At times things didn’t go as easy as Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish would have liked, but at the end of the day on Saturday, Notre Dame got back in the W column with a 41-24 victory over the Midshipmen. Â Deshone Kizer was solid in his 4th career start and CJ Prosise reached the end-zone three times while recording his third 100+ yard performance of the season. Â Here’s all the highlights as the Irish can now set their sights on USC.
I will always love the 1977 game. Came out with green jerseys with the jersey switch and I screamed as loud as a 12 year old could, saying, “GO GREEN IRISH!” God it was a great game and demolish of USC!
Go Irish!
Only 3 or 4 TV channels. All sportscasters so SC biased. Had their faces planted in SC’s butt cheeks. Yep, no other week like SC week. Burgundy, tell Kelly to suit up and chase Haden around for awhile.
True on the shirts. Call it the new bi-week. Respect, disrespect weeks. With more emphasis on disrespecting SC. They were so frigin lucky hitting a few big plays every time ND played them. ND could be controlling the game, but you just new it was coming. That’s another thing. All the Midwestern teams would have to come out here. Their freezing all week. Indoors. Bad practice conditions. SC on the other hand is outside great so-cal weather. Play in their own backyard. SC never had to go back to the Midwest at the end of year. To hell with them.
I will be looking for your article. They Really did get the calls (refs- no video replays) and breaks. ND could have them backed up 3rd and a mile. Chasing Haden or whomever. And the QB would hit McKay etc. For a first. So frustrating. Even more so, because you new the lucky SOB’s were going to pull it off. Those were bar fight games. SC could spoil a season like no other. Beat them up physically Saturday.
no, faithful, just wait, it’s freshly minted and should appear on this site by Thursday.
But in the meantime, we can keep talking about them. USC week is like no other.
To hell with SC! Indeed.
Somebody should make and sell T-shirts:
diSrespeCt
SC
the tshirts would sell like hotcakes!
I’ll look through the site for your game notes. It’s always fun to be reminded of players, games etc. SC had powerful years in that period. Always picking off Big 10 champ in Rose Bowl to boot. Ought to be spitting mad come Saturday. Thanks.
Yes, those years were tough to play SC. No luck for the Irish. Seemed SC got the calls and breaks. McKay, Haden, JK McKay any # of tail backs plus Sam the Bam. Not to mention there D’s. Time passes, things flow together. But the sentiment remains the same. To hell with SC. Duranko, it was traumatizing at times. Thanks
Lads, lads!!!! Let’s get our facts straight. It is arguable that your uncle d may have a post in the hopper discussing the USC-ND series. Let patience do its perfect work. And a good hunch is that there may be some specific notes on the games mentioned.
but Domers, understandably, conflate ’72 and ’74. ’72 was more surgical, and Anthony Davis, who never rushed for 100 yards from scrimmage against ND, scored 6 touchdowns.
’74 was grim and far crueler, Ara’s last regular season game. The Irish were pounding SC with Bullock, and Woody Hayes was doing the color on the game, chortling over his admiration for the Irish running the fullback. The Irish held a 24-6 halftime lead. SC then scored 49 in the next 18 minutes.
45 year faithful, 72 was bad, but ’74 was somewhere beyond gut wrenching, as it felt like the Trojans were committing seppuku on the Irish and its fans. Being a Notre Dame fan has its down moments, but ’74 was the weirdest, the strangest. I can not even now relate to it as a football game, it was mostly a trauma.
You two are right. They need to physically dominate. Really lay some wood. Rally to the ball. Make sure to WRAP. I noticed last game some guys weren’t and that happens through the season. Back to fundamentals. Just beat the hell out of SC physically. Of coarse……. On the scoreboard too, Burgundy. Thanks
Now that would be a half where you would need a Plan B.
That game was gut wrenching and I will never forget it. Nor will I ever feel comfortable no matter how big ND is up. I thought about that too when I read the article. I believe ND was up 24-0 at half. SC put up 54 or 55 in 2nd half. Davis scored a bunch. Plus returned 2nd half kick off. Ugh.
Straight and to the point, Shazamrock! I agree. This is about a football game and some serious payback. ND needs to kick some Trojan behind this weekend.
On a side note, didn’t USC’s Anthony Davis burn the Irish for 6 touchdowns scored in a game back in the early 70’s?
Go Irish!
Ron all I have to say to that is Amen!!
Who gives a rat’s ass if they’re fired up.. or why.
Or what their coaching issues are, or their injuries, or whatever.
They beat us 49-14 last year.
Their QB completed 32 of 40 passes for 372 yards and 6 TD’s. That was the first and only time in ND’s 127 year storied history that a ND team allowed 6 TD passes in a game.
They had 35 first downs and were 13 out of 18 on 3rd down.
They rushed for over 200 yards and held the ball for 37 minutes.
What the hell did ND do? (besides absolutely nothing on defense)
We came out uninspired, had the ball for 22 minutes, scored 14 points, and turned it over twice.
I expect US to be fired up and ready to play!
I expect US to execute in all phases!
I expect OUR play makers to make plays!
I expect US to be a dangerous team!
And I expect some goddam payback!
And that should be nothing more than any other Notre Dame fan should be expecting this Saturday!
All true, but this one will be one or lost at the scrimmage line. ND’s d-line must carry the game. Front seven cannot allow for a rushing game nor can the front 3 or 4 allow SC time in the pocket. I would be nice if they could get there with just 4. More D-lineman playing time. Please block the Gunners. Give the young freshman a chance on returns. Thanks.
Duranko,
As much as I hate to agree with you I think your right on the fact that SC will be fired up and ready to play. I was listening to Matt Leinert on a radio show yesterday and he made a great point about this game. I am paraphrasing him, but SC can’t stop the run and ND’s offensive line is really good and can run the football. I think Coach Kelly will have them focused on themselves and not the things happening at SC. If ND can run the football and if the defensive backs play better than they have ND should win.
On a final note, as much as turmoil at SC can make me grin this isn’t a laughing matter. Coach Sark has a serious issue that he needs to address. I hope he finds the help he needs and eventually one day is able to do what he loves so much and that is coach. Just think how much of a problem he has to jeopardize his life long dream to coach at SC. Good Luck Sark in your recovery. GO IRISH and beat the SC!
I agree with jerry, this makes SC more dangerous.
My reference? Last week Texas’ Longhorns rallied around the beleaguered coach Charlie Strong and the Horns beat not-so-Big-Game Bob Stoops. When Lane Kiffin got fired, SC rallied around Orgeron, thumped Arizona and took ND to the wire in 2013.
For George, Notre Dame punted twice in the whole game, only one more thant the average one per game of the last four years.
See, all this time I thought watching the ND game was plan B. I should have clarified.
We went 3 and out on the very first drive, which was pretty embarrassing, considering ND should NEVER have to punt against Navy. BK wasn’t interested in establishing the run initially but eventually got it figured out. Defensively, James Onwualu had his head up his azz, which led to Navy’s fat fullback running wild a few times. So BK eventually benched JO and things were fine after that.
I hate to see the SC coach be put on a leave of absence. He had lost the team. They will come
out fired up.
I did not watch the game live. Instead i focused on my Plan B which was 18 holes of golf. What the hell happened? This should have been a blow out.
Enjoy the win. I hate Navy week- with the nothing-to-gain, everything-to-lose scenario every year. Glad it’s over for now. Was relieved to see K. Reynolds go down; in past Navy games, it’s too often been ND players limping off the field – chop! chop!. Karma can be a bitch, but sooner or later, her presence returns!. Nothing against K. Reynolds; post-game reports suggest with the bye week, he’ll be back. I hope so. He’s a great competitor, on his way to be the greatest TD scorer in college football history. As for ND playing against him never again- AMEN! Enough is enough. The backup QB did step in the second quarter and execute their O’ well. But without a healthy Reynolds in the second half, ND was in good shape.
Navy’s uncharacteristic three turnovers cinched the ‘W” for ND, leading to a 21 point swing, with two of the turnovers as a result of great individual efforts by Niles Morgan and Elijah Shumate. Great INT by Shumate- easily the most taken-for-granted most under appreciated senior on the team.
He’s NDs version of Rodney Dangerfield- he gets no respect!
After the game, I heard former ND QB Evan Sharpley (sp?) reinforce that SC is always the game of games on the ND schedule each year. So with a bye week coming after SC, intensity and focus should not be an excuse or an issue. This, along with last year’s LSU bowl game, could be the most important games Coach Kelly has to win in his 5+ years’ tenure at ND. Kessler doesn’t seem to take to pressure D’ very well. It’s time for both ND lines to play their best game yet. SC has great athletes, but they tend to take a quarter or a half or so off each game, and rely on their athletes to make key plays to win. ND is due for a Texas/GT like game of total focus and intensity, and, if not now, when?
As El Donaldo “Up against the wall” t Rump says, “It’s yooge!”
I don’t know what it is with this team but they never really seem ready to play when the game first begins. It cost them the game against Clemson and has allowed teams to still be in the game in the first half. They’d better fix it or one of those teams like USC or Stanford will take advantage of it. No matter what BK says, the IRISH are not going to the playoffs and to be honest, looking at some of the other teams projected to go, I doubt ND would beat them. All the injuries have taken their toll. They aren’t the championship caliber team they might have been, if they kept people healthy.
big game by Shumate, Prosise and Kizer…..and others.
Glad for the win, but, they had plenty of time to prepare for the option and yet allow 318 yards rushing to occur. At times ND seemed to be grasping at straws during the first half allowing Navy to stay in the game. They should have throttled them getting them down 21-7 and didn’t. The dumbass USC Trojan condoms come calling next week and they will be coming with no playoff worries due to their 2nd loss. ND can’t afford a first half slow start against them.
Go Irish!