How Recruiting Wins You A 1 Point Game

[Quest4Twelve]

My take as Georgia fan, we have way better athletes, even when we were out of position we could close quickly on your ball handlers.

That game is a complete blowout with Eason in the game. Fromm did well but struggled to get the ball to our playmakers. Eason would have and it would have softened up your approach in the box and Michel and Chubb would have eaten you alive.

Your QB was scared and made some of the worst throws I have seen at this level.

Ironically, I think your coaches did a brilliant job keeping it as close as it was and that should not be discounted . Our more experienced qb plays, that game would have been a bloodbath.

That said, thanks for having us and I wanted to say your tradition is second to none but I am a little taken aback at how the Georgia Nation took over your stadium. That Won't happen in Athens.

Take care and good luck the rest of the way.

The same QB that pretty much was boo'd last week before Fromm came in and completed a few passes? Eason might have the recruiting accolades but he's barely head and shoulders above Fromm.

 

[irish4life888]

Overrated relative to what? Possibly he best front 7 in all of football? If so, than sure, I agree. I think the right side is overated and the right tackle just isn't great (either of them) and because of that they get all he help. I think Quenton Nelson as awesome and was again last night. McGlinchey gets beat at times. He's not Stanley or Martin which ND fans hoped he would be, but he gets exposed at times because he doesn't get any GE help because it's all on the right side of the line helpings the young kids out.

Georgia played cover 1, with a 7 and 8 man bock all night. There kids are better than ours and had them out numbered. I just don't know what you wanted from then. The rece8vers had to make pays outside and didn't. ND approached the game the same way defensively and stuffed their running attack. Godwin makes an unbelievable catch and that's the difference in the game. One friggen point.

I haven't watched the replay yet, but I saw a lot of missed assignments and saw three on one blocking and guys running free and not giving Wimbush anytime. I think the OL did not do it's job many times, not just overwhelmed by superior talent. But wow, they have great speed on D that's for sure.

 

[irish4life888]

The other issue is that UGA's defensive line is pretty deep. While you (ND) feels compelled to leave your All-American caliber lineman in for the whole game, UGA can rotate in about 8 different players that are all very talented and keep them somewhat rested and fresh. I think towards the end of the game that made a difference.

Again, I haven't watched the replay, but It seems to me by the end of the game, we shut Georgia's run down and you guys abandon the run and went to the pass. ND had three possessions in the last eight minutes of the game and our D kept forcing UGA to three and outs and our offense could get even one FG to win the game.

 

[Lewis & Herschel]

Eason is head and shoulders above Fromm in experience. Fromm my be the better player in a year or two, but Eason knows how to distribute the ball to playmakers.

 

[Fifthhorseman25]

Okay... all our offensive linemen are blue chip recruits. 2 are preseason all American. I don't care who is on the other side of the ball. Every. Single. Time. The line faces someone even remotely good they blow it

App State had 136 yards rushing, ND 55. How many blue chip 4-5 star recruits does App State have on the O line? And even if you say UGA called off the dogs then just take half of what App State rushed for, 68 yards, and they outgained us by 13.

 

[van_irish]

My take as Georgia fan, we have way better athletes, even when we were out of position we could close quickly on your ball handlers.

That game is a complete blowout with Eason in the game. Fromm did well but struggled to get the ball to our playmakers. Eason would have and it would have softened up your approach in the box and Michel and Chubb would have eaten you alive.

Your QB was scared and made some of the worst throws I have seen at this level.

Ironically, I think your coaches did a brilliant job keeping it as close as it was and that should not be discounted . Our more experienced qb plays, that game would have been a bloodbath.

That said, thanks for having us and I wanted to say your tradition is second to none but I am a little taken aback at how the Georgia Nation took over your stadium. That Won't happen in Athens.

Take care and good luck the rest of the way.

Take good care? Wow, you southerners love to put polite tones to completely disrespectful comments...it was a competitive game, but to come on our site and say we're slow, you're lucky about Eason being hurt, your qb sucks, your fans suck for selling their tickets...but wow, thanks for hosting us wish you well makes you the most polically correct troll ever...unfortunately, they are still troll type comments..:congrats to the bulldogs but a big thumbs down to your post.

 

[IrishMike409]

Smythe shouldn't get any snaps. Blew multiple blocks, slow as heck too

You're probably right. Then play the young guys.

 

[hoopsstar12]

Any Georgia fan who thinks you have better athletes please feel free to check in when you lose to Paul Johnson again.

 

[stu4don]

Any Georgia fan who thinks you have better athletes please feel free to check in when you lose to Paul Johnson again.

Never gonna happen with that front seven.

 

[irish4life888]

My take as Georgia fan, we have way better athletes, even when we were out of position we could close quickly on your ball handlers.

That game is a complete blowout with Eason in the game. Fromm did well but struggled to get the ball to our playmakers. Eason would have and it would have softened up your approach in the box and Michel and Chubb would have eaten you alive.

Your QB was scared and made some of the worst throws I have seen at this level.

Ironically, I think your coaches did a brilliant job keeping it as close as it was and that should not be discounted . Our more experienced qb plays, that game would have been a bloodbath.

That said, thanks for having us and I wanted to say your tradition is second to none but I am a little taken aback at how the Georgia Nation took over your stadium. That Won't happen in Athens.

Take care and good luck the rest of the way.

LOL, one play and your narrative would be completely different. I could easily say if we didn't have a new QB and Kizer stayed would would have moped the floor with Georgial However, I wouldn't be that obtuse or arrogant to say that.

 

[faviles15]

That comment from a UGA fan is exactly why I despise their fans (I still love my wife as a UGA fan as she tends to be the eternal pessimist). It's actually kind of comical and even more so after they lose to Florida or Tennessee but the best is when Tech takes the state crown. Not to digress but it's a tough loss that I hope the team can shake off last years memories.

 

[NIN Irish]

Does ND recruiting lose to Tulsa, Northwestern, Duke, Navy? etc.

 

[IrishInOntario]

Does ND recruiting lose to Tulsa, Northwestern, Duke, Navy? etc.

Nope. That's coaching, development, retention and execution wrapped into a debacle.

Don't get me wrong. My assertion is not that Brian Kelly is the guy to win at a consistently high level at Notre Dame. I also don't happen to think that Kirby Smart is an obviously better coach than Kelly is. More than likely, IMO, they're on a similarly above average, but below elite tier.

I do believe, however, that most things about that game were pretty equal, coaching included and that the difference was the maybe 4-5 athletes Georgia has that ND doesn't.

Otherwise it was a very entertaining, although somewhat sloppy (both teams) game that didn't go the way ND fans would have liked for it to have gone.

 

[stu4don]

I know one ELITE coach who got his ass spanked by a 34 year old newbie yesterday.

 

[mbd11]

He just doesn't look comfortable in Long's offense. His throws flutter. I'm sure he'll get better. Our defense stepped up big time. But I watched USC crush Stanford, watch out. Our offensive line got pushed around. Could have used Stepherson. Still had a chance to win this one. But it seems we haven't won one of these in a long long time. I'm getting tired of it.

It's hard to get comfortable when you have little time to throw most of the night (and you're only in your 2nd start anyways). I think he'll continue to get better.

 

[Lewis & Herschel]

Kelly got beat by a new head coach in year two with a true freshman QB.... Say what you will but we are 15-3 in recent years over tech. Tennessee does not have our level of d and beat us in the last year of our old coach and first year of our new coach. Big deal.

We turned your house into our house. That's on your fans.

 

[HarlemIrish]

I know there is a lot of anger on the board this morning and I'm not going to try to talk anyone out of it. I had a great time last night at the game, despite the loss.

I'll say this though. The extreme bitching about ND's offensive line being soft and super overrated is being completely overblown.

That Georgia front 7 is spectacular. Much like ND's was in 2012, when everyone just had a miserable time running the ball.

ND loses 20-19 and there are a numbers of single plays that could have swung the game. The overturned touchdown, which was a fabulous catch, but looked like his left elbow was down before clear evidence of possession had been established. There was also the Okwara hit which is a tough call, but not a bad one. That turned a punt into a touchdown a few plays later. No overall officiating complaints. Georgia was the more penalized team and the officials didn't let them get away with anything. The two calls were simply massive and didn't go ND's way...

But the big thing is recruiting... Three players in particular stifled ND last night, the same way Tuitt, Nix and Te'o used to for ND...

Trent Thompson, defensive tackle: 0.9991 comp. #1 Defensive tackle. #1 Overall player in the 2015 class.

Lorenzo Carter, outside linebacker: 0.9991 comp. #2 DE. #18 Overall player in the class 2014 class.

Roquan Smith, middle linebacker: 0.9764 comp. #5 LB. #48 overall player in the 2015 class.

The rest of the Georgia front 7 were highly touted as well, but those 3 in particular are complete studs. Two bonafide 5 stars, one considered the best player in his class and a very high 4 star who is a complete stud.

I know a lot of you like to dismiss recruiting, but man does it matter... Those 3 guys are every bit as good as advertised and just stifled a talented ND offense.

Recruiting can be the difference in a 1 point game. It was last night. They were simply more talented on defense than ND is on offense.

Excellent post. I have 1 complaint. Mqclinchy IMO is overrated. He going against the best? Second comings of LT. What does he think is awaiting him on Sunday's?

 

[IrishInOntario]

Excellent post. I have 1 complaint. Mqclinchy IMO is overrated. He going against the best? Second comings of LT. What does he think is awaiting him on Sunday's?

He's a right tackle in the NFL. Nowhere near the feet that Stanley or Martin had. Those guys were ELITE pass protectors. McGlinchey is above average and as still get a 1st round grade, but he's not elite.

Nelson, on the other hand, is special.

 

[Bodizephax]

I know there is a lot of anger on the board this morning and I'm not going to try to talk anyone out of it. I had a great time last night at the game, despite the loss.

I'll say this though. The extreme bitching about ND's offensive line being soft and super overrated is being completely overblown.

That Georgia front 7 is spectacular. Much like ND's was in 2012, when everyone just had a miserable time running the ball.

ND loses 20-19 and there are a numbers of single plays that could have swung the game. The overturned touchdown, which was a fabulous catch, but looked like his left elbow was down before clear evidence of possession had been established. There was also the Okwara hit which is a tough call, but not a bad one. That turned a punt into a touchdown a few plays later. No overall officiating complaints. Georgia was the more penalized team and the officials didn't let them get away with anything. The two calls were simply massive and didn't go ND's way...

But the big thing is recruiting... Three players in particular stifled ND last night, the same way Tuitt, Nix and Te'o used to for ND...

Trent Thompson, defensive tackle: 0.9991 comp. #1 Defensive tackle. #1 Overall player in the 2015 class.

Lorenzo Carter, outside linebacker: 0.9991 comp. #2 DE. #18 Overall player in the class 2014 class.

Roquan Smith, middle linebacker: 0.9764 comp. #5 LB. #48 overall player in the 2015 class.

The rest of the Georgia front 7 were highly touted as well, but those 3 in particular are complete studs. Two bonafide 5 stars, one considered the best player in his class and a very high 4 star who is a complete stud.

I know a lot of you like to dismiss recruiting, but man does it matter... Those 3 guys are every bit as good as advertised and just stifled a talented ND offense.

Recruiting can be the difference in a 1 point game. It was last night. They were simply more talented on defense than ND is on offense.

Georgia is not that good. 8 and 5 last year. Moral victories are not real wins. And Kelly never beats good teams. Never. He plays walkons instead of his studs. The offensive line plays soft because their coach is soft. And Kelly is not that great of a recruiter. Kelly must go ! His huge Oline has problems with Navy for Chrise sakes.

 

[ndhell]

I know there is a lot of anger on the board this morning and I'm not going to try to talk anyone out of it. I had a great time last night at the game, despite the loss.

I'll say this though. The extreme bitching about ND's offensive line being soft and super overrated is being completely overblown.

That Georgia front 7 is spectacular. Much like ND's was in 2012, when everyone just had a miserable time running the ball.

ND loses 20-19 and there are a numbers of single plays that could have swung the game. The overturned touchdown, which was a fabulous catch, but looked like his left elbow was down before clear evidence of possession had been established. There was also the Okwara hit which is a tough call, but not a bad one. That turned a punt into a touchdown a few plays later. No overall officiating complaints. Georgia was the more penalized team and the officials didn't let them get away with anything. The two calls were simply massive and didn't go ND's way...

But the big thing is recruiting... Three players in particular stifled ND last night, the same way Tuitt, Nix and Te'o used to for ND...

Trent Thompson, defensive tackle: 0.9991 comp. #1 Defensive tackle. #1 Overall player in the 2015 class.

Lorenzo Carter, outside linebacker: 0.9991 comp. #2 DE. #18 Overall player in the class 2014 class.

Roquan Smith, middle linebacker: 0.9764 comp. #5 LB. #48 overall player in the 2015 class.

The rest of the Georgia front 7 were highly touted as well, but those 3 in particular are complete studs. Two bonafide 5 stars, one considered the best player in his class and a very high 4 star who is a complete stud.

I know a lot of you like to dismiss recruiting, but man does it matter... Those 3 guys are every bit as good as advertised and just stifled a talented ND offense.

Recruiting can be the difference in a 1 point game. It was last night. They were simply more talented on defense than ND is on offense.

Not one of your more insightful illuminating ground breaking posts.

 

[tkirish]

I know there is a lot of anger on the board this morning and I'm not going to try to talk anyone out of it. I had a great time last night at the game, despite the loss.

I'll say this though. The extreme bitching about ND's offensive line being soft and super overrated is being completely overblown.

That Georgia front 7 is spectacular. Much like ND's was in 2012, when everyone just had a miserable time running the ball.

ND loses 20-19 and there are a numbers of single plays that could have swung the game. The overturned touchdown, which was a fabulous catch, but looked like his left elbow was down before clear evidence of possession had been established. There was also the Okwara hit which is a tough call, but not a bad one. That turned a punt into a touchdown a few plays later. No overall officiating complaints. Georgia was the more penalized team and the officials didn't let them get away with anything. The two calls were simply massive and didn't go ND's way...

But the big thing is recruiting... Three players in particular stifled ND last night, the same way Tuitt, Nix and Te'o used to for ND...

Trent Thompson, defensive tackle: 0.9991 comp. #1 Defensive tackle. #1 Overall player in the 2015 class.

Lorenzo Carter, outside linebacker: 0.9991 comp. #2 DE. #18 Overall player in the class 2014 class.

Roquan Smith, middle linebacker: 0.9764 comp. #5 LB. #48 overall player in the 2015 class.

The rest of the Georgia front 7 were highly touted as well, but those 3 in particular are complete studs. Two bonafide 5 stars, one considered the best player in his class and a very high 4 star who is a complete stud.

I know a lot of you like to dismiss recruiting, but man does it matter... Those 3 guys are every bit as good as advertised and just stifled a talented ND offense.

Recruiting can be the difference in a 1 point game. It was last night. They were simply more talented on defense than ND is on offense.

Good points. So with that said. Kelly has had 8 years to get ND on par with the rest of the big schools. He's failed. It's that simple. Time to show him the door at seasons end. Now who would they replace him with? I have no idea. But I'll say this. If they go 8 and 4 or worse and they keep Kelly, that speaks volumes on what the administration thinks about the football program. Right now it's mediocre. Kelly had one good year. Lucky too, when you look at the games they won in 2012. He is clearly not the man to bring ND back. He is an ok recruiter. Not bad but nothing great either. Watching all those Georgia fans in the stadium was embarrassing for ND. That tells you that fans are sick of the lousy product on the field due to poor recruiting and poor coaching. Winbush is overrated. He's an athlete playing QB. That was on display for the whole nation to see. Yet the freshman QB for Georgia was much more composed and threw much better passes. As long as Kelly is the coach ND will be mediocre. Fans will evetually stop going. It's already started. I laughed whenever the question is asked, "what would a win in ND stadium mean?" Are you kidding me? Everyone wins at ND except ND. Go ask Tulsa,So Florida, Northwestern, Navy, Louisville, SC , MSU, and Syracuse just to name a few. It's a joke. Hey you want an automatic win, schedule ND at their venue and it's pretty much guaranteed. Anyway, I just wanted to say I agree with you points. It's obvious there need to be a change at the top.

 

[Lewis & Herschel]

Being awful hard on Kelly. Navy and Tech run an offense that is completely opposite of modern football. Wish the NCAA would ban the knee cutting and end that offense in the name of player safety.

If you guys can get stoops I would do it but otherwise I would wait.

You guys were well coached last night. You tackled well a d made the most of our mistakes, that is what good teams do.

Either way, I hope you win out. USC is not at championship level and Stanford is down. Mchiigan State misses narduzzi.

You can win out.

 

[mbd11]

Being awful hard on Kelly. Navy and Tech run an offense that is completely opposite of modern football. Wish the NCAA would ban the knee cutting and end that offense in the name of player safety.

If you guys can get stoops I would do it but otherwise I would wait.

You guys were well coached last night. You tackled well a d made the most of our mistakes, that is what good teams do.

Either way, I hope you win out. USC is not at championship level and Stanford is down. Mchiigan State misses narduzzi.

You can win out.

USC will be our toughest game of the season. If it was played next week, we'd be at least 10 point underdogs. I do think if we play well, we can win 9-10 games though.

 

[ca61668]

My take as Georgia fan, we have way better athletes, even when we were out of position we could close quickly on your ball handlers.

That game is a complete blowout with Eason in the game. Fromm did well but struggled to get the ball to our playmakers. Eason would have and it would have softened up your approach in the box and Michel and Chubb would have eaten you alive.

Your QB was scared and made some of the worst throws I have seen at this level.

Ironically, I think your coaches did a brilliant job keeping it as close as it was and that should not be discounted . Our more experienced qb plays, that game would have been a bloodbath.

That said, thanks for having us and I wanted to say your tradition is second to none but I am a little taken aback at how the Georgia Nation took over your stadium. That Won't happen in Athens.

Take care and good luck the rest of the way.

As a UGA fan I apologize for this post, it's passive aggressive garbage.

 

[SwlaDukie]

ND definitely needs to get more speed on the field.Really wish that Stepherson would get his act together. Only player on the team that can blow the top off defense's. But ND does need to win and continue play great defense, bc you have to start getting some 5 star talents. If Elko gets his hands on some real studs, Notredame will be a top 5 team too. If Elko/Clark were in South Bend 2 years ago; Notredame would have been playing for a Nation title vs Alabama in 2015.

 

[IrishInOntario]

Not one of your more insightful illuminating ground breaking posts.

They can't all be world class. I am mortal

 

[Dawg to the Bone]

Any Georgia fan who thinks you have better athletes please feel free to check in when you lose to Paul Johnson again.

Dude, do you know how seldom that has been? Since 2001, (16 years) we have lost three games to Tech. 13- 3 overall in that period. In the time that Fish Fry has been there we are 6-2. Give me a break. You can do better than that.

 

[Dawg to the Bone]

Again, I haven't watched the replay, but It seems to me by the end of the game, we shut Georgia's run down and you guys abandon the run and went to the pass. ND had three possessions in the last eight minutes of the game and our D kept forcing UGA to three and outs and our offense could get even one FG to win the game.

No argument from me. That was true for both sides. I was just stating that ND's O-line was not overrated. UGA has similar recruits on the D line, they are deep and they could rotate a lot in and out and keep them fresh and fast.

 

[zonairish]

No argument from me. That was true for both sides. I was just stating that ND's O-line was not overrated. UGA has similar recruits on the D line, they are deep and they could rotate a lot in and out and keep them fresh and fast.

That was one heck of a game. As IIO pointed out especially on D the Georgia front 7 has much better athletes than the irish specifically the DL. And as one gloating GA poster said more depth. To me the game could of went either way. I think Wimbush is overrated and hope he learns from this. We had our opportunities to win. Maybe revenge in Athens.,

 

[chaseball]

Georgia has 11 composite 5 star athletes on their roster compared to NDs zero.

I'm very much looking forward to the day the fan base acknowledges just how comparatively poor NDs talent level is relative to the power programs in college football ... and also acknowledging just how big a factor that plays in determining NDs season-outlook.

 

[Dawg to the Bone]

That was one heck of a game. As IIO pointed out especially on D the Georgia front 7 has much better athletes than the irish specifically the DL. And as one gloating GA poster said more depth. To me the game could of went either way. I think Wimbush is overrated and hope he learns from this. We had our opportunities to win. Maybe revenge in Athens.,

Absolutely could have gone either way. There was no dominant team.

 

[ndhell]

Georgia has 11 composite 5 star athletes on their roster compared to NDs zero.

Looking forward to the day NDs fan base acknowledges just how comparatively poor NDs talent level is relative to the power programs in college football, and just how big a deal that is when determining NDs season outlook.

Yep. ND's talent level and depth is not good enough to win big against this schedule and the schedules to come. I mean it's possible but it will be difficult.

There was a huge drop off from 2015 to 2016 because ND lost Jaylon Smith on defence and Will Fuller on offence.

 

[ndhell]

Absolutely could have gone either way. There was no dominant team.

The only way ND was going to squeak by with the win was if they took less costly penalties and won the turnover battle by 2.

 

[chaseball]

Yep. ND's talent level and depth is not good enough to win big against this schedule and the schedules to come. I mean it's possible but it will be difficult.

There was a huge drop off from 2015 to 2016 because ND lost Jaylon Smith on defence and Will Fuller on offence.

Even those teams didn't have enough talent. It isn't about 1 or 2 players at the top end ... it's more about how the rosters stack up 1 through 85.

There's major correlation between a program's talent level and the results you see on the field on Saturdays.

ND is an 8 win program during BKs tenure because the program can only attract 8 win talent. It's really as simple as that.

 

[ndhell]

Even those teams didn't have enough talent. It isn't about 1 or 2 players at the top end ... it's more about how the rosters stack up 1 through 85.

There's major correlation between a program's recruiting prowess/talent level and the results you see on the field on Saturdays.

ND is an 8 win program during most of BKs tenure, because they recruit 8 win talent. It's really as simple as that.

I am not disagreeing with you. In 2015 ND was pretty good but still couldn't manage to beat Clemson, Stanford or Ohio St.

Then ND lost their biggest playmaker on defence and one of their biggest playmakers offence, two actually, I think they also lost CJ Prosise.

So losing those 3 players made a huge impact last season. ND wasn't able to replace them and ended up 4-8.

 

[tkirish]

ND wants their players to be students. Nothing wrong with that. I agree with that. However, if you are a legit 4 to 5 star player who's main goal is to get to the NFL, why would you want to go to ND? It's painfully obvious these football players have better options. It's rare to get 5 star athletes who also want to be students and get a degree. Maybe they do want a degree down the road. But most want the NFL and the payday that comes with it. Not to mention, no one who is elite wants to play in a mediocre program. That's where ND is and has been for a long long time. As long as those in charge keep the same view of football, meaning it's not that important, then nothing will change.

 

[ndhell]

ND wants their players to be students. Nothing wrong with that. I agree with that. However, if you are a legit 4 to 5 star player who's main goal is to get to the NFL, why would you want to go to ND? It's painfully obvious these football players have better options. It's rare to get 5 star athletes who also want to be students and get a degree. Maybe they do want a degree down the road. But most want the NFL and the payday that comes with it. Not to mention, no one who is elite wants to play in a mediocre program. That's where ND is and has been for a long long time. As long as those in charge keep the same view of football, meaning it's not that important, then nothing will change.

I've said it before and I will say it again. ND should create a football major for people who are interested in becoming football coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, and video analysis people etc. So a lot of the players could be in that and after their playing days are done they can go on to coach at the college and high school level.

 

[francade]

I respect the recruiting experts on the board but enough of the not blaming the OC. That was an awful game plan, plain and simple. Make all the excuses you want about players not making plays, but an OC is supposed to maximize the player's abilities and not using dexter's burst one time the whole fricking game against a good speedy defensive front is ridiculous. This OC was a huge reason we lost. Play calling sucked!

 

[irish4life888]

For those of you that didn't think it made a difference, listen to Georgia's coach himself,

"“I tell you what I’m proud of, I’m proud of our fans, proud of the fact that they came out,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “Tons of them were here. The video shots I saw from Chicago before the game, and the takeover when we got here, you know that played a role in this game. We never felt like it was so much of a road game. Our quarterback was able to go on his own cadence, which you don’t usually get to do on the road, definitely don’t get to do on the road in the SEC, the fanbase don’t let you do that. We were able to go on ours and I think a lot of it had to do with the red and black in the stadium.”