You are 100% correct. 2.5 yards/carry isn't going to cut it. The Elite teams find a way to run the ball.
ND didn’t sniff a point the last 41 minutes!!
- Thread starter Get Nasty
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To think that ND will have enough talent to win 4 straight playoff games vs. top 12 opponents when the new playoff model comes into place is fools gold. Just isn’t going to happen without changes to the academic model. Fans have to get comfortable with a win or two in the playoffs as the best it’s going to get. National titles are bought with coaches and now NIL deals. ND isn’t going to play that game to an extent necessary to be a top threat.
Wrong. If the OL played to their rankings/ abilities that game is much easier for the O and winnable right now
Well put.
High marks for a) consciousness, b) honesty.
How and why ND thinks that its IDIOSYNCRATIC FORMULA will actually WORK is TOTALLY BEYOND ME.
It wasn't close vs Okie State either. Recruiting rankings don't necessarily make for a dominant line.
Mike, all due respect, that's a lot of NEEDS, IF'S and HYPOTHETICALS. OL and DL were NOT there last night, and the QUEST for the elite QB is by now a thing of LEGEND.
BECAUSE IN FACT, the way ND insists on doing things is NO WAY TO RUN A RAILROAD. A CFB TEAM shouldn't contain within its IMPLIED MISSION STATEMENT some kind of MORAL IMPERATIVE to turn out EXEMPLARY HUMAN BEINGS. That's ND's RELIGIOUS MANDATE CROWDING IN.
Who says?
35 years of history.
When THOSE ELITE ATHLETES -- who you say ND can somehow get despite academics -- TRULY START SHOWING UP, then I'll give your argument credence. But if we're still merely talking '"ALL WE NEED IS," I find that a DIFFICULT SELL.
It's this simple. Switch rosters with OSU, and OSU becomes ND. From 88 through 93, Holtz had the OSU players of HIS TIME. He didn't have them in 95 or 96, and we all saw what happened. And Freeman DOESN'T HAVE THEM NOW.
You say he will get them. I'll believe it when I SEE IT.
Against inferior teams, ND will no doubt be able to run a VIABLE OFFENSE. But it couldn't last night. Simply too much pressure. This happens every time ND plays a quality team with a superior D. Its offense basically STALLS OUT.
Because its "VAUNTED OL" simply gets OUTMUSCLED.
I don't see the MARQUEE TOOLS to be dynamic against truly good teams. Look what happened last night. OSU's better players outplayed ND's good but lesser players.
And I'm not only talking overall but KEY POSITION BY KEY POSITION. For instance, Buchner simply didn't make the kind of plays Stroud did. And it wasn't even close.
Any team that can pressure ND's O has the ability of rendering it INEFFECTIVE. Is there even one ND RB, WR or QB you'd forecast as a potential AA this year? Totally different case with OSU. Skill positions are loaded.
No comparison.
?
USC is going to beat ND by two TD’s minimum. At the D1 and NFL levels if you don’t have a QB you lose games in bunches.
you need the ball! and ND will win TOP by a huge margin vs USC. SC DL is fast athletic and willing! It is also just too small and skinney!
Never say never when it comes to ND and USC. Both have a history of winning against the other as underdogs.
From the USC side, take 38, 48, 64 and 70. In each of those years, ND was the favorite and ONLY HAD TO BEAT USC IN THE FINAL GAME TO WIN THE NC. And each time it failed. Three losses and a tie. And only the 38 USC team was ranked.
I wouldn't rule out a loss to USC by a long shot. It's three months away, and too much can happen.
Take your pick. It starts with the administration willing to do whatever is financially necessary to produce a top-level football team. I‘m no Brian Kelly fan, but why did he leave to go to LSU? 1) Money, and 2) Support from the administration. Could ND have matched it financially? Of course. They chose not to. Make the commitment out loud that the coach will be the highest paid and that players will be taken care of. This model of players being like other students in 2022 is outdated and frankly naive. How long did it take for ND to start taking transfers? Offer 10-12 million per year for a HC and actually work to get large meaningful NIL deals for the players. It seems to work in the SEC and for teams like OSU and Clemson.
I’m not totally disagreeing w you here. Your points are all valid/reasonable.
I will say though, we can’t compare Stroud to TB. Stroud is an experienced and seasoned starter. TB just isn’t. Yet. At some point, he’ll be expected to make the plays that win last nights game. We’ll win games like last night, because of TB. Last night- that wasn’t going to happen.
Respectfully- give me a name. Who should we have bought? Who was a realistic possibility to buy? Lincoln Riley? Maybe.
A young gun from the NFL? Shanahan? LaFluer? Taylor? McVay? No damn chance.
Last nights game was a lot like 2018 UM to me except long/Kelly/ had ND prepared to make big plays to win it. Conservative but took shots. D also didn’t fold.
One bonehead play was allowing kickoff return.
coaching staff to me isn’t there yet. They’re obviously recruiting better, but adjustments are non existent.
One bonehead play was allowing kickoff return.
coaching staff to me isn’t there yet. They’re obviously recruiting better, but adjustments are non existent.
He played excellent last night. The secondary as a whole played quite well
Excellent, realistic take.
What do you think ND will do? Do you see it ever chucking its "model?" I couldn't agree more with you on its OBSOLESCENCE. In fact, I'm a little harsher and see it as a kind of defiantly FLAMING ANACHRONISM. Something almost IDEOLOGICAL and having little or nothing to do with the GAME AS IT'S NOW PLAYED.
My own guess, though, is that ND will, for now, STICK TO ITS GUNS. If it can remain a perennial top-25 program, a frequent top-ten program and an occasional top-5 program, it will view that as SUFFICIENT BRAND PROTECTION to enable it to PERPETUATE THE MYTH OF THE ONCE -- AND FUTURE -- DOMINANT PROGRAM, i.e. its own version of CAMELOT.
And it just may pull it off.
But making its way through four tiers of playoffs -- WHILE WEARING ITS TRADITIONAL ANKLE WEIGHTS -- and ACTUALLY WINNING AN NC seems to me -- barring a Cinderella-like fluke -- PIPE-DREAM MAGICAL THINKING. As it stands now, it's NOT a program built to win an NC in any given year.
It refuses to make the COMMITMENT.
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I don't think Buchner will ever compare to Stroud. I think Stroud could be special and already has been. I don't see ANYTHING EXCEPTIONAL in Buchner's game other than his ability to take off and run at times.
People talk about him as though he has Kyler Murray level talent. I just don't see it.
Could have had Kirby Smart with right money a few years ago. Lincoln Riley you mentioned. Kyle Whittingham makes around $4m at Utah. Dave Aranda will be good over time. All of these would have been a possible get at $10-12m. Of course, you’ll say there wasn’t a chance but if you combine a really strong coaches salary and the resources necessary for top recruiting and strong NIL money can you really say there wasn’t a shot? The point is the administration won’t try. Top money and facilities attract top candidates in business and athletics.
Stop and take a hard look at what Jack just did with the CFP. Notre Dame isn’t trying to win a title by adding 4 more possible games. Remember, ND athletes have to go to class, right? It’s about the student athlete, right…yet he just supported adding a possible 4 games to our “student athletes”. The ones that are supposed to go to class and carry a full load and finish in 5 years. This is all about money (which ND has). Will they spend the money on athletics as a conduit to enhancing the university mission? Will they go out and pay top market prices for coaches and players? Asking for a friend. We all know the answer.
What’s crazy is if you told me Ohio state scores a late TD to seal it and win by 11 I may have taken it before the game
With that said, ND did NOT pass the eye test at a position as being elite potential on offense (other than te) and I feel worse coming out of game than I expected.
I just can’t believe having all spring and fall camp that’s what we brought to the shoe ok offense wth our starters averaging 4 star talent. Higher ranked starters on offense than D by a long ways. 2 starters on D were 4 star, the rest 3 yet they showed ability. Coaching matters.
With that said, ND did NOT pass the eye test at a position as being elite potential on offense (other than te) and I feel worse coming out of game than I expected.
I just can’t believe having all spring and fall camp that’s what we brought to the shoe ok offense wth our starters averaging 4 star talent. Higher ranked starters on offense than D by a long ways. 2 starters on D were 4 star, the rest 3 yet they showed ability. Coaching matters.
Great post. Appreciate the content.
My take: Smart was never coming to ND. Whittingham has had chances to leave Utah, he hasn’t. Aranda…maybe. Riley…maybe. Would either be happy or comfortable at ND? There is a likelihood that they wouldn’t, which means they’d never be realistic candidates. Not sure dangling $11M out there makes them take the job
ND is betting on MF becoming a Dabo-type success story. Not terribly far-fetched, given the intangibles that Freeman brings to the table. He’ll have some growing pains (last night), and he really has to surround himself with the right coordinators (jury is still out on Rees).
ND has to recruit and close on the right QB. I expect Freeman to do it…..
I thought he played decently for his first start, under the circumstances. And making no turnovers was a plus.
Too much HYPE in the pipeline.
The offense has no defining attribute. Even last year, there was Coan the SUPER-ACCURATE PASSER. They built on that. What does ND have now? Estime YAC's? Buchner QB draws on 3rd and 18?
Let's hope they find themselves.
If Thomas lenzy styles Tobias don’t become weapons 8 wins total is in play and that’s pathetic … 10 minimum or we took step back under freeman
I understand your point, Just don’t believe Notre Dame should have to hope or bet on a coach becoming great unless they are planning on fully supporting him with resources. Again, not sure if Kelly will become great at LSU or be just another 9-3 coach there. Notre Dame doesn’t need money. They need to stop thinking this is 1990 and decide if they want to “play the game in 2022” and structure themselves to be successful or hold onto traditional thinking. I like Coach Freeman and will fully support him, just don’t see a reasonable path to a Natty under the current structure of the university.
Decently is EXACTLY the word.
But look what Stroud had to do to WIN the game. Stroud came up big at critical moments. He made a DIFFERENCE. Buckner did nothing DIFFERENCE MAKING.
So, if the OSU QB had to be a DIFFERENCE MAKER to beat ND, how much more necessary was it for the ND QB to RETURN FIRE. Buckner did not return that kind of fire. What he did was CLEANLY MANAGE THE GAME.
Not bad, but not nearly enough to beat OSU.
But of course, Stroud also had a stronger supporting cast in every aspect of the game.
It's still a TEAM SPORT.
What are you talking about?
OSU is way better than that average Michigan team. And we were at home.
Sometimes you make the dumbest ridiculous points
I dont care. We lost to Cincy last year. We struggled with fsu and Toledo. So far we played better against OSU than any game last year.
Schedule matters. Beating up on the weak doesnt mean you are better than a team who competes with the best
You should understand that
