Before the season started I bet most of us Irish fans thought this was going a pretty sure win for ND. It looks like Butch Davis is ahead of schedule for turning this program around. It looks to me that this is going to be a really tough game. PJ in Jersey GO IRISH
The good news from todays press conference was that Mike Turkovitch is going to be ok and should practice this week and start next Sat at UNC. Terry
The bad news is that Brandon walker will be available for the game too 8) We have no kicking game whatsoever. This could be th e game where it costs us .
I've got to be in Fla. for a wedding the first weekend in Jan. Right now I'm toying with the idea of pairing the trip up with a Gator Bowl. If we win this weekend, I may do what I did a few years ago with the Fiesta Bowl and buy plane tickets before the issue is decided. I'm sold on Clausen. No int's the past 2 1/2 games and 7 TDs. We're a one-armed fighter right now but do have a KO punch. I may buy my tix, sat. night.
This is actually a game that has worried me since last season. I've had faith in Charlie, his recruiting, coaching and ability to right the ship. My concern would be, in the middle of our rebuilding process, we are running into a coach that I consider to be a master of creating mismatches and exploiting weaknesses...at least at the college level. Davis' teams rarely attack you at your point of strength, he looks for weaknesses and exploits them. UNC uses a lot of 3 and 4 man front defense, while dropping men into coverage. This will be interesting to see since that would essentially be daring us to run.. something we have not done well with any consistency. At the same time, ND can line up 4 and 5 wide to counter the soft spots underneath in a nickle/dime zone package. In fact, that is usually something Charlie looks forward to attacking. This should be interesting.
Charlie said that Walker is done ( not in those exact words) but essentially said it. The new strategy is that the KO guy will do the FG's and Walker will take over the kickoff duties, since he's been perfect on extra points he may also continue to kick those as well.
As a guy who use to kick, I can't understand what he is going through. That being said, however, I do know someone who went just what he is going through. When I was a HS soph and junior, no one back home could believe I wasn't the starting kicker for the varsity at the Catholic school I attended. I didn't even get an honest look until my senior year and it was quite frustrating. We had a guy in the class ahead of me with a booming leg. We were actually quite similar in terms of leg strength, but he had the edge on accuracy from the hash marks.. Mind you, coming into my junior year, NEITHER of us struggled like Walker is now. Anyway, the guy went out there and shanked every damned thing thru the year. Sometimes he'd have games in which he made 2 or 3, and then he'd miss 3 or 4 in a game.. Mind you, we played for the CIF title while shanking kick after kick. We were pretty good. Still, watching the kid in practice you couldn't deny the talent. The problem with him was game time FGs. He was perfect on PATs. His senior year, he went from being recruited by every Div1 school to accepting a walk-on offer from Princeton. (which oddly I'd consider a better deal IMHO).. In college, he did quite well and never had those same problems again.. Just one long, strange year in which (like Walker) he would BOOM kicks that were 10 yards wide.. I could never understand it..but it happens sometimes and it is something that can be overcome.
ND/NC <t>As someone has already mentioned, this was a game at the beginning of the season I had chalked up for a sure win, now it appears this will be a very difficult game for the Irish to pull off. Not that they are a great team, but they seem to have solved a lot more problems at this point than ND has.<br/> <br/> Here's where I see us at this point, about half way into the season:<br/> <br/> !. I've said this to a couple of people already but this season is going the way last year's should have. Instead of a total debacle, this team should have been doing last year what it is doing right now. But thanks to Tyrone W., and his magnificent recruiting efforts.......well anyway it is what it is. Hopefully we will never have to go through another season like that again. <br/> <br/> 2. This team is going to a bowl game...I don't know which one or where, but they are going to a bowl game. ND has 4 wins right now and there is no way they won't take 2 more at least when you look at the remaining schedule after North Carolina....Syracuse, Washington, Navy, Pitt at home. <br/> <br/> 3. We have a very good passing game. JC and the receivers just get better every game with their best days ahead.<br/> <br/> 4. We have a poor running game.....if we ever get just a descent running game going on a consistent basis, we will then have a GREAT passing game. Hopefully we will start to get some progress going here.<br/> <br/> <br/> 5. Our kicking game is @3XX*@*#$%&*#@$%^%^%^!!!!!We need to NOT try another FG until next season when our new kicker gets here.<br/> <br/> 6. Our special teams coverage is good(forget the kickoffs..see above)<br/> <br/> 7. Our defense is average...this is an improvement and actually continues to get better with each game. Our weakness seems to be the run. Hopefully this will continue to improve. We do seem to have a good pass defense.<br/> <br/> Of the areas I've mentioned, I think NC is a little better in all except the passing game. The Irish will probably have a hard time taking this one without some luck and a few turnovers going our way. If this game was at home I might be a little more optimistic for a win but it's not. We will probably lose or win by 7. <br/> <br/> As a fan I I'm trying to keep this in perspective. When you look at where we were last season, ND has made some major strides this year. They have won their home games which is vital for many reasons, let alone the fact that it makes a big impression on the recruits that have been at the games. They have cut down on a lot of the MANY stupid mistake they were making last season. All in all, they have come a long way and keep showing promise that things may indeed be going in the right direction. I was really worried especially after the first game that we could be looking at a repeat of last year and a coaching change might be on the horizon which would have been disastrous and set the program back even more. We have everything going our way in recruiting and it's all because of Charlie and this staff and to lose that would be....well....bad.<br/> <br/> So back to the NC game. If we can get off to a good start and KEEP the crowd out of the game we have a shot here. If not.....well there is the game at Washington in 2 weeks. Hopefully though, the boys will kick some tar heal butt and come home with a win. <br/> <br/> "THE HELL WITH NORTH CAROLINA!"</t>
The trouble with not trying FGs is that you run the risk of giving the other team good field position and momentum and the sense of frustration spreads beyond the kicker to the offense. I was sitting above the tunnel directly behind the goal posts. I had a great view of both kicks. He had plenty of length on both but kicked them in a direct straight line from the hold point which was a hash mark. He did not get within ten yards of the near goal post on either. This is gonna kill us in a close game and almost did this week when Charlie opted at the end to go on 4th and and inch instead of attempting a chip shot FG. Of course we lost a ayrd on the attempt and gave Stanford a long shot chance at tying the game. If that had happened I'm not sure Charlie could get out of the stadium alive. I paid special attention to our running game as I had such a great vantage point. It is primitive to say the least. Not one misdirection, not one pulling lineman, not one two back set. I was able to predict about three out of four running plays and that was after four hours of power tailgating with the Blue & Gold gang ( Tony Rice, Allen Pinkett and Jason Sapp proved no match for my son and I armed with 12 ounce beer cans :wink: In short, our ground game is way too predictable and easy to stop. Our passing game is another story. By next year at the latest we may have the best stable of WRs in college football. And our defense for the most part played very well. Charlie has one more obstacle to overcome... his NFL mentality toward wins. He still has the " a win by a point is good enough" outlook and , as a result, he always keeps his opponents in the game. I stayed in Shipshewana and fell asleep both night to the sounds of clicking horse hooves on the pavement and dodged the piles of scat on the roadways.
I agree that Charlie needs to get more of a college mentality when it comes to running up the score. Mack, Stoops, Meyer, Carroll, Saban, Miles, Leach, etc all have no problem playing first teamers into the early 4th qtr and running the offense, if they put up 50 or 60 points on you they aren't going to feel bad. Say George did they turn out the lights at your hotel at 8PM and get you up to milk the cows at 4AM? Oh yeah and thanks to ElPasoIrish for reminding me!! TO HELL WITH NORTH CAROLINA!!!!
Regarding the topic of running up the score, I respectfully disagree that he should follow the examples of other college coaches. By the way, who thinks that we are a good enough team at this point to even think about that aspect of the game? It seems like someone is putting the cart ahead of the horse. Let's wait until we are back to where this "issue" becomes relevant. I hope this season ends up being a big step in that direction.
I've checked a number of Tar Heel boards looking to gain their insight on the game and they just don't respect us at all. A few people pay lip service to the fact that we're ND, but even most of them are predicting a 10+ arse whoopin.. Some are even calling for a 3 TD beat down. That is odd because I call it as a close game that can go either way...and if it gets ugly, that would favor the Irish... I am still waiting for the defense to have their breakout game, filled with emotion in which they totally dominate the opposition.. I really feel they aren't far off. I would love for this to be the game.
Corey, I agree, that their fans are getting a little ahead of themselves. Must be some of that basketball arrogance coming through! UNC is still a bit of a mystery. They have some good players, but certainly haven't put it all together yet. Looks to be a good game for those of us with no vested interest. Tough one to call, and I probably won't make a pick until Friday so I can stew on it more...
Terry, I recently read Lou's book, "Wins, Losses, and Lessons." That quote is in there. Heck, it's true, isn't it? If Charlie's teams eventually get to the point where Lou's teams got in 88-93, I'll be happy to be calling for bigger margins! :lol: Re: North Carolina. It doesn't surprise me that the NC fans are feeling their oats where ND is concerned. The students are not old enough to remember when ND was a force to be reckoned with and likely do not understand the intangibles associated with our program. I only hope we travel to NC better than we traveled to MSU. This young team is making nice strides each week. Now we need to take the show on the road and continue the progress, not fall back two steps.
Corey <t>Don't include Saban in your list of coaches that run up the score. Alabama has to score enough in the first half to outlast the onslaught in the second half.</t>