Kevin Stepherson caught two second half touchdown passes that spelled the difference in a tight, hard-fought contest as Notre Dame held off Navy by 24-17 on Senior Day. Navy broke a 10-10 halftime tie with an eight minute scoring march at the outset of the third quarter, but the Irish responded with a few strong runs by Josh Adams that set up a 30-yard strike from Brandon Wimbush to Stepherson less than two minutes later. Following a missed field goal by the Midshipmen at the end of the period, Stepherson converted a third down on a screen pass and scored on another third down pass moments later to give Notre Dame a 24-17 lead. This proved to be the winning margin as the Irish moved to 9-2 on the season.
The Irish defense turned back two Navy drives in the final 11:49 to preserve the win. In their first attempt, the Middies reeled off three first downs until Troy Pride intercepted a poorly throw ball by quarterback Zach Abey at the Notre Dame 14-yard line. The Irish offense could not move the chains, however, and punted the ball back to Navy with five minutes left. Once again, the Midshipmen began to move while picking up 15 yards on a horse collar penalty. On a fourth down play from the Notre Dame 25 with 1:28 remaining, Andrew Trumbetti pressured Darryl Bonner into an off-balance throw on a halfback pass to what appeared to be an open receiver, and the ball fell harmlessly to the ground.
Navy dictated the tempo of the game from the start. They limited the number of Irish possessions and went for it in all but one fourth down situation. The Middies won the time of possession by a whopping 43-17 minutes, and took advantage of Wimbush’s early struggles in the passing game to dominate the first 40 minutes.
The teams exchanged early field goals before Notre Dame’s Chris Finke fumbled a punt on his own 39. Abey scored on a short run moments later to give the visitors a 10-3 lead with just over a minute left in the half. After a short kickoff by Navy, Wimbush immediately hit Stepherson for 22 yards and the Irish were in business. The drive nearly stalled in the red zone, but an obvious pass interference penalty by the Middies on Stepherson kept it alive. Wimbush then willed himself across the goal line on a two yard carry with just eight seconds remaining to tie it up.
Adams had a rather quiet 106 yards rushing for Notre Dame on 18 carries, while Abey and fullback Anthony Gargiulo ran for 87 yards apiece. The Irish had a slight edge in total yards, 327-318, while Navy ran 80 plays to 49 for the Irish.
Let’s look at the answers to the pregame questions:
Which defense will be able to get off the field on third or even fourth down? The Irish struggled for most of the afternoon in this area, but winning the last two series on defense was enough to prevail.
Can the Irish achieve a 50/50 split in time of possession? With three pass play calls into a strong wind on the opening series that resulted in a punt, Coach Brian Kelly showed he was content to play right into the hands of Navy’s game plan.
Will Wimbush bounce back with a confident and effective performance? He was erratic at first and almost managed to get Equanimeous St. Brown killed with a high throw, but settled down later to help his team win. St. Brown appeared to be concussed and did not return to action.
Which team will be gashed for big plays in the running game? Neither. Adams looked like he might break a couple of runs, but he is still not 100% out there. The Irish allowed an egregious gain by Gargiulo on a third and long play, but otherwise kept them in check. Tackling was an issue, however, as it seemed they never wrapped up a ball carrier or brought him down on first contact.
Can the Midshipmen throw the ball successfully if they are forced to do so? Abey hit a couple of nice passes but the prayer by Bonner at the end was not answered.
Will either defense be able to create turnovers? Each team had a costly turnover, although Notre Dame’s occurred on special teams and led to a Navy touchdown. Pride’s interception helped to save the day in the decisive fourth quarter.
Which team will be most impacted by injuries to its quarterback and top running back? Wimbush and Abey appeared to be fine. The October version of Adams may have broke a long run or two, and the absence of Perry certainly hurt the Middies to some degree.
The Irish finish the regular season next week at Stanford, and the motivation to win lies in the quality of the bowl game they will be invited to play as a reward for their to-be-determined final position in the polls. There is talk of a Cotton Bowl berth in the lavish Jerry Jones world if they beat the Cardinal, which would be a fitting sendoff for the seniors in the program who have endured quite a lot.
ndcanuck says:
Nice to make the first response! I am an optimist overall, and saw lots of good, but I was actually disappointed that Elko didn’t really do anything different than years past- we just have better guys this year. To me, he should have sent Love or Crawford on wild blitzes. But overall, it was better than the final score showed. A couple more brutal drops. Fink was simply trying too hard on that play. ( and
why would they ever trust Mack again?) And it hurts me to see Josh clearly down a gear. But Wimbush rallied and Stepherson is turning into Fuller, so all is good.
I think we will rally and whack Stanford next week.
Go Irish
Louder! says:
Very nice comment, ndcanuck; agree on all.
Thanks for the fast write up, Vannie. I would only point out you were a bit tough on the tackling.
Yes, some were as you described, but we did stand ’em up and throw ’em down on others.
And holding the Squids to 17 points is a good deal.
Irish for life says:
We keep hearing about how awesome the Trip O is at Navy, Army, Ga Tech etc. Let’s count the number of Nat. Championships the three have won in the past 20 or so years. Maybe 0. Also, the number of possession minutes it garners for its teams. I always thought the point of the game was to outscore the opponent.
Lastly, I am knocking the Trip O as much as the TV announcers who extol it’s virtues.
goirish1988 says:
Same number of championships as ND in that timeframe since the administration lost its ability to hire a leader as head coach.
Erick says:
Yeah you would think that ND would be humbled after going nearly 30 years without a national title. To hear talk like this is sad.
JTG says:
Triple option is a great equalizer for teams who don’t have the talent to match with 4 and 5 star players, and would never have a shot at a national championship regardless of what offense they played. If Army and Navy played a west coast offense, they’d get destroyed, because they just don’t have the athletes to make it work.
Avon Domer says:
The academies are badly undermanned talent-wise compared to schools like Notre Dame and running the triple option is the only way they can realistically compete. The goal is to run the ball almost exclusively, move the chains, eat up a bunch of clock and put pressure on the opposing team by allowing them only six or seven possessions in the game. The academies aren’t going to win national championships no matter what offense they run, and they know that playing this offense – which most schools never see and find incredibly difficult to game plan for – gives them their best chance to win.
Doc Savage says:
I don’t want to rain on anybody’s party but if ND plays Stanford like they did Navy forget the Cotton Bowl and think maybe a real nice 2nd tier bowl! There was no spirit in this game except on the Navy side. The Irish actually didn’t show up until the 4th quarter. Like I said in another post, I feel sorry for Navy because they played their hearts out the entire game, Notre Dame didn’t!
Terrence says:
So true, after looking like a deer in the headlights at Miami, you knew Navy and Stanford would be tough. Considering that Navy controlled the game for the most part, and Stanford is more physical and it’s an away game, Stanford should win considering the horrible QB play, Adams at 60%, and the D getting worse as the season winds down.
goirish1988 says:
Agree. Their attitude was, “Let’s play just well enough to win. Not worth trying harder than that.”
Avon Domer says:
goirish: How do you know that?
Brian says:
Wimbush is just getting worse each week and this offense has no spark right out of the shoot anymore
like they did early in the season. If Josh is hurting then why aren’t we seeing more of Tony Jones Jr
and Dexter Williams? Kelly played right into the Navy game plan by throwing right off the bat. I know
he is trying to get Wimbush some confidence but this kid is struggling. He continues to throw high and
as a result has led to injuring EQ! The offense gave no help to the defense as the D was on the field for
over 42 minutes! Maybe it was the weather but this team has changed ever since the Wake Forest game
and not for the better.
serreno says:
I am sorry but I am disappointed. We have to sweat a last drive against…Navy. I actually love the Navy and the tradition of playing them. This is certainly not a dig on them and they play so hard. But honestly…this is ND..perhaps the greatest college football program of all time and now we have to worry almost every weekend of the football season. We have had an improved year for sure but we are nothing like the program that Holtz put together. I can’t really tell you what has happened. You hear things. All I know is that ND is nothing like it was in its heyday and sad to say, I will likely never see again a national championship team. I may be wrong and I sure hope so. Glad we did get the win but…as I opened with…I am disappointed in the direction of ND football.
Finally, why…why don’t they string out defensive players wide….have two good linebackers to tackle the running back should he break thru the middle line….and perhaps just two safety’s. In other words…make them beat you by throwing the ball….which is what they don’t want you to do. Because they can’t throw the ball well.
goirish1988 says:
You’re accustomed to this after eight seasons, no?
Fulk's Ghost says:
If this teams shows up looking like this, Stanford is going to lay an epic smack down.
DenverJoeIrish says:
No argument here. And remember, BK has a horrendous record when taking the Irish on the road for a Saturday night game against a formidable opponent.
Marty says:
The 3rd and 16 run by Navy in the 2nd half for a 1st down was pathetic. How can you let that happen? Same ole bs with a superior team vs Navy. Haven’t learned anything over the years against this team. Tackling look alot like past years. Why do we seem to regress in November year after year with Kelly?
Aaron Koproski says:
A win is a win and needed a win after the debacle last week. We needed to win this and now we “should” win
A Stanford….not easy but we should!?
irishhawk50 says:
Watched Kelly’s post game press conference. Happy talk. Miami had a tough time with number one Virginia?!!? Sorry, but ND should have crushed Navy. Time and again lower ranked teams put a beating on Navy, but ND is lucky to squeak by. Lots of missed tackles and broken coverage. Wimbush still can’t pass consistently. I don’t have a good feeling about the Stanford game. Sorry.
Christopher Randall says:
Whatever happened to running a 4-4 against the option? Middle takes the fullback, end forces qb pitch, lb has rb. Corners are 1 on 1 with wr all day, safety is just that, a safety valve that doesn’t get beat by throws or missed tackles by teammates.
aikenmac says:
How many of these commentators ever coached even a Pop Warner team????
goirish1988 says:
You still watch with the audio on?
Jim says:
A few weeks ago I watch a mediocre Temple football team destroy navy’s triple O with much less talented players. This was a great turnaround season but the last games took a lot off of the enthusiasm , the team looks slow and unmotivated. They get another chance next week.
Steve says:
I have noticed that over the years that far less talented teams than ND seem to figure out the triple option. Memphis figured it out, Temple did not have a problem. Even generally untalented teams such as Duke beat Navy and yesterday, Duke beat Georgia Tech (a Navy analogue since they both plays versions of Paul Johnson’s triple option). Every year when I see the ND team against Navy, they look perpetually perplexed as Navy gallops for 5-10 yards a play, quite often (as in yesterday’s game), gaining the corner and running for easy first downs. They sealed the corner on a few plays, but got torched on way too many plays. If the Navy player had not fell down on their last play, we would be looking at an overtime, and a potential loss.
Jerrod says:
Several of these less talented teams must have a problem with the option considering Navy averages 330 yards a game on the ground.
lj_dublin says:
BK is the living definition of the “Peter Principle” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle) and if he had any sense of pride and/or love of Notre Dame, he would admit he is overpaid, overcompensated and grandly underachieving in every sense. How much longer will he continue to torture ND fans, grads, football lovers, etc.?????
goirish1988 says:
Which of two unlikely outcomes should we root for: a) that Brian Kelly learns how to motivate young men or b) that he is terminated and the bureaucratic attorney Swarbrick suddenly learns how to hire talent instead of basing his hiring on the Peter Principle? We’re in an awful situation.
Irish Ed says:
I realize that the coaches are trying to get Wimbush’s confidence back, but the opening possession was ridiculous. Pound the ball early with our powerful line to open up the pass later.
On our last possession we chose to pass on 3rd and 2 in the rain and wind, with an inaccurate quarterback, rather than put the game on the backs of the OL.
This has not been the same ND team since halftime of the Wake Forest game. I hope they can rise to the occasion next week against Stanford, but I don’t have a good feeling
gary purdue says:
would keep BK another year help the program ? he has taken it as far as his talents can. It is time for a change for the future.
Kevin Welsh says:
I am not enamored with Kelly but it is an emotional and naive reaction to call for the ouster of a head coach who has 9-2 8th ranked team. The problem is not the 2017 version of Notre Dame but rather 2013, 2014, 2016 (pick year).
Jackson says:
I pick 2012 and 2015.
Coach says:
Fast Eddie. That’s very funny. I was ticked on our first play of the game…a pass. The second play I threw my hands up in the air in disgust…another pass. From that point on I hoped ND would win but if they lost no big deal. It would expedite Brian Kelly’s departure. Go Irish!
Gutsmo says:
A hallmark of this year’s defense has been the ability to make tackles one on one. This was a big change from last season. We seemed to collapse in this area with about 18 minutes remaining in the Wake Forest game. Miami ran the Wake Forest offense at us and the Georgia defense and we took a big hit. One thing the Temple defense did against Navy was penetrate and disrupt the triple option. We just did not seem to try that in the first half and had some inconsistency with it in the second half. We also gave up yards after contact – too often three to five yards. Stanford will be a very dangerous game for us and our QB will need to get his mechanics down. Botching a four yard toss to a back while you are rolling out to the right is really ugly. We need to find the team that played Southern Cal by Tuesday.
Bill Mogren says:
I wish the University would pull back on all the special crap…special uniforms, tributes, ceremonies, etc. I think it’s a distraction for the players. Just practice smart and hard, put on the standard uniform , and flawlessly execute a brilliant game plan. They looked tired and weary of all the hype today.
Irish72 says:
What? “Pull back on the special crap”? Where would the moneychangers get their Almighty $$$$?
Terry McManus says:
exactamundo
irishhawk50 says:
It’s funny but on that note they can’t even do that right. Rockne is famous for breaking out GREEN jerseys against Navy. You would think looking at the stands and in the sporting stores across the country Under Armor would have pushed a green jersey. The last two, the Martian green and olive green are not big sellers. You would think if you were into makings sales they would have come up with a “plain” green jersey to market since the last normal Adidas green jersey is not even marketed anymore.
Paul says:
The only good thing about that new jumbotron is that you can at least sit and watch how good ND used to be when we had better coaches (in between possessions and timeouts)! Glad we won but it’s tough to sit and watch the other team clearly out maneuver and out coach us. We were fortunate Navy made a couple of miscues when it mattered most. The team almost always seems to regress in November under BK. Too bad we will not have the jumbotron at Stanford.
Doc Savage says:
Some of you guys keep saying Wimbush needs to get his mechanics down before ND plays Stanford. I don’t want to bust your bubble but that won’t happen. For Wimbush, it boils down to “do I feel lucky today”? Someone on another board said that Wimbush would make a better running back than a QB and I agree 100%. I hope he is not the starter next year but if Kelly stays on he will be. Remember when Kelly kept putting turnover Tommy in time and time again? We need to get rid of that priest who runs the school (he’s a heavy paperweight holding down the team) and that gutless AD Swarbucks! I also have to agree with what Serreno said above…we will probably never see an Irish National Championship again at least not in any of our lifetimes and that’s all I have to say about that!
Dick says:
Our D was on the field 42 minutes. Fatigue might explain some of the missed tackles. Our offense only had 2 possessions in the second half, scoring on each. We were lucky to come away with a W. Where are our big tight ends against these smaller Navy guys? I think Wimbush will need to find them against Stanford.
Tom D. says:
It’s not true that we had only two possessions in the second half and scored on both. What about after Tony Pride’s interception where we went three and out due to a third down fro by number 86?
Doc says:
Insightful comment by Ed. The first series let Navy set the game tempo.You can,t score much if you don,t have the ball.
steve says:
Don’t agree completely on the tackling… we drilled their running backs several times especially in the later drives and looked liked we knocked several Navy players out of the game. I think this game was about Navy being Navy and terrible weather conditions which played into their hands. The stands were half empty at the end of the game It was a very tough battle we could have rolled over at any time but we didn’t and came away with a W…
manager47 says:
Control the ball with the run and keep the defense off the field would be wise vs. Stanford – the defense looks worn down – missed tackles etc. Have to give credit to ND QB – he didn’t panic – weather was a factor and played to Navy’s strength – should have come out the first series and run the ball right at them. Rotate the backs and spread the field. Team will be tested in Palo Alto. I expect ND to open it up and play a great game.
Elkhart Joe says:
Sure glad Stepherson is out of the dog house. He was one of the few that played with any passion. Terrible.
nchdomer says:
A lot of very good comments. Just when I thought the team had turned a corner, it played the
fourth quarter against Wake Forest. Since then, same old same old from Kelly. Virginia was in the game
until the end and exposed Miami as a good but not great team. We could not score more than one
touchdown against those guys? Yet a mediocre Virginia team puts up 28 points and leads most of
the game. And we then go back to last years brilliant strategy of throwing the ball in terrible weather
conditions and barely beat Navy. Frankly, Navy played better than us and deserved to win. And yes,
Adams is maybe at 60% with Wimbush still putting his receivers in harms way with every throw. If the
game plan was to pass the ball in a rainstorm, Book should have started, if only for the safety of our
wide receivers.
I love ND but after 8 years, Kelly has exhausted me. Nothing changes. He is an 8-4 coach and always
will be. If we beat Stanford and get a New Year’s Day bowl game, we will likely get crushed
again by a top 10 opponent. USC is now on the rise and will likely be Pac 12 champ with the blowout
loss to ND viewed as an aberration. Unfortunately, that game is now looking like an aberration
for us too. And the new spin for this season is the turnaround from last year and how great that is.
What? Last year should never have happed and I see no joy in another year end collapse. You can
add ND football to the list with playing horseshoes where close counts. Wasn’t that way in my day.
irishrifle says:
A win is a win, although It was ugly to be sure. Irish should have scored on every drive against a weak Navy defense. Tone for a close game was set unfortunately in the first series of downs in a driving ran and strong winds by the inexplicable coaching decision to be throwing the ball rather than pounding it up the middle. That continued in the second series of downs. Any excuse about passing out of the gate to give Wimbush confidence is utter nonsense.
Wimbush was a little shaky early in the game with some errant passes. The Navy low tackle on a high pass to EQ that flipped him was very scary, as he could have broken his neck on that play. What a relief to see him walk off the field. Wimbush righted the ship after a slow start and performed admirably from that point forward with some excellent passes. Defense played well overall, but also missed some critical tackles. The worst was on the 3rd and 16.
ND will be favored and should defeat a decent Stanford team that struggled to beat then 5-5 California. Irish clearly have more talent and simply have to play up to their ability.
flirish says:
A few comments on the state of football at ND:
1. Kelly continues to disappoint. I can’t believe we came out in a rain storm throwing and we have one of the best rushing teams in the country. Stubborn, stupid and arrogant–I guess that is who Kelly is.
2. Our offensive line is highly overrated
3. Adams and Wimbush are tired and worn out. Why for the past two weeks has Wimbush not run much and what happened to the designed QB draws etc. especially on the third and two in the 4th Q. Earlier in the season that is a chip shot. Instead we throw to a highly overrated and poorly coached tight end who has made no real big plays for us this year
4. For all the hype about strength and conditioning and how that has improved and all the articles about us getting stronger and faster as the season goes on–REALLY!! we are tired, slow and beat up. Adams looks horrible, the line is underperforming, Williams has been hurt since week three etc,etc, etc,
5. Special team under Kelly for 8 years continue to plaque the team and hurt the team–very seldom help the team. that is 100% on Kelly and his philosophy
6. the head coach has taken us as far as he can –slightly above mediocre and never really good. If we play a top ten team in a bowl game we will get killed as we did last week by a team that Virginia had on the ropes until the late 4th quarter
7. for al the criticism of Wimbush, does anyone see a pattern over 8 years? Lots of QB talent that all become head cases. At least Kelly is consistent in that area of developing talent.
Johnsy40 says:
Thanks for that last comment re: talented QBs turning into head cases under Kelly. I was thinking the same thing…
GOND88 says:
It was a very ugly win just as I privately predicted. I figured Navy would gash the defense for 300 yards and they racked up 280. It seemed the defense couldn’t get off the field and that was evident by the lopsided time of possession in Navy’s favor. Elko didn’t have any magic.
I’ll take the ugly win and take another ugly win at Stanford but it just seems that this team is barely registering a pulse since the first half of Miami. I thought the new strength and conditioning program was supposed to remedy this?
If ND is lethargic and slow against Stanford they won’t win, even in ugly fashion. And if they do Kelly will be 0-4 at Stanford which should not be acceptable to Swarbrick.
Kevin Welsh says:
300 yards of offense and 17 points does not constitute “gashing” a defense.
GOND88 says:
Quibble all you want Kevin, but Navy came very close to making it 24 and sending the game in to overtime and possibly pulling the upset win from there.
GOND88 says:
I meant Navy gashed us for almost 300 yards of rushing offense. Is it too much to ask that ND limit Navy to nor more than 200 yards of rushing offense on their home turf given the size and talent disparity in ND’s favor?
I doubt Alabama, Georgia, Clemson or Miami would allow Navy to run for almost 300 yards on their home turf.
Steve says:
If you can get some past games from this season, watch the Clemson/Georgia tech game. Now, that’s how you play against the triple option. GT seldom got the corner, and quite often GT lost yards trying to execute the same basic plays as Navy (Navy’s offense is based on Paul Johnson’s schemes as he was the HC when the current navy coach was an assistent). The Clemson defense showed speed and great tackling. AND, GT has better players than Navy.
Tom D. says:
Swarbrick will not get rid of Kelly this year no matter what happens. With a loss to Stanford and a another in the bowl game we will be 9-4. That’s a one win improvement over Kelly’s normal 8-5 record.
Terry McManus says:
The ending phrase in JV’s piece – “The seniors in the program who have endured quite a lot.”
WHA?
Just to start with – Each of them is getting a degree for which their classmates – and their classmates’ parents – have paid are paying now and in many cases will continue to pay – upwards of $250,000.
A little perspective would be appreciated.
John Vannie says:
Here’s some perspective for you – Brian Kelly’s compensation amounts to more than $5,000,000 per year.
irishrifle says:
John:
That’s a good salary. More than most of us make.
jim dougherty says:
FOR FOUR YEARS I HAVE RAILED ”KELLY CANT COACH”- IN A NAVY GAME HE IS OUT COACHED
IN A BIG GAME
KELLY HAS NEITHER GUTS OR BRAINS”
TEST LET A KELLY COACHED TEAM PLAY OHIO STATE OR CLEMSON IN A TACO BOWL!
teo says:
Good job Irish. Good comments, too. I think we ‘re all disappointed with how this season is ending. I don’t know how you stop the option and I haven’t watched how other teams slowed their offense, but a few things come to mind:
1. A win is a win is a win. And the ninth win of the year was maddening. It seemed like, on defense anyway, we didn’t really perk up until the 4th quarter.
2. Going into the game I made a comment that Navy led the FBS in rushing yards per game. You can say what you want about Navy being inferior but they execute on offense. For sure. They grind. It’s almost like Princeton basketball in the late 1980s through the 1990s. They exhaust an opponent and I think they did that to our defense.
3. Offensively — we were hardly ever out there because Navy ran like 80 plays against our defense — but when we’re out there, we’re sill making too many mistakes. Wimbush has a lot going for him but he’s missing open receivers too often to be really effective back there. But the time an open receiver is available, the snap went off right, the line protected the quarterback and the receiver got open. Wimbush has to make the short passes.
I will take the win but this team must play better against Stanford.
Bernie Poskus '74 says:
I agree that the team looks like it is losing some steam. It could be because, since their bye week, they have played quality teams with a combined record of 40-14. Compare that to who Auburn and Alabama played yesterday (the mighty Warhawks of UL Monroe and the always to be feared Mercer Bears, respectively).
It could be that ND’s desire to play a good schedule is wearing the team down. Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that we play a good schedule. I just wish the other teams were forced to do so.
As for those of you calling for Brian Kelly’s head, I agree with the idea that he makes some real head-scratching decisions (yesterday’s opening offensive series qualified more as a head-pounding-in-the-wall decision). However, I don’t know who we get to replace him. ND is not the plum job it used to be. Indeed, it can be argued that Kelly has rescued ND to the point that it is a much more desirable job than it was when he took it. At the end of 2009, the football program was in the middle of a run of extended chaos. Now, there is a stability to the program that hasn’t been there since the Holtz days.
Yeah, I want more than mere stability. I want National Championships (at least one more in my lifetime). But I am concerned about who we would get as BK’s replacement. I recognize that you can’t let one coach go and have another lined right up. I’m just afraid that whomever the replacement would be just wouldn’t get the job done and would plunge us right back into chaos.
jabe7 says:
The triple option when designed to kill time, wear a superior opponent down, makes for uninteresting football watching. Against the Irish it worked – almost!
The answer as to why Navy plays the Irish tough at Notre Dame is clear. They receive a great deal of respect and within that environment, the emotional uplift carries them to play their best.
Watched Stanford last night. A good team, but one, in a hard fought game, the Irish should handle.
Looking forward to a BIG bowl bid, while still hoping for the aligning of the stars, catapulting the Irish from 8th to a spot in the playoffs.
Drasail2 says:
Thank you for the nice review.
Of teams in the top 10 which has the toughest schedule — source Sagarin metric.
http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm
Us — currently 5th in the country. Getting chop-blocked in the driving rain on Senior day by the United States military is par for the course when you sign up Irish. Navy football is not 1992/1-10.
We obsess too much about the coach. The team has the opportunity to have a very good year with a win at Stanford (8-3) and hopefully a matchup against another of our hated rivals on New Year’s Day.
I like our chances if Wimbush can settle down. Great game by Stepherson and Martini. Fun year.
flirish says:
I am not even asking for national championships. One would be nice. what I want is a coach who will not always or even half the tine but occasionally win a big game, we don’t have that. We beat USC on their down years and get blow out by them when they are up. We lose ALL the close games against good teams esp on the road since the 2012 season ended (Ohio State, FSU, Clemson, Miami, Alabama). How about an occasional win or upset against a good team
irishrifle says:
How about MSU, USC and NCS?
teo says:
So USC is having a down year Flirish? That’s news to me — and we destroyed them in South Bend (so much so that we risked not having a “quality win” — against the possible Pac 12 champ!).
Dave w says:
Clearly we aren’t a top ten team. Back to barely beating unranked teams. I think at halftime during wake game our players and coaches decided to quit playing and coaching the way they had earlier in year. Baffling and incredibly frustrating. Probably going to lose next 2 games ending season with a whimper and barely ranked if at all.
Bocceman2 says:
BK should wish his players played with same heart as Navy.
D has slipped dramatically beginning with second half of Wake game.
Wimbush erratic accuracy starting to mirror every Irish QB under Kelly.
O has scored 46 points over last 10 quarters. 4.6 average which is not top ten worthy.
Randall15 says:
In his post-game interview on the field after the Wake Forest game, Kelly said something to the effect that he hoped Wimbush had silenced all those people who said he couldn’t throw the ball. From that point on the mentality of the team changed. By making that statement, he told all of us, Wimbush included, that it was important to him what people thought. Despite the wins and all the points, and all his blustery statements about the run, it was still important to Kelly that people thought his QB could throw. Of course everyone wants a QB that can throw the ball well, but who cares whether Wimbush silences his critics, if he’s having fun and winning. It was one statement, but I think it revealed a lot about what makes it so difficult to be a successful QB under Kelly.
Ever since that game, Wimbush has not been the dynamic, confident athlete that takes over games in spite of some inconsistencies. He has been overthinking everything, feeling the pressure to be something he isn’t yet. And Kelly’s response has been to put him in more throwing situations.
flirish says:
USC is having a good year but not where they usually are, That is my point, we did beat MSU when they ended up ranked in the top 4 but they were unranked when we beat them. And those winds were at home. Other than Oklahoma in 2012 tell me a major road win? NCS was a great win but not a win win but they are not a top 10 team
Teo says:
We beat Michigan State on the road.
2017 says:
yeah, I had to flip on and off after 3 passes in 30 mile an hour winds with a rattled QB to start the game. I know he’s supposed to be real good, but Mack has proven he can’t catch this year. I don’t know what happened, but it’s pretty consistent on key plays. Close to not even needing to cover him. Cruising till second half of Wake and then all wheels came off. Incredibly frustrating. Maybe they can get confidence back vs. Stanford.
ND Chaz says:
If anyone thinks this program is on the way back I’ve got some bad news. BK
Does not know how to win a big game. Navy does exactly the same thing every year against us and we can not adjust. Beat Stanford and get into a big bowl game. I can’t see anything but a major beat down again on national tv. Time to go BK.
Coach says:
After watching the Philadelphia Eagles tonight, I have finally discovered what it is about Brian Kelly that I don’t like. There is not an ounce of creativity in Notre Dame’s offense. We have 2 All American offensive linemen and correct me if I am wrong but does anyone on that line ever pull? The Eagles emphasise the run and have guys pulling from every direction so their linemen are hitting defenders on the run and putting a hurtin on them. Kelly thinks he has NFL potential but he coaches like he is a junior high coach. He’s got a long way to go. Your thoughts. Thanks.
Mike Coffey says:
There were a bunch of examples on Saturday of the OL pulling
Bocceman2 says:
They pull but they miss key blocks. All American McGlinchey whiffed several times.
They are big but deceptively slow.
Mike Coffey says:
I don’t contest that, I was addressing the question of whether or not they pull.
Kevin Calabria says:
Thanks Mike
Dan says:
Considering what transpired last year, I would have to say that this season has been a success no matter how you slice it. Breaking in a new QB, new coordinators on both sides of the ball, and even a new Strength and Conditioning program. I’ll echo what was stated above that we’ve closed the 2nd half stretch versus teams with a combined record of 40-14. This team is tired because they’ve simply played against an impressive set of opponents. And look, every team has hiccups – Clemson dropped Syracuse and beat NC State by 7. Alabama squeaked by Miss St with late game heroics by Jalen Hurts. OU blanked tOSU and yet got dropped a couple of weeks later by Iowa St. And they have an All American QB!!! Auburn looks unbeatable but they lost to LSU who lost to Troy, AT HOME!
I don’t think ND can do better than Brian Kelly. It would take a miracle young hire (Lincoln Riley type) and an administration overhaul to change the prospect of getting a National Title. If it doesn’t happen under Kelly, then it’s never going to happen while Jenkins and Swarbrick are in charge, no matter who is at the helm.
Bocceman2 says:
Agree. Drain the swamp of all three
Ghost of Joe Moore says:
Not saying Navy was a “big game” and glad we squeaked by but one thing we have learned and this I believe
sums up the absolute frustration with BK and that is Brian Kelly is a horrible big game coach!
2012 against Alabama he says he didn’t grasp the magnitude of the moment? Really? The let
down against Clemson when we should have won it – the let down against Georgia
and the let down against Miami – and there were others…..how many years and truly
no stand out signature win. BK and the Irish are simply not ready for prime time.
Its been a LONG wait for fans – wonder when or if it ends anytime.
Big Game Brian says:
The most frustrating thing about our program is they always seem to fade in the month of November. It just seems they run out of gas as other teams are getting their second wind. When they play in bowl games near New Year’s they also seem like a team who went home and relaxed their Christmas vacation away and now are struggling to get up to play one more game. I don’t understand this but it keeps happening. We clearly have the more talented team on Saturday night and need to go out and win a game that has big bowl implications on the line. No excuses win the game. Be a little creative while your at it. Stanford unlike Miami, isn’t as fast so when they are crowding the line, run sweeps, throw the ball down the middle, and God forbid execute a trick play or two if needed to regain momentum. Win this, go to the Cotton bowl and get one more chance to win a big game.