Congrats fellas, great to see.....that goal line stand under those circumstances was one for the ages! Absolutely extraordinary.....hope to see you finish the deal!
George I'd be interested in your "inside" take on the team. Last year after USC when Twittergate broke loose it seemed like Kelly's back was against the wall he had alienated the team the parents etc. Now watching the last 2 games, guys like Carlo where smiling pretty big. In the Wake game when they doused Kelly with the Gatorade Carlo was right there jumping up and down messing with Kelly's hair and last night in the locker room he was right there with Kelly as well...big smiles.
I don't have any recent first hand accounts from Carlo Sr. but to me it appears obvious. Winning cures everything. And depth creates winning.In Carlo Jr's case, I think he has bought into the platoon system with Fox. Fox is better in space though I think his coverage sills are over rated. Carlo is definitely the man in running situation and on the goal line. When I speak with his Dad I will fill you in on the inside skinny.
For those who may be interested in the money/rating aspect of last night's ND/USC game it got a 10:3 The 10.3 overnight is easily the highest of the season for college football on any network, sailing past the previous high of 7.0 for Alabama/Louisiana State on CBS two weeks earlier.
USC was held to a season low 13 points... http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/30/usc-trojans
Re the TV ratings: To quote a post on a USC board "Great, millions got to see how stupid our coach is."
about the defense... I saw Cash over on NDN posted this last night. I'll double check the numbers but I bet he's not far off if he's wrong at all.
ND <r>Corey,<br/> <br/> <B><s></s>-18! <e></e></B>Thank God Kiffin was dumb enough to keep trying to punch it in sat night. What a dumbass.<br/> <br/> Actually it wouldn't have mattered anyway. They still needed another possession if they did scored and the way ND was running the ball they would have never gotten it back.</r>
Kiffin was indeed a dumbass on Saturday night. That guy still proves nothing to me other than he can recruit.
He said in his press conference that he would have kicked if he was on the 5 yd line, but 4 downs from the 1 yd line or less and needing 2 scores you have to take the chance. If he'd kicked it there was no guarantee that when and if he got the ball back that it'd be in a field position where he'd have time for a long drive for the TD, more likely he'd have an easier time getting in position for FG.
Tim, You're correct. Poetic license aside, it was still a 2 possession game regardless. I thought Kiffin's mistake was in not kicking the quick FG and either going for the onside or putting the game in the hands of his defense to get the ball back. (the onside would have better odds). He needed the FG AND the TD.. He didn't need the TD right there. I got a chance to talk with my dad last night and I thought he said it best. At that point, Kiffin's pride was on the line. He let his pride cloud his decision making process. Diaco's defense was so smart in that he gave Kiffin exactly what he wanted inside the 10. Man on an island, 1 on 1 coverage with the 2 best WRs in America on either side. He couldn't ask for more. It was a sucker's bet though because our corners were never going to let them catch the ball. You can't get awarded a TD on a pass INT call and that was all they were going to get on any route they tried to run (although the 2nd PI was weak). We were going to make them run to score and that's precisely what we want.. Lane got duped and the boys rose to the occasion again.
Jim's analysis is very insightful. I feel about Kiffin like everyone else does, and I'm getting a kick out of how he is being trashed for bad decisions on the goal line stand. Reminds me of how one year ago, a certain coach of a midwestern team could do nothing right. I'm not comparing the two, just saying that I'm glad to be on the winning side while the opposing coach is being criticized.
Well now Kiffin has pissed the Gator Nation off once again with his ineptitudes this time. First we hate him for one reason and now for something entirely different. Way to go Kiffie! :x
Irish become the 1st team ever to be the #1 team in the BCS and have the #1 Grad Rate. It can be done.
I wonder if ND will be a factor in the ratings for the SEC CG. It should be an entertaining game and will no doubt draw college football fans especially in SEC country. But casual ND fans will be interested also.
Terry, the Wall Street Journal has a great article today, which essentially calls out the ND haters who now have new life. A portion of the article addresses our #1 ranking in the BCS and #1 ranking in Grad Rate. It's long, but I can't link it because I received it from a paying subscriber. I hope it's OK to post it with appropriate credit to the writer:
ND could be a factor in viewership...but how many of those same ND fans would just not watch what amounts to a national semi-final game if they are true college football fans and considering if ND had lost to USC? Might have lost a few but it's still a compelling game to watch for the avrage fan of college football. Question? Which team would ND rather play.... Bama or a resurgent Georgia?
I don't really care, both will be great teams when we play them. UGA could only manage 17 points against the Gators even with all the turnovers that you guys gave them though. And Bama could only manage 24 points against Texas A&M which is not an elite defense like UF/ND. Either way I think it will be a competitive game and we can win if we play like we did in our big games this year.