Driving home from South Bend today after watching the men’s basketball team open their season with a win, hoping to watch the gridiron Irish dismantle the Navy Midshipmen, I said to myself, “Some things you wonder, some things you think, and some things you just know.” My voice sounded nothing like Mike Royko’s, which is fine, because he never said that.
When the Irish went up 28-7, I typed “Funny how it only took Brian Van Gorder one game to figure out option defense” as a bullet point. 24 straight USNA points later, I shut the computer off. I’m not sure what happened late in the second quarter, but the defense went from reasonably effective to simply awful.
When you’re #10 in the playoff poll and sitting behind a number of other one-loss teams, you need style points. Once again, we didn’t get them. Thank God ASU got the job done yesterday and we’ll have a chance for that “quality win” the pollsters keep bleating about. At which time, of course, they’ll switch to “evaluating the body of work”.
Mike Brey and his staff said there was going to be more of a focus on defense this year. One game in, mixed results. As Kayo pointed out, the individual matchups are good, but the team rotations really need to be fixed. Must be a glitch in the Matrix because I’ve seen that black cat before.
Everett Golson once again has me uneasy after a six-touchdown performance. There will be no Heisman campaign until the turnovers are curtailed.
Funny how games can completely turn on single plays. Golson’s pick opens the floodgates to Navy taking the lead. Reynolds’ alligator-arming the throwback pass cost Navy a win.
If you can make David Robinson root against his alma mater, you’re doing something right. I hope Notre Dame can find a way to keep him involved after Corey graduates.
I already was refusing to get upset over ND’s placement in the playoff poll this early, and the performance last night only solidified that policy. That said, if Mississippi remains ranked ahead of the Irish on Tuesday, we’re boned.
I like Bonzie Colson. And I think before this season is over, a lot of other folks will as well. His hustle is contagious. His instincts are good, and he looks to push the ball downcourt every time he gets his hands on it. And any guy who can rebound his own missed free throw can play for me any day.
As great a game as Brian Kelly coached two weeks ago, he went completely the other way in the fourth quarter this week. With the game on the line and needing to get first downs on the ground, you don’t really care which running back picks up a blitz better. I love Cam McDaniel, but Tarean Folston needs to be getting as many carries as reasonably possible.
Both teams I watched yesterday are going through youth movements of a kind, and both teams gave me things to be happy about. In addition to Colson, I like VJ Beachem’s quickness and Martin Gebben’s focus and effort. Nyles Morgan filled in ably for Schmidt, and Jarron Jones and Andrew Trumbetti have been a big part of the defense this year. DJ was outstanding in his PG debut. It looks to be fun the next couple years on both sides of what used to be Juniper Road.
Speaking of Juniper Road, the east side of the Stadium was cordoned off and backhoes in place. Crossroads Part 1 is in the house. Beware all you on campus for Louisville and Northwestern. I still don’t know how they’re going to funnel people through there on game day.
Zach, you went 3-9 from the stripe, and a team that doesn’t have a hyphen in its name is going to make you pay for that kind of performance. Spend more time thinking about that and less about how you’re going to follow up when you dunk on a D2 player.
When that ball bounced up into the hands of Everett Golson for a touchdown, I knew how the Michigan fans felt a couple years ago. And I felt the need for a Silkwood shower.
Geez, couldn’t anyone in college football have helped us out today? West Virginia even went so far as to blow a game they pretty much had won, much I’m sure to the delight of couches throughout Morgantown.
There’s a big difference between scheduling a national championship like the Ohio States of the world do and having a seemingly strong schedule go south when the heavyweights happen to have a bad record. I don’t want to see ND get treated like the former just because this year happens to be the latter.
Did we blow all our karma this season on 31-0? If so, it was totally worth it.
Tom Connor says:
Looking ahead a couple of weeks, maybe Rice can help us out with SOS by defeating (23)Marshall. Go Irish! And Go Owls!
JMichael says:
A brief bundle of fun to read!
flirish says:
what an absurd statement to think that godson’s int was even partly responsible for the collapse. Goldson had an all american night. one int against Navy should not amount to anything. Six touchdowns is quite impressive. the blame goes 1000000% on Kelly and his poor game preparation and coaching. he called a pathetic game after the first quarter, the defense was unprepared, the special teams were the worst of any team in the country and BVGs defensive schemes were sad. If the team is so deflated after one bad pass that it carries past half time, then they should not be playing. If Goldson had something to do with a 7 and a half minute drive please explain. If godson had something to do with slow below average receivers getting open down field against four star recruits please explain. If godson had something to do with Brinza being inept and with a punt return team that can’t get a single return yard or if the kick off return team’s inability to get to the 20 easily please explain. If godson is responsible for Mcdaniels replacing foltosn please explain.
After five years people need put the blame where is goes –on Kelly. Arrogant, over confident, stubborn and unwilling to change and unprepared would describe him best.
Mike Coffey says:
I didn’t say it was solely responsible, but it contributed. Golson’s pick meant ND went 12+ minutes without having the chance to score since Navy got the ball to start the second half.
I am impressed, though, that you found three different ways to spell his name in your post, none of them being correct.
JDH says:
@flirish:
You are really bad at spelling our players’ names. *Golson (not “Godson” nor “Goldson”); Brindza (not “Brinza”); Folston (not foltosn); McDaniel (not Mcdaniels)
Skinner7irish says:
Teams that helped us out: usc and asu (Michigan? Maybe and Florida)
Teams that did NOT help us out: stanford, wvu (blew that one), ok. St., ole miss (better they had beaten auburn as they will most likely lose to miss st and auburn could then take care of bama for us), Louisville (21-0?! -_-), Arkansas. (Illinois, because no one likes tosu)
Best case, Kansas state can beat tcu then loses to one of their remaining tough schedule, Ohio state beats mich state (hardest thing I ever had to write), Oregon loses to Utah or pac 12 south rep ( hopefully asu or usc), and a sec west bloodbath (bama loses to lsu and auburn, auburn loses to Georgia and sec title, miss st loses to bama and ole miss, and ole miss loses to Arkansas)…. Or something like this
Oh and Florida state loses badly to nd in rematch 🙂
Terry says:
Add Florida to the list of teams that helped us out on Saturday. Heaven only knows why we got leapfrogged by Arizona State, but with this week’s game ahead, it’s irrelevant anyway.
Terry says:
Navy was 4 and 4, so 4 teams figured out how to defense Navy. I would have expected BVG to have taken some wisdom from those games.
SaratogaFrank says:
Coach Kelly took the blame for making a poor call on Golson’s pick but it didn’t include the pick caused by a poorly thrown pass. Overall,
the offense played well and scored when they had to.
NDBonecrusher says:
I don’t get this team and I don’t know how good they are. Sometimes they look like world beaters and 5 minutes later like the Keystone Cops. Perhaps this is the youth that Coffey referenced. But let’s keep in mind from whence we came. At the beginning of the year I don’t think many of us would have envisioned being one blown call away from undefeated, and bitching (rightfully) about #10 in the playoff polls. Truth is these lads have sick, sick, sick potential. Hope they reach it sooner rather than later.
So, so bummed about Joe. What a guy, what a story. In the words of Yoda, “Need that, we did not.”. Heal up fast Joe and good luck with surgery!
PC says:
I feel horrible from Joe but it was a fluke injury and not due to some vicious cut block. I know some fans want us to stop playing Navy but its not ever going to happen. However, I would like to see them play the opening game of the year. I dont see why we cant make that happen. Make it a new tradition with an old traditional rival. Play it in a netural site every year for all I care but at least then we should come into the game healthy and would’ve had all summer to get mentally ready for this offense. Swarbrick, let’s be smart about this…You’ve done a fantastic job and it will be in our teams best interest to do this long term. I know the next few years are all set but pick a year down the road and make this switch permanent. That is all. Go Irish rest up and lets beat ASU!
Camarillo Brillo says:
Bonger, did Kelly state in a press conference that the reason he had McDaniel in at RB in the fourth quarter was because of pass blocking? If so I missed it. And if so, Kelly is an idiot
JSWP says:
Or play Navy the last game on an aircraft carrier off Aruba, Grand Cayman, etc. Gives a month to heal before
before the march to the national championship.