the thing is. we have 12 DBs on the roster and we are about to lose 5 of em. If the bodies were there id be confident but we are just flat out short on numbers. Our roster is great at many positions but our numbers are somewhat out of whack. Assuming you have 80 positions to work with for position players (3 or 4 specialists, 1-2 extra spots for positions where you really had a class that dissapointed when at campus) id say the numbers for all positions should be (more or less) QB 4 (currently: 3) RB 6 (currently: 6) TE 5 (currently: 4) WR 10 (currently: 12) OL 14 (currently: 14) DT 8 (currently: 7) DE 8 (currently: 10) LB(incl rover) 10 (currently: 13) DB 15 (currently: 12) These numbers are purely my estimates and ND can be a bit lighter on positions like OL where they can sign really elite talent but in broad lines you should have 3 starters for all starting positions (including nickel) with more RBs than that and more DL than that. Point being. We could go down to 11 or even 10 dbs if we dont get anyone else wrong
Congrats. My nephew's fiance decided to get married that day, so the trip is off for me. Fall weddings are dumb.
My sister's getting married in the bay area next Saturday at 5 PM PT. All my family are OSU fans except me and my aunt who went to St. Mary's. Everyone's hootin and hollerin that the OSU/Wisconsin game got flexed to 9 AM PT and I'm going to be wiggling in the pews uncomfortably.
Man, Prister really laid into ND fandom in his article - rightfully so I might add sometimes, you just need to be happy for the team you root for Spoiler When I think of…my final thoughts on Notre Dame’s 30-27 victory over USC, I have to tune out the negativity that came blasting from the disgruntled fandom and focus on the reality of what happened in Notre Dame’s third straight win over the Trojans. For the second time in three seasons, the Irish rushed for more than 300 yards against the Trojans. Last Saturday, it was 48 carries for 308 yards (6.4-yard average) that did USC in. Two seasons ago – as one of seven games of at least 300 yards rushing in 2017 – Notre Dame ran it 47 times for 377 yards (8.0 average) and five touchdowns in the 49-14 thrashing of USC. Ian Book managed the passing game as the rushing attack overwhelmed the Trojans, and then put the offense on his back for the 14-play, 75-yard touchdown-clinching drive. The defense was in a predicament with one week to prepare for the Air Raid offense. USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell made the adjustments in the second half to help spark the Trojans to 24 points over the final 30 minutes. The advantage favored USC with its familiarity with the system and Notre Dame’s unconventional defensive approach. The Trojans capitalized on it. Clark Lea’s first-half work – three points and 146 yards total offense – counts too. It was enough to hold off the charge. While I understand the angst that comes with being a college football fan, I do not understand the segment that is always dissatisfied, always angry. It is so myopic. To think that Notre Dame should be good in all aspects in every game is a childish attitude toward competitive athletics. The opposition – particularly when the opposition is your greatest rival with an equally storied tradition – is going to force Notre Dame into bad decisions and mistakes. That’s competitive athletics. There are times to be overly critical of a program. But now is not that time because it flies in the face of reality. The Irish are 27-5 in their last 32 games with losses to Georgia by one point at home, Miami by a lot on the road, Stanford on the road in a game in which the Irish were winning at the end of the third quarter, 2018 national champ Clemson in the Cotton Bowl, and at Georgia by six a few weeks ago. Sure, we can second-guess the use of a three-man line against USC or grouse about how bad the special teams were against Virginia (but good-to-great against everyone else in ’19) or wonder why there is a dearth of breakaway speed at running back or question what’s been accomplished recruiting defensive backs. These are all reasonable debates, as long as you understand that every program is going to have its shortcomings while some second-guesses don’t have enough information to know better. With all the moving parts within a football team – and there are hundreds upon hundreds – do you really expect your team to play error free in all aspects, especially against a physically-talented 91-year rival? Do you really expect a coaching staff to press all the right buttons? Is there an entity in mankind that achieves perfection among all its moving parts? Then why would you expect that from your team? So other programs are supposed to make mistakes, but your team shouldn’t? Notre Dame’s victory over USC last Saturday night should have been celebrated, which I’m sure many reasonable-thinking people did. But there was the feeling with us covering the game as well as within the Gug that Notre Dame Nation was not only dissatisfied with the way the game transpired, but irate throughout much of the night. It’s the one aspect of this job that the media hates because you can’t reason with the unreasonable. I covered the Lou Holtz era. During that time, there was an outspoken segment of fans – even when he went 64-9-1 from 1988-93 – who constantly were critical of Holtz. Too much running, not enough emphasis on the passing game, not enough tight end usage and dissatisfaction with the head coach’s sideline behavior. After Holtz left – with a 100-30-2 record in 11 seasons – the next three head coaches went 91-67 over 13 seasons. Brian Kelly is not Lou Holtz. He’s not going to be a Hall of Fame coach. But he’s also a far cry from Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis. He’s got this program humming right now. He’s not perfect. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s made a ton of them in nearly 10 seasons. But for those who can find no joy even in the best stretch of Notre Dame football in a quarter of a century, try to struggle through another 10-victory season -- which would be four of the last five -- as well as a third straight victory over USC, as difficult as that is to stomach. For the reasonable majority, we move on. When I think of…Michigan at Penn State this weekend, followed by Notre Dame’s trip to Ann Arbor for an Oct. 26 night game in the Big House, I forget about the “unreasonables” and savor what lies ahead. It will be madness in Beaver Stadium for the arrival of the Wolverines. I would cap Michigan’s scoring output this weekend at 16, and that’s a stretch. Penn State is allowing 8.2 points per game, second only to Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions have allowed 53.8 yards rushing per game, 1.5 per carry and just one rushing touchdown. Opponents have averaged a tick under 260 yards total offense per game. Michigan, averaging 30 points per game, scored 40 against Middle Tennessee State, 52 against Rutgers and 42 versus Illinois. The Wolverines averaged 16 points against Army (24), Wisconsin (14) and Iowa (10). (Note: Notre Dame has beefed up its scoring against New Mexico [66] and Bowling Green [52], but at least scored 35 against Louisville and 35 versus Virginia, the latter of which was defensive driven). Penn State certainly can be offensively-challenged as well (17 points vs. Pittsburgh, 17 points against Iowa) in the post-Trace McSorley transition, but Michigan’s defense – although still a handful – is not as ferocious up front as it was with Chase Winovich, Rashan Gary and Devin Bush. As Irish Illustrated provided in the days leading up to the Virginia and USC games, look for our In The Film Room report on the Wolverines next week. When I think of…Clay Helton losing his job, which he will at the end of the season, an exchange of offensive coordinators from Tee Martin to Graham Harrell was a positive short-term move. But will it be what’s in the best interest of USC? It likely won’t matter because the departure of Helton probably means the departure of Harrell as well. But USC – like Notre Dame – needs to be established first and foremost on the ground. It’s scary to have to face Michael Pittman, Tyler Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Plus, the Air Raid offense opens up avenues in the running game because opposing defenses have to fear/respect the passing game. But the Trojans have become soft in the trenches (particularly defensively, although the compete level by the Trojans against Notre Dame the last two games has been outstanding). I would expect the next head coach – will it really be Urban Meyer? – won’t be grab-bagging like Helton has been forced to do to save his job. For USC to be USC, it needs to run the football and stop the run first and foremost, which is why defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast should have been launched a long time ago. If Meyer is the man USC will pinpoint – even as scandal continues to haunt USC athletics – the former Irish assistant and near head coach probably won’t be able to bypass the opportunity, health issues and all. (Hate on Meyer and his mode of operation all you want. But please don’t try to further the erroneous notion that his health issues aren’t real.) The one thing you know Meyer would do with the Trojans is make them a tough, hard-nosed, physical team again, which is the best way to prevent Notre Dame from taking control of this rivalry. When I think of…the health of the Notre Dame football team heading into Michigan, it should be the best it has been the entire season, including most of August. Tight end Cole Kmet and wide receiver Michael Young both suffered broken collarbones in the pre-season. Running back Jafar Armstrong (abdomen/groin) joined them on the shelf during the first quarter of the first game. Kmet came back against Georgia in Game Three, but running back Jahmir Smith was sidelined with a toe injury. Defensive end Daelin Hayes (torn labrum) went down in Game Four against Virginia, as did defensive back Shaun Crawford (elbow). Young and Smith returned for the Virginia game. Lawrence Keys III (foot) missed the Bowling Green game, but was back for USC in limited work. Notre Dame tried to ease Armstrong back into the lineup against USC in Game Six, but Tony Jones Jr. handled the bulk of the work. With the bye week and Michigan up next, the Irish won’t have Hayes. But Crawford is expected back and Armstrong/Keys should be ready to roll. The health of a football team can change in a Tuesday practice. It has changed in the past during a Friday walk-through. But to be down one starter due to injury heading into the seventh game, which is one of the most critical games of the season, the Irish couldn’t ask for a better situation, particularly with the entire team benefitting from a bye week. When I think of…Notre Dame’s NFL draft options following the 2019 college football season, it’s that time of year again for Irish Illustrated when we tap into an NFL draft expert to get the lowdown. Our go-to guy in recent years – Greg Gabriel, a long-time NFL director of college scouting – has moved on to the XFL. Dan Shonka, general manager and national scout for Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services, is Irish Illustrated’s new point man. Shonka became a head coach at Highland (Kansas) Community College at the age of 27. Joe Terranova, who founded the Prep Recruiting Service -- which got the ball rolling for all that is high school football recruiting coverage today -- called Shonka one of the top 10 recruiters in the country when Shonka was at Purdue and Kansas. Shonka would go on to serve as a scout for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL and the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL. Shonka is an accomplished writer in his own right, dating back to his time as editor of the Iowa State Daily. Shonka joined Ourlads in 2004. Ourlads is the longest running independent scouting service (37 years) in the country. Earlier this week, Shonka and I discussed the draft prospects of WR-Chase Claypool, DE-Julian Okwara, DE-Khalid Kareem, LB-Asmar Bilal, S-Jalen Elliott, S-Alohi Gilman, QB-Ian Book and CB-Troy Pride while discussing the possibilities for DE-Jamir Jones, RB-Tony Jones Jr., and junior TE-Cole Kmet. (Note: We’ll evaluate CB-Shaun Crawford with the rest of these players in December.) I’m looking forward to Irish Illustrated introducing Shonka to our readers. Look for an upcoming story with his comments. AGAINST THE ODDS Oklahoma State -4 vs. Baylor Arizona State +13½ @ Utah Season record: 12-10
On one hand, games like Saturday night prove that Brian Kelly can and will consistently beat teams he’s better than. And at a school like ND, that means 9+ automatic wins per year. And that’s really awesome considering our lack of consistency in the win column since 1993. On the other hand, you see an extremely conservative gameplan to beat a lesser opponent. A gameplan an “elite” team would never have to employ because they’re good enough to stick to their established identity to dominate 99% of the teams they play. You also see a QB that is still very much a full step away from helping us compete against the elite teams in the country, and isn’t exactly improving along the way. Both of those things suggest that Brian Kelly is more Mark Richt than he is Nick Saban. And that’s sad. Having a ceiling is not enjoyable. Hopefully with these next few recruiting classes that ceiling gets a little higher, but I still think it doesn’t get rid of the ceiling entirely. The great news is we’re going to be in a wonderful position to attract the next great elite coach after Kelly’s tenure. And he deserves all the credit for that. I also think for what he is - a guy with a ceiling - that he’s done an incredible job. But having ceilings in college football is unfortunately not how you win titles. That’s how I see both sides of the Kelly coin. He’s turned into a very-close-to-elite coach. That’s not what you need to win a title when at least 2 elite coaches are elsewhere and established though.
This is also the kind of stuff previous Kelly-hired assistants weren’t doing. Sure, Polian has his issues being an actual special teams coach. But the positives he’s brought in the recruiting office across the whole program far outweigh some of the special teams gaffes, in my opinion. Especially if Kelly keeps a closer eye on special teams than he needed to previously. Bigger picture - Polian plus an actual good coaching staff is quickly proving that you can recruit at an elite level at ND.
Very good points and I think the answer is, as has been debated constantly between Kelly's supporters and detractors, is there another Meyer, Saban, Swinney out there that given ND's resources could rise to that level? And, is the current state worth risking to try and find out?
I think you absolutely let Kelly ride out the rest of his tenure (which looks to be another 3-4 years) before making any changes. I’ll just be very excited about who could possibly find the job enticing at that point compared to previous hiring cycles.
At this point special teams basically boils down to do you have a good kicker/punter and can you avoid penalties and fumbling. Punt returns and kickoff refund are, or should be, pretty much non existent in today's game. I'm fine with Polian recruiting so we have more talented players to put on special teams
I also think we finally have a group of assistant coaches that check all the boxes... - Great coordinators - Great developers of talent - Great recruiters It took a really long time to get there. But you see the fruits of that now.
When they were freaking out about the linebackers in the preseason it just seemed to me like Lea was going to figure it out
This is ridiculous, coaches scheme to their opponents all the time. USC has three first round draft picks at WR and runs the fucking air raid, but yea let's line up and play them on defense like we would Stanford because we are the better team and should be able to anything we want. This also ignores the fact that USC actually is the more talented team. ND's strength right now as much as its painful to admit is its coaching..... not its players
That’s the only one so I would not sweat it. And I posted here that I thought fields looked dangerous and scary before the season. I was received with a few post comparing him to Brandon wimbush....
Max always wanted to be in the pros. Congrats! Three players with Notre Dame ties were selected Wednesday on the final day of the two-day, multi-phase, strangely structured XFL Draft. Linebacker Nyles Morgan (Seattle Dragons), long snapper Scott Daly (New York Guardians) and safety Max Redfield (DC Defenders) were all selected Wednesday, joining day one picks, offensive tackle Jarron Jones (New York Guardians) and linebacker Greer Martini (Dallas Renegades).
Stanford looks like garbage. That line is completely depleted minus Rouse. ND could make it very ugly for them.
Have to imagine Stanford gets healthy before they play us. I went back and looked at their recruiting over the past couple of years - man the early signing period fucked them. I read somewhere that some kids are still waiting to find out if they are accepted (Stanford has a rule where you can’t get an offer and maybe not even visit without one) during the season. So happy to see them go back to being a door mat - need the one or two recruits a year that go there instead of Nd.
I'm not sure how many injuries they have had, but their backup TE is their #7 OL. They've recruited 13 OL in the last four classes, but I don't know about attrition. ND has recruited 15 in the same time and I know two have transferred, so that's weird.
Just saw the Stanford highlights. I know they had their 3rd string QB, but holy shit. Getting blown out by this UCLA Tran is not a good sign for them. We better win by 50 (I know they’ll get healthy and it will be a totally different game but still...)
usually that's just 1 fucking game a year screwing over decent pac12 teams. Or was that Stanford-uw game not pac12 after dark?
We will, as long as we don't go into that game with a realistic shot at the playoffs (we'd play tight and they'd be amped up to beat us). They suck and we should be motivated to beat them.
ND gonna be like #6 all year in the playoff rankings if they win out, don't think its going to factor much at Stanford
I really just want to play the pac12 champ of the ACC #2 or something like that in a NY6 bowl. Id actually also enjoy playing PSU but they are actually good I think
All rumors but apparently Todd l’s family has all moved back to California and we may have a new cb coach next season. Guess Kelly is serious that you have to recruit and coach to stick around