If you don’t know the story behind the Notre Dame-Naval Academy rivalry, I’ll give you the Cliffs Notes version. In the spring semester of 1943, Notre Dame’s total enrollment declined to 2,623, just six students more than the 1933-34 Depression-era total and nearly a 20% reduction from the fall semester enrollment of 1940. By July 1, 1943, the Navy added 1,851 trainees to the campus. A contract between “The United States of America and University of Notre Dame Du Lac” called for a commitment of $487,711 for equipment, facility alterations, a drill hall and administrative expenses. Notre Dame received $9,000 each month for heat, light and repairs and the maintenance of a recreational drill field and athletic facilities.
One could argue, and I’d for the most part concede the argument, that the Navy’s decision to establish a Navy College Training Program during WWII on Notre Dame’s campus saved the school. It’s a debt we’ll probably never repay. Ending the ND-USNA rivalry is simply not an option, no matter how many times the anti-ND peanut gallery disparages service academies while ignoring their own team’s latest epic I-AA non-conference opponent.
What is with the inane service academy bashing anyway? Am I missing something here? No, Navy isn’t Florida. But ask Buckeye fans if the Midshipmen should be taken seriously. Ask the Mids’ six consecutive bowl game opponents since 2003. Ask the 100-odd teams in Division I-A (out of 119) who have had a worse overall winning percentage than Navy since 2003. Better yet, ask the myopic coaches, players, and fans of the 117 Div I-A teams not named Navy, Air Force or Army if they even know what the terms “warrior” or “hero” really mean. (Here’s a hint: these adjectives shouldn’t be used in the context of a football game, ever.)
Okay, have I fawned over Navy enough yet? Mentioned the history of the rivalry. Check. Mentioned Navy’s impressive 2003-09 record. Check. Saluted our men in uniform. Check. Now that I got that over with, it’s time to float an unpopular subject, Navy’s blocking schemes.
Look, I realize the Mids are not as athletic as most of their opponents and have to compensate accordingly. I realize the triple option is built around a smallish, disciplined o-line using leverage and angles to open seams. But let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Let’s talk about the freaking ankle biters.
With about four minutes to play in last year’s 38-3 embarrassment versus USC, Golden Tate got his second reception of the entire game. He just couldn’t get open. The Trojans loaded, veteran defense swarmed him on every play. Why? Because Michael Floyd wasn’t in. Why? Because in the previous week’s game versus Navy, a Midshipman took a shot at an ND player’s knee—again.
In 2008 Floyd set freshman school records for receptions (46), receiving yards (702) and receiving touchdowns (seven) in, basically, nine games. Then a Navy player “accidentally” collided with his knee on the third play of the Navy game. In the nine full games before Floyd’s injury, Notre Dame averaged 259.4 yards passing. From Navy onward…147.3.
Weis announced at his Tuesday press conference that Floyd is 100% for Saturday’s Navy game, and yet I’m not excited as I should be. Yes, I think he needs reps before we face Pitt at Heinz Field in primetime next week. But the thought of Floyd getting jacked again scares me. I guess I can take consolation in the fact Floyd hurt his collarbone and Navy seemingly doesn’t know how to hit you anywhere above the knee.
Before anyone jumps on me, make no mistake: before kickoff and after the gun sounds to end the fourth quarter, I fully acknowledge those Navy players on the opposing side of the field as bigger men and bigger heroes than I will ever be. But for those four 15-minute quarters I choose to suspend my respect, if only because I know there will be at least a half-dozen obvious plays that make me want to dig up John Paul Jones’ corpse and beat him over the head with his own shin bone.
Here’s to a well-played and CLEAN game. Please. Pretty please.
GO IRISH!
OK, That TV I tossed into the backyard on Saturday… it’s been replaced, the window fixed.
I did my ranting on an absolutly uncalled for loss. I have voiced my displeasure over our poor coaching and lack of fundementials. And passed along my concern over the patheticlly slow development of our team overall and our inability to advance the program to the next level.
I took my shots, and listened to others, and then the rest of the college football sporting world, as they took their shots at us as well.
So today the sun did come up. The world did not end. Nobody got fired.
I am a ND fan. What more can I say. They are my team. I may not like the current coaching situation, won loss record, or style of play, but it is what it is. Like it or not, I stand behind them to whatever end.
They are actually fortunet. There are still 3 games remaining. These are chances for redemption. Chances to grow and improve. Oppertunities to restore pride. To earn back respect. To pull together as a team. To rise up and be heard. A chance to do something fullfilling and inspiring.
Charlie Weis is a disciple of Bill Parcells. I always liked Parcells. He never minced his word or his actions. He always said of his teams: “You are what your record is” For ND that means that we are a ordinary, middle of the road team, that never does anything special or sectacular. There are still 3 games, and the oppertunities that go with them. I will watch, learn, and try to understand who we are and what could we be.
I like the way DeltaIrish thinks.
Pay off Charlie…then proceed directly to Brian Kelly with the checkbbok open. If we cant write a check big enough to lure BK from Cincy (highly doubtful) then hop a plane to Boise and talk to Petersen. If we cant write a check big enough for Petersen, then drop down to Dallas and buy TCU’s Patterson.
These guys are winning with talent that Charlie wouldnt even call during recruiting. Imagine what they could do with the cupboard as stocked as it now is. And to those who say, “the recruiting would fall off with eiethre of these guys”, I say BS. Bring them in, win, and the recruits will come. Charlie’s doing a wonderful job recruiting….to a mediocre program. We get somebody who can win and recruits won’t look elsewhere.
One play. One lousy play can sum up everything you ever wanted to know about our team.
Another deep ball over the middle. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s been happing all year. Navy just took their turn that’s all. No, what you watch for is what happends after the catch and run. One of our guys starts pointing fingers. “Pointing Fingers” At ND.
Navy’s defence is ranked 42nd. And they played like it. Pressuring our QB for a saftey, solid tackiling, hard hitting, swarming to the ball.
Our defence is ranked 79th. Unfortunetly, they played like as well. Both teams play a simalar schedule. Are Their defensive player’s that much better than ours?
Pointing fingers is not very polite. Are you listing Mr.Brown & Mr. Tenuta?
DO you think texas would lose to navy?
CW great offense mind is throw it up to tate or floyd and there is a chance that they can come down with the ball. cw did one thing well is get studs to ND at the skilled pos.
3 man rush 8 man in coverage. ND has a huge OLine- Navy tremendously undersized.
get what i am saying…. GREAT COORDINATOR? That is not what i see.
I agree with an above post regarding CW’s recruiting skills and especially his development of our offensive skill players. One name i heard bounced around the last time CW was feeling the heat was Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern. Im not sure if this is the guy for the job but you could argue of all the coaches out there this is the one most likely to at least view ND as a step UP (and that kills me to say it considering im talking about Northwestern). Would anyone want this guy or does anyone think he has what it takes?
You make some good points Scav. ND is very much in a catch-22 right now. I’ve already said that I believe ND will lose at least 1 more game this season, but probably 2. Their momentum is gone with this catastrophic loss. But, by some miracle, let’s say they go 10-3 with a decent bowl win. If so, I say Charlie should stay one more year, given the talent we have coming back (his recruits). No matter what happens, TENUTA SHOULD BE FIRED ASAP. We were sold a bill of goods. He sucks, period. TENUTA has done nothing, brought nothing, contributed nothing. Can him and fast.
I know a lot of us are screaming for some answers and in sports, the easiest thing to do is throw the coach under the bus, but I’m really tired of seeing ND start over again and again. In college, you need to develop your program. I look at CW’s coaching career in 2 parts, 05/06 & 07 thru the present. In 2005, all we wanted was a team that could score points and compete with the big boys. Weis came in and re-wrote the ND record books. In 2006, we had NC hopes and a Heisman canidate. He was 19-6, 2 BCS Bowls and we all thought ND was back.
However, in 2007, the previous coaching staff left him NOTHING, so he had to start building his program with Freshman and Sophmores. We all know the end result was 3-9, followed by a 7-6 and a bowl win. This year still has a shot at turning out to be pretty good.
Thinking about this, I looked at some info on Mack Brown and here is what I found:
In his early years at UT, Mack Brown was sometimes referred to as “Coach February,” a nickname that indicated he performed well during the important recruiting season, but failed to follow up with equally impressive wins on the field. His detractors felt that with all the resources at his disposal at Texas, combined with the talent he was recruiting from high school programs, that he should have more to show for it than appearances in the Holiday Bowl or Cotton Bowl Classic. They felt that he should be playing for Big 12 titles or even National Championships instead.
Although Brown consistently led the Longhorns to a bowl game to cap off each season, his first six years he was not able to lead them to a Bowl Championship Series game, having to settle each year for the Holiday Bowl or Cotton Bowl Classic. His record in these games was 3 and 3, with two of the 3 losses coming at the hands of supposedly inferior teams as judged by the rankings headed into the games.
Texas eventually defeated the 2005 USC Trojans 41–38, highlighted by a 4th down run by Vince Young in the final minute of the game. The win gave the Longhorns their first National Championship in 35 years. Many consider the 2006 Rose Bowl to be the greatest college football game of all time.
Here was a guy that was considered a great recruiter, but just couldn’t get the job done. Texas stayed with him because he could recruit and look where they are now. It took Texas 8 YEARS of great recruiting before they were able to win the NC, which was their first in 35 YEARS.
My point is this, Charlie Weis has given this team a dynamic offense and he has recruited well. Is a new coach going to make us better offensively and is a new coach going to be a better recruiter? CW is considered one of the best recruiters in the country, how do we know someone else can recruit to ND like he can?
I understand that the coaching is not that good right now especially on defense, but how do we know the next person will be any better? We should let this season play out. Next week is Pittsburgh, who could be a Top 10 team. If ND wins, is this the first “Signature” win everyone wants since Michigan in 05 doesn’t count? If they happen to beat UConn and then Stanford, will Navy just be a day we didn’t have it like Oregon and Iowa yesterday? And can we look at the career of Mack Brown and realize that if you have someone that can truly recruit, good things will eventually happen?
Time will tell. Go Irish
There are some major differences in the Mack Brown comparison that you leave out. Mack Brown turned North Carolina into a very successful program before Texas lured him away. He was 10-2 and 10-1 his last two seasons at NC.
More importantly, he has a 82% winning percentage in his twelve seasons at Texas. Eight of those years resulted in 10+ wins for the year. His worst year was 9-5 at Texas. He is 8-3 in bowls at Texas. I am not sure how you can compare Charlie Weis to him on any level.
Mack Brown is a winner and Charlie is another failed experiment by ND in their never ending quest to groom their own legendary coach (ie Faust, Davies). Texas chose Mack Brown because he had a proven record and was a hot coach. They suffered for 10 years under McWilliams and Mackovic after big runs in the 70’s and 80’s. They wanted respect again. They went after a winner from another program and the recipe paid off as it always does. ND needs to realize that this is the only approach that can correct their problems. After the Faust experiment, they were smart enough to bring in Holtz. I think we are at the same crossroads. Please bring in a proven guy who knows how to coach and recruit. You can not be successful in the college ranks doing one and not the other. Too often this simple fact goes overlooked. Consider Phil Fulmer. do the research before you shoot this down. He has a very impressive resume in the SEC and is hungry to win another championship. If Fulmer was available after Holtz or Davies or Willingham left, ND would have leaped at the chance to get him.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fireweis/ sign it
OUCH OUCH and OUCH!!
We lost to a well disciplined bunch of heroes training to take a bullet or bomb for our country. My hat’s off to Navy. I also applaud the article and wish the punks at ESPN who think sport fans are supposed to be a bunch of unemployed lecherous deadbeat dads, would read it. There once was a time when sports were about honor, discipline and a celebration of a better country. Navy still embodies that. Notre Dame would if we played to our potential instead of underachieving.
In NCAA football, I mostly see teams who make a mockery out of the student in student-athlete, who think if everyone does it, breaking rules is OK. I also see folks who turn a blind eye to the fact that football has done more damage than good to the kids in poor neighborhoods in this country. The Todd Marinoviches, and Maurice Clarett’s are a necessary sacrifice to the team winning.
A successful Notre Dame was the antithesis of that. But we aren’t successful. We lost to the team who lost to Temple. Temple is ahead of us in the polls. We lost to a 5-5 Michigan who just lost to Purdue.
Our offensive line played well 60% of the time. Once upon a time ND had offensive lines that played well for an entire game. Our skilled players played their hearts out. On offense that is. The defense used to be tough. Our defenses have not been tough for at least 5 years.
Our coaching is smart, but cannot find a way to run a complete program. Weis may be a great offensive mind, but those guys make great coordinators not head coaches. You need to start with defense and then round out with a good offensive.
I am always hopeful, but at this point I do wonder where this program is headed.
Well put, CDog. Well put.
Wow. I’ve read a lot of stupid things around the internet, but this is on a whole new plane. Here’s the play last year when Floyd was hurt:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb2ymt_stupidblogger_sport
The arrow points to Ram Vela, the player who ended up hitting Floyd. He is very obviously trying to tackle James Aldridge, and never even sees Floyd coming. Floyd is also not engaged with anyone else at the time, considering his man is the one who actually made the tackle.
News flash: people get hurt in football. Irresponsible posts like yours are what give bloggers a bad name.
Newsflash: Although I disagree with the manner in which he public aired the subject, Coach Corwin Brown publicly took Navy to task for their illegal blocking. The Mids play dirty. This is a fact.
Word of advice: make sure you have a leg to stand on before trying to take the high road.
Uh, I did have a leg to stand on. I actually posted the video of the play you referred to. You clearly had no idea what you were talking about. Corwin Brown is hardly the authoritative voice on the matter.
How about this authoritative voice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcTaRThg2mQ&feature=player_embedded
If this kid is wearing anything but a Navy uniform, he gets ejected from the game. It’s a conscious, malicious, illegal attempt to injure an opposing player. End of debate. I’ll take my lumps for misrepresenting one freaking play. But anyone says Navy doesn’t play dirty has shit for brains.
Well we all know Notre Dame doesn’t cut block!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb4dj6_sack_sport
Any of the desired coaches can be coerced for a $6 million annual retainer, it is not about anything but that. We have the money, I don’t know about the desire. Kind of like the big league clubs that don’t bother signing anyone because their fans show up and pay no matter what.
I will never, ever root against ND! I don’t care who’s coaching. I didn’t do that during the Faust era, the Davie era, or the Willingham era, and I’m not going to start now. I understand the frustrations with CW. And if he loses the next 3 games (a real possibility), he should do the honorable thing and resign and not force ND to fire him and eat his contract. I would love nothing else than for CW to win a national title next year and in his own cocky style force us to apologize. I’d love to have to eat my words. It would be the best meal I’ve ever had!
I’m not sure about Fulmer. That UT program was awash in scandal which is why he was forced out. Besides UT hadn’t done anything in years with Fulmer who was living off past glories. Like I said, the next coach has possibly the legacy and future of ND football on his shoulders. Do you really want to entrust all that to a coach who was run out of town?! Not me!
Right now, the three names J Mack mentions are all worthy candidates who are at the top of their games. I’m just not sure any of them see ND as a step up. That’s sad!
I keep hearing Gruden as a replacement. I love Gruden but I doubt the administration will choose another NFL guy who has no track record in the recruiting department. I do think that Petersen of Boise, Kelly of Cincy and Paterson of TCU are all excellent choices and would do a great job with the talent ND has. The problem for each of these guys right now is that all are in contention for the BCS and you would not be able to lock them up until Jan when their season is over unless one of them loses and falls out of the BCS. It could be a recruiting nightmare as well as a mess with players on the fence about their future at ND (Clausen and Tate). I would have to think that each of those coaches would go to ND or somewhere else where they could have the ability to win a championship. Let’s face it that each of them will never win a championship with where they are today. A one loss Florida, Bama, Texas or any SEC or Big 12 team or ND will always get the nod over an undefeated Boise, TCU or Cincy and rightfully so for the schedules/conference each play. Unlike the previous coaches we have brought in recently, the next coach who comes in will have four solid years of talented recruits that has not been the case since the Holtz years. They just need someone who knows how to coach them. Charlie is a great QB and WR coach. You clearly see his influence in these areas. The problem is that he has never had much of a focus on other areas which is a recipe for failure. The one name that I have not heard mentioned and I think he is probably the best option is Phil Fulmer. He was run out of Tenn way too soon and still has something to prove to those who ran him out. He is the most underrated coach in football. His record is amazing in the SEC and he is used to dealing with high expectations from the Tenn media and alumni which is just as crazy in any big time SEC program. Unlike Charlie, Fulmer knows that you win football games with big, athletic guys on the O and D lines. It would be refreshing to see ND sack a QB again. Fulmer to me is a no brainer for a coach who you could lock down as soon as the season is over which would also limit the damage on the recruiting front by eliminating the uncertainty and doubt that is now setting in with the commits they have and those on the fence. The best thing about Fulmer is that he can adapt his style to the style of his players. He has been successful with a pocket passer like Peyton and with scrambling QB like Tee Martin. He knows how to adjust to his strengths and does not just stick to what he knows like Weis who made such a ridiculous statement to this point yesterday in his press conference. When you just get your but handed to you by Navy, you don’t respond with a comment about how you do not change your style. May be it is time you do change Charlie because what you are doing is not working. I can not believe I am saying this but I am actually rooting for ND to lose another game so this clown gets the ax.
Guys: Learn the difference between cut blocks and chop blocks. The former is legal; the later is not. If you think there’s reason to outlaw cut blocks, understand that it is a tactic regularly employed by guys in the backfield in pass protection. (See Allen, Armando, and watch the film — still think it’s dirty to block low?) Floyd’s injury last year occurred when he was carrying the ball and got tackled.
SteelFanRob: Don’t ever compare ND to the Cubs. No team deserves that. ND has won championships during the past century.
Having slept on things has made no difference. 1) Tenuta has to be the most over-rated piece of crap since CW himself, 2) There’s no proof Gruden or Kelly or anybody else wants to coach at ND, 3) Thus, unless some stud throws his hat into the ring, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, keep fat f_ _ K around for a last chance at greatness, 4) However, if JC, GT, and AA all leave, then fire Weis and start rebuilding with the talent on board, 5) Which means we’re at the dreaded moment — perhaps the biggest hire in ND football history, 6) ND football is at the brink of extinction, people, if the next coach also fails (how many in a row would that make?). I think the people on this board who think it’s predestined that ND will be back are delusional. They remind me of Cubs fans who for 100 + years have been thinking that it’s inevitable the Cubs will win a WS title one year. Nothin’ in sports is predestined or inevitable. Harvard and Yale were powers at one time, then the landscape of college football changed. The landscape of college football has changed on us, people, since Parseghian or Devine or even Holtz patrolled our sidelines. Today, ND football is looking up at Boise St., Utah, and S. FL (which didn’t have a football team when Holtz coached at ND). Let’s pray CW can win out this year, win the Gator Bowl, end recruiting strong (Henderson, Prater, Nix, etc.), go 11-1, beat USC next year, and win a BCS bowl. At that point, I think even the most critical of us will back away and applaud CW.
well you guys were back to a territory we have known before-sub par performances lack of defensive knowledge and we give up another late season lose just to seal our chances of having any hope to atleast win a quality bowl. im sick and tired of every year things coming down to this. i wish for once we could play d because its really whhat were missing and the fact that charlie weis has got to be sent to the ofensive coordinators position and we need to hire bill cowher. get rid of the defensive coaches and i mean boot em all. it is sad im 17 and i could do a better job defensively, especially a team that runs about every play. we have talent actually no we dont, on corners and safetys atleast, all of them are bad very very bad. our backers are bad. our line is bad. we are nd and we and im sorry it comes down to this but, we will never restore the glory ever again. our hopes of clausen as heisman aint comin true and another full summer of sub par seasons behind and that restored hope that we have for the upcoming season will get shot down once again as it does every year. we just cant get the job done.
Sad to say, which is more likely at this point, win-out or lose-out. Check out what UCONN did against Cinci. Each of the remaining opponents can put 500 yds of total O on us.
Charlie is a numbers guy pure and simple. I am sure he has already justified the loss in his own mind namely players didnt execute. Its never his fault. He is so emersed in the numbers he has crowded out any room for passion which is key at the college level. I mean have you ever read his pregame pressers? He knows the height and weight of every opposing player and the name of their high school coaches by heart. All pretty much meaningless at this level of college play we watch each Saturday. I also believe Swarbrick is of the same mold thus I am not confident the AD will do what is best for the team and find a proper coach at the end of the year. It is frustrating to say the least.
Weis remains with no signature wins in 5 years – no win of any significance against a ranked team, no wins against USC and 2 losses against Navy. My Dad watched ND football for 60 years and only saw the Irish lose once against Navy. I on the other hand……never thought I would see it but have now witnessed it twice with similar traits – at home with better talent and getting outcoached in each loss.
The practice prep before this game should have been 1/2 as easy as ND only needed to focus on a one dimensional team – Stop the run. What a mess, what a terrible mess that game was. Heap on the fact the Irish had 3 times the talent. This brings me back full circle. Coaching. ND had three times the talent, Navy had three times the heart, motivation and DISCIPLINE AND great play calling. We all knew that Navy pass would come – the Navy coach called it prefectly and the receiver was wide open for a touch!
Charlie once more at home against a lessor opponent (talent wise only) and got schmucked! ALso of note the so called play book for the Irish which is supposedly the size of a telephone book – someone better check for typos as we continue to see the same plays over and over and over and over again. I think Navy did too and they laid the smack down on it. It was a loss that should never have happened. Regardless of any preconceived notion of some fuzzy schematic advantage – emotion and focus won that game. I’ll take that anytime over the direction of Charlie Weis as the head coach on Notre Dame football.
APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE. I couldn’t agree more with you Chris. In every sport at any level at any time you have heard a coach take the blame for a loss or for poor play and in 5 years Weis has never came close to uttering those words. He says things like “We were in position to win, but didn’t execute properly.” How about “I didn’t make the right call”, or “I didn’t prepare our players properly and take full blame for this mess.”
Gruden 4 NOTRE DAME is my new hope.
Gruden has ND ties-
Cowher
Meyer wouldn’t leave Florida would he?
Whoelse?
ND has a ton of talent (thanks to charlie) now maybe we could get someone who knows how to use them. We should keep charlie as a recruiter. This season we should be UNDEFEATED do to our talent. One let down bearable, 3 let down, I could do better than that…
Who knows what happens from here. Swarbrick will look at the season as a whole and make a decision. I don’t know what will make this program win, but I do know that this is ND and if the right person runs it they will win. It just makes you think why didn’t Urban want to come to ND. If a change is made it should be at the end of the season and a lot of thought should go into it and no more 8 yr contracts. Keep it to 5 and hire someone. At this point I don’t know who wants the job.
Maybe little Charlie Jr. can coach!! He’s on the sidelines every game. What other coach in the FBS brings their kid on the sidelines during a game…..Concentrate on coaching and winning the game, not family outings to watch daddy get out coached every weekend!!!!
Any reason Ethan Johnson wasn’t playing yesterday??? And why was Blanton crying to the sidelines after he made a HORRIBLE play on that TD pass…….BRUTAL FOOTBALL……I’m giving my season tickets away until that LOSER is fired!!
AS I SIT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF HUSKER NATION I SEE A SUB PAR NEBRASKA TEAM THAT HAS NOT GOTTEN NEARLY THE AMOUNT OF SPOTLIGHT THAT ND HAS GOTTEN. THIS TEAM, THESE FANS HAVE NOTHING BUT ELECTRICITY RUNING THROUGH THEM. NO MATTER WHAT, THEY ARE LOUD AND PROUD. I’M NOT SEEING IT WHEN I WATCH ND. WHEN I LOOK AT THE NUMBERS THAT WERE PUT UP I WONDER WHAT WENT WRONG. SPECIAL TEAMS, COACHING, DEFENSE? I WATCHED A VIDEO WHERE TENUTA SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE OPTION WAS ALL ABOUT. DID OUR PLAYERS NOT GET THE FUC#*ING MEMO? THERE IS FAR TO MUCH TALENT ON THIS TEAM TO PLAY THIS WAY. CW MADE A COMMENT THAT HE HASNT CHANGED THE WAY HE COACHES, SO DOES THAT MEAN THE TEAM GAVE UP? I KNOW GOLDEN DIDN’T. THE NUMBERS FOR JC WERE NOT BAD EVEN THOUGH HE GAVE TWO TURNOVERS. SO WHERE DOES THIS TEAM GO FROM HERE? BECAUSE NOW THIS SCHEDUALE IS LOOKING TOUGH. IF WE WIN OUT WE STILL HAVE CW ANOTHER YEAR.. IF HE LEAVES WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR RECRUITING? IF THIS IS THE QUALITY OF ND FOOTBALL, THEY DO NOT DESERVE THAT MUCH TV TIME… THIS PROGRAM NEEDS A HUGE WAKEUP CALL!! I STILL LOVE THIS PROGRAM. IF CW LEAVES, WHO TAKES THIS PROGRAM OVER??????
Last thought from me on this miserable day: CW is 3-16 against teams with winning records. Period! Bad coach! Period!
(BTW: I’ll take CW as an OC for the Steelers next year; I’d win twice — CW wouldn’t be coach at ND and Bruce Arians wouldn’t be the OC in Pittsburgh.)
OUT!
Having said all that, I want to make two points clear: 1) I will continue to hope against hope that ND improves this season and wins out; 2) I’m not saying we shouldn’t fire CW if we can land a big name. What I am saying is that we shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking we can get B. Kelly or some other top coach. What happened to Skip Holtz?
Give me concrete proof of your optimism. If you have proof we can land a big-name coach, then I’m all for you. If not, then it’s all pie in the sky talk. Period. I have friends from the Cinci area who tell me Kelly is going nowhere. Counter that. I don’t think ND will literally be playing in the Ivy in 5 or 10 years. I think, however, they’re one more bad hire from becoming increasingly irrelevant. BTW: If you notice the ESPN breaking news ND’s loss to Navy doesn’t even make it. OSU beating PSU? Makes it. N’Western beating Iowa? Makes it! ND’s loss? Nope, That’s irrelevant! So, again, unless you have proof that ND can land a top coach, then it’s all pie in the sky.
On another note. I’m not sure we can beat UConn. Can anyone watching the Cinci-UConn game say for sure we can beat the Huskies?
done…
i am done…
i have nothing to say…
but i keep typing…
i have 2 tickets to the pitt game if anybody wants them…
navy???
i like navy but navy, twice at home???
no more money notre dame until weis is gone!!!
done…
I AM DONE UNTIL WEIS IS GONE!!!
if any half full optimists try to defend this ass, here is a preemptive F**K YOU AND WEIS!!!
Well it’s finally happened ND faithful…were a nobody football team. We can’t beat a top 25 team, hell, we can’t even beat a top 50 team. Ill say it again for everyone, cdubs is a phenomenal recruiter, but he can’t head coach college football. He just doesn’t have it. His play-calling is questionable more often than not. His clock management skills(michigan game) are awful at times and he can’t even wipe his nose (insensitive personal attack) on national television. He has become a national joke and is dragging a great program in the mud behind him. He is a good man, but not the man we need at ND right now.
By the way on a lighter note, I am the reason for this loss. I played 15 yrs of baseball and am very superstitious. I have gone to church with my son every weekend ND has won. Last weekend I had a golf tourney and missed church. I had a bad feeling about this game. I will not be missing church this weekend. If they win I will be going every weekend. When I was in a hitting streak I ate the same thing until it ended. It is worth a try since I need to pray for this team to win.
At the risk of angering my friend JDH with talk of theology 🙂 I don’t believe god listens to prayers about winning a football game. That kind of theology I live to the Tim Tebows of the world. You have cancer? Pray! You’ve lost your job? Pray! Don’t pray for an ND victory; that’s tempting the Lord Your God!
Sorry, Jehovah God should always be spelled with a capital “G”.
Has nothing to do with praying to God for a win. I don’t do that, I just was saying that when I go to church they win. It is a baseball thing concerning superstition. I not dumb enough to think God actually allows ND to win if I go to church.
Hey Steelfan, if you think it might help this team win, please go ahead and talk about theology some more! 🙂
hahaha
Believe me, I pray every single day and now ND football will have to eat up more prayer time! 🙂
Look no further than the good book. “God helps those who help themselves”
I am not focusing on the pie in the sky. If you think this program is going to be ivy league than find another team. It is ND and it will be back. Stop being doom and gloom. It may not be next week or tomorrow, but it will no turn into Northwestern or Yale. For saying that you should get a clue. Even during the Hotlz years we were in contention other than 88 five years maybe six. Florida will run it’s course same as USC has started to run it’s course. 5 yrs ago Louisville was the Cincy. How is Bobby P doing at Arkansas. This team can run with Miami any day. It may not be able to run with Florida or Texas but come on. You really think ND will be playing in the Ivy league or an Ivy league team in 5 yrs. Meyer didn’t come to ND because he was on Davie’s staff and Davie pushes this bullshit that you can’t win at ND because he sucked. If this team is doomed than why don’t you keep CW for the rest of his contract because it doesn’t matter anyway.
Steelfan,
I understand your feelings, but it is a d-1 program and if Cincy can be a powerhouse in 3 years ND can to. You need to not focus on the negative. We are getting atheletes as good as Cincy. I don’t know if Weis change is it or if we would be able to get Brian Kelly. There are coaches out there that will turn this program around. Texas, USC, Oklahoma, Florida and Ohio State sucked in the late 80’s and are powerhouses now. It will take the right person to turn this program around and I think our AD is good and can turn it around whether Weis stays or goes.
How many years has it been we’ve been singing this same old, tired song? If we get Kelly? Can we get Kelly? I don’t think so. I’m not focusing on the negative. I’m focusing on the reality. You’re focusing on pie in the skie.
Why is Brian Kelly pie in the sky? He coaches at Cincinnati.
Urban Meyer is pie in the sky.
What proof do we have that a man with no ND connections will leave an up and coming program he’s built to leave for a struggling team that’s viewed as a has-been and tough sell? Urban Meyer has ND roots and spurned us like a cheap whore! Pie in ths sky, folks, if we cont. to believe ND has it choice of coaches. It doesn’t. I’d love to be proved wrong, however!
Notre Dame can pay him more. Notre Dame is a bigger program. Supposedly, the two outs in his contract are for Michigan or Notre Dame.
I just want to say to SteelFan (and to many others out there), CW is getting the big-time recruits. There is no question. We have two five-star quarterbacks. We have the best (h.s.) linebacker in the nation. We have these incredible running backs coming into the program next year.
The issue is not one of athletes. We have them. The issue is whether Charlie can inspire a team the way that he needs to in order to be successful. And, he can’t do this. He’s proven that he cannot do this.
Can he improve? Sure. Rooting for CW’s turnaround reminds me of rooting for my own golf-game turnaround. I mean, I’m ten over after three holes. Does that mean I am going to triple everything? Of course not. But, am I likely to start making birdies when I’m ten over after three? No.
And, that is what we’re asking from Charlie. We’re asking a high-handicapper to shoot under par. It’s not going to happen.
If we win out — including our bowl game — I’ll be proven wrong. Pitt and Stanford are excellent teams and UConn is good. And, frankly, I will be happy to be proven wrong. But, I don’t think it will happen. He’s not there as a coach.
Scav,
Good points. I am just so frustrated because you think they will turn the corner and it doesn’t happen. I just don’t know what will get them over the edge. I don’t think they will quit because they were down by 14 and fought back, but they need to wake up. I don’t know if CW can push the mental buttons to get them to perform. This has been a weird year and will probably get even more weird. I have coached and have pushed mental buttons and I don’t see it out of CW. He needs to tell them that the world is against them and doesn’t think they are good. He needs to get into some grills and fire up some players. The defense needs to show passion and heart which I did not see today. These players need to realize that the coach if they don’t play well won’t be there next year. Jimmy said he wouldn’t be the reason for CW getting fired, well he needs to relay that to his fellow team mates. They need to FIGHT
jack, your saying they need to play with emotion, its never going to happen. there is no place for emotion in CW football. if you don’t believe it go to a Notre Dame PEPLESS RALLY and listen to him speak. all that is needed is his superior football knowledge. i wonder what happens to his superior knowledge when the team gets into scoring postion and their best play is a fifty-fifty jump ball. that not brillant play calling, thats my guy is better than your guy. when i made this comment two weeks ago about a lack of emotion, someone said that their play in the fourth quarter proved that they played with emotion,i dont think its emotion its more like desperation. if the werwe fired up maybe they would play like they do in the fourth quarter from the opening kickoff. like NAVY did!
I glad to see everyone get on board with the “Weis has to go” attitude. Unfortunately, it comes from ANOTHER humiliating HOME LOSS to a double-digit underdog!! We are now staring down the barrel of a 7-5 season and mediocre bowl game. I’m physically ill to think of the expectations for this season to think AGAIN how fall we have fallen. As I sit and watch a team like Cincy run up and down the field tonight, I dream we can land a coach like Brian Kelly who has proven himself as a HEAD coach. We have to get it right this next time. One more bad hire and ND football is dead.
Here we are sitting at our computers wondering how the world is going to continue. I’m down and frustrated like everyone else, but this team has a chance to win 3 more games and finish at 9-3. Winning these next 3 are going to be tough, but not impossible. If they can rally and get it done, they will get a pretty decent bowl game. Win the bowl game and it was a pretty good year and Charlie stays.
I’m also aware that they can lose 2 or 3 more games and get invited to a 2nd tier bowl. If that happens, Weis is gone.
I am going to root for this team over the next 3 weeks and see what they can do. I am prepared for the worst because this team can throw in the towel. But I’m hoping that the will realize they still have a lot to play for and end this year on a good note.
This team is simply not a Top 10 team right now. They are a team that can finish in the top 25. It’s time to see what this team is made of and maybe they will give us something to root for despite the coaching.
Good luck! Have you seen the kind of rushing stats both Pitt and Stanford have been putting up? I love your optimism, but it’s misplaced.
I will continue to root for my Irish as well. BUT, a loss like this is going to be hard to overcome emotionally. A loss like this can be like a cancer on a team and shake confidence to its core.
I am now VERY concerned that this team will lose 1-2 more games. The momentum they built up is gone with a loss to Navy. That kind of momentum in sports is a very delicate thing.
Florida, Texas, Oklahoma all lose their QB’s after this year. USC has a freshman. Alabama lost theirs after last year. These schools will not go down the tubes like ND because of one thing. They all have outstanding coaches. Wake up Swarbrick do the right thing. My gosh!
Sitting here at the desk in the district station trying to follow the game on espn game cast, i got brutalized as the watch commander gave me updates over the p.a. system for everyone to hear. “Another ND Fumble.” “Touch down Navy.” This is brutal and its only going to get worse. If Clausen and Tate leave for the NFL (now who could blame them) and Teo goes on a Mormon mission we are totally f’d. Theres almost nothing to look forward to anymore. Its all over, i know it has been for a while but now i readily admit it.
You folks got your asses kicked by a more disciplined team that wanted it more. Motre Dame is nothing but pure hype. The lack of commitment to the run is horrific. This Navy team gave up close to 300 yds. on the ground to Temple last week. What game film was CHarlie watching?
Exactly. On both counts you’re exactly right. Temple handled Navy by keeping the ball. The Irish have three solid backs and a much improved offensive line. But CW insists on throwing the football.
By the way, has anyone ever heard of a quarterback throwing for 452 yards and three TDs? It’s crazy.
Here’s what stinks about all of this. Fire Weis and we lose Jimmy and the recruits this year. What coach is going to want to come in and try and fix this mess with no experience at QB? I really don’t think that Kelly would come here, this is not the coaching destination it once was. Kelly is probably holding out for Florida State so he can be the next Urban Meyer.
I would wait until Jimmy makes his decision and then decide. If Jimmy comes back, let this team try and win. That way, if they don’t win next year, you were starting over anyway because you know that Tate, Floyd, and Rudolph are leaving as well. I would hate to see another 3 or 4 win season, when you know they will will 8 or 9 if Weis and Co stays.
Any real coach that is looking for challenge would come here no matter what the circumstances. Losing jimmy is not the end of the world. Just ask Pete Carrol. Freshman qb. who cares. just win baby!
Ughh, I thought Al Davis was dead.
About as dead as this line of thinking anyway.
USC and their Freshmen QB haven’t won shit this year.
Just ask Pete Carroll.
Kelly won’t be going to FSU since FSU has an agreement with Jimbo Fisher to be the next coach. having said that I agree he might not come to ND. This is a real mess. We may well be seeing the fall of ND football. This is how it must have felt living at the end of the Roman Empire. Tragic!
I think the fall happen when Davie was hired. Charlie has just teased us into believing that they were on the rise again with his recruiting.
As the schedule starts to get weaker, it is going to be harder for ND to get any respect (Heck, they can’t even beat people on the “weak” schedule). Is it time to join a conference like the rest of college football.
There is no question at all, however, that the schedule is pretty weak compared to previous Irish schedules. So, if they finish 10-3 (win out plus a bowl win), CW will be fine. If they lose to Stanford and Pittsburgh, though, I don’t see him coming back. Really.
I don’t think we’re witnessing the end of Irish football. But, I do think that this era — the Charlie Weis era — is starting to close. I mean, I see us having a hard time against Pittsburgh and Stanford. I see us surviving against Connecticut. And I see us having a 7-5 record against one of the easier Irish schedules in recent memory.
So, the question becomes is that what the administration wants? Or, does Notre Dame want to have a strong football program year in and year out again?
The kids are there. But, this coach just doesn’t fire up his kids in ways that are essential for a successful college coach. After five years of few noticeable wins, I am thinking that there are better coaches out there.
SteelfanRob,
I don’t think we are at that point, but we need the right coach. Kelly has won every where he has been. He will have Dayne Crist and a good set of receivers and backs. There is talent on this team. I am just frustrated and don’t know what direction will make this work. ND will be a power again, I just know it. I believe in the program and the school. My father used to always say to me you are never as good as you are on your good days or bad as you are on your bad days. I think that applies to this situation.
ND is one more bad hire from joining the Ivy League. and don’t hold your breath on Kelly or any other big-name coach. The feeling is ND is a tough place to win at. Demanding academics. Demanding fans. No homefield advantage. Etc. Don’t fool yourself. ND football is on the brink.
Penn State has its own problems. They don’t have anything to brag about after today. I live in Miami and will have to endure canes fans bragging about being back in the top 10 maybe after the results this week. Feel sorry for me instead of worrying about PSU fans who will be bashing their own team come Sun.
Good point. I just have to hear it everyday at work from the freakin Penn State fans. It is annoying.
I have defended CW a lot on this board, but this is unacceptable. We will be lucky to win the remainder of our games. Can his ass and go get someone else. I was so disgusted after the first half I stopped watching. You were in the red zone three times in the first have and came out with zero points. You out weigh the other line by 70lbs per person. Why the F are we running a toss sweep with Robert Hughes. This team needs to get a clue. They took Navy lightly and got burned. Someone please tell the anouncer on NBC to stop saying how many the kicker makes in a row, I am supersticious. If he makes all three field goals we win, but why in the hell are we kicking field goals? TD’s is what we need and this would have been over. Enough of the fade bullshit in the endzone, teams no it is coming. I am sick of it. I will not watch another game this year. They suck, CW sucks and needs to be fired. I am so pissed right now you have no idea. I have defended this fat moron all year and this is the effort I get. Fire him it can’t get any worse. Hire Brian Kelly take your lumps sith this recruting class but he needs to go. ND needs to get a clue and stop hiring second rate coaches. I have had enough of this bullshit. Now I will have to go into work and listen to the Penn State fans. I am sick to my stomach.
sign my petiton to fire weis
Signed!
couldn’t have said it any better.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fireweis/ petition im going email to the ND administration
I didn’t go to ND-just from the Chicago are and have been a die hard fan since I was about 7 yrs old. CW won’t get fired until the alumni are all on the same page and apply the necessary pressure on the administration. Once the big donors say they won’t write the big checks until CW is gone-then well, he’ll be gone.
On a side note-i went to Georgetown University and back in ’04 we got a petition going to get rid of the basketball coach and it worked. The administartion actually responded. 2 yrs later we were in the final four.
First off I mostly agree with the posts. I just want everyone to take a step back and calm down. I’m close to being on the bandwagon of Fire Charlie but I’m not. I’m just saying lets take a step back and calm down. Alot of teams got upset today. Notre Dame had the ball in the redzone 6 times with 7 points. Something like that. That’s not on the head coach. Roughly 5 turnovers(2missed fg’s a fumble and a pick and a turnover on downs). Fans are looking for a fall guy to pin it on and right now it’s Charlie. If they fire him hire a new head coach and then give him 3yrs to turn the program around and he loses to whoever. We will be right back on this website saying go to Firewhover.com. And did you notice that I said “he” loses?? Probably not. The team loses not the coach. Notre Dame as it turns out plays some good teams. go here
http://www.sportingnews.com/college-football/article/2009-10-26/what-we-learned-strength-schedule-comes-under-focus
So take a deep breath and focus on Pitt.
Like I said earlier CW and the DC needs to get gone. The players deserve better. When will the line be drawn in the sand????
Make no mistake about Navy they are a good team and the tripple option is difficult to defend but again this is the same ND team that won last year. Navy just came to play and ND just laid the EGG they couldn’t afford to and no excuse will be good enough this time.
Good luck with the petition Dallas. If you get one started let me know. I will sign it. I have a feeling regardless of what happens that CW will remain. The admin is just as inept as the head coach to include the Dc. The season is OVER. 5yrs is enough time. No more. Send CW packing.
follow me on twitter @fireweis
Cut the cord on Charlie already! This is Gerry Faust all over again. You can not have a first time head coach take over a program like ND and expect him to succeed. The brain trust at ND is in fantasyland half the time. In the years ND won, we did it with established coaches from other programs (Ara, Devine, Holtz, etc…) and not with a first time head coach or high school coach. Can you imagine if Kentucky or UNC hired an unproven Pat Riley assistant or a high school coach to run their programs in Basketball? This team has been poorly coached since Charlie arrived. Even in the Quinn years, they barely won many of those games. We are stuck in mediocrity until he is fired. Please cut the cord and bring in an established coach who has done it with less talent like Kelly or Patterson. We should have fired Charlie a few years ago and brought in Paul Johnson. Please do not let another opportunity to get an up in coming coach. Cut the cord!!!
I can’t fathom this happening right now after watching this game, but I do pose this question…If ND wins out and wins the Gator Bowl, is this a successful season at 10-3 with a bowl win?
Easy answer. With weis at the helm we will not be 10-3. Come on you know damn well we will lose at least another two.
I’m sure you’re right, but would you rather lose this game and win a bowl to be 10-3 or win this game and get blown out in a BCS Bowl to be 10-3?
Yes — it would be successful if we finished 10-3. I don’t think anyone would dispute that. But, Tom is right. No way does this team finish 10-3.
i want to start a petition to get his butt out of there..such uninspired football its gone past the point of pathetic
where do I sign?
im making one right now..go to chuckweis.com for some interesting facts about our beloved pear of a coach
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fireweis/
ND fans should take a page out of the Cleveland Brown playbook and protest until they decide to fire that pathetic coaching staff.
How many times is Brian Smith going to get run over or run himself out of position……..it’s over!!!
Less Harrison Smith, more Zeke Motta. Interior line needs to play with some pride too, and not get dominated all day by an undersized line. Also, why on earth were the corners giving such huge cushions (only 8 yards, but still)? I can’t think of any time a corner has come up to the line all year and made a play on a running back. There are a lot of other things I want to say, but I don’t want to bash any players, so I’ll keep that to myself.
I’ve been on Charlie’s side for 5 years, and I hate to say it, but today he lost my support. You just CAN’T lose to Navy, TWICE. I love the talent he brings in, but it means nothing when you don’t produce results.
and that talent is gonna catch on to his pathetic results and we wont get that 5 star talent..that whats keeping us alive is the athleticism that we do have,bring in some one who has the desire to win and will start runnin with the floridas and alabamas
I totally agree
CW sucks! ND is mediocre. Anus Eagle is making converts left and right. Navy LOST to TEMPLE. We just lost to a team the lost to Temple. Does anyone believe it would be an automatic W if we played Temple? Not me!
i hate saying this..but flat out and everyone knows its true..NOTRE DAME SUCKS right now….
im gettin so tired of this unprepared losing..i can understand if we played a good game and the cards just didnt fall in our place…right now were no better then the ty willingham years..at least he wasnt arrogant and could take a loss like a man instead of blaming the other team for out playing your team
CW needs to be let go. ND should have won the game considering the talent ND is SUPPOSED to have. 2nd time for CW. Navy does deserve the win. They played with heart and didn’t make the mistakes that ND did. Again no passion. This IS NOT THE NFL CW!!!!!! I don’t blame the team I’m looking at the coaching on this one. JC played as well as could be expected but once again the D has failed to stop the run and couldn’t get off the field fast. As I recall last year this was the same team that beat Navy.
I’ve waited all season before I would decide on CW but there is no excuse to lose to Navy this year. He called an ok game but the bottom line is he screwed this one hard. No BCS and to be honest I hope they don’t go to a bowl game. Their D can’t really stop anyone. It doesn’t help that the O couldn’t score while in the red zone either.
ND I think will lose at least 2 more game. Having said that the DC needs to go as well. NOT GETTING IT DONE. Bottom Line!!!!!!!!!
Yup. Bottom line:
There is truly NO EXCUSE to lose to Navy. None. We can sit back and discuss the losses to Michigan and USC etc. But like some said, a win against Navy means “nothing”, as it’s expected. A loss is a catastrophe, a season-ender, and a PR nightmare.
Against teams like that, it is not too much to ask to play hard and play your game, the same way you’ve played all year. Or perhaps it is too much to ask.
Flat. Navy wanted that game ALOT more and they got it.
some one explain to me,when did the administration decide it was ok to take out the fighting from our name when they hired CW….maybe they need to put the word “succeed” in their play book..see if charlie come up with a schematic advantage for that one…
This was a total team loss. Coaching. Offense. Defense. Special Teams (is Mike Ainello still on this team?). When you lose as a team, it’s all about coaching.
CW has got to go..were never gonna win any type of meaningful game with weis at the helm..go get gary patterson or brian kelly..those guys are coaches
Amen!!
What’s a good season? 8-4? 7-5? This was a team that some (Dr. Lou, you idiot!) thought might play for a NC. At least a BCS bowl. With ND fans like this who needs enemies. At least Anus Eagle knows what he’s hpoing for! Boy did ND give Anus his heart’s desire today!
Lack of preparation is a trend under CW – that’s inexcusable
Poor play calling in the first half, on both sides of the ball, sank the Irish, sadly. ND had a chance and blew it! Here’s to a good season nonetheless! Go Irish!
There’s always next year! I agree with you, JDH, I’m sick of hearing it. That’s the sure saying of losers. Cubs fans have been saying it for 100 years. Some on this board will no doubt mind making excuses and saying wait til next year saying for the next 100 years. Not me! CW has one more year. That should satisfy the CW, asslickers aand apologists on this board. If he wins a BCS bowl next year, he gets another. If he flops yet again. He’s gone.
I don’t know about another year. I mean, I have been a defender of the five year plan. I think five years is fair — particularly given that at Notre Dame recruiting is very different that it is at, say, a Florida or an Alabama.
That said, we’ve waited five years. We’ve now lost to Navy twice under CW’s watch. We’ve had tremendous recruiting classes (compared to Willingham’s and Davie’s, anyway), yet we play without emotion. It’s terrible.
Admittedly, I missed most of this game (two under three takes away college football on beautiful Minnesota Saturdays), but it’s Navy. Very few — if any — of the Middies were recruited by the Irish. Very few. So, we have the better athletes. We have the better football players. We have the better coaches (I suspect our assistants make more than Navy’s head coach). We have the better program.
And we are beaten, again. It’s embarrassing. It has to stop and, frankly, the only way I see it stopping is by either winning, convincingly, all remaining games and our bowl game or by sending Charlie somewhere else.
The bad thing about today — other than the loss — is that the Seantrell Hendersons of the world are now looking at Michigan, Southern Cal., and some other place. CW as a head coach just isn’t good enough. We’ve had five years and now we’ve got three losses and we’re looking at a great Pittsburgh team and a very, very strong Stanford team.
I think it’s going to be very difficult for this Irish team to win either game. And, we just lost to Navy. Ugly.
I’ll always cheer for ND. But, I cannot see us going better than 7-5 unless something substantially different happens to the attitude of this football team.
Who wants to defend Charlie now??? Step up. Hopefully this is the nail in the coffin. Don’t pay a boy to do a man’s job.
we lost to a team that lost to Temple. Sucks
There was still time! Regardless, that statement itself is pathetic. Where’s our schematic advantage? Where’s our athletic advantage? We have no heart advantage on anyone! 2 straight loses to Navy at home! Bottom line!
Why do people keep asking where our schematic advantage is? Why arent we asking, where is our nasty football team? 1st and goal, yet we toss, delay handoff, penalty then fade route..? That sounds like a cream puff playcalling trend.
Too little, too late. EPIC FAIL; EPIC FAIL all around. Outplayed, outcoached, out-emoted.
Oh well. There’s always next year. Anybody else tired of saying/hearing that?
Tenuta had no answers for 3 quarters, but neither did the offense.
Great job Navy- they deserve the W.
– don’t wann read how Navy always plays us hard. Or how we have a “new defensive scheme” or any other excuse.I have defended Weis for the last time. Fire him now. I don’t care if we have to pawn the golden dome to buy him out. I’ll always love the irish. But until Weis, Tenuta nd Brown are fired I won’t buy another t-shirt, ticket, or any other “officially licensed” product.
Enough is a FN enough.
JDH,
Where’s the positive spin? I’m waiting!
Dude,
I hear you. I am as pissed off as you are. Believe me- No positive spin will come from my direction. It’s an epic fail all around. But there’s still time.
Keep fighting IRISH!
JDH,
Again, this isn’t about one half or one game. Bad defeats are a trend under CW. Schematic advantages? Gutless football!!!
JDH,
I’m not simply venting. If we were the defending champs and were unbeaten, then you could say I was venting. I’m talking about something that goes beyond just this game.
We all need to vent a little bit. Let’s see if halftime has made any difference though. This would be DISGUSTING to throw your season in the toilet because of not showing up for the Navy game.
LET’S GO IRISH! LET’S GO!
I’m fed up with this mediocrity. I feel sad for the people on this board who keep on seeing the ND world with rose-colored glasses. This is unacceptable. But it’s become the norm for CW (Navy 2 years ago, Syracuse last year, etc.) I’m p_ _ sed off!!!
ARE YOU F=ING KIDDING ME?!!!! Does anybody feel like playing today? Did ND think that NAVY would just roll over and let them win?!! Not gonna happen.
Charlie and Co. better find a way to yank lots of heads out lots of asses.
Unbelievable. The first half could not have gone any better for Navy. The only think NDs possessions did was eat time. Ridiculous.
Lack of preperation. Lack of character. Lack of ND pride!
Navy lost to Temple, people!
Play of the game coming up?! Ridiculous!!!
WTF is going on. The defense looks horrible. The offense can not convert. They are going to lose if they don’t get their heads out of their rear end.
ND – Navy is a no win. Win, who cares. Lose, it’s a disaster PR-wise and in terms of the polls.
Is it too early to say we’re in big trouble already?! This team looks just plain flat!
I too feel the history of the ND vs. Navy rivalry should be shouted from the highest mountain every year. I, for one, will never say that ND should drop Navy from its football schedule. I believe this statistic is still correct: the majority of students attending ND on ROTC scholarship are Navy bound. Here’s a link for the ND ROTC program: http://www.nd.edu/~nrotc/index.php
When I was at ND (2002-2006), it seemed like everyone was in Navy or Air Force ROTC… I didn’t know many in Army.
If I am recalling the play
correctly, Floyd was blocking a
Navy player at chest level and
another Navy player took a cheap
shot and dove at his legs. I recall
at the time that everyone thought the
play was illegal but I can’t remember
if a penalty was called.
Either that or Floyd had the ball, was
getting tackled at chest level, and
then another Navy player dove at his legs
which is also illegal… correct?
Either way, it was a cheap shot. I have
tremendous respect for Navy overall, but losing
Floyd on a cheap shot just sucked….
You have a poor memory, as does this blogger.
Nothing cheap about the play:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb2ymt_stupidblogger_sport
great story hats off to all branches of the military(my son is a US airman)now just go out there and crush navy
I live in the middle of Penn State country in South Central PA. When the ND-Navy week rolls around each season, PSU fans come out with their outdated and stale lines like, “I heard the Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and California School for the Deaf are on the schedule next year”. I reply with the same argument McSweeney makes. Navy year in and year out plays tough, hard football and wins games. When they don’t win games, they come dame close (see Ohio State 9-5-09). Now, this is what gets me riled up……
1. Penn State fan makes fun of Notre Dame for playing Navy
2. Penn State fan forgets that Ohio State came close to losing to Navy
3. If Penn State beats Ohio State today, they will treat it as a HUGE victory over an excellent team, despite the fact Navy almost beat them
I offer Penn State a challenge. Instead of playing (all oppponents since 2002) Coastal Carolina, Akron, Eastern Illinois, Youngstown State, Temple, Florida International, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Kent State, UCF and Louisiana Tech (in addition to the usual Big 10 doormats), have the guts to play teams like Navy, Air Force and man oh man your intra-commonwealth supposed rival Pittsburgh. I would give PSU so much more credit if they could replace Florida International with Pitt or Navy.
Chuckie M
I could not agree more. Penn State is perhaps the epitome of a team that plays weak out of conference games but never gets called out for it. At least Ohio St and Mich will play a solid out of conference team like a USC or ND. I am for ND staying independent but if they ever joined the Big Ten, they would dominate the conference year in year out. Unlike PSU, ND would keep a tough out of conference team like USC on the schedule. Why is PSU still ranked no 11?
All I heard about ND’s schedule is “Managable” while #4 TCU and others get a pass from the the media
As they showed in the Ohio State game, Navy has turned themselves into a solid program capable of giving any program a hard time. Navy does not get any respect because they are an academy and because they are so tightly linked to ND. Admitting that Navy is not Army would be the last thing that ND haters would do. Nobody challenged Ohio State for having Navy on their schedule this year and they barely won that game. Yet all the ND haters view this as a joke team when ND plays them. It is ridiculous. ND never puts a Charleston Southern, Fla International or Troy on their schedule like Florida did this year with all three teams. I have not heard anyone including Mark May put the knock on Florida’s schedule which when it is all said and done will include only 2 games against top 25 teams (LSU and Bama in the SEC Championship). Somehow ND never gets the pass that other programs get when it comes to schedules. ND is the only team in the nation that could lose to Michigan in the final seconds and have it viewed in the same light as a Div II team beating them. There are too many ND haters controlling the polls which will make it very tough for ND to win a National Championship. They cost Holtz a second championship when FSU was giving it over ND. FSU’s schedule that year was a joke but as always the ND haters looked the other way. Some things just never change.
very well stated
I live in the shadow of the
North High Street Institution
and it is sickening
Yesterday I sat at a sports bar with 20 tv/s and the one in front of me was the ND NAVY game per my request
People bitched and moaned but I held my own even during the irish loss
in the midst of Ohio State Rednecks –and they ARE redneck-
this program beats Troy, Marshall and yes Challenged by Navy -and they are “GOOD” then but when ND loses to them ND is “bad”
our defense needs attention and a lot of it Tenuta has to go and Navy’s Coaching is excellent
Unlike OSU fans, I wish Navy
well in a bowl game and I hope they WIN it
I would rather play ALL the Service Academy teams than play in state MAC opponets for in state money or DIV 2 teams any day-
Great post but if I remember correctly Floyd’s injury wasn’t a cheap shot. He was engaged blocking downfield and got rolled up on
Mac, this should be posted in every summer preseason CF zine as the preamble for SOS debate. The youth and prognosticators of today need to understand the reason why and how rivalry’s exist today by knowing at least the short versions of those history’s to get the full or even partial impact of why they hoot’n’hollar on Saturdays every Autumn.
For me, at least, knowing enriches the experience.
i was at the game last year so i did not have the luxury of replay of floyds injury. the thing that confuses me about this post, is that floyd is a wr, not a defenseman. so, to say navy cut blocked him makes no sense, but i did not see a replay of the injury. i am more concerned for our defense as far as injuries go, like brian smiths’ injury last year during this game from a cut block.
anyway, i agree 100% about the nd-navy rivalry. there is a lot more about this game than most “fans” know and i am honored that we play these guys. i am just so glad that they got a chance to show another big program that they are for real and not the cupcake that nd schedules for a guaranteed win. here’s to a clean, injury free game for both teams with nd winning by a couple or more td’s.
Be real this is football. The cut is legal and they know it’s coming. We got outcoached again. CW has noone filming signals so he can’t figure out what to call on offense. Let’s stop kidding ourselves they hired a guy on a whim and got burned. Now they don’t want to eat that huge contract. Willingham didn’t get this much time and Weiss’s best season came with Willingham’s first true recruiting class.