OK can we get a offensive TD this week? Baby Steps, Baby Steps... I didn't see MSU, they are 2-0 though and have been a thorn in the side of the Irish ever since Holtz left. I read where Weis had a very hard practice yesterday, I hope this team is completely pissed at itself and burning with desire to turn things around. If they aren't mad at themselves then we are lost. I hope the UM game was the bottom. As I said above we need to get an offensive touchdown, have some successfull drives, that alone will take some pressure off the defense. I don't think MSU has quite the running game that UM had or the OL, but I'm sure it's good enough. A win is probably too much to hope for, but a well played game is not. Terry
Oh yeah and the Irish are like 15 point underdogs at home vs MSU. Didn't see that one comming! :wink:
Well, I'm going. I'll have all my kids and grandkids there and with the exception of the game, we're going to enjoy ourselves. Once again, Gip will be that large object sitting in the first row above the tunnel. Should be visible when MSU is kicking fgs and PATs. I hope that they don't forget to bring their flag with them.
MSU RB <t>They had that RB that we couldn't tackle last year. One of the things that saved us was that John L stopped giving that kid the ball.</t>
Gip, I'd be surprised to see that kind of crap coming from this Sparty team.....DAntonio is a straight-up, hard nosed, old school kind of guy. He was Ohio State's d-coordinator for the 02 NC team and had been one of Tressel's chief lieutenants for years....went to Cincy and got that program on the right track before taking the Sparty job. I expect him to field a tough, well-coached, no nonsense Sparty team that is ready to play football.....
We lead all of college football in sacks allowed with a staggering 23 through three games. We are on pace to break the all-time sacks allowed record... by mid season! I believe MSU leads all of college football in sacks through three games. Sebastian Junger would call this "the Perfect Storm". If we can show a big turnaround tomorrow and win this game we may have a chance at a 6-6 record. If the game follows the script we have seen so far I think 2-10 or maybe 3-9 will be it.
Looking forward to this game. I will be watching Spurrier try to pull his magic vs. LSU but I will keep an eye on the new MSU coach down at S. Bend trying to make it 6 in a row there for the Spartans. I think MSU wins a very physical 27-17 type game. Clausen will be bruised and battered after this one.
Oh boy. An encouraging start before the old demons rose up to get us again. The O-line played better but still cannot pass block with any consistency. They are dependent on getting help from one or two TEs which virtually eliminates any hope of a vertical passing attack. Our young running backs really pounded the ball which is a big positive. Clausen is a freshman and looks like it. Two freshman LBs made their debut and looked damn good. As far as I'm concerned they can stay in the starting lineup becuase John Ryan and Vernaglia are hopeless at sealing the edges and the 3-4 defense and our CBs are not run stoppers. The DBs reverted to form getting toasted on numerous occasions. If it weren't for David Bruton nothing would be going on back there. After four games my old pal Tommy Z appears to be in sleepwalk mode. And of course our punter is avergaing 40 yards per punt, as in one for 65 then one for 25.....
Grab your heart George (a la Red Foxx). You're not going to believe what I'm about to say..........Tommy Z is stinking up the field! I came to that conclusion when he tackled the MSU runner high and got dragged 4-5 yards. That won't fly on Sundays. I'm not blaming him for all our problems, but it's confirms Corey's sad statement on the lack of leadership when one of your captains cannot bring down a ballcarrier.
0-4 3.8 ppg......119th in all Div1 catergories.....4 million dollar coach with 10 year contract.....never beaten a top ten team in three years. I thought they would finish 4-8 but that may seem optimistic
Sid, I did watch bits and pieces of the ND game yesterday. Clausen will be ok, with some college experience and help on pass protection. Notre Dame may not play 500 ball this fall, but I do see some hope at the end of the rainbow, with next years class. Don
i have no worries <t>I think some valuable lessons are being learned this year. I think Charlie has made mistakes this season that will benefit him for the next 10 to 15 years.<br/> <br/> Our freshman are flipping incredible, the more I see of these kids the more I am optimistic. <br/> <br/> This isn't all on Ty, but if you don't at least recognize that we are 10 scholarship players under the limit AND coming into a new dawn at the end of a long, dark night of Davieham...then you're cursing the vaccine for not working fast enough in treating the disease...We've all known, or feared, that this day would come. The proverbial chickens coming home to roost... Starting with the horrific admissions restrictions/changes on Holtz....all the way to the firing of Ty. We've been guilty of many things, incompetence and hubris are just a few of those things. We are building this right. I am confident of that. I do believe that we need to make perhaps 2 or 3 staff changes still...but we're going the right direction..<br/> <br/> I guess it all gets down to what you're looking for..</t>
Beautiful day for football. Got a great parking spot (and we all know guys "it's not where you sit....") and had a great tailgate with all the kids and grandkids. We had a great dinner downtown before every one headed out. Oh yeah, there also was a gap of about 4 hrs. filled with incessant commercial time outs and pretty bad football. You know things are going badly for the Irish when their punter Price who had a very good season last year, shanked 2 very badly. You all saw the game so no need to comment on it. I will say I didn't sense any lack of effort right up to the final play but once again we were outmatched at the line of scrimmage. The young backs when they get some daylight, are really exciting. Bruton had a hell of a game and made a great pick just before the corner was going to interfer with the receiver. He was all over the field. He should be a captain next season. What you may not have seen. After the game both teams mingled in the field shaking hands. The MSU team which was very disciplined during the game, went over to the corner where their fans were and sang their victory song. Their coach Dantonio has this team playing well and winning with class. He also mercifully sat on the ball through most of the 4th quarter. They will probably be a tough foe in the years to come. I really feel sorry for BC, it will be impossible for them to spoil ND's season this year. SC could well score 80 on us.
I think about several years ago (can't recall the year or the record)) when Penn State pulled a season-long no-show, and the sharks were circling around Jopa. Whatever was/were the problem(s), he righted the ship and PSU has looked pretty good lately. The issues laid on us this year - as Corey pointed out so well above - are the culmination of a number of years of problems with coaching and recruiting. I also feel strongly as Corey does that we simply have weak senior leadership on the field. I am not ready to jump ship at 0-4 and won't be ready at 0-6 or 0-8 if that happens. Actually I predict that we will be 1-4 after next Saturday's journey to the land of the mighty Boilermakers. They have been living an illusion over their first four games.
I hear that backup TE Konrad Reuland is packing his gear for a one way trip out of South Bend. If I recall he was the BIG recruit two years ago.
Sid I'm with you. Here's what I've seen and what I read that I agree with. PROBLEMS 1. Very poor recruiting class in 2004 by Ty. Only 7 players from that class on team with no starters on O. 2. With the exception of Carleson the 5th yr. seniors are mediocre. The reason they're still at ND is that they don't belong in the NFL. 3. Below average recruiting class in 2005. Lack of D linemen and LBs. 4. Average height WRs without burner speed. 5. Consistantly poor special teams play. After 2 yrs. this problem should not exist. Coaching change needed. PLUSES 1. Good stable of talented RBs 2. Talented frosh QB who is getting game experience and will have seen the worst. 3. New DC has outmanned D playing hard. He also appears to be a monster recruiter. If this year's class holds together, the D will be strong by 09. 4. CW is a tireless recruiter. He seems determined to get this program back on a strong footing. He's already changed DCs and will probably make new changes after this season. He's also learning the ropes in being a head coach in college. 5. If there's such a thing as payback, we'll have plenty due after this season.