougher, it was the fans as well. Most ND fans today do not deserve the kind of program ND used to field.
In Harbaugh’s first year, Stanford looked like the Keystone cops. Pete Carroll was 6-6 in his first year at USC. Nick Saban was 7-6 in his first season at Alabama. ND has a first-year starting QB learning a new system. I have seen more improvement in the Irish in Kelly’s first four games than I saw in the last 8 years. If ND fans cannot see what is coming then, I repeat – they aren’t deserving of it.
Alzee says:
Couldn’t agree more about ND fans who cry all the time. Culture has changed, everyone wants to pop a new ND program into the microwave and have a national championship in 30 seconds. That being said, I was pretty upset about the game yesterday, still very hopeful and believe in BK but after Crist got rocked a few times it looked like he wasn’t comfortable at all. Hats off to Harbough and Stanford, that’s one tough-nosed team. They made so many mistakes yet they kept fighting, I hope/think that’s the direction we’re headed!
Also, hats off to our Defense, who wouldn’t played even better if they would’ve gotten off the field every now and then! I think Manti should give everyone a pep talk, he’s da man!
Alzee says:
err… “would’ve”
Patrick Mikes '79 says:
I don’t think my status as an ND fan (43 years and counting) and alumnus entitles me to anything.
BUT–who the **** are you to tell me and the other fans we don’t deserve a good team?
mpsND'72 says:
“Baloney again. I’m so freaking tired of the new generation of whining ND fans. It’s not just the players who used to be tougher, it was the fans as well. Most ND fans today do not deserve the kind of program ND used to field”
I say “Baloney!” to your “Baloney,” Cutty Sark. It’s not just the “new generation of whining ND fans.” It’s a whole lot of us “older generation” of seasoned alums and fans who are sick and tired of nothing but the trappings of what used to be real ND football. 1988 is 22 years ago.
Young people at Notre Dame today know nothing about real, legendary ND football except for what they read or from old video/film. Many think that the lore of “Rudy” represents real ND football legend. None have ever been a witness to, or have ever felt the excitement and passion of a Notre Dame championship season. To many of them, Joe Montana is ancient history, best known now as Nate’s dad. (And, if you don’t already know the answer, ask someone what Joe thinks about “Rudy.”)
Yeah, Cutty, I’m damn sick and tired of it. And so are a whole lot of my ND peers. And a whole lot of them make their feelings heard right here on ND Nation. (Some better than others. But, what the hell, we all weren’t English majors!)
So, “Baloney” to you, again, Cutty Sark. Take THAT!
And, finally, who among us has a crystal ball that allows us to see “what is coming?” If I had one of those, I’d spend the better part of my time picking stock winners!
Kelly’s “book,” as I mentioned in an earlier post, and by his own admission, is in Chapter 1. Nobody knows what is going to happen in that book. Make no mistake, I hope that its a master work! The best damn book ever written. We’ll see. But in the meantime, there’s a whole lot of people who have a very long-standing, vested interest in Notre Dame and Notre Dame football. And there’s a whole lot of people who are just sick and tired of the stink.
I’m done here. Have nice day!
borromini says:
I’m in agreement with this post. This absurd notion that patience is a precious commodity assumes that it’s okay to lump the Weis years with Kelly’s so that the coaching and system changes don’t really count…just the won/lost record.
Bishop J says:
I total agree, we have to be patient, I would rather have this year as a building year then start off fast like Charlie and Tyrone did and ended up with nothing. What up with the fans. They are super dead when things go bad. I thinks the fans who attend the games need to amp it up a whole lot. I which they could see me at home I am super hyped. Come ND fans who attended the games i need you to hype it up.
Cutty Sark says:
Bishop J, we need you in the stadium. Have you been to an ND football game?
Jim says:
Some things never change , the ‘3rd and longs’ cannot be stopped by ‘D’ , and the 3rd and short , and
4th and shorts , cannot be converted by ‘O’ .. Excellent recruiting going back several years , i.e., the
talent is there .. When will this ever end ?? Or will it ?? I am perplexed !! BK known for his offense –
can’t get a TD until …… Stanford is good , but can’t even get a 1 ST DOWN when necessary .. Your
point on the “one-dimensional” is spot on !! But BK assured us that wouldn’t be the case .. Like
Charlie assured us we would play ‘ smash mouth’ football .. Never happens .. Bottom line – how/why
does all this talent go to waste every year ?? WILL IT EVER CHANGE ?? ??
Irish fan says:
It wasn’t that close in the first half. Stanford man handled ND at the LOS on both sides of the ball.
Clearly Stanford is the best team we’ve faced, but they’re not that good. We’ve got a long way to go.
ODog says:
Don’t look now, but Stanford’s in the top 10.
coffeeNteafreak says:
what do you mean, ‘they’re not that good’….. they looked pretty good to me & the polls are showing that
Slicer says:
Good analysis once again. I was at the game on Saturday and it was dismal. The crowd was out of it by the end of the 1st quarter. Mistakes and inneffectiveness on the field matched with a couple questionable coaching calls makes for a tough game to sit through. I keep trying to remind myself that Holtz struggled in his first season but it doesn’t take much of the sting away from these 3 losses. I hope Kelly figures something out soon. Go Irish!
Ed says:
“there is a finite amount of this precious commodity in the world as the losses continue to mount.”
So what. As I said last week, this guy is going to be here for the long haul…and Irish fans had best get over this expectation that things will suddenly turn around.
That being said, this weeks game was a terrible game. While the defense played very well, the offense was dead in the water thanks to a dreadful combination of poor execution and poor coaching. I was, like many ND fans, very disappointed with their performance and the performance of Brian Kelly.
However, as this program progresses there are certain to be steps backwards. With the exception of the running game (which Kelly will focus on), I think we’re still moving in the right direction.
So take a deep breath and accept the fact that this year will have its high notes…and its low notes.
DB says:
The game is too fast for Dayne right now. He makes the wrong choice on his passes continually. I am hoping that will improve, but I just have not seen it, yet. ND probably needs a few “easy” teams to go against for Dayne to learn. Once Dayne starts improving his reads (and he misses WAY open receivers on a REGULAR basis), I think you will start seeing ND play well. Ideally, they will score a TD on their first possession, they will 3-and-out the rival O on the next possession and score a TD on their 2nd possession. This team is not that far away from that, and it all starts with Dayne making the right passes. Once we are up 14-0 to start games, I think you will see a reduction in the 3 and outs and TOP favoring the opposition. Again, this might be idealistic, but it is the goal and we are only as far away from it as Dayne is from making the right reads. I do believe this team has the chance to be scary, but the game needs to slow down for Dayne, first. 3 ranked opponents in a row does not make for an easy learning experience.
Brian says:
I thought this was going to be a rebuilding year. Now I think of it as an “extreme makeover” year. Which is fine. But let’s face it: We are going to be lucky to go 5-7 and 4-8 is a distinct possibility.
Terry says:
Notre Dame has become the Vanderbilt of the North. What an absolute disgrace of a performance.
Jimbo says:
Very well put. Academics? Yes. Football? No way.
Curiousjames says:
Please stop the comparisons to Saban, Carroll and Holtz. Each of those coaches had a signature win in their first season. For me it all comes to how we play against USC. If ND gets blown out, time to settle in for a long, losing tenure.
In the meantime I think everyone in ND nation should relax, enjoy their Saturdays. Kelly needs time. I have more hope with Kelly than any of the other recent ND coaches because he has shown success on the college level. Unfortunately, he is dealing with a fight against a culture of losing and a culture of entitlement (what other team has their own national broadcast channel).
However, that being said, this team looks pretty sad and I do hope they figure out how to compete and win. Most troubling yesterday is the team was pushed around. Where is that tenacity that defines winning programs? I hope they find it. In the meantime I am going to start enjoying my Saturdays by not watching.
zeke1883 says:
Still do not understand why he doesn’t use Robert Hughes. Did you see the way he was running there at the end of the game? Why not put him in before the end of the half…. he just might have been able to break thru the line to at least get a first down and run out the clock. You gotta figure he is going to be more motivated than anyone else because of the time he is spending on the bench. Certainly he can block better than Cierre Wood for cryin out loud. Sure wish Kelly would give him a chance when the game matters. Just do not understand it. Makes me wonder if he will even get to play in the home finale.
aov says:
I wonder why he does not use Robert Hughes also. As one person posted above Cincy is not ND. They should have hired Harbaugh when they had the chance. ND has been two years away for the last 15 years.
Mike says:
I agree that Harbaugh’s style is very appealing. The biggest problem with hiring him would be if and when the Michigan job would open up. I think he would leave us in a second to have the opporunity to coach at his alma mater.
coffeeNteafreak says:
you guys are killing me witht he ‘Cincy’ is no ND references…. Cincy won their division title 2 years in a row, went undefeated, & was even getting consideration for a possible title game last year. BK has 2 championships under him…..I hate to tell everyone this but the Cincy teams of the last 2 years would have probably WIPED ND off the field with their quickness & attack. BK did that with NO talent…let’s give him time, let him get the recruits that he wants (NOBODY is even mentioning that on this post)……he has a winning tradition, let’s not write him off in 3 games… ..I am soooo glad that ND did NOT hire Harbaugh who played for Michigan…are you kidding me
El Kabong says:
You miss the point of the “Cincy is no ND” reference. Cincy is no ND because (a) tens of thousands of people actually care how the team plays, (b) it isn’t enough to win, you have to win championships, (c) ND’s schedule, unlike Cincy’s, has few gimmes, and (d) everyone on ND’s schedule gives ND their best performance, while very few have Cincinnati circled on their calendar.
Winning the Big East isn’t very impressive, and Kelly’s teams looked unimpressive in a lot of games against the BE’s best.
LetsGoND says:
Good points Kabong, regarding Cincy.
IrishMac says:
Agreed. Need to see a lot more of Robert Hughes. Give him the ball!!!
R Irish says:
I have become Bi-polar watching Notre Dame try to play the game of football. One week their defense stinks followed by the next week when their offense stinks. Kelly said it right back during Spring practice when he said “We stink.” Now I say “You still stink!”
Mike says:
This loss does have a very familiar feel to it. I feel more disconnected from this football team every year because they don’t remotely look like the one time powerhouse they used to be. I hate to say it but I saw very little passion yesterday from our team and our fans in attendance. Again, this has a feel that is not uncommon at this point.
I’m yet another in a long line of fans who aren’t thrilled about Kelly’s quick-strike, pass happy spread. I happen to be a football fan that does believe time of possession is an important stat. I long for the days of an ND team that lines up and beats their opponent along the lines of scrimmage. Those days might be gone for good. I hope not but that’s the way things have been looking for years.
Kelly said this spring that he was going to “put the fight back into the Fighting Irish”. I certainly saw little “fight” yesterday – I did see a team that is emotionally and physically beaten though.
Jeff Z says:
BK will get this team where they need to be over the next couple years. People keep saying ND is not Cincy. Yes it isn’t but Cincy almost beat a top 10 team last night and ND was run off the filed by a top 20 team. Cincy beat Pitt, BC and UConn last year, ND did not. BK made Cincy a very good football team and he will make ND a very good football team. Yes BK inherited some great football players but they have spent the last 3 years losing. You can’t expect a group of junior’s, seniors and 5th years to just know how to win all of a sudden. They need to gain confidence and improve and their schedule has not allowed that to happen. Once they play a couple easy games, they will begin to look like a BK team. Just have patience and you will be very happy. Believe me, Cincy would not be 1-3 against the same teams ND just played. If you don’t believe me, watch them play a game or two.
coffeeNteafreak says:
very well put Jeff Z
Chucket says:
It is certainly disappointing! The Stanford Cardinal had a losing season when Harbaugh came in, but they are very good now. It takes several tries to prime the pump, so to speak, until the results start coming. I sense that we will be priming the pump for three years to see results.
We are clearly over our heads in Offense…and, is the non-concussion of Dayne Crist as candid as all that…is he in a dangerous situation? The Defense is starting to show results, if only from the outstanding effort of a few individuals.
Special teams have been especially disappointing. The offensive line is still offensive. And I am afraid about the health of the unrelenting exploitation of Armando Allen …no substitutes at running back is a concern.
It seems that three years ought to be allowed before deciding on de-emphasis, and joining the Ivy League afterwards.
Robert says:
Your statement that “hopefully he has learned from his predecessor that a finesse style that is heavily reliant on the passing game is a risky proposition” is nonsense which manifests your ill-informed, perplexing bias against Brian Kelly and your hopelessly-mistaken belief that a potent passing team is merely some “finesse” team that can’t win. One of the most famous passing/”finesse” teams was Joe Montana’s 49ers, and they seemed to do just fine. The fact is that our o-line is not that good for whatever reason — with the passing or running game — and it really hasn’t been all year (which was evident, among other times, in the Michigan game where it could not help out our inexperienced, back-up QB with decent pass-protection or by establishing a decent running attack against a bad defense). That has nothing to do with the style of play; again, the 49ers were a great passing team, but they blocked well for their RBs when asked to do so.
If there is a place to criticize a “finesse” style that is hurting ND it is with our o-line’s failure to man-up and protect our QB (by any means necessary) and the defensive line’s apparent aversion to hitting the other team’s QB — unlike Stanford which took plenty of free, cheap shots at Dayne yesterday. That needs to stop — immediately. We need to protect our QB and let the other team’s QB worry when he drops back to throw. When we start doing that, everything else will then fall into place. Go ND!!
St. Joe Joe says:
The biggest thing I saw, in my mind, was the lack of a pass rush by ND. They didn’t have one in their other games either. It seemed like Stanford got two guys around the ends many times untouched. I hope Kelly fixes it because there’s no sense in yelling at Crist for getting sacked. Protect your quarterback at all times. He did adjust in the second half but too late. Christ was already pretty shook up. Hell, anybody would be after getting hit like that that many times.
Whitecoat says:
We all saw the same game. The coaches were totally unprepared for Stanford, and the team showed it best. Commentators remarked on TV about confusion on both offense and defense, and coaches had no adjustments at half time. Kelly has not shown the coaching skills on offense that he did at Cincy, and in fact appears overly cautious and and timid in his play calls. Still a work in process. But it’s not the end of the world yet. Before we get too critical, let’s wait until game 8.
Bern says:
Kelly needs more time and they have played a tough scheldule compared to most teams. Having said that – their offensive line play was the biggest reason for the poor play the last three years and it is still the same. I do not understand how they can be soo poor. How ofter have you seen a big third or fourth down and one and the running back gets hit in the backfield. How about QB pressure with three guys rushing? I just don’t understand why!
GWL says:
How about Hughes….anybody besides me think it’s time to turn him lose? It was satisfying to see Goodman in there yesterday as well. Also, anybody who wants to compare Holtz to BK doesn’t know Holz’s past. He was a very accomplished coach by the time he came to ND. His five yrs in the SEC with Arkansas was far more than anything BK has done. But having said that, BK as I see it, just doesn’t have the horses!
waydomer says:
Hey GWL, what don’t you learn what you are talking about before spouting off on a board and showing your ignorance. Arkansas was not in the SEC when Lou coached, they were in the now defucnt Southwest Conference.
Greenman says:
Lou coached Arkansas when they were in the Southwest Conference (Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, Rice, Baylor, TCU, SMU). Love Lou and know he can coach in the SEC (e.g., South Carolina).
Trevor says:
These are dark times the last 3 years have been very tough to watch this group needs to learn how to finish games and stop killing themselves there 3rd down D!!!! is so bad have to get off the field. These guys have to learn on the job how to win,the coaches cant do it for them. I am a huge ND Fan! the season isnt quite over yet big hole to get out of though hope they can improve and build off it .
budislov says:
I keep asking myself over and over again, if watching Notre Dame Football will every be fun again.
I understand the players are learning a new offensive system but certain aspects of Kelly are very troubling to me. Personally I feel that several players such as Michael Floyd have regressed. I especially don’t like Kelly’s spin on the matter saying that he didn’t think Floyd was very good when he first watched Floyd play. So far the on-field performance hasn’t proven that Kelly’s system is better at player development.
In addition to this, Weis seemed to understand that you need to be able to run the ball in order to win because he loaded up on running backs the past few of years. It’s unfortunate that Kelly doesn’t seem to know what to do with them.
We will know next year if Kelly is a good developer of quarterbacks. Personally, I have my doubts.
I have been impressed overall with the defence. They are the one part of the team that seems to be playing inspired football. They tackle better and hit harder which is nice to see. Yesterday, Teo stood up and played like a man. It’s unfortunate that the defence has not received any help from the offence and special teams.
It pains me to say that as time progresses, Notre Dame Football has gradually become a culture of mediocrity and more specifically a culture of loosing. Perhaps this is because the younger generation doesn’t know any better. My own children for example are too young to know the feeling of seeing Holtz lead a team of football players on the field.
What I do know is that it’s going to take an extraordinary coach to break the cycle and set things right. Perhaps I supported Weis so much because his rhetoric sounded so “right.” He had after all had the experience of seeing a championship winning program and coach during his student days. On the other hand, Kelly’s rhetoric sounds so “wrong.”
I hope Brian Kelly can stand up and become the extraordinary coach we are all hoping he will be. If he can’t then it will be another five years of mediocrity.
It has been a long time since I have truly looked forward to a Saturday of Notre Dame Football. Will watching Notre Dame Football ever be fun again?
patience says:
I think I share everyone’s disappointment with the results thus far. There have certainly been somethings that look encouraging and somethings that are concerning.
I think we’ll have a very good insight into BK’s capabilities at the end of the season. Record aside, if this team is far more complete at the end of the season then it is now – then I think BK might be more capable then the results on the field now indicate. I think BC and Pitt are winnable games and if BK kick starts some momentum and takes two straight wins into Western Michigan … I’d be willing to give him a small vote of confidence.
aov says:
From watching BK coach thus far I am unimpressed! He had said he was going to bring discipline back well take a look at this team. Where is the discipline? even missing in little things like seeing player show boat after catching a pass while down 21 pts or making a first down while down 14pts. Did any one see the back up QBs on TV with their hats on backwards they looked like a bunch of puncks this would never have happend with Lou or even Charlie. Saying that all the people saying give him time he does not have his players yet! Come on get real! he has been out coached the last three games in row and the type of player he needs to work his system will never make it into ND. It is hard to look back and so what if or should or could of, but I kind of think Charlie would be 3 and 1 this year.
jeff says:
Charlie 3-1? Are you kidding? I saw him lose these kinds of games consistently for the last three years. He was TERRIBLE on halftime adjustments, his teams always lost the third quarter and most of the fourth quarters. They would have never came back to take the lead against Michigan or Michigan State, and Stanford would have rolled them anyway. By the way, these are Charlie’s players BK is losing with.
aov says:
No, I am not kidding. Jimmy and Tate would still be here. Right now I would take Charlie over BK any day. To say BK does not have talent is nuts he will never have this talent again.
El Kabong says:
Clausen and Tate’s departure for the NFL was decided upon before last season. So no, they would not still be here. While BK’s tenure has left something to be desired so far, to wish for a return to Weis is nonsensical. He was worse.
aov says:
BK will be alot worse the Charlie. Charlie was the one who told Jimmy and Tate to leave, I think your worng saying they dicided before last season. That is not correct.
El Kabong says:
It is absolutely correct, and I have it from the horse’s mouthes, so to speak.
LetsGoND says:
Fine. You heard they decided to leave a long time ago.
But, Charlie would’ve known that he’d be in a tenuous spot without them. You’d have to presume Charlie would have made a serious attempt at retaining them for one final year.
—
Yes, Weis is probably worse than Kelly in a number of ways (offensively, so far, Weis looks a lot better)– and he should be worse. With absolutely no experience at being a college head coach prior to 2005. Compared to Kelly’s 19 years of experience.
Weis was in a deep hole the day he accepted the job.
R Irish says:
Sad to say but I only have past memories of the glory days in Notre Dame football and that shouldn’t be.
Fitz says:
At least if we wouldn’t have fired Weis we’d have Clausen and Tate back for their senior seasons! and would probably be at least 3-1…
jeff says:
Clausen and Tate were going to the NFL regardless if Weis was back.
LetsGoND says:
No, I wouldn’t be so sure. Weis is the reason those guys came to ND in the first place. He probably would have made a case for them to stay.
Good point Fitz.
ricky warner says:
I have been a subway ND fan since my grandfather used to take me to the kitchen table at his house where we listened to the Irish on radio and Paul Hornung was the QB.
I was a senior in high school the year Ara and the Irish with Coley O’Brien tied Michigan State with Bubba Smith 10-10 but went on to win the national title. I remember when Joe Montana was a pup and led us to a great comeback.
I reveled when Tony Rice led us to a national title. I screamed when a bogus clipping call versus Colorado negated a Rocket punt return. I loved Bettis and Brooks as Mr. Inside and Outside. I was happy about the team’s play, particularly that of junior quarterback Brady Quinn and junior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija and I expected things to get better,
For the first time in my life I now fear that the Irish may never return to glory in my lifetime. Yesterday , Stanford kicked our ass.
The last time I heard about Hornung , he was giving a speech at ND and his pants were falling down. How my past heroes have gone!
We have been through many coaches at South Bend since Holtz left and none have come close to living up to expectations. I feel sad and puzzled about the team I grew up loving!
John DeGrove says:
Weis is now 3-0 at Kansas City.
tommy09 says:
Cambresse, the pride of all Italians in NY, CT., and NJ, is showing us why he will be a future All-American and why he will be playing on Sundays. He reminds me of Brando in “On The Waterfront.”
jeff says:
Yeah, he looked good on the ground when Michigan State ran their fake field goal.
fanlogic says:
Did anyone notice that we not only have to battle the opposing team, but we have to deal with blind Pac 10 refs. The only criteria for being a Pac 10 ref is being legally blind. When the TV commentators are stunned by the replay ref’s calls and can’t logically figure out his thinking process, when the visual evidence appears clear-cut, then I think we are in trouble. I must say that the Big Ten ref’s cleaned up their act this year and seems to be doing a better job. Can’t ND do anything about the biased calls from the Pac 10?
Jim Prisby says:
I’m really tired of everyone giving this god-awful defense a free pass. 100 points over the last three games. Standford was 11-15 on third down conversions… which is pathetic. For the most part, Andrew Luck basically had all day to throw. We rarely blitz, and when we do, we do it poorly. We never overload a zone and make a QB uncomfortable. I don’t care if we drop 8, a good QB with all day to throw will find an ioen receiver. We rarely ever have our corners play bump and run and mess up timing routes. How about a corner blitz?! Last I checked Gary Gray is a pretty good cornerback! All we do is play soft cover two and let the QB pick us apart. We may be in great physcal condition, and are much better tacklers but Diaco’s schemes are embarrassing. All the 4 and 5 star recruits and we have to play like a high school team. Bend but don’t break? We’ve given up more than 30 points for three straight games! I call that ‘broke’! ND is no place for a D coordinator to cut his teeth…
Jimbo says:
Jim- Great points which I agree totally. Something I mentioned to a ND fans before the season. Many ND fans got all over CW for hiring an inexperienced DCin Corwin Brown. Yet no one has said anything about the hirng and lack of experience of our current DC. I wonder why?
ODog says:
Personally, I loved the Corwin hire. I hated that CW didn’t give him a fair shake and changed the system and brought in a 4-3 guy, Tenuta.
LetsGoND says:
Good point ODog
domerInLonghornCountry'85'91 says:
There’s a radio guy named Jeff Ward here in Austin who’s very level-headed and has basically been saying over the years that ND’s time is over. He often says that football is at the core very simple, it’s your guys pushing the other guys. And you need fast, athletic guys to win week after week. Just look at the SEC. His point is that ND will never be able to compete for the attention of the talented 19 year-olds, in the era of wall-to-wall TV coverage where even Boise State has star potential.
As a proud and loyal Domer, I had long dismissed this analysis (somewhat head-in-the-sand like), but in recent years I have begun to wonder whether this is the new reality. What if it’s really true that the talent level at ND is simply inferior to that at schools like USC, OSU and Alabama? Are we deluding ourselves?
Jimbo says:
domerlc- Colin Cowheard of espn has a similar theory. My theory is the lack of talent especially on defense. Besides Teo’ how many ND starters on defense would start for SC, Texas, OU, OSU, LSU, Bama, Florida, etc? I find so many ND fans just refuse to believe the lack of talent on this team.
ODog says:
So if they lack that much talent, why is everyone crying about BK? Sounds like an impossible job.
domerInLonghornCountry'85'91 says:
What a coincidence. Driving in to work today, I heard Colin Cowherd talk about this exact issue. He sliced it a little thinner, by saying that defensive players are a different breed than offensive players, and that ND just doesn’t have the talent on defense. He also pointed out that we don’t recruit juco players. He used LSU as a comparison, and said, on offense ND looked similar, but that on defense they are a world apart.
BMAX says:
I think the number of recent top 10 recruiting classes goes against this theory.
Dave88 says:
I never expected miracles in Kelly’s first year but neither did I think they would be sitting at 1-3 after getting thumped by Stanford. ND got outcoached and outclassed against the Cardinal. I never would have predicted it but 4-8 or 5-7 is a real possibility. ND has too much talent on the roster for this.
Please stop rationalizing the disappointing start by comparing Kelly’s first 4 games with Lou Holtz’s inaugural season. Holtz’s 86′ squad faced several top 15 teams in their first 4-5 games and nearly beat all of them with the exception of a 27-10 loss at top 5 Alabama. ND under Kelly squeaks by unranked Purdue, loses to unranked Michigan, loses to unranked MSU and gets thrashed by #16 Stanford.
Kelly must incorporate a power running game as part of his spread offense. That or ND must return to the option oriented ground game similar to Holtz. Nebraska tried to change their culture from smash mouth to pass happy and failed. ND seems to be painfully slow learners. I just don’t think they’ll ever achieve a high level of success with a pass heavy spread offense. I’ll gladly eat my words but this early in Kelly’s tenure I haven’t seen anything to change my opinion. And to some of you it shouldn’t take 4 years to install an offense.
Peter (c/o 2000) says:
Dave, I’m sure you also didn’t expect UM, MSU, and Stanford to all be undefeated top-25 teams, either. No one’s saying that Kelly = Holtz. The point is that EVEN championship coaches need time and that you can’t judge anyone fairly in the first season.
Dave says:
Pete,
UM and MSU have had very weak schedules up to this point and you shouldn’t build them up until we see how they fare in Big 10 play. Last year both teams imploded in the Big 10 portion of their schedule. Stanford is the only team that seems to be the real deal and they could very well end up a top 5 team.
Michael Barron says:
Folks who say that there was a fire in the Irish in ’86 when Holtz coached in his first 5 games are not quite right. Game 4 was at ‘Bama and the Irish were crushed 28-10 by a good Bama team. Next week the Irish returned home and came out flat against a so-so Pitt team, losing 10-9 when Pitt converted a blocked punt into a TD late and then John Carney missed an FG as time was running out. We all felt the same way we do now. With an experienced coach and plenty of talent, how could we be so bad? Well we went 4-2 the rest of the way and then 8-4, 12-0, 12-1, 9-3, 10-3, 10-1-1, and 11-1 the next seven seasons. Keep the faith ND.
Michael Barron says:
I also note that the teams we have lost to so far are a combined 12-0. Stanford is much better than just top 20. They beat UCLA 35-0 in Pasadena; that’s right, the same UCLA that beat Texas at Texas 34-12.
Ray says:
If you’re forming conclusions about BK after just 4 games into his ND coaching career, please stop posting here because you’re embarrassing yourself. There’s a complete lack of talent on both sides of the ball for which we can thank Charlie Weis. We can also thank Weis for his inability to teach technique to our upperclassmen. Kelly’s challenge goes beyond implementing his system…it also includes reteaching football basics including blocking and tackling. If we win 6 games this year, it will be a minor miracle. If Weis was here, we wouldn’t win 2. Heck, he couldn’t beat Navy or UConn.
We can’t judge BK until he gets a chance to implement his system, with his players. See Michigan with Rich Rod and Harbaugh with Stanford. Change takes time…more than 4 games.
LetsGoND says:
What? ND has no talent on either side of the ball?
You have got to be kidding.
They have one of the best wide receiver and tight ends in the nation. Including a 5-star quarterback. Jones is very good too. Allen isn’t shabby.
And, I guess Teo, Moore, Slaughter, Blanton are all garbage players then too eh? Since they came from Weis. How incredibly ignorant.
Offensively,Weis didn’t teach anything to his players?
Weis’ offense would’ve had Stanford on the ropes on Saturday, with his vertical attack. Instead of this d1ink-and-dunk system; whatever this is we have now.
Listen, I understand you’re frustrated. But you’re throwing a lot of misinformation and nonsense out there because you’re upset. Relax. Get your head straight.
Ray says:
Winning football games starts in the trenches. How many of the names that you threw around play on the O or D-line? One? We CAN’T block OR tackle. That’s been the case for years now. When your QB is getting hit play after play and doesn’t have time to look downfield, the talent you have at WR or TE is irrelevant. THAT’S why BK was dinking and dunking. He didn’t want his QB to get killed.
I literally laughed out loud when you said we’d have more success against Stanford with Weis. Really? Because the last time Weis started an inexperienced 5-star QB, we were DEAD LAST in college football in offense on the way to a 3-win season. That’s right, 119 out of 119. Before you can create a vertical offense, you have to keep your QB vertical. That’s something I talked with Darius Walker about when I saw him in April after his presentation to the business school. Clearly, you like most ND fans on here, never played or coached football and don’t understand that success isn’t a summation of the total stars as determined by Rivals. It’s about landing players who fit a system and can execute.
BK will achieve success, but it will take time. We have a QB who has started 4 games, marginal talent on both lines, and we’re implementing a new system. This is a learning year. Just because we’re 1-3, the world isn’t coming to an end. BK remains on course.
ODog says:
Also contributing to the dinking and dunking was that Stanford was dropping 8 into coverage, which only makes the line play that much worse in allowing so much pressure with only 3 rushing. I’m not sure how much “vertical” opportunity would have presented itself even if Crist was able to stand up for more than 2 seconds (or 0.5 seconds if the refs continue to give the opposing team an advantage by allowing the defense to run offside unabated to the QB before the ball is snapped).
LetsGoND says:
Ray said, “literally laughed out loud when you said we’d have more success against Stanford with Weis. Really?”
—
Yes, really. That’s going by the premise Clausen and Tate would’ve stayed, if Charlie stayed. There’s a good chance they would’ve. Charlie is the reason many of these players even came to ND. They would’ve hung a lot more than 14 points on Stanford.
And, let go of 2007. Get over it.
Ray said, “THAT’S why BK was dinking and dunking. He didn’t want his QB to get killed.”
—
I understand that. In general though, over all of the games, the offense looks like a dink and dunk system. Floyd is underutilized. He actually gets hit with the deep ball (like he should) mostly when the team is losing or on the ropes. He’s an afterthought. Yes, I’m sure you’ll talk about his fumbles– so what? Throw him the ball. He’s too talented to be downgraded like this.
Yes, I understand Crist is an inexperienced QB too.
Ray said, “success isn’t a summation of the total stars as determined by Rivals. It’s about landing players who fit a system and can execute.”
—
Yes, but this doesn’t mean your top talent should fade into the background either, in favor of creating this “system”.
When there’s game changers on your team, use them to their full potential.
Qu1ps says:
People who compare Lou Holtz and his first season to every other ND coach that comes in for their first season, are comparing apples and oranges. When Holtz came in after the Faust years, the cupboard was bare and he went up against one of the toughest, if not the toughest, schedules in all of college football. Still, the Irish went 5-6 that season and were competitive in every game. When a top 10 opponent walked off the field that season against ND, they knew they were in a hell of a game. If there is one thing most people agree with is that Weis was able to recruit and, hence, supposedly Kelly was not left with nothing. Hell, Crist was supposed to be the third rated quarterback in all of football for his recruiting class. Let us all face facts. Notre Dame may be independent in name but they have become a Big East football program. They can probably beat average schools but, more than likely, they will have it handed to them by the national powers.
Danny Domer says:
Well, boys…..I’m afraid it’s over. Turn off the lights on your way out. Thanks for the memories Lou and Tony, it was fun then especially winning the NC in my senior year.
Watters says:
Very simple reason why ND loses games: the D can’t get off the field. This is why the O loses out on the TOP battle. It’s not the O’s fault. The reason they give up so many 3rd and long’s is because the are always playing a zone. They can’t play m/m defense because they need the db’s for run support.
Peter (c/o 2000) says:
For crying out loud, people. Was anybody expecting a perfect record this season? I’m sure we weren’t planning o being 1-3 in the first four games, but no one expected UM, MSU, and Stanford to all be undefeated, either. Crist is inexperienced, Kelly’s in his first year, and we have the 14th most difficult schedule so far out of 245 teams in the Sagarin ratings.
Yes, it would be nice to see more wins now. Everybody KNOWS the first half of the season is the most difficult, though, and that we’re not yet near being a top-25 team. Relax, quit boo-hooing and making us look like whiners to everyone else, and get a little perspective. BK’s got a great recruiting class coming in and positive changes are being made. I was never in the “Kelly’s our savior” camp, but I’m not going to throw him under the bus for losses to three undefeated, top-25 programs.
Supertron says:
Just say this outloud:” Notre Dame got beat by Stanford 37-14″….do you hear how rediculous that sounds? Dont try to tell yourself that Stanford has more talent….they dont and its not close. In my opinion we are right where we were 5 yrs. ago, we have a completely offensive minded head coach who doesnt belive in the running game or physical play, we have a defensive coordinator in way, way over his head, and we still have academic constraints that will not allow us to compete at the highest level.
Oh well…its just another 5 years of mediocrity!!!! Anybody feel the sarcasm there?
Dave says:
Uh, I think Stanford has has even greater academic restraints than ND, so there’s no excuses.
Jim Prisby says:
Peter, the only issue I have with your post is about BK’s incoming recruiting class. We’ve had solid recruiting classes for a few years now (at least based on media rankings). It was one of the things I think Weis did very well. We HAVE talent. It just has to be molded properly. Weis couldn’t develop players and apparently couldn’t teach fundamentals. BK is appears very good on player development. I certainly have no issues with their fundamentals, strength and conditioning. I have had more issues with the defensive schemes and a few game day coaching decisions. Those are readily apparent and easy to question / criticize. They have nothing to do with recruiting. Not running out the clock to end the first half was a mistake. Playing soft defense sends mixed messages to the players. “We want you to be tough, and play with a fighters attitude, but do it in a bend, don’t break scheme” is contrarian. That’s all coaching. If you want them to fight, put them in a system that allows them to fight and attack. If you lose the game due to a big play or two, but you do it with some fight, then I think you are still sending the proper message to the team. Plus, with that game plan, I think you make more big plays than you give up. How good would Luck have been if had been put on his ass a few more times early on? That gets a team fired up to play. Teo clearly attacks and played with a chip on his shoulder. How about installing a defense that allows all eleven players to play with the same chip? It would certainly install the confidence that this defense lacks. Of course the current scheme screams lack of confidence from the coaches. They clearly don’t trust the players to play like a top ten defense. They players must know it based on the game plan. Ever watch Alabama play D? They challenge everything. BTW, we have just as many 4 and 5 star recruits and Alabama but we play like we have to restock the cupboard…
While I hope for the best, and certainly want to give BK the benefit of the doubt this early in his ND coaching career, I see too many coaching decisions that resemble the last regime.
jeff says:
ND doesn’t have as many 4-5 star recruits as Alabama.
Jim Prisby says:
For some reason my intial response didn’t post…
Jeff, thanks for the comment. While we many not have exactly the same number of 4 and 5 star recruits as Alabama, we are, for all intensive purposes, very very close. Per Rivals.com, since 2007 Alabama has 8 and 56 respectively. ND has 4 and 47. Considering Alabama had 28 recruits in 2008 and two didn’t qualify academcially (big suprise) let’s subrtract those two and add it up. ‘Bama 62, Irish 51. I’d say that is pretty damn close! At a minimum, our defense should be top 30 with this level of talent!
Now, if you really want to get fired up about our defense, and you want to put those numbers in perspective, consider this! According to the NCAA’s site for 2010 statistics (http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2010&rpt=IA_teamtotdef&site=org&div=IA&dest=O) Iowa currently has the nations No.1 ranked Defense. Do you know what they have as far as recruiting? Ready? ZERO 5-star recruits and ONLY 11 4-stars over that same period! If our kids are in better condition, have better fundamentals and they have ‘Alabama-like’ talent then the problem is one of two things; the scheme is bad OR the players are not executing the scheme properly. I will acknowledge that the players are playing in a new scheme and mistakes will be made, however the overall cover-2, bend-but-don’t-break scheme currently being deployed, doesn’t utillize the talent we have on the roster. The idea that we do not have team speed is a misnomer. We have it. It’s there. We don’t put out players in the best postion to use it! Diaco has to make a choice. If players are going to make mistakes in a new scheme, do you use the current system OR do you allow them to use their talents and be more aggressive. Clearly the current system isn’t working. At 30 plus points a game what do we have to lose? Let’s see if this coaching staff decides to put their ‘talent’ in an aggressive posture and let them play. Shouldn’t aggressive hard-nosed defense, like the kind played by national championship teams, be our ultimate goal? We should start playing that type of defense NOW and let the kids learn. I would accept mistakes as part of that learning curve. It would also show potential defensive recruits that we mean business and are not going to play passive D. “Hey son, come to ND and you can play soft zone…” There is so much to be gained here and we are missing the boat. If we hope to change the ‘losing attitude’ associated with our program we need to let the players utilize their talent.
I could go on all day! Back to work….
DrNick says:
@Dave88: “I never would have predicted it but 4-8 or 5-7 is a real possibility.”
I concur. At this point I would predict our expected number of wins using the following probabilities:
Should win: Western Michigan, Tulsa, Army
Toss Ups: BC, Pitt, Navy
Little chance of winning: Utah, USC
winning two of the toss up matches would most likely guarantee a 5-7 mark; therefore, BC is a “must win” game.
Teo says:
I just have a few points and then back to work. The season is a work in progress:
1.) On defense, I thought we tackled reasonably well in the first half, though we gave up some big third down conversions. Luck is a real quarterback and someone who is well protected. In the second half, we were worn down by Stanford’s offense. And, we made some very bad mistakes on defense. Walls had a missed tackle in a key third down situation and it led to a conversion. Time and again, the Irish didn’t get close to Luck, which allowed him to pick apart the defense.
2.) On offense, I thought we stunk. Really. All around, I thought our offense played out of synch, trying to make big plays, little plays, any play. Crist was rushed often. The running game was non-existent. Between the trenches, we looked weak when we needed to be strong. And, most unfortunately, we self-destructed. When we had opportunities to score– say early in the game — we settled for field goals. Crist on a designed rollout, by the way, is an awful site. Never. But, the running game looked uneven and confused and ineffective.
3. Special teams was okay, I suppose. We covered fairly well. We kicked field goals. The trouble is that Stanford never really punted.
Going forward, yes we have to do that, we need to work on more fundamental blocking up front. It’s complicated — but simple. If we block, we create holes for guys to run through or for quarterbacks to pass through. If you don’t block, you run for your life all day. We have the players to do it. We just have to do it.
Looking ahead, I have no idea how things will go. I mean, BC doesn’t look that good but we’re bad right now. That was the worst we’ve played in awhile. So, BC could stick it to us. Of course, I think Stanford is a machine right now and I think they played well on a day we played very poorly and the result was, well, typical. But, beating BC is going to be tough. Let’s get there and then see where we are. I’m going to stop worrying about how many wins we’ll have and start worrying about defeating our next opponent. It’ll let me sleep better.
MJ says:
It is not soon to draw conclusions about Kelly’s coaching. It is obvious from the first 4 games that he is not as experienced as he thinks for coaching big time college football. Letting Purdue get back into the game. Not going for a field goal at the end of the first half in the Michigan game. Going on 4th and 2 at ND’s 42 yard line against MI State. Going on 4th and 1 at the 49 against Stanford. The ND season officially ended at 14:36 to go in the 4th quarter against Stanford when Kelly pulled that bone head play when only down by 13 points. Stanford took 6 miniutes off the clock to score, and the stands began to empty. That decision was a game-changer. You could see it in the body language and attitude of the players after going on 4th and 1 and failing, again.
Kelly should take a look around ND stadium. Coaches do not win national championships and ND does not put up statues to coaches who go for a first down on 4th and 1 in their own territory. He might have gotten away with that against the cupcakes in the Big East, but the competition ND plays makes you pay for that type of coaching with a loss. Punt the football, gain field advantage.
I am willing to give Coach Kelly some slack in that he does not have an experienced quarterback and has no backups. You can see that the team is in shape, is getting good nutrition, has been taught how to block and tackle. But that is undone by poor coaching decisions at critical times in the game. That’s his doing and cannot be blamed on the lack of experienced players.
Kelly should look at how Holtz coached. It was boring, but effective. Ara won a national championship by going for a tie. Kelly thinks he is being aggressive by going for it on 4th and 1 in his own territory, but he is being reckless with the team’s phsyche and the fans’ patience.
Coach Kelly certainly should be looking at game film list–of his coaching. He needs to change his approach and fast before he loses both his team and his supporters.
Jim Prisby says:
AMEN! You hit it and I agree completely. I think you can easily question key coaching decisions in all three loses as bad choices. This is NOT something I expected from BK. In fact, I though that that hiring of BK was supposed to put all of those knucklehead CW decisions behind us! Time will tell….
NJ Irish says:
Hello fellow Irish fans. Guys new coach, new quarterback….. give it some time. You wanted Coach Kelly and be done in 6 months, if it was that easy we would have been looking at some more championship rings. Patience……
Mark T says:
Bk Needs to understand that things at ND are different than at Cincy. With the schedule Nd plays every year we have to have some kind of a running attack and use your running backs. When you have talent at the position play them otherwise it will be hard to recruit people for that position down the road. I don’t know why BK is not playing Hughes more but I think he would be a better blocker than Wood at this point and more powerful in the red zone or when we need a yard for the 1st down. I would love to see ND go back to the days of Holtz when our QBs were dual threat ones and kept defenses confused.
Gordon H says:
You problem with the Irish will not be corrected until Kelly’s first true recruiting class. You can teach players to hit hard and you can teach them to tackle. But would good is it if you can not catch the people you are trying to hit hard and tackle. The lack of speed on both the sides of the ball has plagued the team for a quarter of a century. You can not teach speed you can only recruit it and teach the rest to intelligent players.
JF DOUGHERTY says:
SINCE BOB DAVIE FIRED JOE MOORETHE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED
1 WHY HAS THE NOTRE DAME OFFENSIVE LINE BEEN INCAPABLE OF RUN OR PASS BLOCKING?DO YOU BELIEVE KELLYSHOULD RESIGN AFTER THE ANNUAL USC BLOWOUT?
2 WHY HAS THE NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE LINE BEEN INCAPABLE OF ANYTHING -ESPECIALLY STUFFING THE RUN OR TAKING DOWN QBS IN REPEATED SACKS?
3 HOW MANY OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE COORDINATORS HAVE BEEN IN AND OUT?
4 HOW MUCH HAS BEEN PAID TO THOSE HEAD COACHES DAVIE WILLINGHAM WEIS AND NOW KELLY?
DT80 says:
I don’t see enough credit being given to Stanford in the responses. This was not Syracuse or Navy. Good teams make OK teams (like ND) look bad. I suspect two weeks from now Stanford will be 5-0 and ranked in the top five nationally.
The rest of our schedule is more manageable, though the next two weeks will test the character of the team. The measure of success for this team should not be how they start the season but how they finish. 7-8 wins is still achievable, which is where most of the reasonable prognosticators had us this year. We need more than a month to tell if we are headed in the right direction.
burrotrailalum says:
Yes, Stanford is a good team – just like UM & MSU. Certainly not an excuse for a ugly drubbing. And not with Home field advantage. Somewhere about is a pile of starch because it was certainly gone out of our team Saturday.
Sorry, PR guys and Coach Kelly, but Crist is NOT the ONE! He really hasn’t shown much so far, but against Stanford was just a waste of calories. Montana would have had the yardage on 2nd down, let alone 3rd & 4th. I don’t know what Nate was doing with his passing a week ago. But, his dad was in the stands and I’m sure whatever has been corrected. He was a standup QB in the B/G game. Kelly should be starting him.
Defense is running flat-footed – still! After how bad that was last year, I thought Kelly’s D coaches would have put a stop to that??? Think “Cats”, lads. Cheetahs and Leopards are fast because they run on the balls and toes of their paws, not on their heels.
The vaunted Kelly offense became truly 1-Dimensional against Stanford.