Corey It was about 50 when the game started and the temp dropped as the game went on. The last time I checked the wind chill midway through the 4th quarter and it was 43. We had nice seats through my bro.-in-law at the 60 midway up the stands. We were in the last row of our section and gratefully we were completely covered. I brought my Dad's ND blanket which is probably 75 years old and we kept warm enough to stay for the whole game. There was a constant light drizzle for most of the game. Really ugly football weather. Pretty warm feeling driving home however.
Another one for the ages. A TD pass between two players who probably never thought they would play today. Two game balls. Book and Yoon. P.S Apparently Nyles Morgan was stripped of his Captaincy before the game today?
Congrats fellas! I couldn't be happier for ya. Gads I hate those SwampKitties, and you put a little ray of light into a crappy bowl season for us Aggies. 8)
Gip, glad you were able to stay comfy enough to ride it out and see that incredible finish! Scott, It's not just beating them that is fun, it's that we broke their heart that was so much better.
:wink: Once again, we see that when selfish players are removed, their replacements come through. All Ian Book and Myles Boykin needed was a chance and they cashed it in.
CJ Sanders and Peter Mokwauh will both graduate and transfer for their 5th years some place else. CJ had a lot of potential early on in his career at ND, but then just disappeared except as a kick returner. He was pretty good as a returner but not a player who can not be replaced. He hasn't indicated any destination and he'll have to go to summer school to graduate. So might be quite awhile before he announces a destination school. Peter Mokwauh was not on the 3 deep at DL..so good luck to him, he'll have his degree and maybe where he goes for his 5th year he'll get some playing time and enjoy his last year of football. I can't imagine he'll show up at any Power 5 school next year.
Some observations after a cooling off period. 1. The offense we saw with Book out there I think is the offense that Long wants to run. Book was able to make throws that Wimbush couldn't make in the short passing game and while we didn't exactly run over and around LSU we did run more effectively once LSU had to respect that Book could make some throws. It's going to be a interesting offseason for Wimbush, some have said they expect him to transfer, but I would be surprised if he does. If he can become as good as Book throwing, with his running ability the sky is the limit for him. 2. Eddie O's decision to kick the last FG from the 1 yd line on 4th down was fortunate for the Irish, gave them the spread that allowed the win. If they had gone for it and made it then that last score would have sent it to OT. 3. Tevon Coney was clearly our best player on defense. I hope he comes back he could have a monster Sr. year and play himself into the 1st day if not the 1st round. As it is there is just not enough film on him and he'd likely not be a high draft pick. 4. Drue Tranquil really played well also, I don't think it makes any difference for him coming back. His size and speed are fine for college, but in the NFL he's a special teamer who can maybe find a spot on the depth chart with teams who run a defense that uses a rover like Lb. 5. Justin Yoon was money in bad conditions yesterday. All you had to do is look at the missed LSU FG's and see how valuable he was to our team. 6. Dexter Williams. He came in and made 2 great runs and then disappeared for the most part. There are rumors out there that he's considering leaving so he can get more playing time some place else. I hope he stays though and that next year instead of battling injuries along with Tony Jones we end up with the 3 man rotation at RB that I think many of us expected this year. 7. St. Brown. I'm conflicted on whether I hope he goes Pro or comes back. He was a disappointment this year but was that him or his QB? I don't know. 8. Boykin, he's got the body to be an excellent college WR. I hope this game spurs him on in his development. Same thing for Chase Claypool who of course didn't play but also has that big body and who made some plays this past year. If both of those guys develop into reliable threats WR will be good with or without St. Brown.
odd ball question for Corey and JO'Co. Who was the last Black QB to start for USC? I can't think of any other than Rodney Peete in 1988. Have they even had a Black QB on the roster competing for the job? I really can't think of any, but surely they must have had several, right?
Also while this was hardly a resounding and dominating win for the Irish, it was closing out the year with a solid win over a good football team. I wonder how this will impact the recruiting in Jan.
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Notre Dame <t>Well like it it not(and I don’t) we have a QB controversy now. I really thought about this and it’s difficult to say but it’s not going to be Wimbush. That’s sad too because he is such a dynamic player but....he can’t pass and it’s not going to change. Not I’m not saying it’s Book but you can see in the limited playing time he has had that he can pass and his game will even get better but he doesn’t have the skills and raw athletic talent that Wimbush has. Maybe it will fall to the new kid Jurkovec but that will take some time.</t>
Devastating news for the Men's Basketball team. Bonzie Colson broke his foot in practice has had surgery and will miss Jan and Feb recovering. Irish Women who are so thin, maybe lost LiLi Thompson the PG from Stanford who has been starting. Tim, I hope this QB controversy works out better than the one between Golson and Zaire. In that one Golson left after Spring because he didn't want to take a chance at getting the hook for Zaire. Zaire could have used the extra work had Golson let it be known he was leaving. Then the next one between Zaire and Kizer was bad as well, it was clear from the way he played in 2015 that Kizer should have been the clear starter going into the spring but Kelly called them co-starters and that didn't work at all. I'm all for competition as everybody thinks it makes both players better, I hope that is what happens here. I'd really love for a light bulb to go on in Brandons head and for him to become all that he is capable of doing. We'll see.
Notre Dame <r>Terry,<br/> <QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> Exactly my thoughts. I'm just not optimistic on him anymore.</r>
Notre Dame <r>I couple of paragraphs from Tim Prister’s article in Irish Illustrated I thought were spot on:<br/> <QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> I would like to think that somehow over the summer Wimbush will gain the attributes he lacks to become a competent passer, I REALLY would but sadly I’m about 95% sure he won’t.</r>
It's going to be a tough offseason for Brandon. I hate that he's going to have to go through this, from everything I've read he's a great kid, a very good student, and a team leader. I doubt if he wants to transfer, would no doubt like to earn his ND degree but unless he can overcome his current limitations Kelly has no choice but to do what Prister suggested, give Book all the rope in the world to beat out Brandon in the Spring. The thing is that everybody says Brandon is a different player in practice, that he makes those throws and runs the offense, but something happens when the bell goes on for him. Certainly doesn't affect his running of the football, he's terrific at that part of the offense. I wonder when Adams, Tillery, Coney and St. Brown will announce their intentions to stay or go to the NFL. Tillery and Coney are key to next years defense being even better. Offense should be fine if Adams and St. Brown leave, even though I doubt either will be drafted very high, with some chance that they will both end up as undrafted FA.
:idea: :arrow: re: Black USC QB Jimmy Raye was the first and probably their best QB at USC back in the late 1960's.
Re: Prister’s article. He’s paid to express opinions, and he apparently is smart enough to pander to his readers. What makes anyone think that Kelly has not given Book the opportunity that Prister and anxious fans are clamoring for? There’s a reason he’s the backup and not the starter. He did a great job in the game. His assets complement Wimbush’s. The coach obviously decided that we could attack LSU’s defense more effectively with Book and he was correct. I agree that BW needs to improve his passing game, but I’m not ready to anoint Book as the next Joe Montana, who by the way was 3rd string until he got his big break due to injuries and never gave up the starting position. So far Book has 3 TD passes and 3 INT. He had a nice game vs. NC, but unlike Montana he remained the backup. Like everyone else, I expect there to be a spirited 3-way competition in the spring. We’ll see how that plays out. In the meantime, I’d be shocked if BW would transfer. None of the above changes the fact that with BW as our QB we won 8 regular season games. His contributions to those wins were his legs, his arm, and his leadership. Until it’s proven to the contrary, I believe he gives us our best chance to win over the course of an entire season. Going forward it can change. If it does, I’ll support whoever is our starting QB.
Re Black USC QBs. Peete was the last starter if I recall correctly. I can't recall if there was a random start due to injury, but I don't think so. USC actually has a page dedicated to this, because, of course they do. http://usctrojans.com/sports/2017/6/15/blog-2015-02-uscbhm-usc-black-qb-history-html.aspx If there was 1 start, it might have been by a guy named Reggie Perry. I can't remember if he was white or black, but he got a start back in the early 90s. I can name every USC QB (WHY!?!?!?!?) going back to my childhood. Peete would be my answer, but that Perry guy might be the last. It would have been 91 or so.