Yama on the importance of the DL play vs UNC. 6. I really can’t emphasize enough how significant the pass rush is going to have to be for Notre Dame in this game. 14 of the 27 sacks that UNC has given up were road games against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. It’s not a coincidence that both games were losses and those games were the lowest point totals the Tar Heels put on the board all season. Carolina has given up 33 sacks in their seven losses the last two seasons, including six against Notre Dame last year. They’re 123rd in the country in sack rate in 2021. Georgia Tech was not supposed to beat them, but they did partially because they were a much more physical team. I think Notre Dame is going to be the more physical team on Saturday and that’s ultimately going to be a significant factor in the end result.
Message from ND Football via Jack Coan to Dickie V. I always have been ambivalent about Dick Vitale. As a person I love him. As a game commentator, I've found his voice to be increasingly difficult to understand as he's aged.
Not really, but I would be surprised if he wasn't there, his future son in law Tom Krug was Ron Powlus backup
Interesting start for the Irish, Buchner and Coan both playing. Buchner with the short TD pass. Irish 7-0
7-7.UNC OL really playing well and they are running the ball against our DL. They had a big pass play to set up the TD. Irish came back with a drive that stalled around the 20 and we kick at FG 10 - 3 IRISH
17 - 13 at half and they get the ball to start the 2nd half. So far their offense has been very good, especially running the ball with Sam Howell. I hate that 3 man front that Freeman uses, opponents love it and run very well against it.
I hope the fans can hear Kelly screaming in the locker room at half over the band. The last 1:10 was some of the worst defense you'll see anywhere. I'd like to see more of Buchner. Coan just cannot get out of his own way under pressure.
Big 91 yd TD run by Kyren followed by a pick by DJ Brown and we are up 41 - 27. Need for the defense to now step up and shut these guys down
Irish defense is like a sieve, UNC just marched right down and scored. Sam Howell ran through the entire defense for a 31 yd TD
Irish win 44 - 34. Offense was good, but left points on the board when they settled for FG when it was 1st and 10 inside the 10 yard line. UNC does have good offense and I wish we had a QB as good as Sam Howell, he's a tough runner and a good Passer. But our defense tackled like a Jr High team. Freeman is looking like a coach who has been exposed and teams know how to beat him. He's not quite in BVG territory but not far from it
Over a thousand yards of offense tonight. Kyren goes for 199 yds, team 293 yds. Given our poor tackling though I now fear the University of Navy.
I appears to me that our biggest defensive weakness is our LBs. What they lack in speed, they make up for with terrible tackling. I could see being gashed by a QB like Vince Young or Cam Newton but Sam Howell??? I'd like to see what Freeman can do with a complete D. (Hope Hamilton is back soon.) The O line is no where near where we'd like to see them, Williams 91 yarder was solely on his effort except for some downfield blocking by his receivers. I like what I see from Buchner, I don't know why he doesn't play more in the red zone. Once again Doerer was solid when we needed him. (and we shouldn't have needed him after a 1st and goal inside the 5.) We're winning ugly, really ugly.
You know what I like about winning ugly? Winning. For all you Coan detractors, how about that TD run and the earlier almost-TD run? Pretty good for a guy who can't move. What I love most about Coan is his heart, the heart of a winner. My favorite part of #23's long run was the stiff arm, which prevented a sure tackle in the backfield. I love his 2nd, 3rd, 4th effort. Huge heart. Diggs #22 runs like Williams' freshman self.
Every time Freeman goes with the three man front he gets gouged. Yet he persists. The O-Line continues to improve but the D-Line seems to be struggling now; they did not put a lot of pressure on Howell until late. You could see Kelly seething on the sideline when ND was on defense; I don't think he and Freeman are on the same page at all. Coan found his legs in the second half and that changes everything. Never a dull moment with this team.
I think sometimes a lot of us overlook how important the OL is to the performance of the QB. Plenty of Aggie fans did the same earlier this year. Sounds like the Irish OL is figuring things out at the right time. (Is there ever a wrong time )
doctor...navy lolol...wont they ever learn to schedule real teams? 3-4 teams a year will get them nada.