ND vs Schedule

[Zorich 88]

You should really look into what Oklahoma States defense was last year and how coach Knowles turned it around (and Dukes defense).

You can't discredit our hiring of a new DC while at the same time praise your newly hired OL coach

Also,

Some of the better defenses in the Big 12 ranked in the top 50, so you're wrong there buddy. You aren't doing your homework if you're going to discredit Jim Knowles just because he coached in the Big 12. I mean he coached there and was able to hold a lot of those high powered offenses well below their averages, that is impressive. Now he's at Ohio State with much more talent than he's ever had to work with. 15 more days

again, your savior had 1 good year in the B12. Honesty, you probably never heard of the guy until he put a OSU hat on,

But now he is coming to save the day!

Now, he was the missing ingredient to a CFP championship.

The majority of your fan base knew nothing about the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

But now………

 

[savvyandsassier]

I watched Buchners 30 minute highlight tape from last season on YouTube, he's definitely a very athletic QB. I question how much of a passer he is going into his second year after I believe missing the spring or parts of the spring. I think he'll need to pass a lot and not just run RPO's if he's going to lead ND to victory.

Knowles was highly sought after by a few programs I believe. I know Billy Napier at Florida was trying to bring him over. He did not coach in the Fiesta Bowl however, in early-mid December he unofficially left Oklahoma State and was preparing to go to Ohio State, thus not involved in game planning for the bowl game or calling it.

I think Knowles vs Rees will be interesting. Knowles talks a lot about the chess match between him and opposing coordinators. Says a big part of his game plan is to disrupt what OC's try to do. That could be a big advantage he has over a young OC/HC, time will tell

I'm just hoping that it's not a pick up where we left off type of thing. By the end of the Ist half of our bowl game, Okie St. had about got our number, and then we ended up losing a game we led 28-7 in the 2nd quarter.

So.... if we have any new offensive identity to debut with our very young OC totally all on his own for the first time in his career with no mentor to fall back on, it better be ready to go, because we were pretty well neutered the 2nd half by Knowles and co

Just edit to add, that yeah, that did suck for Buchner to get injured like that. The football gods have not been particularly kind to him thus far, what with that and the covid year . He was supposed to be the guy, or that's what I was hoping for, that would be that next-level talent at the QB position to finally get BK a national championship. But obviously that is no longer in the cards. I don't know what Rees has in mind to do with him. Hope he doesn't just keep running him over and over. Presumably he won't....

 

[BucksLAN]

Also,

again, your savior had 1 good year in the B12. Honesty, you probably never heard of the guy until he put a OSU hat on,

But now he is coming to save the day!

Now, he was the missing ingredient to a CFP championship.

The majority of your fan base knew nothing about the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

But now………

One of the best defensive coordinators in college coming to a top 3 program, with top 3 talent, to coach 4/5* players in desperate need of coaching, to go along with what is already a high powered offense.. yeah I would say he's the missing piece.

 

[BucksLAN]

I'm just hoping that it's not a pick up where we left off type of thing. By the end of the Ist half of our bowl game, Okie St. had about got our number, and then we ended up losing a game we led 28-7 in the 2nd quarter.

So.... if we have any new offensive identity to debut with our very young OC totally all on his own for the first time in his career with no mentor to fall back on, it better be ready to go, because we were pretty well neutered the 2nd half by Knowles and co

Just edit to add, that yeah, that did suck for Buchner to get injured like that. The football gods have not been particularly kind to him thus far, what with that and the covid year . He was supposed to be the guy, or that's what I was hoping for, that would be that next-level talent at the QB position to finally get BK a national championship. But obviously that is no longer in the cards. I don't know what Rees has in mind to do with him. Hope he doesn't just keep running him over and over. Presumably he won't....

It's a tall task for someone who has not taken first team reps until the start of fall camp. Your QB will need to play the game of his life for ND to win, and Rees will have to call the game of his life to make it happen for sure. I guess if there was a silver lining, it's that Ohio State has struggled in non con games at home over the last 15 years, it's pretty shocking. And well it's the first game of the year, that's usually when teams aren't at their best. Dumb penalties, miscommunication, breakdowns.

Also Knowles wasn't coaching in the Fiesta Bowl, it was his scheme and players but all that bowl prep and preparing for ND and the play calls in the game were done by other assistants.

 

[Zorich 88]

One of the best defensive coordinators in college coming to a top 3 program, with top 3 talent, to coach 4/5* players in desperate need of coaching, to go along with what is already a high powered offense.. yeah I would say he's the missing piece.

Going into last season, you are hard pressed to find any article that named him the top 3 DC in the country. He had 1 top 10 finish ever!



You are calling OSU a top 3 program with top 3 talent???

Top 3 based on current AP? Because last season they finished 6th in the AP with 2 loses.

Top 3 talent??? Say’s you and you only.

But ok, top 3 talent with zero NFL talent at starting LB. Key word STARTING!!!! I don’t wanna hear about any freshman with zero PT.

Ranking the Top 25 defensive coordinators in college football for 2021

Eight SEC DCs made the list, but how many cracked the top 10?

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

 

[Golson5]

It's a tall task for someone who has not taken first team reps until the start of fall camp. Your QB will need to play the game of his life for ND to win, and Rees will have to call the game of his life to make it happen for sure. I guess if there was a silver lining, it's that Ohio State has struggled in non con games at home over the last 15 years, it's pretty shocking. And well it's the first game of the year, that's usually when teams aren't at their best. Dumb penalties, miscommunication, breakdowns.

Also Knowles wasn't coaching in the Fiesta Bowl, it was his scheme and players but all that bowl prep and preparing for ND and the play calls in the game were done by other assistants.

He was first string in the spring

 

[savvyandsassier]

It's a tall task for someone who has not taken first team reps until the start of fall camp. Your QB will need to play the game of his life for ND to win, and Rees will have to call the game of his life to make it happen for sure. I guess if there was a silver lining, it's that Ohio State has struggled in non con games at home over the last 15 years, it's pretty shocking. And well it's the first game of the year, that's usually when teams aren't at their best. Dumb penalties, miscommunication, breakdowns.

Also Knowles wasn't coaching in the Fiesta Bowl, it was his scheme and players but all that bowl prep and preparing for ND and the play calls in the game were done by other assistants.

Of course, he would have been gone to his new job by that point, so that is not as cool of a subplot. Other than maybe now he actually gets to coach against ND, where he was robbed of the opportunity a year ago when he missed the bowl game. I'll admit I wasn't so much thinking about Knowles or Mike Gundy or whoever, but rather our new coaching staff. And now being reminded that Knowles wasn't even there makes our 2nd half, post-halftime-adjustment collapse even more disappointing.

I just know tOSU had a top five or so ranked defense in the country, and Jim Knowles was the DC. So was it true that tOSU wanted to hire MF, or was interested in hiring him, in the immediate aftermath of BK up and leaving for LSU? It was only a few days before they hired Freeman to replace BK, but I remember 48 hours or so of anxious rumors that tOSU coveted him. Which would have made sense, though I think you're better off with a more a veteran guy like Knowles. And then came the bombshell that MF wasn't going to tOSU or anywhere else and instead was going to be new head football coach at Notre Dame!

I suppose that's the bigger subplot, MF improbably becoming the new ND football coach, and for his regular season debut, returning to his alma mater for a titanic clash with the mighty tOSU Buckeyes. As far as our new DC, he was a hot name at the position about fifteen years ago. So hopefully he hasn't lost his touch. Personally I suppose I was hoping for a more youngish, up-and-coming DC, and then more of a veteran OC, someone for MF to lean on. And we got the opposite, a bit of a college coaching retread in Al Golden, and a very young OC, and frankly in spite of his success thus far as BK's hand-picked protege, I would say a rather unproven OC. He'll be on his own for the first time at least. As much as I love BK, he was notorious for wanting OCs he could control, which is pretty much the reason Rees was able to move up the ladder at ND so quickly. So I hope he's ready to truly run his own show.

If we do get our ass kicked, it's already such a foregone conclusion I don't even think we'll drop in the polls that much unless we really get blown out. So MF sort of gets a built-in pass for this first game. Just keep it halfway respectable! As you might have guessed, unlike most ND fans I'm a big BK supporter, I was devastated when he left, and am still coming to grips with this regime change. I have nothing against Marcus Freeman and he is obviously a highly charismatic young coach, but I'm still warming up to him. And with that let the games begin!

 

[BucksLAN]

Going into last season, you are hard pressed to find any article that named him the top 3 DC in the country. He had 1 top 10 finish ever!



You are calling OSU a top 3 program with top 3 talent???

Top 3 based on current AP? Because last season they finished 6th in the AP with 2 loses.

Top 3 talent??? Say’s you and you only.

But ok, top 3 talent with zero NFL talent at starting LB. Key word STARTING!!!! I don’t wanna hear about any freshman with zero PT.

Ranking the Top 25 defensive coordinators in college football for 2021

Eight SEC DCs made the list, but how many cracked the top 10?

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

Go look at the past recruiting classes and tell me Ohio State isn't in the top 3 with Alabama and Georgia when it comes to talent.

You keep talking shit about the linebackers, those are the guys being directly coached by Knowles himself. Linebackers shined under him last year. You are in for a rude awakening if you think they will be anything like last year.

 

[BucksLAN]

Of course, he would have been gone to his new job by that point, so that is not as cool of a subplot. Other than maybe now he actually gets to coach against ND, where he was robbed of the opportunity a year ago when he missed the bowl game. I'll admit I wasn't so much thinking about Knowles or Mike Gundy or whoever, but rather our new coaching staff. And now being reminded that Knowles wasn't even there makes our 2nd half, post-halftime-adjustment collapse even more disappointing.

I just know tOSU had a top five or so ranked defense in the country, and Jim Knowles was the DC. So was it true that tOSU wanted to hire MF, or was interested in hiring him, in the immediate aftermath of BK up and leaving for LSU? It was only a few days before they hired Freeman to replace BK, but I remember 48 hours or so of anxious rumors that tOSU coveted him. Which would have made sense, though I think you're better off with a more a veteran guy like Knowles. And then came the bombshell that MF wasn't going to tOSU or anywhere else and instead was going to be new head football coach at Notre Dame!

I suppose that's the bigger subplot, MF improbably becoming the new ND football coach, and for his regular season debut, returning to his alma mater for a titanic clash with the mighty tOSU Buckeyes. As far as our new DC, he was a hot name at the position about fifteen years ago. So hopefully he hasn't lost his touch. Personally I suppose I was hoping for a more youngish, up-and-coming DC, and then more of a veteran OC, someone for MF to lean on. And we got the opposite, a bit of a college coaching retread in Al Golden, and a very young OC, and frankly in spite of his success thus far as BK's hand-picked protege, I would say a rather unproven OC. He'll be on his own for the first time at least. As much as I love BK, he was notorious for wanting OCs he could control, which is pretty much the reason Rees was able to move up the ladder at ND so quickly. So I hope he's ready to truly run his own show.

If we do get our ass kicked, it's already such a foregone conclusion I don't even think we'll drop in the polls that much unless we really get blown out. So MF sort of gets a built-in pass for this first game. Just keep it halfway respectable! As you might have guessed, unlike most ND fans I'm a big BK supporter, I was devastated when he left, and am still coming to grips with this regime change. I have nothing against Marcus Freeman and he is obviously a highly charismatic young coach, but I'm still warming up to him. And with that let the games begin!

I know a lot of OSU fans wanted Freeman to come back and be DC, but I don't know if that's what Ryan Day wanted. I heard nothing about him going after Freeman, and he went after Knowles pretty quickly in early December. I still thought Freeman was really green as a coach. He was with Fickell for several years, then became ND DC for 1 year and the defense was okay. With the few off season comments Freeman made, a lot of OSU fans have moved on from him since.

 

[Zorich 88]

Go look at the past recruiting classes and tell me Ohio State isn't in the top 3 with Alabama and Georgia when it comes to talent.

You keep talking shit about the linebackers, those are the guys being directly coached by Knowles himself. Linebackers shined under him last year. You are in for a rude awakening if you think they will be anything like last year.

Keep blaming the past defensive staff.

1. Who hired last years staff????
Oh, the same guy that just hired the new staff.

Again, no one, in all of the OSU fan base was calling for OSU to go get the Oklahoma State DC. You guys knew nothing, absolutely nothing about that guy a year ago. Now, he is your savior smh.

I am going to be in for a rude awakening???

No buddy, you and the fan base are in for the rude awakening.

 

[savvyandsassier]

I know a lot of OSU fans wanted Freeman to come back and be DC, but I don't know if that's what Ryan Day wanted. I heard nothing about him going after Freeman, and he went after Knowles pretty quickly in early December. I still thought Freeman was really green as a coach. He was with Fickell for several years, then became ND DC for 1 year and the defense was okay. With the few off season comments Freeman made, a lot of OSU fans have moved on from him since.

I will say, in my amateur opinion, our defense was still solid, and still good with Freeman, but not quite as good as it was with Clark Lea who's now HC at Vanderbilt. With the occasional awkward stretches and tactics that nearly cost us a game or two. It definitely nearly cost us the FSU season opener, which we were otherwise cruising to a comfortable margin of victory over, before we switched to a prevent defense very early and the game ended up going to OT.

Let's just be honest, MF is like a matinee idol. He never would have gotten this job in a million years if weren't for his boyish good looks and charm. And he's very intoxicating in that way. He is most definitely not your typical grunting, meathead stereotype of a football coach, and ND truly craves that sort of thing. So it's a match made in heaven for ND and MF in that sense, and I almost can't really blame them for taking a flyer, even though by all rights we should have figured out a way to get Luke Fickell, or just gone with what would have been a very safe, solid choice in Matt Campbell. So he's every thing ND could ever dream of as a frontman for the program, we just don't know If he can actually coach....

Anyway, it should be a good game. Nice chatting with you....

 

[SubwaydomerDFW]

Zorich over here running his mouth like ND is Alabama.

 

[kybuckeye2]

Zorich over here running his mouth like ND is Alabama.

Hey, it's free entertainment!! I'm not holding my breath for a mea culpa, tho. That would require self-awareness.

 

[savvyandsassier]

Hey, it's free entertainment!! I'm not holding my breath for a mea culpa, tho. That would require self-awareness.

Come on now, you want him to apologize or some shit? I think that's a little much. If you guys had blow us away, and it was like 44-14 or something, then you could some demand some sort of satisfaction. But you didn't even cover the spread.

This is a ND board after all, that comes with some privileges....

 

[kybuckeye2]

Come on now, you want him to apologize or some shit? I think that's a little much. If you guys had blow us away, and it was like 44-14 or something, then you could some demand some sort of satisfaction. But you didn't even cover the spread.

This is a ND board after all, that comes with some privileges....

Oh, I agree. But his hot takes seemed to be a fair bit beyond what most of the reasonable ND fans had to say. I don't need anything from him, just curious to see if he'll own up.

 

[notredamerises23]

I dont think we'll put up crazy run numbers but we will run well on you

Because 1. Our OL is going to be really good. 2. Buchner will cause problems for your defense in the run game.

I was surprised we weren’t able to, honestly. I didn’t think their defense would be that good. On the other hand, I don’t think any defense holds OSU down that much the rest of the season.

 

[savvyandsassier]

Oh, I agree. But his hot takes seemed to be a fair bit beyond what most of the reasonable ND fans had to say. I don't need anything from him, just curious to see if he'll own up.

I will admit that guy gets pretty fired up, when he gets some ideas really stuck in his head, and they're not always the most compelling or cogent arguments or whatnot, when he's making his case for a ND victory. But whatever, he's trying to represent for ND. His heart's in the right place....

 

[kybuckeye2]

I will admit that guy gets pretty fired up, when he gets some ideas really stuck in his head, and they're not always the most compelling or cogent arguments or whatnot, when he's making his case for a ND victory. But whatever, he's trying to represent for ND. His heart's in the right place....

We all have fans like that. 🙂

 

[Airzee23]

I’ve got ND going 7-5.

 

[Golson5]

I’ve got ND going 7-5.

Bet

 

[IrishMike409]

I’ve got ND going 7-5.

Absurd

 

[BucksLAN]

2. Marshall: Win
Just to talented