Game Thread: ND vs Pitt Game Day Thread:

[idseer]

Would have been 3rd down, I mean it was clearly not a 1st down.....I don't care if Pitt was up 30, you don't make that bullshit call...

agree it was a bad call .... but do you believe it made any difference in the outcome? think nd would have held them and then gone down for a quick score? there's no reason to believe that seeing how they played tonight.

 

[eric5577x]

agree it was a bad call .... but do you believe it made any difference in the outcome? think nd would have held them and then gone down for a quick score? there's no reason to believe that seeing how they played tonight.

Anything is possible. They could have fumbled. We had some quick strikes today, anything can happen. Just give these kid the chance, don't fuck em cause you can....

 

[jjc2009]

That was a truly inept performance all around. No commitment to running game secondary that can't tackle bad play calling and Rees being Rees. That said 14 points were directly attributable to horse shit calls. A bogus Pi call that explanation that it occurred earlier makes no sense and the bullshit call on tuitt. Also taking one of our best players out at a position where we were already dangerously thin was atrocious. I quit watching so I missed the lousy spot call but hard not to think this crew was in the tank for Pitt the way they called this game. I didn't even complain about half the times Shembo was held or had hands in his face all night.

 

[craigk217]

u guys bash kelly way too much. we made to the NCG last year and we 7-2 this year with a back QB and back ups on D. come one. in kelly we trust.

Not me ... never really have ... to be honest. His play calling baffles me ... constantly passing on 1st down, why? ... constantly then runs the ball on 2nd and long, why?... constantly makes the wrong call on 3rd down, why?

Why wait until the 4th qtr to use the ultimate weapoin in Niklas ... once you're in crisis mode? This coaching staff is way overrated! I am soooo fucking pissed right now I cant even type str8.

 

[eric5577x]

That was a truly inept performance all around. No commitment to running game secondary that can't tackle bad play calling and Rees being Rees. That said 14 points were directly attributable to horse shit calls. A bogus Pi call that explanation that it occurred earlier makes no sense and the bullshit call on tuitt. Also taking one of our best players out at a position where we were already dangerously thin was atrocious. I quit watching so I missed the lousy spot call but hard not to think this crew was in the tank for Pitt the way they called this game. I didn't even complain about half the times Shembo was held or had hands in his face all night.

Could not agree more. I can see the Refs messing these calls up on the field cause of the speed of the game, but to have the replay officials who are watching this shit in slow mo, to let those calls stand, is shameful!!! Shembo was held all game, and the hands to face was ridiculous tonight...I am not one to complain about Refs, cause he have gotten some calls, but something is fishy about this...

 

[eric5577x]

Not me ... never really have ... to be honest. His play calling baffles me ... constantly passing on 1st down, why? ... constantly then runs the ball on 2nd and long, why?... constantly makes the wrong call on 3rd down, why?

Why wait until the 4th qtr to use the ultimate weapoin in Niklas ... once you're in crisis mode? This coaching staff is way overrated! I am soooo fucking pissed right now I cant even type str8.

Diaco has had this Def out of position all yr. He cannot make adjustments for shit. How Farley and Jackson can continue to play in that secondary is a mind blowing...

 

[KnuteRoc]

I'm done with Kelly. This BS with him and the lack of any improvement on this team is sad. Takes the ball on the coin toss as the visitor, calls the same retarded assed plays game in and game out. Our Line can't fucking open a hole between the tackles and zone blocking is our best run-blocking? It reeks of a lack of development and coaching, I refuse to believe this Oline cannot run block. We throw the same fucking fade route 20 times a game. It's pathetic.

Diaco and the defense, weak. Poor ass half-time adjustments, poor game plan in general as far as I'm concerned. Look at the teams we've lost to. Nebraska and MSU made Michigan look like the one dimensional team they are by blitzing and doing it consistently all game long, but we STRUGGLE and LOSE to them? We start out blitzing Pitt and holding them in check, but all of a sudden stop and low and behold they start being effective on offense and I'm supposed to believe these coaches are the shiznit? Nah man.

Sure Rees sucks and is a liability, however, I've said it before and I'll say it once again, our running backs should be the workhorses of this team and the running game should be our major strength as an offense allowing the passing game to complement it and it would nicely but good ol' Spread-eagle Kelly INSISTS on passing way more than would ever be needed if this line actually did their damned jobs, or he actually committed to the run, or both.

He doesn't tailor his offense to his personnel, he forces the same scheme no matter what, the same tired assed runs, the same tired assed passes, no wrinkles EVER. I see regression not progression and that says COACHING or the lack thereof, or the players do not believe in him, you pick which one you think applies most but it all means the same thing.

Done, done and DONE. I'd rather watch a movie I've seen 10,000 times every saturday than watch this. We haven't had a decent coach since Lou and it stinks.

/End Rant

 

[NDHoosier101]

I don't get why y'all dislike Kelly, I don't think he is the problem.

Anyway, I'm going to go drink my pain away and cry alittle, I suggest you all do the same.

 

[craigk217]

I'm done with Kelly. This BS with him and the lack of any improvement on this team is sad. Takes the ball on the coin toss as the visitor, calls the same retarded assed plays game in and game out. Our Line can't fucking open a hole between the tackles and zone blocking is our best run-blocking? It reeks of a lack of development and coaching, I refuse to believe this Oline cannot run block. We throw the same fucking fade route 20 times a game. It's pathetic.

Diaco and the defense, weak. Poor ass half-time adjustments, poor game plan in general as far as I'm concerned. Look at the teams we've lost to. Nebraska and MSU made Michigan look like the one dimensional team they are by blitzing and doing it consistently all game long, but we STRUGGLE and LOSE to them? We start out blitzing Pitt and holding them in check, but all of a sudden stop and low and behold they start being effective on offense and I'm supposed to believe these coaches are the shiznit? Nah man.

Sure Rees sucks and is a liability, however, I've said it before and I'll say it once again, our running backs should be the workhorses of this team and the running game should be our major strength as an offense allowing the passing game to complement it and it would nicely but good ol' Spread-eagle Kelly INSISTS on passing way more than would ever be needed if this line actually did their damned jobs, or he actually committed to the run, or both.

He doesn't tailor his offense to his personnel, he forces the same scheme no matter what, the same tired assed runs, the same tired assed passes, no wrinkles EVER. I see regression not progression and that says COACHING or the lack thereof, or the players do not believe in him, you pick which one you think applies most but it all means the same thing.

Done, done and DONE. I'd rather watch a movie I've seen 10,000 times every saturday than watch this. We haven't had a decent coach since Lou and it stinks.

/End Rant

^ This. I couldnt have said it better myself. Tommy Rees will probably go down in the annuls of ND football as the worst QB ever, yet BK wants to put the game on his shoulders ... everytime! WHY???? You cant squeeze blood from a turpnip that you dont even have ... but he constantly calls on Rees to pass on 1st downs ... then runs the ball on 2nd and long? I just dont get it. BK sets this team up for failure ... everytime. What is he not seeing in his stubborn ass, pass happy coaching style with a QB like Rees? I mean cmon!!!!

Rees sucked tonite with this noodle arm ... the refs sucked tonite (and I rarely ever complain about officiating dictating the outcome of a game) ... the defense sucked as usual, but there are many inuries and soft spots there ... Bennett Jackson and Matt Farley are wastes of schollys and should never take the field again, no matter what -- they are just plain horrible! I told all of you homers (and I luv my Irish!) that BCS was a joke and this game tonite proved it, once and for all.

Yes, I'm pissed, but not shocked ... I felt this was coming and for all of fools that were out looking forward to the Stanford game are complete knuckleheads. Sorrryyyy ... but I'm venting right now. This team is what it is ... and this coaching staff does not develop players as far as I'm concerned. Kelly gets one more year in my book (and that's only cuz he took us 12-0 into a NCG).

This song has been going thru my head all nite long ... I dunno why

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr_uHJPUlO8]Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away [Official Music Video] - YouTube[/ame]

 

[idseer]

I told all of you homers (and I luv my Irish!) that BCS was a joke and this game tonite proved it, once and for all.
Yes, I'm pissed, but not shocked ... I felt this was coming and for all of fools that were out looking forward to the Stanford game are complete knuckleheads.

all i got was shit from a few dedicated dumbells here when i said at the start of the season this was NOT a good team. guys actually suggesting 11-1 and 12-0 were distinct possibilities.
they tried to suggest i'm a bad fan because i see too many negatives but to me the homer is the one who is NOT a good fan. the refusal to see the team as it really is and pissing on everyone who dares suggest otherwise.

rees has been better than i ever expected .... and yet he's STILL bad enough to screw this team over and over. kelly's inability to call a good game and just a horrible situational coach. the defense losing too much quality from the fluke year before. NOT taking advantage of the talent he does have, etc. etc.

what is it about notre dame that they cannot get an actual good coach to save their lives? the notre dame brass are like homer fans. they see a few good things in the coach and so give them 20 year extensions for ridiculous money only to discover too late they actually suck! they're doing the same thing with kelly that they did with weis. who is making these decisions? i think it's obvious even to the homer fans here by now that kelly is NOT doing his job.

roc was right ..... we haven't had a decent coach since 1993 (holtz's last 3 years weren't very good either). how can a school like notre dame go thru 20 years of this? it's incomprehensible.

 

[jjc2009]

the defense losing too much quality from the fluke year before. NOT taking advantage of the talent he does have, etc. etc.

A lot of your criticisms are valid but it's statements like the one above that causes your credibility to suffer. Which is it? We lost a lot of talent and leadership on defense (and we did) or we won in spite of that talent (ie your fluke comments). Can't have it both ways. You freely admit that we lost talent but then wonder aloud how we can't win with the talent we have (meaning the guys who weren't better than the starters we had last year). Last year wasn't a fluke. We had a team and a formula to win and we won. If it were a fluke is to say that last years team which didn't have the injury issues this years team had would have the same record as this years team against an inarguably weaker schedule this season. To suggest this years team is anywhere as good as last years is a joke. You cheapen your thoughts by saying we won in spite of the team last year and in so doing you come off as someone who would rather be right than win.

 

[Lillyliverd]

I think the biggest reason we lost was piss poor coaching. ND should be talented enough to beat Pitt even with injuries, ejections, and bad officiating. When was the last time Pitt had a recruiting class that was anywhere near as good as the recruits ND has picked up year after year?

ND coaches shit their pants. 9:36 to play (lots of time) and we ran the ball only 1 time for the rest of the game. Insanity. I think that down the stretch, we only had one play with a back in the backfield. The one time we had a back in the backfield we telegraphed that we were running. All the remaining plays the defense knew that it would be a pass play since Rees can't run and there was nobody in the backfield. Why not have a back in the backfield? Rees is supposed to be a master of pre snap reads. You can't audible a running play when there is no running back.

Folston had a great game last week and got 4 carries this week. Who is our main running back? We never gave our running backs a chance to get into a groove. The first to carry the ball was Folston, then GAIII, Jones, Cam, Folston, Cam, Jones, Carlisle, GAIII. The first nine carries were by 5 different players. What team have you ever seen run the ball with a committee of 5. It would suck to be a running back for the Irish because the Irish coaches still can't make a decision. Running backs often get better as a game goes on if they are getting regular carries. This running back thing is a giant cluster fuck.

 

[jjc2009]

Given the lack of commitment to a running game how long before before Tony Alford says screw this and takes his recruiting prowess elsewhere. At that point we won't have to worry about the talent disparity with the Pitts and Navy's of the college football world

 

[socaljim242]

I think It's been established ( we've been saying that for three years) that BK will abandon the run at the drop of a hat. ND should be able to run every single down and beat a team like Pitt who has none or few NFL level players on the defense. Stanford knows they have them even against Oregon and just ran the ball (42 carries by one back). Stanford will run against USC and ND because they just believe they can.I get a chuckle watching Tommy switching plays with no RB behind him. So he's changing from one pass play to another pass play depending on the look the defense is giving him. So the defense is dictating NDs offensive plays. Now way that should happen with the O line players you have.
Amazing that I'm (as a USC fan) am getting some joy watching the team get better every week and ND is now going to be unranked. Crazy season.

"Get used to it" - BK

 

[idseer]

A lot of your criticisms are valid but it's statements like the one above that causes your credibility to suffer. Which is it? We lost a lot of talent and leadership on defense (and we did) or we won in spite of that talent (ie your fluke comments). Can't have it both ways. You freely admit that we lost talent but then wonder aloud how we can't win with the talent we have (meaning the guys who weren't better than the starters we had last year). Last year wasn't a fluke. We had a team and a formula to win and we won. If it were a fluke is to say that last years team which didn't have the injury issues this years team had would have the same record as this years team against an inarguably weaker schedule this season. To suggest this years team is anywhere as good as last years is a joke. You cheapen your thoughts by saying we won in spite of the team last year and in so doing you come off as someone who would rather be right than win.

is everything in your world either black or white?

here's the thing ... nd's team last year was very good ... MUCH better than this year's team. but NOT A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. they were a top ten team. the fluke was they went the whole season without a loss. ergo it was a "FLUKE" to be in the championship game!

now, they lost just about ALL the best players from last year's team and they are much worse this year. it was easy to see. i see no conflict in my statements.

you, like so many others still think that last year's team was somehow great. they weren't. and it pisses you off when anyone suggests it wasn't.

 

[jjc2009]

is everything in your world either black or white ... you, like so many others still think that last year's team was somehow great. they weren't. and it pisses you off when anyone suggests it wasn't.

First off facts tend to be black or white. We weren't merely a top 10 team. We were a top 5 team by every poll. We went undefeated in the regular season against a tougher schedule than we have this year. You may feel we didn't belong but that's nothing more than your opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed last year the NCG notwithstanding sorry you had to suffer through it believing what you believe. And yeah you're being totally inconsistent when you acknowledge what we lost and claim we won in spite of that.

 

[idseer]

First off facts tend to be black or white. We weren't merely a top 10 team. We were a top 5 team by every poll. We went undefeated in the regular season against a tougher schedule than we have this year. You may feel we didn't belong but that's nothing more than your opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed last year the NCG notwithstanding sorry you had to suffer through it believing what you believe. And yeah you're being totally inconsistent when you acknowledge what we lost and claim we won in spite of that.

you still don't get it. we were voted a top 5 team because we remained undefeated. my whole point is that it took 'extreme' luck for us to be undefeated. and there are no 'facts' this is all opinion! just as it's your opinion nd was a great team last year. the voting was more they HAD to vote them top 5 because they had an undefeated record. if pitt kicks that simple field goal we might not have made the top ten (certainly no better than 7th. LUCK! do you get my point yet? LUCK! not greatness. alabama was not a lucky team ...
oregon was not a lucky team ... georgia, texas a&m and standford were not lucky teams! notre dame WAS!
and yes ... that's my opinion.

 

[jjc2009]

you still don't get it. we were voted a top 5 team because we remained undefeated. my whole point is that it took 'extreme' luck for us to be undefeated. and there are no 'facts' this is all opinion! just as it's your opinion nd was a great team last year. the voting was more they HAD to vote them top 5 because they had an undefeated record. if pitt kicks that simple field goal we might not have made the top ten (certainly no better than 7th. LUCK! do you get my point yet? LUCK! not greatness. alabama was not a lucky team ...
oregon was not a lucky team ... georgia, texas a&m and standford were not lucky teams! notre dame WAS!
and yes ... that's my opinion.

Oy. This "extremely lucky" trope is old and debunked. Name a team that didn't get a little luck to go 12-0 or to get to title game? Hell KSU doesn't lose down the stretch and Alabama doesn't get their shot. I guess Alabama was "lucky" to be crowned national champions? Again you confuse luck with a failure to execute. We were no more lucky that the kicker missed the FG than they were when Wood fumbled going in for the win. He holds on a half a second longer and we don't have to rely on a YouTube kicker not doing his job. And us finishing top 4 is not an opinion. It's an irrefutable fact. Such things are determined on wins and losses not what certain fans think should have happened but what actually happened. The fact that you claim the pollsters "had to" vote us so high based on our performance is all the proof I need. All you have is your subjective opinion. Alas I am not the one here that doesn't "get it".

 

[purguy12]

screw the refs

 

[socaljim242]

Oy. This "extremely lucky" trope is old and debunked. Name a team that didn't get a little luck to go 12-0 or to get to title game? Hell KSU doesn't lose down the stretch and Alabama doesn't get their shot. I guess Alabama was "lucky" to be crowned national champions? Again you confuse luck with a failure to execute. We were no more lucky that the kicker missed the FG than they were when Wood fumbled going in for the win. He holds on a half a second longer and we don't have to rely on a YouTube kicker not doing his job. And us finishing top 4 is not an opinion. It's an irrefutable fact. Such things are determined on wins and losses not what certain fans think should have happened but what actually happened. The fact that you claim the pollsters "had to" vote us so high based on our performance is all the proof I need. All you have is your subjective opinion. Alas I am not the one here that doesn't "get it".

Alabama was a great team who lost one game by five to Manzel and A&M and the only other teams who came close were #3 and #5 teams. Notre dame struggled against Pitt , Purdue, Michigan, BYU. Notre Dame was a good team who did have more than their share of luck to get to the NC game almost magical and if it wasn't for the egg ND laid at the Championship game most people wouldn't have a problem with you being there because you beat who you had in front of you. . Being an SC fan I've realized even the best more talented teams might need some luck because these are still kids and they cant bring it every week but there's a world of difference between the luck Alabama needed to become champs and the luck Notre dame needed to get to the championship game. But it is what it is. This year the football isn't bouncing your way . You can make an excuse with one play here and one play there and you'd be 8-1 9-0 but in reality you're not as good as you were last year.