ND’s offense needs to get going as keeping giving the ball back to an OSU offense that is starting to roll is a death warrant.
Impressive drive by the Buckeyes to push it to an 11 PT lead. ND is in a tough spot now, can't really run the ball.
Yeah OSU offense was supposed to be unstoppable. It's not what ND fans wanted but you should be encouraged by this performance.
Not quite the game I had hoped for but a win is a win as they say. Our offense was way off for some reason, but we were able to run the ball and eat some of the clock in the second half.
Y'all certainly made us look bad most of the time. Kudos to ND for a great game plan and making great plays in a tough atmosphere. All I can say is whew.
The two teams were a lot more evenly matched than anyone imagined. I just analyzed the game stats and that was my conclusion. The Buckeyes completely shut down the Irish offense in the second half. The Irish Kept the Buckeyes locked down for three quarters. Who here thought the Buckeyes would average 6.2 yards per completion? Who could have imagined Isaiah Foskey being totally dominated at the point of attack. The Irish kicking game did not kill them as feared. But as the really good teams do, when they needed the extra gas the Buckeyes had it and the Irish did not. I think when this regular season is over only Michigan can possibly play the Buckeyes tougher than the Irish did. It is really hard to reach any conclusions from this game no matter who you rooted for. I don't think you can say the Irish are over-rated yet they have some real concerns at QB, WR and the O-Line. The Buckeyes have to be a little concerned about their passing game and their third down offense. The other big teams played the usual cupcakes for the most part so it is difficult to gauge our real stature after this game. Based on what I watched yesterday Georgia is the best team in the nation after Week One. They demolished Oregon without breaking much of a sweat. They showed no weaknesses against a good team. Bama looks like they'll be a handful too. I think Ohio State is a Top 6 team. I think Notre Dame will settle into their comfort zone in the 7-10 slot when it is all said and done.
This clearly is a different Notre Dame team. Tough, determined, and talented. I'm not concerned about our offense. The OSU defense definitely was superior, IMO - while it remains to be seen - potentially among the best in the country. Even the big uglies on the D-line are very, very fast and strong and well coached. The D-backs close with lightning speed. It looks like OSU has found the right DC to coach its high level athletes. I hate to lose, but last night we did something we haven't done in years. We played well on the big stage. From the loss has emerged a team that has earned respect for its refuse-to-lose attitude. When was the last time we played this well in a big game and earned the kind of respect we're experiencing in the aftermath? Not in a long time. We're not "back" yet by Notre Dame standards, but last night we made a strong case vs. a great team that we definitely are headed in the right direction.
One remarkable thing about last night's game is, despite two very physical teams pounding each other there were no turn overs. I was impressed by Buchner's poise last night considering it was his first start in a very hostile environment. The O line and RBs could have done a better job in protecting him since our WRs were having a difficult time getting any separation. He also was somewhat handcuffed with poor starting field position in large part due to some great punts by OSU and a woeful ND kick off return team (twice stopped inside the 15 yd. line?) On top of that I thought Rees called a very conservative game. I assume OSU gives out game balls. No 1 in my mind was 51 Hall who was a one man wrecking crew.
Never disappointed about a 11 point win over #5 in the nation. Irish held to the script and kept CJ and Co on the sidelines as much as possible. Buckeye offense couldn't find a rhythm early due to the Irish defense and losing JSN and Fleming from jump street is gonna leave a mark. Kid that caught the go ahead TD was a walk-on, 3 of our 6 receiver rotation couldn't go or left early and CJ struggled to get everybody else on the same page. Irish pressure in his face often, was a factor for sure. Loved what I saw from our defense and the play upfront on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Pitched a shut out in the 2nd half and pretty much controlled the line of scrimmage at crunch time against a very, very good and physical Irish front. Our young Dlinemen are gonna be a handful. Oline and running backs showed the toughness and physicality that Day had been preaching and that we have been seeking. The 4th qtr drive to finish the game was a thing of beauty for Buckeye fans and in truth I think winning this way, seeing a physical running game while CJ and Co were struggling to click will pay dividends. Irish QB as advertised, athletic tough and showed great poise for a first start in a tough environment, played within himself and didn't make any big mistakes. As indicated earlier, expected a battle, wasn't fooled by the spread and didn't expect to cover. In truth, game played out pretty much as I anticipated, tough battle early, Buckeyes pull away late for a hard fought victory over a very good, well prepared Irish team. Plenty to learn from and build on for both teams
I'm glad I didn't see the game, just looking at the stats and comments here, we have no offense right now. Granted we won't play another team as complete as the Buckeyes for awhile so maybe they can grow. The defense apparently played tough and Golden is getting some praise for that, but when your offense doesn't do anything it's eventually going to wear down. In many of our previous games vs top 5 competition the game has been over by the half or even the 1st qtr. That the team took to the 3rd qtr was encouraging. But result was the same we don't have the horses to compete with the true elites of college football. Also get ready for the heat to get on Tom Rees the OCoord, he will be this years whipping boy for the fans now that Kelly is gone, Harry Heistand will be whipping boy #2
Terry, I respectfully disagree with these comments. If you had watched the game from beginning to end, I believe you wouldn't be so negative. What you didn't see was our opponent's amazing strength and speed, which never waned. We stood up to it for 3 quarters and kept the game close until the opponent's OL strength and RB depth simply wore down our defense. There always will be ND fans with their heads up their arses (not you!) who will complain, and I could be wrong, but I don't believe that reasonable people will be complaining about our offense or the coaching as the season moves along.
Sid, I am inclined to agree with your comments. The season is much too early to judge future performance. The receivers we relied upon last were no on the same page as Stroud and it looked very bad at times. As Buckeye Terry mentioned in an earlier post, Notre Dame was putting a lot of pressure on Stroud in the pocket. Maybe we should discourage Terry from taking vacations the week prior to big games. Terry I do hope you enjoyed the vacation time with your with family
Sid, sorry to be a bit negative. We do have games coming up where we will, at least on paper, have the talent advantage, so there is room for improvement on offense. Of course last year after a titanic struggle to win vs a mediocre FSU team coming home to play Toledo and expectations were that we would iron out things and get healthy, instead we barely escaped with a win. Hopefully we see something different vs Marshall. As far as whipping boys on the staff it seems like every year we have a couple, fair or not. In spite of the positive press Rees has gotten he was and still remains an unpopular hire to many. Last few years it was Del Alexander and Jeff Quinn. Mark my words it will be Heistand along with Rees. Fans really like Freeman though, of course as we all know fans can turn on a dime.
My beef was with Rees okay calling in the 2nd half. The balance approach worked and we came out throwing a bit too much, in my opinion. It's like Brian Kelly kidnapped him at half time. I hate moral victories, but this is a very good team.