ND <r>George,<br/> <QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> True, and 350yds passing with 2 TDs helps a little too. <E></E></r>
George, your post was right on. Sometimes a seemingly minor event can really change the flow of the game. The Irish had a first down inside the 5 leading 7-0 and it looked like we were going to be up 2 TDs early. Then we got a motion penalty and we now were throwing rather than trying to run it in. Then after an incomplete pass we had that off. PI call and we're now backed up. Yoon then completes the comedy of errors by missing the FG. Instead of being up by 2 scores we end up tied at the half and have to suck it up in the second half. I think Kelly had a real good argument about the late call on that NW 1 yd. TD run. It looked like the other linesmen and ruled forward progress stopped and blew his whistle spotting the ball short. The other official afterward ruled a subsequent movement over the goal for a TD. On top of the 8-0 penalty calls, we certainly didn't get much of a game from the refs.
We just don't seem to have that killer instinct when we have a team like Northwestern down and we let them up off the mat. It is curious that NW didn't have a single penalty called on them. But it's been happening all year, must be something about our technique when rushing the passer that our opponents OL just never gets called for holding. I am concerned about our OL, first Pitt stoned us running the ball and now NW stoned us running the ball. This is Quinn's first year, and I know we have lost our best OL in Alex Bars and all that. But I am not sure we are getting better as the season goes on. You can bet that whatever it is that Pitt figured out and that NW also did will be what this line faces every week. That offensive PI call on Boykin on the goal line was BS. But ACC refs seem to like to make that call on ND receivers. I like our defense a lot of course, but a couple of things worry me. Last week vs Navy that kid Perry was able to run at will against us, and this week that NW rb Bowser ran pretty well against us as well. Also while we get good pressure on the QB, we don't get many turnovers. Don't get me wrong I'm hyped up over the team and the chance at making the CFP, but I fear that Alabama and Clemson are on a completely different level than the Irish.
Irish Hockey got the split the series with Ohio State winning 2-1 Saturday night. B1G Hockey should be good again this year. Will be hard to top having 3 of the frozen 4 like last year though.