Michigan Game Weekend Posts

Here are the reaction posts from over the weekend from our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Michigan.

Good - The WIN. Opening game against a ranked rival.

The Bad - The running game. Needs improvement.

The Ugly - Special Teams. Every thing but field goals.

Stars of the Game - Michigan

3rd Star: Brandon Wimbush 12-22 passing for 170 yards and a touchdown, 19 rushes for 77 yards.


2nd Star: Te'von Coney 10 tackles (6 solo), .5 Tackle for a loss, 1 fumble recovery (8 yards) an 2 quarterback hurries.


1st Star: Khalid Kareem 9 tackles (7 solo), 2.5 tackles for a loss (2 sacks/24 yards), 1 quarterback hurry. 


Honorable Mention: Jafar Armstrong 43 yards rushing with two touchdowns and 2 receptions for 11 yards receiving.

Michigan Grades

Offense: 24 points against a anticipated good Michigan defense is respectable.B.

Passing game was good, as expected Wimbush was better with the long ball. B 

The running game was fair at best C. 

The offensive line needs to block the outside rush better an from the total number of not QB rushing yards something has to improve for the running game C. I don't remember any false start flags.

The receivers did their jobs well caught some impressive passes an let some they should have caught get away B.

Play calling was pretty solid B.

Defense: They only gave up one touchdown and reminded me of the 2012 bend don't break Irish A-.

Defensive Line payed pretty well, long term depth may be the question. B+

Linebackers did well with pressure but pass coverage could be a future concern B-

Defensive backs made some good plays but got burned a few times. B

Defensive schemes we called well be the coaches A-.

Special Teams need work, a lot at this point D+

Kickoff, forget the TD return, the first kick went out of bounds F.

Kick Return, no fumbles is the best we can say C

Field Goals, He did what he is supposed to, once C+.

I know the individual grades don't equal the overall grades but they work in the spirit of the thing. 

Good is not good enough

9 - 3.  Pretty good record, especially after going 4-8 the year before, right?  A lot of people would say looking at the big picture the Irish are heading in the right direction.  While I would disagree.  Let's look at the big picture.   Here is Kelly's record in South Bend; 8-5, 8-5, 12-1, 9-4, 8-5, 10-3, 4-8 & 9-3.  That's a 8.5 - 4.25 overall "big picture" record.  I'm sure many programs would be content maybe even happy to have that kind of winning percentage but this is Notre Dame.

In the Brian Kelly era we have more signature losses than signature wins, that's a problem.  In Bowl games the Irish are 3 - 3 under Kelly and to no surprise not one of those wins were in a major bowl.

Kelly is a good coach I can't argue that however for Notre Dame fans good should not be good enough.   We can't stay on top of the rankings, we can't beat a top 10, hell we can't beat a top 25 team with any consistency.  I hate to say we can't afford to keep Brian Kelly as for one I do like him and two I don't have a solution for a replacement. 

Kelly has probably done enough to save his job at this point, even if the Irish loss their Bowl game.  The question now is what will the future bring.  In the short term next season needs to be better than 2017, simply put either a 10 win season and or multiple wins over top tier teams, anything else it keeps the status quo.

Closing the book on NC State.

Here are some posts from Talking Irish Facebook and Twitter

Stars of the Game - NC State

Julian Love

3rd) Durham Smythe - 3 receptions, one for a touchdown and one toes in catch to set up a touchdown.

2nd) Julian Love - 69 yards interception return for a touchdown, 3 pass breakups & 2 tackles

1st) Josh Adams - 202 rushing yards, 7.5 yards per carry & a touchdown

Te'Von Coney

By the Numbers - NC State Game

318 - Net rushing yards for the Irish

202 - Rushing yards by Josh Adams

3 - Touchdowns by Brandon Wimbush (2 passing & 1 rushing)

6 - Quarterback hurries by the Irish defense

7 - Pass break ups by the Notre Dame defense

5 - Tackles for a loss

9 - Tackles for Te'Von Coney

Josh Adams

25 - First downs for the Irish offense

NC State: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good: Josh Adams, he is the energizer bunny, he keeps going and going.

The Bad: "Some" of the offensive play calls, at times they seem to make no sense

The Ugly:  The frustration of still having a few line issues (2 sacks)

North Carolina, it's a wrap

Here is the weekly social media posts from Talking Irish's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Stars of the Game - North Carolina

3rd) Josh Adams - 118 yards rushing, 9.1 yards per carry and a touchdown.

2nd) The Irish Defense - 11 quarterback hurries, 7 pass break ups, 2 sacks, 5 tackle for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception.

1st) Deon McIntsoh - 124 yards rushing, 10.3 yards per carry with 2 touchdowns .

By the Numbers - North Carolina

341 - Rushing yards for the Irish
10.3 - Yards per rush for Deon McIntosh
86 - Tarheels total yards rushing
8 - receivers who caught passes for the Irish
50 - Average yards per punt for Tyler Newsome
11 - Quarterback hurries for the Irish defense
7 - Pass breakups for Notre Dame's defense
3 - Quarterback hurries for Julian Okwara
7 - Tackles for Drue Tranquill
27 - Rushing first downs
3 - fourth down conversions out of 4 attempts
2 - Fumble recovers foe the Notre Dame defense

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - North Carolina

The Good. The Offensive Line. Great job with a special recognition to Quenton Nelson. Good job making holes and good protection for a quarterback making his first start.

The Bad. Red Zone opportunities. Compared to the rest of the season so far (scoring on all trips) scoring (1 Touchdown and 1 Field Goal) on 2 of the 4 chances is a letdown.

The Ugly. Injuries. Apparently nothing super serious or season ending and it looks like everyone will be ready to go in two weeks against USC. Good time for a bye.

Miami of Ohio Wrap Up

Hits from this past weekends Talking Irish Facebook and Twitter Posts

Stars of the Game - Miami of Ohio

3rd) Greer Martini - 5 tackles and an interception

2nd) Brandon Wimbush - 119 yards passing with 3 touchdowns and 36 yards rushing with 1 touchdown

1st) Josh Adams - 159 rushing yards (19.9 yards per carry), 2 touchdowns

By the Numbers - Miami of Ohio

28 - Points by Notre Dame in the first quarter
333 - Yards rushing by the Irish
8.5 - Yards per carry
2 - converted fourth downs out of 2 attempts for the offense.
159 - Rushing yards for Josh Adams
12 - Yards per rush for Tony Jones Jr.
3 - Touchdown passes for Brandon Wimbush
1 - Tackle by kicker Justin Yoon
3 - Sacks for the Irish defense
1 - First career interception for Greer Martini and first career forced fumble for Jerry Tillery

The Good, The Bad & the Ugly - Miami of Ohio

The Good - The 52 point the Irish were able to put up against Miami of Ohio. A ranked, top tier program such as Notre Dame should be putting up those kind of numbers against a team from the MAC, unfortunately the Irish have not always done that.

The Bad - Injuries. Josh Adams had an ankle injury and Tony Jones Jr. got shaken up, both are expected (along with Dexter Williams) back next week.

The Ugly - Missed field goal. In and of itself is not a huge issue but Yoon seems a bit off this season and that might hurt the Irish down the road.

Weekend Wrap Up – Social Media Hits

Here are some pieces from our Facebook and Twitter Accounts from the Boston College Game.

Stars of the game - Boston College

3rd Star: Brandon Wimbush; ran for 207 yards and 4 touchdowns

2nd Star: Te'von Coney; 13 tackles (5 solo & 8 assists)

3rd Star: Josh Adams; 229 yards, averaging 12.7 yards per rush.

By the Numbers - Boston College

515 - Net rushing yards for the Irish
10.1- Average Yards per Rush
2 - Interceptions by Shaun Crawford
50 - Notre Dame's third down conversion rate (9-18)
6 - Touchdowns in 6 trips to the red zone
21 Points from turnovers
7 - Rushing touchdown (4-Wimbush, 2-Williams, 1-Jones)
13 - Tackles for Te'von Coney to lead the Irish defense
1 - Sack by Jerry Tillery
5 - Tackles for a loss for the defense

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Boston College

The Good: The running game (one Kelly decided to run the ball). 515 net yards on the ground while averaging 10.1 per rush with 7 touchdowns.

The Bad: play calling (primarily first half). Early don pass calls that come up short putting us at 3 and long over and over.

The Ugly: The passing game. 11 completions on 27 attempts for 96 with an interception and NO touchdowns.

Weekend Social Media

If you missed the Talking Irish Facebook and Twitter Posts from the weekend here are some of the more notable pieces.

Goats of the Game - Georgia

3) SEC Officiating Crew.  In no way were to blame for the Irish loss, however they were just bad overall.  Bad officiating on both sides.

2) Brandon WImbush.  He kept the ball too many time instead of handing it off to the running backs and threw to many bad passes.

1) Brian Kelly.  More specifically the offensive play calling.

Notorious Numbers - Georgia Game

55:  Net rushing yards for the Irish

1.5:  Yards per rush

34:  Yards LOST rushing for Notre Dame

-1.0:  Notre Dame average punt return

3: Third down conversions out of 17 opportunities

1: Net yard on 16 rushes by QB Brandon Wimbush

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - Georgia

The Good.  The Defense.  If you told me after last week's win over Temple that we were going to hold Georgia to 20 points I would have guaranteed a win for the Irish.  This year's defense seems to play "bend don't break", unfortunately they broke a couple of times on Saturday.   Overall it was the defense that kept Notre Dame in the game.

The Bad.  The Offense.   Half to the play calls and half to the execution.   Holes for the rushing game were apparently non-existent and we Wimbush could not connect with his receivers.   This was especially bad compared to their great performance against Temple.

The Ugly.  The end of Brian Kelly's post game press conference.  https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/9/10/16282846/brian-kelly-notre-dame-georgia-press-conference-2017

What we now know

Brandon Wimbush

Before last Saturdays game against Temple there were many questions to be answered.  Realistically we really don’t have the answers to most of them but we did gain some insight to what the answers may end up being at the end of the season.  So here are ac couple of things we comfortably if not confidently now know about this Irish squad.

Brandon Wimbish can play.  Well, we kind of already had an inclining based on his high school highlight films.  He defiantly is confident.  The concern I walked away with from Saturday (and had even before) was with him running around so much what is the risk vs. reward with injury?

The Offensive line “looked” as good as advertised.  Now before we get ahead of ourselves here to clarify we played Temple not the 85 Bears.  However there was a good push for the rush with decent holes to get through and good protection for Wimbsush.  As happy I was this is one area I may be the most skeptical about.

Tony Jones Jr.

We can run.  With three 100 yards rushers and 422 yards on the ground all together I’m pretty confident in the run.   I would however like to get more of a sample size from sophomore Tony Jones Jr. as much as we hear about him this spring and summer.

As Brain Kelly has said before, Time of Possession does not matter.  Temple controlled the clock with 33:49 over 26:11 by Notre Dame.  The only quarter Temple did not control was the third where Notre dame had the ball for 8 more seconds then the Owls.

There is room for growth.  Looking at the defense as an example they looked a bit like the 2012 squad in the “bend don’t break” feel.  Overall the defense looked more than serviceable but between stopping the run at the line and some coverage issues there is room for improvement. 

Temple by the Numbers

4 - Quarters (All) that the Irish scored in

16 - Notre Dame rushing first downs  (7 passing)

422 - Net rushing yards for the Irish (8 for Temple)

9.6 - Yards per rush by Irish ball carriers

5 - Rushing Touchdowns for the Irish

52 - Average yards per punt for Tyler Newsome

606 - Total offensive yards for Notre Dame

6 - Out of 6 Red Zone trips resulting in a Notre Dame Touchdown

2 - Missed Field Goals on 2 attempts by Justin Yoon

7 - Made PAT's out of 7 attempts by Justin Yoon

Dexter Williams

161 - Net rushing yards by Josh Adams

20.7 - Average yards per rush for Dexter Williams

8 - Irish players who caught a pass

106 / 184 - Yards rushing / yards passing for Brandon Wimbush

3 - Players who recorded their first college sacks (Coney, Hayes & Okwara)

11 - Notre Dame Tackles for a loss

Questions First

We all know that the 2017 Season kicks off Saturday.  What we don’t know is what the season will give Irish fans.  The fact is until the season is over, including a bowl game (we hope) we won’t know the full story of this team.  The game against Temple will give us a good look at what the future may hold for this year.

Many questions won’t be fully answered on Saturday but there are many we are hoping to get some insight to.

Q: First and foremost, is/can Brandon Wimbush be the real deal?   

A: No matter what Wimbush does on Saturday he’ll have at least 11 more games this season to define his season.  I think what we really hop to learn is how is his poise and how does he lead?

Q: Is Jerry Tillery ready to be the star we hope and need him to be?

A: As much as we need him to be I don’t see I happening.  I (and I hope I’m wrong) predict Tillery will be average at best on Saturday.

Q: What will the running game ball distribution look like?

A: Josh Adams will get the start and make the most of his lion’s share of carries and won’t let go.

Q: After Equanimeous St. Brown who will be the number two receiver?

A: Aliz’e Mack will return to the field with a chip on his shoulder and will be hard to defend.

Q: Will the Offensive Line be as dominate s their talent suggest?

A: With two All American on the line you would think this would be a no brainer but first they will have to stop the mistakes and penalties from the last couple of years.

Q: How will the coaching staff do?

A: It’s not so much how they do during the game but how they adjust after. 

Spring Game - Initial thoughts

Overall Irish fans have to be at least satisfied with what happened on Saturday.  Some solid performances, no injuries and a sunny day are about the best you can ask for.   I do wish that QB's and special teams were live because I think there was a false sense of security and success.  There was several passes that got off that in a real game situation that would have been a sack.

I liked the balance between successful offensive and defensive plays.

Kicker Sam Kohler

The offensive line at time looked very good.  Most impressive the lack of false starts.

The running backs looked good., some good open field move and speed along with  dose of inside power running. 

With Yoon taking the spring off to rest his leg I feel we have a servable back up in Sam Kohler.

Brandon Wimbush's interception by Jalen Elloiot was more on Alize Jones (Mack) than Wimbush with credit to Nick Coleman.

Grades                              

                                               

Running Backs

Statically Dexter Williams had the best game with 96 yards (long of 41) and an average of 10.7 per carry.  Jones with 45 years (5.6 avg.) and Adams with 39 years (4.9 avg.) both had solid performances.  Even Deon Mcintosh built some confidence with a rushing touchdown.

Deaon McIntosh

Quarterbacks

Because they were not live targets some of their performances may be blurred a bit.  Book was 18 for 28 and had 271 yards BUT was -38 yards rushing being sacked 4 times.  Wimbush as 22 for 32 for 303 yards BUT was intercepted twice, didn't throw any touchdowns and rushed for -30 yards being sacked 7 times.

Receivers

Miles Boykin had a little bit of a coming out party on Saturday with 5 reception for 102 yards.  The ball was pretty well distributed with 14 players catching passes (11 of them having multiple catches).  One concern (not  a major concern) there was only one touchdown pass thrown all game (Sanders).

Offensive Line

The eye test gives them positive marks here.  Even thought there were 11 sacks recorded there may have been a low sense of urgency by the quarterbacks because they were not live.  The lack of penalties called against the offensive line was refreshing.

Special Teams

Not much to grade here because punts no and kicks were not live.  However from what we were able to see everything looked acceptable.  Snaps, holds and kicks looked good.  With no Yoon this spring we will have to wait till August to see where he is.

Defensive Line

Daelin Hayes

Not bad, not great even with 11 sacks registered at time they look pretty well handled by the offensive line at times.   Daelin Hayes looked promising coming off the edge and could be difficult to defend.   Again with the quarterbacks not being live they may have had to hold back a bit as they were closing in.

Linebackers

Good coverage overall, not great and does need to get better.  Not too many missed tackles which may be the most important thing to see.

Defensive Backs.

The coverage seemed better than the tackling, there were too many yards after the catch in my opinion.  The rover position and Drue Tranquill proved to be a success.   A couple of interceptions probably bolstered the confidence of the defensive secondary .

Who to watch Spring Game Part II

As I reviewed the roster for this spring a few more names jumped out at me as being interesting to be to keep an extra eye on this Saturday.  Every player seemingly has some note or story that makes them interesting this spring but we have to limit this somewhere.  So in addition to the seven names from Monday’s article here are a few more to pay attention to in the Blue Gold Game.

Tony Jones Jr.

Tony Jones Jr.  Seen as the third string running back on a traditional depth chart, his praises are being song by coaches and media alike.  I am interested in seeing how he fits into the mix with Adams and Williams.

Nick Watkins  The Irish have a ton of potential in its defensive backfield but it comes in the form of mostly sophomores who were thrust into action last season.  Nick needs to be the leader of this group on and off the field and after his bouts with injury it needs to start now.

Brock Wright

Brock Wright  Based on number this freshman tight end could redshirt this year but based on what we have heard it might be impossible to keep him off the field.  I for one what to see if he is indeed college ready.

Sophomore Defensive Backs (Cornerbacks) Tony Pride Jr., Julian Love & Donte Vaughn (Safeties) Devin Studstill & Jalen Elliott.  All of these players were thrown into action last year as freshmen and had to sink or swim.  They all had ups and downs.  After a year under their belts I am interested in seeing who is ready to really step up.

Tom Rees

New Coaches Mike Elko, Chip Long, Brian Polian, Clark Lea, Del Alexander & Tom Rees (note Tom not Tommy).  Usually you only see this many new coaches when there is a new Head Coach.  I am interested to see how they carry themselves and interact with each other and the players. 

Who to watch - Spring Game

Each spring Irish fans can get a football fix to carry them over until August in the Annual Blue Gold Game.  The fact is the best fans should hope for is no injuries and impressive individual performances.  Overall if the offense looks really good does that mean the defense is in trouble or to the contrary if the defense looks impressive does that mean the offense is bad? 

That is why I like to key in on individual players and look for specific things from each of them.  Here is a list of players I will be paying extra attention to this Saturday afternoon when they take the field for Notre Dame’s annual scrimmage.

Aaron Banks

Aaron Banks I have hear a lot about this incoming freshman and am very interested in seeing if he is as good as advertised.

Ian Brook Pretty much everyone, including myself believe there is little question that Brandon Winbush will be the starting quarterback.  However God forbid something happened to Winbush it is very likely that Brook will assume that role and it is important that he be up to the task.

Chase Claypool After discussions about whether we would see this kid on offense or defense it seems to be settled that he will be a receiver (and special teams).  He is supposedly the most dynamic player on the roster so I want to see if he is ready to settle in at the receiver position and contribute.

Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Kraemer These two redshirt freshman are said to be in a dead heat for the last starting position on the offensive line.  I don’t think who will start at right tackle will be decided  on Saturday but I am excited to see firsthand how each of them do.

Durham Smythe

Durham Smythe  This is Smythe’s last chance to step up and be the main guy at the tight end position.  Being the main guy won’t mean having the most receptions but it will mean taking the most snaps and contributing in an impactful way.

Jerry Tillery For the most part we have seen what Jerry Tillery has been, s decent player however it is now time to see what he can and should be.  As good as he has played at times he has he has underachieved compared to his potential.  We need to see if he is going to move up to elite status for 2017.

What Irish Fans can be thankful for this year

It may seem that there is not a lot to be thankful for this year as a Notre Dame Fan.  However we took a deeper look as where we are as Irish faithful and even at 4 and 7 believe it or not there are things we can be thankful for.   As you go through this list you will notice that most of them do focus on the future, so here we go.

To be part of a great tradition with a great history.

Josh Adams; a bright spot this season with 2 years of eligibility left, guaranteeing at least one more year with the Irish.

Jarron Jones

Chris Finke; a former walk on that has made for an inspirational story this year.

Jarron Jones; always giving us hope that an extra point or field goal might me blocked. 

DeShone Kizer; giving us hope (if he returns) for next season

Isaac Rochell; for four years of loyal service and leadership.

Equanimeous St. Brown; for bringing unlimited potential to the receiving corps.

USC; because maybe, just maybe a win over the hottest team in the nation to end the year will make us feel a little better about the 2016 season.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Can the Irish make it to .500?

With five games remaining on Notre Dame's  schedule the Irish need to win four of them to be a .500 team and become bowl eligible.  This is possible but after seeing how the first seven games of the season have gone not probable.  Here is a quick look at Notre Dame's remaining opponents ranks on the best to worse chances of winning.

Army (4-3).  The Black Knights have a nice win early against Temple but also have a losses to Buffalo and North Texas.
Navy (5-1). With the exception of  their win over Fordham before yesterdays win over Memphis the Midshipmen don't have a victory over seven points.  Navy could also be at the top of this list as the toughest tem they the Irish still have to play.
Virginia Tech (5-2).  Even with an odd 31-17 loss to Syracuse the Hokies are playing well with wins over Miami and a ranked North Carolina team.

Miami (4-3).  The Hurricane's losses have come against good teams and their wins have come against cupcakes, but this is a talented team.

USC (4-3).  This is not your father's rivalry matchup.   After opening the season by being lambasted by Alabama and going 1-3 the Trojans have seemed to righted the ship.

More or less these are interchangeable.  It would be interesting and a bit exciting (which might be a good thing) if Notre Dame's game against the Trojans was the deciding factor if the Irish become bowl eligible.

The bye week and deep sigh

Ok, we are at the bye week and I think it is safe to say we are not where we thought the Irish would be at this point of the season.  When I looked at the schedule at the beginning of the year I thought we would need it to rest, recover and rejuvenate for second half of the season a run at the college playoffs not a break to stop the bleeding.

Here are a couple of things to put the first half of the season into perspective.  When the Irish play Navy in a few weeks Notre Dame will be unranked and Navy will probably "still" be in the top 25 and they are ahead of only a 1-6 UMass team among Independents.  We were supposed to have a dominate offensive line and two if not three high level running backs the running game is ranked 29th in the country.  We knew the defense might be a bit off, especially with a new line backing corps and a depleted defensive secondary but to be ranked 68th nationally in points allowed, accompanied by being 68th for points scored? 

If you had not watched a game and were to only look as some specific player stats a 2-5 record word surprise you.  Kizer; 1775 yards with 14 passing TD's and7 rushing scores and a 147.4 rating, Josh Adams; 4.7 yards for a total of 416 rushing yards, Equanimeous St. Brown averaging 19.7 yards a catch / 95.2 a game for 611 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Food for thought:  Overall for the season points for the Irish are 202 and opposition is 177.  Opposing teams have scored a total of 75 points off of Irish turnovers, Notre Dame overall has more offesnive yards than their opponents 2590 to 2503.  The Notre Dame defense only has 3 sack on the season whereas the Irish have been sacked 15 times so for this season.  Out of 6 games played Maki Zaire has appeared in 4 of them.  Notre Dame has fumbled 11 times losing 6 of them.

The bottom line is that there is a lot of room for improvement and a lot of work for Kelly and crew to do in the second of the 2016 football season.

Where do we go from here?

2-4 with losses to teams that in the summer we thought we should beat or at least could beat and the tough games are still to come.  A winning season and a bowl bid in serious doubt and keeping an optimistic but realistic approach  it's now a "take one game at a time" season.  Each win should be celebrated as individual victory not a means to an end. 

Out of loyalty let's see what we need to so to get a bowl bid, get to 6 wins.  The Irish need to win 4 of their final 6 games.  Balancing logic and hope we'll lean and the side of positive thinking and give Notre Dame wins to the 3 remaining unranked opponents, Navy, Army and USC (I would bet that Navy will be ranked this week and USC's stock is rising).  That means Kelly and crew will need o have at least one win over one of the remaining ranked teams in Stanford, Miami and Virginia Tech.

Going back to celebrating individual wins and zooming out to a 30,000 foot view here are things that Irish fans need to focus on and ponder.  Keeping players injury free for both the rest of the season and next year including those with NFL possibilities.  After that wins over any of their ranked opponents, USC, Miami and Standard would be feel good moments upsetting rivals in the role of underdog.

As disappointing as Saturdays loss to NC State was what may have been more disappointing was the manner the Irish loss.  I for one thought the play calling lost the game and that is what is making the season even worse.

At least we beat Syracuse

I have to admit even though it may be a bit sad it is still true that I felt relived after beating Syracuse to get to 2 - 3 on the season.  As much as it seemed possible that this season could not have gotten any worse a loss to the Orange would have done just that.  Imagine 1 - 4 with back to back losses to Duke and Syracuse.

Even though the Irish scored 50 points this in no way was a great game for Notre Dame.  I will give credit where credit is due; it was a tale of two half's as far as how the defense held the Syracuse offense in check (relatively speaking) on Saturday afternoon.  The first half looked as if the combined final score would easily reach 100 points and Orange quarterback looked like Tom Brady.  Of course against the Irish secondary this year that is not hard to do.

Let's start with the offense that looked as good as they are supposed to against a team like Syracuse (2-2 heading into the game).  Kizer!  Folks we could have two more years of this kid, working along  Equanimeous St. Brown and Josh Adams.  23 of 35 for 471 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air, along with rushing touchdown.  Overall the Irish offense racked up a total of 654 yards (471 in the air and 183 on the ground).  There is still room for improvement after going 3 for 12 on third downs and committing 6 penalties (including 4 defensive offside's) for 55 yards.  The good news if the Irish need to score 50 points a game each game this season I feel they can, the bad news is it might not be enough.

Jarron Jones Blocked PAT

The second half against Syracuse was the best game of the season for the Irish defense all season.  Kelly said that they would be playing more guys on defense, 28 different Notre Dame players, including 9 freshmen made tackles yesterday (note that some were on special teams and 1 was offensive lineman Quenton Nelson after a turnover).

Special teams at times defiantly looked special; C.J Sanders averaged 35.8 yards on 4 kick returns including 1 for 93 yards and a touchdown and Jarron Jones blocked is second PAT of the season (both have been returned for 2 points).  I'll give Justin Yoon partial credit for making 6 extra points and going 2 for 3 on field goal attempts.

 

Is 2016 Salvageable?

With a season that has started began with promise that lead to a quarterback controversy that never was, a 1 – 3 record and a fired defensive coordinator can Irish fans have any hope for a “successful “ year?

For true Irish fans any season with three losses can’t be successful since they will not be in the hunt for the College Football Playoffs and a bid for a National Championship.  Maybe the real question should be can Notre Dame have a respectable season?

In theory with eight games to go the best the Irish could finish is 9-3, of course along those lines the worst they could finish is 1-11.  If your program is supposed to be a top program 9-3 doesn’t cut it, it defiantly will not put you in the discussion for the playoffs, let alone a National Championship.  However keeping things in perspective finishing 9-3 would probably be seen has a success based on how we started and 1-11 is not likely either.

For this discussion we are going to predict a 4 and 4 finish for the Irish.  To be fair they could finish 6-2 but they could also finish 2-6, so let’s split the difference.  That would put the Irish at 5-8, totally unacceptable.  Even if Kelly and crew could win 6 of their last 8 that would get them to 7-5 making them bowl eligible, probably the Gildan New Mexico Bowl against North Texas.

Keeping this as optimistic as possible let’s say we finish the regular season with 6 to 8 wins.  First if one of those wins can be the season finale against USC and second if we can have a convincing bowl win (although we know it will have to be a lower level bowl) maybe the season can be salvaged in some way. 

Brian Kelly, a look back.

I have been and still am a Kelly supporter.  However after the firings over the weekend of Notre dame defensive coordinator Brian VaGorder and LSU head football coach Les Miles I decided to think a bit more about the man leading the hopes and dreams of millions of loyal Irish fans, Brian Kelly.

Let’s take a look at his body of work in South Bend.

2010: 8 wins vs. 5 losses and a Sun Bowl 33-17 win over the Miami Hurricanes.  Following up on Charlies Weis’s 2009 campaign of 6-6 and no bowl appearance things were looking up.

2011: Another 8 -5 record but this time with an 18-14 loss to a Jimbo Fisher lead Florida State Team.  No improvement but a lot of talk about “wait until he gets his players in there”.

2012: An unbelievable and an unexpected 12-1 season earning the Irish a trip to the National Championship game.  Even though Kelly and his team got demolished 42-14 by a team that some thought could beat some NFL teams in Alabama, the slogan of wait till next year sounded promising for once.

2013: A hiccup year going 9-4 with 29-16 win over a 6-6 Rutgers team in the Pinstripe Bowl left fans feeling a bit flat.  Note that this was the same season that Florida State won the National Championship just two years after playing the same 8-4 record Seminoles.

2014: Back to 8-5 with what may be Kelly’s signature win in a 31-28 victory over a Les Miles coached LSU squad.  At least the bowl win left fans feeling satisfied with the season on some level.

2015: 10-3 sounds pretty good until you realize that the three losses were again to teams in the upper echelon of college football meaning we can beat those we are supposed to but not those we need to.  This season seem to capture the essence of Kelly teams; signature losses (almost beat Clemson and Stanford) and when it comes to Major Bowls we get clobbered in a 44-28 loss to USU and it wasn’t that close.

So what do we have?  One great season in 2012, one a little better than good season in 2015, one barley good season in 2013 and three fair at best seasons in 2010, 2011 & 2014.  Remember that any season not in the hunt or discussion of a National Championship should be considered subpar.

There is a lot to like about Kelly but…