Unbiased thoughts on ND/Clemson.

[SchmidtyNole]

We play Clemson every year. We played Notre Dame last year. Here are my thoughts:

Overall Talent: Slight edge to Notre Dame.

Having watched both teams this year, I think Clemson has a better defense than Notre Dame but it isn't a huge difference. I think Will Fuller gives Notre Dame a big shot in the arm offensively and as good as Mackensie Alexander is, they won't shut down Fuller completely. Where I give Notre Dame a huge edge over Clemson is on the Offensive Line. ND's OLine is huge. They gave us all we could handle last year. ND is able to move people off the ball and pound the rock better than Clemson can. I give Clemson the edge at QB with Watson.
But in terms of talent, you are basically splitting hairs. I just give Notre Dame the slight edge in talent due to the fact that I think Notre Dame's OLine compared to Clemson's OLine is the biggest discrepancy of all the segments on both teams.

Home Field Advantage gives Clemson a real edge.

So due to the fact that I give Notre Dame slight edge in talent but Clemson makes that up with Home Field Advantage, I look for this to be the type of game that is won or lost by a field goal or less. I won't pick a winner but I'll be watching and looking for a great game.

 

[perseverare]

unbiased and use of 'nole' is an oxymoron!

 

[SchmidtyNole]

unbiased and use of 'nole' is an oxymoron!

Real classy there. So you're saying my post is biased?

 

[FightingIrish44]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure how relevant the ND/FSU game is to this year's Clemson/ND game. ND is basically down to their #3 QB. Some other key injuries too.

I'm going to watch Clemson/Louisville to get a better feel for them. I think the difference will be Clemson's defense playing a better game than the ND defense. I don't have much confidence in them at all.

 

[IrishMike409]

We play Clemson every year. We played Notre Dame last year. Here are my thoughts:

Overall Talent: Slight edge to Notre Dame.

Having watched both teams this year, I think Clemson has a better defense than Notre Dame but it isn't a huge difference. I think Will Fuller gives Notre Dame a big shot in the arm offensively and as good as Mackensie Alexander is, they won't shut down Fuller completely. Where I give Notre Dame a huge edge over Clemson is on the Offensive Line. ND's OLine is huge. They gave us all we could handle last year. ND is able to move people off the ball and pound the rock better than Clemson can. I give Clemson the edge at QB with Watson.
But in terms of talent, you are basically splitting hairs. I just give Notre Dame the slight edge in talent due to the fact that I think Notre Dame's OLine compared to Clemson's OLine is the biggest discrepancy of all the segments on both teams.

Home Field Advantage gives Clemson a real edge.

So due to the fact that I give Notre Dame slight edge in talent but Clemson makes that up with Home Field Advantage, I look for this to be the type of game that is won or lost by a field goal or less. I won't pick a winner but I'll be watching and looking for a great game.

Good, solid post. Appreciate the insight.

I hope that our OL can take over the game.....

 

[BGI User 348]

Appreciate your post. IMO it all comes down to TURNOVERS and whether ND can play as well on the road as we did at fsu last year and at oklahoma before.

BEAT da oranges!!!

 

[Yooper Irishfan]

Good post Nole. I do agree with you that the biggest talent discrepancy between units is on the OL. I think we'll be fine against the run, but I'm worried about deep passes and coverage breakdowns, which have appeared in every game this year.

In evenly-matched games, it's line play, turnovers, and special teams that decide. I do think we'll have the advantage on both sides of the ball in line play, but it won't be a big enough advantage to win the game single-handedly. Clemson has had issues on kick coverage this year, so maybe CJ or Amir can bust a big one. We need to do whatever we can to take the game off Kizer's shoulders.

 

[HRC08]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure how relevant the ND/FSU game is to this year's Clemson/ND game. ND is basically down to their #3 QB. Some other key injuries too.

I'm going to watch Clemson/Louisville to get a better feel for them. I think the difference will be Clemson's defense playing a better game than the ND defense. I don't have much confidence in them at all.

Yeah I think Clemson's defense will really test Kizer in this game. He's going to get hit several times and what he does with the ball is unknown at this point. I hope he holds on to it.

 

[BigFellaFan]

Notre Dame also has a huge advantage in coaching and the overall talent and it's not really close.

If both ND and Clemson play well

 

[Four-Leaf]

I would count on a Kizer turnover in this game as it is his first start on the road in a hostile place. On the flip side of that Clemson will not see an offensive line as dominant as ours, Prosise can be the difference. Not to mention play action is Kizer's best friend when trying to suck the wind out of a rowdy crowd.

I hope Yoon is ready, we need him Saturday night. How is the Clemson kicking game?

 

[beachcardinal]

I give ND about a 7-10 point edge straight up. take away 3 for an away game and your down to 7-4 points. That's one or two turnover. If ND wins or ties the turnover battle it should win by a score and a shade. If they do could be a loss. Long way of saying I agree with Biguser

 

[perseverare]

we are all experts till kickoff

 

[HRC08]

I would count on a Kizer turnover in this game as it is his first start on the road in a hostile place. On the flip side of that Clemson will not see an offensive line as dominant as ours, Prosise can be the difference. Not to mention play action is Kizer's best friend when trying to suck the wind out of a rowdy crowd.

I hope Yoon is ready, we need him Saturday night. How is the Clemson kicking game?

Not great. Dabo thought twice a few times in the Louisville game and their coverage teams aren't great either. From what I can tell (and i'm just guessing here so don't beat me up, Tigers fan) it might have to do with their depth at the Linebacker positions. They might be foreced to play a few too many untested folks on ST's for fear of losing somebody and hurting their already thin depth at LB.

 

[twalsh]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure how relevant the ND/FSU game is to this year's Clemson/ND game. ND is basically down to their #3 QB. Some other key injuries too.

I'm going to watch Clemson/Louisville to get a better feel for them. I think the difference will be Clemson's defense playing a better game than the ND defense. I don't have much confidence in them at all.

If you base Clemson on that game you will think we will beat them by 40. We won't.

 

[FightingIrish44]

If you base Clemson on that game you will think we will beat them by 40. We won't.

There's still plenty to learn, especially to see what they do scheme-wise.

 

[irishfan26]

I will be curious to see what Clemson brings defensively. They were only returning 3 starters to begin with, then lost a DB to an injury. Our o-line should be able to open some running lanes for our running backs, which in turn, should open up some passing lanes (play action to Fuller, with a rolling running game- I'll take that against ANY team in the country).

Since Clemson lost Williams, I am not sure what they have offensively. I am almost wondering if they have had too much time off, considering it will be close to 10 days off. Every coach likes rest, but maintaining a rhythm is important. I'm sure they have used the last two games to prepare for us, but the only thing you take away from Georgia Tech is to throw to a rb out of the backfield. If we don't fix the gaps we left open against UMass, this will be a very high scoring game (which it could be anyway).

This is one of the games I had down as a potential loss (of course, I had GT as one as well). At home, we win this game by double digits EASILY. If we keep this game close in the 4th and allow the crowd to push Clemson, we will be in trouble. Kizer driving against 50,000 plus at UVA is not even close to what he will face Saturday. Would like to see Wimbush come in and run a few plays.

Very excited about Saturday night. These are the games we use to dread. Now they are the ones we look forward to the most. Go Irish!

 

[IowaIrish1]

We play Clemson every year. We played Notre Dame last year. Here are my thoughts:

Overall Talent: Slight edge to Notre Dame.

Having watched both teams this year, I think Clemson has a better defense than Notre Dame but it isn't a huge difference. I think Will Fuller gives Notre Dame a big shot in the arm offensively and as good as Mackensie Alexander is, they won't shut down Fuller completely. Where I give Notre Dame a huge edge over Clemson is on the Offensive Line. ND's OLine is huge. They gave us all we could handle last year. ND is able to move people off the ball and pound the rock better than Clemson can. I give Clemson the edge at QB with Watson.
But in terms of talent, you are basically splitting hairs. I just give Notre Dame the slight edge in talent due to the fact that I think Notre Dame's OLine compared to Clemson's OLine is the biggest discrepancy of all the segments on both teams.

Home Field Advantage gives Clemson a real edge.

So due to the fact that I give Notre Dame slight edge in talent but Clemson makes that up with Home Field Advantage, I look for this to be the type of game that is won or lost by a field goal or less. I won't pick a winner but I'll be watching and looking for a great game.

To be honest the jury is still out on both teams. Even more so Clemson, because the schedule. I know ND's schedule hasn't been as good as thought, but you really don't know what you're getting with Clemson. I love watching night games at Clemson though. Place looks fun as hell!

 

[instaGATOR]

Last mythical NC was 1988.
Last shot at a BCS-NC was 2012. UA 42 - 14 ND.

2015 ND is 4-0 over their usual slate of cupcakes:

ND 38 - 3 over 1-3 Texas who's only win is over Rice.

ND 34 - 27 for a +7 over unranked 1-3 Va. who's only win is over William & Mary.

ND 30 - 22 over 2-2 GaTech who just got schooled by Dukie. their only wins are over AlcornSt & Tulane.

ND 62 - 27 +35 over Mighty 0-3 U-Mass who also lost by 34 pts to unranked Colo.
===================

Clemp's-son is 3-0 over 3 bad/weak teams.

Clemp's-son 49 - 10 Wofford D2 - why bother

Clemp's-son 41 - 10 AppSt - 2-1 with 2 big wins over D2's

Clemp's-son 20 - 17 @ UL - 1-3 with only win over D2 Samford
===================

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ for the battle of the undefeateds game....
(this post is intended for the exclusive use of my good buddy, the I-wish-26)

 

[NDSMC78]

Last mythical NC was 1988.
Last shot at a BCS-NC was 2012. UA 42 - 14 ND.

2015 ND is 4-0 over their usual slate of cupcakes:

ND 38 - 3 over 1-3 Texas who's only win is over Rice.

ND 34 - 27 for a +7 over unranked 1-3 Va. who's only win is over William & Mary.

ND 30 - 22 over 2-2 GaTech who just got schooled by Dukie. their only win are over AlcornSt & Tulane.

ND 62 - 27 +35 over Mighty 0-3 U-Mass who also lost by 34 pts to unranked Colo.
===================

Clemp's-son is 3-0 over 3 bad/weak teams.

Clemp's-son 49 - 10 Wofford D2 - why bother

Clemp's-son 41 - 10 AppSt - 2-1 with 2 big wins over D2's

Clemp's-son 20 - 17 @ UL - 1-3 with only win over D2 Samford
===================

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ for the battle of the undefeateds game....
(this post is intended for the exclusive use of my good buddy, the I-wish-26)

Back on the ignore button for this jackass.

 

[Irish Grandeur]

I see the key for ND winning this game is to keep their first quarter leads going - jump out to an early lead. BK can get a little impatient when the score is close or behind and start winging the ball too much. ND has the type of offense that will wear modern day defenses out if they keep pounding the rock. IMO, the easiest way for ND to lose this game is to turn away from their run game.

 

[gipper04]

Last mythical NC was 1988.
Last shot at a BCS-NC was 2012. UA 42 - 14 ND.

2015 ND is 4-0 over their usual slate of cupcakes:

ND 38 - 3 over 1-3 Texas who's only win is over Rice.

ND 34 - 27 for a +7 over unranked 1-3 Va. who's only win is over William & Mary.

ND 30 - 22 over 2-2 GaTech who just got schooled by Dukie. their only win are over AlcornSt & Tulane.

ND 62 - 27 +35 over Mighty 0-3 U-Mass who also lost by 34 pts to unranked Colo.
===================

Clemp's-son is 3-0 over 3 bad/weak teams.

Clemp's-son 49 - 10 Wofford D2 - why bother

Clemp's-son 41 - 10 AppSt - 2-1 with 2 big wins over D2's

Clemp's-son 20 - 17 @ UL - 1-3 with only win over D2 Samford
===================

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ for the battle of the undefeateds game....
(this post is intended for the exclusive use of my good buddy, the I-wish-26)

The best part of his DNA rolled down someones leg.

UF has little history. You have Stevie Boy and a few NCs under Urbie. Beyond that it is limited at best. Florida is a crappy football program and Jim will do nothing to fix it.
Spurrier got you 1. Urban got you 2 and 40 arrests in the same timeframe.

The swamp is a dump, and although the girls look good, most are DBs.

 

[Bodizephax]

Notre Dame owns the first and third quarters in all four of their games so far.
Notre Dame comes out strong. I imagine they will come out strong against Clemson too.
The only issue ND has had so far is falling asleep at the wheel when up. The loud Clemson crowd will help keep them awake. I hope ND keeps playing hard even after they quiet the crowd,

Here are the stats that the Irish have put up so far in 2015 for 4 quarters of football in the first and third quarters;

NOTRE DAME 47 to 6 in the FIRST QUARTER

NOTRE DAME 51 to 3 in the THIRD QUARTER.

I am so ready to watch this game. I feel very confidant in ND.

 

[TimmyBobby]

If you base Clemson on that game you will think we will beat them by 40. We won't.

Yeah it'd be like us watching y'all against UVA and saying mofo please, UVA couldn't fill our water bottles

 

[instaGATOR]

As to those couple of very mean-spirited responses, .

As to putting me on ignore,,, well, YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH.
(so I thank you for doing so, it will likely save us both some grief)

PS

I didn't come here looking for the approval of the NC has-beens.
UF is the S.I. 'Mountain Top' of college sports, not some old time phootball factory.

"why can't we all jus-getta-long"

 

[IrishMike409]

Last mythical NC was 1988.
Last shot at a BCS-NC was 2012. UA 42 - 14 ND.

2015 ND is 4-0 over their usual slate of cupcakes:

ND 38 - 3 over 1-3 Texas who's only win is over Rice.

ND 34 - 27 for a +7 over unranked 1-3 Va. who's only win is over William & Mary.

ND 30 - 22 over 2-2 GaTech who just got schooled by Dukie. their only win are over AlcornSt & Tulane.

ND 62 - 27 +35 over Mighty 0-3 U-Mass who also lost by 34 pts to unranked Colo.
===================

Clemp's-son is 3-0 over 3 bad/weak teams.

Clemp's-son 49 - 10 Wofford D2 - why bother

Clemp's-son 41 - 10 AppSt - 2-1 with 2 big wins over D2's

Clemp's-son 20 - 17 @ UL - 1-3 with only win over D2 Samford
===================

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ for the battle of the undefeateds game....
(this post is intended for the exclusive use of my good buddy, the I-wish-26)

Come on man. Grow up. Why come here and start for no reason? Should be a fun game Saturday night, regardless. 2 undefeated teams, great college football atmosphere. I can't wait to watch!

 

[Irish Grandeur]

As to those couple of very mean-spirited responses, .

As to putting me on ignore,,, well, YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH.
(so I thank you for doing so, it will likely save us both some grief)

PS

I didn't come here looking for the approval of the NC has-beens.
UF is the S.I. 'Mountain Top' of college sports, not some old time phootball factory.

"why can't we all jus-getta-long"

Envy will get you no where, instaGATOR

 

[instaGATOR]

What you all seem to have missed in my first post was this:

(this post is intended for the exclusive use of my good buddy, the I-wish-26)

The rest was just the facts, so have fun shooting at the messenger, but I duck quick.

Also, I'm outta here, at least for now. I'm not a thread-hor on someone else's board.

PS

Who really knows how good any team is at this point in the season? (nobody imoho)

#6 ND 4-0

#12 Clemp's-son 3-0

#25 UF 4-0

UF won @ UK, and they just won @ former #25 Mizzou
UF beat ECU, and they just beat VT for the 2nd season in a row.
UF beat Tenn, and it took #15 Okla 2 OT's to finally beat them.
Those rankings seem kosher to me....

 

[Irish Grandeur]

Have a good night instaGATOR. We will be rooting for you guys to make a splash in the SEC this year.

 

[Nocalirish]

Clemson is just Virginia light.

 

[SALittleGiant513]

If only that were close to being true.

 

[kellyirish35]

We play Clemson every year. We played Notre Dame last year. Here are my thoughts:

Overall Talent: Slight edge to Notre Dame.

Having watched both teams this year, I think Clemson has a better defense than Notre Dame but it isn't a huge difference. I think Will Fuller gives Notre Dame a big shot in the arm offensively and as good as Mackensie Alexander is, they won't shut down Fuller completely. Where I give Notre Dame a huge edge over Clemson is on the Offensive Line. ND's OLine is huge. They gave us all we could handle last year. ND is able to move people off the ball and pound the rock better than Clemson can. I give Clemson the edge at QB with Watson.
But in terms of talent, you are basically splitting hairs. I just give Notre Dame the slight edge in talent due to the fact that I think Notre Dame's OLine compared to Clemson's OLine is the biggest discrepancy of all the segments on both teams.

Home Field Advantage gives Clemson a real edge.

So due to the fact that I give Notre Dame slight edge in talent but Clemson makes that up with Home Field Advantage, I look for this to be the type of game that is won or lost by a field goal or less. I won't pick a winner but I'll be watching and looking for a great game.

Pardon the rude reply from Purse -- he is our village nit wit .

What has jumped out at me watching ND this yr is as you mentioned our OL BUT what really has impressed me is the explosiveness of our running backs . It is a given that we will get some looks / creases from our high level OL but those looks can now result in viable shots to score from anywhere on the field . We have not had that @ ND in a long time .

Procise , Williams and Adams are capable of getting to the second level and making a 15 yd - TD run . ND has created a championship running game . Procise has 600 yds on the ground - Folston had 880 all last yr . Williams showed moves on Saturday that I have NEVER seen out of a ND back . Kelly has described him as a phenomenal talent that is not understating it .

I think these factors could separate us from any team on our schedule . This is not just an effective running team it has evolved into a dangerous running team. Back to the OL - these guys were all highly regarded recruits - their play on the field has caught up with their resume's .

Our achilles heel seems to be our secondary play hopefully that gets off set by our run defense . I think the thing that will win or lose the game ( if our running game doesn't dominate ) will be the secondary's ability to make a few plays on third downs to get the defense off the field . We have to make a few plays on the ball to maximize our chances of winning this type of game . Hopefully they are up to the task .

 

[Telx1]

Kelly Irish 35, why the new handle?

As to the OP, as with any anticipated competitive game, there are games within the game. The one I expect to be the difference maker is the play of your defensive secondary versus Kizer. I expect our receivers will enjoy less separation than they have in prior games, and Kizer needs to show he can throw accurately and timely. Our receivers will get open, just less margin for error, and smaller windows of opportunity. Should be a really interesting aspect of this game, and can't wait to see us in Death Valley. Of course, I expect your 11game home field winning streak to come to an end this Saturday. Hope we have no serious injuries to either team.

 

[Yooper Irishfan]

Clemson is just Virginia light.

LOL. You can't be serious? Clemson is a damn good team, and is in no way comparable to Virginia. If we play with the same drive that we did against UVA, we're going to get slobberknockered. Granted it did seem like the wind got sucked out of our sails when Zaire went down in that one.