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That was a pathetic second half

GoldCountryND

Irish Expert
Sep 8, 2018
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I don’t know what the deal was but it looked like this team was just sleep walking. Offense thank god for the ONE final drive it was abysmal. The defense?!! WTF was that debacle? We played UGA 100x better than we did SC. That’s just inexcusable. That SC team is not that good. ND is not a top 10 team right now. It should not be anywhere near playoff discussion. If they go on and ROLL the rest of their schedule they might have some argument.. otherwise, forget it. My god our D looked gassed and had no clue what was going on in the second half. What a lucky ass call that was on roughing the passer against SC on Book.
 
I don’t know what the deal was but it looked like this team was just sleep walking. Offense thank god for the ONE final drive it was abysmal. The defense?!! WTF was that debacle? We played UGA 100x better than we did SC. That’s just inexcusable. That SC team is not that good. ND is not a top 10 team right now. It should not be anywhere near playoff discussion. If they go on and ROLL the rest of their schedule they might have some argument.. otherwise, forget it. My god our D looked gassed and had no clue what was going on in the second half. What a lucky ass call that was on roughing the passer against SC on Book.
Nothing like a little home cooking!
 
I think the SC offense line played a really solid game and gave their QB lots of time and protection.
They also opened up nice holes for the running backs, and their backs ran with a lot of strength
And desire.
In short either our defense was a letdown, or SC has a very good o line ?
 
I think the SC offense line played a really solid game and gave their QB lots of time and protection.
They also opened up nice holes for the running backs, and their backs ran with a lot of strength
And desire.
In short either our defense was a letdown, or SC has a very good o line ?

Lots of holding too.

I think the problem was Long's staple play: the quick handoff to TJJ left, was working all night and we'd get into trouble asking Book to throw screens.
 
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USC played their asses off. Notre Dame played its B game and still won... I don't understand the outrage.

#3 Georgia scored 17 points today and lost.
#10 Penn State scored 17 points today and won ugly.
#7 Florida scored 28 points today and lost.
#11 Texas scored 27 points today and lost.
#20 Virginia scored 9 points Friday and lost.

It could have been a lot worse man. Close wins happen. You don't always call a perfect game, execute a game plan flawlessly, or make huge plays. See the teams above who also fell victim of that today.

Notre Dame is going to be #8 tomorrow. They'll jump Florida, who lost by 2 touchdowns. If they just keep improving coming out of their bye week they'll keep moving up.
 
USC played their asses off. Notre Dame played its B game and still won... I don't understand the outrage.

#3 Georgia scored 17 points today and lost.
#10 Penn State scored 17 points today and won ugly.
#7 Florida scored 28 points today and lost.
#11 Texas scored 27 points today and lost.
#20 Virginia scored 9 points Friday and lost.

It could have been a lot worse man. Close wins happen. You don't always call a perfect game, execute a game plan flawlessly, or make huge plays. See the teams above who also fell victim of that today.

Notre Dame is going to be #8 tomorrow. They'll jump Florida, who lost by 2 touchdowns. If they just keep improving coming out of their bye week they'll keep moving up.
I don't understand the outrage either. Typical for some posters here
 
USC played their asses off. Notre Dame played its B game and still won... I don't understand the outrage.

#3 Georgia scored 17 points today and lost.
#10 Penn State scored 17 points today and won ugly.
#7 Florida scored 28 points today and lost.
#11 Texas scored 27 points today and lost.
#20 Virginia scored 9 points Friday and lost.

It could have been a lot worse man. Close wins happen. You don't always call a perfect game, execute a game plan flawlessly, or make huge plays. See the teams above who also fell victim of that today.

Notre Dame is going to be #8 tomorrow. They'll jump Florida, who lost by 2 touchdowns. If they just keep improving coming out of their bye week they'll keep moving up.

Why would they ranked ahead of 1 loss UF who played a tough game AT LSU? They may be but I’d never put ND ahead of UF right now. NO way. SC played their asses off.. I just wish ND had done the same in the second half. Giving up 24 like that is absurd.
 
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USC played their asses off. Notre Dame played its B game and still won... I don't understand the outrage.

#3 Georgia scored 17 points today and lost.
#10 Penn State scored 17 points today and won ugly.
#7 Florida scored 28 points today and lost.
#11 Texas scored 27 points today and lost.
#20 Virginia scored 9 points Friday and lost.

It could have been a lot worse man. Close wins happen. You don't always call a perfect game, execute a game plan flawlessly, or make huge plays. See the teams above who also fell victim of that today.

Notre Dame is going to be #8 tomorrow. They'll jump Florida, who lost by 2 touchdowns. If they just keep improving coming out of their bye week they'll keep moving up.

True, and it also bears mentioning that we were always ahead after that first FG and were never really threatened (win probability was at 70% or better the entire second half). I think people are upset because USC looked clearly over matched in the first half and was and we never really put the dagger in. That drive up 20-6 that ended in downs...it was the drive to turn the game into a rout but we didn’t get it done there.

With the GA loss, we know we have to beat the hell out of teams, climb the offensive and defensive efficiency leaderboards, climb the dominance/control of game metrics, etc., to have a chance at the playoffs.
 
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Why would they ranked ahead of 1 loss UF who played a tough game AT LSU? They may be but I’d never put ND ahead of UF right now. NO way. SC played their asses off.. I just wish ND had done the same in the second half. Giving up 24 like that is absurd.

Florida lost by 14 points at LSU
Notre Dame lost by 6 points at Georgia

Florida hasn't looked any better than Notre Dame in their other games this season.

I have no problem with a one loss Notre Dame team being ranked ahead of a one loss Florida team.
 
Florida lost by 14 points at LSU
Notre Dame lost by 6 points at Georgia

Florida hasn't looked any better than Notre Dame in their other games this season.

I have no problem with a one loss Notre Dame team being ranked ahead of a one loss Florida team.
They also beat a top 12 Auburn team. I would go Florida over ND as well. Dont know where the ap will go though
 
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They also beat a top 12 Auburn team. I would go Florida over ND as well. Dont know where the ap will go though

Barely beat Miami and Kentucky. Trask is better than Frank's, but they have some significant warts.

The first time they played a quality offense this season they gave up 45 points.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one...
 
They
Barely beat Miami and Kentucky. Trask is better than Frank's, but they have some significant warts.

The first time they played a quality offense this season they gave up 45 points.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one...
They still have a MUCH better win than we do. We barely beat USC so that cancels one of those out. I think LSU is much better than Georgia personally.

Splitting hairs here. Florida Georgia Auburn ND Oregon are in the next group after the 6 undefeateds. Add in psu with our group and thats 7 thru 12 that could be ranked any number of ways
 
I don’t know what the deal was but it looked like this team was just sleep walking. Offense thank god for the ONE final drive it was abysmal. The defense?!! WTF was that debacle? We played UGA 100x better than we did SC. That’s just inexcusable. That SC team is not that good. ND is not a top 10 team right now. It should not be anywhere near playoff discussion. If they go on and ROLL the rest of their schedule they might have some argument.. otherwise, forget it. My god our D looked gassed and had no clue what was going on in the second half. What a lucky ass call that was on roughing the passer against SC on Book.
Wow, I was at the game and thought we won. Maybe I was confused?
 
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They also beat a top 12 Auburn team. I would go Florida over ND as well. Dont know where the ap will go though

and when Auburn beats LSU but loses to UGA, who beat UF, we'll have great polygon firing squad.
 
It was disappointing watching the defense get killed. They’ve been so strong for the last couple of years. I’m not used to it. They looked better against GA.
Yawn. So- called NDfan who never gives the opponent any credit but bitches and moans about ND ad nauseum. Expecting a perfect performance ? I m thrilled. Good hard fought victory. Tough game, nothing wrong with that. Slovis was outstanding.
 
True, and it also bears mentioning that we were always ahead after that first FG and were never really threatened (win probability was at 70% or better the entire second half). I think people are upset because USC looked clearly over matched in the first half and was and we never really put the dagger in. That drive up 20-6 that ended in downs...it was the drive to turn the game into a rout but we didn’t get it done there.

With the GA loss, we know we have to beat the hell out of teams, climb the offensive and defensive efficiency leaderboards, climb the dominance/control of game metrics, etc., to have a chance at the playoffs.
That's what happens when you get FGs instead of TDs. Teams hang around. ND was not efficient in the passing game. The ground game was very good. Good solid win.
 
Only matters where the playoff committee ranks them. Why anyone care about the AP poll ?

These 1 loss teams ‘trump’ ND:
LSU
CU
UGA
AU
Bama
tOSU
Okla.
Oregon

ND needs those teams to lose 2.
 
I remember a year -- I think it was '92 -- when Notre Dame went out to LA and Reggie Brooks ran wild on USC in the first half. Yet, USC had the ball deep in our territory down 8 with a chance to tie in the waning moments.

My memory also tells me that Lou Holtz said that team was his most talented.

In light of the fact that Holtz enjoys what can only be described as an exalted reputation around here, I wonder what people would have said about that game if we had this forum back then.
 
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And pass interference against claypool, and many holds, and face mask on kmet, I can keep going
Exactly. The sword cuts both ways, but people are willfully ignorant and just cherry pick certain calls to illustrate unfairness/bias. I would say we have been screwed plenty throughout the year because the refs NEVER call holding against the other team's O-Line, EVER. Even though I catch them grabbing jerseys left and right.
 
Wow, I was at the game and thought we one. Maybe I was confused?

You missed the memo where they explained that football would adopt the same scoring system as golf, so it was a relatively easy three-stroke win for USC.
 
Yawn. So- called NDfan who never gives the opponent any credit but bitches and moans about ND ad nauseum. Expecting a perfect performance ? I m thrilled. Good hard fought victory. Tough game, nothing wrong with that. Slovis was outstanding.

Was Slovis outstanding or was it the 3 man rush that gave him plenty of time that made him look good ?
 
Years ago, ND had neutral officials for home games against conference opponents.

ND needs to restore that policy.

The new rule eliminating two “sets” of officials won’t help us.

P.S. ACC Refs have done us no favors
 
Wow, I was at the game and thought we one. Maybe I was confused?

Haha! Made me laugh irish4life! Too many posters forget that sometimes the other team shows up to play. Nothing wrong with a nice win over a rivalry opponent. I haven't ventured over to NDN to see what the chicken little crowd over there is saying about the game. All gloom and doom, I imagine.
 
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I don’t know what the deal was but it looked like this team was just sleep walking. Offense thank god for the ONE final drive it was abysmal. The defense?!! WTF was that debacle? We played UGA 100x better than we did SC. That’s just inexcusable. That SC team is not that good. ND is not a top 10 team right now. It should not be anywhere near playoff discussion. If they go on and ROLL the rest of their schedule they might have some argument.. otherwise, forget it. My god our D looked gassed and had no clue what was going on in the second half. What a lucky ass call that was on roughing the passer against SC on Book.

ND was clearly concerned about the mismatch with SC WR and Irish CB. They played conservatively on D (3 down/drop 8) and conservatively on O (rushing >300 yds), by design. Was it pretty? Nope. Did it achieve the desired outcome? Perhaps hard to tell by fan response, but I would argue that a win vs SC is never a bad thing
 
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How about giving some credit to SC. They came to play! ND played hard as well. It’s not like SC doesn’t have any athletes. Heck, they have studs all over. There was no way they weren’t going to score. The goal is to WIN. Is it not? It was a battle of two heavy weights. ND took their best shot and came out with the win. Sure, there is plenty of plays to critique. I’m sure it will be addressed over the next two weeks. Either way, the Irish got the W and that is all that matters. I’ll take an “ ugly “ win, over a “ moral “ victory any day.
 
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How about giving some credit to SC. They came to play! ND played hard as well. It’s not like SC doesn’t have any athletes. Heck, they have studs all over. There was no way they weren’t going to score. The goal is to WIN. Is it not? It was a battle of two heavy weights. ND took their best shot and came out with the win. Sure, there is plenty of plays to critique. I’m sure it will be addressed over the next two weeks. Either way, the Irish got the W and that is all that matters. I’ll take an “ ugly “ win, over a “ moral “ victory any day.


no, I have seen them play and ND laid a gargantuan egg last night!
SC has individual talent in spits but isa bad “team”.

No sugar coating a bad effort by the ND staff.
 
Haha! Made me laugh irish4life! Too many posters forget that sometimes the other team shows up to play. Nothing wrong with a nice win over a rivalry opponent. I haven't ventured over to NDN to see what the chicken little crowd over there is saying about the game. All gloom and doom, I imagine.
I'm sure, I browsed through the game thread and what's a shi# show lol.
 
How about giving some credit to SC. They came to play! ND played hard as well. It’s not like SC doesn’t have any athletes. Heck, they have studs all over. There was no way they weren’t going to score. The goal is to WIN. Is it not? It was a battle of two heavy weights. ND took their best shot and came out with the win. Sure, there is plenty of plays to critique. I’m sure it will be addressed over the next two weeks. Either way, the Irish got the W and that is all that matters. I’ll take an “ ugly “ win, over a “ moral “ victory any day.

Not so sure that I agree.

ND let USC back into the game in the second half after dominating them in the Second quarter.

ND failed to counter USC’s adjustments and if Young doesn’t recover his fumble, chances are that USC wins the game
 
no, I have seen them play and ND laid a gargantuan egg last night!
SC has individual talent in spits but isa bad “team”.

No sugar coating a bad effort by the ND staff.
Wow, one of the most delousinal post I've seen lol. You would think we lost by 40 reading your post. USC coming off a bye with arguably better talent then ND.
 
ND was clearly concerned about the mismatch with SC WR and Irish CB. They played conservatively on D (3 down/drop 8) and conservatively on O (rushing >300 yds), by design. Was it pretty? Nope. Did it achieve the desired outcome? Perhaps hard to tell by fan response, but I would argue that a win vs SC is never a bad thing

I agree, winning is never bad, no matter how ugly, but chances are that this game would have been lost if Young doesn’t recover his fumble.
 
I agree, winning is never bad, no matter how ugly, but chances are that this game would have been lost if Young doesn’t recover his fumble.
Ugh there are so many "ifs" what if young didn't fumble he would have scored ans it would have been a much different 2nd half going up 27-3. What's your point with hypotheticals? Fact is even not playing a perfect game we won.
 
In a way I love that our expectations are this high. It felt like this was the first game Lea had where he didn’t make any second half adjustments. I’m also still frustrated by book a bit but he had a play in the 3rd Q where he was flushed and scrambled but kept his head up and converted a 3rd down. Small progress I’ll take.

But let’s not lose sight of the big picture- we’ve beaten USC 3 freaking times in a row! We’re 5-1. I think with a week off and maybe getting more from Armstrong and TJJ humming, we have a good shot v UM. Though I’m viewing the rest of the season that we have VERY minimal shot at getting back in the playoffs. Not because we aren’t going to finish 11-1, just because this is the year I see a number of undefeated teams to choose and if the last spot goes to a 1 loss team it likely won’t be us. Given that maybe I’m less stressed out at this point, idk? It’d be pretty gratifying to go 12-1 with a ny6 bowl win and would set up next year and beyond for greater things.
 
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