Notes from the Geetar — The Serenity of Certainty

Posted on by Mike Coffey
el kabong with geetar

I love being certain. Certainty is a warm comforter on a cold snowy day. Certainty is the 18-year-old Jameson as it trickles down your throat. To quote Frau Blucher, it reaches the soul when words are useless.

(Although that was not my cigar smouldering in the ashtray)

Everybody likes to know where they stand. Everyone is better at making decisions when all the variables are known. The more educated the guess is, the less of a guess you’re making.

And that’s what we’ve been doing with Notre Dame football in 2019 — guessing.

What kind of a program are we looking at here? Is it the team that tip-toed through a lesser-than-advertised schedule in 2018, only to be completely depantsed in Dallas by Clemson? Is it a team that had advanced and grown but happened to run into an incredibly-talented team, as evidenced by the equal beat-down the Tigers gave the Crimson Tide?

Where is this program on the growth scale, anyway? Are we truly a program an observer can credibly claim is not “different in terms of strength or conditioning or preparedness” from the Clemsons of the sport today?

We still don’t know, because games at Louisville and against New Mexico haven’t given us a lot to go on. Why haven’t they? Because of the big matzo ball sitting there in Game Three. And unlike the Magic 8 version, this one will give us the certainty we crave.

Like a massive planet, everything so far this season has been distorted by the gravity of this week’s game in Athens. According to some folks, not wanting the Georgia Bulldogs to get anything on film can explain lots of things. Offense looks really vanilla? Can’t give Dan Lanning anything to work with before next week, man. Haven’t heard Julian Okwara’s and Khalid Kareem’s names much so far? You will when Jim Coley’s unprepared for the blitzes!

Personally, I think that’s a complete pantload. I’m worried we’re two years away from Harry Hiestand’s coaching and it’s starting to show on the OL. I’m concerned the guys in the center on defense are having to grow up a lot faster than any of us would like and teams are gambling on double-teaming the established perimeter.

Will it be a dream or a dud?

But that’s the beauty of certainty. One week from now, we’ll all have it. We’ll know exactly where we are. There’s no denying Georgia is a the high-quality program we all think ND used to be and some of us think ND can be again with the correct stewardship. We’ll see exactly how we measure up on that scale.

My heart really wants the dream. My head says it’ll be the dud.

I guess we’ll see.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

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13 thoughts on “Notes from the Geetar — The Serenity of Certainty”

  1. Jake in Cali says:

    Great article!!!

    Irish do not have enough team speed to compete with Georgia.. The Bulldogs have way
    too many athletes and their defense will overwhelm are soft OL… Kirby Smart will outcoach
    BK (what a surprise, right?)…

    Book not ready for primetime.. And our LB will run over all night!!!

    I feel a repeat of the Miami game from 2017 is our certainty!!

  2. Farsdahl says:

    Uncertainty is the new taqueria that opened down the street. It’s the “fulfilled by Amazon” note on the off-label water filters you just bought. It’s the barber you go to the first time when Tony retires after 60 years of cutting your hair, and your dad’s and grandpa’s. It’s that fishing spot just around the bend in the creek that you’ve always wanted to try but never wanted to wade that deep into the river to get to. It’s what makes life Interesting, in every sense of the word.

    Yep, we’re probably in for it; we got too many weaknesses against the run to keep it close. But that’s why we play the game. I don’t want to be an Alabama fan, for MANY MANY MANY reasons, but high on the list is the fact that the only thing we have to look forward to is more of the same, or the long slide down the hill. Embrace the uncertainty, knowing you will almost certainly fail, but also knowing that victory will be so, so much sweeter for it.

    • PC says:

      I love everything you said here except that Bama is winning so much that it’s too predictable therefore boring. After 3 decades of mediocrity, I would like some boring old domination!

  3. PC says:

    I am certain of a few things- we won’t win the battle in the trenches and we don’t have the better QB. After that, you’re overthinking this. The top of the SEC and Clemson win because they absolutely dominate on both lines. This game will be close for a bit because Georgia has a long history of struggling in these kinds of games but eventually the lines will make the difference. The 14 point line seems spot on to me.

    • Gerry says:

      I don’t think the 14 point spread is spot on. This will be another debacle like Miami two years ago and our Irish will lose by at least 3 touchdowns. I hope I’m wrong and the Irish play them close, but I’ve seen this story before, and it’s ALWAYS a heartbreaker. I’m prepared for the worst, but hoping and praying for the best. Hey, miracles do happen, right?

  4. Terry says:

    I don’t see us beating Georgia. On the other hand (and while perhaps this is looking a bit too far ahead), I don’t see us losing another game this year.

    There’s no doubt that ND football has taken a step forward in the last three seasons. But we’re still not at that truly elite level where we want to be. So close and yet so far.

    • mike housley says:

      Let’s have at least one positive reply! Our team speed has never been better. Stop using that old cliche. Fromm is not used to being harassed, let’s see what happens if he gets whacked a couple of times. Swift is very good, no doubt, but their receivers are new/mediocre, so we should win some one on one battles with them. No doubt Book has to play better, but he came through last year in the clutch when he had to. I call it 31-28 or 27- 24 us.

      Have a little faith!

  5. Justin says:

    UGA has a top 5 rushing offense and we have a bottom 5 rushing defense. The offense was always going to be our only hope and with a less than full go #1TE, no #1RB, multiple WRs out due to injury and suspension, and what appears to be a regressing QB, who cares what Quinn is doing with the O Line. I’ll be there, but after being at both Clemson games, Florida State, Miami, and Bama I know what to expect.

  6. Brian says:

    I would not be surprised by anything. If ND can contain the run and pressure the QB, it will be a Dawg fight. If not, blowout city.

  7. Dick Tohlen says:

    Every Saturday I pray for the best outcome for Notre Dame; That the kids play hard, play clean, and no major or serious injuries for either team.
    That said, my memories are of Ara, Devine, and Holtz. When Lou left, or was forced out?, I speculated that ND Football would never be the same. I respect what Brian Kelly has done to turn the program around, and assume that it is not an easy job knowing that you are being measured by the aforementioned coaches. As a fan I am very careful to criticize as I do not walk in Coach Kelly’s shoes. However, in my humble and worthless opinion I have not seen the intensity, and hard nosed play of an Ara, Devine, or Holtz coached team.