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Notre Dame-USC thread NDCHIEF!

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methomps

methomps

an imbecility, a stupidity without name
nd_cp_3.jpg


I figured I'd get this started so all you Bucknut outcasts can express your sentiments about how you wish both teams could lose.

NDChief, how about a friendly wager? Maybe winner gets to dictate loser's (err, I mean deferred winner's) sig and avatar for the rest of the season?

Here is a writeup I did for the SC board:

Important stats for the ND game <hr size="1"> <!--EZCODE BOLD START-->1. Passing Defense<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - Notre Dame is ranked 114th in the nation in pass defense, giving up 305.6 pass yards a game. Wake up the echoes and put them at safety, because here comes the nation's #4 passing attack. One silver lining for South Bend is ND's pass efficiency defense which ranks 54th in the country, a sign perhaps that ND's pass defense is merely mediocre instead of non-existent.

Another ray of hope for Notre Dame is SC's pass defense, which isn't much better statistically. However, SC fans can quickly respond that the pass offenses SC has faced (including #2 ASU, #7 Hawaii, and #9 Oregon) average 285.65 ypg when excluding their performances against SC. Notre Dame's opponents average 248.56 ypg when they aren't playing the Domers. Thus, SC is holding their opponents to about 40 yards below their usual passing numbers. ND, on the other hand, is giving up almost 60 ypg more than their opponents get against other teams.

Passing Defense
SC - ranked 83rd (246.2 ypg)
ND - ranked 114th (305.6 ypg)

Pass Efficiency Defense
SC - ranked 53rd (123.26 rating)
ND - ranked 54th (123.46 rating)

Opponents' Passing Offense (not including games played against SC or ND)

SC - ranked 20th (285.65 ypg)
ND - ranked 38th (248.56 ypg)


<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->2. Total Defense and Scoring Defense<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - There have been a lot of questions raised about SC's defense. As if losing Lofa Tatupu, Matt Grootegoed, Jason Leach, Eric Wright, Shaun Cody, Mike Patterson, and Manuel Wright wasn't enough, the Trojans have also had to adjust to injuries to starters Dallas Sartz, Terrell Thomas, and LaJuan Ramsey, and reserves Kevin Ellison, Kevin Thomas, Mozique McCurtis, Jeff Schweiger, Brian Cushing, and Will Harris. No wonder SC has been giving up over 300 yards and almost 20 points a contest.

But a closer look at the numbers is in order. Outside of Hawaii, every SC opponent has been held below their average for total offense. Outside of Arizona, every SC opponent has been held below their average for scoring offense.

Total Offense (vs. SC -- Season)
Hawaii 437 yds -- 407.40ypg
Arkansas 326 -- 414.60
Oregon 262 -- 473.50
Arizona State 415 -- 518.67
Arizona 245 -- 316.00

Scoring Offense (vs. SC -- Season)
Hawaii 17pts -- 22.0 ppg
Arkansas 17 -- 29.4
Oregon 13 -- 35.0
Arizona State 28 -- 38.8
Arizona 21 -- 20.0


<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->3. Penalties<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - One thing Pete Carroll teaches is smart football. Part of that is not committing costly penalties. This year's squad has unfortunately been relatively undisciplined so far. Carroll seems to have put a clamp on the taunting and celebration penalties, but an unpoised performance in South Bend will have the crowd at Notre Dame Stadium rocking.

SC's Penalties by year
2005: 8.4 per game (ranked 92nd nationally), 70.2 ypg
2004: 5.62 per game (27th), 46.15 ypg
2003: 5.3 per game, 48.77 ypg
2002: 7.0 per game, 58.46 ypg
(Note: 2005 Notre Dame averages 7.4 penalties for 61.4 yards per game.)


<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->4. Turnover Margin<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - This ain't Ty Willingham's Notre Dame. Charlie Weiss has immediately improved ND's turnover margin. Most of the improvement in turnover margin seems to be from turnovers gained. ND will need to be at its best in this department with SC coming to town. Pete Carroll's teams get after the ball.

Turnover Margin (SC -- ND)
2005: +1.20/game (10th) -- +1.20/game (10th)
2004: +1.46/game (1st) -- +0.42/game (32nd)
2003: +1.54/game (2nd) -- +0.17/game (51st)
2002: +1.38/game (5th) -- +0.38/game (42nd)
(Note: In 2004, New England was 14th in the league in turnovers lost)


<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->5. Return Yards<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - Hold your breath, SC's coverage team is on the field! Whew, he tripped! Syndric Steptoe gashed SC's kickoff coverage for 159 yards on 5 returns. Before Saturday, he had gained 70 yards on 3 returns against Utah and 73 yards on 4 returns against Cal.

Notre Dame ranks 31st in the nation in kickoff return average. If SC can't fix the holes this week in practice, look for ND to try to perfect the blueprint set down by Arizona of big returns and excellent field position to keep up with SC on the scoreboard.

While the kick coverage has been exposed, SC's weak punt coverage has been obscured by the low number of punts. Sit down before you read this next sentence. If Notre Dame forces SC into punting situations, the Trojans' 111th ranked punt coverage team will be tasked with stopping the nation's 19th best punt returner. ND's Tom Zbikowski has been more steady than spectacular in averaging 13.57 yards per return, but all that could change in a hurry.

On the plus side, SC won't have to face Zona's Danny Baugher, the nation's top ranked punter, again. His knack for pinning SC deep was a big frustration.

Punt Returns
SC: 5.0 yds/return (ranked 103rd)
ND: 13.57 yds/return (ranked 24th)

Punt Return Defense
SC: 17.0 yds/return (111th)
ND: 5.42 yds/return (19th)

Kickoff Returns
SC: 24.62 yds/return (25th)
ND: 23.8 yds/return (31st)

Kickoff Return Defense
SC: 26.55 yds/return (110th)
ND: 19.46 yds/return (43rd)


<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->6. 3rd-down conversions<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - One unheralded feather in Sarkiffian's cardinal hat is the offense's 3rd-down conversion rate. Leinart&co convert 55.7% of their third down opportunities (that's tops in the nation). Notre Dame isn't too shabby in this department, but they aren't SC. Still, SC's defense must improve as they've been mediocre at shutting the door.

Third-Down Efficiency
SC: 34 of 61, 55.7% (1st)
ND: 36 of 77, 46.8% (18th)
(Note: SC converted 43% of their 3rd-down tries in 2004)

Third-Down Efficiency Defense
SC: 26 of 69, 37.7% (63rd)
ND: 20 of 67, 29.9% (17th)
(Note: SC held their opponents to a 28% conversion rate in 2004)


<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->7th. 4th quarter scoring<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - Can you win the game in the 1st quarter? <!--EZCODE ITALIC START-->No!<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Can you win the game in the 2nd quarter? <!--EZCODE ITALIC START-->No!<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Can you win the game in the 3rd quarter? <!--EZCODE ITALIC START-->No!<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> But can you win the game in the 4th quarter? <!--EZCODE ITALIC START-->Hell yeah!<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Anyone who bought the 2004 season DVD is familiar with this speech. Coach Carroll was heard repeating it in many of the locker room clips. It's never been truer than in SC's last three games.

It may very well be true this Saturday. Notre Dame's worst quarter defensively seems to be the 4th quarter, where they've given up 43 points total this season. The only team that didn't score on ND in the 4th quarter was MSU. ND fans may try to shrug this off as garbage points, and that might be true to an extent. Still, it's something to keep in mind as the 3rd quarter comes to an end. By the way, when to expect Notre Dame's best punch? That might be the second quarter, ND's best quarter both offensively and defensively.


SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
-------------------- --- --- --- --- ---
USC Trojans......... 42 48 91 77 - 258
Opponents........... 34 20 21 21 - 96

SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total
-------------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Notre Dame.......... 31 75 28 48 3 - 185
Opponents........... 24 19 28 43 6 - 120


<!--EZCODE BOLD START-->8. History<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> - The last time SC played ND in South Bend when both teams were ranked in the AP poll was 1995, when 5th-ranked SC lost 38-10 to 17th-ranked ND. The last time SC played in South Bend when both were ranked in the top 10 in the AP poll was 1989, when 9th-ranked SC lost to #1 ND 28-24. The only time SC was #1 going into South Bend was 1967 when the Trojans beat #5 Notre Dame 24-7.
 
Awfully fortunate that SC & ND don't have to play anyone with any semblance of a defense. If SC wins out, they are going to have their hands full trying to stop Texas, who actually knows how to play both sides of the ball. This isn't last year's SC.

edit: I can't read
 
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I honestly think ND gets this one due to the home field, but then again, USC seems to rise to the occasion when necessary.

The good thing about this game is that one of them has to lose and for our sake since we're out of the Rosebowl picture now, ND going down like a prom date would be best-case-scenario.
 
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The Irish having two weeks to prepare will actually help them against USC. Unlike some other schools :smash: , Weis will be dangerous with the extra time to scheme.

I'm not sure how the Irish secondary is going to handle the USC offense, but like I said, Weis will have that team ready.
 
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Damn the stats and the rankings - this is the kind of game that the "old" Notre Dame would routinely win. If Weis really wants to get the Domers back on the map, then this would be a good place to start. ND 31 - USC 30.
 
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DCBuckFan said:
so funny, this is the picture that I thought I saw...
Click to expand...

Do you always think of gay pride when you see phallic symbols? :biggrin:

NOTREDAMECHIEF said:
I don't know how the USC secondary will handle ND's passing attack!
smile.gif
Hopefully ND 's leading receiver the last 2 years (Rhema McKight) will be back and ready to go...
Click to expand...

So does that mean you are up for a wager? Sig, avatar, and User Title for the rest of the season.

jwinslow said:
I knew SC's defense was lacking, but I didn't realize it was that kind ot the opposing team, giving them many more yards and points than their average.
Click to expand...

I think you read the stats wrong.
 
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Methomps and NDChief should both have to lay their entire vcash accounts on the line for their respective teams........................but looking at their totals, I don't know if our vbook can handle all that action:slappy:
 
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