Notre Dame (football only discussion)

[jwinslow]

Like I said, if ND comes out emotionless like the UM game and inconsistant, yes, USC will walk all over them. MSU did give up the lead, but the Irish had to make some plays too. Brady was overthrowing all his receivers in the 1st half and was jumping around in the pocket like when he was a freshman. 2nd half he was more consistant and looked more comfortable in the pocket again.
All I'm saying is if they play consistant ball like the Irish did in the 2nd half, and like the USC game last year, they'll take down USC this time. ND basically has the same squad back they had last year, and while USC still has plenty of talent from great recruiting they're missing the weapon that did the damage last year: Reggie Bush.

So ND determined the first half (by stinking), the second half (by excelling), and the USC game? Did you consider that USC might have had an off-game on the jungle turf that day?

You're right, Quinn stopped playing terrible football in the 2nd half, and the WRs made some very nice plays. However, Pete Carroll is an aggressive coach and definitely won't be tentative with his playcalling. John L was playing not to lose, after his first half playcalling was unstoppable. USC has a strong defense, which is disciplined and athletically in a completely different galaxy from those helmet-copycats in EL. Booty is not going to continuously force the ball into heavy coverage.

ND could not stop Calvin Johnson... fortunately Ball & GT forgot he existed in the 2nd half of that game. Jarrett will not be forgotten, not to mention the other WRs at that school.

The ND secondary was embarrassed by OSU, GT, UM & MSU. GT & MSU stopped attacking downfield, and suddenly the ND defense held strong in both 2nd halves. Pete Carroll's staff will definitely see this on film.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Like I said, if ND comes out emotionless like the UM game and inconsistant, yes, USC will walk all over them. MSU did give up the lead, but the Irish had to make some plays too. Brady was overthrowing all his receivers in the 1st half and was jumping around in the pocket like when he was a freshman. 2nd half he was more consistant and looked more comfortable in the pocket again.
All I'm saying is if they play consistant ball like the Irish did in the 2nd half, and like the USC game last year, they'll take down USC this time. ND basically has the same squad back they had last year, and while USC still has plenty of talent from great recruiting they're missing the weapon that did the damage last year: Reggie Bush.

ND can come out with all the emotion they want to. As long as they keep coming out with that defense any good offensive team can hurt them. Attitude and emotion are important but they can't overcome a serious talent deficiency like ND has on defense.

As much as ND homers don't want to face it that game was more MSU collapse than ND comeback. No way in hell USC or any other elite team would let ND up off the mat like MSU did. Get down by 17 early to USC in LA and watch what happens.

 

[ulukinatme]

The defensive talent isn't an issue in this case because Notre Dame had the same lack of talent on defense last year against USC, why would this year be so much different? If they're just as crappy as they were last year, and they play at the same level they did as last year, why would they not be able to win this game now? It was close last year, and now they don't have Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Lendale White. Booty is good no doubt, but they still don't have a RB like Bush that put 200 combined yards on us last year.
I'm not saying ND can't get taken to the barn if they play like they did against Michigan when they go to USC, but theres also plenty of reasons ND can bring them down this year. Win or lose, the game should be a good one to watch.

 

[lvbuckeye]

The defensive talent isn't an issue in this case because Notre Dame had the same lack of talent on defense last year against USC, why would this year be so much different?

it won't. 4th and 9, and the Irish gave up a 66 yard pass play. that's all we need to know.

 

[ulukinatme]

And again, same lack of defense yes, but no Reggie Bush to put 200+ total yards on them. I'm not saying a USC blowout isn't possible, I'm just saying an ND win can happen here. You may wanna look at USC schedule before the ND game too, they're end of season looks a lot like the beginning of ours. They may be limping or a little banged up going into that game after taking on Oregon and some of those other teams.

 

[Taosman]

They should have been beaten, but Sparty is Sparty! :tongue2:
So, how good is ND, really?
Top 25? OK.
Top 15? Maybe. Currently ranked #12
Top 10? NO!

 

[jwinslow]

I guess Stanford has a great chance to take down ND this year... surely ND didn't play below their ability at all in that game.

The defensive talent isn't an issue in this case because Notre Dame had the same lack of talent on defense last year against USC, why would this year be so much different?

There's a marked difference in the maturation of the USC & ND defenses. That's a huge difference.

I'm not saying a USC blowout isn't possible, I'm just saying an ND win can happen here.

and Colorado can beat Georgia... obviously anything can happen, we happen to think ND will be overmatched again. Perhaps USC won't slice through ND's secondary like 4 of their last 5 opponents.

 

[SanAntonioBuck]

The week against Purdue should be another high scoring game. Quinn, should pick apart the weak Purdue defense. The Irish defense will have it's hands full with RB Kory Sheets & WR Dustin Keller. ND, should win at home in a shoot out!

 

[Jaxbuck]

And again, same lack of defense yes, but no Reggie Bush to put 200+ total yards on them.

Did OSU, UM or MSU need Reggie Bush to shred that defense?

USC has a running attack, a QB who can throw and a great receiving corp. Thats all it takes to start lighting up ND's defense. It will probably get torn up again before USC even gets to it no matter how weak the schedule is.

You guys played your best game all year vs USC at home last year and they played poorly....and still won. I am amazed at the pride ND fans take from loss to a team that didn't win the NC and had several other regular season close scrapes to inferior opponents. The revisionist history on that one is getting well out of hand.

 

[Best Buckeye]

The defensive talent isn't an issue in this case because Notre Dame had the same lack of talent on defense last year against USC, why would this year be so much different? If they're just as crappy as they were last year, and they play at the same level they did as last year, why would they not be able to win this game now? Win or lose, the game should be a good one to watch.

Of course it's an issue. You have the same DB's and you can't fix slow. tOSU showed the world how to beat Nd. MSU lost because they got conservative too soon, and then Stanton threw the ball right to a Db so he could run it in for a TD. Without that play by Stanton your team loses.
The only hope your team does have to win is to get pressure on Booty since he is a first year starter. The big question for him is how much he can mature as a Qb between now and then. we know he will gain experience so we are back to the pressure question, since we all know if you give any QB all day to throw he will cut you up and spit you out.

 

[ulukinatme]

Actually, ND probably could have won the game last night before Stanton's first INT in the 4th. There was almost 5 minutes on the clock when MSU had the ball, and they clearly weren't moving the ball well in the 4th quarter. ND had the momentum. MSU wasn't playing with the same intensity, they changed their gameplan, ND was making plays, pick any one of the three or a little bit of all of them. Anyway, ND had all 3 timeouts before Stanton threw the INT. They probably could have run for the 1st Down with their big back, that would have left ND with 1 more series to stop them if they used their timeouts.
I'd have to say MSU and USC exposed ND's secondary long before the OSU game last year though, OSU just did it better

 

[Best Buckeye]

Actually, ND probably could have won the game last night before Stanton's first INT in the 4th. There was almost 5 minutes on the clock when MSU had the ball, and they clearly weren't moving the ball well in the 4th quarter, ND had the momentum. MSU wasn't playing with the same intensity, they changed their gameplan, ND was making plays, pick any one of the three or a little bit of all of them. Anyway, ND had all 3 timeouts before Stanton threw the INT. They probably could have run for the 1st Down with their big back, that would have left ND with 1 more series to stop them if they used their timeouts.
I'd have to say MSU and USC exposed ND's secondary long before the OSU game last year though, OSU just did it better

Probably doesnt count. What did happen was that MSU went conservative until Nd did make some plays and got the momentum and then Stanton threw the ball to a DB., who incidentally was the only player close enough to the ball to catch it. And who ran it into the endzone.
Probably could have doesnt count either.
The fact of the matter is MSU had ND beat and blew it. You didnt beat them, you won it.
T OSU was the first team to put over 600 yards on them and expose their weakness to the long ball.
You still might beat USC but only if you can do what I outlined above.
:osu:

 

[ulukinatme]

Of course probably doesn't count, but it doesn't have to since they pulled out the win :) I'm just saying if you looked at the 4th quarter, even when MSU needed to make the big plays and score to strengthen the lead again they couldn't. By then they had given away momentum and they were out of big plays, the chances are slim they would have pulled off a sustaining drive before the first INT to keep ND from getting the ball back. ND pressured Stanton into throwing that ball away on 3rd down, if Stanton had more time he might have taken off with it and gotten the first himself, or waited till his receivers got open. That was a big play for the defense, and they had to make a lot of other big plays to come back from being down 17 points. Conservative play or not, you can't just hand over a deficit that large without the opponent playing consistant too. Brady played horrible in the 1st half, but still managed to get his crap together and get 300+ yards and 5 TDs all the same. ND almost always plays better in the 2nd half anyway as oppose to the 1st, even if they end up losing the game they generally make some adjustments and play less crappier at the end.
tOSU was indeed the first team to put 600+ yards on them, but the long ball was exposed in both MSU and USC games. Stanton threw for only 20 less yards than Troy, while Lineart still put up over 300. Each team also put up just under 500 yards and scored as many or more points than OSU
I agree with your points on USC, its going to take solid pressure to rattle Booty and cause him to force the ball around. If they don't pull that off, then it could turn into a shootout. If ND isn't focused, then USC could certainly blow them out as I admitted.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Of course probably doesn't count, ND pressured Stanton into throwing that ball away on 3rd down,
if .

Actually a QB of Stanton's experience should have known to eat the ball or throw it out of bounds, anything other than throwing into the middle of the field right to a DB. Those 7 points gave Nd the win.
Go Bucks !!!

 

[ulukinatme]

Actually a QB of Stanton's experience should have known to eat the ball or throw it out of bounds, anything other than throwing into the middle of the field right to a DB. Those 7 points gave Nd the win.
Go Bucks !!!

True, but it was also 3rd down for them, they were deep in their own territory with 3+ minutes on the clock, ND with all 3 timeouts and the momentum. He had to get a first down or it was punt time next down. Personally, I think he should have taken off with the ball, but maybe the pressure on the play forced him into the bad decision. Under most circumstances I expect Stanton will pick up the first, the pressure was coming quick straight up the middle though, maybe he was hoping the middle was open. Just a guess anyway.