Who To Watch

Syracuse (7-2) vs Louisville (2-7), Fri 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2

via GIPHY

Syracuse is quickly becoming a force thanks to future Notre Dame Head Coach Dino Babers. This Friday night matchup won’t be close — the betting line currently has the Orange favored by three touchdowns, but Irish fans *will* get to drink in some sweet Brian “No Spaces In My Last Name” VanGorder as he (probably) wraps up his tenure as defensive coordinator for Louisville. While there’s still a slim chance Notre Dame will see Louisville head man Bobby Petrino when the season kicks off next year, this will probably be the closest we get to a BVG sighting.

Irish fans looking ahead to next week’s showdown in Yankee Stadium should look at Louisville’s offensive yards-per-play, as the Orange defense isn’t known to be too stingy.

Also this Week

Other Upcoming Opponents

• Southern Cal (5-4) vs California (Sat 10:30 PM ET, ESPN)

Past Opponents

• Wake Forest (4-5) at NC State (Thu 7:30 PM ET, ESPN)
• Northwestern (5-4) at Iowa (Fri 3:30 PM ET, Fox)
• Vanderbilt (4-5) at Missouri (Sat 12:00 PM ET, SEC Network)
• Navy (2-7) at UCF (Sat 12:00 PM ET, ESPN2)
• Michigan (8-1) at Rutgers (Sat 3:30 PM ET, Big Ten Network)
• Virginia Tech (4-4) at Pittsburgh (Sat 3:30 PM ET, ESPNU)
• Stanford (5-4) vs Oregon State (Sat 9:00 PM ET, )

Strength-of-Schedule Rankings

Last week, ND opponents went 4-7. On the year, opponents have a combined record of 56-52 (51.9%) with an average schedule strength of 39.

Rank	Team		Record	Weekly Change
6		Stanford	5-4	↑ 3
11		Northwestern	5-4	↑ 9
17		Pittsburgh	5-4	↓ 2
18		Michigan	8-1	↑ 5
22		Southern Cal	5-4	↓ 14
33		Vanderbilt	4-5	↓ 6
35		Florida State	4-5	↑ 3
46		Notre Dame	9-0	↓ 1
48		Wake Forest	4-5	↓ 1
51		Virginia Tech	4-4	↑ 10
64		Navy	2-7	↑ 9
74		Syracuse	7-2	↑ 2
90		Ball State	3-7	↑ 11

The post Opponent Watch: Sad VanGorder Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Against the 117th-ranked passing defense in the country, Tommy Rees ended his Notre Dame career with a competent performance. Completing 27 of forty-seven passing attempts, Rees threw for 319 yards and no interceptions. Frustratingly, he also threw no touchdowns, a symptom of Notre Dame’s red-zone woes on the day. From the opening drive to the final whistle, the Irish were able to move the ball at will between the Twenties, only to see their efforts founder. Had Kyle Brindza not turned in a fine five-for-six day, Notre Dame’s inability to get over the goal line could have been fatal.

As the seniors walked away from the game for the final time, Brian Kelly’s post game comments indicated that the Pinstripe Bowl was both finale and prelude. The pace of the offense, he said, is where he wants the Irish to be. His goal was ninety plays, and he got ninety plays. It was a balanced attack, too, with 47 passes and 43 runs. Cam McDaniel and Tarean Folston each carried the ball seventeen times, McDaniel for 80 yards and Folston for 73 yards and one touchdown. Though Rutgers’ battled the Irish well for the most part, but they were undone by overthrows, underthrows and three Chase Dodd interceptions.

The hiring of Brian Van Gorder away from the New York Jets is an interesting move by Notre Dame. It reunites Kelly and Van Gorder, who worked together at Grand Valley State from 1989 to 1991. Van Gorder, 54, has a considerable amount of NFL and SEC experience, with stints at Georgia and Auburn, Jacksonville, Atlanta and the New York Jets. He was the Falcons’ Defensive Coordinator from 2008 to 2011 and won the Frank Broyles Award with the third-best defense in the country at Georgia in 2003. Notre Dame’s previous DC, Bob Diaco, won the same award in 2012, a season in which Van Gorder’s Auburn defense was ranked 81st in the nation.

Another item that bears noting on the day, the win against Rutgers, when coupled with Michigan’s disaster of a performance against K-State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, gives Notre Dame the best winning percentage in college football. The Irish now have a winning percentage of 0.7333, while the Wolverines can only show 0.73244. My, my, Michigan men, what five years can do to a program, right? It will be curious to hear Brady Hoke’s response, once he empties his mouth of all those yummy wings.

So that’s it, loyal readers. Another season, done and dusted. In the words of Coach Kelly, a good season “that could have been great.”

Your game day experience here:

The post Snap Judgment: Pinstripe Bowl appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.