As we mentioned yesterday, Brian Kelly announced that the Notre Dame offense would play both Everett Golson and Malik Zaire in the Music City Bowl against LSU. Yes, the dreaded two QB system is here and Kelly didn't completely rule out using it next year either. I'm not overly keen on the idea. The whole "if you have two QBs, you don't have one" has rung true more often than not. Despite that mantra, there are still examples of teams that have pulled it off with varying degrees of ...
Everett Golson
Tempo for Tigers: Comparing the Pace of the Irish Offense
When Brian Kelly assumed the mantle of coaching the Fighting Irish, there was an expectation that he would bring the crazy insane, up-tempo offense that put his Bearcats in that year's Sugar Bowl against Florida. "Up-tempo" can mean a couple of things. Think "number of plays per game," or "time between plays," or "caravan of fat people charging into an all-you-can-eat casino buffet." For the purposes of this piece, I'm going to look at the number of plays per game the Irish have managed under ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: A Tale of Two Teams
It was the best of seasons, it was the worst of seasons; it was a game of touchdowns, it was a game of turnovers; it was the inspiration for belief, it was the cause of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the autumn of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had a playoff berth before us, we had a second-tier bowl before us; we were in Heaven on earth, we were in a cold, wet Stadium of defeat. Since 1887, we’ve had worse seasons, but few as ...
Friday Roundup: “The Irish Awaken” Edition
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... ...okay, so it'll be tomorrow on a football field on the west coast... Episode XII THE IRISH AWAKEN It is a dark time for all Notre Dame fans. The Fighting Irish have lost three games in a row for the second time in the Brian Kelly era. Turnovers, missed field goals, botched holds, and injuries have plagued the Irish. With their backs against the wall, the Irish travel west to face their long-time rivals, SOUTHERN CAL, and to achieve the ...
Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way, Everett
In the wake of Notre Dame's shattering loss to Northwestern, the short-comings and failures of the 2014 Fighting Irish touch every position group and go all the way up the coaching tree. But it is with Number Five that I find the most fault, for he has failed to lead the team in any manner that comes across on the field. While Brian Kelly was highly complimentary of his quarterback's leadership following last week's Arizona State loss, I did not see any on display yesterday. There's something ...
Finding the Bottom
I'm not even sure where exactly to start with the mess that was Notre Dame's loss to Northwestern. Typing "Notre Dame's loss to Northwestern" doesn't even make sense to me. The Irish lost and gave up 43 points to a team that hasn't even cracked 30 all season. Iowa blew these guys out. But here we are in what I consider the worst loss since I walked on to campus in 2003. Oh sure, we've lost to worse teams, but those ND teams were objectively terrible. While this team isn't ...
Notre Dame Isn’t a Playoff Caliber Team and That’s Just Fine
No, this will not be a post that will excuse Notre Dame for a rather terrible performance on the road against Arizona State. No team should turn the ball over five times and expect to win against a ranked team. Period. Beyond the turnovers, Arizona State put a hell of a game together, consistently putting pressure on Golson, notching seven sacks and giving him happy feet the whole game. In the first half, Arizona State ran at a totally different speed than the Irish defense that looked ...
Friday Roundup: The “Devils Running Through My Head” Edition
I have no jokes today. No witty insults to throw at Arizona State. No fictional storylines to throw Notre Dame players into. No, this isn't because I've hit a creative wall. I'm not mailing it in because the audio version of this post debuts on the radio this evening. It certainly isn't for a lack of caring either. It's because the main thing consuming my mind is just simply winning this game. After all, I've preached patience for the past couple of weeks in regards to the playoff ...
Irish Blogger Gathering: Devil Went Down to Tempe
The IBG is back once again and getting back to the normal weekly schedule. This weekend, Notre Dame is in a fight for their playoff lives in a top ten matchup on the road. Sound familiar? So it's time for representatives from NDNation, UHND.com, The Fighting Irish Blog, and the godfather of the IBG, The Subway Domer, to put Navy to bed and take a look at what's ahead. Let's get to it. My question: Based on how the rankings this week, do you feel any differently about a too-close-for ...
Friday Roundup: The “Top QB 2014” Edition
On November 1, 1913 Notre Dame established the forward pass as a legitimate offense in college football. Its purpose was to make the quarterback the most feared player on the field and propel the team to greatness. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls him the guy that embarrasses them every year*. The Fighting Irish call him.... TOP QB *2007, 2009, and 2010 didn't exist...why the hell is everybody acting like they did? --------------------------- Tommy Rees packs up his locker for the ...