Not a very good BC team. In the past they've given us fits because they typically had veteran OL's and DL's with NFL type players. This year not so much. Very young team, they do have maybe the best linebacker in the country but that probably won't be enough. I certainly expect us to beat them, they might not be as good as the Maryland team that we beat last week. But I do expect them to give a max effort and while I would love to hang 50 on them or more, it might not work out that way. Weather for Sid and other Irish fans will be in the 50's and a 30% chance of rain. I don't worry about Sid though he always has his Walmart poncho with him! Oh and this just in Bob Davie has supposedly accepted the Head Coaching Job at New Mexico. I guess he's just got to get that coaching bug out of his system. He's been off the sidelines for 10 years now, I don't see it being easy to get back in the flow of being a HC after all that time. Good Luck to him though.
This BC team is woeful. Cannot even pick up a pulse on these mutts. They have disrespected us in the past and it is senior day in South Bend. ND- 57 BC- 17 The spread is 24.5
ND <r>BC <E>:evil:</E><br/> Right there with Purdue on my list of...well, you know. I'd like the Irish to hang a half an hundred on these guys also but I'll take a win anyway we can get it.</r>
:roll: I hate games like this, because you can never beat them by enough. I just want the guys to win this one easliy without getting anyone hurt...
Excellent article, Terry. Thanks. I did not realize that Gray's rushing average is 7.1 yards per carry. Pretty impressive.
I'm with JOCO.. I just want to win and walk away healthy. However, if the opportunity presents itself... I would like to beat these guys by 100.
Well the weekend got off to a great start for the Irish. The Hockey team played BC at Compton tonight and beat them 3-2 on literally a last second goal. Hopefully the Irish football team will beat BC, but beat them so bad in the 1st half that they don't want to come out and play the 2nd half instead of a last second win!!!
Retched game. BC D was simple in the 2nd half, stack the line for our 1st down running play and then drop 8 or 9 for the next two pasing downs. Rees had all day and couldn't find anyone. When we threw on 1st down, we had good success which led to the winnning FG. Just an awful game.
Terrible game, only thing that could have been worse if BC had gotten the onside kick and beat us with a FG. As gip observed the defense of BC played us masterfully, it was painful to see them drop 10 guys into coverage on passing downs not fearing Rees running the ball. We really missed Jonas when he went out, Wood has had and excellent year but he he can't get the tough yards that Jonas would get for us. Obviously we will live or die with Rees vs Stanford and the Bowl game but I hope that either Hendrix or Golson show enough in the Spring to make starting them an option next year. This offense would have been dynamite had we a QB who was a credible running threat. Defense played very well, if it wasn't for that kick out of bounds giving them good field position I don't think they can march 80yds and get the score. The only thing I don't like about our defense is that we just can't seem to force many turnovers. I am also surprised that we don't do a better job of pressuring the passer, Rettig had a lot of time to throw. If he were a better QB, like say Luck, he'd have eaten us alive. I'll have to just put this down in the any win is a good win column because it sure wasn't a fun game to watch.
That set a new standard for winning ugly. How limited is Rees? Well, Kelly would not let him throw in the red zone because that is where he is the most prone to mistakes. We played for the FG. He would not let Rees go for it on 4th and one foot from the BC 40 yard line. BC dropped 9 into pass coverage they were so sure that Rees would not run. I have never seen that before. I think we started running the clock out with two minutes left.... in the 3rd quarter. Trivia question. How many consecutive games have we played without attempting to return a punt?
If you think Tommy Rees is a limited qb, you just need to watch Texas QB's gawd we suck!!! Neither Ash or McCoy can hit the ocean.
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:? :x -Rees/punt returns I'm not sure what the plan is here. All I know for sure, is that our QB has been ordered not to run under any circumstances and the punt returner has been given similar instructions. This all seems like a great scheme to keep your job at Grand Valley State; but at South Bend, Indiana...not so much. -Pick Six I lost count of all the interceptions that the Boston defenders held in both hands, before dropping the ball. If Tommy does that against Stanford, their defense might score a thousand points... -Michael Floyd I lost count of all the times that our All-American receiver was wide open and behind everyone as he ran past, around and through BC's clueless, freshmen CBs. We need to find a QB who sees that and throws the ball to him. -Half-time adjustments Aren't we supposed to make half-time adjustments? -Robby Toma Does anyone miss Theo Riddick? I've never seen Toma drop the ball and his quickness makes him almost uncoverable in the first 5-15 yards. If he played at Boise State he'd have 10-12 catches per game. -Jonas A tough break for a great senior leader. He will be missed. Now let's see if Kelly is smart enough to move Riddick back to running back. -Irish Oline Outstanding again and definitely better since Golic set up shop at center. -Beastie Boys Aaron Lynch and Troy Niklas were both too much for BC's linemen to handle. They will be difficult to remove from the lineup. Both of them forced many bad passes with their rush and their size. -Not Kelly's guys Manti Teo, David Ruffer and Harrison Smith came up big today. With the offense such as it is; we needed it. -Sharing playing time Both Carlo and Foxy looked good today -Special teams Austin Collinsworth and Bennett Jackson always seem to be in the thick of every fight. I hope they're both in the starting defense next season. -ND vs BC This crummy game was typical of the whole season. I can't remember another year like it; nor can I remember a year where I had less fun cheering for my favorite school. I honestly believe that the Notre Dame roster has as much talent on it as any of the top teams in the nation. I look at LSU or Alabama or Oklahoma and I fear nothing that I see. How can a team like that lose to a bunch of ragamuffins like South Florida? Or struggle with the worst Boston College team I've seen since the 1970's? Or get blown out by USC and all three games at home? Poor execution; too many turnovers; people taking bad angles; out of position; unhappy players; seniors thrown under the bus; an offense that nobody seems to understand; a coach who struggles to control himself as much as the team... I thought they fired Gerry Faust?
Rees/punt returns I'm not sure what the plan is here. All I know for sure, is that our QB has been ordered not to run under any circumstances and the punt returner has been given similar instructions. This all seems like a great scheme to keep your job at Grand Valley State; but at South Bend, Indiana...not so much. Never looked at Rees this way. Maybe he doesn't run because kelly has no faith in any of the other QBs. That's scary. I noticed that we set in a punt return mode yet never make an actual attempt to return a punt. Why not go full punt block and maybe get lucky? -Pick Six I lost count of all the interceptions that the Boston defenders held in both hands, before dropping the ball. If Tommy does that against Stanford, their defense might score a thousand points... Yep. We have been getting away with things in the soft part of the schedule. Tighten up next week or else. -Michael Floyd I lost count of all the times that our All-American receiver was wide open and behind everyone as he ran past, around and through BC's clueless, freshmen CBs. We need to find a QB who sees that and throws the ball to him. Rees doesn't see the field very well, does he. -Half-time adjustments Aren't we supposed to make half-time adjustments? We did. We decided to not attempt a pass inside the opponents 30 yard line, to set up for the FG attempts and to start running out the clock with two minutes left.... in the 3rd quarter. -Robby Toma Does anyone miss Theo Riddick? I've never seen Toma drop the ball and his quickness makes him almost uncoverable in the first 5-15 yards. If he played at Boise State he'd have 10-12 catches per game. Theo's time is done as a slot receiver. -Jonas A tough break for a great senior leader. He will be missed. Now let's see if Kelly is smart enough to move Riddick back to running back. Terrible end to a great individual season. I don't see what if any impact Riddick can make at RB at this point in the year. -Irish Oline Outstanding again and definitely better since Golic set up shop at center. Absolutely on the money here. -Beastie Boys Aaron Lynch and Troy Niklas were both too much for BC's linemen to handle. They will be difficult to remove from the lineup. Both of them forced many bad passes with their rush and their size. Yep. And Tuitt was out with the flu. -Not Kelly's guys Manti Teo, David Ruffer and Harrison Smith came up big today. With the offense such as it is; we needed it. Ruffer should have gotten the game ball. Lots of pressure on a walk on when your coach would rather have you attempt long FGs than let your QB throw a pass in the red zone. -Sharing playing time Both Carlo and Foxy looked good today Yes, both played well. Fox actually put his head in the hole a couple of times today. Carlo broke up his 5th pass of the year today. Fox, the athletic LB who is better in pass coverage, will tee it up against Stanford looking for his his first touch. -Special teams Austin Collinsworth and Bennett Jackson always seem to be in the thick of every fight. I hope they're both in the starting defense next season. Niklas is a special teams terror as well. -ND vs BC This crummy game was typical of the whole season. I can't remember another year like it; nor can I remember a year where I had less fun cheering for my favorite school. I honestly believe that the Notre Dame roster has as much talent on it as any of the top teams in the nation. I look at LSU or Alabama or Oklahoma and I fear nothing that I see. How can a team like that lose to a bunch of ragamuffins like South Florida? Or struggle with the worst Boston College team I've seen since the 1970's? Or get blown out by USC and all three games at home? Poor execution; too many turnovers; people taking bad angles; out of position; unhappy players; seniors thrown under the bus; an offense that nobody seems to understand; a coach who struggles to control himself as much as the team... I thought they fired Gerry Faust? Me neither. BC's coach said at halftime that his team could not afford to make mistakes if they hoped to hang with a team with this this much talent. I think this offense is just too gimmicky. We've got all these premier athletes, physical specimens and we have them doing card tricks instead of just pounding the other team into the ground. Defensively, we are slow on the edges. If we had just one lock down corner.....