College Game Day will be there. This is the biggest ND/Miami game in a long, long time. I don't care about Wake Forest. Miami is back and they're for real. This game will help the winner reach the playoffs...
I went the LSU game so I didn't get to see any of the other games but LSU played Alabama very tough. They stopped our running game for the most part and Hurts is just not that good of a passer so the game was closer than the score. I wonder if Wisconsin and Miami will move up? :wink:
In some ways this game reminded me of last year's championship game between Clemson and Bama. The Tide offense just couldn't keep their defense off the field. By the 4th quarter, that great defense was just gassed. I read where Wake ran 88 offensive plays yesterday thanks mostly to an efficient short passing attack. Our D was just not sharp in the second half and I attribute a good deal of that to overwork. That's my story as I whistle past the grave yard.
Twitter tidbits from SBT's Eric Hansen: Those who are concerned about Wimbush's passing have to be pleased with the progress he showed yesterday.
I am concerned about Wimbush's passing. I don't see much improvement as the season progresses. He is a thrower with a really long windup. Often high to the target and often late with the release. But I will be the first to admit that he more than covers up his passing shortcomings with his running skills and leadership. But runnng QBs are so high risk.... Which brings us to Ian Book. The kid is impressive, a much better passer. So if Wimbush doesn't get up after one of his kamikaze runs our season is not automatically over.
People are forgetting the drop by St. Brown at the goal line. We had a few chances to blow the roof off the place, but to Wake's credit, their dink and dunk offense just kept coming and never quit. Also, if there's going to be one staff in America that knows how to attack our defense, it would be Wake.
Actually, I counted three excellent throws that were not caught aside from ESB's non-catch at the goal line. I give ESB a pass on that one (pun intended). It was behind him and he slipped trying to reach back to catch it. It was a good effort but he was on the ground and out of position.
Before we move on from this topic, anyone else think that the officials missed a Wake fumble when they ruled that pass incomplete. I thought that the replay showed he caught the ball took 2 steps and then had it jarred loose. I would have expected them to at least review the play. After all, they wasted over 3 minutes reviewing a play where the Wake QB extended the ball while going out of bounds trying to give him a first down.
I'm relying on my memory, which is increasingly unreliable. My first reaction was that it was a fumble. On the replay, I changed my mind. I didn't think he made a complete "football move" with full possession of the ball. I thought it was only one full step after possession, which generally is not considered a complete football move. Maybe if I saw the replay again, I'd change my mind yet again.
I was ok with the call of an incomplete pass after watching the replay. I wasn't upset that they didn't review it since I thought it was a incomplete pass. I thought we got lucky on the 3rd down play when the WF QB scrambled and stretched out as he stepped out of bounds. In real time I thought he might have made it, but in replay since the call was he didn't there really wasn't anything clear enough to say he did, so the call stands. That's one of the things about replay, if they had said he made the first down replay likely wouldn't have overturned the call on the field either. I thought it was uncomfortably close. I'm also with Krebs on Wimbush. He may have thrown for 280yds, but he didn't look nearly as good throwing the ball as that WF QB. He did have some drops. That pass to EQ on the goal line is one of those would have been a great catch, but he's supposed to be our best receiver and make those great catches. That drop by Claypool sort of offset that great catch he made by just being bigger than the DB and getting his tip of the ball and holding on to it. I'm not sure Wimbush is ever going to be a great passer. I see it with a lot of the Athletic QB's, they just don't develop it in HS because they are so much better than the other players they don't have to be great passers. Wimbush has his own QB coach in the off season....based on what I see I hope he's getting a bargin rate. But he's so dynamic running the ball they have to respect that and it opens things up for him to complete some passes. Ian Book is a good #2. kp...I meant that WF defense did give up a ton of yds, and points..but they really didn't look all that bad. Our defense though stunk! We made a lot of big chunk plays on the WF defense, the WF offense methodically took apart our defense.
ND Hockey swept it's first ever series as a Big 10 member, taking both games at Columbus from Ohio State. Men's Soccer advanced to the ACC semi's by beating UNC