If you told me we would score 30 points (seven via the
defense) in Ann Arbor Saturday night I would have thought for sure the Irish
would come out with a win. If anyone told
me that the Irish defense would surrender 41points while giving up 460 yards of
offense (294 passing / 166 rushing) I would have never believed it.
The Irish offense, led by Tommy Rees, looked more than solid
with 410 yards of offense and 314 of them through the air. With those kinds of numbers I can even overlook
the two interceptions. Rees still had
some limitations and flaws but with his second 300+ yard passing game of the
season you expect some better defensive support. I liken it to a pitcher in baseball having a
good game but not receiving run support.
The Irish running game looked decent, but there needs to be
some changes made. In my opinion, George
Atkinson should not be the number one back.
GAIII has skills and more than a few glimpses of greatness (5 rushes, 37
yards); but Amir Carlisle (12 carries, 64 yards) looks like he has the overall
advantage coming out of the backfield.
Cam McDaniel needs more touches (1 rush, 4 yards).Defensively, the Irish not only bent but broke, I would say with a compound fracture. If you looked only at the stats line you might think things weren’t that bad - eight tackles for a loss (-27 yards), three pass break ups, one sack (-8 yards) and one interception (for a touchdown). However, the two numbers that override everything are 41 (points allowed) and 1 (loss).
The Irish defensive secondary was not supposed to be a major liability this season.
Okay, now back to work and onward to Purdue.
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