I'm trying not to overvalue this win as that score was inflated by those late pick 6's and I can't get past how ineffective our offense has been esp running the football. I'm extremely optimistic about our defense and I can see them getting better as the season goes on, not so much about the offense. I'm good with Coan starting against Cincy if he's 100%, but with our OL if he's not 100% it would be dangerous to start him. I'd start Pyne and see what happens, give Burchner reps if the game situation is right. He didn't get many reps last week in practice since he had that hamstring. I might be tempted if Coan isn't 100% to split the reps between Pyne and Buchner. Buchner needs to have his knowledge of the offense expanded so he's not just playing Wildcat QB when he comes into a game.
Our defense seems to be really developing into a force. We know we have some good RBs and our WRs are starting to develop. But the problem from day one hasn't gotten any better. We have an O line that couldn't handle a good MAC team and expecting them to develop into an average group is asking way too much. If they were average we'd be a playoff contender.
I agree the OL is problem #1, I do think it can improve as the season goes on, but I'd agree it's unlikely that they can develop into a championship line. Wisconsin might be the best defense we face the rest of the season, although we'll have to see about Cincinnati who has a good defense and their HC is a defensive guy. It's going to be week by week. 10 wins in the regular season would be an excellent year given the OL. But like most fans I hope we can win them all of course!
Coan would be the perfect QB for this team if we had an offensive line but we don't. Those two tackles will get someone killed before this season is over. Coan is like a tree back there. Haven't seen this poor play from the line since Jimmy Clausen ran for his life on every play. Pyne is slippery enough to extend plays.
Pete Sampson has an awesome article in The Athletic about ND's current offensive line woes, Tommy Rees' retrospectively smart game plan, and how the defense has saved our bacon so far and can continue to do so for the rest of the season while we struggle in our running game. There are too many solid comments to cut and paste to this post, but take my word for it, it's well worth reading. Signed, The Optimist
I didn't understand the Foul called on Kelly, and Fox never explained it or showed any footage of what went on with Kelly. Of course Kelly is well known for his "purple faced" rages in the past but he seems to have moved past that and I don't remember it in the last few years. Here's a clip from that article that Sid and Gipper mentioned. ___________ 5. On a lighter note, that unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Brian Kelly: I absolutely loved it. Because the Fox telecast didn’t pick it up, it’s worth understanding what triggered it. Kyle Hamilton was supposed to be covering Jay Bramblett’s punt midway through the fourth quarter, but two Wisconsin players pinned him to the ground and wouldn’t get off. Hamilton felt some pain in his arm after being dropped. The Wisconsin players high-fived one another while jogging off the field as Hamilton complained to the officials. That’s when Kelly came onto the field hot. It was an immediate flag and the correct call. It was also the correct move by Kelly. When your best player absorbs a cheap shot, it demands a response. And Kelly probably gained some credibility in the locker room by blasting the officiating crew over the no-call. When people use the term “player’s coach,” this isn’t the kind of incident that comes to mind. Maybe it should be.
From what I've been reading, Wisconsin fans were great even in the loss. The only time I've read anything about them was when Tom and Cindy went to the Outback Bowl and made friends with some Wisconsin fans. I actually would have been surprised to find out that Wisconsin fans were A-Holes or anything like that, I mean beer, brats, cheese doodles, Bobda moved there, must be a friendly place.
On Drew Pyne, a kid if you've read about him you have to like him. I know a lot of people didn't care for his coming to ND, nothing personal, but he's undersized at 5'11" and doesn't have a cannon for an arm and while is quick isn't Ian Book quick. Most hoped for Tyler Buchner to come in and shine and win the QB job even over Coan. He's got the big arm, he's tall, he's got good legs, does he sound like Phil Jurkovec? Me I really liked all the stuff I've read about him, seems like a Notre Dame kid if you get my drift. Would be a good story if he succeeded. But I really figured he'd be a career backup, which he may in fact be...but there is a crack in the door. Buchner right now doesn't know enough of the offense to be the main guy and as noted Coan has been and likely will continue to take a lot of sacks and injuries are likely to happen like the one in the Wisconsin game. We don't know who will trot out on the field vs Cincy right now, Kelly says it's Coan if he's healthy, a bit of a hedge wouldn't you say? Makes UC coaches prepare for 3 QB's instead of 2. I liked what was said about Pyne by Kelly. A sophomore and former Under Armour All-America selection, Pyne converted on 6-for-8 passing that included a touchdown-strike to Kevin Austin Jr. as the Fighting Irish transformed a 13-10 deficit into a 41-13 romp. Kelly said he was not surprised by the decision-making and quick release of the 5-foot-11.5-inch Pyne. “Yeah, (Drew) is pretty good at it,” Kelly said. “He's had to be good at it. That's how he was successful. When you recruit somebody that's standing on the yellow pages to be 6-1, you've got to see it and the ball's got to come out. He's really good at that stuff. We knew what we had with him, that he was going to be a guy who saw it, got it out and move through his progressions. Kind of what he did on Saturday.”