This has been unreal season for the Irish

[matthstl]

I finally took a breath after the Navy game and look at what this team has overcome this year and it is quite amazing actually. 5 key players are gone for the season to start. ND continues to get hit with major injuries in d backfield. I am not sure many teams in college football could have survived what they have been through. The young players have really step up so it makes me feel great about the future of this program.

I think we all have to admit that Kelly has done a great job maybe we get in the playoffs maybe we do not. I think this team will slip up at some point maybe next week maybe Louisville not sure but being life time fan that has seen what happen before Kelly I am extremly happy with what I am seeing. As a fan what do I want I want us to be able to have chance to win every week and be able to play with the elite teams and that is what we have right now.

I know it is hard to say right now but this team next year with some of the 5 coming back could be one of the best teams this program has ever seen.

I thought it was a good time to reflect.

 

[purguy12]

I agree its been a great season. We are 1 year away and this years team is like wait a min it might be this year. ND has had a great year and Im prod of this team

 

[jjc2009]

I finally took a breath after the Navy game and look at what this team has overcome this year and it is quite amazing actually. 5 key players are gone for the season to start. ND continues to get hit with major injuries in d backfield. I am not sure many teams in college football could have survived what they have been through. The young players have really step up so it makes me feel great about the future of this program.

I think we all have to admit that Kelly has done a great job maybe we get in the playoffs maybe we do not. I think this team will slip up at some point maybe next week maybe Louisville not sure but being life time fan that has seen what happen before Kelly I am extremly happy with what I am seeing. As a fan what do I want I want us to be able to have chance to win every week and be able to play with the elite teams and that is what we have right now.

I know it is hard to say right now but this team next year with some of the 5 coming back could be one of the best teams this program has ever seen.

I thought it was a good time to reflect.

Well stated. As frustrated as I am by seemingly getting less of a benefit of the doubt than other similarly situated teams, I didn't think we'd be a part of the conversation at all at the beginning of the season, and certainly not still going into week 9. IMO, our two toughest remaining games are at ASU this week (they are fighting for control of the PAC 12 South, and I think are hungry after last year, as well as the drama of the almost cancelled game at Tempe). Their fans are going to be fired up. We are going to have to adjust on the fly losing Schmidt. The other tough game is Louisville. The final score of the FSU game doesn't tell the tale. They gave FSU all they could handle, and I think ran out of gas a bit at the end, but they are very talented on defense, and have enough stud players to cause us all sorts of problems, on a day when, as recent history has shown, ND is very distracted (senior day). Dyer and Parker are coming on strong late in the season, both battling injuries, and both are going to be problems for our defense.

Even Northwestern game is sort of a mini-trap game, wedged between ASU and Louisville. Northwestern has nothing to play for but pride, and there is hatred and envy on that NW team, and it starts with Fitzgerald. He hates that ND is still more beloved in Chicago than NW. Its for regional bragging rights and I can see them, with nothing else really to play for, being fired up as hell for that game (also one of their few nationally televised games).

For some reason, I think if we get by all of that, we will handle USC. They've been on a downward slide, and being under-manned has killed them in the 4th quarter of games. We'll see how healthy they can be, especially after what I expect will be a dogfight with UCLA the week before. If we're still sitting at one loss, we'll hear a lot of talk about them wanting to spoil our playoff chances, but I don't think they'll have the endurance to outlast us.

I didn't think 11-1* was possible, and I am enjoying the run at it, Navy-caused indigestion notwithstanding. Making the playoffs would exceed expectations by a lot. Getting to (and finally) winning a BCS level bowl is enough for me to call the season a success.

* Need I explain the asterisk?

 

[craigk217]

I can't argue this has been a surprise season and I never thought we woulda succeeded like this at this point, but as Purguy said, next year's expectations are gonna be huge! That's the year I was/am banking on really making some noise ... as long as Golson stays. If he leaves ... ut oh.

BTW ... all the analysis of upcoming teams jjc posted ... I'm petrified of USC - always am ... especially if we go to Coliseum 10-1 and everything is on the line. They would love nothing better to ruin us and have the athletes to do it.

And yes, ASU is NOW the biggest game to date and a sorely needed win to boost SOS ... and Louisville is no joke and I called this game to be problematic before season started. It's going to be an interesting few weeks ... wish we had ASU & USC on our turf this year.

 

[matthstl]

I am really not to concern about Golson leaving although he is unreal with his ability to win and move the ball. With Malik in the wings he will have two good years as a starter and sounds like we have another good QB coming in next year. The great news is we really seem like our depth is great at key postions which we have really needed this year. I love our WR postions although losing DaVaris was big blow.

 

[Sportsguy9695]

I agree it has been a great year and they have really have played better then my expections. lets hope they keep it up

 

[purguy12]

Whats great is we are super young. I know Joe injury hurts but this will be great experience for Morgan who was a Top talent in this class.

 

[idseer]

for jjc's benefit i'm hoping for a 13-1* season myself.

 

[jjc2009]

for jjc's benefit i'm hoping for a 13-1* season myself.

Well played.

 

[jjc2009]

I can't argue this has been a surprise season and I never thought we woulda succeeded like this at this point, but as Purguy said, next year's expectations are gonna be huge! That's the year I was/am banking on really making some noise ... as long as Golson stays. If he leaves ... ut oh.

BTW ... all the analysis of upcoming teams jjc posted ... I'm petrified of USC - always am ... especially if we go to Coliseum 10-1 and everything is on the line. They would love nothing better to ruin us and have the athletes to do it.

And yes, ASU is NOW the biggest game to date and a sorely needed win to boost SOS ... and Louisville is no joke and I called this game to be problematic before season started. It's going to be an interesting few weeks ... wish we had ASU & USC on our turf this year.

I certainly do respect USC's athleticism, but I think the 2012 USC squad was more talented on both sides of the ball and the whole week leading up to that game all they talked about was playing spoiler, esp. because their season tanked. We handled our business there, and I thought Kelly held back too much. I've never found the Colosium to be a hostile place to play, because USC fans are fair weather. When the team is really good, they show up, seasons like this, I just don't think it's that intimidating. SC's teams are more of a concern than their crowds.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

for jjc's benefit i'm hoping for a 13-1* season myself.

Now this is the idseer I can get on board with.

 

[Lillyliverd]

Its too early for me to say this has been even a satisfying season. Arguably, our best game was a loss and arguably our 2nd best game was a win over 5-4 Stanford. I will be much more inclined to be satisfied if we can beat a ranked opponent this season. I still believe in this team and I think there is a chance we could make the playoffs. However, outside of FSU, we are playing potentially the 3 toughest teams on our schedule in the weeks ahead. We haven't beat a good team yet. I would hardly call it an "unreal season for the Irish". But it could be.

 

[whywork2]

The op has been precisely what I've been saying. We have to be thankful for a really good season. It's been more than exciting and we're still in the mix. It's been fun to say the least. As a lifelong fan, and that goes back a lot of years this season has been refreshing. I see lots of young talent and I see some good recruiting going on. I hope they can keep this ship pointed in the right direction.

 

[purguy12]

Its too early for me to say this has been even a satisfying season. Arguably, our best game was a loss and arguably our 2nd best game was a win over 5-4 Stanford. I will be much more inclined to be satisfied if we can beat a ranked opponent this season. I still believe in this team and I think there is a chance we could make the playoffs. However, outside of FSU, we are playing potentially the 3 toughest teams on our schedule in the weeks ahead. We haven't beat a good team yet. I would hardly call it an "unreal season for the Irish". But it could be.

u can only beat who is in front of you on your schedule.

 

[whywork2]

u can only beat who is in front of you on your schedule.

My sentiments, and on top of that I don't think there were too many out there that didn't think Notre Dame's schedule was a pretty tough one. We can't control the fact that the teams were have played so far have struggled, with the exception of Florida State.

 

[jjc2009]

My sentiments, and on top of that I don't think there were too many out there that didn't think Notre Dame's schedule was a pretty tough one. We can't control the fact that the teams were have played so far have struggled, with the exception of Florida State.

Yeah, it's pretty frustrating. Before the season, most of the talking heads said we'd be lucky to win 7 games with our schedule. Now the same talking heads are saying we haven't played anyone outside of FSU. Week 2, the Wizards of Smart on Gameday unanimously picked Michigan. They were outsmarted by a duck.

 

[Lillyliverd]

u can only beat who is in front of you on your schedule.

Thanks for setting me straight on that Purguy.

It seems like some of you feel like no matter what happens the rest of the season, ND was so awesome in the first 8 games that it will be considered one hell of a great season. Being highly ranked is nice but where we finish is what really matters. Going back to the beginning of the year I would have thought it would be fantastic to be ranked 10th at this point in the season. The thing is, at the beginning of the season I thought whooping Michigan and beating Stanford were a big deal but other teams have showed that beating Stanford or Michigan is not a big deal this year. I think it is too soon to proclaim this was an unreal season. How many of you would still say it was an unreal season if we drop a couple more regular season games and then lose a bowl game? Too much football left to call it a great season.

 

[jjc2009]

Thanks for setting me straight on that Purguy.

It seems like some of you feel like no matter what happens the rest of the season, ND was so awesome in the first 8 games that it will be considered one hell of a great season. Being highly ranked is nice but where we finish is what really matters. Going back to the beginning of the year I would have thought it would be fantastic to be ranked 10th at this point in the season. The thing is, at the beginning of the season I thought whooping Michigan and beating Stanford were a big deal but other teams have showed that beating Stanford or Michigan is not a big deal this year. I think it is too soon to proclaim this was an unreal season. How many of you would still say it was an unreal season if we drop a couple more regular season games and then lose a bowl game? Too much football left to call it a great season.

I don't think most here would be happy if the team goes in the tank the next 4 games. Put me in the so far, so good camp. I didn't expect much, even before the news of the suspensions. But considering we are where we are after losing our #1 DB, our #1 receiver, a former 5* DE that was finally going to play in a 4-3 that he is suited for, and two key reserve players, then to have the "QB" of the secondary go down with an injury and have to rely on a former walk on to lead the defense, this team has perservered. Look at all the freshman playing, and contributing. It may not be pretty at times but it's hard not to appreciate where they are now. I'm not declaring the whole year a success, I made it clear success should be defined as winning, not just making a BCS level bowl or better (ie, playoffs). I think 9-3 should be the floor for this team right now. I'd be disappointed with anything less. I'd prefer 11-1 and bitching about being shafted in the playoffs. You know, first world problems.

 

[KnuteRoc]

Thanks for setting me straight on that Purguy.

It seems like some of you feel like no matter what happens the rest of the season, ND was so awesome in the first 8 games that it will be considered one hell of a great season. Being highly ranked is nice but where we finish is what really matters. Going back to the beginning of the year I would have thought it would be fantastic to be ranked 10th at this point in the season. The thing is, at the beginning of the season I thought whooping Michigan and beating Stanford were a big deal but other teams have showed that beating Stanford or Michigan is not a big deal this year. I think it is too soon to proclaim this was an unreal season. How many of you would still say it was an unreal season if we drop a couple more regular season games and then lose a bowl game? Too much football left to call it a great season.

That's a fair point to be sure. But, so is the fact that we lost some key players expected to help this team, so is the fact that despite our growing pains on defense, our skittish offense has managed to put us in a position to win. The FSU penalty can make it appear that the Offense failed the team but in actuality it was coach and the D, the offense has bailed us out all year. Sound familiar? I recall a defense doing that for us a couple of years ago. We simply need to have the two converge and then look-out! I don't think it's outrageous to call it an unreal season to say looking at the schedule and the predictions for us, that we're one play away from being one of the two only undefeated teams left after 8/9 weeks. Think about that, one play from being ranked #1 or #2 in that initial CFP ranking. Sure there's plenty of football left and that doesn't mean that what we've done to this point should be ignored or downplayed or shrugged off. Just because our opponents haven't lived up to their own isn't our fault. I think it's hilarious how the talking heads and even the committee can have their cake and eat it too in the sense that they talk up the SOS as long as it's strong but then point to it as a weakness as if it's our fault their seasons aren't shaping up as expected. It's an issue if you've lost a game but isn't if you haven't. If FSU doesn't lose, they're in, despite their SOS, despite the relative perception of the ACC. Funny how that works huh? One game determining if your SOS is good enough, one game determining who your best win was against, one game determining so much when it's 1/12th of the body. If you can't see how absurd that is I don't know what to tell ya. I don't like the system, I think until you allow teams themselves to determine their fate, it's a flawed system. That's a topic for its own thread but if you really look at our season as a whole, I don't think you can say it's not unreal in many ways.

We weren't expected to be where we are before losing players to eligibility or injury. We weren't expected to beat the defending National Champs on the road and we came one play away from doing it. That's a really small degree of separation from being the MSU and FSU in the CFP conversation than being one of the many 1-loss teams behind them... all in a year we weren't expected to contend at all.

I mean don't get me wrong, you all can tell by now I don't hold back when I think our coaches err or make dumb decisions. But even with the bad things you look at how we're sitting and you have to think we could have 1-3 more losses on our record than we do and in reality, we have been in position to WIN every single game.

Also, one last note... remember that VanGorder's last job was in the Pros and before that I believe he had a year or two at Auburn. Guess how many pure option teams he's probably seen in that time? Even @ Auburn I doubt he's seen it more than once or twice. That's not always so easy to game plan around. Those who are old enough remember Greg Mattison's years here and how even with the familiarity of playing Navy year in and year out we had rough weeks every time we faced an offense employing the option. When did our domination of Navy stop? After Weis came and brought his own staff. Now don't get me wrong, I know that's typical so it's not like I'm saying we should've never got rid of Mattison, even his D's had games where Navy gave us fits. But, I'd rather have what Kelly and more specifically Van Gorder is doing with this Defense than what Charlie was giving us with Rick Minter or Bill Lewis. I mean I suppose it was bound to happen at some point but I remember that day losing to Navy after 43 years and thinking, REALLY?! Navy!? We need to bring the D back to ND and I think we're on the right path. I'll live with the growing pains for now.

 

[Lillyliverd]

Think about that, one play from being ranked #1 or #2 in that initial CFP ranking. (Quote from Knute above). Very true and with that viewpoint, and bearing in mind the relatively low expectations we had for the team, it is amazing we are in the position we are. Also, I understand that beating teams that have tanked is out of our control. After seeing this team play well against FSU, I know they have the potential to do great things this year and at the start of the season I thought there wasn't much of a chance. In that respect, their success is unreal. However, as a long time ND fan, I have been conditioned to be at best guardedly optimistic. And the truth is we have five opponents ahead of us that could change our perception. ND has the potential to play very well in spite of the losses of personnel we have suffered this year. And that in itself is remarkable. We are 7-1 and I can't complain about that. What worries me is I have seen this team let much lesser opponents hang with them. I still don't really know what we have in this team, but we are about to find out.