Irish Women beat Arizona State 85 - 65 in the Goombay Splash in the Bahamas. They remain undefeated. They were down 34-31 at the half and outscored them 54 - 31 in the 2nd half. Next up is a good Maryland team at home in the Big 10 / ACC Challenge.
Caleb Williams is the best college QB I have seen in awhile. He's got a great arm and he's such a good runner that even when you think you have him he can run around and get off a terrific pass. He's the difference so far in this game. The announcers are correct in that USC doesn't have to worry about Pyne making those types of plays he doesn't have the arm and we don't have the WR's to threaten their DB's. We have Mayer and that's it. 17-7 at the half.
We just have no answer for Caleb Williams and their OL is controlling the LOS in the running game as well. 30-14 USC
Two words that describe tonight's terrible effort NO TACKLING. Now I may be mistaken, but USC's punter never got off the bench. Riley, who's an intelligent coach, twice had his QB pooch punt but never had our special teams show on the field. We started every possession (up to the last 2 min.) from our own 25 or worse. That's because our terrible tackling defense couldn't hold a fart. Wake me when the bowl game is over.
If you'd told me before the game that Drew Pyne would be 23 of 26 for 318 yds and 3 TD's I'd say ...Irish Win! But 2 turnovers really hurt, that fumble killed a good drive and that INT gave them a short field and another TD. But in the end as I said earlier we had no answer for Caleb Williams, and their OL dominated our DL and their RB's ran for over 200 yards. As far as the bowl game, I guess we'll have to wait to see who stays and plays. Will we have guys go into the portal, will some of our seniors like Patterson, Mayer, and Josh lLugg opt not to play? Anyway, USC is a really good team that is peaking now and I can't see them losing next week. They will be a tough out in the CFP.
I'm going to go a little more in depth than Corey.... The best team won. USC should be the poster school for the benefits of the Transfer Portal and the NIL payoffs. They picked up some key players and a great coach and went from rags to riches in one year. Caleb Williams, besides being a one man wrecking crew is also a $2.4 million wage earner this year. Besides the obvious talent of Williams being the principal difference, the one thing I noticed was a total lack of emotion on the sidelines from Marcus Freeman. He was like Mr. Spock over there; like he was watching an episode of The Crown. Somewhere between his stoic demeanor and the purple faced rage of Brian Kelly lies the sweet spot. Pyne played his heart out; gave every ounce and took a pounding in an often collapsing pocket. But that is the best you will ever get out of him because of his obvious limitations. Juxtaposed against Williams there should be no more questions. Would not be shocked to see Tommy Rees plying his trade elsewhere next year. Very poor tackling all night. Our D-Line getting manhandled was a rude surprise. Freshman CB Jaden Mickey #21 is in the burn unit at Cedars Sinai this morning but is expected to recover from a real harsh lesson. Lincoln Riley put on a coaching clinic last night. Brandon Joseph calling a fair catch on a punt with a ten yard cushion and a wide open side of the field when we needed points was a sad exclamation point on a underwhelming season for him. ESPN's Chris Fowler was officially accepted as the newest member of the USC Song Girls after his performance last night. OK. 8-4 in a crazy season of ups and downs. Probably a late December bowl game against LSU perhaps? That would be interesting. Also sets the stage for perhaps the biggest disappointment of the season... the players who will opt out of the game. Prime candidates are Mayer, Patterson, Foskey, Lugg, Bracy. All could have played their last games.
Usually I hope that the leaving players stay to play in the bowl game but if I were Mayer's advisor, I'd tell him to pass. Last year we had a 5th round running back pass on the bowl game which crippled the team and didn't help him one bit. O linemen rarely suffer career threatening injuries and there's really no reason for them not to play unless they've had it with this team. Our young D backs need all the experience that they can get. Meanwhile Marcus and crew should get back on the recruiting trail and sign some snot-knockin' linebackers.
and Drew Pyne had 300yds passing? amazing! it is what is. Hopefully we can keep the recruits we have commited until early signing day in a couple of weeks. That would be a great start on next season.
My sister could complete 60% of her passes if they were 3 yds downfield or 12 yd. “bombs” to Mayer. And she could generate more than 12 yds of offense in a half vs Navy.
well good news here: Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West class of 2023 offensive lineman Christopher Terek has flipped his commitment from Wisconsin to Notre Dame. The 6-5, 320-pound three-star recruit had been rumored to be leaning to the Fighting Irish
I like Drew Pyne, I really hoped Drew would be another Drew Brees. He's filled in pretty well for the Irish, but even I feel like we need better play at QB. I hope he stays and I hope we can get a good transfer that he can back up.