This had to be one of the worst, most disheartening games that I have ever watched. In a game where nothing went right, it was difficult to see USF come in here, led by a Notre Dame alum and legacy and just snatch victory from us… okay I was thinking of the 2011 USF game led by alum Skip Holtz rather than the 2020 version with alum Charlie Weis Jr. running the offense. Thinking back on 2011 (thanks @ryno1134 !) I had an uneasy feeling about this game. Boy was I wrong. In stark contrast to that game, nothing seemed to wrong on Saturday… well, for ND, anyway.
Faster Start- In the pregame, Tony Dungy made mention of how BK wanted to get off to a faster start. After a good KO return by Chris Tyree, ND opens up with 3 TEs and Book hits a wide open Tony Tremble for a first and I start settling down. ND scored the first TD in under 3 minutes and, other than the missed FG, scored on every possession in the first half with an average time of possession under 3 minutes. Mission accomplished, I’d say.
The Eyeball Test- Another thing we heard quite a bit about was the speed of the USF team. In every matchup, I think ND had an advantage in size on both sides of the ball, but I also thought they were every bit as fast if not faster than their USF counterparts.
Defense, As a Unit- There have been better, more athletic players on the ND defense over the past 25 years than there are now, but in that time period I don’t think we’ve seen as many very good, very athletic players on defense at the same time. Nowhere is that more evident than in the depth that is available on D which we saw in abundance on Saturday. Among the starters, Drew White didn’t fall for the trick end around toward the end of the 1st half and crushed the QB as let go of the ball to start the second half.
Geek Stat: Defense- 12 ND players players had 2 or more tackles in the game: Kiser (8), Griffith (5), Lewis (5), White (4), Lamb (3), Wallace (3), Bertrand (3), Bauer (3), Foskey (2), Ehrensberger (2), Brown (2), and Ekwonu (2). Of that group only White had been listed as a starter. You want to talk depth, let that sink in.
Clark Lea- Is the man and he trains the whole unit to be singular in purpose. He’s a very impressive individual. He says it best:
Geek Stat: USF turned the ball over 4 times on downs, once on a blocked punt for a TD, and ended both halves with the ball.
Kiser- He was a beast all day. 40 snaps, 8 tackles, 7 solo and 2 for a loss. Set the tempo early in the first by stuffing a 3rd down run and forcing a USF punt. I don’t want to put him in the Hall of Fame yet, but he looked like a 2-3 year starter out there. He was poised, took the right angles, and really controlled the center of the field. I think he got fooled once by the QB in the 3rd but that was it. He said it best:
Jordan Bothelo- He almost blocks 2 punts and scores a TD on another block. The most impressive thing I saw all day on special teams was the hit he put on the punter in the end zone just as the kick was being made.
Book- He played better and he calmed down quite a bit on the “happy feet” I saw in the first game, but his accuracy and touch seem to be lacking through 2 games. This is in line with what I saw:
That being said, he’s actually more accurate through 2 games this year (62%) than through 13 games last year (60.2%). Perhaps it’s just a result of no spring game/practice and limited practice this year but it’s something I’ll be watching. It’s funny the things you think about with a QB who’s 22-3 as a starter on a team with a 20 game home winning streak. Solid TD run for the first score. BTW, he was listed as the 5th best QB for 2020 by SI. https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-ian-book-sporting-news-top-25
Tremble- “I love contact,” he said after the game, and it showed. He was blowing people in blocks all game long and still led the team in receiving yards and yards per catch. For those of you who are always yearning for a Fullback (I’m a fan), wasn’t it great to see Tremble line up as a FB a few times? He sprung Flemister loose for a long TD run with a big hit in the 2nd. He’s just the kind of guy you love having on your team and I think he’ll have a positive impact on Michael Mayer’s development.
O Line- Solid all day in protection and the push in the run game. I loved and was surprised by the graphic that showed every starter had started in double digit games. Geek Stat Jr, the line didn’t allow any sack all game and only 1 QB hurry all while ND compiled 281 yards on the ground and 6 rushing TDs. Now that is impressive.
RBs- Speaking of yards on the ground, the entire stable of RBs did a great job and were always fighting for the extra yard. I like how they mixed backs in there, making for some competition but also keeping the guys fresh. 3 backs with over 60 yds and C’Bo Flemister leading the way with 127 yds. The best description of Flemister is:
Post of the Game-
Long Snappers- When you compare theirs to ours and the results that came from each of them, it’s easy to understand why BK uses a scholarship on specialty players. It was painful to watch the USF longsnapper.
Playcalling- I thought Tommy Rees did a real good job of calling the plays on Saturday. He mix it up well and I was never sure what was coming next. This is an aspect of the game management that is greatly improving. There was a a Tyree run at about 9:30 of the 3rd where I didn’t know what was happening or where the ball was until after the play was over. I was particularly happy to see the foot didn’t come off the pedal when the 2nd and 3rd stringers came in in the 2nd half. Drew Pyne got a chance to run the playbook and that’s going to be important moving forward.
Post Game Post-of-the-Game-
Best Poster on the Game Thread- @bradenmi was on fire
Today’s Feel Good Story, Part 1: Matt Salerno- A walk on player whose grandfather is a ND alum, he got a chance to get in there and take a few punt returns. As I used to say with Chris Finke, the returns aren’t so important, it’s the sure-handedness of the catches that make the biggest difference and Salerno, a former lacrosse player, seems like he has the hands for the job. He had a fair catch early in the game and he just looked like he was catching a routine flyball. I hope to see more of him doing this.
Today’s Feel Good Story, Part 2: Skip Holtz- Speaking of Skip earlier, I thought I’d give you an update on him. After leaving USF he took over Louisiana Tech where he’s 57-36 over the past 7 years, including 7 straight bowl wins. In last year’s Independence Bowl, he shut out the Miami Hurricanes, 14-0. In general, anytime someone beats Miami it’s sweet. It’s sweeter when a Holtz does it. Good for him. I wish him all the best.
Phil Jurkovec- Old friend Phil Jurkovec was 17-23 for 300 yards with 2 TDs (one a 61 yard pass) and 1 INT as BC rolled Duke on the road 26-6. Why can’t we get guys like that?
Daelin Hayes- I don’t want to get political and I’m always an independent thinker, but I wanted to comment on the halftime presentation that he gave. I thought it was extremely professional and hit on 3 things that @alperry and others here know are hallmarks of the military: Accountability; leave the thing better than you found it (in this case, ND); and treat everyone equally. These 3 things are strong foundations for every individual and organization and 3 things that I try and live my life by.[/QUOTE]
Faster Start- In the pregame, Tony Dungy made mention of how BK wanted to get off to a faster start. After a good KO return by Chris Tyree, ND opens up with 3 TEs and Book hits a wide open Tony Tremble for a first and I start settling down. ND scored the first TD in under 3 minutes and, other than the missed FG, scored on every possession in the first half with an average time of possession under 3 minutes. Mission accomplished, I’d say.
The Eyeball Test- Another thing we heard quite a bit about was the speed of the USF team. In every matchup, I think ND had an advantage in size on both sides of the ball, but I also thought they were every bit as fast if not faster than their USF counterparts.
Defense, As a Unit- There have been better, more athletic players on the ND defense over the past 25 years than there are now, but in that time period I don’t think we’ve seen as many very good, very athletic players on defense at the same time. Nowhere is that more evident than in the depth that is available on D which we saw in abundance on Saturday. Among the starters, Drew White didn’t fall for the trick end around toward the end of the 1st half and crushed the QB as let go of the ball to start the second half.
Geek Stat: Defense- 12 ND players players had 2 or more tackles in the game: Kiser (8), Griffith (5), Lewis (5), White (4), Lamb (3), Wallace (3), Bertrand (3), Bauer (3), Foskey (2), Ehrensberger (2), Brown (2), and Ekwonu (2). Of that group only White had been listed as a starter. You want to talk depth, let that sink in.
Clark Lea- Is the man and he trains the whole unit to be singular in purpose. He’s a very impressive individual. He says it best:
Geek Stat: USF turned the ball over 4 times on downs, once on a blocked punt for a TD, and ended both halves with the ball.
Kiser- He was a beast all day. 40 snaps, 8 tackles, 7 solo and 2 for a loss. Set the tempo early in the first by stuffing a 3rd down run and forcing a USF punt. I don’t want to put him in the Hall of Fame yet, but he looked like a 2-3 year starter out there. He was poised, took the right angles, and really controlled the center of the field. I think he got fooled once by the QB in the 3rd but that was it. He said it best:
DJ Brown and KJ Wallace- Far too often I say, “Who?” This was one of those days. Brown had a good game and nearly came up with 2 INTs. Some will argue that he should have had them, but the USF player also should have had them and Brown broke those catches up. An all around solid game. Same for Wallace who had 3 tackles, 1 for a loss and made some heavy hits throughout the day. These guys embodied the “next man in” philosophy.
Jordan Bothelo- He almost blocks 2 punts and scores a TD on another block. The most impressive thing I saw all day on special teams was the hit he put on the punter in the end zone just as the kick was being made.
Book- He played better and he calmed down quite a bit on the “happy feet” I saw in the first game, but his accuracy and touch seem to be lacking through 2 games. This is in line with what I saw:
That being said, he’s actually more accurate through 2 games this year (62%) than through 13 games last year (60.2%). Perhaps it’s just a result of no spring game/practice and limited practice this year but it’s something I’ll be watching. It’s funny the things you think about with a QB who’s 22-3 as a starter on a team with a 20 game home winning streak. Solid TD run for the first score. BTW, he was listed as the 5th best QB for 2020 by SI. https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-ian-book-sporting-news-top-25
Tremble- “I love contact,” he said after the game, and it showed. He was blowing people in blocks all game long and still led the team in receiving yards and yards per catch. For those of you who are always yearning for a Fullback (I’m a fan), wasn’t it great to see Tremble line up as a FB a few times? He sprung Flemister loose for a long TD run with a big hit in the 2nd. He’s just the kind of guy you love having on your team and I think he’ll have a positive impact on Michael Mayer’s development.
O Line- Solid all day in protection and the push in the run game. I loved and was surprised by the graphic that showed every starter had started in double digit games. Geek Stat Jr, the line didn’t allow any sack all game and only 1 QB hurry all while ND compiled 281 yards on the ground and 6 rushing TDs. Now that is impressive.
RBs- Speaking of yards on the ground, the entire stable of RBs did a great job and were always fighting for the extra yard. I like how they mixed backs in there, making for some competition but also keeping the guys fresh. 3 backs with over 60 yds and C’Bo Flemister leading the way with 127 yds. The best description of Flemister is:
Post of the Game-
Long Snappers- When you compare theirs to ours and the results that came from each of them, it’s easy to understand why BK uses a scholarship on specialty players. It was painful to watch the USF longsnapper.
Playcalling- I thought Tommy Rees did a real good job of calling the plays on Saturday. He mix it up well and I was never sure what was coming next. This is an aspect of the game management that is greatly improving. There was a a Tyree run at about 9:30 of the 3rd where I didn’t know what was happening or where the ball was until after the play was over. I was particularly happy to see the foot didn’t come off the pedal when the 2nd and 3rd stringers came in in the 2nd half. Drew Pyne got a chance to run the playbook and that’s going to be important moving forward.
Post Game Post-of-the-Game-
Best Poster on the Game Thread- @bradenmi was on fire
Today’s Feel Good Story, Part 1: Matt Salerno- A walk on player whose grandfather is a ND alum, he got a chance to get in there and take a few punt returns. As I used to say with Chris Finke, the returns aren’t so important, it’s the sure-handedness of the catches that make the biggest difference and Salerno, a former lacrosse player, seems like he has the hands for the job. He had a fair catch early in the game and he just looked like he was catching a routine flyball. I hope to see more of him doing this.
Today’s Feel Good Story, Part 2: Skip Holtz- Speaking of Skip earlier, I thought I’d give you an update on him. After leaving USF he took over Louisiana Tech where he’s 57-36 over the past 7 years, including 7 straight bowl wins. In last year’s Independence Bowl, he shut out the Miami Hurricanes, 14-0. In general, anytime someone beats Miami it’s sweet. It’s sweeter when a Holtz does it. Good for him. I wish him all the best.
Phil Jurkovec- Old friend Phil Jurkovec was 17-23 for 300 yards with 2 TDs (one a 61 yard pass) and 1 INT as BC rolled Duke on the road 26-6. Why can’t we get guys like that?
Daelin Hayes- I don’t want to get political and I’m always an independent thinker, but I wanted to comment on the halftime presentation that he gave. I thought it was extremely professional and hit on 3 things that @alperry and others here know are hallmarks of the military: Accountability; leave the thing better than you found it (in this case, ND); and treat everyone equally. These 3 things are strong foundations for every individual and organization and 3 things that I try and live my life by.[/QUOTE]
Last edited:
