BYU

[Lillyliverd]

This game is really more important than the Stanford game. If we lose to BYU I think it will hurt our recruiting and retention. If we lose to BYU, it would likely be BK's 3rd season where the Irish finish out of the to 25. It would mean BK has had one good season out of four.

The Irish played poorly and the coaching was a joke in our last two games. BK's Irish are inconsistent so there is a good chance the "good" Irish team will have its turn this weekend. But if we play like we did against Navy and Pitt, we are screwed. The Irish should beat BYU if our coaches and players perform to their potential.

 

[jjc2009]

This game is really more important than the Stanford game. If we lose to BYU I think it will hurt our recruiting and retention. If we lose to BYU, it would likely be BK's 3rd season where the Irish finish out of the to 25. It would mean BK has had one good season out of four.

The Irish played poorly and the coaching was a joke in our last two games. BK's Irish are inconsistent so there is a good chance the "good" Irish team will have its turn this weekend. But if we play like we did against Navy and Pitt, we are screwed. The Irish should beat BYU if our coaches and players perform to their potential.

I sure hope he has them fired up and ready to play. BYU already talking about seeking revenge for last year and Mendenhall is a very good coach. One thing about Kelly is, at least since his time at ND, when his back is against the wall, he can summon a command performance. They're going to need it. I don't think many expect us to be able to run with Stanford, who is up against the wall in its own right at the time, but I'd say a loss or even an embarassing win will cement in a lot of people's minds that last year was a one-off.

I am a bit concerned that we may be facing a Raiders vs. Tampa Bay situation with BYU. Chris Badger, who transferred to BYU before the start of the season and was granted immediate eligibility, would likely have keen insight into our offensive and defensive schemes. He was likely a scout team player for much of his tenure at ND, so he went against our first team and will know looks, tendencies and probably even calls. I don't think Diaco or Martin are creative or smart enough to disguise or change looks to account for this. I have a lingering fear it will be like when Tampa Bay basically won the superbowl because they already knew the plays that the Raiders were running, Chucky having coached them the season before.

 

[NDHoosier101]

This game is really more important than the Stanford game. If we lose to BYU I think it will hurt our recruiting and retention. If we lose to BYU, it would likely be BK's 3rd season where the Irish finish out of the to 25. It would mean BK has had one good season out of four.

The Irish played poorly and the coaching was a joke in our last two games. BK's Irish are inconsistent so there is a good chance the "good" Irish team will have its turn this weekend. But if we play like we did against Navy and Pitt, we are screwed. The Irish should beat BYU if our coaches and players perform to their potential.

That's the truth. I think you all are giving the coaching staff too little credit. When looking at all we lost since the preseason our only bad loss is Pitt and you can put that more on the players than coaches, although rolling Tommy out of the pocket in the redzone was the dumbest thing I've seen playcalling wise all season.

We beat a good ASU and Mich St team. We beat an extremely motivated USC team that was trying to turn their season around while being forced to play what was essentially our third string QB for a quarter and a half. If we beat BYU I'd say it's been a decent year. Going 4-4 against our rivals leaves a bad taste in my mouth but at least we ruined State's shot at a perfect regular season early.

No coach since Lou Holtz's has had a winning record in 4 straight seasons. The coaching staff can't work miracles, I hate it but we need to consistently have winning seasons before we can start making playoff games every year. I hope we can keep our staff together for the long haul, because they are making a difference.

 

[Lillyliverd]

Hoosier, the coaching could be worse, but I also think there are coaches out there that would have beat Pitt with Irish players. When players don't play well I see that as a coaching failure. It is the responsibility of the coaching staff to prepare the players to play well.

Winning seasons are nice; its better than suffering through losing seasons. However, winning seasons don't mean much to me unless they are Top 25 seasons. I want to see the Irish consistently ranked. Perpetual 4 or 5 loss winning seasons will lead to eventual Notre Dame football obscurity. In the last 4 years Toledo, Old Dominion, and other no-name teams have had nothing but winning seasons and who cares?

I think BK is ultimately responsible for a number of problems with this team. If BK doesn't start doing a better job then maybe unranked winning seasons are all we have to look forward to.

 

[craigk217]

That's the truth. I think you all are giving the coaching staff too little credit. When looking at all we lost since the preseason our only bad loss is Pitt and you can put that more on the players than coaches, although rolling Tommy out of the pocket in the redzone was the dumbest thing I've seen playcalling wise all season.

We beat a good ASU and Mich St team. We beat an extremely motivated USC team that was trying to turn their season around while being forced to play what was essentially our third string QB for a quarter and a half. If we beat BYU I'd say it's been a decent year. Going 4-4 against our rivals leaves a bad taste in my mouth but at least we ruined State's shot at a perfect regular season early.

No coach since Lou Holtz's has had a winning record in 4 straight seasons. The coaching staff can't work miracles, I hate it but we need to consistently have winning seasons before we can start making playoff games every year. I hope we can keep our staff together for the long haul, because they are making a difference.

I believe BK has ALOT to do with how this team is prepared and plays ... it's not just on the players. His asinine play calling, at times, just drives me up a wall ... the way this team struggles thru "non-opponents" baffles me ... his inability to make in-game adjustments is a serious flaw ... his inexplicable calls on 1st & 2nd downs are truly comical many times over and absolutely infuriate me. Players and recruits do not stay with a coach like that, and it is really starting to show ...

His only saving grace right now is he took us thru a 12-0 season last year (with a few miracles) and got us into the NCG.

 

[jjc2009]

I am not enamoured with the passive nature of both our offense and defense. So much of our offense is dependent on taking what the defense gives you. The endless checkdowns and audibles to get the perfect pre-snap matchup is aggravating as it results in too many wasted TO's or delay of game penalties that just shouldn't exist. I causes hesitancy and second-guessing which translates into poor execution. Also, there's something to be said about the psy-ops factor of telling your opponent, this is what we're going to do to you and try and stop us, when they find they can't they tend to give up.

Defensively, the bend but don't break philosphy doesn't work if you skip out on the not breaking part. It forces the defense to see too many plays, which adds up over 4 quarters and a season. That, coupled with an offensive philosphy that, when working properly, results in quick strike scores, will only further fatigue your defense. Case in point in the Pitt game, when we had that one play 80 yard TD scoring drive, well, the defense had a long series before getting the ball back, and they had about 30 seconds of rest before having to trot out and do it again, and guess what happened, a slow and late arrival by our safety who missed a tackle, immediately gave up a huge play, thus negating all the momentum seized by the WOW play before. Farley has been lousy tackling all year, but I think during the in-game commentary, I was concerned that they were going to be tired on that series.

Allen Pinkett was a little off-base suggesting we need more thugs on campus, but the principle isn't entirely wrong. We need aggressive guys who aren't afraid to hit you hard. I years of decay have caused a fanbase to lose patience to the point where the fear of failure causes them to play passive. Thats why people seem flummoxed when we have good recruiting classes under-perform. I think they are being held back from their natural playing instincts for fear fo screwing up. A passive offense and a passive defense has made these guys what ... more passive. Thats why they get slaughtered by Alabama and struggle against middling programs.

 

[bbirish73]

I expect BYU to win. ND will play uninspired football where BYU will play their hearts out. It will be close but BYU will make less mistakes and will ultimately win by 7 points.

 

[Lillyliverd]

I think we will win because we have had 2 shitty games in a row. But I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[awclayton]

This should be a hard hitting, fun game to watch. Taysom hill is an excellent athlete. The key will be shembo and j. Smith's ability to control the edge and keep him from breaking big plays. Go Irish! Beat Cougars!