Thoughts on this very important game for the Irish? Irish come off a bye-week and USC dominated Cal in last week's game.
Go Irish!
USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
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cool cucumber
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Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
Look for the Irish to put another one in the win column, Cal isn't very good.
ND - 23
USC - 17
ND - 23
USC - 17
Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
I think Monte Kiffin will get a lot out of his defense to force some turnovers to win a close game.
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2trap_4ever
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VegasEagle
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thechosenone
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2trap_4ever
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Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
The Irish have to get the running game going,,,,,if Wood and Jonas-Gray can run the ball then that will help Reese with the passing game and Hendrix when Kelley starts running the two QB system. An Irish win gives them a lot of energy for the remainder of the season which they should win out until the Stanford game,,,,and that one is up in the air.
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The Flying Dutchman
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Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
ND expecting 50 or so recruits from the class of 2012 and 2013 this weekend. A big win would do wonders in landing some blue chip athletes. They have got to get pressure on Barkley, he is very good when given time in the pocket. On offense like Trap said they need to be able to run to keep USC honest on D.
Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
If ND limits their turnovers to 2 or less they should win at home...but then again if they had limited their turnovers all season...they would be undeafeted!!!!
Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
At halftime USC is up 17 to 10. With the ND TD being a kickoff return.
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98jettakeoff
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Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
What a downer for Notre Dame. With so much stock put into the game (four game win streak; improved turnover efficiency; BCS aspirations; night game vs. rival on national television; extra energy pumped into Rockne Stadium) and a great momentum shift in game (Atkinson kickoff return and long drive eating up third quarter), it all changed with perhaps the most crucial red zone turnover of the season: the fumble of snap from center inside the USC 5 returned all the way by USC for a gigantic ten to fourteen point swing. Crushing, after the drive from the ND eight, and crushing psychologically (uh-oh, here we go USF again!)
But, as Doug Flutie said on television, USC showed ND 'big boy football' with the way the Trojans ran the ball througout most of the first half, and smacked down the Irish 14-0 before ND came to life late in the half.
Not sure why ND was shuttling quarterbacks in goal line offense, after Rees was hurt. Hendrix gives extra dimension of option run, and ran on second down, only to return the snake-bitten Dayne Crist for the fumbled third down game turner.
But, as Doug Flutie said on television, USC showed ND 'big boy football' with the way the Trojans ran the ball througout most of the first half, and smacked down the Irish 14-0 before ND came to life late in the half.
Not sure why ND was shuttling quarterbacks in goal line offense, after Rees was hurt. Hendrix gives extra dimension of option run, and ran on second down, only to return the snake-bitten Dayne Crist for the fumbled third down game turner.
Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
By Greg Couch
Quitting? Say it ain't so, Notre Dame
It’s so easy to take cheap shots on the bus out of town. USC beat up — and beat down — Notre Dame on Saturday, and since then, several USC players have said that the Irish gave up, that they are a bunch of quitters.
No matter what he claims, Notre Dame's flop against USC falls squarely on Brian Kelly's shoulders, Greg Couch says.
“To the victors go the spoils,’’ Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Sunday, explaining it away as if it were meaningless cockiness.
But is that all this was? Bad winners? I think it carried a lot of weight. At the very least it was a big, loud warning about what is happening with Notre Dame football.
This game was always meant to be a defining moment for Notre Dame, and so it was pretty shocking to see USC quarterback Matt Barkley say that, “It seemed from our sideline and our perspective that they did give up.’’
And linebacker Chris Galippo told ESPNLA, “That’s what Notre Dame football’s about.’’
To be honest, I’m not positive if Notre Dame’s players gave up. But Kelly?
He definitely did. He quit on his team and then blamed them later.
This was as ugly as any moment Notre Dame had under Charlie Weis. And if the team’s leader gave up, then it’s not hard to imagine that the team followed his example.
It’s one of the biggest insults a football player can hear, that he gave up. It’s the same as questioning manhood. It’s also an easy thing to say. But Notre Dame fans might want to take this one seriously.
The program of Rudy might have just had a “no mas’’ moment. And if you believe that it did, then the question is why? Well, this is a program now spooked by its grand past. It has such great tradition, and everyone keeps waiting for that one moment to get it all back. But Notre Dame keeps losing that moment. It’s hard to remember the last time the Irish won a big game.
Kelly built up this moment as a way to forget all other lost moments.
He put the team in super bright helmets with extra gold. (They looked ridiculous, like football players with Christmas lights on their heads). They blared Ozzy Osbourne music over the PA at every chance to get the crowd going. They handed out towels for fans to wave.
Kelly was just so sure of himself, so sure that this moment would be his, with an extra week to prepare for a night game with a huge TV audience and a ton of top recruits in the stands against a rival that’s on probation. So he ended up doubling and tripling the pressure of the moment to get the biggest payback. And when it wasn’t going right, the defeat was double and triple.
Kelly gave in. And maybe the players did, too.
After a while, you lose enough times, under this much pressure, and the weight can be too much. Kelly made a point of saying after the game that. no, he doesn’t put the pressure of BCS hopes on his team. On Sunday, he said his talk about that stuff was just a sound bite. His point: He talks about that stuff to the media, but not to his players.
But after the game, I asked a player whether Kelly talks about it with the team, and he said, “Oh, yeah. Lose one time, and we’re out.’’
The glaring thing about Kelly was his use, or non-use, of timeouts. Notre Dame was down 14 points with just less than seven minutes left when it turned the ball over near midfield. That’s two scores and a bit less than half a quarter left.
USC started running the ball. Pounding Notre Dame back. That’s when USC players said they saw the Irish give up. It’s definitely when Kelly did. USC ran out the rest of the game without giving up the ball. And when it was over, Notre Dame . . .
Still had all three timeouts left. Kelly had never stopped the clock.
One day later, Tim Tebow scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes for the Denver Broncos. Before the first of those drives, Denver used all three of its timeouts to get the ball back as quickly as possible.
Kelly never gave Notre Dame a chance at a similar miracle.
“I was shocked that they didn’t use the timeouts,’’ Barkley said on ESPN radio. “I thought they were planning on stopping us and saving their timeouts for the end when they had the ball.’’
Everyone had to figure there was at least some strategy involved.
Instead, the clock just kept running. If Notre Dame is already giving up, out of shell shock, then Kelly has a lot more to do than anyone realized.
But a coach can never give up. His unspoken promise to his players has to be that he’ll always fight to the end, no matter what. That’s the kind of thing they make movies out of. If this is what Notre Dame is about now, then Rudy will be covering his face.
Quitting? Say it ain't so, Notre Dame
It’s so easy to take cheap shots on the bus out of town. USC beat up — and beat down — Notre Dame on Saturday, and since then, several USC players have said that the Irish gave up, that they are a bunch of quitters.
No matter what he claims, Notre Dame's flop against USC falls squarely on Brian Kelly's shoulders, Greg Couch says.
“To the victors go the spoils,’’ Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Sunday, explaining it away as if it were meaningless cockiness.
But is that all this was? Bad winners? I think it carried a lot of weight. At the very least it was a big, loud warning about what is happening with Notre Dame football.
This game was always meant to be a defining moment for Notre Dame, and so it was pretty shocking to see USC quarterback Matt Barkley say that, “It seemed from our sideline and our perspective that they did give up.’’
And linebacker Chris Galippo told ESPNLA, “That’s what Notre Dame football’s about.’’
To be honest, I’m not positive if Notre Dame’s players gave up. But Kelly?
He definitely did. He quit on his team and then blamed them later.
This was as ugly as any moment Notre Dame had under Charlie Weis. And if the team’s leader gave up, then it’s not hard to imagine that the team followed his example.
It’s one of the biggest insults a football player can hear, that he gave up. It’s the same as questioning manhood. It’s also an easy thing to say. But Notre Dame fans might want to take this one seriously.
The program of Rudy might have just had a “no mas’’ moment. And if you believe that it did, then the question is why? Well, this is a program now spooked by its grand past. It has such great tradition, and everyone keeps waiting for that one moment to get it all back. But Notre Dame keeps losing that moment. It’s hard to remember the last time the Irish won a big game.
Kelly built up this moment as a way to forget all other lost moments.
He put the team in super bright helmets with extra gold. (They looked ridiculous, like football players with Christmas lights on their heads). They blared Ozzy Osbourne music over the PA at every chance to get the crowd going. They handed out towels for fans to wave.
Kelly was just so sure of himself, so sure that this moment would be his, with an extra week to prepare for a night game with a huge TV audience and a ton of top recruits in the stands against a rival that’s on probation. So he ended up doubling and tripling the pressure of the moment to get the biggest payback. And when it wasn’t going right, the defeat was double and triple.
Kelly gave in. And maybe the players did, too.
After a while, you lose enough times, under this much pressure, and the weight can be too much. Kelly made a point of saying after the game that. no, he doesn’t put the pressure of BCS hopes on his team. On Sunday, he said his talk about that stuff was just a sound bite. His point: He talks about that stuff to the media, but not to his players.
But after the game, I asked a player whether Kelly talks about it with the team, and he said, “Oh, yeah. Lose one time, and we’re out.’’
The glaring thing about Kelly was his use, or non-use, of timeouts. Notre Dame was down 14 points with just less than seven minutes left when it turned the ball over near midfield. That’s two scores and a bit less than half a quarter left.
USC started running the ball. Pounding Notre Dame back. That’s when USC players said they saw the Irish give up. It’s definitely when Kelly did. USC ran out the rest of the game without giving up the ball. And when it was over, Notre Dame . . .
Still had all three timeouts left. Kelly had never stopped the clock.
One day later, Tim Tebow scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes for the Denver Broncos. Before the first of those drives, Denver used all three of its timeouts to get the ball back as quickly as possible.
Kelly never gave Notre Dame a chance at a similar miracle.
“I was shocked that they didn’t use the timeouts,’’ Barkley said on ESPN radio. “I thought they were planning on stopping us and saving their timeouts for the end when they had the ball.’’
Everyone had to figure there was at least some strategy involved.
Instead, the clock just kept running. If Notre Dame is already giving up, out of shell shock, then Kelly has a lot more to do than anyone realized.
But a coach can never give up. His unspoken promise to his players has to be that he’ll always fight to the end, no matter what. That’s the kind of thing they make movies out of. If this is what Notre Dame is about now, then Rudy will be covering his face.
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dazed&confused
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Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
Nice post farmer. Very good points! I'm a lifelong ND fan but it seems every year they break my heart!! I can't understand how we have such good recruiting classes every year and then stink up the field!! We have as much talent as anyone and we're sitting at 4-3!
Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
It seems that most schools want to recruit high school talent. Then that talent does not get much better when they get to college for whatever reasons. Some of the reasons are just being away from home and being responsible for themselves. Coaches not helping them to get better. Believing the hype without putting out the effort all the time. You can put many reasons why that could fit different players and situations. Just like in the movie Rudy where the player who would give Rudy a hard time. He was a big time recruit who never did anything at ND. ND needs to have more players like Rudy who give all the have for the love of the game and school.
Then you get to the outside influences outside of the locker room. Some just can't handle that ND football is not like it was during the Golden years and think they can fix it.
Then you get to the outside influences outside of the locker room. Some just can't handle that ND football is not like it was during the Golden years and think they can fix it.
Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
I really thought coach Kelly was the man to get the program straightened out! But looking like another on what has become the ND coaching carousel!!
Re: USC @ Notre Dame 10-22-2011
Kelley was just a coach on the rise that took advantage of his teams playing well. Didn't help the way ND hired him the day of Cincy Awards Day. Where he walked out on his team that was undefeated. Kelley was able to be lucky with getting a lot out of whoever was his QB with the way they were getting injured. As well as a group of overachieving players. Kelley does not seem to be getting better at ND since the breaks are not going his way as in the past. He has to adapt to improve or ND will continue to be playing just the way they are. Shake up the coaching staff and get some inspiration back into all of the players.