Do we have to be that much better?

[88ND]

Do we have to be that much better than the opposition to win a big game?

Is that our problem? The fact that our team won't over achieve means to me that we have to be perfect. Get all the breaks and still might not be enough.

This isn't a bash Brian Kelly thread and please refrain from that. Just a thought I had. We can debate why but I don't think we have had any upset victories under Brian Kelly. Why? This is the over achieve part we don't have. But why?
Is he too robotic? Too arrogant? Too much business like and not enough Dabo..Lou holtz like...??? I can really think of one game our Irish team was amped up. Just one in six years. USC this year. We were amped up. Fell behind early...came back. We played that game with confidence. But these big games Damn it why do we act so ****ing grateful just to be selected to be there. Instead of acting like Damn right we are supposed to be here and we are going to show you.
Without this we have to play perfectly..plus some. Zero mistakes and get a few bounces.

Its a shame because we have so much tradition. So much to be proud of. We should be the bench mark team.

Damn it lets will this team a big game win!!!

 

[Nocalirish]

Big games are won by coaching. ND lost to Ohst when Kelly sent home two starters on defense. ND coaching is good but not great, at least yet.

 

[Bodizephax]

The problem begins and ends with the injury bug. This team has been decimated by it the last two years. It's a very talented team that's experienced a lot of bad luck.

Yes, and still about beat Stanford and Clemson on the road.

 

[Irishjohn68]

If ND was a full strength this past season, ND is in the playoffs at 12-0 and can hang with Bama.

 

[IRISH_FRIAR]

Please do not accept the OP original premise that we have only been amped up once in recent years.

We were amped up against Oklahoma.......

 

[perseverare]

The problem begins and ends with the injury bug. This team has been decimated by it the last two years. It's a very talented team that's experienced a lot of bad luck.

Blaming everything on injuries is very naive. Try recognizing the talent on other teams, both roster and staff; those guys arevtrying to win too!

 

[Duo]

If ND was a full strength this past season, ND is in the playoffs at 12-0 and can hang with Bama.

Right............thing is just about any team out there could say the same thing with enough IF's and BUT's.

 

[Yooper Irishfan]

Do we have to be that much better than the opposition to win a big game?

Is that our problem? The fact that our team won't over achieve means to me that we have to be perfect. Get all the breaks and still might not be enough.

This isn't a bash Brian Kelly thread and please refrain from that. Just a thought I had. We can debate why but I don't think we have had any upset victories under Brian Kelly. Why? This is the over achieve part we don't have. But why?
Is he too robotic? Too arrogant? Too much business like and not enough Dabo..Lou holtz like...??? I can really think of one game our Irish team was amped up. Just one in six years. USC this year. We were amped up. Fell behind early...came back. We played that game with confidence. But these big games Damn it why do we act so ****ing grateful just to be selected to be there. Instead of acting like Damn right we are supposed to be here and we are going to show you.
Without this we have to play perfectly..plus some. Zero mistakes and get a few bounces.

Its a shame because we have so much tradition. So much to be proud of. We should be the bench mark team.

Damn it lets will this team a big game win!!!

We were a 10 pt underdog against OU in 2012. We were like a 7pt underdog when we beat ASU in 2013. I believe those are the two biggest upsets of the Kelly era.

 

[HRC08]

In South Bend against Utah. That Irish team was pumped up.

 

[tkirish]

What defines "big game"? As far as I'm concerned every game is a big game. Texas was a big game and ND beat them bad. They beat Oklahoma. So what doe that mean? I'm not sure. ND should have beaten Clemson. If they protect the ball they would have won. They should have beaten Stanford. You can't play soft defense especially when a field goal is needed to win. On the other hand, Virginia should have beaten ND. It is inexcusable to give up a long TD with time running out and with a guy who didn't play QB until late in the game. Temple should have won. I was there, they outplayed ND until the final drive. I could go on. My point is this. Every week the game is big and most likely going to be hard fought. This is the case with all the teams. Navy took OSU to the very end two seasons ago. Do you think Urban Meyer would say anything other than that was a big win. ND has had plenty of big wins and plenty of heartbreak losses. Most of the losses you can look at turnovers as being a major factor. For ND to win, they simply need to play sound fundamental football. Block, run and catch. Protect the ball at all costs. Play sound special teams. Do those things and they will win a lot of " big" games.

 

[twalsh]

What defines "big game"? .

Any important game that we lose. When we win, it's no longer a big game.

 

[IRISHJD98]

When Saban was asked what happened when Bama lost to Ole Miss this year, Saban said he thought the team was too emotional.

I think players naturally get pretty amped up for big games and sometimes that can lead to early mistakes. IMO, this year's Irish seemed to play better when they got settled into a game.

 

[TimTerrific]

Blaming losses on injuries are just as much as beng realistic and honest with ones self ! Not considering injuries makes you either stupid or ignorant, take your pick!

 

[cgvr]

Do we have to be that much better than the opposition to win a big game?

Is that our problem? The fact that our team won't over achieve means to me that we have to be perfect. Get all the breaks and still might not be enough.

This isn't a bash Brian Kelly thread and please refrain from that. Just a thought I had. We can debate why but I don't think we have had any upset victories under Brian Kelly. Why? This is the over achieve part we don't have. But why?
Is he too robotic? Too arrogant? Too much business like and not enough Dabo..Lou holtz like...??? I can really think of one game our Irish team was amped up. Just one in six years. USC this year. We were amped up. Fell behind early...came back. We played that game with confidence. But these big games Damn it why do we act so ****ing grateful just to be selected to be there. Instead of acting like Damn right we are supposed to be here and we are going to show you.
Without this we have to play perfectly..plus some. Zero mistakes and get a few bounces.

Its a shame because we have so much tradition. So much to be proud of. We should be the bench mark team.

Damn it lets will this team a big game win!!!

Defense wins championships.... Outside of 2012 we haven't shown a whole lot of anything. That's why we own a Music City Bowl as our biggest bowl win in 6 years. Right now, it appears that the team has no idea what bvg wants.... Until this team has an epiphany and changes its' identity we will always be viewed by opponents as beatable. We used to intimidate opponents. That needs to return.

There's nothing in the numbers that show/project a return to glory. Yeah, we've had some big game losses where we looked solid.... clemson, Stanford.... va almost kicked us in the nuts....virginia...

Why can't we sustain the oklahoma '12, fsu, Texas, clemson, Stanford type efforts?

Total D 51, 30, 7, 73, 45
Scoring D 66, 24, 2, 27, 84, 39

Try to find the rainbow...

2010
Total Offense 61
Scoring offense 66
Total Defense 51
Scoring Defense 23
Red Zone Conversions 54

2011
Total Offense 35
Scoring offense 49
Total Defense 30
Scoring Defense 24
Red Zone 88

2012
Total Offense 54
Scoring offense 80
Total Defense 7
Scoring Defense 2
Red Zone Conversions 73

2013
Total Offense 68
Scoring offense 74
Total Defense 31
Scoring Defense 27
Red Zone 79

2014
Total Offense 34
Scoring offense 40
Total Defense 73
Scoring Defense 84
Red Zone 82

2015
Total Offense 27
Scoring offense 34
Total Defense 45
Scoring Defense 39
Red Zone 88

 

[perseverare]

thinking you have the 'ultimate' knowledge is narcissitic and closed minded

 

[Telx1]

I like to think ND would have finished 12-0 or 11-1 if not for our injuries, and this would have put us in the playoffs. Injuries are part of the game, but ND injuries the past two years have been excessive and critical, and they have significantly impacted games, etc... To deny this is silly. I don't agree about hanging with Alabama, however, as I just don't think our defense would have been good enough if everyone was healthy. We still have the problem of excessive complexity with BVG's scheme which seems to create too much thinking on the field at the expense of playing instinctively, and which kept guys like Morgan off the field. We can hang with any of the playoff teams on offense, but not currently with our defense, regardless of injuries.

 

[Bodizephax]

thinking you have the 'ultimate' knowledge is narcissitic and closed minded

You just described yourself, Purse. A narcissistic close minded A$$.

 

[stu4don]

I like to think ND would have finished 12-0 or 11-1 if not for our injuries, and this would have put us in the playoffs. Injuries are part of the game, but ND injuries the past two years have been excessive and critical, and they have significantly impacted games, etc... To deny this is silly. I don't agree about hanging with Alabama, however, as I just don't think our defense would have been good enough if everyone was healthy. We still have the problem of excessive complexity with BVG's scheme which seems to create too much thinking on the field at the expense of playing instinctively, and which kept guys like Morgan off the field. We can hang with any of the playoff teams on offense, but not currently with our defense, regardless of injuries.

Agree. The biggest injury was Jarron Jones!!! I think Jones going down put much much more pressure on Schmidt as the middle was young and inexperienced (very promising, don't get me wrong, Cage and Tillery but not Jones who will be a beast next year.)

But also:

1. BVG's defense (not a fan) and why doesn't this guy recruit?
2. Conditioning. That is two years in a row that we had a much higher injury rate than other schools. (See Stanford's yoga/pilates and drastically lower injury rates.)

Will Kelly make changes in those two areas?

 

[cgvr]

You just described yourself, Purse. A narcissistic close minded A$$.

The best was when perse lost his mind and started making believe he was a moderator.... You'd be hard pressed to find anything more delusional or narcissistic than that... This was hysterical....

"lemme tell you something; you 2 carry on trashing the board callously, but unlikethe previous version of this forum, the IP addresses are notated here. If an ID gets banned, ALL the ID's from that IP address will be shucking corn!
You might want to learn to post with some degree of respect and civility. I have no reluctance to send you packing.
20perseverare,Saturday at 7:42 PM"

What an idiot...

 

[Pennick4]

Big games are won by coaching. ND lost to Ohst when Kelly sent home two starters on defense. ND coaching is good but not great, at least yet.

Ridiculous. Tillery hit the wall earlier in the year and Redfield was bad at safety. Didn't cause them to lose Bowl game and the absolute best move for the program moving forward.