By Wally
Notre Dame took a positive first step forward to begin the Brian Kelly Era by beating Purdue 23-12 Saturday. In terms of the winning margin, an 11 point win was certainly in the ballpark for what most people seemed to be expecting, but the game was lower scoring overall than we likely anticipated. Here are Wally’s takeaways from Week 1:
The Good: Defense and Specials teams! For “almost 60 minutes”, ND’s defenders were in position, swarmed to the ball, and TACKLED effectively. This is speculation today, but I think we’re gonna look back and say that holding Purdue’s offense to 10 points was quite an accomplishment. PU’s QB, Robert Marve, presented a very challenging run-pass threat and the Irish seemed to have him well-contained. Meanwhile, special teams had a few good returns, didn’t allow any big returns and Ruffer made two clutch field goals. The running game was certainly a positive and so was the play, overall, of rookie QB Dayne Crist, who completed a high % of passes and didn’t throw an INT.
The Not so good: The offense was inconsistent and left a lot of points on the table. Michaels Floyd’s inexcusable fumble on PU’s 5 yard line certainly changed the game and made it much more exciting than Irish fans were hoping for. Getting caught for a safety when executing a running play from the 3 yard line is a huge error … by both the coaching staff and the offense. I think Crist can play better … he looked to be in control most of the time, but he rushed some throws that could’ve gone for scores and seemed to be overly cautious in making sure PU defenders didn’t get it at the expense of giving his WRs the chance to make a play. What was quite disturbing is that when Purdue was within 8 points and the Irish had the ball in good field position in the 4th quarter needing a score to put it away, the offense was unable to block and looked bewildered …. we saw the deer in the headlights look that we’ve see all too often in the past in key 4th quarter situations. Let’s hope this doesn’t continue. I also thought the defense relaxed for about a full quarter after Floyd’s fumble before getting their swagger and aggressiveness back.
Looking ahead: The Michigan Skunkbears … er, uh … Wolverines …. visit South Bend next Saturday. They beat UConn fairly handily yesterday and this was quite surprising to many experts. They feature a run first-pass second QB who had a huge game against the Huskies. Kelly should know what he’s facing next week, as this is essentially the West Virginia offense. Still, a difficult task lies ahead vs a Michigan squad that undoubtedly gained some confidence this week. But the Irish should be confident too … we saw a lot of positives at ND Stadium Saturday. Also lots of room for improvement.
PurDumb’s only touchdown came on a desparation 4th down play, and they got a safety! We stymied their offense for the most part. Our offense made some mistakes, but did you see 2 of our opponents on Thurs night? Utah and Pitt played an error-filled game, not unusual for game 1. Here’s hoping that UConn was very OVERrated, and not Michigan was very UNDERrated!
Good rundown, Wally. Coming from a repugnant Catholic upbringing, I lived and breathed ND football until about 13 years old. This was the first game I was actually excited about concerning ND in a long time and actually sat through a majority of it. I never liked the Willingham or Weis eras because something didn’t feel right.
Any football fan would probably want the good to be their defense and the questionable to be their offense. Offense takes time when there is a new system, but defense takes guts. This ND team seems to have that on the defensive side. It will e interesting to see how disciplined they are as Michigan seems to be getting an identity behind #16. When you defend against that offense in practice all week, you start to think you know everything the other team is going to do. Then you find out Michigan’s QB can do some things that Crist can’t. And vice-versa for the Wolverines defense.
I will also say give the line time. Purdue blitzed from the outside a lot more than the inside in the time that I watched. I think they’d blitz the OLB or the nickel back, and Crist made some good reads. I guess that would mean he basically had man-to-man in short yardage and he had a lot of dump offs. I think Purdue had a 4-man front (?). That’s a little easier to pick up in the spread than inside blitzes, especially when you telegraph it the way Purdue did.
Like I said in the other post, the spread doesn’t confuse or surprise anyone anymore. What will be key is if Crist can be more efficient on the option runs. A lot of times he had the d. end crashing hard and he gave it off. Then when there was a lot of contain on the outside, he’d keep it then have to turn it up for a measily 2 yards.
And yes, Temple Owls are the Champions of Philadelphia!
I like ND’s ability to handle a little adversity. Purdue, or should I say Pur”dumb” (That was harsh Pete:) )got a little momentum, but the Irish did not fold. I am trying to imagine Marve diving into the end zone if Tiller was still coaching.
I also like how Kelly took responsibility for something specific. After the game he was asked about the touchdown and put the blame on the coaching staff. It is better to hear that as opposed to: “we got some things to work on – yada, yada, yada.
Both Allen and Wood averaging more five yards per carry – that is key.
I don’t see Crist throwing the ball down field with much success.
I always used to call ’em “Purdon’t”.
Crist has an absolute cannon for an arm, but his touch and loft certainly need quick development. Maybe he’s got that and just had the over-adrenaline flow given it was his first start. We’ll see Saturday.
We just have to beat Michigan Saturday. I cannot stand the thought of losing to them or their sack of rocks coach, RichRod. That’s why last year’s loss in Ann Arbor hurt so much … UM obviously wasn’t very good, but they thought they were … and we pretty much handed them the game. Enough of that!
What a game last night! I am sure you would have a tough choice if it were ever ND vs Boise State. The Broncos probably have a much better chance of playing a BCS game this year than the Irish.. I just want Mark Mays to eat his words as he told Lou Holtz that Michigan would easily handle the Irish next Saturday. If Floyd had not fumbled and even scored, ND cruises to an impressive 27-3 final and I am not as concerned. Perhaps Michigan enters ND stadium a little over-confident? We MUST contain their QB. Last week I kept yelling”Marvre only rolls to his right”
Russ —
If ND and Boise State ever played, it would be VERY TOUGH for me to pick sides. Hypothetically, if they were playing eachother in the national title game (I said “hypothetically” ! ;)) I’d probably root for the Irish in that one. (It’s in my DNA). Anyway, you’re right … BSU has a better chance of playing in the NC game given they are #3 in both polls right now. Someone in front of them will stumble. Now … if ND happens to win all their …. nah, not even gonna go there.
I think it’s good that ND goes into the Michigan game “worried” … maybe they will be “ultrawell-prepared” as a consequence. Might be a blessing in disguise that Floyd fumbled and ND’s win was “closer than it shoulda been.” One thing I’ve learned about Michigan vs Notre Dame games: Past and even very recent performance is not a reliable indicator for what will happen in this game. Down-trodden teams seem to really get up for this game and surprise everyone with good performances. Meanwhile, solid favorites tend to get upset. Home field is statistically a non-factor if memory serves correct.
Oh … forgot to add this …. everyone is looking at how “unstoppable” the UM quarterback Robinson was vs UConn. He seemingly ran and he threw at will. So how will ND handle him? … that’s what everyone is wondering … me too! However, people should also be wondering how Michigan will stop ND’s multi-faceted offense that can burn you in a number of ways. But they’re not …. everyone’s assuming UM will score 30 against ND. I’ll be shocked if that happens this year … unless ND turns it over 4+ times. IMO, ND is better than Uconn now … now that our players have actually been coached the past several months … and Purdue is at least as good as UConn, probably better. time will tell.