*Notre Dame* - On Vacation

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Thoros of Beer, Feb 3, 2016.

  1. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    He was dealing with a hamstring issue
     
  2. NilesIrish

    NilesIrish Not a master fisher but I know bait when I see it
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    He did. Guessing it was a hamstring but if he HAD to play he could. Kinda like a Hamilton this week.
     
  3. Thoros of Beer

    Thoros of Beer Academy Award-Winning Actor, Tim Allen
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    It was a discipline thing
     
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  4. IrishLAX2

    IrishLAX2 So you’re telling me there’s a chance
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    There were also comments of him needing to work on being a student-athlete. So good start there for the youngster.
     
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  5. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    Edit or not
     
    #52355 laxjoe, Sep 14, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020
  6. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    so weird seeing this
     
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  7. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    itunes suggested I subscribe to an ACC podcast and it took me a good 30 seconds to realize that I might actually want to do that.
     
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  8. npndne

    npndne Well-Known Member
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    It was kind of fun watching somebody play RB that actually looked like a RB.
     
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  9. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
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    What does a quarterback look like? Asking for a friend
     
  10. IrishLAX2

    IrishLAX2 So you’re telling me there’s a chance
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    Yep. We finally have someone that can make defenders miss
     
  11. npndne

    npndne Well-Known Member
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    [​IMG]
     

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  12. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    always a bit nerve-wracking when you see a tweet like this in 2020. this, fortunately, is just announcing the kick off for the game at wake
     
  13. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    Wow I would have bet anything that we didn't get a single noon kick this year with the Big 10/Pac 12 inventory gone.
     
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  14. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    Well this is nice.

     
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  15. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    Good marks on offense and defense, but a potato for a QB
     
  16. Red Rover

    Red Rover Neck water faucet, mockingbirds mocking
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    McCloud played great as well. The starting secondary is right up there with just about any other
     
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  17. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    Nice catch claypool

     
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  18. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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  19. repoocs

    repoocs Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
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    So familiar. I miss that kid.
     
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  20. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    Nm
     
    #52370 Rise, Sep 14, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020
  21. NDfanPSUgrad

    NDfanPSUgrad Well-Known Member
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    Every pass from Book has about a 13% chance. Nothing new here from Claypool.
     
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  22. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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  23. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
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    What exactly are the criteria here, because I have some questions

     
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  24. NDfanPSUgrad

    NDfanPSUgrad Well-Known Member
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    Looks great in weeks when only the ACC and Big 12 play. Only surprise is that Clemson didn’t make this random list.
     
  25. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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  26. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    nice to know we are still relevant
     
  27. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    Tale of the Tape - first half

    • Impressive opening monologue of NBC broadcast by NT- Ja'Mion Franklin: “Overcoming adversity is not a Notre Dame cliché. It defines who we are. We’re not just built differently on the field. What you love about us on Saturday, we’ve got every other day of the week, too. Football is not just our sport; it’s our family, it’s our voice. Adversity? It isn’t going anywhere and neither are we.”

    Brian Kelly in pre-game interview with NBC’s Jac Collinsworth: “Honored to be the Notre Dame football coach during these times. The commitment that our players had to make to get here…We need to do the ordinary things extraordinarily well. We don’t need to be anyone else other than who we’ve been the last three years.”

    • Interesting to hear new Notre Dame game analyst Tony Dungy say that it’s his first trip to Notre Dame since he was a 17-year-old high school senior on a recruiting trip when he met Irish head coach Ara Parseghian in his office.

    • “I think this is one of the best college football teams in the country,” says Dungy of Notre Dame.

    • Notre Dame found out at 9 a.m. Saturday that all of its players had tested negatively for COVID-19.

    • It should be noted that Duke QB-Chase Brice did not practice with the Blue Devils in the spring. He was still at Clemson. He wouldn’t have practiced with Duke even without the pandemic, and yet the chemistry he would show with a relatively non-descript receiving corps would prove impressive.

    • 15:00 (1stQ/Defense): Good to see Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Bo Bauer at the football on the opening kickoff. Same as it ever was.

    • Talented Duke TE-Noah Gray benefits from a typically-strong opening call by HC-David Cutcliffe for a 22-yard gain…Interesting to see, as expected based upon pre-game observations, red-shirt freshman Marist Liufau starting at Buck LB…Irish DT-Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa is rooted off the football by OG-Rakavius Chambers on RB-Deon Jackson’s 11-yard run.

    • Like so many would notice and acknowledge later, I, too, was struck by the through-the-facemask similarity between Brice and former Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

    • I did not realize that DT-Howard Cross III and NT-Ja’Mion Franklin were in the game on the fifth snap with DE-Justin Ademilola on the sixth snap…Clark Lea immediately getting his depth in the flow of the game, which would show itself as the game progressed…Good penetration by Liufau on that fifth snap. He looks light on his feet and active…FS-Kyle Hamilton’s PBU on 4th-and-2 is an easy play when you’re Spiderman.

    • 12:17 (1stQ/Offense): Dungy on Ian Book: “He can move. He stresses the defense with his legs. I really like him.” But DT-Derrick Tangelo beats RG-Tommy Kraemer and DT-Ben Frye makes the two-yard sack…Book looks skittish on 3rd-and-11 incompletion to RB-Kyren Williams…LS-Michael Vinson pounces on punt at the Duke 10 for his first downing of the football as the starter. He would remain active the whole game.

    • 10:54 (1stQ/Defense): DE-Ovie Oghoufo bites on the fake and loses contain, but Brice throws incomplete…Buck LB-Shayne Simon takes on the block but misses run fit as Jackson runs by him for 11 yards…A QB pressure for DT-Jayson Ademilola on 11-yard pass to Duke X-receiver Jake Bobo…DE-Ade Ogundeji stays with the play away from him to make stop on five-yard gain…DTs-Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish stuff Mataeo Durant for no gain.

    • The 55-yard pass play to Eli Pancol is a great call by Cutcliffe. Bauer and Jack Kiser are in for the Irish on the play. It appears that Lea likes to use Kiser on passing downs. As Daelin Hayes zone drops, Irish DBs Shaun Crawford and D.J. Brown miss tackles on Pancol before TaRiq Bracy finally runs him down at the Irish seven, where Notre Dame forces a field goal.

    • Hinish penetrates and throws Jackson for a four-yard loss, largely because DE-Isaiah Foskey provided superb edge contain. Mike LB Drew White stops Jackson for two yards on second down as Tagovailoa-Amosa is held but not called. With the Irish dropping both interior defensive linemen on third down, Foskey is unblocked by RT-Casey Holman, who is helping inside. Duke K-Charlie Ham boots the first FG attempt of his collegiate career.

    • 7:01 (1stQ/Offense): Members of Notre Dame kick return team – Isaiah Pryor, Houston Griffith, Jack Lamb, Kiser, Bauer, Simon, Michael Mayer, Colin Grunhard, Brock Wright, Jafar Armstrong and Chris Tyree. The choice of Grunhard is interesting…Good push by LT-Liam Eichenberg for two-yard gain on first down…Good push by G-C-G Aaron Banks/Jarrett Patterson/Kraemer on four-yard gain…TE-Tommy Tremble drops catchable but a bit hot ball from Book on third down…Pryor gets easy shot on PR-Josh Blackwell as Duke’s Mark Gilbert sets Pryor free.

    • 5:48 (1stQ/Defense): An active Bauer makes stop on first down…It makes me wonder – Can White and Bauer play Buck and Mike together? Maybe not. But if they are your two most effective ILBs…Probably not mobile enough, although White was recruited while playing OLB in high school.

    • CB-Nick McCloud gets beaten on a back-shoulder throw to Darrell Harding Jr., but he’s providing solid coverage. Press coverage will allow for some slants and back-shoulder completions. But it’s worth the tradeoff…Bauer draws a holding penalty from RB-Durant. Drawing penalties is a significant contribution to the cause, too, but often unacknowledged…This time LT-Holman blocks Foskey, but Foskey peels off and drills Brice…On 3rd-and-17, Owusu-Koramoah offers contain, McCloud drops and they give Brice an inconsequential three yards…Kiser, Pryor, Cam Hart and Lamb are ineffective blocking for Lawrence Keys III on punt return.

    • 3:33 (1stQ/Defense): No one blocks DE-Drew Jordan as the slot receivers run routes. Just a bad play matchup as Tyree is dumped for no gain. Only Tyree’s elusiveness prevents a loss…It’s a scheme sack for WLB-Rocky Shelton as Ben Skowronek runs his route. It’s a five-man rush and Duke times it perfectly for a 10-yard sack. Tyree misses pass-protection read, which is why coaches often don’t like using young RBs on passing downs…Tyree then picks up his block on 3rd-and-20, but the pass to Tremble is 10 yards short…A nice punt-coverage shell of defenders with Hamilton, Paul Moala, Vinson, Liufau and Bauer.

    • 1:42 (1stQ/Offense): Shaun Crawford shows why moving him to safety is a smart move for the Irish secondary as he flies up for a stop on a two-yard completion with pressure from Moala…PBU by McCloud as he uses hands to steady WR-Bobo and then plays the football. Textbook press coverage…On 3rd-and-8, Irish bring Hamilton and Kiser for six-yard gain…

    • Keys appears to align too deep for Duke punt, which allows the ball to hit a the 19 and roll to the four-yard line…Duke’s Matt Guerrieri – now in his second year as DC but on the Cutcliffe staff since 2012 – clearly is getting the best of first-year Irish OC-Tommy Rees.

    • 0:16 (1stQ/Defense): C-Patterson catches the defensive lineman instead of blocking him, which limits Williams’ gain to two yards…Patterson can’t hold block on Tangelo on second down and Williams gains three. Patterson’s performance would improve…Notre Dame picks up its initial first down on second play of second quarter – a 10-yard pass to Tremble.

    • Dungy reveals that Guerrieri said with Notre Dame’s top three receivers gone from 2019, he’s going to make the Irish prove they can run the ball and beat them with a new set of WRs. It’s a concern Irish Illustrated has pointed out since the departure of Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet and Chris Finke. Without Kevin Austin Jr. (foot), Braden Lenzy (hamstring or doghouse?) and Skowronek (hamstring), the Irish are on their third rung of receivers since 2019.

    • Williams gets blasted in pass pro, but the pass is completed. That’s taking one for the team…An incomplete pass by Book to Williams as Book fails to see Skowronek over the middle and Keys runs deep route. Might have been too late to see Keys…Collinsworth reveals that it’s Mayer who has been the guy in pre-season practice who has caught the most 50-50 balls. The Irish need a replacement in that department for Claypool. He doesn’t exist on this team, at least not at this moment. That was a significant part of the 2019 offense.

    • The fake punt works perfectly and rather easily with personal protectors Brock Wright, Dillan Gibbons and John Dirksen leading the way. Particularly effective is Gibbons with Hamilton and Simon on the next rung. Jay Bramblett cuts back for additional yardage and a gain of 16.

    • Books’ 16-yard pass to Mayer between defenders is perfect. It’s at this point that Dungy reveals Mayer’s nickname – Baby Gronk…Williams’ 12-yard run is sealed by the right side of the offensive line with Wright providing additional walling…With the facemask penalty, the Irish suddenly have picked up 43 yards the last two plays, in addition to the 16-yard fake punt. It’s Skowronek who draws the facemask penalty.

    • The 20-yard dump-off pass to Jafar Armstrong is beautifully designed. Armstrong is the I-back. WR-Javon McKinley circles from left-to-right and the reverse is faked. From a three-receiver set left, Tremble motions right with Mayer running his route upfield to clear space as no one suspects a play-action fake to Armstrong and then the throw to Armstrong. With Williams and Tyree developing and Jahmir Smith showing in the second half that he can be a short-yardage asset, would it make sense to turn Armstrong into a running back/slot receiver?

    • Tremendous athletic balance by Williams on two-yard score when Duke’s Lummie Young IV undercuts Williams and thinks he’s made the tackle. Williams leaps, lands on one foot, uses his left hand to steady himself on C-Patterson’s back, and then wiggles his way into the end zone…Prior to his halftime interview with Jack Swarbrick, Collinsworth reveals that there were indeed conversations with Alabama during the pandemic, but the threat of conferences going to conference-only play ultimately scuttled the idea.

    • 10:39 (2ndQ/Defense): Very active hands by CB-Bracy on PBU vs. Damond Philyaw-Johnson…Hamilton makes a beeline to Brice on 3rd-and-7 and drills him in the chest for an incomplete pass. Man, he gets there quickly and with a limited number of steps. His closing speed is remarkable.

    • 9:53 (2ndQ/Offense): Another nice throw by Book to Tremble for 13 yards after fake reverse to Keys…Says Dungy after a couple of short Williams runs: “They said Williams has been by far the best back” in practice. It shows…Williams has his helmet torn off for the second time. It would happen again…A perfect nose-of-the-football punt by Bramblett is fair caught at the eight.

    • 7:32 (2ndQ/Defense): A ton of "give" by the Irish defense as Duke gains five first downs on five consecutive plays…It was during this series where you really begin to suspect that Brice is the best quarterback on the field as he makes an accurate 25-yard throw on a dig and a 16-yard short corner route…Notre Dame is called for holding (Bracy?) on a beautiful PBU by Owusu-Koramoah…A nice trip-up tackle by Ogundeji at the two puts Duke in a 3rd-and-goal.

    • For the second time on three pressures by Foskey, he is unblocked and Foskey gets his first career sack as intentional grounding is waved off. Foskey won’t be left unblocked by any opponent moving forward…Ham’s second field goal makes it a 7-6 Irish lead.

    • 3:20 (2ndQ/Offense): Pryor is beaten immediately on the kick return and Tyree has no chance at the 16-yard line. Pryor will be remembered for his hit on Blackwell; the coaching staff will remember the latter…On the 75-yard tunnel screen to Williams, RT-Robert Hainsey clears out the edge with Skowronek and Kraemer leading the charge. Williams has an easy path until S-Michael Carter II eventually tracks him down. Williams does not have breakaway speed, but he has breakaway quickness and elusiveness. That’s a perfectly acceptable tradeoff.

    • Although Tremble has inside position on WLB-Shelton on 1st-and-10 from the Duke 11, Book just fires it and it skips off the hand of Tremble and is intercepted by S-Young. This is just irresponsible decision-making by a veteran quarterback. Then after a quick four-and-out, the Irish get the ball back and…

    • 1:13 (2ndQ/Offense): On the second play, Book throws one up for grabs between two defenders bracketing Keys. This is another immature throw of the football with S-Blackwell just waiting back there to pick off the throw. Did Book know he had a freebie as DE-Chris Rumph II stepped offside? It’s possible, but it didn’t look like it…So what does Book do next? He completes four straight passes for 39 yards while Williams bounces off a tackle on 3rd-and-1 for a gain of seven.

    • Huge credit to WR-Joe Wilkins Jr. for his back-to-back 15- and 13-yard receptions. The first – with 25 seconds and one timeout remaining – stopped the clock as Wilkins broke two tackles to get out of bounds. Book eventually would have to scramble for three yards and throw incomplete on 2nd-and-7 with seven seconds left. But it was the effort and the ability to save that timeout by Wilkins that preserved the opportunity for K-Jonathan Doerer’s 48-yard field goal.

    • At halftime, Dungy mentions that Notre Dame needs to call more misdirection runs to slow Duke’s over-pursuit of Notre Dame’s wide running game. My question and call me ignorant if you will: If you know they’re over-pursuing in the first quarter in an age with multiple analysts to offer insight, why does it take until halftime to make the adjustment? Why can’t the offensive brain-trust make those corrections when the defense is on the field? I intend to ask this question.

    • It didn’t take long to feel the comfortable, easy give-and-take communication between play-by-play man Mike Tirico and Dungy. It feels right. It flows right. It works very well.
     
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  28. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    second half

    • (15:00 (3rdQ/Offense): A fairly sloppy start to the third quarter for the Irish…I thought it might have been Colin Grunhard who held on the opening kickoff of the second half, but the call went against Bo Bauer…After a 10-yard run by RB-Kyren Williams to the right with three-bunched receivers to the left, the Irish do what NBC analyst Tony Dungy suggests and that is to run against the grain, beginning with this short-side-of-the field run.

    • TE- Tommy Tremble – who had five catches for 38 yards, but a few miscues to clean up – was called for offensive interference, which is offset by Chris Rumph II’s offside penalty…QB-Ian Book throws high on an easy pitch-and-catch to Williams and the Irish go six-and-out…The first of two uncharacteristically low hang-time punts by Jay Bramblett gives the ball to Duke at their own 42 trailing 10-6.

    • 12:40 (3rdQ/Defense): It should come as no surprise to anyone who has witnessed Clark Lea as a defensive coordinator that after allowing some success to the Duke offense in the first half – in fact, more than normal with 246 yards on 42 snaps – the Irish clamped down in the second half…The Blue Devils were limited to just 25 snaps totaling 88 yards in the second half, including 13 rushing attempts for a mere 24 yards.

    • I admit to having new respect for Duke RB-Deon Johnson, and yet he would finish with just 52 yards on 15 carries (3.5-yard average) with a long run of 12…Lea’s defense immediately changes the tenor of the Duke offense from the first half with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s strip of WR-Jalon Calhoun and S-Shaun Crawford’s fumble recovery on Duke’s third snap of the half.

    • Hamilton’s left lower-leg injury looked ugly. You immediately think knee, although video evidence showed how his ankle was tucked underneath him by the impact of Calhoun. Hamilton really hobbled off the field.

    • I was surprised NBC didn’t do a better job of reporting on this. I watched Hamilton through most of the third quarter as he tried to walk off the injury. Jac Collinsworth said Hamilton never did try to run on it, but he clearly was trying to work his way to that point when it just became obvious that he shouldn’t give it a go, particularly after the Irish took a 17-6 lead with a seven-play, 59-yard drive following the turnover.

    • 11:20 (3rdQ/Offense): Dungy references Notre Dame’s “angle blocking” on the 59-yard scoring drive as Williams runs for 12 yards with a trips right of TE-Tommy Tremble, WR-Javon McKinley and TE-Brock Wright…McKinley, as he would prove on Williams’ 26-yard touchdown run to conclude the drive, is a blocking weapon for the Irish. When the Irish go trips with that trio, it’s almost like having a third tight end on the field with the tenacity of the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder.

    • In this drive, there is a shovel pass to Lawrence Keys III that nets just four yards. When people were surprised by the pre-season depth chart listing Avery Davis ahead of Keys, I wasn’t because a) Davis is a senior who has paid a ton of dues and b) he’s stronger than Keys. Overall strength is what’s holding Keys back from being a more effective asset.

    • WR-Joe Wilkins Jr. – playing in place of Ben Skowronek who was out with a slight hamstring pull – makes a tremendous tightrope catch on the sideline for seven yards as Mike Tirico and Dungy refer to it as an NFL catch because he got both feet down.

    • On 4th-and-1 from the 26, the Irish lined up to go for it and then called timeout, much to Brian Kelly’s displeasure. When they lined up again, Notre Dame benefitted from four very effective blocks and Williams’ decision to bounce it outside, which not only gained the necessary yardage to convert the first down, but gave Williams plenty of running room to easily prance into the end zone for his second touchdown and a 17-6 lead.

    • Tremble blocked S-Marquis Waters, LT-Liam Eichenberg put body on MLB-Shaka Heyward, and LG-Aaron Banks drove DE-Viktor Dimukeje off the ball, which gave Williams the opportunity to see he could run it wide, although plowing straight ahead would have converted the first down.

    • Dungy said that Williams knows “the running back coach won’t be mad at me that if I see something, I can take it and be a football player.” Agreed…unless the decision to kick it wide would have fallen short of the first down, although Williams’ vision told him there would be no resistance wide. Either way, because it was blocked so well, it was going to work. Williams’ decision to kick it outside was the best of all worlds.

    • 7:57 (3rdQ/Defense): With Hamilton sidelined, this was a great opportunity for red-shirt sophomore S-D.J. Brown to make a mark. He’s likely going to have to play extensively this weekend against South Florida with Hamilton almost certainly sidelined. It sure would have been a confidence boost if Brown could have come up with what was a pretty easy interception opportunity on Chase Brice’s first pass of the drive.

    • But Brown didn’t come up with it and then Crawford, out of frustration, kicked the football away, drawing an unsportsmanlike penalty call. You hate to make a split-second decision like that in your first game as a captain, but Crawford just reacted and paid for it…And yet the Irish defense rose to the occasion immediately thereafter as Bauer – there’s that guy again – stuffed Jackson for no gain…On 3rd-and-5, more Lea creativity, using DE-Daelin Hayes as a drop end and forcing Brice to overthrow his receiver.

    6:31 (3rdQ/Offense): Here’s another example of Tremble’s up-and-down day. He chose not to block the first man that leaked through, and thus, RB-Chris Tyree was dumped for a two-yard loss…Even though the Irish were backed up to their own nine on 3rd-and-9, a critical play by DE-Dimukeje kept the Blue Devils in the game trailing 17-6.

    • OC-Tommy Rees made a great call with a QB draw. Both inside linebackers peeled off after the snap. Book timed his release perfectly. But Dimukeje reached a paw out and tripped Book up. (Note: Had LG-Aaron Banks stayed on his block, Book would have danced past Dimukeje for a first down.)…That forced a punt – another bad one by Bramblett – which Josh Blackwell returned 13 yards. With the kick just 38 yards and low, it was a 25-yard net punt and the Blue Devils started at the Irish 39.

    • 4:43 (3rdQ/Defense): With a short field, the Notre Dame defense was set up for a wheel route by H-back Noah Gray. Credit to David Cutcliffe for a victory over Clark Lea on that play. On 1st-and-10 from the Irish 24, Brice faked the toss to the running back, which froze Hayes and LB-Marist Liufau. They had to respect the pitch. Gray leaked out and worked his way up the sideline as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah also had to respect the pitch. Gray couldn’t stay in-bounds, but the damage had been done down to the Irish five.

    • A big hit by Crawford on RB-Mataeo Durant created a 3rd-and-goal from the two. The Blue Devils ran what was in essence a Wildcat with the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Brice and he plowed his way into the end zone for a 17-13 Duke deficit. One could trace back to Dimukeje’s trip-up of Book on Notre Dame’s previous drive and Bramblett’s short punt to keeping Duke in the game a little longer.

    • 2:08 (3rdQ/Offense): Isaiah Pryor loses his man on the kick return again, which starts the Irish drive at the 16…Another missed opportunity for Notre Dame/Book. A screen pass to Williams is set up perfectly. Three Irish offensive linemen are out front. In front of them is nothing but open turf. But Book misfires to Williams.

    • If you don’t acknowledge a) the great quarterback draw play call in the previous drive in which Banks failed to stay on his block and b) this perfectly set-up screen to Williams, then you are not fairly evaluating Rees’ day. Did he get out-schemed in the first quarter? Absolutely. But players have to execute, and this was a perfect example of a lack of execution in the third quarter that would have lengthened the four-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

    • And yet the Irish still managed to use this drive to their advantage by overcoming the miscue by Book-to-Williams with what would become a 15-play, 83-yard, 6:14 touchdown drive capped by the muscled-up touchdown grab by Avery Davis.

    • Williams ran for 14 yards on the play after the missed screen pass. More misdirection with a counter run with Tremble throwing a nice block. Said Dungy: “Notre Dame (re: Rees) is using Duke’s speed against them.”…When Book scrambles for just four yards, Dungy adds: “These new receivers have to get used to breaking off their routes and moving with Ian Book and give him some help when he scrambles.”

    • Davis made two significant catches on this drive, including a 3rd-and-8 grab for nine yards on the final play of the third quarter. Dungy again is insightful by pointing out how hard Davis drove his defender off him with a hard plant of the foot and the first-down grab.

    • On the first play of the fourth quarter, Book had Keys open on a deep ball. Keys was slightly impeded by the Duke defender. But if Book throws the football with some air under it and allows Keys to do what he does best – run – the Irish complete this pass for a 58-yard score. But Book throws it on a line and the slight alteration of Keys’ route by the defender is enough to make it an overthrow. (Could Keys have stretched out to make the play?)

    • TE- Michael Mayer to the rescue. On 3rd-and-7 from the Irish 45, Mayer motions left then right and takes the swing pass from Book. CB-Josh Blackwell – at 6-foot-0, 170 pounds – has the task of corralling the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Mayer who, quite frankly, looks and plays bigger than 235 pounds while maintaining quickness. Mayer shakes Blackwell like a rag doll and then confronts 5-foot-11, 160-pound S-Jalen Alexander. Mayer plows him for a gain of seven and the first down.

    • Williams shows a great individual effort for a seven-yard gain and actually comes up a little gimpy on his left ankle…Making his first appearance of the game on the sixth play of the fourth quarter, RB-Jahmir Smith runs behind a strong G-C-G push and easily converts the 3rd-and-1 with a four-yard gain.

    • Now the playbook is really opening up for Rees as a pass to Williams nets 18 yards…A poor throw by Book to Mayer falls incomplete…On 3rd-and-10 from the 17, Davis gets to the end zone and positions himself against talented S-Michael Carter II, who by this stage of the game is a bit hobbled. Davis muscles up and wins the battle for the touchdown and the game is, in essence, over at the 10:58 mark as the Irish take a 24-13 lead…Another Jonathan Doerer extra point uncharacteristically hooks through the uprights.

    • 10:58 (4thQ/Defense): A sign of a great defense is when it sees blood in the water and responds. Partly because the Irish are now employing a dime defense with DBs Crawford, Brown, Bracy, McCloud, Cam Hart and, if I’m not mistaken, freshman Clarence Lewis, Cutcliffe tries to forge some yardage underneath the downfield protective shell.

    • But Notre Dame’s front is ready as Owusu-Koramoah dumps Jackson for a four-yard loss on a swing pass, NT-Jacob Lacey and Foskey combine on Jackson for a two-yard loss, and Ogundeji is the first to reach Jackson on another pass with DT-Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa converging on Jackson’s catch for a three-yard loss. In what truly was Duke’s last shot at competing in this game, Notre Dame’s defense sent the Blue Devils back eight yards on three snaps.

    • 9:06 (4thQ/Offense): I think someone was sandbagging us last week with a question about the use of split backs – a double-pistol formation, if you will -- with Williams and Tyree. On Notre Dame’s drive after the lost-yardage three-and-out, that’s exactly what Notre Dame did as Tyree burst for 25 yards while showing exceptional foot quickness.

    • The 14-yard toss to Mayer on the next play has to be a scary sight for a defense, particularly those extremely undersized Duke defensive backs…The drive bogged down from there and Doerer was called on to kick a 34-yard field goal. There was no drift of the football this time on Doerer’s kick from the left hash. It stayed true to the path it was on when it left his foot. That’s when Doerer is at his best.

    • Did you see how many times the game was stopped for a Duke player sprawled out on the field? At one point, Blackwell just fell to the turf, which is the right thing to do so as to stop the play. But Blue Devils were falling right and left throughout this game, which is a sign of Notre Dame’s physicality and the depth to be able to eventually beat a team into submission. Credit to Cutcliffe and his staff for staying in this game as long as they did, in part because of Notre Dame’s missed opportunities, mostly by its quarterback.

    • Many times watching the recording of the game after sitting in the press box, my conclusion is that Book played better than I thought. This time, I thought he played worse than I thought…Brice’s 23-yard run late accounted for nearly one-third of Duke’s rushing yardage…Dungy says “wow” instead of Wu when watching JOK…On TV, Notre Dame’s stadium turf looked bad.

    • We finish with a quote from Owusu-Koramoah on Lea, of whom he calls a “virtuous man” according to Collinsworth… “He understands coaching is an on-field, off-field process where you take a kid who is away from his father, away from his mother…You take that time to develop grown-ups. He understands the minds. Even with meetings, they don’t start with football. They start with something that is going to better the men in every-day life. Sounds like somebody in the booth with you, Mike.”
     
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  29. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    i listened to Sampson's podcast on the Athletic last week when he had Ryan Harris on (former OL)

    Ryan said he was at a practice and saw some pretty insane stuff from Chip Long's behavior while at practice that he couldn't believe. It's nice to hear someone who saw it happening actually say something publicly about it but Chip Long really must have been something else. Dude needs to calm down
     
  30. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    also sounds like Colzie is in the bag, feels really good

    Loy/Singer/Freeman have all predicted him to ND and the trifecta has never missed
     
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  31. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    Wish we had some deets on specifics
     
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  32. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    he did without a doubt
     
  33. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
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    Where the fuck is Kelly? For all the shit he (rightfully) receives for his various coaching short comings he’s praised for being a strong ‘executive/CEO’ type and managing the big picture stuff for the program. How the hell does he allow that shit to go on or let the situation devolve so far that they have to shitcan the best OC the program has had in recent memory?
     
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  34. Yanks711

    Yanks711 TMB's Hoosier
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    I just read an article in The Athletic that pretty much said this too.
     
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  35. AHebrewToo

    AHebrewToo Albino Hebrew Extraordinaire
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    LaFleur wasn't ever OC so I can't make a snarky comment about how the best OC the has had in recent memory willingly left.

    Honestly though - that 2014 team was so stacked. Fucking Van Gorder.
     
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  36. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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    I think there is a certain shelf life where being a dick works but it sounds like he just never let up and he outlived that.
     
  37. theregionsitter

    theregionsitter Well-Known Member
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    plenty of coaching examples where this is true
     
  38. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    Chip long probably just kept this picture in his back pocket at all times just in case kelly brought something up about chip’s temper.


    upload_2020-9-15_18-55-9.jpeg
     
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  39. IrishLAX2

    IrishLAX2 So you’re telling me there’s a chance
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  40. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    should also take a few notes on foskey while he is at it
     
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  41. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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  42. repoocs

    repoocs Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
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    Thankfully, Foskey can't jump after this season.
     
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  43. NilesIrish

    NilesIrish Not a master fisher but I know bait when I see it
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    Harris is the radio color guy so unfortunately I doubt he ever drops details.
     
  44. CTownND

    CTownND Well-Known Member
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    Imagine being told like a decade ago that we'd have NFL draft analysts gushing over FOUR edge rushers we had on one team

     
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  45. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    they told me it was impossible to recruit these guys at notre dame.
     
  46. IrishLAX2

    IrishLAX2 So you’re telling me there’s a chance
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    I remember so many posts about how the DL position doesn’t match up with NDs demographic or academic standards.

    As with 95% of things, it’s a coaching thing...not an institutional one.
     
  47. NilesIrish

    NilesIrish Not a master fisher but I know bait when I see it
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    Our DL was Kap, Sean Cwynar, Ian WIlliams, Ethan Johnson, etc. Quite the upgrade in 10 years.
     
  48. theregionsitter

    theregionsitter Well-Known Member
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    it was always just bizarre and unbalanced recruiting

    ND can get talent anywhere, they will miss as well so as long as the recruiting is balanced things will work out
     
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  49. npndne

    npndne Well-Known Member
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    And as long as Botelho doesn’t beat the shit out of some business student I think he could be the most disruptive of the lot.
     
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  50. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    The days where we were hoping to get one 4 star as the only D-Line in the class....for years on end