After having a night filled with Captain Morgan and regret, I spent most of the morning collecting my thoughts about what happened last night.
1. I'll start with the most obvious. Kizer is our guy and should have been the guy from the get go. It was obvious the offense did not have the same rhythm with Zaire and we cost ourselves a few possessions offensively because of it. No disrespect to Malik and what he did in the opener last year before getting injured against Virginia, but Kizer is a much better fit for this offense. Kizer is calm and poised in the pocket and it seemed like he made all the right reads last night and delivered a few unbelievable throws, like that dime to Adams and even the one that Hunter Jr. did not hang on to. I know Kelly said "we haven't made a decision" on a starter yet after the game, but I think that is just simply for Malik's confidence and trying to keep him involved as much as possible this week. Need to keep him there mentally this season because God forbid an injury.
2. The missed targeting call on Tori Hunter Jr. After what was a FANTASTIC touch throw over the LBs and placed perfectly between the secondary, Tori Hunter Jr. was lit up with what I thought was an obvious helmet to helmet hit and it knocked the ball loose. It is my understanding that the booth can now review a play to look for targeting if it was not initially called for? Why was the coaching staff not going nuts on the sideline asking for this? In the end, we have to make that FG, but a fresh set of downs would have been critical.
3. BVG has to go. Notre Dame still recruits at a level on par with the other best defenses in the country so there is no reason to see whatever that was we saw last night. Frankly, all fans should be not surprised as this pitiful display of defense has seemed to be the norm since the questionable hire of BVG in 2014. Make the move now, Kelly, and move forward with someone else for this season.
4. I have a big problem with Kelly's gutless 3rd and long draw call on the last possession before OT. How can you justify that? Did he want to burn timeouts from Texas and prevent them from scoring to win it? Why? They seemed like they didn't need much time at all as they moved up and down the field all game and NEARLY did at the end if it weren't for a few penalties and a WR stepping out of bounds on an incomplete pass for Texas on third and long to get into FG range. Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer was fantastic all game and I don't know why you don't give him the reigns to take you down the field and win it for you at the end.
5. Another thing that I think went overlooked in the loss: I thought CJ Sanders looked fantastic on special teams and also when we got him in the open field on offense.
6. With all of this being said, we still have the opportunity to get back in this. The schedule sets up for some big games and there is no reason a 1 loss ND team that lost to a much improved Texas team on the road in double OT can't get into the playoff. Just need to move forward with Kizer and do ANYTHING positive with the defense.
1. I'll start with the most obvious. Kizer is our guy and should have been the guy from the get go. It was obvious the offense did not have the same rhythm with Zaire and we cost ourselves a few possessions offensively because of it. No disrespect to Malik and what he did in the opener last year before getting injured against Virginia, but Kizer is a much better fit for this offense. Kizer is calm and poised in the pocket and it seemed like he made all the right reads last night and delivered a few unbelievable throws, like that dime to Adams and even the one that Hunter Jr. did not hang on to. I know Kelly said "we haven't made a decision" on a starter yet after the game, but I think that is just simply for Malik's confidence and trying to keep him involved as much as possible this week. Need to keep him there mentally this season because God forbid an injury.
2. The missed targeting call on Tori Hunter Jr. After what was a FANTASTIC touch throw over the LBs and placed perfectly between the secondary, Tori Hunter Jr. was lit up with what I thought was an obvious helmet to helmet hit and it knocked the ball loose. It is my understanding that the booth can now review a play to look for targeting if it was not initially called for? Why was the coaching staff not going nuts on the sideline asking for this? In the end, we have to make that FG, but a fresh set of downs would have been critical.
3. BVG has to go. Notre Dame still recruits at a level on par with the other best defenses in the country so there is no reason to see whatever that was we saw last night. Frankly, all fans should be not surprised as this pitiful display of defense has seemed to be the norm since the questionable hire of BVG in 2014. Make the move now, Kelly, and move forward with someone else for this season.
4. I have a big problem with Kelly's gutless 3rd and long draw call on the last possession before OT. How can you justify that? Did he want to burn timeouts from Texas and prevent them from scoring to win it? Why? They seemed like they didn't need much time at all as they moved up and down the field all game and NEARLY did at the end if it weren't for a few penalties and a WR stepping out of bounds on an incomplete pass for Texas on third and long to get into FG range. Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer was fantastic all game and I don't know why you don't give him the reigns to take you down the field and win it for you at the end.
5. Another thing that I think went overlooked in the loss: I thought CJ Sanders looked fantastic on special teams and also when we got him in the open field on offense.
6. With all of this being said, we still have the opportunity to get back in this. The schedule sets up for some big games and there is no reason a 1 loss ND team that lost to a much improved Texas team on the road in double OT can't get into the playoff. Just need to move forward with Kizer and do ANYTHING positive with the defense.
