by Wally
Saturday started out pretty nicely with Illinois clobbering a lousy Penn State team in the House that JoPa Built. Then it got EVEN BETTER when the midday games got going. First, Michigan State pounded the UM Skunkbears in the Big House. Good-bye Michigan, good- bye Denard Robinson and hopefully your Heismann chances. (Ya know … it always has a chance to be a great day when Michigan loses). Then the SCarolina Gamecocks beat the #1 Crimson Tide by 14 !!!! Upset of the day and turning point of the season. Expect Bama to drop to #7 or so … it better not be less than that!!!
Oh … right … the Irish won a ballgame too. Well … I guess they won. Scoreboard said ND 23 Pitt 17. Sure didn’t feel like a great moment at the end as we kinda limped to the win. After possibly ND’s best half of football this season in the first half to lead 17-3, the Irish really laid a big egg in the second half. As much as Pitt early on in the 2nd tried to give the game to ND, all the Irish could manage was two field goals in the second half although they had SEVERAL opportunities. Let me take this moment to thank ND’s placekicker, David Ruffer, for being clutch and perfect on the season. Not sure where the Irish would be without you.
Again, it was the inconsistency of the Irish offense that was totally unnerving. Crist had Floyd wide open in the endzone near the end of first half, but threw it wide. Rudolph had a sure first down catch at Pitt’s 5 in the 4th quarter, but … doh … he drops it. Then Ragone drops one near midfield. Then a Floyd TD is negated by offensive pass interference. And we somehow abandon the running game in the 3rd quarter after it was pretty successful in first half. Well … you get the picture. Oh … and the defense did the only thing they shouldn’t do with a 10 point lead and 8 minutes left and Pitt back in their own territory. Don’t EVER let anyone get behind you. Doh!
So again we saw ND’s inconsistent offense and, at times, STUPID defense. Still, we somehow won the game. This was probably due to Pitt being coached by Wannstedt … really not one of the brightest crayons in the coaching box. I thought Kelly was almost matching him dimwit for dimwit at the end when he didn’t force Wanny to use any timeouts on ND’s last offensive series. You can bet your last dollar that Lou woulda run the ball 3 times in that situation. BUT, as much as it was like kissin’ your sister, we’ll take the win. ND is now 3-3 with 3 very winnable games coming up versus Western Michigan, Navy and Tulsa before highly ranked Utah comes to South Bend. ND should be 6-3 at that time. I said “should”.
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So when we see the rankings come out Sunday, Bama should lose about 6 spots with Ohio State taking #1 and probably Oregon at #2. Boise State should then move up to #3. Just when you thought Alabama was gaining huge momentum and looking unbeatable, they lay an egg. Cool. Ohio State is a shaky #1 if you ask me … HOWEVER, they are playing in a weak Big 10 and may not be challenged … we’ll see. We probably have a better chance of seeing Oregon lose in Pac 10 play. The Ducks didn’t necessarily wipe out Wazzou as they probably should’ve.
Great day so far in CFB from my POV … Michigan loses, Penn State is clobbered, #1 loses, and ND wins. Not too shabby. Hope Boise State, Northwestern and Stanford come through. Okay … gotta run … Molly beckons … time to go out for the evening after dropping young’uns at the sitter. Please chime in with a comment with your views on today’s CFB action.
I am not sure why you are blaming Kelly when our 5 star all world TE can’t catch a 3 yard pass. There were numerous instances where the correct play was called, and these 5 star athletes basically gagged. This team will go as far as their top 50 quarterback Crist. I think he is possibly the worst ND quarterback since Blair Keil. He would be fighting for second string on every single top 25 team in this country. I think he has hit his ceiling so we are stuck with a QB that is a moron, and two backups that couldn’t start for some High School teams.. Kelly used 4 QBs last year. Crist wouldn’t have been one of those 4 QBs. That is what Kelly has to work with. Look in to Crist’s eyes and its like no one is home. Got to be the dumbest QB in Div 1.
Will you just listen to yourself, Boog?? Why are you blaming Crist when our 5 Star all world TE can’t catch a 3 yard pass? Same for the other TE.
Note to you … Crist didn’t throw any INTs and he did a nice job scrambling for the first TD. He’s got a ways to go but I’d rather have him than the Pittsburgh QB or anyone on BC’s team. Why did Kelly abandon the running game in the 3rd quarter? Why even call a pass play at end of 4th quarter when above all else you need to run clock or force Pitt to use TO’s?
Wally
Don’t you/we want Michigan to win out? As it is, two of ND’s losses (MSU and Stanford) have a chance to finish in the top ten.
Casey … no, not as far as I’m concerned. My dislike for the Skunkbears is deep seated and ingrained. I hope Michigan loses EVERY game they ever play … in every sport. This may appear irrational to you and explaining it might take a few pages. I believe there are numerous ND fans who feel similarly about Michigan though.
Anyway, this year especially, ND’s perceived strength of schedule is not really gonna be an issue worrying about. When your potential is now 7-9 wins, there’s no BCS Bowl possibility and no beauty pageant aspect. It’s simply about number of wins and what second tier bowl game does that get ND invited to. Running the table and getting 9 wins would probably be a New Years Day Gator or Cotton Bowl. 8 or 7 wins then only something played on Dec 28-31. It won’t matter what ND’s SOS looks like. Regardless, I still hope UM loses every game for the next 100 years.
Ragone catches a 3 yard pass and he gets a first down. Pretty simple. IF ND doesn’t have players that can pitch and catch for 3 yards they need to think about giving up football. Do you know for certain AA wouldn’t have fumbled the ball if his number had been called?
Note how Stanford fumbled the ball away as they were driving in to ice the game? Yet ND boards are gushing about what a great coach Harbaugh is. What a tough guy he is and how he plays smash mouth football. Yet he had the ball first and goal at the USC 2 and threw a pass for a TD.
ND’s problem is not their coach. Almost every single play called had someone open. All that needed to happen was for the player to execute. It is hard to break a decade long tradition of failing to execute and accepting such failure as the coaches fault… If I was coach, Ragone and Crist would be just about finished running stadium steps.
Oh, and another thing. Snapping the ball with 15 seconds still on the clock. Somehow that is Kellys problem. Yet it is our Mensa candidate QB who has the play clock right in front of him that keeps snapping the ball with 15 seconds left. I swear Dayne Crist is Scott Bowen incarnate.
Boog — all aspects, facets, members, players and coaches for ND have room to improve based on their performance all year and yesterday vs Pitt. I wiil give special mention to a very nice job yesterday by special teams. Cannot blame subpar performance on just 3-4 people.
Boog – HELMET STICKER!
Seriously???? That was pretty weak.
Come on Wally…sound off like you have a pair….
Casey knows of what he speaks. I speak the truth. He speaks the truth. I don’t want to see ND run a bunch of pansy run plays to try and run out the clock against the Stache. I want Kelly slinging the ball around trying to run up the score. That is ND football. Not this weak “golly, I wish we would run the ball more” nonsense. If it is 2nd and two from our own 20 with 1 minute left against SC and a 3 point lead, I want Kelly whipping the ball around like Weis whipped around his nose snot. That is how you play football. Run up the score. Steal second base with a 10 run lead. Thats what I want.
From where I sit, you all miss the point that I see. It’s not the quality of execution, it’s the final result. Brian Kelly contionues to be my man, especially when he can get his bumbling, lack-of-confidence, don’t-know-how-to-win team to hold on for victory. In his 2 never-should-have-lost games, Kelly kept his team’s head in the game and came back to take the lead before their past caught up with them. This time they took another step forward; no late loss. Kelly’s attending to the right issues, the develoment of a confident winning mentality. Nitpicking on other issues seems irrelevant to me. Until we get the right attitude we can’t get to the top. He’s developing that attitude.
Boog —
Throwing the ball around is a pansy way to close out a game like that, so take a look in the mirror. I want to see ’em run the ball down Pitt’s throat in that situation … or at least try. That’s the way to close out a game like that. Besides, when has ND ever tried to run up the score?? What lala land have you been in??? Now the Weis nose snot comment was worthy of a helmet sticker.
Pete —
Boog wants to throw our QB into the junk heap. I’m just trying to defend the kid. Thanks for reminding us of the big picture.
Dear Mr. Boog —
I hear you’re very unpleased with my performance as QB of the Irish this season. In fact, I’ve “heard” that you think I’m totally incompetent. Well, I just wanted to give you some perspective. So who’s the best quarterback ND has faced this season? According to the latest passing-efficiency rankings, it’s Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins, who ranks ninth this week. Stanford’s Andrew Luck is just one tick behind, and Michigan’s Denard Robinson is 12th. I just moved up two spots to 57th. That’s 11 spots ahead of Washington’s Jake Locker, whom some project as the top overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
While I may not be the best in the country, I’m certainly not among the worst. Please be patient … I will gradually climb up the charts. Just imagine if we didn’t have TDs called back due to stupid penalties and WRs dropping easy passes. Sure, my own accuracy needs improvement and it will get better. Besides … I’m the best ya got right now 🙂
Lots of love …
Dayne Crist
Sorry … editors note … that would be “displeased”.
The celebrity list on ‘The Pine’ keeps growing! We’re like a posh A-list night club of sports.
I missed the ND game on Sat. because my 2nd favorite team Arkansas was playing at the same time. Great recap Wally and always enjoy reading everyone’s replies. ND won a game that should not have been as close. So did Arkansas over TAMU. Should be a good game next week when #7 Auburn visits #12 Arkansas. I hated to see Alabama get beat but when you play in the SEC that is what happens. You have to prepare hard each week vs other SEC teams. I think they were on “upset alert” by ESPN’s Mark May though I hate to give a ND Hater any credit.
Russ —
Late Saturday night, I saw Mark May wearing a ND baseball cap during ESPN’s final CFB recap … he obviously lost his bet with Dr. Lou. Before Mark May became a TV “non-personality”, I actually liked Pitt and rooted for ’em. It’s a smaller, private school with a nice tradition. But May is such a blatant ND hater that I now have almost as much venom for Pitt as I do for the Michigan Skunkbears. OK … maybe not THAT MUCH venom, but it’s a lot 😉
TAMU (A&M) is obviously being held back by their senior QB who just can’t throw the ball anymore and now everyone knows it. He had shoulder surgery in the off-season and I don’t think it did the job. He’s just a constant turnover machine and coach Sherman is loyal to a fault to this senior. TAMU would be a Top 20 squad if they could get this kid outta there and play the much heralded Tannyhill.
Looks like SCarolina did to Bama what Arkansas shoulda done … Razorbacks are probably kickin’ themselves now. They better beat Auburn … last chance at glory!
Dear Ms. Dayne.
Thanks for the sweet little note. . I am tough on you because so many ND fans are down on Kelly for issues that are totally your fault. Kelly isn’t throwing passes at the feet of receivers 5 yards away. Your are. Kelly isn’t snapping the ball with 20 seconds on the play clock. Your are. Kelly isn’t staring down receivers or waiting till Floyd is 10 rows deep in the student section before throwing, you are. These are issues that I expect a 5-star junior QB to have mastered by now. And sitting on the bench for a half against Michigan? What was that all about? Ever thought about lying to the coach so you could get back in the game?? Ya, coach Gallo, my arm feels great and its got a lotta strikes in it. It aint rocket science, genius.
He knew you were lying about the strikes, Boog. Sorry to spill the beans.
GO IRISH! Beat Broncos!
Amen!
This answers a few questions: https://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/10/notre-dame-te-kyle-rudolph-out-for-season.html