Last weekend’s loss to Pitt had an all too familiar feeling for Notre Dame fans who thought losing to inferior teams was finally a thing of the past after a streak of 28 span in which the Irish went 28-5 with those only losses coming to programs with names like Stanford, Florida State, Alabama, Michigan, and Oklahoma. It was a feeling of “here we go again”. That feeling, however, should only be temporary.
While the loss to Pitt stung and ruined any chance for Notre Dame to cap off the season with a meaningful bowl game, it wasn’t a sign that this program is headed back to mediocrity that characterized it during the failing regimes of Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and Charlie Weis. It was a sign that the 2013 season is one of transition for Notre Dame and that the Irish are unfortunately stuck in neutral right now.
The good news, however, is that Notre Dame should be able to shift out of gear and continue the forward progression forged by last season’s magical run to the national championship game in the neat future.
Should Notre Dame have beaten Pitt on Saturday? Absolutely. Should they have beaten them handily? Probably. Is it time to freak out? Hardly.
It wasn’t that long ago that a loss to a team like Pitt was the norm for Notre Dame. Boston College, Navy, Air Force, North Carolina, Pitt, Boston College (again), Syracuse, Navy (again), Pitt (again), and UConn. Those 10 teams all beat Notre Dame over the final 28 games of the Charlie Weis Era. That doesn’t take into account the losses to Michigan, USC (3x), Michigan State, and Stanford that were part of that wretched span either.
Funny how perspective can change the way an individual loss looks. Yes, it sucks to lose to a team like Pitt and no it should’t just be tossed up to “oh well, stuff happens” , but at the same time, it was the first time Notre Dame lost to a team it had no business losing to since the season opener against South Florida in 2011.
As someone who sat in the snow covered seats of Notre Dame Stadium and witnessed Notre Dame losing to literally the worst (in terms of record at the time) team it had ever lost to on Senior Day in 2008 though, I can objectively look at the current situation Notre Dame is in and see things are vastly different now and there is every reason to believe that this is just a speed bump the Irish and not an unavoidable downward spiral.
Injuries are part of football. Everybody is dealing with them at this time of the year, but it is also impossible to ignore or discredit the impact injuries have had on the 2013 Fighting Irish.
Danny Spond, Elijah Shumate, Louis Nix, Sheldon Day, Kona Schwenke, Tony Springmann, Austin Collinsworth, Jarrett Grace, Ishaq Williams, and Ben Councell – all members of the 2-deep -vhave all missed extensive time this season due to injury and that’s just on the defensive side of ball and doesn’t take into account Stephon Tuitt being slowed down from his off-season surgery for most of the early part of the season.
Offensively, the 2013 Irish haven’t suffered as many losses, but the losses that have hit were just as impactful starting with the loss of Everett Golson due to his poor academic judgment. Golson’s absence has negatively impacted this season more so than any injury this season even if Tommy Rees has been able to climb up the Notre Dame record books. Rees has been solid at times, but there is no coincidence that in Notre Dame’s three losses Rees has tossed 7 interceptions.
While rehashing all of this doesn’t do much good for 2013, it does provide hope that 2013 will be an aberration and not a norm for the Brian Kelly Era at Notre Dame.
All signs point to Everett Golson’s return in the new year. All of the injuries on defense have accelerated the learning curves for the likes of Isaac Rochell, Jarron Jones, Jaylon Smith, and Romeo Okwara – something that will prove vital for a 2014 defense that will be dealing with the loss of Louis Nix and potentially Stephon Tuitt.
In between some series of maddening offensive woes, Notre Dame has found play makers in their underclasses with freshman running back Tarean Folston flashing the look of a true go to #1 running back and a young wide receiver corps with the ability to be one of the nation’s best units in the near future. Corey Robinson, Will Fuller, and James Onwualu have all had their moments this year and will be bolstered even more with the return of a healthy Torii Hunter, Jr in 2014.
Even more hope rests with the incoming recruiting class where Brian Kelly and staff have again loaded up on both the offensive line and defensive fronts while adding some elite talent at key positions such as Nick Watkins at corner and Justin Brent and Corey Holmes ready to add to an already loaded wide receiving corps.
The 2013 season hasn’t gone as planned at all for Notre Dame. To make matters even worse, it has become abundantly clear as the season has played out that early season losses to Michigan and Oklahoma were not to very strong programs as both have stumbled down the stretch.
Notre Dame should not be where they are right now, but this program has been built back up to a point where it won’t be stuck where it’s at right now either. The injuries that decimated the depth chart this season have given key contributors for 2014 valuable in-game experience they may not have otherwise gained and the return of Everett Golson should create the first truly dynamic offense for Notre Dame under Brian Kelly.
In the wake of as disappointing of a loss as the Pitt game was, it might be tough to see, but the progress Brian Kelly and his staff have made over the last four years has not been lost with one bad loss or even one disappointing, injury riddled season. The Notre Dame football program is still headed in the right direction even if us fans may have to deal with it idling in neutral for a few more games.
how to beat stanford, its all about intimidation, i remember one game the stanford lb came over the nd center just like in the nd georgia tech game in the movie rudy, after that they controlled the line of scrimmage, its all about smashmouth football and running the ball down their throats, until they break, maybe even the flamethrower, rees, could be let loose to run, its the last game of the season, all or nothing at all.
Our coach is not committed to that type of approach and I don’t think we have the “juice” to do it.
No need to finish anything with you, Booby. Why would I deprive the rest of us of your wit and humor? Don’t you see how many people on here lineup to listen to what you have to say? They can’t wait for your next inane post!
Some of us on here stand by our screen-names and don’t have to take on assumed identities and/or hide behind them. SteelFanRob has been on here for a lot longer than you and people know what I stand for, like it or not. You, on the other hand, are a gutless troll who tries to hide behind a borrowed screen-name (that apparently has fooled more than one person, but I guess that’s what you were hoping for!) and hasn’t contributed one substantive comment since you’ve been on here. But stupid is as stupid does.
But you do stick around. I’m sure we’ll continue to be edified by your football acumen if and when you make a football related statement. Until then keep on trying. We’ll keep on laughing.
why do you run a spread offense when you dont have the qb to do it, its absurd, he should have adjusted, every time res throws up 40 balls we lose, the game is all about the ability to run, he has the backs but is too stupid or stubborn to adjust, just run every dam play until the pasing lanes open up, dumbo
Why do you type in all small letters when there is a shift key on your computer? Why do you refuse to use periods in your sentences when there is one?
I guess he does that to give an idiot like you, who has nothing substantive to say, a chance to wow us with your stupidity.
You know, Booby, it’s better to stay quiet and let people think you’re an idiot than to actually say something and prove to everyone that you really are a fool.
But you keep making us laugh. Just remember we’re laughing at you, not with you!
Btw, huge fan of the were not laughing with you were laughing at you cliche.
Love that you use the disclaimer to let everyone know what your thinking.
Now you’ll say I started this but you’ll finish it…..as if something on here can actually be finished.
These are words between nameless faceless people.
BK has had success wherever he has gone. Yes, ND is much different then Cincinnati. But Cincinnati went to a BCS bowl under Kelly. Let that sink in for a moment. Cincinnati, OSU ugly stepbrother in Ohio. That was no small achievement. He’s also won NC’s at the Division II level. It’s not like Weis, who had no college experience whatsoever. Kelly has had success wherever he went as a head coach.
He has shown an ability to recruit on the national stage. This year is a bit light, but at the same time, this years not over yet. I wouldn’t give up hope yet.
I think a lot of this years bumps really had to do with the QB. I know I keep repeating myself, but Kelly, like many HC’s, has a particular system he likes to work with, in his case a Spread Offense using a mobile QB. Rees is not mobile at all. That means Kelly can only work with a small part of his playbook. He obviously can’t call a running play for Rees. And Rees is that type of QB that when pressured in a game, he starts to turn the ball over. I don’t know that’s something that can be coached out of him. It’s more instinctive. You can teach skill, but if a QB gets nervous under pressure, there’s not a whole lot you can do with that.
The loss against Pitt was bad. There’s no sugarcoating that one. I won’t even look for a moral victory, there was none. A loss against a decent BYU team, it still would have stung, but at least they are a solid team. ND really needs to beat BYU now. With Stanford’s defense, I don’t think ND with Rees under center can win that one. They obviously will know how Rees is under pressure and they will be all over him. I’ll of course hope they can win it. ND has surprised me before. But they can’t end the season with 3 losses and feel good about it. 8-4, not the greatest, but at least it would meet most people’s expectations.
We’ll see how the team reacts. I tend to think resting the players might be a wise course in this case. Get the team healthy. Let them think about something other than football for a few days so they are mentally fresh as well. Beat BYU. I would almost say that’s a must win. At least meet most pundits expectations for this year. Find some way to beat Stanford too, then maybe this year might be considered a small success.
Again, not trying to make excuses for Kelly, though I guess I am in a way. Just trying to be realistic.
But I really want Kelly to be successful at ND. We need BK to be successful. I was sickened by the fact I was almost rooting for ND to lose in Weis’ last year to get a new coach. I don’t ever want to feel like that again.
Maybe he will redshirt all QB’s except Hendrix, why he doesn’t play’em I will not understand ever. If they are really good they will on play 3 years anyway.
Zaire is likely the next big QB if EG comes back. I think they really want to keep the redshirt for Zaire because otherwise, if EG comes back and is successful, they would only have 1 year for Zaire. This way, they’ll have 2 years of eligibility. If EG doesn’t play well, then you might have 3 for Zaire (let me know if my math’s wrong–but I think EG would have only 2 years left of elibility even though he didn’t play this year). Plus, I’ve read reports that Zaire is still a raw talent and needs more time on the practice field. If he turns out to be as good as his reports, I’d rather have him for that extra year than burning his redshirt this year for a mid or low level bowl.
Damian,
Next year I exspect both Goldson and Zaire to play a lot in a true spread system.
While I exspect Golson will take the larger portion of the snaps, I do think ND will lean on Zaire considerably to share some of the load.
These duel threat QB’s use both the pass and the run to keep the offense open and rolling.
As a result they take a lot of hits and we will need 2 healty, active, QB’s to keep it going at a steady, productive, consistant, pace. Especially against DIV-I level defences.
If you look at Michigan, Denard Robinson always started out in a blaze then wore down late in the season. Same thing happend to Devin Gardner this year.
Neither had anyone to share the load and it cost them.
Manzel has had his share of bothersom injuries but has been able, thus far, to fight through them, but I think he is the exception.
The hits, the aches, and the pains, appear to be slowing down the kid from Oregon some as well.
I think the real key for ND next year won’t be QB’s, runningbacks, or recievers, but if the coaches can get the O-Line to DOMINATE.
Getting Zaire in some games would probably be a good idea next year, esp. since he would be the heir apparent to EG. There’d be no reason not to get Zaire in there next year. And sometimes that makes the starter better, if he’s being pushed by a quality back up.
Absolutely Russell,
Like I said a month ago, we are saving Zaire for graduation? In a idealistic championship world, say, ND could even demand the opportunity (like Bama)for a 4 or 5 star back-up to ride the pine behind Golson, great! Yes, spot on Russell playing three years QB if your good! I don’t see 5-Star Zaire setting on the bench if he loses the QB derby to Golson! Or if BK flat names Golson the starter next year; it is more likely under those circumstances Zaire will transfer. Why doesn’t BK have 4 or 5 star QB’s prepared to start for him? Like Kiel? Not to mention, there is way more to the Kiel story than we will ever know! Seems highly likely BK’s attitude doesn’t match his outstanding recruiters once our highly rated QB’s get here. Sure Zaire was not ready this year and BK made sure of that. So here we are again! Zero insurance of even a qualified game experience back-up to Golson next year! What if Golson goes down? More chaos? Indubitably, I know the KellyCare fans will ride that sow with a fly swatter into the sunset! The blame game cures all! Duh…gee, we need 2 real game experience QB’s, really? Yes, after five years with BK absolutely or the drama continues! So by putting all eggs in the Rees basket look at what it got us this year! Graduating practice? Whoo Hoo! Hello!Zaire was the future of ND football not Rees! So obviously, more QB development delays next year! I hope we have a lot of depends on hand around here next year if for some strange reason Golson does not show up! Further, I love all the vanilla strategic thinkers ‘think’ 5-Star Kiel and Zaire showed up here to hold a clip board and flash signals! Yeah, “Kiel’s a spoiled little bratt!” Suuure, that was rocket science Duranko! Yet, BK was hyperventilating on Kiel continuously: “The kid is really coachable!!!” Great car salesmen without the super bowl rings…eh?! But, hey…next year! More QB derby chaos? Cry me a river! I don’t even want to hear it next year from the KellyCare Whiners when the chickens come home to roost!
Excellent question/point Russell, thank you!
Relax there. Whether EG is back next year or not, I think it’s clear Zaire will get significant time at QB. And I like Shaz’ idea of getting Zaire in some games next year, not necessarily as starter, but plays designed to his strengths.
I didn’t get too hyper about Kiel transferring. He was never a good fit for Kelly’s system. He’s a pro-style QB, not a spread QB. He’ll be more successful with a coach that teaches a pro-style offense.
Damian,
Kiel who?
The one who could have gone to one of the top passing offenses in the country with Indiana, or gone to SEC power LSU, or the one who probably could have had the starting QB job at ND handed to him on a silver platter this year?
Or the one, after 2 years, has yet to throw a pass in college?
Kiel will probably play eventually. But I never really thought he was a great fit for Kelly’s system. He may have been better than Rees and as you said, he probably would have played this year.
But, him transferring was just not a big deal to me. At this point it’s ancient history anyway. If EG (or Zaire) plays well next year, Kiel will really be nothing but a memory.
You guys would make great Obamacare salesman!
By the way Shaz, interesting how you make fun of Kiel ‘so easily’ and turn on a dime to scorn anyone else who dares to criticize any young player (like poor tommy)! Classic double standards by you to support your ‘for the moment’ BS as usual.
Tommy Rees is a “True” Notre Damer.
He has paid his dues.
Any real ND fan knows this.
Now get lost Pee Wee.
My My My, after this year, you will be ‘forced’ to change your empathetic lipstick for the next QB! Who will be your next lucky victim? Hendrix? Or Anchorman?
Damian,
How telling of the standards at ND that EG gets suspended for cheating on an exam. That wouldn’t be a problem in the SEC (minus Vandy), Ohio St., or the other football factories. Why? Their football players either don’t have to take exams or have others take them for them. Can’t get caught cheating on an exam if you’ve never taken one in you life!
Everybody has some valid points. I feel I’m a realist as an Irish Fan. Should they have beaten Pitt….YES! But injuries, mental lapses, and lack of trust in the players talent have always been the case. BK and his coaches need to trust in the team they put out there to perform to the best of their abilities. I remember thos lean years under those other coaches. BK has it going in the right direction. I want to see this team in a few years when he gets the depth along the lines and yes a new sp teams coach!
Amazing, we are having the same conversations on will we or not seek a new head coach. As much as I love BK, (haha) I will give him ‘next year’ as promised. Management of the QB’s without question, will be the make or break moment coupled with the RB’s 2nd! If no one transfers, we might have a long shot at a BSC bowl. However, like C-Dog, I don’t see a NC in BK’s portfolio at ND.
Damian,
Agreed!
Please keep posting. Your opinions are very well-reasoned and always polite.
Go Irish!
Damian says I agree with all your points SFR.
SFR replies your opinions are well reasoned and always positive.
Shocking!!! Next you will inform us that water is wet.
If you could read, you would realize that I haven’t always agreed with Damian. He’s also not always agreed with me. But because he’s literate and not a jackass like you, we can have a civilized dialogue.
Funny how you pop up just to get my attention. Be careful their lady, lest your beau Ron Burgundy gets jealous. Fortunately for you I have gay friends and don’t discriminate. Some others on here, however, might find your homosexual fixations unacceptable.
Now, little girl, go jump in a lake and tell me if the water is wet!
Thanks SFR. At first I was confused by SFB (I thought he was you at first, but obviously that didn’t make sense, then I saw Bob, not Rob). I do understand and even share some of the frustration with BK at times. And we both agree, firing BK now would be bad.
One of the reasons I’m a fan of ND is because they do try to win the right way. Academics is number 1, something a lot of schools seemed to have forgotten. And they prove their commitment to discipline. Would EG have been expelled from LSU or USC? I’m not so sure. ND expelled their up and coming QB and risked bolting for another school. A few years ago, they suspended BB player Kyle McAlarney for marijuana possession. He didn’t bolt either. That says something about ND.
As long as ND stays committed to a higher standard, I will be a fan, no matter the record.
Damian,
SteelFanBoob is a poseur and want to be. He’s the faux persona of someone else on here. At first I thought it was Ron Burgundy but actually Ron can be witty and does show when he wants to that he knows his stuff. So I won’t speculate on who this pretender is. I trust that my perpetual beat downs of this troll is enough to establish he and I are two distinct entities.
Glad to have you on board, Damian. A fresh and thought-provoking perspective and respectful debate partner.
Go Irish!
fred,
I love your optimism. But seriously, firing BK’s not going to happen no matter how many who think like you may want and yell for it. Everyone on here knows I’m no BK apologist (we have enough of those!), but it’s simply unrealistic for ND to dump BK and his salary now when we’re still paying Weis. In effect, hire a new coach now and you’d be paying the salaries of three HCs for the next few years. That’s just fiscally irresponsible. Also, I think that 2012 earned BK a shot for another season or two. I agree Golson isn’t a great QB, perhaps not yet at least. But BK’s got some options coming in. Big, fast mobile QBs with strong arms. I expect next year for ND to win at least 9 games, preferably 10. Then win a showcase bowl game. The year after that ND should be challenging for a NC. perhaps it doesn’t happen but they should be in the hunt for it. If after 2 more seasons we’re still seeing the BK Chinese fire drill O, poor RZ play, passive D, no STs whatsoever, and generally uninspired play from the team leading to bad defeats or narrow victories against sub-par teams, then I’ll be leading the charge to fire BK. But for now we have to grin and bear it, and hope BK can bring in a top 10-15 recruiting class (to at least not give ground). Let’s hope for the best but expect the worst. It’s so incredibly sad for me to write that and admit that’s where ND is as a program that we have to plan for sustained mediocrity. (Of course, what’s worse, are those here who are OK with that!)
I actually agree with all your points SFR. I have the same expectations for next year. EG has great potential, and he showed great promise toward the end of last year, and I liked his emotion during the NC game. He looked the most PO’d on the team for their performance.
My only argument is I’m willing to cut BK a little slack this year. Rees is as good as he’s capable of being, and he’s the only true option at QB (burning Zaire’s red-shirt would be foolish).
But you’re right. Dumping BK now would be bad for ND on so many levels. Fiscally absolutely. They can’t pay 3 HC’s and hope to get a top notch HC. Also, ND’s image would suffer irreparable harm, esp. among new recruits. We’d be back to square 1, maybe less.
Next year if things don’t improve, I’d expect to see assistant’s let go. The year after, if still nothing, then BK would be done.
I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that. I really hope BK succeeds and is the next great coach. Next year, with the recruits and if they get a conditioned EG back, will be a true test for BK.
Steel, do you think any RB would want to come to ND after the way Folston ran and got benched the next week, no wonder Hooks decided to go somewhere else, heard the Folston and Bryant were both leaving. GO KELLY keep up the good work, like he said after Tulsa we had better “get use to it”
I hear your frustration, Russell, I really do. I can’t begin to explain what goes through BK’s mind at times. He definitely is hard-headed. One, I think we should avoid rumors about transfers for the moment. Hopefully they stay rumors. Two, I trust BK will settle on a three-deep RB rotation next spring. Have one feature back, his main back-up, and a hybrid slot-3rd down RB. If someone doesn’t get playing time and wants to leave, so be it. But play your top 3 RBs. Elijah Hood saw that he’d have a hard time playing right away at ND. I just hope we don’t end up regretting his decommittment like what happened with Geo Bernard. We got to keep Wood and Riddick (two guys who went un-drafted) but lost out on a future All-ACC back that was the first RB drafted last year.
But I hear your frustrations, Russell.
Go Irish!
If any body thinks Golson will make a difference next year, forget it. As for BYU next week, the way Pitt ran over us around us and through us. BYU will murder us. So will Stanford The only thing that could possible help is a new coach! How about Gruden, he can coach as well as announce he loves ND
Hey fred, did your paren_ forget to capitalize “fred” or are you just being as ignorant as you sound? (I’m sorry if the question is too tough for you) BK has built a champion-caliber program. And while we’re not quite as deep as other top-notch programs (ie.Alabama) we ARE a top-notch program. We have excuses for our mediocrity this year. A head-coach is NOT a reason for our mediocrity. BK is the reason for ND’s resurgence. REMEMBER THAT.
PS – Grudin could work. NOW. He would not have come anywhere near the ND team before BK.
Apparently you didn’t learn when to capitalize and when not to moron.
Quit picking on poor Fred.
REMEMBER THAT.
tell the fool to run the ball
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6zJBkvj7kAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6zJBkvj7kA
SFR,
You are correct. I had forgotten that game except the outcome. I had been to the FSU game and travelled back for that game as well. I was actually frustrated with the FSU game, because Lou shut down the offense early after grabbing a big lead against FSU, and that needlessly put the defense on the field fo rmuch of the second half. The ND FSU game shouldn’t have been nearly as close. I remember being happy and excited for the win, but afraid of exactly what happened the next week.
As far as “THE Moment” I would say the moment ND started it’s downward trend was the day Wadsworth stepped into Lou’s office and clipped his wings. Lou may have lost his edge after the 1993 season, but it’s a good bet, he might have pulled off another NC given a year or two extension. He’d have retired by 1998 or 1999 anyway.
C-Dog-
Truer words were never spoken.
The sad thing about Wadsworth ( God rest his soul)
is that ND really was NOT broken but Wadsworth felt he had “to fix it.”
Fix what?
Tough schedules by far and we could win nearly any game and Lou could coach when ND was in a pinch and odds against the Irish.
He would have retired –but I would have loved to have seen a few more years of him anyway
i recant on urban meyer “…the University of Florida, where 31 players were reportedly arrested under Urban Meyer’s watchful eye.”
Actually, if I recall correctly, Shaz, ND was down big most of the game before making a great comeback late in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Perhaps the hard practices had something ti do with the team coming out flat after a big win. But by the end of the game ND was playing its best football.
What sticks out about that game at the end was that one of our LBs dropped an easy INT that would’ve ended the game right then and there. To me that dropped marked the beginning of the end of the last era of ND football greatness. After that, Lou had very good teams that always found ways to lose key games at home that cost them NC shots (Tennessee, PSU). Nothing’s been right since that dropped INT that allowedfor BC’s winning FG.
Steel Fan:
Right Again for your reply to Shaz. I was there. The atmosphere was ASSUMED the Irish would win again. They beat BC 54-7 the previous year. The intensity in the campus was not there. After all we had NEVER lost to BC.
I remember the game because I was sick to my stomach all through it. BC 3-0, then 10- 0, Irish close in 10-7, BC 17-7, Irish TD makes it 17-14-BC TD before half 24-14. Then the disaster–no score in Irish receiving ball in 2nd half BUT BC scores–it is not 31-14. Irish get a FG 31-17 and BC TD 38-17. Miracle?
Irish TD with 2 point conversion 38-25 Eagles lead.
Eagles FUMBLE–Irish get ball, work hard, score 38-32 Boston. Irish TD with just over a minute 39-38 Irish.
THEN the play that ABC loved to show over and over.
FG towards touchdown Jesus as time expires BC 41-39.
Even now it makes me ill.
ND hasn’t been the same since EXCEPT for last year’s hope and wins against all odds and the NC appearance. But we have not been the same since.
Vanilla, whimpy, spineless Davie became AD Wadsworth’s bitchboy and talked about Loud behind his back ( not the exact mark of a real man)
and ND sucked.
The FG still haunts me!
The wind has been out of the sails since.
Athletes can over train–so-rest–and pray for some good play calling. On paper we are better than BYU–but paper isn’t the field is it?
I remember late November 93 all too well from beating Fl. State to the disbelief that we were undone 7 days later. We had the lead for less than a minute.
Let’s hope the minutes favor the Irish against the Cougars and in any bowl–2 wins out of 3 games left are possible and needed.
Coach Kelly announced earlier this week that he will forgo practice during the bye week for the first time in his career.
Genius move or bonehead decision?
Discuss…….
I read that too…
Kelly said something like, until he has enough healthy bodies he can’t have much of a practice anyway.
Apparently our center broke his hand against Pitt and is working with a cast on, and 2 more backup D-lineman are in walking boots this week.
Also… Duranko frowns on the term “bye week” in association with college Foortball.
I think it’s supposed to be “a no game Saturday week” or some such.
We’ll know come game time with BYU. Rest can be a good or a bad thing. I’ve seen teams that have been rested play their best games, and I’ve seen the reverse.
I would say in this case, giving guys time to heal may not be a bad thing. We know a lot of the best players are banged up right now, and some recuperation may do a lot of good.
Damian,
You may remember this:
In 1993 ND went 11-1 under Lou Holtz.
ND finished 2nd in the National Championship voting losing out to one loss Florida St that year.
That was the same FSU team ND beat eariler that same season in the Battle of the unbeatens.
ND’s only loss that year came in a late season game against Boston College. A game ND had the lead in only to let it slip away in the second half.
Afterwords, Lou said it was his fault for the loss citing that he had pushed his team too hard in practice the week leading up to the game and they just ran out of gas in the 4th quarter.
“Victory has a thousand fathers… defeat is an orphan”
-JFK-
I agree with the author. The program is in much better shape now than it has been for years. Kelly has done a good job, not a great job. Next year will be the first year in his tenure when it should be all Kelly recruited players starting. I will be very curious to see what that looks like.
I personally feel like giving Kelly a little bit of a pass on this season because the players I have the most concerns about are all Weiss era players, we are playing games with our 3rd string quarterback (Zaire is probably a stronger player than Rees), and we have a defense that has been decimated by injuries. We are actually performing at the level everyone expected at the beginning of the season given the loss of Golson. Most prognosticators said 7-5.
Just following your lead, C-Dog. Enough is enough already. When are the excuses going to end. I really wonder if some of the people around here who make so many excuses for a millionaire like BK would take any from their minimum wage employees. I’m sure some of the biggest excuse makers around here from the sound of it are either business owners or managerial types. I doubt very much they let their underlings get away with any crap, then they come on here and justify garbage in BK’s case. Hypocrisy!
In case some of you hadn’t heard, Todd Christiansen, the old Raiders TE and NBC color analyst, who did ND games in the early- to mid-90s, passed away today at the all-too-young age of 57. I really enjoyed his combination of knowledge of the game and eloquence. So well-read and well-spoken. A different breed of player and announcer. I would take him over any of the clowns that have been doing ND games for about the last two decades. RIP, Todd.
Yep SFR, I liked him too as an announcer(not so much when he was with Da Raiders as a player) for past ND games. He had good insights. I wish Aaron Taylor would become an announcer for ND games.
Taylor does not have the ba!!a to stand up to excoach ZOOK but how could he be worst than Maylock (USClover).
Yes it is too bad that he passed so young. He knew his football. Good player too. He was fun to watch. Sounds like a great family man from what they say.
Not really excuses. I would expect their to be improvement next year. My main concern is if BK fails, what next. I’m very concerned that another coaching failure would really spell the end of ND being relevant in football. I’m just hoping there aren’t fans that want to see Kelly fail now just to get a new coach in there (much like what you saw in Weis’ final year).
Anyone else worried about the numbers in this years recruiting class. Who else do we think will end up at ND? Doesn’t seem like many prospect left to recruit. Guess u never know in recruiting.
Yes, St. Pat, very worried. Not only does it seem that we’re not in on any of the remaining elite players, but we may well be losing a few we already have committed. Not to mention rumors of Bryant transferring beginning to pick up once more. But I think those are just rumors (for now at least). ND needs to beat BYU and make a decent showing against Stanford. Then win the whatever crappy bowl it gets to play in. BK better continue to prove he can at least recruit and keep his talent. Let’s face it, he’s no rocket scientist and will need all the tip-flight talent he can get so he can win games when repeatedly out-coached.
Byu is a big game for Kelly and ND perception wise. Perception is everything in college football, and right now ND’s isn’t great. We need a win, can’t have a three game losing going into the bowl. We will see how they look in two weeks and hope our play calling doesn’t cost us. Run the ball Kelly!
I’m just wanting to see more Lineman in this class. Depth in the defensive front seven. A couple of middle linebackers would be great. That Tranquil kid would be a good pick up
People can say this and that but BK is the first coach to bring some sort of consistency to this program since LOU was coach the numbers prove that I go back to the schedule year in and year out as tough as any in the country it’s Hard to go undefeated all you saying last year was like a dream your stupid as Hell some of you have to wake up and think real look at all the injuries the transfers EG getting booted for a semester yes the Pitt loss was crap but still 7-3 with a chance to beat a good BYU team on senior day before Stanford any of you remember the inconsistency of the following 3 coaches ??????????????? One good season one mediocre or bad other then CW first 2 seasons BK has won at least 8 a year I hope for better things like all of you some of you need to wake up college football is so competitive compared to the old days go IRISH beat BYU!!! And take care of business on senior day
We are suppose to have the best talent we have seen in many years and yet the coaches do not seem to have any confidence in them. Week in and week out we witness a bland offensive game plan and vanilla defensive scheme which in neither case attacks the cmpetition weaknesses. Are we over analysing the competition and missing the obvious? Coach Holtz seems to espouse the old adage – keep it simple. Other premier teams seem to be able to adapt to the competition from week to week and perform well. ND seems to play to not lose not play to win. It is time to turn the dogs loose and lets see what happens.
A defense needs to be like Conan the Barbarian. “See your enemies crushed before you and hear the laminations of their woman”. I want a defense to impose it’s will on an offense. I want a team that controls both lines of scrimmage. This is why Alabama is winnning.
AND Alabama dictates the tempo –even teasing them a bit –getting in their head that “they might have a chance” A and M got 42 points on them–but Bama was way ahead before cocky johnny really poured it on.
What happened with LSU is EXACTLY what I told my dad and brother would happen.
Bama wears down the opponet and brings out the fresh horses. If Bama wants it 16-0 or 25-0 they got it. If they wanted to they could REALLY crush most opponets by 7 o r8 TD’s.
ND has this talent to a greater degree but—-it needs to be nurtured and given the opportunity to do so and thus–the men will BELIEVE they have the talent–not tentative playing.
I agree with you Jack.
Bend but don’t break D’s eventually do break. They also allow long drives that limit the opposing team’s O chances. That keeps games close, too close for my tastes.
Go Irish!
The quarterback is the most important position on the field. Golson will be a major upgrade. However , I feel Kelly needs to hire a great special teams coach and move Martin to defense and hire a great offensive coordinator. I believe minus the quarterback Notre Dame’s offensive talent is comparable to anyone the country.
YES
Agree on special teams. If there is one area ND needs some changes it is special teams. I’m reluctant to push out Diaco at this point because of how dominant our defense was last year. I think he just needs to get back to doing what worked last year. With the talent ND has on defense next year, there should be improvement, and it helps some of the underclassmen have got to play this year.
I don’t have a problem with bend but don’t break. If that keeps a team out of the end-zone, I’m all for it. If the offense improves with EG and scores more TD’s next year, the defense can afford to give up a few field goals.
Open letter to ND coaching staff:
Predictability diminishes opportunity.
Other teams review games when preparing, too.
The pressure to win every game
(at ND and many other programs)
can lead to coaches:
1. playing-it-safe on D’ and
2. “just execute the O” on offense,
(which too often keeps even inferior opponents
too close too late in the game),
or is that who BK is?
“We have great athletes so just ‘execute'”???
Predictability diminishes opportunity.
With whomever is QB or RB in ’14’,
(and if we’re all still breathing, we’ll be watching),
* Score more TDs
(PRIORITY #1 this Spring
is a red-zone offense,
and
* pressure their QB , if you gotta, then blitz more-
it’s football in the 21st century . . .
Oh, how I miss the mentality of the “85 Bears’ D,
with punished QBs limping off the field by the third quarter !
Much more entertaining, too !
It’s not that we don’t have the athletes to compete . . .
Go for it, Irish! Turn it loose. Bring it on!
ND is not the same as it was under Weis and Willingham. ND has had some good wins during the Kelly era. And Kelly has learned to adapt some. Remember 2 years ago people were complaining about his red faced explosions to his players. Last year you saw much less of that. And he handled last years QB situation expertly. Everyone in the media was trying to make a QB controversy out of it, and Kelly handled it extremely well and managed to keep both happy.
Some complain because Rees hasn’t gotten better. Has anyone considered maybe this is as good as Rees can be. What I see in Rees is not a coaching issue, it’s an ability issue. This is just who he is. He doesn’t scramble well when being pressured. It’s just the way he is. You can’t coach someone to be quicker and more decisive on their feet. They are or they aren’t. I thought EG showed significant improvement from game 1 to 12. He was one of the bright spots in the NC game. He was one of the only players that didn’t look shell shocked. He wanted that game, it showed on his face.
And ND fans are the only ones that will complain about wins. Oh, last year we won 12 games, but we should have lost some of those games. What?
It’s not a matter of being a Kelly apologist. As a fan, I expect to see improvement next year, esp. with the recruits coming in. And if EG is back, that should take care of the QB problems, esp. if EG is as conditioned as he says he is.
But ND needs Kelly to succeed. It’s like I said in another post, ND can’t afford Kelly to fail. Urban Meyer is not coming to ND. Nick Saban is not coming to ND. First, they’d refuse to work under the limitations ND lives under. Second, I don’t really want a Meyer or Saban. ND would have to give up to much just to win. I always thought it made ND special that it wants to win NC and BCS games the right way, expecting academic excellence and a certain code of behavior from it’s players.
If Kelly fails, I really don’t see a bright future ahead for ND. 4 failures in a row over a span of just under 20 years would not bode well for the program.
Damien,
I want BK to succeed, however why won’t Urban or Saban come to ND? Dealing with the administration and if that is the case they will never win. ND football is like a corporation and the trustees are the board members, the president is the ceo and the is like a VP. The problem ND adminstration is the fact that most coaches want to run their teams with no input and that will never happen at ND.
I will give you a pro-football analogy. Jerry Jones owns the Cowboys and since he has been making the personnell decision for Big D they are 115 and 115. Dallas will never win a Super Bowl because the GM sucks and he won’t fire himself.
ND’s administration needs to think outside the box and come up with a plan to win. I want BK to win and be successful at ND but when out of 100 kids you can only recruit 30 of them and out of that 30 only 15 want to come your big issue is depth. Alabama is able to replenish and obsorb a recruit that doens’t pan out better than ND. That is why coaches like Saban and Urban don’t want to come to ND because margin for error in a recruit not panning out is a lot smaller than at the other Universities. You can either grey shirt or burry a kid on the depth chart and they will leave.
Now the challenge is for ND to not lose their integrity but find a way to develope depth so they can win. I know BK has a plan for that it is whether the University or Administration will allow it.
Will Folston and Bryant stay after being treated so bad by Kelly, Fr at other schools play, no wonder Hooks changed his mind. What about Max?
SteelFanRob could put me in the camp as an apologist for BK, but after reading your article here is my problem. He has been the coach for 3 yrs this being his fourth. Why am I still looking to the future. Why do I hear the same problems over and over again. Lets look at this years teams nad taking out the injuries here is what I see:
1. Special Teams still an issue: Kick off return is a mess, punt return is a fair catch
2. Poor tackling by the defense. To many shoulders and no wrapping up of the ball carrier.
3. Inconsistency on offense: This really pisses me off. You have had Tommy in your offense for 3 years. These are your players and they still can’t get your offense. Well maybe you aren’t a good teacher of your offense.
4. Turnovers in the redzone: Again Saturday night two turnovers in the redzone and a missed field goal. Go back and look at the losses where Tomnmy plays a majority of the game. ND outgains the other team in offenseive yardage, turns the ball over in the redzone and loses by a TD or less.
Now I am not saying the BK is a horrible coach or that he can’t fix these problems, but I am saying every season except for last year these all rang true. The past couple of days I have sat back and reflected on BK as a coach and compared him to the coaches that were at ND since I can remember. I can rank him behind Lou Holtz which is great, until you realize that I can’t remember any coach before Gerry Faust. That is sad that since Faust ND has had 5 coaches and for the most part they all sucked.
My closing statement is this, it’s not the coaches that have caused this culture of mediocrity, it’s the administration. Until ND’s administration and trustee’s realize that stupid people like me that couldn’t get in is what makes there University what it is they will have issues. Look at how you run this program and the fact that you are always trying to catch up with the latests trend instead of setting the latest trend.
Under Lou the “Play Like a Champion” sign was brought back and copied by almost every college team out there in some way. Become the innovator no the copier. Until you have a forward thinking person in the admministration it will be more of the same, keeping up appearences to make sure the money keeps rolling in. As fans we can send a message like they did at Florida, DON’T SHOW UP!
You’re no apologist, Jack. Well said, well said indeed.
Again, well spoken Jack. I find myself in much agreement.
Could not have said it better myself. Horrible loss to Pitt and horrible D against Navy even 1 week after seeing a very similar O with AF.
ND is no longer a great program and has not had a legit big game coach since Lou.
Stan and Wisc have become what ND should be. Unfortunately ND has become BC a second or third tier program… get used to it…
Bottom line is BK and his apologists will soon be running out of excuses. Until then, let’s see where things go. Gin and bear it, so to speak. Who knows? Perhaps 2013 was the aberration and 2012 will become the norm. No matter how naive that sounds right now, time will tell. Let’s give BK 2 more seasons after this lamentable excuse of a season. But we better see more improvement on the field and less excuses off from BK, his staff, players, and the apologists in the ND Nation.
Good read Frank – However this line is far from fact “While rehashing all of this doesn’t do much good for 2013, it does provide hope that 2013 will be an aberration and not a norm for the Brian Kelly Era at Notre Dame.”
Winning ugly (poorly) and losing to inferior teams is almost the same issue though the W beside the outcome often disguises that issue (this is not to say ND needs to fire Kelly). There is an issue when you have superior talent and you cannot score or stop the other team from scoring (against quality teams it’s understandable). It’s called the way ND loses that’s the rub. ND lost to Pitt not because Kelly didn’t know who Rees is but because he couldn’t change his game plan to fit his depleted defense when he easily could have. Tulsa.
Lamenting the loss of Golson is easy but Kelly & Co. has had ample time to live with it and alter their game plans and they haven’t. This dislike of Kelly’s hero’s is on the coaching not the talent.
So no, it’s doesn’t do much for 2013 but it does portend the future of ND football in what it will look like (stuck) under Kelly if Kelly doesn’t deal with his personal issues where he lets his ego rule his decision making.
If he doesn’t deal with these issues, ND will be a team that stagnates at 9-3 on good years and 7-5 in bad years.
Will this article still apply when we lose to BYU?
Who knew? Everett Golson is the 2nd coming of Andrew Luck! Wow, I never would have thought that watching the offense last year. I mean he did have to have Rees save his ass multiple times. Of course, that’s why I think future years will resemble 2013. Regardless of the QB, the one constant will be Kelly.
When one evaluates what other teams have done to common opponents, it’s cause for concern. I just don’t know how anyone can really try to rationalize it. The performance on the field this year has shown little sign of progression from 2010.
What we have is a coach in his 4th year that has shown 3 years of MAC level football and 1 year of BCS caliber football. Although, save for a few unbelievable breaks, 2012 could have included several losses. At a minimum, the product on the field at times last year was extremely poor and certainly not what one would expect from a BCS bowl team.
I can’t really call for Kelly’s firing, but there really is no reason to enter any future season expecting to see anything different than what we are seeing this year: struggling to beat weak teams, losing to mediocre teams and, although still to be validated, getting slammed by BCS bowl teams. Kelly has shown no ability to really alter his approach and appears fixated on fitting every square peg into his predetermined round hole. Here’s hoping that 2014 includes a perfect alignment of the stars and planets one more time.
WCIF,
Your comments about the product of the 2012 season are ridiculous. We had the best defense in the nation last year. Also, Kelly was breaking in a freshman QB and never really turned him loose because we had such a good defense. Golson is going to be awesome in this offense next year. It will be explosive and will make up for the lack of playmakers we will have on defense next year.
I guess that means no more excuses then. We need to see “awesome,” “explosive,” etc. next season. If that’s what you’re saying we should expect and demand as fans, I agree. Let’s hold BK accountable to provide “awesome,” “explosive,” etc.
SFR, You Shaz and a few others of us are all kind of sick of the excuses. I’m glad you called that out. I’m old enough and have seen enough, good, bad, and great, that I like your stake in the sand. Let 2014 be the season of no excuses. I’m not even demanding an NC. Just a season in which they play every game with their A game. Win, lose, or otherwise. And let’s see something inspiring.
Until, the whole fake girlfriend thing, Teo inspired me with his play, emotion, and energy like nothing since 1993. Maybe Quinn and Semardjia in 2005. Otherwise, it’s been watching formula football for the last 20 years. “We Won’t Get Fooled Again”, hopefully…..
Good article and completely agree. Some (I repeat some, not all) fans are already ringing the fire BK bell. I agree he has some work to do, and next year should be better or they’ll have to at least look at replacing some assistants. But, while I hoped for a BCS bowl, the left side of my brain knew that was probably a pipe dream. Rees is playing to the best of his ability, but he just doesn’t react well to pressure and he is not quick on his feet. And we’ve seen there are no better options at QB and wasting Zaire’s redshirt would be a poor decision on Kelly’s part.
I don’t have the same concerns I did with Davies, Willingham or Weis. I don’t have that uh-oh feeling. The loss of EG and the injuries, along with having one of the toughest schedules in the nation, will take their toll. But with the recruits (and the right recruits where ND needs them most) are going to make a difference.
And remember, while Alabama is playing Chatanooga next week, ND will be playing BYU, ranked in the top 25 currently.
I’m ringing the bell. The play call schemes generally is atrocious.
I like Brian personally& I feel the Michigan Wolverines stole that game. (still)
I feel Tommy Rees is a very good quarterback.
ND needs balance from the ground game & has the talent to produce in that department.
The play calling is atrocious!