Bad defense or Texas new offense or both?

[Quest4Twelve]

ND's defense is trending down and there is no denying that. What I'm wondering is if the "newness" of the Texas offense played a large part in the loss. Remember North Carolina when they came out and tempo'd ND to death and it got a little ugly early? Texas is much improved but I think once teams figure out how to handle their tempo and see more tape they'll lose 2-3 games.

I do think the defense will perform a little better when they face a more traditional offense/pace. First game of the year, redemption-filled team, away and tempo were the perfect recipe to make ND look like a high school D.

 

[bostonirish84]

Bad defense. Look at the last three games they have played and the amount of yards they have given up. If you give up 500 yards of offense you don't deserve to sniff a win. If it doesn't change and soon they will lose 3-4 games this year. If they can turn it around defensively they can run the table. We will see.

 

[IrishHerb]

Just look at their tackling. How many times did one of our defenders hit a Texas ball carrier and not wrap up, and see them keep on going?

Our D lacks fundamentals, seem to still be confused by the schemes, and ...

 

[perseverare]

ND's defense is trending down and there is no denying that. What I'm wondering is if the "newness" of the Texas offense played a large part in the loss. Remember North Carolina when they came out and tempo'd ND to death and it got a little ugly early? Texas is much improved but I think once teams figure out how to handle their tempo and see more tape they'll lose 2-3 games.

I do think the defense will perform a little better when they face a more traditional offense/pace. First game of the year, redemption-filled team, away and tempo were the perfect recipe to make ND look like a high school D.

you left out bad decision making! it was the single most determining factor.

 

[cgvr]

ND's defense is trending down and there is no denying that. What I'm wondering is if the "newness" of the Texas offense played a large part in the loss. Remember North Carolina when they came out and tempo'd ND to death and it got a little ugly early? Texas is much improved but I think once teams figure out how to handle their tempo and see more tape they'll lose 2-3 games.

I do think the defense will perform a little better when they face a more traditional offense/pace. First game of the year, redemption-filled team, away and tempo were the perfect recipe to make ND look like a high school D.

Yeah, it was difficult to read what Swoopes was doing.... Plus, I mentioned the T&F guys pregame.

We had zero sacks and 1 QB hurry up.

bvg and his boss stink. This is not complicated.

 

[hvillebill]

It's mainly the bad defense but you have to give Texas credit also. They may very well win the Big 12.

With that said, something has to be done about the D and quickly.

 

[cgvr]

It's mainly the bad defense but you have to give Texas credit also. They may very well win the Big 12.

With that said, something has to be done about the D and quickly.

Charlie Strong has an interesting build going. He's a great guy and his team was ready. Their backfield packs a wallop and their wide outs are blazing... They've got issues, but they're together as a team. Seeing his team hoist him, again, tells me a ton about how much he is loved. (The Oklahoma hoisting last year was fabulous to see live). This one sucked, but I was happy for him.

I have to believe the Zaire/Kizer experiment is less than unifying...

PS I'm so pissed we couldn't close out 35-31.... We f'd up royally and there's a lot of blame to go around...

 

[Toby Smart]

There is nothing special about Texas. I look into my crystal ball and I see 3 - 4 losses. They are now on film. BK said today that the DL played solid. BK said that , looking back, he would have used different personnel against Swoopes. Can't make adjustments on the fly? BK said that he attends the defensive meetings. BK said that he is confident the "D" will get better every game. A decent defense and Texas is looking at the backside of 0-1. So, I'm saying it was the defense.

 

[BGI User 1596]

Texas played to their strength - ND was in the game despite the defensive debacle.....beat MSU and Stanford by getting the defense sorted.

 

[KJ23]

Martini is our starting LB. it's the d.

 

[ivan brunetti]

Both. ND is going to have to outscore people this year to win. That should still happen 9 or 10 times.

 

[Quest4Twelve]

Martini is our starting LB. it's the d.

I thought Martini played rather poor. Did I imagine it or did Asmar Bilal replace him at some point?

 

[Quest4Twelve]

Again I'm not excusing the defense but Texas did have over 80 snaps. I'm thinking stamina played a factor on D. Especially when Texas would drive and ND scoring drives were 1.5-2 minutes.

 

[perseverare]

we will have this conversation again...and likely again...and

bad decision making starting in springs, fall, before after and during games.

7 years later and what will change; you read the excerpts from his pressers; fantasy.

Jack needs his moment:
"...I believe midway through Faust's tenure Father Hesburgh channeled his inner Gob Bluthe and uttered, "I've made a huge mistake...again."
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/722038-notre-dame-football-101-devine-turbulence

I think back and a guy like Dan Devine, by most accounts a quiet gentle humble man, who was a NC winner, 3-1 in major bowl games, was reviled.