We ran a lot of base offense and defense with almost no adjustments. We just lined up, picked up the win, and got out. I'll take it.
An 18 point win on the road is very acceptable. But we have some soft spots that need immediate attention. My biggest concern is Book. He really looked out of sync most of the night. I don't recall a single pass downfield all night. Kickoffs were excellent but we still don't know about our FG kicker. The punter seems to have great hang time. LBs are interesting. Looked like the Three Stooges in Q1 then Drew White started playing. #6 is very athletic and all over the field but #22 just runs around like a lost child. We are real soft in the middle and the short zones across the middle.
Most of the criticism is being directed at Book, he's been roundly criticized for his lack of accuracy last night, for panicking in the pocket and taking off when he just needed to stay calm and running when he should throw it away. His numbers were not awful but not what we'd liked to have seen from him last night. To me the biggest disappointment was the number of 3rd and 1 or 2 that our OL got stoned and we lost yardage. Tony Jones had a good game overall, Armstrong has some injury and didn't play after the 1st qtr. I thought in general our WR's played well, Tommy Tremble at TE had a good game catching the ball he's got a good future. Defense, as Krebs noted looked like a DivIII defense for their first 3 possessions. After that Lea made some adjustments and things settled down. Kyle Hamilton is a stud. Drew White played better as the game wore on, a lot of things still to work on with the defense. Irish have 10 days till we tee it up vs New Mexico. So a lot of coaching points from last night to work on that is for sure.
Both of Louisville's TDs were on the coaches, not the players. I didn't see anybody being blocked. I saw our LBs and interior DLs running away from the plays. Both TDs were scored by ball carriers who ran untouched through our entire team. There was nobody home on that defense. Whatever we thought Louisville was going to do was wrong. Once the adjustments were made, the defense was fine. We have some special players on that defense. Certainly Alohi Gilman and the super-freshman Hamilton are as good a pair of safeties as anyone has, although Hamilton is often asking Gilman for help. On offense, we showed nothing, but the base offense and scored in every quarter. We'll be fine. I really like Tommy Tremble #24. He's an exceptional blocker and he's a real weapon as a pass catcher too. The OL is huge, the QB is a real leader and those new WRs are very fast and smart. The Irish offense will score a lot, but don't expect to see the play book opened up until the Georgia game...
I don't really worry about Book not putting up huge numbers. Louisville ran an umbrella scheme and simply refused to give up the deep ball, while also trying to take away the sideline route. That's why Book had yards to run when he stepped up in the pocket. So was he suppose to throw into double and triple coverage? I remember when ND fans use to pucker of Jimmy Clausen doing that and many times, he paid for it. Literally, the only thing that upset me was the series of 3rd and 1s that we didn't convert. Clearly the Lou overloaded to sell out and stop that short slant run off tackle... so audible into a screen pass or a TE flare that will go for 40. Instead, we just ran what was called and right into the teeth of their entire defense. Also, and this is just me, block somebody.
If we do not solve the majority of the problems displayed in this game, we are going to have a problem getting to a wining season at all. The thing is many of the issues were with the team veterans.
Well Armstrong is gone for a month with his 'soft tissue' groin injury. He had a great fall camp and was poised to have an excellent season. Tony Jones is not exactly have a history of being Mr. Durable so the backups who thought they'd be sitting a lot this year will get their chances.
That sucks for Jafar. So far, our kids have looked good. If we gotta use kids, we gotta use kids. Stuff happens.
I'll be excited to Kyren Williams get his shot. If you watched his HS film (yeah I know it's HS) that kid has some moves and is a real play maker.
Good observations on Kyle Hamilton. He played like a senior not a true freshman. Huge future for that kid. Same with Tremble.... very athletic. Armstrong may miss two months so it is time for a youngster to step up.
Somebody will. This team has quality depth, especially among the younger skill players . Terry, thanks for posting the video. Great stuff. I like seeing some of the young guys up close.