Turnovers are the great equalizer. We dropped 9 easy points. We out passed Clemson 321 to 97. Had 150 more total yards. Played the entire 4th quarter in the Clemson red zone. And still the game ended on the Tiger goal line with a chance to tie. In the end, four 2nd half TOs, including one on the one yard line and a lot of stupid penalties is what beat us. Observations: Our offensive line met its match last night. Will Fuller did too. Corey Robinson. What is wrong with him? Uncle Rico's defense really played well in spite of having to defend a short field much of the second half due to TOs. I still think the Irish have one of the top five teams in college football this year.
Tough, tough loss, for sure. So many things went wrong, starting with the muffed punt that led to a Clemson TD. which I consider a turnover. Fumbles. Errant passes. Catchable passes not caught. Fumbles. Intercepted passes. Inability of O-line to spring Prosise. Dumb penalties. Fumbles. Early defensive lapses. Yet at the end, we were in position to tie the game with a chance to win in OT. What I take away from this game can be summed up in one word: CHARACTER Despite everythinng that went wrong, we fought and fought and gave ourselves a chance. Like Terry, I believe we can have an outstanding season. Based on what happened in East Lansing and Bloomington yesterday, an undefeated season for those two teams is not certain. A lot can happen over the next several weeks. We just need to take care of our own business. Priority one......protect the ball.
Amen! You can dominate for a big part of the game and then have it all erased by fumbles, interceptions, and stupid penalties (which can act like turnovers). And worst of all, they are so damned frustrating. 8)
Where was that WR crossing rout in the first half? It worked time and again because Clemson was committed to stopping the run with 7 or 8 in the box. We spent the whole first half pounding sand. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result...insanity.
:idea: :arrow: I have no idea what our coaches were doing in this one... 1. Two point try early in the game. How many times have we seen this? We all agreed that sooner or later, that would bite us in the rear and it finally did. 2. BVG came out of the tunnel with his hair on fire, as usual, and our opponent took advantage of it. First play of the game he calls an all-out run blitz with Schmidt slanting to the left. The Clemson QB simply ran to the right and nobody was home for about 50 yards. Why? 3. This was a very winnable game for coaches who were patient...
For those armchair coaches who chose to criticize the play call on the two-point conversion to tie the game: It wasn't the play call. It was the failure of the O-line to execute their assignments, caused by Clemson's D simply wanting it more at that singular point in time. I applaud the manner in which the head coach, the QB, and the center all take full responsibility for the call and the failure to execute successfully. This is what I mean when I say that this team has character. The 15 or so years between Holtz and Kelly are littered with games wherein ND teams simply folded under adversity and were crushed. This game had the potential to be one of those, but the team rose up and fought its heart out. I'm no fan of moral victories, and for me the end result sucks. However, I feel good about the current state of the program and the near-term outlook for a highly successful season.
Not surprisingly Kelly getting a ton of criticism for the 2 point calls. But that's coaching, you make a decision and if it works you're a genius and if it doesn't your a moron. The first 2 point call, the pass to Robinson was right where it needed to be for a tall receiver and Corey just didn't make the catch. In retrospect that decision to even go for 2 points a point of debate, of course if he makes the catch again...genius! The second 2 point call of course was a no brainer, you have to go for it. As I said earlier I might have favored the pass and if that wasn't open maybe Kizer could have made the play with his feet. But this is all 20-20 hindsight. The only thing I wonder about is the Clemson players saying that our OL was tipping the plays with their stances. I know that is something that every OL coach is aware of and guards against, but they said they knew when running plays were coming. The good news is that our coaching staff is on notice that even if they don't think it's true, which Kelly in yesterdays presser said that they guard against that, but they will no doubt really look hard at the tape and see if they are doing something that tips the plays.
I didn't like the play call at the end. There were no options for Kizer and when Steve Elmer got knocked backward at the LOS it was all over. If Kizer had sprinted out its possible he could have made something happen. That first half was like watching the Keystone Cops. Delay of game-holding-delay of game in sequence. Penalties in the first half, turnovers in the second. Clemson is just not that good.
It was obvious from the outset that Clemson overplayed the run by committing 7 and 8 in the box. The first half consisted of two running plays against run stacked defenses and then on third and long we passed against 8 men in coverage. We did this over and over again. That's how you score all of 3 points in the first half. It shouldn't have come down to late 2 pt. calls.
Terry, That hit is now illegal in high school football here. You can't even go facemask on the ball. They spent weeks teaching newer/safer tackling techniques this summer to my son. I still see some kids do it and get away with it, but I've also seen fewer missed tackles this year by everyone.
Looks like that is a punter... so I'd say "technique" never came into it. He was probably crapping his pants that he was going to have to make the stop and closed his eyes. Did anyone see the Toledo punter's "effort" to cover a bad snap in the endzone yesterday? So bad. :lol: