Irish Stew

Wow. How dissappointing was the ND game Saturday? Another EMBARRASSING loss, and the realization that the media experts and pundits might know something that we, or certainly I, didn’t know. Like a 6-6 record this year might actually be a decent job. Like ND was lucky to get a few top 25 votes in the pre-season poll. I actually didn’t see anything good Saturday, so lets’ get right to the obvious:

1) We still don’t know if Demetrius Jones can pass the ball. And for CW to call runs for 20 out of 23 plays that Demtrius ran was criminal. The defense just dared him to pass and of course we had terrible field position … thanks in part to DJ’s own fumbles. Why they didn’t call a pass on 2nd and 1 from GT’s 35, we’ll never know … perfect situation for a pass and b/t/w that’s when DJ fumbled for the 2nd time.

2) The defense still looks quite inept to me. Not enough pressure on the QB and we gave up huge yardage in obvious running situations … LIKE WHEN GT’S TAILBACK TOOK THE SNAP!!!! HELLO!!!!!! Where’s the intensity with guys flying around all the time??? We had it for like 5 minutes and then pffft … gone.

3) It’s 26-0 with about 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and we’re knocking at the door with a 3rd and half yard at GT’s 2 yd line. This was our best drive of the game. Two things really stood out as crappy decisions by our coaching staff. a) Why run anything other than a QB sneak??? Our previous 3 running tries during that drive each lost 2-3 yards. As everyone saw, so did our 4th try. IDIOTS. b) Why not try and score a TD on 4th down deep in their territory after the aforementioned 3rd down failure? IT WAS INCREDIBLE COWARDICE and strategically flawed to go for the FG. MORONS!

4) Jones did not really get a fair chance to show what he can do passing the ball. He can obviously run … but can he pass???? If Sharpley or Clausen start next week, is this right???? These guys looked better passing the ball, but it’s deceiving and CW did not call many pass plays for DJ. And Clausen played against GT’s 2nd unit. Why they didn’t just drop back DJ and let him heave a few balls 25-35 yards downfield to loosen up the GT D, I’ll never know.

5) Looks like our offensive line sucks, too. 9 sacks??? Consistent loss of yardage on simple dive plays??? Enough said.

Well, we can be optimists and say that ND is very young and inexperienced, and that we faced a real veteran and talented squad. I might buy that if we lost a reasonably close game. But we lost by 30 points, at home, to a team we beat last year, and to a team that was not even ranked. And we’re supposed to have this top-notch coaching staff?!?! Vegas expected a close game. I expected a close game. You, too, right? ND lost by 30 at home and barely got 150 yards of offense. Get ready, folks, for a season where we’ll struggle to get to a bowl game, which means we may not go 6-6. Hope I’m wrong … but this first chapter was really U-G-L-Y!

Here’s a bright spot: Michigan (#5) lost to Div 1-AA Appalachian State!!!! Now, as sad as ND’s week was, I’d rather be us than Michigan right now. They were supposed to contend for the national title this year and in their first game, they give up possibly the biggest upset at home in college football history. I never thought I’d say this after a 30 point loss, but yes, I think we’re in better shape long term than the skunkbears (aka Wolverines). Truth is … ND probably loses to Appalachian State Saturday as well … but we’re not contending for the NC this year.

Let’s hope for a much better performance at Penn State, but it could be real ugly. Have a great Labor Day!

Wally