There were some good questions in the comments of my first post about the Blue Gold Game, and they address things I meant to talk about, so I’ll answer those questions and address some other thoughts here.

• Golden Tate was on the field a lot. It was really as though he was sort of a “featured” asset for parts of the game. It’s clear that the coaching staff wants to get Tate on the field a great deal, but I’m not sure that he was on the field so much this Saturday because of his ability or because the coaching staff really wants to get him as many reps as they can since he was out so much this spring for baseball. Aside from the deep go route that he ran, and now everyone knows about, I also spotted him running what I thought were some hitch routes off an 8 step drive, a square in type thing, an out or two, and then a sort of come-back route that’s like a hitch, where he drove the corner off (who was already playing soft), and then would snap back and sprint back toward the LOS, creating more separation. I seem to recall him dropping a pass, but he does have very soft hands, and he has that unique ability to leap in the air and, at least to an observer, seem to float. And he’s just plain fast. The defense knew he was running a go in that last deep pass play, and he did, and Jimmy threw it right as Tate was level with the DB, and Tate not only ran under the ball, but kicked it an extra gear to do so. It’s really impressive to see. ND hasn’t seen that in a while.
• There were no kickoffs in the game. The punt game was used, but all punts were fair-caught. Some of the punts were very nice. One was a real shank. I’m not real concerned with it. Maust was, and I believe still is, a fine punter. No clue on kickoffs, obviously. Field goal kicking was a nice surprise. All kicks looked pretty strong. There was an attempt at a 43 or 46 yard kick that had plenty of leg, but hit the left upright about 1/3rd of the way up the post. Had it been on target, it was enough leg for a 48 yard field goal. Nice to see. Also, though I wasn’t paying much attention, it looked like whoever is doing long-snapping is actually just fine. Some real zip on the snaps.
• Left tackle, despite the sacks, seemed to do alright. I didn’t understand what was going on during one of the sacks because it looked like the tackle, Paul Duncan, just stopped playing, but apparently Weis didn’t want the OL cutting the defense, so they’d yell “cut!” and the defender was supposed to stop pursuit. That didn’t happen, apparently. And really, the entire system just makes it tough to see how much that position has progressed. I will say that Duncan seemed much more comfortable with his initial step. When I watched him, he seemed pretty fluid. So there’s hope. We’ll just have to wait and see.
• Harrison Smith made a nice play to get that pick-6, but if my memory isn’t fooling me, the entire set-up to that play was sort of weird. Before that play, the offense had a very comfortable lead. Also, a little bit before that play, I noticed Weis leave the defense side and go talk to the offensive coaches. Then I think there was a time-out, and the coaches were giving very specific instructions to Clausen. It really all sort of seemed like either the coaches were setting up the game for a chance at a defensive come-back, or they were so obvious in their coaching of Clausen that Smith probably knew what was coming. I have a feeling it was the later. The team seemed to be practicing situations outside of the game itself (more on that in the next item), and Harrison Smith might have know what was coming. Still, and excellent play.
• Brian Polian was standing behind the offense, on the field, during the entire game. And in between each play, he was making signals to both the offense and the defense. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I think he might have been telling the offense and the defense about the situation for each play beyond simply, “3rd and 5, on the Gold 31, 4 minutes remain.” I think they were imagining and working on scenarios separate from the game the people in the stands were watching - sort of a “game withing a game” type thing. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that’s what was going on.
• As I mentioned before, Weis spent most of his time on the defensive side of the field. He seemed, for the most part, to be having a nice time. I think it was a good idea, too. It further affirms that he’s a “head coach” and not just an OC with head coaching responsibilities.
• I didn’t see Tenuta on the field. I believe he was in the booth. He was always in the booth at Georgia Tech, and if there’s someone you want looking down on the field, looking for openings and weaknesses, it’s him.

Anyway, again, if you’ve got any questions, just ask, and I’ll try to answer them.

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