Wants, not needs…

Again it’s simple - last week, stop Bell = a Notre Dame victory; this week stop Denard Robinson = a Notre Dame Victory.  At halftime of the Michigan State game, I knew there would need to be adjustments made, and I was just hoping that they would be minimal.  The Irish were playing well, executing their game plan and most importantly, they were winning.  As we move onto Michigan, I would like to see much of the same.

For the most part I’ll take a win and I don’t really care how it comes.  Brian Kelly and I are not always on the same page on everything as it pertains to players, game management, etc., but we are at least in the same book.  There are some things I would expect or at least like to see this weekend…as long as the Irish win.

With zero receptions and not many more passes even thrown his way last week, I would think we will hear Tyler Eifert’s name a bit more this Saturday night.  Although it is encouraging that Notre Dame can win against a top ten team without relying exclusively (or even at all) their All-American tight end, I do not what it to become a trend.

Notre Dame had 122 net rushing yards using multiple backs:  Wood-56, Atkinson-43, Riddick-30, and Golson – 7, outrushing Michigan State’s monster back Le’Veon Bell-77.  I’ll take the overall rushing win but I hope to see at least one 100-yard rusher this weekend.

Everett Golson was 14 - 32 passing for 178 yards against the Spartans.  Not a great completion percentage, but obviously good enough to win.  Golson throws a good number of passes out of bounds, and yes, I would prefer out of bounds passes to interceptions, but let’s convert some of those out of bounds tosses into completions.

We did see dome “big chunk” plays against Michigan State, but I am still waiting on the “Big Wow” plays - kick off, punt, interception or fumble return for a touchdown, a 80+ yard run for a score, a big blocked kick - something that takes your breath away or at least takes you back to the days of the Rocket and Tim Brown.  These of course are in no way needed for a win or even a good game, but boy do we love them.

I want a blow out with excitement, but I need a win.

Food for thought…

Like most Irish fans, I was happy after Saturday’s game; perhaps more cautiously excited, but nonetheless happy.  Even though the season is just underway, keep this in mind - the regular season is now 25 percent over.  Below are some thoughts I had after the Michigan State game, all made with cautious optimism.

Overall, I would suspect that Purdue was better than advertised and Michigan State may have been a bit overrated.

The running game is back by virtue of Kelly being able to distribute touches.  I would bet Amir Carlisle will not see the field this year, thus allowing for a full recovery and a year of eligibility saved.

Is there a better defensive front seven than Notre Dame?

Thank you to Prince Shembo who is making the comment I made last year legitimate - that he reminds me of Lawrence Taylor.

The young (inexperienced) Irish defensive backs will continue to grow up fast with the season-ending injury to Jamoris Slaughter.  Notre Dame fans have to feel good about this bad situation with the recent play of KeiVarae Russell, Elijah Shumate and Matthias Farley.

Mike Golic, Jr. has played either just well enough to stay or just poorly enough to be replaced.

This was a big win in the recruiting world, as top players with offers from Notre Dame most likely have offers from the Spartans as well.  Beating Michigan would make victories over three Big Ten opponents in a row, which sends an important message to high school prospects.

I thought back to Manti T’eo’s first game as a freshman (he played in his first game but did not start), and I remember thinking to myself (maybe even saying it out loud), “we get this kid for four more years” (including the season he was currently in).  Looking at this year’s young talent, I have the same feeling about several of this year’s players assuming they don’t leave early - Sheldon Day (4 years), George Atkinson (3 years), Everett Golson (4 years), Troy Niklas (3 years), Tony Springmann (4 years), Stephon Tuitt (3 years), Louis Nix (3 years), and  Ishaq Williams (3 years).

1 for 13 on third down conversions…did I read that right?  That ties into Brian Kelly’s “zero is okay” philosophy, but I still want to know how many passes Golson threw out of bounds.  Yes, a throw out of bounds is better than an interception, but a throw out of bounds gives your receivers 0% chance of catching it. There is room for improvement here.

Are the players really buying into Brian Kelly, and perhaps more importantly, should I?