Comments on: Wonder, Think and Know: Boiling Over Edition

By: GOND89

GOND89 — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 23:31:22 +0000

In reply to Garr Isacco. "I never bet the Irish"? Well, 2 things: First, that's probably why you never win betting the Irish. And 2) Anyone serious about betting NEVER uses the word "never." Peace.

By: jdthom

jdthom — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:15:17 +0000

I agree ND needs a ground game competency and I think Kelly agrees that the O-line struggled against Purdue. I would hesitate to pass judgment after only 2 bad games, especially when those 2 came against B1G teams, which ND seems to struggle to run the ball against (though that doesn’t keep us from winning those games). I would be interested in an analysis of why this is so. Compare:

2012 vs. Navy: 293 Rush yds, 6.4 ypc
2013 vs. Temple: 188 Rush yards, 5.4 ypc
2014 vs. Rice: 281 Rush yds, 6.1 ypc

2012 vs. Michigan & Purdue 73 Avg. Rush yds, 2.1 ypc
2013 vs Michigan & Purde: 93.5 Avg. Rush yds, 3.3 ypc
2014 vs Michigan & Purdue: 96.5 Avg. Rush yds, 2.8 ypc

ND had similarly poor rushing numbers vs. Michigan St in 2012 and 2013 but we don’t play them this year so I have left them out.

In 2012 ND went on to post solid numbers: 189.4/4.9 ypc. It dropped off a bit in 2013 mainly due to the QB: 151/4.5 ypc. But both years there was significant improvement outside of B1G competition.

Interestingly if you look back to 2011 we fared much better against Michigan and Purdue (198/6.0 and 287/7.2 respectively) so it would seem Harry Hiestand is the common denominator. Why does he struggle to prepare his o-line against B1G defenses?

By: Geoffrey '73

Geoffrey '73 — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 08:13:26 +0000

Agree – timing of bye week this year is fortuitous.

By: Jackson

Jackson — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 03:15:39 +0000

Regarding the spot on Robinson catch: The original spot was bad, but that was a fast moving play and I could almost see why the refs put it there (but it was a bad spot). However, the replay officials weren’t and couldn’t review for where to put the spot. The replay officials where reviewing to see if the call that it was not a touchdown was accurate. Since it was, they could only uphold the call. There is no option to uphold the call (i.e., “not a touchdown”) but change the spot. If it had been (inaccurately) ruled a TD, then when overturning the ruling, they would’ve had to figure out where to put the ball. But the ball was spotted by the refs, and the replay official had no authority to move it.

By: irishhawk50

irishhawk50 — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 02:24:15 +0000

I guess there is such a thing as objective reality. We all seem to see the problems the same way. I posted a similar comment after the Purdue game.

Speaking of objective reality, did anyone ever get an explanation as to why the spot on the Robinson catch was put back to the three yard line or was it the four when replay after replay after replay it looked like it should have been on the half yard line?

By: atlantadomer

atlantadomer — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 14:19:39 +0000

I’ve never seen a team that needed a bye week this early quite as bad as the IRISH do. I was waiting for them to start pulling fans out of the stands to play in the defensive backfield. Kudos to the kids that got pressed into duty though, they did well. In recent history, that game has made a highlight reel for some Purdue receiver – Yancey looked like he was trying, but the lads stopped him.

Here’s to hoping our starting defensive secondary in New Jersey features Collinsworth and Russell.

By: Garr Isacco

Garr Isacco — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 13:52:26 +0000

I never bet the Irish. It is hard enough to worry about winning a game and then have the additional worry about the damn point spread. Life is too short.