Hard to not keep thinking about Clemson 73 Ga.Tech 7, but other than that they haven't really been outclassed as much as I thought. We have 2 common opponents. They beat FSU 16-13 a big upset at the time people thought and they beat Louisville 48-27 a team we only scored 12 points against. They sit at 2-4 losing to UCF, Syracuse, Clemson and BC. They have a freshman QB who has played pretty well, he's one of those athletic kids who is a good runner. But their defense is giving up almost 50 points a game. So if we can put 45 on Pitt we should be able to put 50 on Ga.Tech. I think you can't compare our game v Louisville and their game against Louisville and come away thinking that their offense is better than ours. I'm not sure what happened to Louisville that game but I don't think you can say they have a better offense. I expect our defense to continue to play well, I do think Tech has a better offense, they have averaged 180 yds rushing per game, Pitt hadn't been able to run the ball at all this season. So that alone says they are better. Still expect to see a good performance by our defense and our offense continue to grow in the passing game and they give up almost 200yds a game rushing so I won't be shocked if we run for 250 to 300 yds on them. Mostly I hope that we see Book have a good game throwing the ball, accurately, our screen game has been nothing because he's not making the "layups". I imagine we'll see a lot of Mike Mayer. We have a 5 star freshman WR, Jordan Johnson, who hasn't played not exactly sure but Kelly keeps saying he's making progress. That usually means that there is some non-football issue. Maybe he'll get some reps, he's reportedly fast. I'm sure we'll continue to see a lot of Ben Skowronek and Javon McKinnley. Avery Davis in the slot seems to make things happen when he gets the ball so I hope he factors into the game plan. Mostly I would like to be up big on them after 3 and see the backup QB's actually get in and run the offense and not just hand the ball off to C'Bo and Jafar Armstrong. Irish need to play well and set themselves up for a good game with Clemson.
Kelly said Bracey will be back this week and will be 100%. He had a lot of good things to say about the Tech QB and RB. On Georgia Tech’s Offense “This is a really good offense and one that can be extremely explosive. I mentioned the two guys in particularly, the quarterback (freshman Jeff Sims) and running back (freshman Jahmyr Gibbs). Good scheme, solid offensive line, veteran guys up front. We’re going to be challenged and we’re going to have some tests these next couple weeks with some explosive players on offense. Our defense will be challenged differently than they have been the previous weeks.”
I haven't watched this year but I do follow the stats ad see the highlights. Book has regressed each successive year to date. The guy before him did the same thing but I can't recall his name. The team seems to have ample talent to cover his shortcomings against most teams on the schedule and the defense is strong once again. The rubber meets the road with Clemson who I did see play once. Based on that small sampling I think ND is in big trouble that week. Book is cannot stretch the field so that savage Clemson D is going to be packing the box and blitzing like crazy. Lawrence looks flawless. I would say if ND stays within 21 points of Clemson that would be a psychological victory.
I agree George, Clemson is an elite team whose roster is much better than ours. It's deeper and has more highly rated players coming out of HS. The QB is the #1 pick in the next NFL draft. They also have a RB who will be a first round draft choice. Like everyone else it's hard not to notice the career paths of Irish QB's. I don't have an explanation for why Book was better as a 1st year QB than he is as a 3rd year starter. He has a good OL and good RB's, you could say his WR's are the problem, I guess.
David Abiara a DE from Texas, and Irish verbal who has been the subject of a lot of speculation over the summer as to whether or not he was going to decomit and go to Oklahoma. But he never did, I read reports that the Irish had stopped communicating with him for awhile and expected him to not be in the 2021 class, took another DE in expectation of this..then lately he's been saying he expects to be wearing the Gold helmet next season. People were happy, he's a very good player with upside. We'll apparently he's also got very poor judgement as he's been arrested for what is being called a misdemeanor, criminal trespassing. But it could be upgraded to a felony. I imagine unless this is a massive misunderstanding that he will not be attending Notre Dame.
2 ND players have tested positive however according to reports, neither was on the travel team in Pittsburgh last Sat.
Haven't seen the depth chart yet. We have 3 players in isolation (infected) and 1 quarantined (exposed) Don't know any names.
Irish dominated the stats but not scoring. I hate to be that guy who complains about the QB who manages the game, wins a lot and doesn't turn it over, and Book is all that. But I really wish he could make plays down field.