Just a couple of thoughts...

[Irish Duck]

1. Like everyone else, I was very disappointed by the Miami game. We got crushed. That being said, we've still had a great year so far.

2. Can we stop with the "BK can't win the big one" nonsense. Losing to the #9 ranked team was a "big game" to the same extent that beating the (then) #11 ranked team (USC) and the (then) #14 ranked team (NC State) were also "big games." I agree that he hasn't won a truly big game but, then again, we haven't been in a really big game since Alabama in 2012.

3. I expect ND to compete for the national championship about every 5 years. We are not a football factory like the Alabamas of the world. We have academic standards for our football players unlike many other football powers. We will not challenge every year so get used to it. Prior to the Miami game, I thought that this was the year we would challenge, although prior to the season opener, I expected a 9-3 season. Given our schedule next year and hopefully with some growth by several key players, we should challenge next year.

4. Wimbush is going to be a very good college football QB someday. He has shown flashes of brilliance in his first year as a starter and I expect improvement over the next two years.

5. My biggest disappointment from Saturday (other than the score) was our failure to make mid-game adjustments. Miami had a great defensive game plan and we seemed completely unable to adapt and stop the pressure from the backside. This is not just a BK problem. This was Chip Long's responsibility and I can only hope that he learns from this game.

6. It appears that St. Brown is never going to be the all-world stud that many of us believed. He has the size and the talent to be great but he just doesn't have the hands. Stepherson may well be our best chance to have a world-class receiver.

 

[TDIrish27]

IMO there's several guys have a chance to leave for the draft.

Nelson is obvious and if Adams gets a mid round rating I would go. He's a back and they have a short life span.

But guys like Watkins , Mack , St Brown , Hayes and Tillery need to get better and return IMO.

 

[twalsh]

1. Like everyone else, I was very disappointed by the Miami game. We got crushed. That being said, we've still had a great year so far.

2. Can we stop with the "BK can't win the big one" nonsense. Losing to the #9 ranked team was a "big game" to the same extent that beating the (then) #11 ranked team (USC) and the (then) #14 ranked team (NC State) were also "big games." I agree that he hasn't won a truly big game but, then again, we haven't been in a really big game since Alabama in 2012.

3. I expect ND to compete for the national championship about every 5 years. We are not a football factory like the Alabamas of the world. We have academic standards for our football players unlike many other football powers. We will not challenge every year so get used to it. Prior to the Miami game, I thought that this was the year we would challenge, although prior to the season opener, I expected a 9-3 season. Given our schedule next year and hopefully with some growth by several key players, we should challenge next year.

4. Wimbush is going to be a very good college football QB someday. He has shown flashes of brilliance in his first year as a starter and I expect improvement over the next two years.

5. My biggest disappointment from Saturday (other than the score) was our failure to make mid-game adjustments. Miami had a great defensive game plan and we seemed completely unable to adapt and stop the pressure from the backside. This is not just a BK problem. This was Chip Long's responsibility and I can only hope that he learns from this game.

6. It appears that St. Brown is never going to be the all-world stud that many of us believed. He has the size and the talent to be great but he just doesn't have the hands. Stepherson may well be our best chance to have a world-class receiver.

The reality is, games get a lot less "big" when we win them. USC and NC State both had realistic designs on conference championships and possible playoff births when we played them. They were big games which required us to bring our A game to win, and lots of people thought we wouldn't win. But once we dispatched them, it wasn't such a big deal.

 

[DieHard_Irish]

Well said Duck ... on game night I am as nuts as anyone, but 1 day, 2 days after the game, and cooler head prevails. No one, I mean no one, really thought ND was going to compete for the CFP this year. Though I didn't think it would be Miami who would expose our weaknesses. We need to move on to Navy and Stanford and finish strong. We have deficiencies on both sides of the ball, ..., (i.e defensive talent is just average, and on offense our QB, have our Oline, and our receivers are young and inexperienced). What we need to do now is stay the course, build on what we have, and get better each game. The realities are we are "never" going to get the athletes that Alabama gets. We are not now, and should never be, a "football factory". That is why "we are ND" has meaning. The coaching changes were all positive, so we all need to take a breath, and continue to move forward.

 

[die4irish]

All you need to know. Record against AP Top 10 is
2-10

 

[88ND]

1. Like everyone else, I was very disappointed by the Miami game. We got crushed. That being said, we've still had a great year so far.

2. Can we stop with the "BK can't win the big one" nonsense. Losing to the #9 ranked team was a "big game" to the same extent that beating the (then) #11 ranked team (USC) and the (then) #14 ranked team (NC State) were also "big games." I agree that he hasn't won a truly big game but, then again, we haven't been in a really big game since Alabama in 2012.

3. I expect ND to compete for the national championship about every 5 years. We are not a football factory like the Alabamas of the world. We have academic standards for our football players unlike many other football powers. We will not challenge every year so get used to it. Prior to the Miami game, I thought that this was the year we would challenge, although prior to the season opener, I expected a 9-3 season. Given our schedule next year and hopefully with some growth by several key players, we should challenge next year.

4. Wimbush is going to be a very good college football QB someday. He has shown flashes of brilliance in his first year as a starter and I expect improvement over the next two years.

5. My biggest disappointment from Saturday (other than the score) was our failure to make mid-game adjustments. Miami had a great defensive game plan and we seemed completely unable to adapt and stop the pressure from the backside. This is not just a BK problem. This was Chip Long's responsibility and I can only hope that he learns from this game.

6. It appears that St. Brown is never going to be the all-world stud that many of us believed. He has the size and the talent to be great but he just doesn't have the hands. Stepherson may well be our best chance to have a world-class receiver.

We see this differently.

I'm tired of the five year plan excuse. That's the new trendy thing. Five year plan. Or every five years...
Good lord there are teams still on a five year plan twenty years ago.

Secondly...this was the best game so far in 17 by EQ. Im his harshest critic but he was about the only bright spot on a night full of dim performances.

 

[theskibro]

1. Like everyone else, I was very disappointed by the Miami game. We got crushed. That being said, we've still had a great year so far.

2. Can we stop with the "BK can't win the big one" nonsense. Losing to the #9 ranked team was a "big game" to the same extent that beating the (then) #11 ranked team (USC) and the (then) #14 ranked team (NC State) were also "big games." I agree that he hasn't won a truly big game but, then again, we haven't been in a really big game since Alabama in 2012.

3. I expect ND to compete for the national championship about every 5 years. We are not a football factory like the Alabamas of the world. We have academic standards for our football players unlike many other football powers. We will not challenge every year so get used to it. Prior to the Miami game, I thought that this was the year we would challenge, although prior to the season opener, I expected a 9-3 season. Given our schedule next year and hopefully with some growth by several key players, we should challenge next year.

4. Wimbush is going to be a very good college football QB someday. He has shown flashes of brilliance in his first year as a starter and I expect improvement over the next two years.

5. My biggest disappointment from Saturday (other than the score) was our failure to make mid-game adjustments. Miami had a great defensive game plan and we seemed completely unable to adapt and stop the pressure from the backside. This is not just a BK problem. This was Chip Long's responsibility and I can only hope that he learns from this game.

6. It appears that St. Brown is never going to be the all-world stud that many of us believed. He has the size and the talent to be great but he just doesn't have the hands. Stepherson may well be our best chance to have a world-class receiver.

These are not quality thoughts. Sorry. You are not close to reality. Kelly has had many big games and lost every one except Oklahoma in 2012

 

[TDIrish27]

USC wasn't a big game this year ?

 

[Chesterjethro1]

I love the tired excuse of academic standards. The reality is actually quite different. It has nothing to do with academic standards and has everything to do with failure to recruit high-caliber athletes. Here is a list of Ohio State players leaving early for the NFL over the last two years who had offers from Notre Dame

Joey Bosa
Zeke Elliot
Vom Bell
Eli Apple
Raekown McMillan
Curtis Samuel
Throw in current Stars Mike Weber, Dremont Jones, Nick Boss, Michael Jordan,
Chase Young and JK Dobbins

This is just a partial list from one team. The point is simple when Notre Dame goes up against the big boys in recruiting more often than not they lose. They lose not because of academic standards but because for whatever reason they can't convince enough elite players to come to Notre Dame. The Irish have a very good and talented roster but not an Elite roster. Until they start recruiting like Ohio state Alabama Etc they will never be elite. And again it has nothing to do with academic standards see the list above

 

[Telx1]

We can all debate what constitutes a big game, etc... but what pissed me off about the Miami game is the same thing that pissed me off about the Ohio St game and the Alabama game under Kelly, and that is we got our asses kicked and looked like we didn’t belong in a big game. I get that a loss is a loss and we’re not into moral victories, but for me, losing to Georgia by one point with two late possessions where we had the chance to win, was a hell of a lot easier to swallow than the deer in the lights ass whipping we absorbed against Miami.

 

[justified1]

USC wasn't a big game this year ?

USC has struggled in almost every game played in ‘17. When ND beat SC injuries had decimated that team.
That said, considering the horrible coaching situation at SC, ND probably would have beaten SC if they had all their players. The ND/SC talent gap is not so great that SC players would overcome their own coaches.

 

[coolirish9]

we still have a very good chance to end the regular season at 10-2 which would help build momentum for a title run next year if most the the key guys with a year or so left come back like adams and tillery. tenn fans, gator fans and aggie fans would all love to be in our shoes right now at 8-2 instead of having crappy seasons down in sec land

 

[Dropkickirish]

USC has struggled in almost every game played in ‘17. When ND beat SC injuries had decimated that team.
That said, considering the horrible coaching situation at SC, ND probably would have beaten SC if they had all their players. The ND/SC talent gap is not so great that SC players would overcome their own coaches.

Nobody cares how many injuries a team has. A stomping is a stomping. At least nobody cares when ND loses damn near their entire defense in 2015. Everybody has injuries

 

[REMND]

Quite a 3 game run. We beat no 11 and no 14 convincingly. WF was top 30 and might be the best of the 3 right now because they are on a roll. We beat them convincingly. We ran out of steam against no 9 Miami. The big one might be a moving target if the first tbree that resulted in a no. 3 ranking were not big games.