There are so many things that I want to point out but just don't have the time. Just about everything that really needs to be said about this game was covered in the excellent Post Game Review video by @Lou Somogyi and @Matt Jones BGI. Really an excellent recap and analysis. Take 4 minutes and watch this. Outside of his Navy week treachery, I've been very impressed with Matt Jones. Nice pickup by Rivals. As for Lou, no man his age should have a head of hair that nice. He hit the nail on the head, however, when he made the Groundhog Day analogy. The same problems over and over and over and over...
I read a post by @dhighducheck (more on that guy later) complaining about the Flutie/Hicks combo on NBC. I was at a hockey tournament again so, again, I listened to the game on The Catholic Channel on Sirius. I wonder if that counts as going to church? Anyway, Don Criqui is the announcer and he is fantastic. I may try to simulcast it in future with the TV on mute like I used to do with Johnny Most and the Celtics back in the day.
Notre Dame First Drive- As we have seen many times this year, ND came out of the gate hitting on all cylinders. It was near perfect football. But, as we have seen so many times before, they get their opponents up against the ropes and inexplicably trade places with them and instead it's ND getting worked over.
It's worth noting again, there is no killer instinct with this team/staff. They don't keep the pedal on the floor and finish their opponents.
When I watched the video on my DVR later in the night, as the game slipped away from ND, Dan Hicks noted, "Brian Kelly has seen this movie before." I disagree. Brian Kelly has directed this movie before. Many times. In my opinion, the play calling remains horrific. There is no other word for it.
In the 1st Q, ND has 1st and goal at the 2 and can't get it in. The kicker for me, however, is 3rd down, Kizer is in the shotgun with an empty backfield. I can't take this any longer. As a learned friend of mine said after watching that, "You're playing tough guy football until you get to a spot where you need to play it, and then you switch to finesse." It's a moot point due to yet another botched snap, but if ND punched it in for the TD rather than settle for a FG they actually win that game by a point. I'll never understand the playcalling this circumstance.
Defense- They certainly didn't play well in the second half, particularly the secondary. I still think it's an improvement over the Van Gorder days, but it wasn't pretty. That said, the offense didn't help them out in the 2nd half with a series of 3 and outs. The D spent way too much time on the field.
Kizer- As @Bryan Driskell said during the game, "Kizer is on fire." At one point he was 8/9. He finished the 1st half 13/18 for 199 yards and 2 TDs. When all was said and done, he was 16/33 for 235 yards. Josh Adams missed a few easy catches that skewed the numbers, but it wasn't a pretty half. Was it the weather? Was he asked to do too much? Or was it simply what good coaches do, make adjustments at the half?
Speaking of Adams, one poster suggested that Folston should have been catching passes because he is the better receiver. Not born out in the Geek Stats: Adams has 19 receptions for 163 yds (8.6 avg) and Folston has 7 for 56 yds (8.0 avg). With all the praise Kelly throws at Dexter Williams, how come we didn't see him on Saturday?
Interesting Geek Stat- Last week, @padams10 mentioned that ND was 23-4 in the Brian Kelly era in games where the team has rushed for 200 yards. Who knew that stat was going to change so quickly? ND ran for exactly 200 yards against Virginia Tech... and lost. Now ND is 23-5 in the Brian Kelly era when the team rushes for 200 yards.
Ultimate Geek Stats- A good indication of the strength of your running game, at any level, Is whether you have an individual 100+ yard rusher for the game. I noticed that Josh Adams got exactly 100 yards rushing yesterday and Notre Dame still lost. After reading the above stat, I wondered what NDs record was when an a ND player or an opposing player had 100+ yards rushing in a single game so I researched it. I was stunned at the results. This year, in games that ND had a 100+ yard rusher, their record is 2-1. Obviously the loss is from Saturday's game. The two wins were against Nevada and Syracuse, not exactly stalwarts of defense. But here's where it gets interesting, in games where a ND opponent had 100+ yards of rushing by a single player in the game, ND's record this year is 0-6. Ouch. I researched every game during the entire Kelly era because I was so fascinated by this and because I have no life. I'll post the full results later in the day, but here are the 2016 stats:
Post of the Game-
Post of the Day- From the Kelly post game presser, Kelly was asked about the final pass by Zaire and the clock management during that final play, and he responded that he wasn't aware of the situation. This guy gets it-
This Guy Stole My Rant-
Missed Tackles- They continue to plague this team. Consider the following from the second quarter:
Unheralded Group- Another nice job by Mark Harrell. Nice games by Chris Fink, Miles Boykin, and Chase Claypool.
It Was Over When- Ken Ekanem sacked Kizer in the 4th quarter. This led Dan Hicks to run his mouth about ND pulling a scholarship offer to Ekanem. Disgraceful.
For the "New Coach" Crowd- Read @Lou Somogyi's comprehensive column https://notredame.rivals.com/news/notre-dame-jack-swarbrick-at-the-crossroads-in-more-ways-than-one
The Bye-Bye Bowl- I think it's best ND isn't going to a bowl now. Sure the extra practices would be great, but I think these players need a break from the coaches.The time apart will do them good.
Thank you to all those seniors who have thrilled us for 4/5 years and played their last game.
Have a great week everyone.
I read a post by @dhighducheck (more on that guy later) complaining about the Flutie/Hicks combo on NBC. I was at a hockey tournament again so, again, I listened to the game on The Catholic Channel on Sirius. I wonder if that counts as going to church? Anyway, Don Criqui is the announcer and he is fantastic. I may try to simulcast it in future with the TV on mute like I used to do with Johnny Most and the Celtics back in the day.
Notre Dame First Drive- As we have seen many times this year, ND came out of the gate hitting on all cylinders. It was near perfect football. But, as we have seen so many times before, they get their opponents up against the ropes and inexplicably trade places with them and instead it's ND getting worked over.
It's worth noting again, there is no killer instinct with this team/staff. They don't keep the pedal on the floor and finish their opponents.
When I watched the video on my DVR later in the night, as the game slipped away from ND, Dan Hicks noted, "Brian Kelly has seen this movie before." I disagree. Brian Kelly has directed this movie before. Many times. In my opinion, the play calling remains horrific. There is no other word for it.
In the 1st Q, ND has 1st and goal at the 2 and can't get it in. The kicker for me, however, is 3rd down, Kizer is in the shotgun with an empty backfield. I can't take this any longer. As a learned friend of mine said after watching that, "You're playing tough guy football until you get to a spot where you need to play it, and then you switch to finesse." It's a moot point due to yet another botched snap, but if ND punched it in for the TD rather than settle for a FG they actually win that game by a point. I'll never understand the playcalling this circumstance.
Defense- They certainly didn't play well in the second half, particularly the secondary. I still think it's an improvement over the Van Gorder days, but it wasn't pretty. That said, the offense didn't help them out in the 2nd half with a series of 3 and outs. The D spent way too much time on the field.
Kizer- As @Bryan Driskell said during the game, "Kizer is on fire." At one point he was 8/9. He finished the 1st half 13/18 for 199 yards and 2 TDs. When all was said and done, he was 16/33 for 235 yards. Josh Adams missed a few easy catches that skewed the numbers, but it wasn't a pretty half. Was it the weather? Was he asked to do too much? Or was it simply what good coaches do, make adjustments at the half?
Speaking of Adams, one poster suggested that Folston should have been catching passes because he is the better receiver. Not born out in the Geek Stats: Adams has 19 receptions for 163 yds (8.6 avg) and Folston has 7 for 56 yds (8.0 avg). With all the praise Kelly throws at Dexter Williams, how come we didn't see him on Saturday?
Interesting Geek Stat- Last week, @padams10 mentioned that ND was 23-4 in the Brian Kelly era in games where the team has rushed for 200 yards. Who knew that stat was going to change so quickly? ND ran for exactly 200 yards against Virginia Tech... and lost. Now ND is 23-5 in the Brian Kelly era when the team rushes for 200 yards.
Ultimate Geek Stats- A good indication of the strength of your running game, at any level, Is whether you have an individual 100+ yard rusher for the game. I noticed that Josh Adams got exactly 100 yards rushing yesterday and Notre Dame still lost. After reading the above stat, I wondered what NDs record was when an a ND player or an opposing player had 100+ yards rushing in a single game so I researched it. I was stunned at the results. This year, in games that ND had a 100+ yard rusher, their record is 2-1. Obviously the loss is from Saturday's game. The two wins were against Nevada and Syracuse, not exactly stalwarts of defense. But here's where it gets interesting, in games where a ND opponent had 100+ yards of rushing by a single player in the game, ND's record this year is 0-6. Ouch. I researched every game during the entire Kelly era because I was so fascinated by this and because I have no life. I'll post the full results later in the day, but here are the 2016 stats:
Donta Foreman 131 for Texas- Loss (1)
Josh Adams 106 vs. Nevada- Win
Gerald Holmes 100 for MSU- Loss (2)
Jela Duncan 121 for Duke- Loss (3)
Josh Adams 102 vs. Syracuse- Win
Matthew Dayes 126 for NC State- Loss (4)
Bryce Love 129 for Stanford- Loss (5)
Will Worth 175 for Navy- Loss (6)
Josh Adams 100 vs. Virginia Tech- Loss
Record with ND rusher alone with 100+ yards, 2-1, when opponent alone has 100+ yards rushing 0-6. There were no games where each side had 100+ yard rushers.
@Rich Starkey said it best, "Running the ball and stopping the run are #1 and #1 for me."Josh Adams 106 vs. Nevada- Win
Gerald Holmes 100 for MSU- Loss (2)
Jela Duncan 121 for Duke- Loss (3)
Josh Adams 102 vs. Syracuse- Win
Matthew Dayes 126 for NC State- Loss (4)
Bryce Love 129 for Stanford- Loss (5)
Will Worth 175 for Navy- Loss (6)
Josh Adams 100 vs. Virginia Tech- Loss
Record with ND rusher alone with 100+ yards, 2-1, when opponent alone has 100+ yards rushing 0-6. There were no games where each side had 100+ yard rushers.
Post of the Game-
Post of the Day- From the Kelly post game presser, Kelly was asked about the final pass by Zaire and the clock management during that final play, and he responded that he wasn't aware of the situation. This guy gets it-
This Guy Stole My Rant-
Missed Tackles- They continue to plague this team. Consider the following from the second quarter:
Unheralded Group- Another nice job by Mark Harrell. Nice games by Chris Fink, Miles Boykin, and Chase Claypool.
It Was Over When- Ken Ekanem sacked Kizer in the 4th quarter. This led Dan Hicks to run his mouth about ND pulling a scholarship offer to Ekanem. Disgraceful.
For the "New Coach" Crowd- Read @Lou Somogyi's comprehensive column https://notredame.rivals.com/news/notre-dame-jack-swarbrick-at-the-crossroads-in-more-ways-than-one
The Bye-Bye Bowl- I think it's best ND isn't going to a bowl now. Sure the extra practices would be great, but I think these players need a break from the coaches.The time apart will do them good.
Thank you to all those seniors who have thrilled us for 4/5 years and played their last game.
Have a great week everyone.
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