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Predicted 8-4 and 8-4 is what I got...

SouthFloridaIrish88

Shakes Down The Thunder
Aug 16, 2022
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As I said this week I pre-season predicted 2-3 in "big games" and 1 weird loss

And we got 3-2 in "big games" and had 2 weird losses.

This was a successful season for a rookie Head Coach at ND, who took over a program that had gone 44-6, the prior 4 seasons. Marcus has been a surprise to me. The 0-2 and 3-3 start with the 2 bad losses didn't surprise me very much

But he impressed me with this ability to learn, adapt, stay process focused, and keep his football team together. Even his annoyance with the post-game media last night, who were washing the balls of Caleb Williams, showed me this guy is developing the right mindset to lead this program

Let's call it for what it is, ND for the first time in 5 years will not win double digit games. And this roster should have won double digit games. But that's okay, because honest people who knew football, also knew there were going to be bumps along the way.

Considering ND was 8-3, missing 2 starters in the secondary, and were playing a 3rd string from 2021, last night's game was pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

This Bowl Game is way more important, get everyone healed up, rested up, figure out who wants to play, and who wants to prep for the draft. Go out and win the ball game.
ND opens next season with:

Navy
Tennessee St
Central Michigan

MAKE SURE you learned from the mistakes of this year and be ready physically and mentally to play the teams you should beat and take care of business. Because after the 3 tune ups, Ohio State is coming to ND Stadium.

Let's just say the future looks way brighter and more certain, than it did after the Stanford game last year. ND is on the right trajectory, and even though my 8-4 record prediction was perfect, my initial take on Freeman was off. He has proven he is the right man for the job
 
Had 10-2….but of course did not think Pyne would be the starting QB for 10 games and throw a bad pick in his first action against Marshall
 
One thing about MF, he definitely is an awesome cultural fit for ND, you just can't deny that. Not that anyone was denying it, but it's a thing, it's a real consideration for ND, as a lot of coaches wouldn't want to be there, or wouldn't enjoy being there, and maybe wouldn't thrive there even if they tried. And MF truly is a great program fit, and it's just becomes so obvious as the season wore on.

I don't know if he'll be a successful coach or not. He doesn't seem to be much of a football genius, but neither was Dabo Swinnery, and if he hires the right assistants, and he uses all of that charisma to recruit top ten classes every year, then maybe he can reach the mountaintop even in spite of that.

But it seemed like the team played hard all year, and that is encouraging, and that the vibe that he inherited, and the culture he inherited, that MF is going to be build on that. And to me that's the big thing for him as ND's coach in particular. And that's something he can bring, in a very natural, holistic way as ND football coach. And that's no small thing, and I wish him luck moving forward....
 
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As I said this week I pre-season predicted 2-3 in "big games" and 1 weird loss

And we got 3-2 in "big games" and had 2 weird losses.

This was a successful season for a rookie Head Coach at ND, who took over a program that had gone 44-6, the prior 4 seasons. Marcus has been a surprise to me. The 0-2 and 3-3 start with the 2 bad losses didn't surprise me very much

But he impressed me with this ability to learn, adapt, stay process focused, and keep his football team together. Even his annoyance with the post-game media last night, who were washing the balls of Caleb Williams, showed me this guy is developing the right mindset to lead this program

Let's call it for what it is, ND for the first time in 5 years will not win double digit games. And this roster should have won double digit games. But that's okay, because honest people who knew football, also knew there were going to be bumps along the way.

Considering ND was 8-3, missing 2 starters in the secondary, and were playing a 3rd string from 2021, last night's game was pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

This Bowl Game is way more important, get everyone healed up, rested up, figure out who wants to play, and who wants to prep for the draft. Go out and win the ball game.
ND opens next season with:

Navy
Tennessee St
Central Michigan

MAKE SURE you learned from the mistakes of this year and be ready physically and mentally to play the teams you should beat and take care of business. Because after the 3 tune ups, Ohio State is coming to ND Stadium.

Let's just say the future looks way brighter and more certain, than it did after the Stanford game last year. ND is on the right trajectory, and even though my 8-4 record prediction was perfect, my initial take on Freeman was off. He has proven he is the right man for the job
I also predicted 8-4 pre-season. For a first time head coach, that's a pretty successful record.

But I think you oversell this teams potential (outside of first year head coach). Our offensive skill players were not top rate nor experienced (coming into the season) outside of MM. And we had several key losses on defense that left holes to be plugged. Nothing close to a rebuilding year, but we weren't loaded either.
 
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