no surprise !

[rgc7]

We are a good team with a good coach, but not a great team with a great coach !
Who will come in if Kelly ever leaves ? Who knows ? will Kelly ever leave ? Where would he go ?
In short, we will lose 3 to 4 games typical for A Kelly team, go to a bowl,
and we will be happy with a "good" season.
The magic is gone ! Kelly is an upgrade from recent past coaches, and Urban, Saban , and JH are never coming here.
So let's regroup , be realistic, and enjoy another good , typical , 3 to 4 loss season.

 

[HDK]

I think three or four losses would be very disappointing for this team because I think we are good enough to beat any team on our schedule. Of course, to your point, we could end up losing to Temple, BC, or Pitt. Hell, even Wake Forest gave FSU a game today.

I agree that we are far from elite. I honestly believe Ole Miss would tan our hides, and look what happened to them tonight.

And Kelly, while okay, is certainly not the genius his ardent defenders make him out to be. This game was lost in the first five minutes of each half, but if he had kicked the extra point, we might still be in OT.


.

 

[justacollegefan]

I think three or four losses would be very disappointing for this team because I think we are good enough to beat any team on our schedule. Of course, to your point, we could end up losing to Temple, BC, or Pitt. Hell, even Wake Forest gave FSU a game today.

I agree that we are far from elite. I honestly believe Ole Miss would tan our hides, and look what happened to them tonight.

And Kelly, while okay, is certainly not the genius his ardent defenders make him out to be. This game was lost in the first five minutes of each half, but if he had kicked the extra point, we might still be in OT.


.

funny I hear the same thing every year, "we are good enough to beat any team" blah blah blah. the op is correct but I also don't know why this is a surprise? this has been going on since holtz was fired, it is nothing new.

the fact is that we dont have a stud at quarterback and that makes the difference when your defense doesn't have 4-5 star kids flying around like bama, ohio st, etc...

 

[Toby Smart]

When BK went for the TD instead of the potential game winning FG against Tulsa, he told us to get used to it. Here we are, the year 2015 and most Irish fans still are not used to it.

 

[HDK]

funny I hear the same thing every year, "we are good enough to beat any team" blah blah blah. the op is correct but I also don't know why this is a surprise? this has been going on since holtz was fired, it is nothing new.

the fact is that we dont have a stud at quarterback and that makes the difference when your defense doesn't have 4-5 star kids flying around like bama, ohio st, etc...

Not that Holtz beat everyone on the schedule. I seem to remember his teams blowing a number of games they should have won.

I do think Kelly seems to figure out a way to screw the pooch at least once a year, though.

 

[ndhell]

The team as a whole didn't seem very prepared to play.

 

[justacollegefan]

Not that Holtz beat everyone on the schedule. I seem to remember his teams blowing a number of games they should have won.

I do think Kelly seems to figure out a way to screw the pooch at least once a year, though.

I totally agree with you... I am just saying after being around this program for 35 years I have gotten use to it. I always get my hopes up and then get smashed, though I honestly thought we would lose this game and win maybe 9 games this year plus a bowl win... which I would be happy with considering the injuries.

the worst part to me is that we had a solid enough team, before injuries and players leaving, to make a run but it is what it is. we are deep enough to be a top 20 team but not on the level of bama. I watched that game today and their defense looks like an nfl team. their running game just gashed georgia and if that quarterback plays the same the rest of the year I think they win it all. they will load up against lsu and make them throw, not letting fournette get big runs.

 

[NDCap]

I have never been a big fan of Kelly as a play caller but I think he is a top notch HC. He is also probably to most unluckiest coach as well. Those of us that follow the team know. , I have never seen so many bad things happen to a coach as much as Kelly. Heck today, OlMiss, Georgia, UCLA all top 10 teams lost . IMO those losses were much worse then ND's.
Now here is THE big question. How does ND respond ? This is a well respected football team. I EXPECT this team to be 11-1 going to Palo Alto .If this team losses 4 games then BK deserves a ton of criticism. Not yet however.

 

[HDK]

I totally agree with you... I am just saying after being around this program for 35 years I have gotten use to it. I always get my hopes up and then get smashed, though I honestly thought we would lose this game and win maybe 9 games this year plus a bowl win... which I would be happy with considering the injuries.

the worst part to me is that we had a solid enough team, before injuries and players leaving, to make a run but it is what it is. we are deep enough to be a top 20 team but not on the level of bama. I watched that game today and their defense looks like an nfl team. their running game just gashed georgia and if that quarterback plays the same the rest of the year I think they win it all. they will load up against lsu and make them throw, not letting fournette get big runs.

Yeah, Alabama can turn it up a notch when they have to. Fast and big.

As far as our prospects this year, Clemson and USC were my two biggest concerns. I really think we could have won that game. The first five minutes of each half spelled our doom. But Kelly screwed up again with the two-point try.

 

[justacollegefan]

Yeah, Alabama can turn it up a notch when they have to. Fast and big.

As far as our prospects this year, Clemson and USC were my two biggest concerns. I really think we could have won that game. The first five minutes of each half spelled our doom. But Kelly screwed up again with the two-point try.

100% agree with you! I think the players lost the first half and then came back strong, much more than I expected because I thought we were going to get blown out and I feel bad for giving up on these guys. I am use to teams in the past just shutting down but they didn't and that is impressive. Kelly lost that second half in my opinion with poor play calling. I mean you have a kid like Kizer, why not at least give him the option of a run/pass on that last 2 point conversion?

 

[perseverare]

We are a good team with a good coach, but not a great team with a great coach !
Who will come in if Kelly ever leaves ? Who knows ? will Kelly ever leave ? Where would he go ?
In short, we will lose 3 to 4 games typical for A Kelly team, go to a bowl,
and we will be happy with a "good" season.
The magic is gone ! Kelly is an upgrade from recent past coaches, and Urban, Saban , and JH are never coming here.
So let's regroup , be realistic, and enjoy another good , typical , 3 to 4 loss season.

deje vu all over again

good news bad news kinda statements:
"will Kelly ever leave ?"
"Kelly is an upgrade from recent past coaches...."

 

[irishfan26]

So the fact Kelly has coached this team to a 4-1 start (most thought we would split GT and Clemson), with 6 starters missing, says nothing about how good of a coach he is? Yes, the call on the first 2 point conversion is completely on him, but he didn't make the players fumble or the WR drop the ball. He finally moved Sanders to KR (which the same fans calling him an idiot were calling for) and it bit us in the ass.

Do some of the calls puzzle me? Sure. But as snakebit as he has been the past 2 seasons, I think he has done a good job. I don't see him staying more than 2-3 more years anyway. Think he bolts for the NFL.

 

[HDK]

So the fact Kelly has coached this team to a 4-1 start (most thought we would split GT and Clemson), with 6 starters missing, says nothing about how good of a coach he is? Yes, the call on the first 2 point conversion is completely on him, but he didn't make the players fumble or the WR drop the ball. He finally moved Sanders to KR (which the same fans calling him an idiot were calling for) and it bit us in the ass.

Do some of the calls puzzle me? Sure. But as snakebit as he has been the past 2 seasons, I think he has done a good job. I don't see him staying more than 2-3 more years anyway. Think he bolts for the NFL.

As I said above, I think the game was decided in the first five minutes of each half. Special teams, long Kelly's Achille's Heel at ND, bit us in the ass again, with the shanked first half punt and fumbled kickoff.

I understand what Kelly was trying to do early--take the pressure of Kizer and rely on an offensive line that was dominant, but even a blind man could see Clemson was selling out against the run. I kind of think a couple slants on first down may have worked for long gains or even TDs and forced Clemson to back off.

I think with Kizer we have something a little better than a Tommy Rees 2.0 when it comes to running. He is obviously more athletic than Rees but he seems very indecisive as a runner.

In general, I think they should have opened the offense up a bit in the first half (although Kizer was way off target on many throws) and I didn't like either two-pt conversion call.

I did like the way the team battled back.

 

[irishfan26]

His freaking patience in the pocket is impressive. He didn't have his best game last night, but will sit in the pocket until he can find someone.

 

[HDK]

His freaking patience in the pocket is impressive. He didn't have his best game last night, but will sit in the pocket until he can find someone.

Agreed on that front. It's also a bit much to expect him to be able to see the entire field at such an early stage in his career, but he did not see a couple of wide open receivers that could have resulted in big plays.

 

[perseverare]

the kid played terrific; of all the players and all the coaches he gets the deserved 'atta-boy'!

Kizer handles pressure better than Kelly; why would Kelly feel need to take pressure off DK!
Kelly wilted under the pressure.

 

[NDinHouston]

THE SKY IS FALLING!!! This game was lost because of turnovers and dropped passes by the WR'S. This loss is on the players. CBK didn't drop key first down passes, drop a touchdown or drop a 2pt. conversion. CBK didn't fumble inside the 5 yard line. CBK didn't throw the interception that setup Clemsons FG and only points in the second half. Get real people and think before you post stupid shit.

 

[mbd11]

Every year there seems to be a game where Kelly makes a boneheaded 2-pt conversion decision - NW last year, now this. There was no need to go for 2 the first time, and it ended up costing us. Not sure what he was thinking there.

 

[Get Nasty]

THE SKY IS FALLING!!! This game was lost because of turnovers and dropped passes by the WR'S. This loss is on the players. CBK didn't drop key first down passes, drop a touchdown or drop a 2pt. conversion. CBK didn't fumble inside the 5 yard line. CBK didn't throw the interception that setup Clemsons FG and only points in the second half. Get real people and think before you post stupid shit.

we fumbled out of the gate to start the 2nd half and they scored a TD on that. But your point is valid.

Kelly and BVG both came in with poor plans for the WEATHER IMHO, but made great adjustments and enough to win the game. Huge drops, fumbles, a really poor pass, and a terrible start on D caused ND to lose.

 

[wicker]

Boy Justin Yoon sure has a lot of supporters all of a sudden

 

[rivals50]

We are a good team with a good coach, but not a great team with a great coach !
Who will come in if Kelly ever leaves ? Who knows ? will Kelly ever leave ? Where would he go ?
In short, we will lose 3 to 4 games typical for A Kelly team, go to a bowl,
and we will be happy with a "good" season.
The magic is gone ! Kelly is an upgrade from recent past coaches, and Urban, Saban , and JH are never coming here.
So let's regroup , be realistic, and enjoy another good , typical , 3 to 4 loss season.

Kelly does make some really poor decisions such as 2 point conversion play with 15 minutes in the game however, I don't think we want anyone else at this time. See Tennessee, Arkansas, Nebraska etc how they are worse off with newer coaches. He is the best coach we have had since Lou Holtz. He is averaging 9 wins a season. I am not sure if he will ever turn us into any better than that. Under him we will be 8-10 win team with some luck maybe appearing in playoffs once every 5 year (where we might get exposed by better teams).

if a change is made we might drop down to the embarrassment of charlie type losing seasons (this is more likely thank we getting someone like Saban where we are competing every year for NC). So in this gamble we are more likely to lose than win. So i say we have to stick with him and hope he learns from his mistakes. He has not learned however since Tulsa game to not try to get too cute and make these kind of blunders. Its an unwritten rule that you don't go for two until you have to and at that point we did not have to.

 

[rivals50]

I have never been a big fan of Kelly as a play caller but I think he is a top notch HC. He is also probably to most unluckiest coach as well. Those of us that follow the team know. , I have never seen so many bad things happen to a coach as much as Kelly. Heck today, OlMiss, Georgia, UCLA all top 10 teams lost . IMO those losses were much worse then ND's.
Now here is THE big question. How does ND respond ? This is a well respected football team. I EXPECT this team to be 11-1 going to Palo Alto .If this team losses 4 games then BK deserves a ton of criticism. Not yet however.

For us to be 11-1 We have to beat USC and Stanford. I think even if we are lucky we still win only one of these. I belive USC will beat us at home.