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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!...and look back at the AWESOME Irish Football season. |
| Posted by IrishShu on
Thursday, January 10, 2013 at
1:17:45 PM |
|
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!..Albeit a bit late due to my beloved Fighting Irish playing their last game just a couple days ago…I’ll get to that game in a minute. Shut up.
Once again it's time for Irish Shu to look back at their season. In the last edition I recapped the first 7 games, so now I'll review the last 6 including the championship game.
OKLAHOMA: I, being the ever-pessimistic beaten-down Irish fan was preparing for the roof to fall in on what had thus-far been an excellent undefeated season. I thought that if any team was going to expose the weaknesses my team had, it would be then-#8 Oklahoma at Norman…how very wrong I was, and how happy I was to be so! The dominating Irish D held the Sooners to a measly 15 yards rushing, bent but did not break by allowing Landry Jones to pass for 356 yards, but no touchdowns, and ran away in the 4th quarter in a 30-13 win at Norman. The Irish D did yield their first rushing touchdown of the season, but the backs of Cierre Wood, Everett Golson and Theo Riddick ran for one apiece to more than make up for it…It was the signature win for the Irish and Coach Kelly and the remainder of the season was definitely looking bright after this one.
PITT: Almost every great team has a “let down” game at some point in the season. Even the eventual champions in Alabama had one against Texas A&M. You could say this was the “almost let down” for the Irish…but by golly, they escaped with an ugly 29-26 triple overtime win over the eager Panthers. The Irish overcame a mistake-filled day that included 3 turnovers and a 20-7 4th quarter deficit. Everett Golson found it in himself to take charge after being benched, and the Irish got DAMN lucky when Pitt missed a 33-yard field goal attempt in the 2nd overtime on their way to the ugly win. WHEW!!!
BOSTON COLLEGE: The Irish went to Chestnut Hill to face an Eagle team that has given them problems in recent years and played an adequate, but unspectacular game on their way to a 21-6 win. Hapless B.C. was torched by Theo Riddick for 104 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards in a game that was not as close as the score made it seem, but still had a milquetoast feel to it when it was all said and done…perhaps the pre-game news that Alabama had just lost to A&M before the game deterred their focus? Who knows? Boston College would go on to a final record of 2-10 that ended with the firing of Coach Frank Spaziani after 4 seasons…ND D-Coach Bob Diaco was interviewed to take his place, but declined.
WAKE FOREST: The Irish showed a bit more of their true potential against the Demon Deacons as they routed them at home on Senior Day 38-0. The game featured touchdowns on their first 3 drives, offensive yardage output that was more than 2 to 1 over the Deacs and total domination…something the Irish had trouble showing in the 2 games prior to this one. The Irish then learned that they were in-control of their destination after both Oregon and Kansas State lost later that day…all they’d have to do now was go to the L.A. Coliseum and knock-off USC and the spot in the championship game was theirs!...uh-oh.
USC: A team does not make excuses. A team must play a game with the players they have…but to this day I still cannot help but wonder; would the outcome have been the same had Trojan QB Matt Barkley not suffered a separated shoulder the week before this one? We’ll never know, obviously, but it certainly didn’t help USC’s cause in the 22-13 Irish win that punched their ticket to the national championship game and ended a very disappointing season for a USC team that started-out ranked #1. Frosh QB Max Wittek gave his best in Barkley’s absence but still threw 2 interceptions and was flustered by the tough Irish D. The ND Offense, meanwhile, gutted USC for 439 yards including 146 rushing yards from Theo Riddick, but still left some points off the board and had to settle for 5 Kyle Brindza field goals in the win…still, though, it was a win that left the Irish as the only bowl-eligible team with an undefeated record. WOO-HOO!!!
National Championship game vs. ALABAMA: SIGH…outside of the Notre Dame fans themselves, nobody gave the Irish a chance in this one. Not to take anything away from the Tide, but the Irish defense that had been so dominant all season played nothing like they had been up until this game. They played a “matador defense” waving the ‘Bama ball carriers by and yelling “Ole’!” instead of wrapping-up and tackling, and the Irish O under-executed against a tough Tide D (something this O did a few times this year) on their way to the 42-14 ass kicking that gave ‘Bama their 3rd national championship in 4 years. The game was a pisser…and a disappointing end to the BEST season these Irish eyes have seen in over 20 years. Congratulations to Alabama. You came to play. That’s all there is.
So to wrap it up the Irish football season was awesome! Sure, it sucked to not win the championship and to get our asses kicked in said game…hey, I don’t deny that we did! But along the way the Irish:
- Flew to Ireland and trounced a pesky Navy team on a soccer pitch.
- Survived a strong defensive Purdue team while still trying to find an identity for their quarterback.
- Saw their Defensive leader in Manti Te’o come of age as he suffered the losses of his girlfriend and grandmother in a day, and play the game of his life against Michigan State that weekend on his way to becoming a Heisman finalist and winning a truckload of other individual awards.
- Shook the Denard Robinson monkey off their backs and beat Michigan for the first time in 4 years.
- Developed a good quarterback in Everett Golson, who went from a redshirt frosh with no experience at season’s start, to a MUCH improved leader and signal caller by season’s end…something that gives this team a good head-of-steam going-in to next year.
- Dominated a rivaled Miami team one week, and fight a tough Stanford team to an OT win the next…the same Stanford team that would eventually beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium and win both the Pac-12 Title and the Rose Bowl.
- Survived scares against a BYU team with a tough Defense (and the Irish playing without their starting QB) and an inspired Pitt team that really put everything out there to try to beat the Irish…and almost did.
- Survived their last “trap” game against a rival USC team on the road to get to the championship game in the first place.
- Put together their first undefeated regular season in over 2 decades.
This Irish fan says THANK YOU for an awesome season…and waits with concern to see what transpires in the off-season. The Irish don’t lose a ton of starters, although losing Te’o and All-American Tight End Tyler Eiffert among others will hurt, but they have an awesome recruiting class coming-in…
…However, as of this writing it is being reported that Coach Brian Kelly has interviewed for the head coaching job for the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco is also highly-coveted and may leave for a head coaching job of his own when it’s all said and done. We shall see what will become of all this.
Great season, nonetheless. THANK YOU! And GO IRISH!!!
As for my other teams and how they did:
MONTANA GRIZZLIES: My alma-mater was a program in-shambles this year after rape and assault allegations gutted the team and the coaching staff. It showed as the normally FCS championship-caliber Griz had a disappointing, but not surprising 5-6 season and didn’t even come close to making the playoffs…the good news? They can only go UP from here.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS: Finished with another 10-win season, which is good, but it ended with a THUD with ass-kickings at the hands of both Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship and to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl…not the way to go out. Obviously this team is not bad, but has pieces missing.
COLORADO STATE RAMS: Hate to say this, but my days as a Fort Collins resident and CSU Ram fan seem VERY long ago…as a result I’m not paying as much attention to them as I used to. Jim McElwain’s first year as coach was only barely improved from the previous 2 seasons the Rams had as his team finished 4-8…but in his defense, the Mountain West was more beefy this year with the addition of Boise State. We’ll see how they do next year.
CUSTER COUNTY COWBOYS: Yep, my hometown high school team. 2 years ago they won a State Championship. Last year, they made the State Semifinals. This year, they had a lot of underclassmen and rebuilt as they won some games, but just missed the playoffs…something they don’t do very often. Better luck next year.
Fellow You Gabbers: It is always a pleasure!!! Have an awesome 2013! I’ll keep reading your works. And still chip-in with a blog now and then.
PS BEEZE – thank you for encouraging me to contribute! Give lil Molls a kiss, ok?
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!...and look back at the AWESOME Irish Football season. |
| Posted by IrishShu on
Thursday, January 10, 2013 at
1:17:45 PM |
|
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!..Albeit a bit late due to my beloved Fighting Irish playing their last game just a couple days ago…I’ll get to that game in a minute. Shut up.
Once again it's time for Irish Shu to look back at their season. In the last edition I recapped the first 7 games, so now I'll review the last 6 including the championship game.
OKLAHOMA: I, being the ever-pessimistic beaten-down Irish fan was preparing for the roof to fall in on what had thus-far been an excellent undefeated season. I thought that if any team was going to expose the weaknesses my team had, it would be then-#8 Oklahoma at Norman…how very wrong I was, and how happy I was to be so! The dominating Irish D held the Sooners to a measly 15 yards rushing, bent but did not break by allowing Landry Jones to pass for 356 yards, but no touchdowns, and ran away in the 4th quarter in a 30-13 win at Norman. The Irish D did yield their first rushing touchdown of the season, but the backs of Cierre Wood, Everett Golson and Theo Riddick ran for one apiece to more than make up for it…It was the signature win for the Irish and Coach Kelly and the remainder of the season was definitely looking bright after this one.
PITT: Almost every great team has a “let down” game at some point in the season. Even the eventual champions in Alabama had one against Texas A&M. You could say this was the “almost let down” for the Irish…but by golly, they escaped with an ugly 29-26 triple overtime win over the eager Panthers. The Irish overcame a mistake-filled day that included 3 turnovers and a 20-7 4th quarter deficit. Everett Golson found it in himself to take charge after being benched, and the Irish got DAMN lucky when Pitt missed a 33-yard field goal attempt in the 2nd overtime on their way to the ugly win. WHEW!!!
BOSTON COLLEGE: The Irish went to Chestnut Hill to face an Eagle team that has given them problems in recent years and played an adequate, but unspectacular game on their way to a 21-6 win. Hapless B.C. was torched by Theo Riddick for 104 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards in a game that was not as close as the score made it seem, but still had a milquetoast feel to it when it was all said and done…perhaps the pre-game news that Alabama had just lost to A&M before the game deterred their focus? Who knows? Boston College would go on to a final record of 2-10 that ended with the firing of Coach Frank Spaziani after 4 seasons…ND D-Coach Bob Diaco was interviewed to take his place, but declined.
WAKE FOREST: The Irish showed a bit more of their true potential against the Demon Deacons as they routed them at home on Senior Day 38-0. The game featured touchdowns on their first 3 drives, offensive yardage output that was more than 2 to 1 over the Deacs and total domination…something the Irish had trouble showing in the 2 games prior to this one. The Irish then learned that they were in-control of their destination after both Oregon and Kansas State lost later that day…all they’d have to do now was go to the L.A. Coliseum and knock-off USC and the spot in the championship game was theirs!...uh-oh.
USC: A team does not make excuses. A team must play a game with the players they have…but to this day I still cannot help but wonder; would the outcome have been the same had Trojan QB Matt Barkley not suffered a separated shoulder the week before this one? We’ll never know, obviously, but it certainly didn’t help USC’s cause in the 22-13 Irish win that punched their ticket to the national championship game and ended a very disappointing season for a USC team that started-out ranked #1. Frosh QB Max Wittek gave his best in Barkley’s absence but still threw 2 interceptions and was flustered by the tough Irish D. The ND Offense, meanwhile, gutted USC for 439 yards including 146 rushing yards from Theo Riddick, but still left some points off the board and had to settle for 5 Kyle Brindza field goals in the win…still, though, it was a win that left the Irish as the only bowl-eligible team with an undefeated record. WOO-HOO!!!
National Championship game vs. ALABAMA: SIGH…outside of the Notre Dame fans themselves, nobody gave the Irish a chance in this one. Not to take anything away from the Tide, but the Irish defense that had been so dominant all season played nothing like they had been up until this game. They played a “matador defense” waving the ‘Bama ball carriers by and yelling “Ole’!” instead of wrapping-up and tackling, and the Irish O under-executed against a tough Tide D (something this O did a few times this year) on their way to the 42-14 ass kicking that gave ‘Bama their 3rd national championship in 4 years. The game was a pisser…and a disappointing end to the BEST season these Irish eyes have seen in over 20 years. Congratulations to Alabama. You came to play. That’s all there is.
So to wrap it up the Irish football season was awesome! Sure, it sucked to not win the championship and to get our asses kicked in said game…hey, I don’t deny that we did! But along the way the Irish:
- Flew to Ireland and trounced a pesky Navy team on a soccer pitch.
- Survived a strong defensive Purdue team while still trying to find an identity for their quarterback.
- Saw their Defensive leader in Manti Te’o come of age as he suffered the losses of his girlfriend and grandmother in a day, and play the game of his life against Michigan State that weekend on his way to becoming a Heisman finalist and winning a truckload of other individual awards.
- Shook the Denard Robinson monkey off their backs and beat Michigan for the first time in 4 years.
- Developed a good quarterback in Everett Golson, who went from a redshirt frosh with no experience at season’s start, to a MUCH improved leader and signal caller by season’s end…something that gives this team a good head-of-steam going-in to next year.
- Dominated a rivaled Miami team one week, and fight a tough Stanford team to an OT win the next…the same Stanford team that would eventually beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium and win both the Pac-12 Title and the Rose Bowl.
- Survived scares against a BYU team with a tough Defense (and the Irish playing without their starting QB) and an inspired Pitt team that really put everything out there to try to beat the Irish…and almost did.
- Survived their last “trap” game against a rival USC team on the road to get to the championship game in the first place.
- Put together their first undefeated regular season in over 2 decades.
This Irish fan says THANK YOU for an awesome season…and waits with concern to see what transpires in the off-season. The Irish don’t lose a ton of starters, although losing Te’o and All-American Tight End Tyler Eiffert among others will hurt, but they have an awesome recruiting class coming-in…
…However, as of this writing it is being reported that Coach Brian Kelly has interviewed for the head coaching job for the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco is also highly-coveted and may leave for a head coaching job of his own when it’s all said and done. We shall see what will become of all this.
Great season, nonetheless. THANK YOU! And GO IRISH!!!
As for my other teams and how they did:
MONTANA GRIZZLIES: My alma-mater was a program in-shambles this year after rape and assault allegations gutted the team and the coaching staff. It showed as the normally FCS championship-caliber Griz had a disappointing, but not surprising 5-6 season and didn’t even come close to making the playoffs…the good news? They can only go UP from here.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS: Finished with another 10-win season, which is good, but it ended with a THUD with ass-kickings at the hands of both Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship and to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl…not the way to go out. Obviously this team is not bad, but has pieces missing.
COLORADO STATE RAMS: Hate to say this, but my days as a Fort Collins resident and CSU Ram fan seem VERY long ago…as a result I’m not paying as much attention to them as I used to. Jim McElwain’s first year as coach was only barely improved from the previous 2 seasons the Rams had as his team finished 4-8…but in his defense, the Mountain West was more beefy this year with the addition of Boise State. We’ll see how they do next year.
CUSTER COUNTY COWBOYS: Yep, my hometown high school team. 2 years ago they won a State Championship. Last year, they made the State Semifinals. This year, they had a lot of underclassmen and rebuilt as they won some games, but just missed the playoffs…something they don’t do very often. Better luck next year.
Fellow You Gabbers: It is always a pleasure!!! Have an awesome 2013! I’ll keep reading your works. And still chip-in with a blog now and then.
PS BEEZE – thank you for encouraging me to contribute! Give lil Molls a kiss, ok?
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!...and look back at the AWESOME Irish Football season. |
| Posted by IrishShu on
Thursday, January 10, 2013 at
1:17:45 PM |
|
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!..Albeit a bit late due to my beloved Fighting Irish playing their last game just a couple days ago…I’ll get to that game in a minute. Shut up.
Once again it's time for Irish Shu to look back at their season. In the last edition I recapped the first 7 games, so now I'll review the last 6 including the championship game.
OKLAHOMA: I, being the ever-pessimistic beaten-down Irish fan was preparing for the roof to fall in on what had thus-far been an excellent undefeated season. I thought that if any team was going to expose the weaknesses my team had, it would be then-#8 Oklahoma at Norman…how very wrong I was, and how happy I was to be so! The dominating Irish D held the Sooners to a measly 15 yards rushing, bent but did not break by allowing Landry Jones to pass for 356 yards, but no touchdowns, and ran away in the 4th quarter in a 30-13 win at Norman. The Irish D did yield their first rushing touchdown of the season, but the backs of Cierre Wood, Everett Golson and Theo Riddick ran for one apiece to more than make up for it…It was the signature win for the Irish and Coach Kelly and the remainder of the season was definitely looking bright after this one.
PITT: Almost every great team has a “let down” game at some point in the season. Even the eventual champions in Alabama had one against Texas A&M. You could say this was the “almost let down” for the Irish…but by golly, they escaped with an ugly 29-26 triple overtime win over the eager Panthers. The Irish overcame a mistake-filled day that included 3 turnovers and a 20-7 4th quarter deficit. Everett Golson found it in himself to take charge after being benched, and the Irish got DAMN lucky when Pitt missed a 33-yard field goal attempt in the 2nd overtime on their way to the ugly win. WHEW!!!
BOSTON COLLEGE: The Irish went to Chestnut Hill to face an Eagle team that has given them problems in recent years and played an adequate, but unspectacular game on their way to a 21-6 win. Hapless B.C. was torched by Theo Riddick for 104 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards in a game that was not as close as the score made it seem, but still had a milquetoast feel to it when it was all said and done…perhaps the pre-game news that Alabama had just lost to A&M before the game deterred their focus? Who knows? Boston College would go on to a final record of 2-10 that ended with the firing of Coach Frank Spaziani after 4 seasons…ND D-Coach Bob Diaco was interviewed to take his place, but declined.
WAKE FOREST: The Irish showed a bit more of their true potential against the Demon Deacons as they routed them at home on Senior Day 38-0. The game featured touchdowns on their first 3 drives, offensive yardage output that was more than 2 to 1 over the Deacs and total domination…something the Irish had trouble showing in the 2 games prior to this one. The Irish then learned that they were in-control of their destination after both Oregon and Kansas State lost later that day…all they’d have to do now was go to the L.A. Coliseum and knock-off USC and the spot in the championship game was theirs!...uh-oh.
USC: A team does not make excuses. A team must play a game with the players they have…but to this day I still cannot help but wonder; would the outcome have been the same had Trojan QB Matt Barkley not suffered a separated shoulder the week before this one? We’ll never know, obviously, but it certainly didn’t help USC’s cause in the 22-13 Irish win that punched their ticket to the national championship game and ended a very disappointing season for a USC team that started-out ranked #1. Frosh QB Max Wittek gave his best in Barkley’s absence but still threw 2 interceptions and was flustered by the tough Irish D. The ND Offense, meanwhile, gutted USC for 439 yards including 146 rushing yards from Theo Riddick, but still left some points off the board and had to settle for 5 Kyle Brindza field goals in the win…still, though, it was a win that left the Irish as the only bowl-eligible team with an undefeated record. WOO-HOO!!!
National Championship game vs. ALABAMA: SIGH…outside of the Notre Dame fans themselves, nobody gave the Irish a chance in this one. Not to take anything away from the Tide, but the Irish defense that had been so dominant all season played nothing like they had been up until this game. They played a “matador defense” waving the ‘Bama ball carriers by and yelling “Ole’!” instead of wrapping-up and tackling, and the Irish O under-executed against a tough Tide D (something this O did a few times this year) on their way to the 42-14 ass kicking that gave ‘Bama their 3rd national championship in 4 years. The game was a pisser…and a disappointing end to the BEST season these Irish eyes have seen in over 20 years. Congratulations to Alabama. You came to play. That’s all there is.
So to wrap it up the Irish football season was awesome! Sure, it sucked to not win the championship and to get our asses kicked in said game…hey, I don’t deny that we did! But along the way the Irish:
- Flew to Ireland and trounced a pesky Navy team on a soccer pitch.
- Survived a strong defensive Purdue team while still trying to find an identity for their quarterback.
- Saw their Defensive leader in Manti Te’o come of age as he suffered the losses of his girlfriend and grandmother in a day, and play the game of his life against Michigan State that weekend on his way to becoming a Heisman finalist and winning a truckload of other individual awards.
- Shook the Denard Robinson monkey off their backs and beat Michigan for the first time in 4 years.
- Developed a good quarterback in Everett Golson, who went from a redshirt frosh with no experience at season’s start, to a MUCH improved leader and signal caller by season’s end…something that gives this team a good head-of-steam going-in to next year.
- Dominated a rivaled Miami team one week, and fight a tough Stanford team to an OT win the next…the same Stanford team that would eventually beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium and win both the Pac-12 Title and the Rose Bowl.
- Survived scares against a BYU team with a tough Defense (and the Irish playing without their starting QB) and an inspired Pitt team that really put everything out there to try to beat the Irish…and almost did.
- Survived their last “trap” game against a rival USC team on the road to get to the championship game in the first place.
- Put together their first undefeated regular season in over 2 decades.
This Irish fan says THANK YOU for an awesome season…and waits with concern to see what transpires in the off-season. The Irish don’t lose a ton of starters, although losing Te’o and All-American Tight End Tyler Eiffert among others will hurt, but they have an awesome recruiting class coming-in…
…However, as of this writing it is being reported that Coach Brian Kelly has interviewed for the head coaching job for the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco is also highly-coveted and may leave for a head coaching job of his own when it’s all said and done. We shall see what will become of all this.
Great season, nonetheless. THANK YOU! And GO IRISH!!!
As for my other teams and how they did:
MONTANA GRIZZLIES: My alma-mater was a program in-shambles this year after rape and assault allegations gutted the team and the coaching staff. It showed as the normally FCS championship-caliber Griz had a disappointing, but not surprising 5-6 season and didn’t even come close to making the playoffs…the good news? They can only go UP from here.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS: Finished with another 10-win season, which is good, but it ended with a THUD with ass-kickings at the hands of both Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship and to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl…not the way to go out. Obviously this team is not bad, but has pieces missing.
COLORADO STATE RAMS: Hate to say this, but my days as a Fort Collins resident and CSU Ram fan seem VERY long ago…as a result I’m not paying as much attention to them as I used to. Jim McElwain’s first year as coach was only barely improved from the previous 2 seasons the Rams had as his team finished 4-8…but in his defense, the Mountain West was more beefy this year with the addition of Boise State. We’ll see how they do next year.
CUSTER COUNTY COWBOYS: Yep, my hometown high school team. 2 years ago they won a State Championship. Last year, they made the State Semifinals. This year, they had a lot of underclassmen and rebuilt as they won some games, but just missed the playoffs…something they don’t do very often. Better luck next year.
Fellow You Gabbers: It is always a pleasure!!! Have an awesome 2013! I’ll keep reading your works. And still chip-in with a blog now and then.
PS BEEZE – thank you for encouraging me to contribute! Give lil Molls a kiss, ok?
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!...and look back at the AWESOME Irish Football season. |
| Posted by IrishShu on
Thursday, January 10, 2013 at
1:17:45 PM |
|
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!..Albeit a bit late due to my beloved Fighting Irish playing their last game just a couple days ago…I’ll get to that game in a minute. Shut up.
Once again it's time for Irish Shu to look back at their season. In the last edition I recapped the first 7 games, so now I'll review the last 6 including the championship game.
OKLAHOMA: I, being the ever-pessimistic beaten-down Irish fan was preparing for the roof to fall in on what had thus-far been an excellent undefeated season. I thought that if any team was going to expose the weaknesses my team had, it would be then-#8 Oklahoma at Norman…how very wrong I was, and how happy I was to be so! The dominating Irish D held the Sooners to a measly 15 yards rushing, bent but did not break by allowing Landry Jones to pass for 356 yards, but no touchdowns, and ran away in the 4th quarter in a 30-13 win at Norman. The Irish D did yield their first rushing touchdown of the season, but the backs of Cierre Wood, Everett Golson and Theo Riddick ran for one apiece to more than make up for it…It was the signature win for the Irish and Coach Kelly and the remainder of the season was definitely looking bright after this one.
PITT: Almost every great team has a “let down” game at some point in the season. Even the eventual champions in Alabama had one against Texas A&M. You could say this was the “almost let down” for the Irish…but by golly, they escaped with an ugly 29-26 triple overtime win over the eager Panthers. The Irish overcame a mistake-filled day that included 3 turnovers and a 20-7 4th quarter deficit. Everett Golson found it in himself to take charge after being benched, and the Irish got DAMN lucky when Pitt missed a 33-yard field goal attempt in the 2nd overtime on their way to the ugly win. WHEW!!!
BOSTON COLLEGE: The Irish went to Chestnut Hill to face an Eagle team that has given them problems in recent years and played an adequate, but unspectacular game on their way to a 21-6 win. Hapless B.C. was torched by Theo Riddick for 104 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards in a game that was not as close as the score made it seem, but still had a milquetoast feel to it when it was all said and done…perhaps the pre-game news that Alabama had just lost to A&M before the game deterred their focus? Who knows? Boston College would go on to a final record of 2-10 that ended with the firing of Coach Frank Spaziani after 4 seasons…ND D-Coach Bob Diaco was interviewed to take his place, but declined.
WAKE FOREST: The Irish showed a bit more of their true potential against the Demon Deacons as they routed them at home on Senior Day 38-0. The game featured touchdowns on their first 3 drives, offensive yardage output that was more than 2 to 1 over the Deacs and total domination…something the Irish had trouble showing in the 2 games prior to this one. The Irish then learned that they were in-control of their destination after both Oregon and Kansas State lost later that day…all they’d have to do now was go to the L.A. Coliseum and knock-off USC and the spot in the championship game was theirs!...uh-oh.
USC: A team does not make excuses. A team must play a game with the players they have…but to this day I still cannot help but wonder; would the outcome have been the same had Trojan QB Matt Barkley not suffered a separated shoulder the week before this one? We’ll never know, obviously, but it certainly didn’t help USC’s cause in the 22-13 Irish win that punched their ticket to the national championship game and ended a very disappointing season for a USC team that started-out ranked #1. Frosh QB Max Wittek gave his best in Barkley’s absence but still threw 2 interceptions and was flustered by the tough Irish D. The ND Offense, meanwhile, gutted USC for 439 yards including 146 rushing yards from Theo Riddick, but still left some points off the board and had to settle for 5 Kyle Brindza field goals in the win…still, though, it was a win that left the Irish as the only bowl-eligible team with an undefeated record. WOO-HOO!!!
National Championship game vs. ALABAMA: SIGH…outside of the Notre Dame fans themselves, nobody gave the Irish a chance in this one. Not to take anything away from the Tide, but the Irish defense that had been so dominant all season played nothing like they had been up until this game. They played a “matador defense” waving the ‘Bama ball carriers by and yelling “Ole’!” instead of wrapping-up and tackling, and the Irish O under-executed against a tough Tide D (something this O did a few times this year) on their way to the 42-14 ass kicking that gave ‘Bama their 3rd national championship in 4 years. The game was a pisser…and a disappointing end to the BEST season these Irish eyes have seen in over 20 years. Congratulations to Alabama. You came to play. That’s all there is.
So to wrap it up the Irish football season was awesome! Sure, it sucked to not win the championship and to get our asses kicked in said game…hey, I don’t deny that we did! But along the way the Irish:
- Flew to Ireland and trounced a pesky Navy team on a soccer pitch.
- Survived a strong defensive Purdue team while still trying to find an identity for their quarterback.
- Saw their Defensive leader in Manti Te’o come of age as he suffered the losses of his girlfriend and grandmother in a day, and play the game of his life against Michigan State that weekend on his way to becoming a Heisman finalist and winning a truckload of other individual awards.
- Shook the Denard Robinson monkey off their backs and beat Michigan for the first time in 4 years.
- Developed a good quarterback in Everett Golson, who went from a redshirt frosh with no experience at season’s start, to a MUCH improved leader and signal caller by season’s end…something that gives this team a good head-of-steam going-in to next year.
- Dominated a rivaled Miami team one week, and fight a tough Stanford team to an OT win the next…the same Stanford team that would eventually beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium and win both the Pac-12 Title and the Rose Bowl.
- Survived scares against a BYU team with a tough Defense (and the Irish playing without their starting QB) and an inspired Pitt team that really put everything out there to try to beat the Irish…and almost did.
- Survived their last “trap” game against a rival USC team on the road to get to the championship game in the first place.
- Put together their first undefeated regular season in over 2 decades.
This Irish fan says THANK YOU for an awesome season…and waits with concern to see what transpires in the off-season. The Irish don’t lose a ton of starters, although losing Te’o and All-American Tight End Tyler Eiffert among others will hurt, but they have an awesome recruiting class coming-in…
…However, as of this writing it is being reported that Coach Brian Kelly has interviewed for the head coaching job for the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco is also highly-coveted and may leave for a head coaching job of his own when it’s all said and done. We shall see what will become of all this.
Great season, nonetheless. THANK YOU! And GO IRISH!!!
As for my other teams and how they did:
MONTANA GRIZZLIES: My alma-mater was a program in-shambles this year after rape and assault allegations gutted the team and the coaching staff. It showed as the normally FCS championship-caliber Griz had a disappointing, but not surprising 5-6 season and didn’t even come close to making the playoffs…the good news? They can only go UP from here.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS: Finished with another 10-win season, which is good, but it ended with a THUD with ass-kickings at the hands of both Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship and to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl…not the way to go out. Obviously this team is not bad, but has pieces missing.
COLORADO STATE RAMS: Hate to say this, but my days as a Fort Collins resident and CSU Ram fan seem VERY long ago…as a result I’m not paying as much attention to them as I used to. Jim McElwain’s first year as coach was only barely improved from the previous 2 seasons the Rams had as his team finished 4-8…but in his defense, the Mountain West was more beefy this year with the addition of Boise State. We’ll see how they do next year.
CUSTER COUNTY COWBOYS: Yep, my hometown high school team. 2 years ago they won a State Championship. Last year, they made the State Semifinals. This year, they had a lot of underclassmen and rebuilt as they won some games, but just missed the playoffs…something they don’t do very often. Better luck next year.
Fellow You Gabbers: It is always a pleasure!!! Have an awesome 2013! I’ll keep reading your works. And still chip-in with a blog now and then.
PS BEEZE – thank you for encouraging me to contribute! Give lil Molls a kiss, ok?
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Comments?(3) |
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Irish Football Mid-Season Review |
| Posted by IrishShu on
Saturday, October 27, 2012 at
1:53:35 AM |
Konichiwa fellow You Gabbers!...what the hell happened to the first half of college football season? Half-over already??? You gotta be shittin me! Irish Shu is a bit late with his mid-season review as he made a rare trip to Japan during the last 2 weekends and needed time to settle back in, but now that that’s done I will present my look back at how things have gone thus far for my beloved Fighting Irish of Notre Dame…and I’ll digress here and there as I share a couple pix I took in The land of The Rising Sun along the way, such as this one:
HIYAAA!!!!
The short version?...Well, they’re undefeated at 7 games with 5 to go. How can I bitch? Well, I still can, but I am pleased with the record, at least. I had predicted they’d be at 2 losses by now but they just keep winning. Their defense is doing most of the work with as strong a front 7 as any team has and a young, but surprisingly-good secondary…but it is working so far. The question is: how much longer can they keep this up? The offense is great at the line, but struggling with consistency behind it. In 5 of the first 7 games the Irish have scored 20 points or less. A BCS-or-better win will only be possible if the O makes some bigger jumps in the last 5 games and starts putting-up more points. They’re working on it, I know.
Looking at it game by game:
NAVY: Considering that Notre Dame was breaking-in a new quarterback, missing 4 players (including 3 starters) due to suspensions, playing against a triple-option football team that has been tough for them to deal with in recent years, and enduring a long trip to Dublin, Ireland, to open against a pesky Navy team at Aviva Stadium where a different kind of football game is played, this opener could not have gone much better. The Fighting Irish eased in Everett Golson to his QB role as he went 12 of 18 for 144 yards and a touchdown. He got help from the big O-line as well as the running back tandem of Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III who combined for over 200 yards and 4 touchdowns as they whipped the undersized Midshipmen 50-10. The defense, of course, dominated. They even got a 77-yard fumble recovery for another score from 300-pound Defensive End Stephon Tuitt for good measure. Good start!
Here’s the Tokyo Dome where I saw my first and only Japanese baseball game:
PURDUE: A lot of buzz was made about the Boilermakers having the strongest D front 7 in the Big 10 going-in to this one. It proved true as the Irish struggled to score much, but still won 20-17 in a game that should not have been that close when one considers the statistical domination the Irish had over the Boilers. So why was it close? Because it was a sloppy game. Golson was sacked 5 times, both teams committed 8 penalties and the Irish D allowed Purdue to go 3-3 on 4th down conversions. The cool thing about this game – besides it being a win – was the Irish revelation of the “relief pitcher” approach. Subbing late for a banged-up Golson who was having trouble gripping the ball towards game’s end, Tommy Rees stepped-in and drove ND to the game winning field goal with 7 seconds left as the Irish survived Purdue’s own 2-headed QB tandem of Caleb Turbush and Robert Marve. Marve sustained yet another ACL injury of which he’s had many.
MICHIGAN STATE: This game was called Notre Dame’s first “real test” on the road against a top-10 opponent that had beaten Boise State in their opener (yes, the Broncos are over rated, but still). Final score was 20-3 Irish. I’d say they passed. The Irish D started to show just how dominating they are as they held Spartan running back Le’Veon Bell to 77 yards…by the way; Bell is one of the best in the Big 10 as he now has 8 touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards for the season. Mich. State also had not been held to 3 points since facing Nebraska in the 2003 Alamo Bowl. Anyway, the story line to this game was that, just a couple days prior, All American Irish linebacker Manti Te’o lost his grandmother to natural causes and his girlfriend to leukemia. Rather than go home to Hawaii to mourn right away (and I would not have faulted him at all if he had), he stayed with his team, gathered comfort from his teammates, coaches and fans, and played a helluva game as he made 12 tackles (1 for a loss) and broke-up 2 passes in the win…
…More spectacular than the baseball game itself, which was pretty good, was the spectacle that was the Japanese beer girls. They were constantly running up and down the aisles all game long selling their wares while carrying 10-gallon kegs on their backs and smiling all the way through. WHAT STAMINA they have!!! And so pretty to boot! Here’s one of them:
MICHIGAN: Defense prevailed again and the Denard Robinson monkey was shaken from the Irish back as ND prevailed 13-6 in a somewhat bizarre game. Last year, the Irish dominated statistically, but lost. This year, it was the opposite. Michigan led in total yards, first downs, rushing yards and time of possession…and also in turnovers 6 to 2 which was the difference. The Irish D rose to the occasion with relentless pressure on Robinson which resulted in 4 interceptions and a fumble to key the win. The Irish O was not pretty as Golson was benched after 2 first half interceptions. The relief pitcher in Rees did just enough to win and protected the football. The defense did the rest featuring Te’o’s 8 tackles, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Since then, Michigan has not lost and has quietly crept back into the top 25….
…Here’s another beer girl…if this one were to have gotten on her knee like this in front of me I’d buy whatever she’s selling:
MIAMI: The Offense looked like it finally came alive and Golson looked like he finally started to realize his potential in a 41-3 win that might have been closer had the ‘Canes not choked on their first drive. On the game’s first play, Miami receiver Phillip Dorsett got behind ND’s secondary and was wide-open for a long bomb touchdown…but he dropped it. Then he dropped a second TD pass later in the same drive and it went downhill for the ‘Canes from there. Golson and company shredded a weak Miami D with a 17 for 22 passing effort and a dominating running game that saw Wood and Atkinson III have over 100 yards each and 3 touchdowns between them. Both time of possession and total yards went to Notre Dame by nearly 2 to 1…but those “Shamrock
Series” uniforms still sucked, okay? Overall, though, this was probably the best-played game the Irish have had thus far. Another interesting fact: neither team had any turnovers…strange that it
wasn’t a factor…
…This beer girl was actually selling whisky on the rocks…nonetheless a pretty lady:
STANFORD: It was the toughest opponent the Irish have faced thus far. It was expected to be a hard-hitting, smash-mouth, toe-to-toe battle to the end and this game, indeed, lived up to that. With both starting quarterbacks struggling to pass against tough defenses and turning to their running games, it was the Irish who had the better day and prevailed 20 to 13 in overtime. 2 weeks later we are still hearing some grumbles that “Stepfan Taylor was IN!!!” on that last 4th down run…no, he wasn’t. His forward progress had stopped and the whistle was blown before he stretched over the bodies on the second effort. The play was reviewed and even the national coordinator of NCAA football officials backed the call as correct after reviewing it himself. So to those Stanford/anti-Irish fans who are still grumbling about it: let it go and move-on. It’s over. It’s not as though N.D. always gets the breaks, either (the “Bush push comes to mind as an example). It may not have seemed so, but this game really was dominated by the Irish statistically. They led in total yards, first downs, passing, rushing and time of possession against a Stanford team that has beaten USC and is currently ranked #17. It was a signature win that made a statement about how good the Irish can be…too bad I didn’t get to see it live.
BYU (a.k.a. Boy You Ugly!): Many of the so-called experts had this down as a trap game. Understandable because N.D. was: coming-off a big win over Stanford, had another big game upcoming at Oklahoma they might get caught looking ahead to, and had just finished a break week from classes that might deter their focus. In addition, Golson was benched with a concussion from the previous week and the less-versatile Rees played at QB instead. Maybe all of this was true as they did struggle against a BYU team what was solid defensively, but The Irish overcame a deficit for the second week in a row, gutting one of the nations’ best rushing defenses with a 270-yard effort and won 17-14. Theo Riddick had a career day with his 143-yard effort in a game that was closer than it needed to be. Afterwards, it was reported that the Irish were rather quiet in the locker room and not in a mood to celebrate the win…I’d take that as a good sign that they know they could have played better in spite of the win. Let’s hope that today in Norman against the Sooners, they do.
So, now that the first 7 games are in the books we now look ahead to the remaining 5 games. I am certainly pleased that the Irish have surpassed my prediction that they would be 5-2 at this point (I had Michigan State and Stanford down as losses) and from here I do feel a 10-win season and BCS bowl is the worst case scenario. I am optimistic that an undefeated season is possible, but to do so the Irish have to win at Oklahoma today and at USC for the season finale…that’s a lot to ask of a team that struggles offensively with a rookie quarterback who has not attained his full potential. With that defense, though, they CAN do it…the question is: will they? We shall see. Strange and wonderful things happen in college football every weekend.
My big concern is with Everett Golson. He has so much potential he will only realize as he gains more experience. Right now, though, he tends to have problems with the following fundamentals: panicking too soon in the packet when the pressure starts to get to him and making poor throws; cradling the ball in the wrong arm when re rolls-out on a run – he’s been bitten a couple times carrying the ball in the INSIDE arm when he should switch to the OUTSIDE arm. Opposing defenses have forced fumbles when he has done that; and Everett, for God’s sake SLIDE DOWN OR GO OUT OF BOUNDS when the defense gets to you on a run!!! Don’t duck your head and take a hit! That is how the Stanford player gave you the concussion. Hopefully he improves with these fundamentals sooner rather than later, but I know we all need to be patient with him.
Manti Te’o – what more can one ask of this man? That guy is an incredible athlete, has played very inspired football following his personal losses and is a Heisman candidate because of it. He, Kapron Lewis-Moore , Zeke Motta and others have been the rocks in that incredible defense…but they have a job to finish.
Team health is not bad, either. The Irish did get snake-bitten early as a couple defensive secondary starters suffered ruptured Achilles tendons and a couple others had concussions they have recovered from, but other than that, overall team health seems good for the final stretch of the season…let’s hope it stays that way. We’ll see how the rest of the season plays-out. GO IRISH!!!
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Comments?(2) |
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Irish Shu's game-by-game predictions |
| Posted by IrishShu on
Saturday, September 01, 2012 at
1:19:47 AM |
Greetings…and WELCOME to another college football season!!! WOO-HOO!!!
It's now time for Irish Shu to offer his game-by-game predictions for the about-to-start Notre Dame football season...but first, a couple observations and comments.
Last year I expressed some displeasure that Irish head coach Brian Kelly was being too soft on his players where discipline was concerned. Wide receiver Michael Floyd got nothing more than a chat with the coach and a slap on the wrist following his third alcohol-related offense. The fact that Floyd managed to get through his senior season without further incident, with his name in the N.D. record books in several categories, and with a first-round NFL draft pick was hardly the point.
This year, however, Coach K. seems more resolved to dropping the hammer on the rule breakers, as well he should. Last years' starting quarterback in Tommy Rees and linebacker Carlo Calabrese were both suspended for tomorrow's opener against Navy for their arrests at an off-campus party last spring. Then just a few days ago, Kelly also suspended starting running back Cierre Wood and defensive end Justin Utopo for breaking team rules. The two will sit-out the first 2 games and, hopefully, their consequence serves notice to the rest of the team that they'd better stay in-line.
Following this, former Irish running back and current radio commentator Allen Pinkett commented that the recent suspensions could actually be a sign that the program is gaining an "edge" that will help it be more successful. His reasoning?
"I've always felt like to have a successful team you've got to have a few bad citizens on the team. That's how Ohio State used to win all the time. They would have two or three guys that were criminals and that just adds to the chemistry of the team. I think Notre Dame is growing because maybe they have some guys that are doing something worthy of a suspension which creates edge on the football team. You can't have a football team full of choir boys. You get your butt kicked if you've got a team full of choir boys so you've got to have a little bit of edge. But the coach has to be the dictator and the ultimate ruler. Here's my opinion: You don't hand out suspensions unless you know you've got somebody behind that guy that can make plays."
As a result of these comments Pinkett has been kicked off the air from his network at least for the opener against Navy and possibly longer.
My feeling? There's bad-asses and there's rule breakers, Allen. You don't have to be both.
Not long ago, one of the South Bend Tribune reporters also commented that the Irish could very-well be a better team than they were last year, but still finish with the same record or worse...I'd hate to say this, but he may be right.
Why? Because this years' schedule is a BEAR. Now, I've always prided the Irish in playing as tough a schedule as any team could claim to have, but it's even tougher than that this year. Notre Dame starts the season with 5 opponents that are ranked in the AP top 25. Of those 5, three are in the top 10: #8 Michigan, #4 Oklahoma and #1 USC. There's also #13 Michigan State (who just won their opener in a close one over #24 Boise State) and #21 Stanford. Outside of the ranked teams, they also have to face the likes of Miami and BYU who won't be pushovers, either.
ESPN's Mark Schlabach even ranked the Irish schedule #1 for toughest schedule...and I say that unless you're an SEC team you can't likely dispute that.
With that said, let’s get to my game-by-game Irish predictions in my usual poetic form:
9/1 vs. Navy: Everett Golson will debut, a runner who can throw. The pressure's on in Dublin, but he won't let it show.
Irish win.
9/8 vs. Purdue:
Coach Danny Hope is aptly-named as hope is all he's got. He sure won't have the team to win in South Bend by a long shot.
Irish win.
9/15 at Michigan State:
Kirk Cousins is no longer there, but good runners still remain. As the game's away in East Lansing, the result is Irish pain.
Spartans win...hope I'm wrong, of course.
9/22 vs. Michigan:
The Wolverines have won the last 3, Denard Robinson is the man. All Irish need do is contain him. I think, this time, they can.
Irish win…yep, it's a bold pick but I'm going with it 'cause Irish have home field
10/6 vs. Miami @ Soldier Field:
It's Catholics vs. Convicts after Irish have their bye. Gaudy uniforms and well-rested troops will wake echoes from on high.
Irish win...at least they'd better. They lose this one and I'll really be PISSED!
10/13 vs. Stanford:
No Andrew Luck, no problem?...I wish I could agree. The 'Card still has good runners and a pretty tough D.
Cardinal wins...hope I'm wrong, of course.
10/20 vs. BYU:
The Cougs just ain't been the same since Lavell Edwards lead this troop. If BYU wins in South Bend, I'll surely eat my poop!
Irish win.
10/27 at Oklahoma:
Landry Jones and Sooner Schooner are tough to beat in Norman. If ND even keeps this close, it's with their pest performin'.
Sooners win…this one may be a blowout.
11/3 vs. Pittsburgh:
Pitt can't keep a head coach. They've had 4 in 3 years. The Irish will bounce-back in a big way and the Panthers will leave in tears.
Irish win.
11/10 at Boston College:
Remember that LB Luke Kuechly? He was all BC had last year. But now he's gone and the Eags ain't got jack. They'll be crying in their beer.
Irish win.
11/17 vs. Wake Forest:
The Deamon Deacs will come to town, last year they were tough to beat. But this ACC team in South Bend? They may as well retreat.
Irish win.
11/24 at USC:
Matt Barkley gets the Heisman hype. It ain't because he's bad. Tis a tough task to go to LA - the Irish will leave sad.
Trojans win...there will be no prediction I will be more happy to be wrong about than this one should it turn out that way.
And then: a grade-B bowl before New Years' will see the Irish play. Their bowl play was too flat last year, but it won't be this day.
Irish win.
So with the brutal Irish schedule I’m looking at a regular season of about 8 and 4...going with my head over my heart it's tough for me to forecast better than that, but as a loyal fan I'll still hope for better, of course.
Other predictions:
Montana Grizzlies: Coach Pflugrad got the axe after his players' did some crime. New coach, new qb's, new league foes...a sub-par year this time.
Nebraska: The Huskers do their second year in the mighty Big 10. Last year they went 9 and 4...they may do so again.
Colorado State: New Rams coach Jim McElwain comes from the Crimson Tide. He may get them to win a few and start to restore pride.
WELCOME BACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL! I MISSED YOU!!!
GO IRISH!!!
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