Arizona State’s offense has been putting up some big numbers. The defense has made some strides, but the ASU squad is coming off hanging 6 TD in the second half alone against USC. What is the most important defensive group (DL/LB/Secondary) facing ASU? Why? Any players to watch? 

It always comes down to the defensive line.  If Nix and Tuitt are on top of their game and cane generate some pressure without the need to blitz, the defense can get back to playing more how they did last year. If Sheldon Day is able to play this week, that should help get Nix and Tuitt going again since day was playing very well prior to his injury.  If Day sits out again this week though and Nix and Tuitt don’t have their best games of the season, Diaco is going to have to dial up some more blitzes and the problems that have been plaguing this defense all season will rear their ugly heads again this weekend.

Our quarterback situation continues to be interesting. Which QB do you think gives the Irish the best chance to win and why?

Most Notre Dame fans don’t want to hear this or don’t want to believe it, but its Tommy Rees.  Hendrix hasn’t shown that he can be much of a passer on the college level and it doesn’t appear as though Zaire is ready yet – especially since he had a bout with mono already this season.  Even if Zaire was ready and didn’t miss the time he did, it probably wouldn’t make much sense to burn his redshirt now either with Golson coming back in January.  The quarterback situation is unfortunately what it is right now.  Rees is capable of playing much better than he has been the last two weeks, but he also isn’t suddenly going to start winning games on his own either.

With 2 losses any dreams of reaching another title game have been laid to rest. How do you see this game impacting the rest of the regular season?

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In this installment of the Irish Blogger Gathering, HLS paired up with NDNation. Yep. I questioned. El Kabong answered. Let’s get to it.
For you SEC-students out there, the questions are in bold, numbered, and have a “question mark” at the end of them. You know, the thing you call a “doohickey.”

1.) Having lost Golson, evaluate or reevaluate the quarterback position. Is it just too easy to say that we’ve been dealt a huge blow to the offense and we can expect 8-4 at best with Turnover Tommy under center? Or, does 2013 see the triumphant ascension of Touchdown Tommy, who will lead us to 10-2 or 11-1 in the regular season and thereby become the greatest work-a-day hero in Irish quarterback lore? Or what?

Your examples represent the full range of the spectrum of what could happen this season, and while I don’t think either describes what will happen, I think the probability favors a result closer to the 8-4 end than the 11-1 end.

2.) What are your thoughts on the loss of Eddie Vanderdoes? Are we right to panic about the once perfect state of our defensive line? In the larger picture, though, what does Notre Dame’s stance in the situation mean, if anything?

I think Vanderdoes is a big loss from a depth and physicality standpoint.  The old adage is your success is determined by how your lines play, and there’s no better example of that than last season.  When you lose a highly-touted defensive lineman, that’s going to hurt you, because now you have a gap in your recruiting strategy you didn’t know you had, and the timing makes it impossible to correct.

3.) I have my twenty year reunion coming up next summer, so my mind is keyed into analyzing the last two decades. Where do you fit the program today, and Coach Kelly, on that continuum? Obviously, he’s the guy there now, but comparing him to his predecessors, Holtz, Davie, Willingham, and Weis, where does Brian Kelly fit?

There’s really no point in a comparison between Kelly and any combination of the Three Stooges of the ND coaching pantheon — it’s a waste of bandwidth.  Going back to Ara or earlier is apples-to-oranges, the game was too different back then.  So let’s talk about Holtz.

Any comparison will depend on the scale or criteria you’re measuring.  From a W/L perspective, Kelly certainly can stand up to scrutiny with Holtz.  Holtz’s progression was a little steeper, and he had a national championship win at this point, but it’s not like Kelly is outside the margin of error here.

The problem, however, is Notre Dame is supposed to be about more than wins and losses.  If all we cared about was the record, we’d all be SEC fans.  And it’s in this area that Kelly, so far, falls short on the Holtz scale.  He lacks Holtz’s savvy when dealing with others, whether those people be media creatures or school administrators or Notre Dame alumni.  This most likely is borne of his lack of experience at elite programs.  If you’re not used to the spotlight’s temperature, it can be a tough adjustment when it’s cranked up to full.

That’s not to say he can’t gain such experience.  But to the outside observer, he doesn’t seem interested in doing so.  That’s his decision to make, of course, but such decisions have consequences, particularly if substandard on-field results follow in their wake.  You make deposits into your account to save for a rainy day.  If you’ve been on a shopping spree when the monsoon comes….
El Kabong, ladies and gentlemen. Don’t forget to tip your waitress.In this iteration of the IBG, HLS answered questions from the lovely and talented Aaron Horvath, your new @NDSportsBlogger, over at Strong and True. Follow him on the twitter-machine and help him impress his boss, @oknd1.

The post Irish Blogger Gathering: NDNation Answers appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

In this edition, we are taking the round-robin approach. The Subway Domer hosts answers from Josh Flint. Josh has my thoughts over at Strong and True. Keith Arnold from Inside the Irish answers by questions after the jump and he’ll have Subway’s answers up at his site soon.

Since we have one more IBG before the title game, I wanted to take a step back. My questions for this IBG allow us just one more chance to reflect back on the 2012 season before ND/Alabama reaches a fever pitch.

There’s been quite a lot of celebration about going 12-0. From t-shirts, to TV specials, and DVD sets, there is quite a lot for Irish fans to latch on to well before the Irish play for the ultimate prize. What’s your take on all this? Is it too much too soon or a well good and well-deserved use of time while we await the finale to the college football season?

I’ve got mixed emotions on this one. Going 12-0 is a special feat. And while it’s easy to bristle at the marketing machine, I mulled pulling the trigger on the DVD set. There’s no question that this season will be one always remembered by Irish fans, especially the younger generation that doesn’t remember title runs under Ara, Devine or even Lou. But it’s all going to look a little silly if ND gets blown out by Alabama.

If you were to choose a defining moment for this Irish team in the 2012 season, what would it be?

It’s got to be the goal line stand against Stanford. Between the driving rain, the overtime, and the ensuing controversy, that stop encapsulated Notre Dame’s season — a defense that just wouldn’t give up the final inch. That celebration running off the field will be one that I remember for a long time.

As a writer, that was one of those moments where you hope you just didn’t screw it up. It was a really fun column to write, and looking back and rewatching that game, you marvel at all the things that happened that rainy afternoon.

Let’s give out some IBG postseason awards. Who would be your offensive and defensive MVPs? By the way you, can’t pick Manti Te’o because that would make part of this question far too easy.

Offensive MVP: Theo Riddick

The fact that Brian Kelly put the offense on Theo Riddick’s back is amazing. Here’s a guy that couldn’t be relied upon to catch a punt, and a player that epitomized the inconsistency that plagued the Irish over the past few years. Riddick wasn’t all that dynamic — he was the team’s third best rusher statistically — but he was just so tremendously steady, and he continued to improve every step of the way, with his performance against USC an incredible conclusion to four seasons.

Defensive MVP (non-Te’o): Louis Nix & Zeke Motta

If I can’t pick Te’o, then I’m not going to pick just one player. To borrow from a baseball analogy, a team’s defense is only as good as its up-the-middle players. Well this Irish defense was just tremendous up the middle. While we can spend the next few years talking about Te’o’s senior season, nearly matching his brilliance were his fellow up-the-middle defenders, nose tackle Louis Nix and safety Zeke Motta.

The road those two took to get to where they are is incredible. Nix’s story has been told plenty, but he’s gone from a 370-pound fat kid to one of the nation’s finest nose tackles. That’s a credit to a coaching staff that used tough love to develop Nix, and the player himself. That he’s also one of the team’s most lovable personalities only makes it even better. For Motta, his ascent to excellence is just as miraculous. Mike Mayock expects Motta to be drafted in the second or third round. That’s a long way from the guy many constantly complained about for missing tackles and running around the secondary lost.

As hard as it was to narrow things down to Nix and Motta, I could make equally persuasive cases for Stephon Tuitt, Kapron Lewis-Moore, and Bennett Jackson.

The post Irish Blogger Gathering: A Year in Review appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Also, I allowed NBC’s Keith Arnold to pick my brain.

1. After Miami’s struggle vs Boston College in Week 1 (followed up by Kansas State dismantling them), many Irish fans wrote off the Hurricanes.While they haven’t had any particular impressive wins since that point, they are 4-1 and have shown some offensive capabilities. How important was the bye week in helping to not overlook Miami, especially as a game sandwiched between Michigan and Stanford?

Even if there had been no bye week, I don’t think we would have to worry about the Irish overlooking Miami. The players and coaches constantly talk about maintaining a “one week at a time” mentality, and from everything I’ve seen, that’s not just football cliché.

September was a crazy month, beginning all the way across the pond in Dublin. The break gave the team, coaches and staff an opportunity to recharge their batteries, but perhaps more importantly, I’m hoping it helped everyone “avoid the noise,” as Coach Kelly so often talks about.

No game meant fewer articles, less discussion on TV and radio, and a lull in the buzz surrounding the program. In addition, there’s a great slate of other college games lined up for this weekend, so I think the spotlight on Saturday’s game is considerably smaller than it would have been if the Irish played Miami last week.

Still, being 4-0 for the first time in a decade, there’s a lot of hype surrounding the Irish. If you look at Coach Kelly’s first two seasons, we’ve seen completely different results coming off of their bye week. In 2010, the Irish lost a heartbreaker to Tulsa, but returned to Notre Dame Stadium two weeks later to dismantle Utah. Last season, they put up 59 points in a win against Air Force, then came back in their biggest game of the season (USC) and played poorly.

We’ll see how the rest of the year plays out, but I think the bye week came at a great time. It really gives the Irish an opportunity to put the first four wins in their back pocket, and approach Miami as if it’s the start of a new season.

2. It can be noted that both games in which Everett Golson was pulled for Tommy Rees occurred at Notre Dame Stadium, yet when he was placed in road environments he played with much more poise. Do you think that the lack of distractions on the road (from friends, family, students, etc.) makes him perform better in those situations, or do you write those splits off as an early-season fluke? And to what degree will playing in a neutral — but decidedly Notre Dame — environment affect this situation.

People have to remember, Golson is a redshirt freshman. He has started four games in his college career. I think his struggles against Purdue and Michigan are just growing pains and I don’t think they have any connection to the possible added distractions of playing at home. On Saturday, he might play well or he might not, but I don’t think that will have anything to do with the atmosphere. Miami’s defense is ranked 114th in the country (494.6 yards per game), so this weekend seems like a perfect chance for Everett to gain some confidence and have a breakout game.

If Rees gets another early call from the bullpen, I wouldn’t be surprised to see #11 starting on Oct. 13 against Stanford.

3. Each week the offensive identity for the Irish has changed radically — from an extremely run-heavy attack vs Navy, to a pass-happy offense vs Purdue, to a more balanced attack vs MSU. Is this theweek that the Irish reveal their true offense, after having an extra week of practice? What do you expect from the offense against the Hurricanes?

Tough to say. As I mentioned in my previous answer, Miami’s defense has been less than impressive thus far in 2012, and I’d like to think the Irish offense will take advantage of that, clicking like it did last month against Navy.

The Hurricanes are giving up 225.6 yards per game on the ground (112th in FBS), so Cierre, Theo and GAIII should be especially excited about Saturday night.

On the other side, I think our receiving corps has a lot of talent. There aren’t any Michael Floyds in the group, but there are several guys (Eifert, Goodman, Jones, Toma, Daniels, etc) who can make plays.

Hopefully we see a balanced offense because that will mean both Golson and the offensive line are playing well.

The post Irish Blogger Gathering: Coming Off The Bye appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Throughout the 2012 season, Her Loyal Sons and the Subway Domer, Keith Arnold’s Inside the Irish, and UND’s Strong and True blog will be participating in the rebirth of the Irish Blogger Gathering. The Subway Domer explained the details on his site last week:

This season, the “rules” are as follows:

• Round Robin format with weekly pairings.
• One site asks another site 3 questions, and then posts those answers.
• The articles will be posted on Thursday each week.

It’s as simple as that. Our hope, is that this will provide a much broader discussion each week and provide more insight for all of our loyal and not so loyal readers.

To kick things off, I asked three questions (well, really more with a few hidden in there) to Josh Flynt of Strong and True. Josh is traveling to Ireland with the team for the game this weekend – make sure you follow his trip on Twitter: @NDSportsBlogger.

The other IBG’s of the week can be found at the following links:

The Subway Domer asks Twibby of HLS what could go wrong this year
Keith Arnold at Inside the Irish asks Subway Domer what would make a successful season
Josh Flynt at Strong and True asks Keith Arnold about the challenges for the Irish this weekend

Now to the good stuff: my questions and Josh’s answers are below:

1. Everett Golson will be taking his first competitive snaps in almost two years against Navy. Do you expect Brian Kelly to favor the run or the pass on Saturday? And how will Golson fare in his debut? 

When you have a sophomore quarterback making his first start, let alone collegiate appearance, it seems like a no-brainer to rely heavily upon your 1,000-yard senior running back. But that was before Coach Kelly announced the suspension of Cierre Wood on Sunday.

Even without Wood, there is a lot of talent in the backfield. Senior Theo Riddick has returned to running back and sophomore George Atkinson III, who made a name for himself last season on kick returns, will look to have an even bigger role in Notre Dame’s game plan this year.

Last October, Wood, GAIII, Jonas Gray and Michael Floyd combined to score seven rushing touchdowns against the Midshipmen. With a veteran offensive line, it makes sense for Notre Dame to run right back at Navy again this Saturday.

Not to mention, the Midshipmen option offense will eat clock and keep the Irish defense on the field, so I expect Notre Dame to run the ball often too, in an effort to take some pressure off of Golson, while also giving the defense a breather.

While no one should expect Everett Golson to put up Madden-like numbers in his first start, I think the sophomore has the talent, poise and supporting cast to lead the Irish to a fairly comfortable victory and secure his role as Notre Dame’s quarterback. 

2. We have been hearing a lot about freshmen receivers Chris Brown, Davonte’ Neal, and Justin Ferguson. What are your expectations for this talented trio during their first season in South Bend?

With Floyd catching passes on Sundays, there’s a lot of opportunity and a plethora of talent at the wide receiver. Will someone emerge as a Biletnikoff frontrunner? Probably not.

But between veterans (Goodman, Toma and Jones) and newcomers (Daniels and the three aforementioned freshmen), a combination of players will step up to give offensive coordinator Chuck Martin several solid options.

As for the freshmen – All three were electrifying athletes in high school, but I’m most excited to see what Neal can do as the starting punt returner. It’s no secret that punt returns have been a weakness for the Irish. If the 5-foot-9 freshman can solve that problem, well, he’ll already be a hero in the eyes of some of the Irish faithful.

I’m not saying we need to see Neal turn into Tim Brown versus the Spartans in ’87, but if he can shorten the field, it could go a long way towards helping the Irish offense find its rhythm this season. I have seen some compare him to Golden Tate – both are undersized receivers with the talent to break off a big play any time they touch the football.

Offensively, I think Brown is the freshman receiver most likely to make the biggest impact. His quickness seems to have been one of the hot topics from all of training camp. Listed at just 172 lb., he will benefit from some time in the weight room, but I think he has the athleticism to give the Irish a deep ball threat throughout the 2012 season.

I’m not sure what to expect from Ferguson. He is certainly a talented young receiver, but with the surplus of bodies at the position, I wonder if the coaching staff could send him in the direction of DaVaris Daniels in 2011, and preserve a year of his eligibility.

3. After struggling with the Navy attack in 2010, the Irish dominated the Midshipmen defensively in 2011. Which defense shows up in Dublin? Do you expect Navy to have any offensive wrinkles thrown in for this first game of the season?

Rallying behind the outstanding leadership of newly-appointed captains Manti Te’o and Kapron Lewis-Moore, I think we’ll see the 2011 version of the Irish defense against Navy.

Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt provide tremendous young talent alongside KLM. Veterans Te’o, Dan Fox and Prince Shembo will work with sophomore Ben Councell in the linebacking corps, and experienced safeties Zeke Motta and Jamoris Slaughter will lead the Irish secondary.

Some offenses will seek to exploit Notre Dame’s young cornerbacks, but Navy is known for its triple-option offense, and I don’t see the Midshipmen deviating too much from that.

That being said, both teams have had a long time to prepare for one another, so it should be an interesting afternoon. This game’s being played at a rugby stadium and on a different continent. Anything could happen.

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