Man even in the best of years this was always a tough contest because it traditionally follows a big emotional game with Michigan. But this year has to be esp tough, 2 very tough losses in a row, that one Sat being in the gut wrenching category. Kelly will have to be a great motivator to get these kids ready to play another big foe. In Michigan State we always face a tough physical foe. This year will be no different. Their QB, Kirk Cousins, might be the best passing QB in the B1G and given the play of our pass defense ..cough, cough, Gary Gray....against UM I fear that he will carve us up. So far our defense which I thought would be a strength has not been as good as I thought it would be. Against USF when we needed a stop badly they let USF drive 80yds for a TD, and against UM they collapsed in the 4th qtr. Now to be fair if the offense hadn't turned the ball over 10 times in 2 games all of this would be moot. I thought we'd have a big play defense, I thought our front 7 would terrorize QB's...hasn't happened so far. Harrison Smiths AA season is off to a decidedly un AA start. Manti Te'o good but not great, he shouldn't be counting that 1st round money just yet. Last year Tommy Rees did some good things, yet if you go back he also was prone to turn the ball over. How many picks did he throw vs USC? If our defense doesn't bail him out in that game we don't win. This year he's also made some critical mistakes amongst some really good things as well. I'm going to this game, but for the 1st time ever I'm not real excited about going. I wish I was going to the Purdue game instead! Go Irish.
It was a bad day for Indiana's Div 1 football teams. Purdue loses to Rice on last second blocked FG. IU loses to Virgina on last second made FG ND loses to UM on last second TD.
I'm surprised the Irish are favored in this one.....Irish by 5.5? I think Sparty has a pretty good football team. Should be a good one to watch.....
I am as well. As I said I believe Cousins is the best QB in the BIG and he is a 3 year vet, and that RB Baker is a very tough customer. Of course we know they are well coached.
Perhaps it's in SB with the Irish backs up against the wall.....I'm certain they'll put forth a supreme effort and should be one helluva game. I do think this is a decent Sparty team looking for some respect after having gotten embarrassed by the Tide last year.....D'Antonio is a excellent coach and perhaps has as much to do with Kelly being in SB as anybody.... :wink:
That's the second time you've sort of half way complemented Sparty...previously it was "pretty" good. I haven't followed the season predictions for the B1G is MSU not supposed to be one of the better B1G teams this year?
Absolutely....Sparty is a prime contender for one of the division crowns. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they are in the hunt in November.
I see that the weekend forecast for South Bend is a high of 75 and low of 50 and no rain!! So I've got that to look forward to! :roll:
Ragone....Gone..ACL. This is one cursed player. He was the top TE in the country as a Jr, got hurt badly wrestling and had to sit out his Sr. year in HS. Since coming to ND he has never been 100%, he's had times where he got back on the field and showed some stuff but then he'd get injured. I feel bad for the guy, hopefully he's done well in the Classroom and can move on in life to the next part...earning a living the old fashioned way.
That's terrible about Ragone. That poor kid has glass knees. One thing I think we'll see different out of our defense this week is that Cousins is not the run threat that either of the first 2 QBs were. Let's face it, if Robinson wasn't such as incredible runner... he's playing DIII football. He's a terrible passer. Cousins is the exact opposite in my opinion. They are going to run right at us (hello, Carlo in the lineup please) and try to play action pass us to death. Michigan State will stop us on everything 3rd and short unless we throw the ball.. We can spread them out and I am hoping for some big play scoring. Personally, I'd just as soon take all of our goal to go snaps from the 11.
Coach Kelly's Comments On a personal note, I've read all the comments this week from my fellow ND fans on this board, about 50% of which have merit. I will address only one "issue" and say that if you would throw our outstanding DBs like Gray and Blanton under the bus, then you have very short memories and you did not understand what was happening as the game wore on. I didn't understand either until it was explained to me by the best football mind I know that every time Robinson even hinted at running, our DBs - in an instant shorter than a millisecond - had to make an adjustment in their footwork which put them at an immediate disadvantage in their cover assignments. Michigan has outstanding athletes with speed and instincts that enabled them to take advantage of those instantaneous hesitations. Those athletic receivers also were breaking free in the first half, but DR was not throwing accurately. He found his stride in the 2nd half. That's the kind of impact a great athlete like Robinson has on an opponent. We held him for a while, but he rose to the occasion as the game wore on. We will not face another dual threat talent like him again this season, thank goodness.
Nationally 52nd in defense, 13 in offense, dead last in turnover differential. Says it all, doesn't it? :evil:
This article says what I would like to say at this point of the season. It doesn't mean I'm tiptoeing through the tulips and denying the reality of the first two games. It says simply two things and says them well: 1) Brian Kelly has produced winning programs everywhere he's been but not immediately, and 2) this year's expectations of anything better than 9-3 were unrealistic. With due respect for opinions different from mine, there certainly are debatable points in the article, but the underlying theme is relax and be patient, which is how I feel at this time. A Message to Nervous Irish Fans
My observations: Did you notice Brady Hoke? Does not wear a headset. Never lost his cool once, even when losing 24-7. Michigan fans were definitely the "12th man". They were impressive and probably more motivational than playing Irish folk songs at crunch time. I had no trouble identifying the field as the home team's.
After the infamous sellout of tickets to Nebraska fans in 2001, I don't believe I ever again can trust the loyalty of Notre Dame fans. I don't believe that ND Stadium ever will rock like Michigan Stadium did last Saturday night. The ND students will scream their lungs out, but they comprise only 10-15% of the crowd. At least 50% of the rest are, at best, fair-weather stooges who don't comprehend the meaning of loyalty. That was an impressive display by the Michigan fans.