Note: I’ve decided to try and revive a series I used to do from way back (most of you wont remember it at all) called “Looking Back on What’s To Come”, where I take a look at the past performance of an opponent, pick some little nit, explore what that might mean for the Irish in the coming game, and get a kick out of my own word-play every time I write the series’ title. The trick, of course, is that there isn’t much to go by in the early weeks of the season, as nobody’s played much (if at all), but it’s a series I enjoy doing, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Holtz.

That alone should (and probably does) give whoever gets to feature a coach with the name 2-3 points credit in any book-maker’s, um, book-making. And frankly Notre Dame alum and now pretty darned-well seasoned South Florida head coach Skip “Son of Lou” Holtz has earned his reputation as a very capable mind and manager on a collegiate football sideline. I can’t quite remember when this game was first scheduled, but I’ll bet everything I’ve got in my wallet (a few receipts and a ticket stub to “Friends with Benefits” – shut up, Mila Kunis is smokin’!) that as soon as Skip was aware of the date, he circled it on every calender he owns with one of those giant red markers. Which must have made using his iPad awkward after that, but I digress. The fact is we’ve got one of our own, from one of our most hallowed families coming into Notre Dame Stadium this week, and he’s bringing a hungry gang seeking an opportunity at glory with him. There’s reason to worry if you’re a Notre Dame fan with any capacity to mentally process what’s happened in the last 15+ years. But there’s also plenty of reason to feel confident too.

One of the primary reasons to feel confident: Returning starters. Notre Dame has 17 of them. South Florida has only 10, and that includes just 4 returning from an offense that flat-lined often in 2010. While many previews will speak to the “foundation laying” that Skip Holtz did in his first year of coaching the Bulls, mirroring Notre Dame’s ultimate 8-5 record, Los Toros ranked just 105th in total offense, despite having a better ranked rushing attack than ND (71st vs 92nd). Whatever foundation Holtz might have built last year is largely gone this year, given the departure of 7 offensive starters, including their leading rusher, Moise Plancher.

One of those few returning starters is QB B.J. Daniels, who finished 82nd in passing efficiency. Personally I recall B.J. Daniels of 2009 as a player that made you take notice with abilities both in the air and on the ground, but Skip has apparently asked him to “do less” with his legs, and thus more with his arm, and it resulted in far lower total offensive production on his part. To give you an idea of Daniels’ lack of production, consider he manged just 1685 yards passing, 11 TDs, and 13 INTs in 13 games played in 2010. Whereas Dayne Crist managed 2033 yards, 15 TDs, and 7 INTS even having missed the better part of 6 games last year.

Unless Daniels seriously improves upon his 2010 performance in week 1 of 2011, and the 7 new starters on the Bulls’ offense manage to perform as a cohesive unit at the same time, I expect the brand-new Bulls starters facing off, in their first contest, against a Notre Dame defensive unit returning 8 starters who were playing like the best defense in the country to end 2010 to experience some growing pains. Still, the sort of situation Skip Holtz faces this week is the sort used by many great coaches before him to establish themselves and their programs as “national players,” so the Irish (and their fans) shouldn’t feel comfortable at all.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Matt Q. (DMQ)

Latest posts by Matt Q. (DMQ) (see all)

• Friday Roundup: That Was Fast Edition - December 14, 2018
• Ian Book Is Smokey and the Bandit - December 12, 2018
• Don’t Call It A Comeback - December 10, 2018