I couldn't have been morw wrong about this game but with Kelly's erratic coaching to date I think I deserve a pass. Except for the brain freeze at the start of game he coached a fairly flawless game as did Diaco. This was old style Irish football.... it was a physical pounding. I'm certain Utah hasn't been hit like that this year.
I have it on good information that Brian Kelly was sent this prayer card from an obscure fan in Texas. St. Jude.
And this from a Utah Fan. I think we need to stop being so nice!! Sid you need to take a swing at somebody just like back in the day when you were winning the Bengal Bouts! Gipper needs to toss a hot brat at some fan!!
After watching the game, reading all the after stories and just thinking about it I hope this turns out to be a watershed type game. When I think of all the negatives that the team and coaching staff had swirling around them the last few weeks it's amazing that they even showed up to play Utah. 1. After the Navy Disaster Diaco gives an awkward interview where he initmates that Navy "tricked" him with their veer look. He didn't use those words exactly but still it left the Irish fans just infuriated by his comments in that interview. He doesn't interview well in the first place and adding the terrible interview to the results against Navy...well Diaco was a dead man walking with the fans. He was an example of why Kelly was going to fail. 2. After the Tulsa game when Brian Kelly sort of defiantly defended his call for the fade over the field goal by saying "that's how we roll" we had another week of aganst by Irish fans directed at Kelly, Diaco, and the whole staff add to it the Sullivan tragedy and we had real rebellion in the fans. Many wanted Kelly fired now, or after the last game. Add to that fire Swarbrick as well since he hired Kelly. 3. Facing a Utah squad that while having been beaten soundly by TCU, we expected them to be mad as hell and take it out on the Irish who had a QB who was accurate as long as it wasn't more than 20 yds the extent of his rubber arm. We had a decimated receiving corps, hell we were going to have to find Duval Kamara just to start him. We were going to have to play a throw in WR (Robby Toma), there were rumours that Kelly had lost this team and they would likely mail it in. We were going to start a RB (Cierre Wood) known for lack of toughness and fumbling. The list goes on and on. 4. Instead Lightening strikes and we get the early blocked punt followed by scoop and score and we are off. We also get the Collingsworth kid to cause another turnover to start the second half and we score on the first play. We seem to be playing tough defense? How can this be, Diaco is a crap inexperienced DCoord after all. Hell Harrison Smith makes the play of his career, well maybe not, I still like the slobber knocker he puts on the poor Wash WR last year that wins the game for us...but I quibble. Then we actually run the ball, is that Brian Kelly on the sideline??? I mean running the football and Brian Kelly don't belong in the same sentence do they? Tommy Ree's seems to be OK although in the first couple of series I think I see a glazed over look in his eyes. But that seems to go away and by the end of the game he looks like a grizzled veteran. 5. Just a great win for fans/team/coaches. Fans are saying nice things about Kelly and Diaco, maybe we'll get some more recruits to replace the ones who jumped ship. Maybe Diaco's defense will absolutely stone the Army next week. Maybe we'll go to L.A. and beat USC...wait that might be too much right now. OK maybe we'll go to a bowl game...in say Houston Texas in the Texas Bowl!! Go Irish...and I like Sids new Avatar!
Saints be praised lad...that poor man is beyond their reach. He will need one of these in Maroon and White!
I'm with George on this one and count me in the group that is writing it off as a fluke. This program and especially this staff has a long way to go before I believe.
I think for one of the few times we actually had the emotional edge in a game. By that I mean that for almost every team we play we are a "big" game. Take Navy for instance. They were pumped for the game. They played with smashin and passion. The next week they laid an egg against Duke. Utah was undefeated and their "big" game was against TCU. It also was a big game for the frogs. For the Utes playing ND the following week was a lot like Navy playing Duke after playing us. On the other hand we had a ranked team coming in. We had a week off to prepare. We had the opportunity to excise some demons. It was a big game for us. I hope playing in Yankee Stadium puts some fire in us next week. It will probably be a much closer game with Army.