We have met the enemy and he is us. With five turnovers, several in the red zone, and one in the end zone, it matters very little what you do well. With mistakes like that, winning won’t be in the cards. Add in penalties and poor execution, and it’s going to be tough to beat anyone let alone a good South Florida team. Last Wednesday, I wrote, “If the Irish underestimate the Bulls, don’t execute and make mistakes, it could be a long afternoon in South Bend.” They did all of these things, and not only was it a long afternoon, but it turned into a long night with weather delays. Watching highlights Sunday morning, many traditional powerhouses played weak teams (LSU and Oregon being the exception) for warm ups, which is a good idea with no pre-season games in college but let’s not dwell on that or use it as an excuse. Let’s move on to dissecting the game.
The most frustrating thing is that these issues were connected to veterans and upper classmen. Senior Dayne Christ threw off target passes and untimely interceptions. Last year’s nearly perfect Davis Ruffer missed a relatively easy 30 yard field goal. Senior Jonas Gray had a goal line fumble. Personal fouls and offside penalties are mental mistakes that weren’t supposed to happen with a Kelly coached team.
Notre Dame’s first drive made it looked like everything was going to be perfect for the afternoon. Of course, Jonas Gray’s fumble, and subsequent return for a touchdown by South Florida’s Webster would be a prelude of things to come. Passing and Cierre Wood got you to the goal line yet we decide to let Gray run it in? This is my first of many second guesses of Brian Kelly’s coaching.
If Tommy Rees had started the game would have things turned out differently? The answer to that is maybe, and maybe is good enough to second guess Kelly’s choice to start Crist. Although I did feel bad watching Dayne standing on the sideline, I was disappointed when Rees threw a touchdown pass to Floyd and Crist did not rush out to congratulate him. Again, poor leadership by the veteran players.
There were some highlights for the Irish to be sure. Although Rees was not perfect and does not have the physical attributes (size and strong arm) as Crist, he is calm, cool and collected and is a much more accurate passer. In the second half, Tommy was 24 for 34 for 296 yards with two touchdowns, not bad numbers coming off the bench for just the second half.
I was also impressed with Cierre Wood, who ran for 104 yards on 21 carries for an average of 5 yards per carry. I thought he had good field vision and great cuts. I do have confidence in Kelly’s decision to make Cierre the premier back, not that he had much of a choice. I am looking forward to the running game as long as Wood stays healthy.
The receiving game had some highlights, and if Rees plays behind center there could be more to come. Michael Floyd had 12 receptions for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns - not a bad day. We know Floyd will get his touches, continue to break records and go on to be a first round draft pick. What we need is for him to do it in a way that works in others at the appropriate times.
We do have the receiving corps to pull it off. Tyler Eifert had 6 catches for 93 yards including one for 37 yards. Eifert needs to be a key player this season and needs to be used as an option for the Irish offense to be successful. The Irish did spread the ball around for the passing game with six players receiving passes throughout the game. Theo Riddick needs more touches; to me he is the X factor for this team. Three receptions for 32 yards (one of them was for 27 yards) and no rushes are not enough offensive plays for an athlete of his caliber.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Irish looked capable but capable is not nearly good enough for this team’s expectations. Two sacks is respectable, but again, respectable is not going to be good enough for this season’s potential. With no forced fumbles, no interceptions and only one pass break up the defense needs to get more aggressive and make things happen.
The Luck of the Irish was with South Florida. The Bulls recovered two fumbles and intercepted three passes and capitalized on two of those turnovers with a touchdown and a field goal. The Irish need to create their own luck in the future if they want to win games. I will say this, this game looked a lot like the Tulsa game last year where Rees came in to rally the troops and turned around the season and if it is to copy last year it’s great to be at game one instead of game nine.
We now need to move on to Michigan. There is nothing we can do about South Florida, it’s in the books. Kelly’s leadership will again be questioned and tested and again we will play the games on the schedule one at a time learning and growing as we go. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried, upset and frustrated with what I saw on Saturday. I am not going to call for Kelly’s resignation; I am calling for Rees to start, to get Riddick more involved and to have the defense create opportunities.
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