Another big game for the Irish, actually they are all big games from here on out, with 1 loss already the Irish have to win out if they are going to contend for a playoff spot. NC State is probably the best defense other than Georgia we will see all year. They have an AA DL named Chubb who is projected as a high first round draft pick. They have a QB who when I watched him vs Louisville is tall, see's the field well and realy gets rid of the ball fast and accurately. He's got some skill players who looked to me to be fast, elusive and caught the ball very well. Those quick outs that Sam Darnold was successful with against us, I think we'll see a lot of those from NC State. They had the off week to prepare for us and we had the big emotional win vs USC, so advantage them. But somehow I think our team will be ready to play, I can't see this team coming out flat against NC State. The leadership on this squad will show up and we'll be ready to play. I think we've opened as a 6 or 7 point favorite and I expect that if we win it will be a close win, not the blowout that we had with USC. They did lose their opener to So.Carolina which was surprising to me, as a lot of people pre-season had them as dark horse favorite for the ACC title. Clemson and FSU of course were the favorites, but a lot of people looked at their front 7 that was coming back as one of the best in the country and they also had a returning QB and WR's. Of course for us it all comes down to our OL being able to win the LOS and our RB's to do well. I don't expect to run for 350 yds vs this group but I'm hopeful that Wimbush can continue the improvement he did make some good throws vs USC and Kevin Stepherson has a couple of games under his belt so he could be a breakout for us. I haven't heard anything about NC State fans buying out the stadium so maybe this will be a heavy Pro-ND crowd! Not a sea of Red!
As heavy as always, except for the 25,000 or so "fans" who are there only because they couldn't unload their tickets........or maybe they did sell them to some real fans, which would be a good thing.
from the Press Conf.... BK points out Ryan Finley has not thrown a pick this season. Veteran that knows the system and the plan. Smart, protects it, they sustain drives and score (3.2 points per possession) (Jalen) Samuels is a matchup nightmare for linebackers, safeties... (Nyheim) Hines has elite track speed and he's translated that to the football field. "A very dangerous offensive football team." Defensively: "As good as a group we'll see. Comparable to Georgia. Physically imposing led by (Bradley) Chubb and (B.J.) Hill up front. They are very good football players."
Dexter is #2 on the RB depth chart this week so hopefully that means he's 100%. Also Greer Martini is on the depth chart with Coney...it's Martini or Coney. Coney deserves to start esp since Martini had some minor knee surgery...I'd like to see him play but Coney should get the majority of the snaps this week.
Mike Frank has a free article on the current (2018) class of recruits on Irish Sports Daily. Check it out. https://irishsportsdaily.com/s/4278/2018-class-shaping-up
Sid shared this link on facebook. Manti Te'o commenting on new verbal Paul Moala. https://www.diehards.com/notre-dame/manti-teo-paul-moala-commitment-notre-dame-congratulations I knew Sid was a diehard, just didn't know he had his own website!
Actually, give the credit to Corey. I took it from his FB post. I meant to share it only with a friend who is a BYU alum, a Mormon, and an avid BYU fan. I clicked on the wrong option and it went out to all my FB friends, some of whom I'm sure could care less about ND football. It's a pretty cool story IMO.
Well the Irish have sure jumped into the National picture, ESPN front page this morning is full of stories and has a picture of Paul Fienbaum in a Notre Dame helmet...I'm not sure I think that is a good thing. Doesn't matter though if we don't beat NC State!
Notre Dame <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> Terry,<br/> <br/> I'm not sure either. I just want to beat NCS.</r>
Quick question.... who gets in? One loss Georgia ( close to Bama ) or a one loss ND.... ( lost at home to the Dawgs ) Most of you Irish fans don't like the Gators all that much but you need to be rooting for either UF or Auburn to knock off the Dawgs if you want to slide past them into a #4 CFP position.
Yeah as always that will be the question, who gets in. If Georgia's only loss is to Alabama in a close game in the SECCG and the Irish get in with the only loss being to Georgia. Georgia would have a good case that they are more deserving. I have no doubt though that if the Irish run the table and their wins over NCState, Miami and Stanford are solid wins not flukes then they will be one of the 4 teams. The strength of schedule is going to be favorable for the Irish. It is possible that if that happens we will have beaten the Pac12 Champ (if it's either Stanford or USC), the ACC Champ (if it's either NCState or Miami) and the B1G Champ if Mich State got lucky and ran the table. Of course that's a whole lot of if's and but's. I do think that the Pac12 is close to being out, and the B12 even though TCU is undefeated right now, is likely to shoot themselves in the foot in Nov since their best teams all play one another and then have to play again in the B12 Champ game. Senario for 2 SEC teams, 1 B1G team, and 1 ACC team or Notre Dame is out there. ...that's what will make Nov so interesting. If Irish don't beat NC State saturday then it doesn't matter 2 loss teams will not make it.
Here's a good analysis of the Irish chances at the playoff. To sum it up we have to win out and some things have to fall our way since we won't have the 13th data point that a conference championship winner would have. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/notre-dame-isnt-in-control-of-its-playoff-destiny/
I wouldn't worry about Georgia. Here's the boxscore in Atlanta: Alabama 7 3 14 24 48 Georgia 7 10 6 0 23
Alabama will assert itself over Georgia in the second half is my prediction... especially in the 4th quarter.
Back to NC State, none of the playoff talk means anything unless we beat these guys. My biggest worries are 1) NC State front 7 they are one of the best in college 2) NC State QB, he has not thrown an int all season, he's tall and see's the field very well, gets rid of the ball quickly and has a strong arm. Our DB's are going to be tested severely. What do we need to do. 1) continue to run the football and 2) get to the QB and force him into some mistakes. If they can shut down our running game like Georgia did, then we will not likely score many points unless Wimbush somehow becomes an excellent passer...this would be a good time for him to make that leap in on the field performance in the passing game.
Georgia and Alabama seem to be very similar. It will come down to execution. If we both get to the SECCG.
Notre Dame <r>Question: What happens when the #6 rushing defense team plays the #6 rushing offense team? <br/> <br/> Answer: Notre Dame rushes for over 300yds and wins 35-14!<br/> <br/> Go Irish! <E></E></r>