Yeah, 2 of USC's wins have been stricken from the record books. Yeah, the Bush Push was actually an illegal play and it never should've counted. But, fact remains that for 8 games in a row, ND hadn't beaten SC.
8 games. 8 seasons of Notre Dame football. Almost my entire 20's.
It's over. The mother&^$@ing streak is OVER!!!!!. I cannot describe how happy I am that we beat SC. Forget that we tried to give them the game over and over. Forget the mistakes or that they dropped an easy pass. We gave them the ball in our own 30 three times and STILL won the game. We wont it through great defense, a tough mentality, and coming together as a team. This is Notre Dame football. This is the Fighting Irish!
A few thoughts on the game and the team...
1) Tailgating was fun. Yeah, got a few boos here and there, but generally folks just kind of ignored us ND fans. I tailgated on campus and tied on a wicked buzz after arriving at 8 am to get started. Some might say 9 hours of pre-game is excessive. Not for ND-USC.
2) Whatever weather report I read (and I wish I could remember where I saw it) totally sucked balls. I looked right at my rain gear and said 'eh, won't need that - it says 0% chance of rain'. WRONG. Freaking rained all over us. When will the sunny come back in sunny southern california I wonder?
3) This defense improved immensely as the season progressed. And yesterday, they put on a clinic. ND held USC to 261 total yards, well below their season average, and stopped the Cheaters time and again in the red zone. The D also held USC to only 80 yards rushing, a key to the game given the wet weather. Another great stat: USC was only 4 of 17 on 3rd downs. What a performance!
The night before the game I popped in a hotel here in my 'hood to pick up a friend's cell phone and saw an Irish Player walk by. I asked the bell hop if the team was staying there and he said 'I don't know'. Then I saw Coach Diaco walk by. As he passed, with his perfectly parted hair and slightly lost look on his face, I thought 'The Loyal Sons got your back, Bob'. And man, that guy has DEVELOPED a defense. Very proud of the D, and glad to have Coach D teaching them. He's had some 'ooops' moments, but no one can say that this defense hasn't progressed.
We're a top 30 Defense at this point, and better at Scoring than yards. 'Bend, dont break' has really been implemented with the Irish. ND went 13 quarters without giving up a Touchdown, and it took a turnover at the Notre Dame 10, and 4 tries from the Irish 1 to make that happen. this D is stout, and doesn't give up TDs easily. We've also shown vast improvement.
Here's the game by game total yards and total TDs given up by the Irish.
322 yards/1 TD, 532/4, 461/5, 404/4, 315/1, 382/2, 314/2, 363/5, 399/1, 265/0, 174/0, 296/1.
Of course quality of opponent will dictate some of this, but it's interesting to split this up into 1/4s and see the trends.
Q1: 438 / 3.3
Q2: 367 / 2.3
Q3: 359 / 2.7
Q4: 245 / 0.3
So we went from giving up 438 yards a game in the first quarter of the season, to 245. And from 3.3 TDs per game to .3. We reduced average yardage by almost 200 (almost 50%) and reduced TDs by 3 (roughly 90%!). That's some SERIOUS improvement. And our best quarter came against, arguably, some of the best competition we faced in Utah and USC. Really, really great trends on the defensive side of the ball.
4) I was really bumming out in the 3rd Quarter when we just continued to give USC short fields. It was obvious that they simply COULD NOT put together a long drive against us, yet we just kept giving them the ball with super-short fields. USC fans will point to the drop and say 'see, we should have won'. Well, I point to all those TOs in our own end of the field and say 'we avoid one of those, and it's not even a game'. Those turnovers could have, and very well should have, killed this game for us. But this time, this year, it was meant to be. A Lane Kiffin-coached cheater of a program got its Irish comeuppance, finally. I think that chart I referred you all to the other day is about to flip, and I anticipate Irish domination of this series the next few years, especially as the NCAA recruiting penalties kick in.
5) ND fans can be just as crappy/annoying as any other fan. To the dude behind me with the fu man chu mustache: No, the coach shouldn't bail on every single player every time he doesn't make a perfect play. No, you cannot make play calls. No, that was not Nickel. No, no no! Every single one of your ideas/comments was stupid and moronic and annoying. Every other fan there as clueless as you just yelled and cheered yet you INSISTED on 'calling the game' for 4 hours straight? WTF?
6) Despite that one dude, the Irish Faithful were out there in pretty good force yesterday, and I must say that we breed a tougher/more dedicated fan than USC. USC fans clearly outnumbered ND at kickoff (duh). But as the rain came out and the game got tough, we started to see fans leaving for the cover of the building. 99 out of 100 were USC fans, and by the time folks had stopped their mass exodus, I would put the stadium at 50/50 Irish to USC fans. It was, essentially, a neutral site game in the 4th quarter, when the game was most on the line. And we were loud. You could hear the HUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHEEEEES when Robert plowed through USC Dlinemen. The defensive stands were assisted with a lot of crowd noise.
It was great to see Irish fans stick through the crappy (it's all relative - this was balmy compared to S. Bend) weather and give ND a boost when it was needed. And it was great to celebrate with everyone after the game.
Very happy for the program, team and fans. Very happy for the seniors, and especially Robert Hughes who played a major role in getting his first win over USC (see him receive the game ball at www.und.com/allaccess), and very happy with the direction of this program.
7) Even with really bad losses to Tulsa and Navy, and close losses to MSU and UM, this program is headed in the right direction. Undefeated in November. A defense that's looking stronger and stronger. A fight in the team despite losing a lot of key guys to injury, and despite a few weeks where everything seemed dark, bleak, and hopeless. The Irish are now ranked 29 according to Sagarin, after having faced the 22nd most difficult schedule. Not bad for a first year in a new program given all the injuries we've had. And it's clear that with a few tweaks to our approach, and a few bounces, this team could very easily have 2 more wins. But all in all, 7-5 isn't so horrible given how the season played out.
Now, off to a bowl game to finish 8-5, and something more to build on. Let's Go Irish!
By tjak November 28, 2010 - 1:55 pm
No words can describe how I feel right now. After the 38-0, 38-3 and bush push games we can breathe again. I am so happy for these seniors. They may have a poor four year record, but they were the ones that beat u$c. Food quite simply tastes a hell of a lot better this morning. Biscuit , I am envious of all you guys that got to be there when we beat SC. Great post.
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By AKMatt November 28, 2010 - 3:30 pm
Man, I wish I had spent the money and flown down there. The ABC affiliate here in Alaska switched over to OU-OSU after about 40 seconds of the ND pre-game and never switched back. Since it was supposed to be on ABC, the game was blacked out on ESPN3 and pay-per-view. You guys can probably understand my rage, my wife couldn’t.
It wasn’t on the radio either. The only streaming audio I could find was two ND students doing a play by play from up on top of the pressbox, in the rain. If any of you know who those two students are, please thank them for me. 8 years in the making, and that was my only link to the game.
I’ll be making some phone calls on Monday. It’s a good thing I will have had a day or two to cool down. I might have strangled someone last night.
Anyway, amazing the way this team has pulled together in November. Really inspiring efforts all around.
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By DJ November 28, 2010 - 3:52 pm
Channelsurfing.net is a useful resource. I don’t know if it covered last night’s game, though.
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By domer03 November 28, 2010 - 4:59 pm
AKmatt,
for future reference, pop onto the game thread. I live in italy, Nate is in Japan. Usually between the two of us plus the brilliant suggestions of Erik’s wife, we find a way to watch the games. Last night it was on a site called Veetle that i had never heard of before.
Biscuit, thanks for the write-up. It really is hard to explain how proud i am of the team and the university. The fanbase had demons that needed to be exercised. The team played the role of priest. They have a lot more guts and heart than any ND team of recent memory – even 05, and I loved that team.
Watching BK hand the game ball to Hughes.. its one of those moments when I realize why I care so much about college football. That guy has been through a tough four years. But damnit… he just wrote himself into Irish lore (not to say the blocking wasn’t great. It was… but he ran like a man possessed).
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By SDI November 28, 2010 - 5:29 pm
Agree re: Hughes. The two ND sections at the stadium were at opposite ends, but on that final drive huuggghhhhessss was echoing around like it was South Bend.
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By Erik '04 November 29, 2010 - 2:35 pm
Hughes mentioned in a SBT article (I think) before the game that he loves hearing “Hughes” from the fans, and that it really energizes him. I’m so glad the fans who showed up at the Coliseum were able to salute him like that in his last regular season game in an Irish uniform.
domer03, my wife will appreciate your props. One of her most endearing qualities is that she would have been just as disappointed as I would’ve had we been unable to find the game.
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By BigE November 28, 2010 - 5:21 pm
Great game Robert Hughes! Hope Kelly takes note of how a big, physical running back is important for a running game, even in a spread offense. I was one of those that crucified Diaco, but I will give him props for the last couple of games. Hopefully, the 2011 Navy game will be a huge win and wash away the last of the bitter taste.
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By Nate November 28, 2010 - 7:10 pm
I was a student from 94 to 98, and remember being on the tail end of our own streak against them. I never felt hatred towards SC (until Reggie Bush) because in my formative years as a fan and then a student, we never lost to them. I remember T-shirts my freshman year that read “Catholics vs. Condoms: a Decade of Dominance”. We OWNED them. For fans of my age group, Michigan was by far the more “hated” entity. When SC beat us my junior year, it was literally shocking.
Fast forward, and now we’re on the reverse end of a streak breaking win. It’s fantastic. No matter how we got it, no matter what, it’s awesome. Time for a new Irish streak, perhaps, but for now, I just want to savor it. I don’t care that SC is down. I don’t care that it’s not Pete Carroll. I just care that we WON. In the Colisseum.
Pure Awesome.
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By shoutboxx November 28, 2010 - 10:32 pm
Nate, ditto for me; I was at ND from ’87 to ’91, and hadn’t followed college ball that closely before going to ND, if you can believe that. I was there right during the sweetest part of the Holtz era. I never understood the SC rivalry until years later, and like you thought of Michigan as a bigger rival; now I see ND vs. UM as an important but really secondary rivalry for both schools.
I live in the South, so for me, as much as I would have liked to have this happen sooner against the Poodle, I took extra satisfaction with the fact that we beat Kiffin. I’m not really a Vols fan, but respect their school and program, and what he did there and the way he left was indicative of who he is as a man and a coach — a class “A” jerk. The silver lining for Tennessee is that they deserved better anyway, and have found it in Coach Dooley.
On the other hand, Kiffin is exactly what USC deserves right now. It was sad, but not surprising, to see Kiffin throw his players under the bus after the game — the exact opposite of what Kelly did earlier this year when we were struggling.
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By IrishGuy23 November 28, 2010 - 7:34 pm
I love the stats for the TD’s allowed by the defense but you have one of them wrong. The “399/3″ game..otherwise known as Tulsa. The defense that game actually only gave up 1 TD. The other two were off a punt return and an interception return for a score. It actually makes the defensive turn around post-Navy even more impressive.
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By The Biscuit November 28, 2010 - 10:41 pm
Irishguy you’re right. My bad. Will edit that tomorrow. Good catch.
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By JH November 28, 2010 - 7:56 pm
Good post. I’m probably older than just about anyone here (’82), and for us to win such an important game with a dominating defense and a big running back smashing through the opponent’s D, it really seemed like old times.
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By Jack Fromm November 29, 2010 - 12:47 pm
Well friend got ya by 3 yrs 85 here….started to follow the Irish in 1935 whenElmer Layden was the coach.
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By Ska November 29, 2010 - 2:44 am
Was glad to see three seniors in Robert Hughes, Brian Smith and Duval Kamara be important factors in the last three games. Hughes and Kamara were nearly forgotten and not playing much. A number of fans were bad mouthing Smith. Really feel good about their contributions starting at the Utah game.
Even if the late game catch had been made, the $C receiver may have not kept his feet. He had to twist around to try and catch the ball. And you are right, Biscuit, ND made more mistakes than $C and they were more grievous. Add in the $C non-fumble that could have been an ND touchdown and the QB arm going forward ND fumble and ND wins comfortably. This was an important impressive win. ND kept playing to win and did not give up.
Watched on TV and the camera focused on Kiffin after the $C loss. The look in his eyes reflected someone who was wacked out and about to fly into a murderous rage.
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By Erik '04 November 29, 2010 - 2:07 pm
My friend’s facebook profile picture is a TV screenshot of Kiffikins with that look. Oh it is priceless!
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By Ska November 29, 2010 - 6:04 pm
Please a LINK. Not that we want to see his face again. Just the look in the eyes. Wack wack wack out!!!
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By Bernie P. ND'74 November 29, 2010 - 3:17 am
JH, I’m going to beat you by a few years, but I’ll also say that it was a familiar feel to see a dominating defensive performance backed up by a power running game.
For the record, my four years at ND were ’70-’73. We only lost six games my whole four years, and three of them were to U$C. However, my senior year was the 23-14 victory and it propelled us the NC. Thus, for me, U$C always was, and always will be the “blood” game. It is a religious event for me, and people who know me know not to disturb me when it is on. The last eight years have been agony, especially the Bush Push game. Last night washed a lot of bad taste out of my mouth.
Congrats to Robert Hughes for playing his best when we needed it the most. And congrats the Defense for reminding me what ND is all about, i.e., toughness and tenacity.
And yes, that look on Kiffin’s face at the end was priceless.
Go Irish!
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By Geoffrey November 29, 2010 - 3:59 pm
My four years were ’69 to ’73, and we did not beat U$C during those years. In ’70 the monsoon at half-time prevented us from catching up. The rain this year made the win sweeter. A wonderful game. Next year U$C visits South Bend with fear in their eyes.
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By GB November 29, 2010 - 4:28 am
I also live in Alaska and was disappointed to see the Okies play. Does anyone know if there is a rebroadcast of the game. I would especially like to see Hughes.
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By BIGNDFAN November 29, 2010 - 7:08 am
Yes, I’d love to see the game, I was on my way back from Indianapolis and missed the game, anyone know where I can see a re-broadcast.
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By Erik '04 November 29, 2010 - 2:08 pm
My understanding is that you can watch the whole thing on ESPN3.com now, but I don’t know if the blackout still applies.
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By terry November 29, 2010 - 7:37 am
I couldn’t get the game on ABC and didn’t find out the result until the next morning.
The streak is OVER. Enough said.
I was in the service in 1966 and remember listening to the 1966 game – 51-0 on a short wave radio. Legend has it that not long after that game the USC coach (McKay?) was overheard saying “I’ll never lose to that Armenian b….d (Parseghian) again!”
He didn’t.
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By DJ November 29, 2010 - 9:32 am
Not quite. McKay vowed that he would never lose to ND at the Coliseum again — and he didn’t. As for the “Armenian b*****d” part…I don’t know. McKay sometimes took losses with a sense of humor. One year right after a loss to ND, a Trojan fan went up to him on the field as he was leaving and said “Coach, are you actually whistling the Notre Dame Victory March?” “What else should I be whistling?” was the reply.
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By BurbankSteve November 29, 2010 - 4:51 pm
I think it was the next visit to the Coliseum that Ara shared with a reporter regarding Traveler riding onto the field after a U$C touchdown “I HATE that ****ing horse”
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By Ska November 29, 2010 - 6:38 pm
Horse meat tastes very good, My friends say. But not Mr. Ed.
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By Nate November 29, 2010 - 6:52 pm
Can vouch. Horsemeat (raw) is a delicacy in the region of southern Japan I lived in a year and change ago. Not for everyone, but I give it a major thumbs up.
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By Patrick November 29, 2010 - 2:05 pm
You can watch a replay of the game on espn3.com.
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By Erik '04 November 29, 2010 - 2:09 pm
Oops, Patrick beat me to it.
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By CG November 29, 2010 - 4:29 pm
As a 17 year old senior in high school (application mailed), I think it is worth noting that:
I CANNOT REMEMBER the last time Notre Dame beat SC. For an entire ND generation, Saturday was monumental.
I remember Willingham’s first year very well, and the 44-13 slacking that started this darn streak. Willingham’s first season was coincidentally the first year that I began to really follow ND football. For the past nine years I have followed this team and most all other ND athletics religiously. (How about the men’s basketball program this weekend? Abromaitis is a stud. Also, props to the women’s soccer team for advancing to the College Cup yet again.)
The past two years of ND football have been trying:
4 November losses.
Coach fired.
Mass decommitment of recruiting prospects.
Recruit died during his senior spring break.
Manager died on campus at practice.
Mass decommitment of recruiting prospects again.
Ugly allegations by Chicago Tribune, ESPN, etc.
For every attempt to belittle and undermine Notre Dame the past year, the university remains incredibly strong. This is a team every “Domer” should be proud of…
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By Nate November 29, 2010 - 6:58 pm
Good luck on the app. I gotta say, I’m impressed. My dad was a grad student at ND from 77-80 (he’s got stories about playing pool with Joe Montana), so my early years were running around as a toddler at ND. I first really began to pay attention to college football at the end of elementary school, when all my friends were “Florida/Florida State/Miami/Georgia, which one?” and my naturally contrarian self decided to pick none of them and go with Dad’s choice, ND. That coincided with Lou’s 2nd season, Tim Brown winning the Heisman, and then the GLORY that was 1988. Beating Miami in ’88, Florida in the Sugar Bowl, and FSU in ’93 were absolutely the greatest gifts a young ND fan growing up in Florida could ever hope for. My point is, my fandom coincided with great years of success for ND. I’ve suffered through the last decade like everyone else, but I’m not sure if I were in HS right now that I’d be such a diehard fan following the last few regimes. Good on you, and good luck.
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By tkirish93 November 29, 2010 - 7:49 pm
Right there with ya CG. The first ND game I remember was the beatdown by Georgia Tech, and I can’t really say it went anywhere but downhill since. Not a great feeling the day I realized the entirety of my fandom was basically the worst ND football had to offer. Hopefully next year we will both be there to see Coach Kelly continue to put together games like Saturday’s.
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By CG November 29, 2010 - 10:05 pm
I was at the GT game with my dad and grandfather, talk about disappointment. It was like everything unraveled that day.
To Nate, my dad and aunt went to Notre Dame.
5 of their cousins went to ND too.
I have a cousin and best friend on campus now.
ND isn’t just a passion, it’s family.
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By Nate November 30, 2010 - 12:17 am
tk & cg, it’ll pay off for you–you guys certainly deserve to see some of the better days. Man, I feel old…
My kids are doomed to your fates. Grandfather (my dad) is c/o 80 for his M.A., dad (me) is c/o ’98, mom is c/o ’00. There’s really no way that my kids can go anywhere but ND and stay members of the family. Oh, don’t get me wrong…we’ll “love them” and “be proud of them” wherever they go to school (except Michigan), but there’s a reason half their baby clothes had interlocking ND’s on them, and it has nothing to do with North Dakota.
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By StewVee November 30, 2010 - 8:04 am
Can’t remember the last time I missed ND/USC, but we were snubbed on the coverage and I didn’t have a computer w/ me in the mountains, so I relied on crawling score updates during the OK/OKST game.
When I finally saw the FINAL score scroll at ESPN, I was worried I’d read it wrong. Ha. So happy for the guys and Kelly and stoked to have finally put it to SC in their house.
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