Forget the Michigan game

[bbirish73]

We have lots of home games and don't play any high power team until Stanford. Oklahoma looks soft and USC looks completely horrible. There will be some struggles here and there but I will make a bold prediction we won't lose again until Stanford. The only game that worries me before Stanford is Arizona State. Michigan probably has the best defense we will face until the last game and we moved the ball pretty well against them. I will be optimistic and say our Defense will get into gear the next few games and will be fine. Better to get a loss out of the way now then wait.

 

[poewelch84]

Diaco needs to worry about his defense, and Tommy needs to just throw the ball 15 rows into the stands rather than force it and they'll be ok.

 

[jjc2009]

Agree with this. Our next two games should be good tune up games, meaning I expect Kelly to unleash the Kraken. Style points matter now, especially after that loss, but anything less than a blowout win against Purdue spells trouble. Thing about USC is, as dysfunctional as they look on offense, they still have some dangerous playmakers, and their defense is actually very, very good. We will have our work cut out for them. ASU is probably better than people give them credit for and our defense better figure it out against them. OU's offense looks like it plays to our strength (still pretty good against the run).

 

[awclayton]

Agree with this. Our next two games should be good tune up games, meaning I expect Kelly to unleash the Kraken. Style points matter now, especially after that loss, but anything less than a blowout win against Purdue spells trouble. Thing about USC is, as dysfunctional as they look on offense, they still have some dangerous playmakers, and their defense is actually very, very good. We will have our work cut out for them. ASU is probably better than people give them credit for and our defense better figure it out against them. OU's offense looks like it plays to our strength (still pretty good against the run).

The bad thing is that I don't know what our defensive strength is this year. OU's freshman QB seems to be a decent runner, which we have seen is not one of our strengths. USC has explosive playmakers; so does ASU.....I hope we had a wake up call Saturday night.

 

[7Samurai13]

Michigan State may have a better defense than Michigan. But luckily MSU doesn't have an offense. They take the saying "The best offense is a good defense" a little to literal.

 

[jjc2009]

The bad thing is that I don't know what our defensive strength is this year. OU's freshman QB seems to be a decent runner, which we have seen is not one of our strengths. USC has explosive playmakers; so does ASU.....I hope we had a wake up call Saturday night.

I think we're still pretty strong against the run for power running teams, we looked lost against the read-option and Borges switched to that when we were shutting down Touissant. Gardner made us pay on a couple of consecutive read options. We are definitely blitzing more than last year, leaving our DB's in isolation and we're not spying the QB. Against a team like OU, I wouldn't want to leave Jaylon Saunders in a 1 on 1 against anybody we have. Between him and Stills last year, he definitely had the better day. Problem is, our LBs are not making anybody pay for the double teams of Nix and Tuitt. Tuitt's getting a lot of heat but he held his own this week, even if the stat sheet wasn't ablaze with TFLs or sacks. His play opened things up for Ishaq to stunt around and get his sack. And if anybody's questioning whether he's in shape or not, that INT in the endzone was a pretty athletic move for a 320 lb guy. Maybe he's playing a little heavy, but I don't think he's out of shape. That play was in the 4th quarter.

 

[craigk217]

We have lots of home games and don't play any high power team until Stanford. Oklahoma looks soft and USC looks completely horrible. There will be some struggles here and there but I will make a bold prediction we won't lose again until Stanford. The only game that worries me before Stanford is Arizona State. Michigan probably has the best defense we will face until the last game and we moved the ball pretty well against them. I will be optimistic and say our Defense will get into gear the next few games and will be fine. Better to get a loss out of the way now then wait.

I'll see your Stanford & ASU and raise you BYU! Did you see them yet? Holy guacamole Batman ... they have some BEASTS on that team in rushing the ball. BYU, also, has a running QB who can throw and absolute BIG backs that truly bruise a defense. They also have a couple of animals on defense that change the game. I watched them against Texas and, trust me, BYU is NO JOKE. I'm definitely worried about this game after how I saw them just blow through Texas. Yes, it was Texas, but I'm tellin ya, ND better not overlook BYU coming into SB!!!!

 

[purguy12]

im over it. On to the next game

 

[craigk217]

Sorry ... I cant ever get over a Michigan loss ... no matter what.

 

[whywork2]

I'm over it, Michigan simply outplayed Notre Dame. They are a good team. I did't like the interference call but shit happens. The difference in the game was mostly due to Gardner's ability to extend plays and Rees's inability to move in the pocket or run upfield. Rees played a pretty decent game but he needed to play mistake free football. I like a lot of what I saw and don't think this team is in trouble. I felt the Michigan game would be difficult to win since Hoke hasn't lost a home game yet but think we'll rebound and have a nice season. Hell yes I am disappointed but I honestly think the Irish have a good season, they just can't have a great season after losing to Michigan.

 

[purguy12]

I think this D is in trouble. Very Disappointed in this D.