Pro-Book. Anti-Wimbush. Vice versa. It doesn't matter. This was just one game and it's not the sample size I'm looking for. I want to see this all year long, and no matter who is the starting QB for this team, the other guy is going to play an important role for the rest of this year, so I don't want to see him alienated. Despite what some have said, I don't think anyone is celebrating Book by bashing Wimbush, they're merely stating what Book did in this one game that they haven't seen BW do. Ok, maybe the Greek is celebrating.
Again, it's just one game, but this is the type of offense that I thought I'd see when BK came to ND. If you ever saw a Cincy game, this is what the offense looked like. This was foot on the gas and don't let up until your opponent is finished, which they were by the 4th Q. This is the kind of throttling of an opponent that we expected to see over the past 2 games.
I found it interesting that Kelly made mention to the reporters that he didn’t want to lose a game before deciding to make a change at QB. Like I said in another post, he realizes that he has a chance to really go far this year and he’s pulling out all the stops along the way to do it.
Book- Sure, we can say he started off slow (I address part of that below), and there were at least 2 occasions I saw where he missed an open receiver. One was Claypool at the top of the screen which could have gone all the way and the second was the one he put behind Finke. He waited too long with Finke open before throwing and still could have connected had he led Finke. Other than that, I can't find many complaints about his performance. He was poised in the pocket and developed the plays smoothly and didn't make any ill advised throws. Most importantly, he was pretty damn accurate. Watching him on Saturday reminded me of the Wyatt Earp quote, "Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. You must learn to be slow in a hurry." The announcers likened his movement of the ball and the boost it gave to his team to what Baker Mayfield did in the Browns game last week.
I made a post a couple of days ago about QB passing efficiency. Here's your Geek Stats on Book, by quarter"
1st Q: 7-10 for 66 yards. (70%)
2nd Q: 9-14 for 123 yards and 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD. (64%)
3rd Q: 5-6 for 84 yards and 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD. (83%)
4th Q: 4-4 for 52 yards and 1 rushing TD. (100%)
Totals: 25-34 for 325 yard with 2 passing TDs and 3 rushing TDs. (73.5%)
One of the most significant differences I saw between the 2 QBs was in the screen passes and throws out to the flats. I think Book hit every one of them and I don’t think the receivers had to bend or reach to get the ball, they were hitting center mass as @alperry would say.
BW is definitely the better runner, but IB isn't Tommy Rees out there. He has some wheels on him, too.
It was old friend Mike Sanford who lobbied to get IB to ND. I found a quote on another site where Sanford said that in IB he saw "identified four areas of strength in him: a thirst for competition, leadership, accuracy, and the ability to keep plays alive." That's what I saw yesterday.
It's still early in this season and you have to compete for your job every day so we'll just have to see how the QB situation shakes out here.
1st Quarter- ND led 7-3 after that 1st Q and it seemed like Book and the team where doing so well to start, but 2 plays really changed the complexion of that quarter. 1st, with ND driving, IB completes a pass to Jones I believe for a 1st down but it's nullified by an ineligible receiver (Bars) downfield. Boneheaded move by Bars stopped what was a good drive. A better explantion:
Post of the Game-
Receivers- Building off MDND’s point above, the receivers just seemed to be energized in a way I haven’t seen so far this year. 25 passes to 10 different receivers for an average of 13 yards per reception. Alize Mack was a consistent target, which is a good sign and Brock Wright Gets his first TD reception. I liked what I saw from Kevin Austin even on the incomplete pass to him. Mix up the passes to different receivers and you’re going to score a lot of points.
He Said it Best-
The Hidden Opponent- The elements- The field was approximately 130 degrees, so bad that the home QB left the game with heat cramps. Imagine the effect that it had on our guys. It was definitely a home field advantage. Credit the overall S&C program for getting these guys ready for conditions like that.
It Was Over When- It's 28-13 nearing the end of the 1st half with Wake driving. They start the 2nd half with the ball so they can really turn this game around by scoring here and opening well in the 2nd. Enter the ND Defense. They hold Wake to a FG attempt which they miss. A ND penalty gives them another, closer, chance which Wake also misses on the last play of the half. ND forces a 3 and out for Wake to open the 2nd half. It was over, whether here or at the end of the 1st half, but it was over.
RBs- No individual 100 yard rusher, but as a team they racked up 241 yards on the ground. I heard Jafar Armstrong was fast and that certainly showed here, but he impressed me with some physical running. Tony Jones was his usual tough runner. Will we see Dexter Williams against Stanford?
O-Line- Overall, a dramatic improvement over the past couple of games, as evidenced by the 241 yards rushing. It was a mixed bag for Eichenberg, IMO. I saw Basham blow by him a few times.
Gilman- This kid continues to amaze me. Team high 9 tackles and every one of them seemed like he had a vendetta against the ball carrier. The announcers made mention of how BK thought he was the missing ingredient to last year’s defense and he continues to display this. Safety recruiting has picked up in the last couple of years after a lull and that’s great, but if I’m a top safety prospect and I’m watching Gilman, my interest in ND has to be piqued.
Special Teams- This has to be one of the better games for the STs. Everything seemed to work well, highlighted by Finke’s 52 yard punt return. Also, I heard about what a threat Greg Dortch was all game but they really kept him bottled up.
Bonner Penalty- I didn’t like this call one bit. He’s rushing the passer and in the air while the QB still has the ball. He keeps his hands low and hits him in the chest. Bad call.
Sage Advice- @dhighducheck from the locked thread on Chip Long: “It is my form or welfare. If you don't feed the trolls, they will starve to death.” That thread was one of the more entertaining game day threads than I have seen in some time. Check it out, although you can’t comment on it any longer. https://notredame.forums.rivals.com/threads/chip-long.129290/
Michael Young- Bryan said before that we really need his explosiveness to give the offense and added dimension and he’s right. Young’s fumble in the 1st Q, while unfortunate, was pretty hard to prevent. He’s in full stride with one hand on the ball and running hard. The Wake defender put his helmet to the ball and jarred it loose. Not a whole lot you can do about that. Also, I really like that play call. Young’s long reception was thing of beauty and I really wanted to see him get into the end zone. Kid just ran out of gas there at the end.
Julian Okwara- I was going to post my take on him but I was beaten to the punch with a better analysis.
Defense- Great effort overall. I liked how they rotated guys in and out (like a hockey team as the announcers said) to keep guys fresh and get new faces in during a blowout. Perfect positioning for that INT by Troy Pride. Wake scored some points against the second-teamers in the 4th quarter that really skewed how good this looked for ND. This is how good the 1st team was:
Your Opinion- Should Wimbush have played in the 4th Q (or in spots earlier) or not? I have mixed feelings on it. I think he should have played a role in this game in much the same way that they’ve brought in Book in games Wimbush started. He’s going to be an important asset moving forward.
Have a great, safe week, everyone!
Again, it's just one game, but this is the type of offense that I thought I'd see when BK came to ND. If you ever saw a Cincy game, this is what the offense looked like. This was foot on the gas and don't let up until your opponent is finished, which they were by the 4th Q. This is the kind of throttling of an opponent that we expected to see over the past 2 games.
I found it interesting that Kelly made mention to the reporters that he didn’t want to lose a game before deciding to make a change at QB. Like I said in another post, he realizes that he has a chance to really go far this year and he’s pulling out all the stops along the way to do it.
Book- Sure, we can say he started off slow (I address part of that below), and there were at least 2 occasions I saw where he missed an open receiver. One was Claypool at the top of the screen which could have gone all the way and the second was the one he put behind Finke. He waited too long with Finke open before throwing and still could have connected had he led Finke. Other than that, I can't find many complaints about his performance. He was poised in the pocket and developed the plays smoothly and didn't make any ill advised throws. Most importantly, he was pretty damn accurate. Watching him on Saturday reminded me of the Wyatt Earp quote, "Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. You must learn to be slow in a hurry." The announcers likened his movement of the ball and the boost it gave to his team to what Baker Mayfield did in the Browns game last week.
I made a post a couple of days ago about QB passing efficiency. Here's your Geek Stats on Book, by quarter"
1st Q: 7-10 for 66 yards. (70%)
2nd Q: 9-14 for 123 yards and 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD. (64%)
3rd Q: 5-6 for 84 yards and 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD. (83%)
4th Q: 4-4 for 52 yards and 1 rushing TD. (100%)
Totals: 25-34 for 325 yard with 2 passing TDs and 3 rushing TDs. (73.5%)
One of the most significant differences I saw between the 2 QBs was in the screen passes and throws out to the flats. I think Book hit every one of them and I don’t think the receivers had to bend or reach to get the ball, they were hitting center mass as @alperry would say.
BW is definitely the better runner, but IB isn't Tommy Rees out there. He has some wheels on him, too.
It was old friend Mike Sanford who lobbied to get IB to ND. I found a quote on another site where Sanford said that in IB he saw "identified four areas of strength in him: a thirst for competition, leadership, accuracy, and the ability to keep plays alive." That's what I saw yesterday.
It's still early in this season and you have to compete for your job every day so we'll just have to see how the QB situation shakes out here.
1st Quarter- ND led 7-3 after that 1st Q and it seemed like Book and the team where doing so well to start, but 2 plays really changed the complexion of that quarter. 1st, with ND driving, IB completes a pass to Jones I believe for a 1st down but it's nullified by an ineligible receiver (Bars) downfield. Boneheaded move by Bars stopped what was a good drive. A better explantion:
On the 2nd play of the next possession, Michael Young fumbled the ball and Wake recovered, ending a possession that started out well with IB running for 11 yards.
Post of the Game-
Receivers- Building off MDND’s point above, the receivers just seemed to be energized in a way I haven’t seen so far this year. 25 passes to 10 different receivers for an average of 13 yards per reception. Alize Mack was a consistent target, which is a good sign and Brock Wright Gets his first TD reception. I liked what I saw from Kevin Austin even on the incomplete pass to him. Mix up the passes to different receivers and you’re going to score a lot of points.
He Said it Best-
The Hidden Opponent- The elements- The field was approximately 130 degrees, so bad that the home QB left the game with heat cramps. Imagine the effect that it had on our guys. It was definitely a home field advantage. Credit the overall S&C program for getting these guys ready for conditions like that.
It Was Over When- It's 28-13 nearing the end of the 1st half with Wake driving. They start the 2nd half with the ball so they can really turn this game around by scoring here and opening well in the 2nd. Enter the ND Defense. They hold Wake to a FG attempt which they miss. A ND penalty gives them another, closer, chance which Wake also misses on the last play of the half. ND forces a 3 and out for Wake to open the 2nd half. It was over, whether here or at the end of the 1st half, but it was over.
RBs- No individual 100 yard rusher, but as a team they racked up 241 yards on the ground. I heard Jafar Armstrong was fast and that certainly showed here, but he impressed me with some physical running. Tony Jones was his usual tough runner. Will we see Dexter Williams against Stanford?
O-Line- Overall, a dramatic improvement over the past couple of games, as evidenced by the 241 yards rushing. It was a mixed bag for Eichenberg, IMO. I saw Basham blow by him a few times.
Gilman- This kid continues to amaze me. Team high 9 tackles and every one of them seemed like he had a vendetta against the ball carrier. The announcers made mention of how BK thought he was the missing ingredient to last year’s defense and he continues to display this. Safety recruiting has picked up in the last couple of years after a lull and that’s great, but if I’m a top safety prospect and I’m watching Gilman, my interest in ND has to be piqued.
Special Teams- This has to be one of the better games for the STs. Everything seemed to work well, highlighted by Finke’s 52 yard punt return. Also, I heard about what a threat Greg Dortch was all game but they really kept him bottled up.
Bonner Penalty- I didn’t like this call one bit. He’s rushing the passer and in the air while the QB still has the ball. He keeps his hands low and hits him in the chest. Bad call.
Sage Advice- @dhighducheck from the locked thread on Chip Long: “It is my form or welfare. If you don't feed the trolls, they will starve to death.” That thread was one of the more entertaining game day threads than I have seen in some time. Check it out, although you can’t comment on it any longer. https://notredame.forums.rivals.com/threads/chip-long.129290/
Michael Young- Bryan said before that we really need his explosiveness to give the offense and added dimension and he’s right. Young’s fumble in the 1st Q, while unfortunate, was pretty hard to prevent. He’s in full stride with one hand on the ball and running hard. The Wake defender put his helmet to the ball and jarred it loose. Not a whole lot you can do about that. Also, I really like that play call. Young’s long reception was thing of beauty and I really wanted to see him get into the end zone. Kid just ran out of gas there at the end.
Julian Okwara- I was going to post my take on him but I was beaten to the punch with a better analysis.
There was one play in particular where Okwara was stonewalled by the Wake LT. The QB was flushed from the pocket and trying to turn the edge on the left side. Okwara shed the block, tracked the QB down, and tackled him for a loss. Really an outstanding play, both physically and mentally.
Defense- Great effort overall. I liked how they rotated guys in and out (like a hockey team as the announcers said) to keep guys fresh and get new faces in during a blowout. Perfect positioning for that INT by Troy Pride. Wake scored some points against the second-teamers in the 4th quarter that really skewed how good this looked for ND. This is how good the 1st team was:
Your Opinion- Should Wimbush have played in the 4th Q (or in spots earlier) or not? I have mixed feelings on it. I think he should have played a role in this game in much the same way that they’ve brought in Book in games Wimbush started. He’s going to be an important asset moving forward.
Have a great, safe week, everyone!
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