ND-MSU
The Oline Still Needs to Gel
Clearly, we’ve seen a lot of improvement from this squad this year. Despite today’s struggles, it’s night and day from last year. Yes, Clausen was sacked a few times (3?), but 3 total in 3 games ain’t bad. My biggest issue here is the lack of an ability to really blow the DL back off the line and run the ball. Much like we saw against the Skunkbears, this OL has troubles getting guys pushed back and opening holes for our talented RBs. I think this will improve in time, but it’s obvious they’re more comfortable in protecting the QB. Unlike the lame ABC/ESPN announcers, I didn’t feel like MSU had a ‘ton’ of pressure on Jimmy. But there was more than the previous 2 games.
Speaking of Jimmy…
3 games in and Jimmy definitely looks a lot better than last year. And the numbers prove it. BUT, Jimmy is still very young in his career and some of his decisions show it. In each game he’s made a couple really bad choices that result in almost-turnovers or turnovers. Today’s toss up into double coverage for a pick in the end zone was just that type of choice. When you see double coverage, you check down to option 2 or 3 and use that outlet to just get a decent gain. He seems to be pushing a bit, really trying to make something happen. That’s an admirable trait, but sometimes the better choice is to just take a few yards.
Speaking of Jimmy again…
It’s clear that we have a really good, but developing QB. When Jimmy and his top receivers (lately that’s GOLDEN TATE and Floyd) get in rhythm, it’s a really nice relationship. They communicate well, and they rack up yards. If ND can get a running game to complement the passing game, this will be a very tough team to beat.
On the Other Side of the Ball…
Despite the stats, I thought the ND defense did a decent job today. Except for our super-inability to stop a slant pattern, I thought we did a good job of making MSU earn every yard. Without that last huge run, Ringer was somewhat contained throughout the game. You’re never going to completely stop a guy that good – and he IS good – but we did a nice job of keeping the damage to a minimum. In the red zone, our D gets really tough. MSU needed 5 downs to score on their first short and goal, and we had them inches away from failing on their second try.  Literally inches. And that’s what this game came down to…
Inches.
ND played a decent game today, but had way too many mistakes that killed scoring opportunities. (Sound Familiar? See: SDSU). ND is a decent squad, but we’re not good enough to overcome those types of big mistakes. And to do so, we needed those inches here and there to go our way. They didn’t – they went to MSU and that’s why MSU got the W today. The upside? MSU is one of the better squads on the schedule. There aren’t a whole lot of other teams on our schedule better, and this game’s outcome was in doubt well into the 4th quarter. And if we eliminate some of those game-changing mistakes, I’m confident that ND pulls out a win. So what’s that mean? Well…
In Summary
Much what we thought before the game. This is a much improved, but still very young team. It’s a team that needs to NOT shoot itself in the foot to win. And today, we blew off every toe including the pinkies. ND needs to somehow establish a running game. Be it through misdirection, draws, off-tackle or motion plays (the end-around to TATE was sheer brilliance – man I love that kid!). We need that option to make the pass more effective. Because until I see differently, this team needs to pass to set up the run, and not the other way around. We just don’t have the consistent push up front needed to run to set up the pass. I think the staff needs to recognize this, and adjust. And with that mentality, I bet the running game opens up a bunch.
I picked ND to lose this game earlier in the year, and I’m not happy that I was right. I just thought we were too young still and with too many holes to pull this out on the road. But, this team should take heart – we’re not that far away from winning that game. We’ve seen a lot of progress since last year, and this team will only continue to get better.
ECU Got Wide Eyes
In other action, after back-to-back ‘upsets’ by ECU, today they got beat by a ‘meh’ NC State team. Can anyone say too big for your britches? People wondered if this team could buckle down for a long season after such a hot start. So far, they can’t.
Michigan (Sucks!) Lost to ND in their Last Game
Just a reminder.
Alabama Ain’t Bad
I really thought that Arkansas could field a team that could give ‘Bama some issues. After that dominating performance, no one should listen to anything I ever say again (does anyone now? no? okay, nevermind). Very impressed with ‘Bama today.
LSU-Auburn
I’m hoping to see an AUB upset here, because I feel that LSU was way overrated last year, and continue to be today. But even if AUB crushes LSU, LSU will drop maybe a spot or two. Because any loss in the SEC is like losing to a super-duper-championship-caliber team right? So, right.
Purdue Pulls it Out
Purdue actually looks to have a running game this year, and they pulled out an exciting victory today. I put Purdue in that bucket with MSU, that ‘decent but not great’ category where ND can compete and potentially win, but will have to play well and not make a lot of mistakes to win. I think Purdue, along with USC (obviously) and potentiall UNC pending how they develop, will be the tougher games remaining on the schedule.
Don't take me, yourself, or life so seriously. This is supposed to be fun.
Biscuit co-founded HerLoyalSons in partnership with his ND roommate (Dillon Hall baby!), MQ, in 2006 and has been ranting about ND Football and everything Notre Dame since. He strongly believes in the mission of ND and its football program. Biscuit expects logic and data in arguments and will absolutely crush you if you come to a debate missing one or the other. He despises everything Michigan, and his favorite pastime is mocking Purdue.
- (Re)Introducing: DANCING LEPRECHAUNS - August 29, 2019
- Ticket Auction: ND vs USC - August 22, 2019
- No Respect! - December 14, 2018
The Biscuit:
Enjoyed your comments, and I agree with what you say. This is a very young team. While some will say it is time to drop the excuses, one must be reasonable.
On another blog, the writer damns the coaching staff and the team in general. I believe that is unreasonable.
I believe the big test will be how the Irish respond to this loss to MSU. They need to win the next two games in the friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium.
Supporters need to remember that this is probably a 7-5…maybe 8-4 team.
I’m sick of our field goal unit being the cause of me getting kicked out of taverns.
undnut, we’ll have to hear that story.
ND’s field goal unit has been a problem since 1997. Just ask Biscuit.
Ted, the guys trashing the coaches and/or team have no perspective. NONE. This is a game that could’ve been won, but wasn’t because of a number of key mistakes. But it’s nothing that’s unfixable, and nothing that won’t get fixed. These things don’t happen overnight. Like I said above, last year we would’ve been crushed 38-0. This is improvement. It’s not gonna happen overnight.
All good points. Main problem is that our O line is TERRIBLE on run blocking and we can’t kick. We will never be good until we fix those things and Weis and Latina have shown in FOUR years that they can not fix that.
This is an average team and it is not too much to ask that after four years we do better then suck against against a mediocre MSU squad. Weak. Remember guys, improving over last year is setting the bar too low: that team was dreadful.
I don’t get the ‘we can’t kick’ argument in this game. You might say our kicking game isn’t great, but we essentially had 2 kicking plays in the game. The first one was a 51 yard attempt. 51 yards is, at best, a 50/50 shot for a college kicker. The upside is that he had the leg for it. The downside was he missed. I bet he makes half from that distance, which is better than the 0% we’d have had last year. And the second miss was because of a bad snap. We were lucky to even get it off and both the holder and kicker adjusted well to even do that. That’s not on the kicker.
And people shouldnt start generalizing back to 4 years based on last year and the 1st three games of this year. We did run block well in 05 and 06. Look at Darius’ numbers. We also kicked better back then. If you want to say that we can’t run NOW, and we couldnt run last year I’m fine with it. Same with kicking. Too many people are saying “four years of this is enough”. The first two years were 9/10 win seasons. And it’s not like we can pretend like last year didn’t happen. Did we all expect to improve on 06 this year? Last year was real, that’s where we’re coming from and teams often DON’T go from 3-9 to 11-0 going into USC. Just because ND fans like to pretend that’s possible, doesn’t mean it is. And we could STILL get close to that…
The double coverage throw may have been a mental error on Jimmy’s part, but it also should not have been an interception, rather a touchdown. Duval had the ball in his hands, he did not secure the ball well enough to prevent the State defender from taking it away (a freshman like mistake). I like Duval as a person/player, but his mind seems to go asleep on the field a little too often. This is the third interception in which he has been involved this year. In all three picks the interception was preventable if he was playing heads-up we’re going to win this football game mentality.
Glad to see Robby Parris playing and contributing.
That is why I said field goal unit and did not place kicker-specific blame. If memory serves, Braxston Cave was the culprit in the bad snap(s) versus SDSU. Yesterday I believe it was #35 – backup tight end Kevin Brooks. Doesn’t matter if our kicker has the leg for it if the roster is void of someone that can successfully get the ball back in proper position.
gotcha undnut. i was probably more reacting to the general hubub about it, where most was directed towards the kicker…