Great win for the lads, the defense made a play when they had to make a play. What can you say about Clausen? I mean that is one tough kid, he really stood in there and toughed it out. When MSU started to bring the heat he proved he could take it. I love this kid. He made so many throws that were just right on the money, even that one that the MSU made such a great play on to prevent a Tate TD was just right on the money. Same thing for Armando Allen, he is becoming the back that we all hoped he would be. Golden Tate is both magnificent and frustrating. I mean the guy makes some incredible plays and then some frustrating drops. Kyle Rudolph great game. OL very good, JC did have pressure from the 2nd Qtr on but he was able to handle it. Michael Floyd we are going to miss him. But I noticed that Kamara made some plays today and this is where one or more of the young guys have an opportunity to step up...Shaq, John Gooden come on down. Defense....well they did force a 3 and out in the 4th qtr and made the play at the end. But wow they have a long way to go. Some were saying that MSU would be easier since their offense was more conventional but Cousins just ate them up. He got rid of the ball quickly and accurately and our DB's just either played too far off or couldn't make the play. Special Teams: OK never saw a illegal motion called on a kicker before. Refs: Just criminal that they didn't give Floyd the TD, I was certain that they were going to overturn the Tate TD as well.
So far this season against 3 teams that might be in bowls he thrown for over 950 yds, 9 tds no ints. and a passer rating over 180. He's one of the top 3 QBs in the country. Now he might not be as good as the great Troy Smith but he does deserve to be mentioned as a Heisman candidate.
Well I agree with you, but I think if he gets into the Heisman conversation it will be late in the year and the Irish will have to have had a great season and he'll have to have a lot of games like the first 3. Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Jahvid Best are going to the guys going forward until they slip.
Nice win for the Irish. Now you can get the monkey off your back by winning agaist MSU at home for a change. Don
:lol: Maybe if he keeps playing this well and dominates his arch rivals at the end of the year, perhaps he, as Troy did before him, will win the award in the greatest landslide vote in the long history of the trophy. That being said, McFadden, albeit a distant second, was a great, great player.
Actually Clausen has thrown for 11 TDs this season. Big Ten refs have taken 2 away. But the good news is that we're done playing with the crooks for this season.
Wonder why we've had more success against MSU on the road than at home. Oh yeah, we don't use Big Ten refs in E. Lansing.
This week the Big Ten suspended a Mich. player who punched an ND player during the game. It happened right in front of the Big Ten refs. He should have been flagged and thrown out of the game. Yesterday, Clausen when his protection broke down took a knee under the rush. He then was hit by 2 MSU players when he was down and he was injured. No flag. Even though we won, **** those bastards. They're nothing more than dishonest pricks wearing striped shirts and impersonating game officials.
ND <r>Jonas Gray cannot pick up the blitz! One of the other backs has got to pick up the slack for A. Allen when he's on the sideline! <E>8)</E></r>
I saw the play....live and several replays. It seemed to me that one his own O-linemen was as responsible for the damage done as any when he fell on Clausen while engaged with the Sparty linemen.....in a situation like that, I just don't see a flag coming from any official. I didn't see the play being as egregious as you make it out to be.....I suspect even the vaunted officials from the Big East would have a hard time making that call.
Why bring them up. First of all ND football doesn't belong to the Big East. Second we compete for bowl spots with their teams. We used to use MAC officials and I thought that they were pretty good. Certainly much better than the Big Ten clowns. Fortunately I have the game tivoed and watched the play again. While he's kneeling he's hit head on by Elsworth who drives Clausen backwards. Since Clausen is kneeling with his foot planted it injures a toe. The ND lineman who lands on Clausen is tripped by Elsworth who is finishing his hit on the kneeling Clausen. Great cripple shooters.
Clausen will be more successful at the next level than any of the aforementioned. I haven't see a QB with his accuracy since Joe Theisman. Clausen can put the ball anywhere he wants to, whether it's a screen pass or a flag route. The pass to Tate yesterday down the right sideine is a good example. He had a defender draped all over him and Clausen put a touch on the ball like it was a flop shot around the green. He threw it high and soft and it landed just over the defender's reach right in Tate's hands. On out patters he throws bullets that hit the receiver six inches below his chin. He's amazing.
Bob, he does have a very impressive completion percentage. Amazingly, he threw 82 passes against Mich. and MSU and there wasn't one pass interference penalty against either team.
Sorry Gip.....you're seeing ghosts on that one. Were they not the replay officials who reviewed the disputed TD catch and chose not to overturn? Collusion? Perhaps a vast conference affiliation wing conspiracy maybe? :wink:
Yes they were. Perhaps, unlike the Big Ten refs the week before, they followed the rule that the evidence had to be indisputable. So that means that they wouldn't call a cheap shot on a downed QB? Also, the Big East reviewed the TD callback in the Mich. game and indicated that it shouldn't have been called back.
Re the Clausen hit. It's one of those things that, in real time, I can see them not calling the penalty. Watching the review, the closet guy who hit him still took 3 full strides before driving him into the ground. MSU put 3 right up the A gaps. That's a problem with our formation. The center takes on, the single back is suppose to take the other but that still leaves an unblocked man pouring up the middle. The problem with our RB is that he **** the bed and couldn't decide on which man to chip... so 2 got thru. Its just one of those things. It could have been a late hit, but looks worse in review than it did in real time. I loved how MSU tackled AA in the field of play and then drove him out of bounds tossing him into the bench.. No big, its football. Next series for them, our guy does the same EXACT thing and gets a 15 yard penalty. Stuff like that is maddening.
Gip, easy solution.....join the Big East and don't choose to schedule Big 10 teams. The best of both worlds.....no problem. If you continue to choose to schedule Big 10 teams then somehow, someway the Irish athletic leadership believes it to be in your best interest to do so.....in spite of the obvious conspiracy. Corey , I agree.....Re: The Clausen sack - in real time, it appeared he was getting low to avoid the jail break up the middle - lost his footing and went down awkwardly just prior to the players - including his own - falling on top of him. I for certain didn't see any cheap shot..... At what point did the whistle blow?