Notre Dame’s Playoff Hopes Destroyed, Hurricanes Blowout Irish 41-8

[tps_header][/tps_header][tps_header][/tps_header]
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish watched whatever hopes of a national championship melt away in the South Florida heat by being on the receiving end of a 41-8 thrashing by the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday night. The game was effectively over at halftime after the Hurricanes headed to intermission with a commanding 27-0 lead.

An inability to muster any real offense and committing costly turnovers were two of the key issues that put the Irish in a huge hole after a promising start on their first series ran out of gas. The Notre Dame defense was able to keep Miami in check during their first series, but good field position in the subsequent drive helped eventually lead to the Hurricane floodgates engulfing the Irish.

Below are some of the key facets of the loss:

Nowhere to Run

Notre Dame’s running game had served the team well during the school’s first nine games, especially when it came to the presence of Josh Adams. Against Miami, none of the running backs nor quarterback Brandon Wimbush was able to get any sort of ground game established, especially during the disastrous first half.

Taking away a meaningless 12-yard run in the closing seconds of the first half with the Irish trailing 27-0, Adams collected just 28 yards on 15 other carries on the night. Numbers like that will make Adams’ road to the Heisman that much harder. Indicative of just how bad a night it was for Notre Dame is that his numbers were the high point in this department, which finished with 109 yards on 36 carries.

Adams has delivered home-run scores all season long, but facing the Hurricanes, it was a Homer who did the most damage. That was Miami’s Travis Homer, who managed to gain 146 yards on his 18 carries.

Chain of Disaster

One of the things that the Irish needed to avoid was coughing up the ball, in order to avoid offering the Hurricanes the opportunity to hype their Turnover Chain. That plan disintegrated during the first two quarters when Notre Dame signal callers threw three interceptions that led to 17 Miami points.

The count might have been four, but a tipped pass during the first series fell to the ground. That scare became reality when Wimbush was picked off just after the Hurricanes had scored their first touchdown. Miami needed just two plays to double their lead to 14-0.

Pick number two came deep in Irish territory and miraculously only resulted in a Hurricane field goal to make it 17-0. However the final interception was a pick-six in the final minute that was returned 66 yards for the score and served as the back-breaker for Brian Kelly’s squad.

Line Under Siege

What had been a resurgence in the team’s offensive line for 2017 stalled out, with Irish signal callers getting sacked five times. Then again, this area knew that they’d be facing a stiff challenge beforehand, considering that Miami came into the contest leading the country with 8.8 tackles-for-loss per game.

By the time the game had ended, the Hurricanes had ever-so-slightly improved on that average by racking up nine tackles-for-loss. Miami’s front seven has their usual supply of athleticism about them and they delivered a painful lesson to the Notre Dame protectors all night long.

The last two regular season opponents, Navy and Stanford, don’t have the talent base of the Hurricane defenders, which will likely mean that the Irish line will get back to what had been normal. However, it’s clear that they received a dose of reality against Miami.

A Step Back

Wimbush had made impressive strides during the first nine games, but he hit a collective brick wall after completing two of his three early passes. For the remainder of the half, he missed on seven pass attempts and tossed two of those disastrous picks, with Ian Book tossing the deadly pick-six.

Returning to play after halftime, Wimbush managed to connect with Alize Mack for the only Irish score, but the game had long since been decided by that point. Meanwhile, his running was limited to just 24 yards on 11 carries and he also fumbled away the ball on one series.

Next Up

The final home game for 2017 means Senior Day and will pit the Fighting Irish against their longtime rivals, the Navy Midshipmen who are coming into the contest with a 6-3 mark. In their last game, Navy watched a 34-11 halftime advantage turn into a 40-40 tie with 3:32, though a field goal at the gun gave the Midshipmen the win.

This longstanding series dates back 90 years to the Rockne era, which is appropriate since Notre Dame will be wearing the Rockne Heritage uniforms in this game. The Irish have absolutely dominated this series, holding a 76-13-1 advantage, but will be looking for revenge after last year’s 28-27 heartbreaker in Jacksonville.

You may also like

90 Comments

  1. A very disappointing game to watch as a fan. I think truthfully, ND just got beat by a team that has better athletic personnel overall compared to ND, at least right now. The OL showed handling a fast front 7 like Miami is not their forte. However, ND also has a history of not playing well in Miami, whether against the Canes, a NC game or even Orange Bowl participation ( the last win there I believe being 1990 Orange Bowl win against the Buffs). The 91 loss to Colorado on a questionable flag on Rocket’s punt return that would have won the game and the 96 OB loss to FSU being some examples of Miami “jinx.” The team didn’t look very prepared and that is a big part of the coaching but the players executed poorly too. I never would have thought ND would roll into that game 8-1 with a number 3 rating compared to that team from last year so I am trying to remain realistic. I am not a huge fan of Kelly and have said so before on here. Should he leave, whether on his own or being shown the door, I don’t know who would want the job. I will make an observation. Ames, Iowa is probably the 2nd hardest place to achieve any type of football success ( Lawrence, Kansas maybe the hardest) but the job Matt Campbell is doing there with inferior talent comparatively speaking to the Big 12 upper teams and beating not 1 but 2 of those teams that were rated in the top 5 in the same year, is something I wish a ND coach could achieve. The only real signature win for Kelly might have been that 2012 win against Oklahoma on the road. Hopefully, they learn from the lost, make improvements and concentrate beating Navy. Go Irish!

    1. As usual, well said, “Stores.”

      Very interesting observation. Sadly, I don’t see BK going anywhere in the next few years. We’re stuck with a lame duck coach, I think.

      Thanks for the opportunity to “break character” and talk some football with a real person.

      GO IRISH!

  2. “Ron Burgundy,” “David,” etc., so many pseudo/invented tolls and trolls for us to self-indulge with and bring in a little social and real capital to Frank and his mates at UHND.com.

    I’ll play along to keep this site up and running a bit longer.

    Besides, I really enjoy the sophmoric social engineering experiment that passes for debate on this site!

    It’s like pro rasslin’ in the era of kayfabe. Who’s the heel, who’s the baby face? Maybe “Ron” will do a “face” turn and hit “David” over the head with a folding chair. Oh the humanity!

    Perhaps “C-Dog” will turn out to be the site’s “booker” and out Frank in a backstage power grab to take back UHND.

    Perhaps I’ll “join forces” with “Southie” and form our own version of the “nWo” (4-Life!).

    1. I’m insulted. Ron Burgundy has yet to express any original opinion regarding football.

      As for your own sensitivities….start your own website, putz.

      1. I see what you did there “David,” you “jobbed” “Ronnie” pretty good. You beat him to the folding chair!

        C-Dog must be rolling his eyes right now at how I’m “jobbing” for Frank and his advertisers by “working” with his fictional “heels”.

        Just call me a “jabroni”! (A term coined by former Hurricane DE Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.)

      1. I’d try to explain it to you, but I doubt a “putz” like you would understand.

        Keep it coming, little boy. I can play this game with you forever.

        I’ve outlasted better and badder than you on this site for years!

  3. “Ron’s” Plan B will always be long, passionate nights with Butch Davis.

    Don’t lie, “Ronny boy,” the only reason you were in Miami on Saturday was for your weekly tryst with big Butch.

    Oh la la, “Ron”!

    The ease and regularity I toy with you isn’t really commendable but it’s fun. I keep thinking that at some point you’ll catch on but it works every time, thankfully!

  4. The ease and regularity that David toys with all of you is commendable.
    I keep thinking that at some point you will all catch on but it works every time.

    Plan B forever!

    1. I know reading is hard for you, “Ron,” especially when not choking on Butch Davis’ man-meat, but read my “PS” to him. I think, like you, Ronny, David is a tool.

      Most of us know that. What else explains your own continued useless presence on this site it it’s not our self-indulgence with a bit of tomfoolery.

  5. Total collapse of a team that played so great all season. Boy , this one really hurt me in the gut. I don’t have any anger/pissed off reaction–just a let down of being on a high for this 2017 team that went beyond expectation from a 4-8 disaster to being on the cusp of being in the playoffs. Great comments from the posters on went wrong in the game or ND program itself. What I will say –that I’ve said before 8/9 wins are unacceptable at Notre Dame. Coach Kelly is averaging 8 wins a season after 8 years — and only double digit win seasons are 12 in 2012 and 10 in 2015. It’s like SFR says — Kelly is the “Walking Dead.” He fails to beat the Big Boys whether in regular season or in a bowl game. The bottom line on losing to Miami was not being prepared ahead — and the failure to make adjustments in game. Kelly post game quote “We were not prepared enough.” Well kiss my Blarney Stone ass—thank you and have a nice day. What lies ahead are Navy and Stanford in Palo Alto. After what happened in Miami — these are not gimme games. I would like Irish to beat them and get in a major bowl — finish at 11-2. I would like the team to finish the season on a high note–especially Wimbush–who will be Irish QB next season.

    1. Southside, I’ve run the gamut. Anger at the lack of preparation. And disappointment too. What’s so frustrating is that if the team that beat USC showed up on Saturday, I think that team would have beat Miami. The only reason I can come up with for the loss goes to a combination of thinking they had the season all but wrapped up, and not taking Miami seriously. USC is no slouch. They have speedy, athletic players. We crushed them. It wasn’t even close–like the Miami game, but in reverse. It’s sad. They let everything slip through their hands. Had they taken care of business, they’d have been in the drivers seat.

  6. Still here in sick bay couldn’t watch the game. This loss reminds me of “Bataan” Miami death march. Our wounded Fightin’ Irish warriors always come back.

      1. Seriously, David, it’s time for you to get a life!

        And don’t play sanctimonious Irish critic with me. Long before you ever reared your negative head on this site I was taking crap from the lovable, gullible losers on this site for calling things like they are. I still take crap from the pie-in-the-sky all the time for calling a spade a spade.

        Hopefully some on here who can reason can distinguish between my honest criticisms of NOD football and your gratuitous negativity. But I probably give some on here too much credit for being able to distinguish between negativity and valid criticism.

      2. Again, fool, long before your wobegotten self arrived to make us all a little dumber with everyone of your repetitive negative comments in passing, I have been on here encouraging all kinds of opinions and being called out for it by the real censors on this site.

        So, again, cut out your sanctimonious, holier-than-thou BS, troll.

        Besides, who just this very day tried to censor one of our regulars because he made a putative offensive comment you didn’t like?! That sounds like censorship to me.

        Physician heal thy self!

        GO HIDE UNDER WHATEVER ROCK YOU OOZED OUT OF!

        (PS: Hopefully the commentary of these pseudo-persons and our pseudo-responses to them help your bottom line, Frank!)

      3. I’m sure you’re very familiar with Kleenex, little boy, getting rejected so often. Perhaps you have given us a real insight into your pathetic life and why you can’t stop coming on here despite your feigned disdain.

        So sad to not have a life, troll.

        Get a Kleenex indeed, David, to wipe away your tears!

      4. One more thing, David, don’t pretend at getting upset about a putative slight of the military. You don’t know anything about the honor of serving this country. So please take your feigned indignation and …..!

  7. I don’t like the excuse, well if in the preseason someone told you ND would be 8-2 and ranked in the Top 10, you would take it in a heartbeat.

    As with everything in life, expectations change as circumstances change. There was no reason to expect anything but an Irish victory or at least a close, competitive loss based on the information we had.

    I’ve been a holdout on the Kelly coaching bandwagon, but anyone can clearly see that last night’s debacle was on Kelly.

    Completely unprepared. No constraint plays, no new wrinkles, just the same old stuff.

    Like someone else said, how about throwing some quick hitches or fades just to try and get Wimbush in rhythm. Get the ball out quick.

    Every offensive play developed so slow. We played right into their hands.

    We need to hire someone like Lincoln Riley (not him, he’s not leaving OU) but someone like him. An innovative offensive mind. Scott Frost?

    Keep Elko. He’s done as well as he can with the parts he’s been given.

    It’s time to move in another direction, regardless of how they finish.

  8. People complaining, and I get it… but if you told me in August that ND would destroy USC and MSU and even be in playoff contention mid-November, I’d have told you to turn off NCAA 14 and get real. It sucks to lose that way, and it is embarrassing, but I’m still proud of what this team has done this year. It’s not a lost season.

    1. Don’t think you can just skip the first four and lie to yourself about being at ‘Acceptance’….pretty sure it doesn’t work like that.

    2. I’m afraid that doesn’t cut it for me either. ND was just unprepared for this game, plain and simple. Offense, defense, ST’s, no one seemed to have their head in the game (mercifully I don’t see too many references to it–hopefully it’s quickly forgotten). I don’t know if they started to believe the hype too much…with the stupid video they made it seem to me their heads were in the clouds. They were better earlier in the season, partly because no on believed in them. It was them vs. the rest of CFB and they played with attitude. They started losing that against WF and it reared its ugly head this week and now all those lofty expectations are gone. If they win out, they’ll get one more chance to prove they can play with the big boys in a NY Day 6 bowl. I disagree with SFR about playing that game. I think they absolutely should play it, if the team believes they are better then this, then they need to put up or shut up.

      The worse part is I’m not really sure Miami is even “elite.” They struggled against NC and FSU. But unlike ND, they put themselves in the drivers seat. We’ll know soon enough if they are legit, after all Clemson is no slouch either.

      1. Oops, my comment about the mercifully I don’t see too many references was supposed to be after the video comment, not before…sorry

  9. I guess it could always be worse. See, I’m also a NY Giants fan. Yep, the team that just lost to previously winless San Francisco. You want to talk about a bad team, a truly poorly coached team. It’s bad. How bad? You know, I think Notre Dame could beat the NY Giants right now. That’s how bad they are. You guys want BK fired (I’m withholding my opinion on that until seasons end–not that it really matters), well I want McAdoo fired. The team can’t do anything right, and worse, he’s lost the locker room too. He talked about benching Eli last week–well I thought to myself, too bad we can’t bench the coach.

      1. 100 “likes” for “David” on this point!

        Perhaps “David” overestimates BK’s honor and integrity, however. BK would rather throw his mom under the bus than resign.

  10. ND lost because of turnovers…just ask Kelly. On TV exiting the field, he promptly took each QB and threw him under the bus. Then repeated the same issue on record a good 6 or 8 times now.

    You know…”turnovers”.
    The thing that coaches can’t possibly prevent, the thing that a kid does on his own despite being told not to.
    The clean escape. The ideal alibi.

    I’ve seen teams lose otherwise close, competitive games because of turnovers….too many, awful locations on the field, critical junctures, etc.
    ND did NOT lose that game because of turnovers.
    They turned it over in a coma of desperation BECAUSE they were being destroyed. They were unprepared, slow, predictable and shocked.
    Just like vs Alabama. Just like vs Clemson.
    Kelly is a fraud.

    1. How is saying turnovers, which cost us the game throwing anyone under the bus? Fans typically blame the coach when the players don’t perform well.

      1. ‘..turnovers, which cost us the game….’

        ie. without the turnovers, ND wins that game.

        PTSD is really awful.

  11. Elko’s one of the best d1 coordinators in the country. I truly believe he is getting every ounce of talent and ability out of the defense. I just think this defense is lacking speed and playmakers in the front 7 compared to Clemson, Miami, Alabama, etc. The offense is really handicapped because Wimbushcannot accurately and consistently pass so teams ignore Notre Dames passing game and load up to stop the run. plus, when you can’t pass you are always in second and long and third and long. I thought the receivers last night played very well. They were getting open a lot but Winbush couldn’t hit them. if Winbush struggles these next 3 games I would like to see Kelly gives this Jurkovic kid a shot. I know he will be a freshman but UCLA started Rosen and Alabama started hurts.

    1. I sort of agree about Elko. I have new concerns since the late WF scores and of course last night. I know some will say the defense wasn’t exactly given a helping hand last night, with all the turnovers and all. But it’s hard to ignore 34 points they coughed up. Had they kept them to FG’s on those turnovers, maybe I’d feel differently. But I also know sometimes when you’re offense isn’t getting the job done, defensive players can start to get frustrated. They won’t face the same speed out of Navy (triple option notwithstanding) or Stanford, so they’ll have a chance to reset.

      And it’s Elko’s first year. Through NC State they did far better than I expected. Certainly USC, while not NC caliber this year, is no slouch. I’m not ready to throw him under the bus yet.

  12. I offer three words to describe Miami against ND. They were 1) quicker, 2) stronger and 3) hungrier.

    It seemed as if there was absolutely no game plan for this game. Is Miami that good? Are the Irish this year’s Cinderella squad?

    Alas, I do not know.

    Go Irish!!! (he said quietly – sort of under his breath).

  13. Shame on you for spewing your bile and garbage here today, after all the clueless, rosy BS you posted here all week.
    You were told.

    I feel for the ND players. No one should go ever experience the curb stomping they got last night.
    But you fools deserve your pain.

    1. The season isn’t over David. And you’re the one with the bile and the garbage. We lost. We lost badly. We’ll pick up, hopefully finish 10-2 and go to a major bowl…with the second greatest turnaround season in ND history behind us! That’s what our players deserve, not your endless negativity. They worked their asses off in the offseason…and if they finish 10-2, as I believe they will, there is no way you or any one else will be able to spin this season as a failure. I’ll say it again…this is going to be the SECOND GREATEST turnaround season in the history of Notre Dame football! Jam that up your ass pal.

      BGC
      La Crosse, Indiana

      1. Don’t bother. Other than the Miami fan that posted on another article earlier, David is probably the only one happy with last night’s result. He said at one point he wouldn’t follow ND until BK is fired, yet he keeps posting so he’s obviously following something. As for me, if I don’t follow a team, I don’t follow them. I don’t persist in posting on their websites. But then, that’s me.

  14. SFR and Damian – we will probably play in a major bowl…and we should…we deserve it…but I thought our days of getting our asses kicked all over the field ended after the humiliation at USC last year. Obviously, those days are not gone. Losing is one thing…being unprepared to play from the start is something else…it is intolerable. I was very disappointed to see the disoriented look on Wimbush’s face during the entire first half. It was the same look we saw on Golson’s face against Michigan in 2012 before he was mercifully replaced by Tommy Rees. Last night we had no one to replace Wimbush with.

    If we are going to continue to make progress in turning this thing around, two things need to happen:
    1. We need to learn how to play big on the road…BK’s road record in big games is beyond dismal. If we don’t start playing tough like EQ St. Brown did last night (and only EQ, at least on offense) on the road, we will lose at the Farm in two weeks and my 9-3 prediction will come true. We need to “get real” on the road and do it NOW. This team deserves to finish 10-2 and take a shot at a major bowl victory…something we have not had since LOU left.
    2. We need either (a) some “O” linemen with much quicker feet, or (b) a blocking scheme that can hit quicker, or BOTH. Georgia and MIAMI proved that we can’t handle a quick, elite defense yet, and that needs to be fixed. Herbstreet had it exactly right…SSSSSLLLLLLLOOOOWWWW developing plays…of course many of us on this site have been posting that forever.

    I want 10-2 out of this team and a major bowl victory, and those of you who are whining and sniveling about this can go to hell. And if this team wants it even half as much as I do, and this coaching staff wants it half as much as I do, they’ll do what has to be done to FINISH this season right. The time to go to a major bowl AND win is NOW.

    BGC ’77 ’82

    1. I agree. I’m tired of seeing the Irish get embarrassed in big games like this. And embarrassing it was. If you wear any Irish gear today, probably have the people will be snickering at you. Everyone is saying they were overrated. How do you counter that? They got smacked in the face in one of the biggest games this season. The ND haters are grinning ear to ear. And the team made that possible. I guess ironically the only ones giving us any respect in a twisted way is Miami fans, because many of them feel they should be number 1 after wiping their field with our players. (Short memory if you ask me, after all this was the same Miami team that struggled to win all those games most of the season–if ND faced them in September, we may very well have smacked them in the mouth).

      Two things will happen. Either the team gets it’s chip on the shoulder attitude back and takes it out on Navy and Stanford by beating the crap out of them. Or they become dazed and confused and stumble through the rest of the season, maybe barely beating Navy and losing to Stanford. Unfortunately we’ve seen BK teams do the latter already. But I hope for option 1.

    2. Also, if there is one lone, little bright spot in all this mess is the pressure is off. There will be no playoff appearances, no Heismans. All they have to play for is respect. The spotlight will be off again as the rest of CFB focuses on potential playoff teams. ND will go back to largely being ignored by everyone else. Sure, if they get a NY Day 6 bowl, there will be some attention, but CFB is heavily in tune with the playoffs these days. There should not be any distractions. Win out and win a NY Day 6 bowl, maybe it gives you something to build off next year. The only other option is going back to square 1, and after 15 years of hiccups, I’m sick of going back to square 1.

    3. Beg to differ on EQ. He played well when the game was basically over. But you cannot tell me that he shouldn’t have made a better effort on the first long pass. It looked to me like he misjudged the throw and did not sprint at the end of his pattern and then he did not dive when the ball was barely off his hands. He makes that play and it sets the tone.

      1. BGC,

        Look at that play again. The ball landed just in front of him. If he doesn’t slow down and runs through he catches it in stride. In a big game like this you would also expect your stars to sell out.

        This wasn’t an impossible catch, although it was a poor throw.

        Regardless, ND has no consistent deep passing game which makes it hard to win at the elite level.

      2. Ray completely agree. I played receiver and when the ball is out in front of you like that, your instinct typically gives your body another gear to go get the ball. He most definitely didn’t have that gear and then mistimed the dive. I completely agree the ball should have been caught but honestly that is EQ this year. Def took a step back this season in my opinion.

      3. I know Wimbush played bad and all but our receivers do need to help him out. Claypool misses that slant on the first drive which prob would have been a TD. EQ should have caught the first deep ball in the end zone had he went all out for it and timed his dive better. I guess what is most disappointing about the offense is that Long really called a bad game in my opinion. Miami stacked the box and we continued to run Adams over and over and over. Where were the jet sweeps to Steph? Misdirections? More deep balls? We have So many 6’4” and over receivers. Throw it up to them and let them be athletes! But most of all what I can’t get over is how you don’t utilize Wimbush on designed runs more. He ranks right up there with Jackson at Louisville with being one of the most dynamic runners at the qb position. Setting all kinds of records but you really don’t call much of that at all? Maybe he settles into the game more letting him do what he is comfortable doing which is running! And then you pull him on top of it when he clearly gives us the best chance of winning? That one is on Kelly. The coaching was crap last night, plain and simple. I don’t blame the d last night although I don’t know how you don’t spy the effing qb when you know he is a runner too.

  15. Thoughts on ND football history:

    Rockne – the teams were always in contention for a national championship. Never any room for error.

    After Rockne. 13 years of good to great football with no NCs.

    Leahy. Dominance shear dominance. Until the 1950s then great

    Mid 1950s. Good to great teams with no NCs and a slide downward creeping up.

    Late 1950s to 1963. Futility.

    1964-1974. Ara. Dominance again. In the modern era where a divergence in academics and football needs began. But dominance and proof you can educate too student athletes.

    1975-1980 Devine gets and NC but never had the confidence of the program. 1977 was an amazing year but something started after that that led to Faust.

    1980-1985 futIlity again. Faust is just not up to the task.

    I take a break because here’s the point. The only futile periods up to that point were 5 years from 1958-1963 and 1981-1985

    1986-1994. Holtz. Dominance again. Took him 3 years but he did it and maintained it for 6/7 years.

    1997-2017. FutIlity. 4 head coaches. None have an NC. Only one has had 2 truly close seasons. Although Kelly has yet to have a team that looks complete. Even with 2 losses this is kelly’s Best year and it took 8.

    8 years to put together a team we thought was complete. Maybe it just can’t be done at a real university.

    1. I still think it goes back to coaching. I’m not ready to say ND can’t compete and still maintain high standards for it’s athletes. We compete with the big boys for recruits, and even win those recruits sometimes. But BK has not been able to get them to cross that threshold. Year in and year out something holds them back. You see it in the QB. It started with EG. He was the QB we needed. That didn’t pan out. Then it was Malik Zaire, now we have the right QB. Then again…then it was Kizer and now Wimbush. One QB doesn’t live up to their potential, ok, that happens sometimes. But none of them…I mean we hope Wimbush is the real deal. He took a huge step back yesterday and I just hope that’s not the beginning of the end for him. But that tells me this may be that they are just not getting the proper coaching. What would a coach like Richt get out of this team?

    2. Very good synopsis for ND football. As I mentioned earlier I’ve been there since Leahy. That was a special era for Irish football which I doubt I will witness again, but I still bled Blue & Gold every game.

  16. if i may be the voice of reason here: BRIAN KELLY IS AN OVERRATED COACH WHO SHOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN THIS JOB! That team last night looked like it had never played before. the quarterback was scared from the first snap. the OL and DL were manhandled. Brian kelly can’t and has never won a big game at this level..and he won’t start now! a new years day bowl will just prove how bad ND is under kelly!

    1. Sebastian, I was there. Yes, ND was intimidated. These are 20 year old kids and it was like playing a football game in the Thunderdome. Why take one game as a basis to judge coaching? Yes, the practices should have been played with loud crowd noise amplified over the field, but nothing can duplicate the electricity and volume of an enclosed stadium (even though the roof wasn’t closed). Many ranked teams suffer major setbacks, just like Clemson’s loss to Syracuse, Georgia this week against Auburn and Penn State blowing a huge lead against Ohio State and then losing to Michigan State. They’re kids. It happens.. Before you fire Kelly, at least ask who you would replace him with. Lou Saban and Urban Meyers are spoken for

      1. Urban Meyer has been taking some Godawful beatings recently…even shutouts and losses to teams that are hardly in Miami’s class. He is a great coach, but be careful what you wish for.

        BGC ’77 ’82

      2. Yeah, I’m starting to think Meyers best days are behind him at Florida. OSU will continue to make some noise for sure, but OSU is not the year in and out elite team it once was. They got their own beat down in last year’s playoff bowl. That’s why I noted earlier that if ND had to face OSU in a bowl game, it probably be anyone’s guess which OSU team showed up. The one that got their heads handed to them by Iowa, or the one that dominated MSU. Even against PSU, they were crushing them most of the game. PSU made some poor decisions trying to close out the game and allowed OSU to get back in it, and momentum in football can be a killer.

      3. One game?! have you not been watching brian kelly choke with every big game he has coached!? he is in over his head. always has been. name a qb since he has been at nd to do worth a squat?! i would take anyone over brian kelly! the “who are you going to get” argument is pathetic! if you want to keep him as coach just book your tickets to the pinstripe bowl every year and make sure the team doesn’t look at the 4 monitors before they play!

      4. Damian, did you actually watch the OSU- PSU game? The Buckeyes outplayed them from start to finish. Three of PSU’s td’s were, 1. KO return for td 2. KO return inside the 20 yd line and 3. fumble return inside the 20 yd line. The Buckeyes held Barkley in check and out gained them 2-to-1 for the game.

        You should worry about your own coach not Urban.

        His handling of his QB’s is embarrassing and there is zero accountability on his part, it’s always someone else’s fault. When he made the QB change I was wondering what game he was watching because the OL was soft and slow and the RB’s were tentative at best. No QB could have changed that outcome but he did what he always does, put the blame somewhere else and drain any remaining confidence right out of his starting QB.

        And I don’t think you want the Buckeyes in a bowl game again do you?

      5. Always amused how other teams fans find their way here. OSU isn’t even on our schedule. But as I remember it, PSU was up by a pretty hefty margin. OSU won it in the last, what 5 minutes. PSU had OSU right where they wanted them. I give OSU credit for taking advantage and winning the game.

        And then OSU gets their heads handed to them by Iowa. As I said, it would depend on what OSU team showed up. The one that got pounded by Iowa, or the one that torched MSU.

  17. Mick….good observation from a 50 year. I saw my first ND game when I was 8 yo….that was 70 years ago. My father was a sportswriter so he took me to every home game for six years until I began playing high school football, so I saw ND hardly ever lose during that period.

    1. There have been a lot of good times over the years. I will always support the Irish but sure would love to see another tile before I check out

  18. I wish I could be as positive as some others here. I just see none. Ok, sure, the defense was put in a bad position a number of times. But Miami scored 34 points off our defense. I can’t see that as a positive. Offense just wasn’t there. Wimbush shares some of that responsibility, but I also can’t help but notice our O-Line let the offense down. Part of that may be that since we couldn’t run the ball, that Wimbush tried to force things. It doesn’t excuse his mistakes, but he wasn’t the only problem.

    Like I said, an above average team but not elite. A NY Day 6 bowl win can still salvage something. It won’t be everything I hoped for, but it would at least tell me that maybe…maybe the team is on its way to better things.

    1. No, Damian, I can’t tell you that. That would be a lie. What BK track record at ND gives you hope he can lead this team to elite status?!

      I frankly don’t think this team should play a NY bowl game. That would subject them to further humiliation. Can you imagine what tOSU would do to BK’s team?!

      No, for now, play against Middle Tennessee or someone like that and get a win. Of course, the risk is that BK would get outcoached by that team’s coach and ND would lose regardless.

      This is a sad state of affairs and anyone who tries to say otherwise is putting lipstick on a pig.

      Until ND regularly wins these kinds of games and becomes elite again optimism is frankly delusional, Damian. That’s reality!

      1. You’re probably right. That’s why since the beginning of the year I’ve said I need to see ND win a NY Day 6 bowl for me to consider them on a path to recovery. An appearance is not enough.

        I’m just so disappointed. It’s sad really. After ND blew up USC and NC State, I really wanted to believe ND was finally back after all these years. Unlike David, I’ve got no personal beef with BK. While I was fearing the other shoe to drop, I really had hoped that I was just being paranoid.

        I don’t think BK is a terrible coach, really. He’s probably good enough to get a college program to bowl games most years, and maybe the occasional NY Day 6 bowl, like he did with Cincinnati. He’s a step up from Willingham and Weis. But that’s not ND. If ND truly wants to have an elite football program they need to do more.

        But the reality is, BK’s not going anywhere. I figured anything 8-4 or better and he’s safe for another year. For now, I’ll see what they bring against Navy and Stanford, and what they do in the bowl game. The results I seek is total domination of the next 3 games.

        Re: Ohio State–I think that would depend on which OSU showed up. They seem to be wildly inconsistent. One week they get torched by Iowa and look like a division II team, the next they look like the next NFL all stars.

    2. I just don’t think Notre Dame is ever going to field a national championship team again. Not until the NCAA cleans up its act.
      The demands of modern football and school just don’t mix well.

  19. Just one addition on my previous post, been a fan for 50 years! Could you imagine how brutal it would be if you just started following the Irish 15 years ago? At least there at clear memories of 3 magical seasons in my lifetime!

    1. That would be me. I started following ND as a die hard around 2002. I remember how hopeful I was in 2005 and 2006. Charlie turned out to be a bust. Excited in 2012 again. Thought we had something to build on, even if we got torched by Bama. It’s been up and down since.

      Last year, I thought they should have fired BK. Now they have improved this year. I’m not on board the fire BK now bus quite yet for this year (mainly because that would solve nothing at the moment). I want to see how they respond the next 2 weeks. If they get to a NY Day 6 bowl win and manage to beat a meaningful team, then maybe, just maybe they have something to build on. How do they respond? That’s what I want to see. Do they crush Navy and Stanford, or do they give up?

      1. Hang in there brother. Compared to where we have been in the last few decades we are in a much better place. That is sad to say but is the truth

      2. “crush Navy and Stanford”. You aim too high, as have most of the fans after the SC and NCSt. wins.
        Just win! The last time we won a close game was over a year ago vs. Miami.
        Until this week, the O’ responded to scores with TDs eight times in just the last three weeks.
        They need to do that vs. Navy and Stanford. Just win.

  20. I don’t usually like to put too much blame on one person but this game is about 80% on BW. Sure the offensive line had their struggles but he had opportunities to make plays and not only could he not do it he handed the ball to Miami multiple times. How different is his game if he drops in a perfect pass to EQ on the opening drive? I’m not saying this changes the outcome but it sure as hell does not end up 41-8. The 2 INT’s he threw were brutal. Wide open receiver, clear passing lane on both and neither was even close. This young man has been in the program for three years now and if you look at the two losses against the two best defenses ND played he clearly does not have what it takes to beat elite defenses with his arm. Claypool was awful as well but it really falls on BW. For gods sake he was so bad I agreed with the decision to bench him! I feel bad for that young man but unless he is able to make the leap we will never beat elite defenses with him at quarterback. That swing pass he threw at Josh’s feet was indicative of his whole night.

    Having said all that I do believe the defense played well enough to win. There are definite signs of encouragement moving forward. I’ve been a fan for close to 15 years and understand the old days are never coming back. If BK finishes 10-2 and the team plays well in a big 6 bowl I would consider this season a definite step in the right direction with a young nucleus moving forward. Some nights you just get your ass handed to you and you go home and lick your wounds and hopefully learn from it and get better.
    Go Irish

    1. In the words of Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Wimbush has the tools to get the job done, but he clearly panicked after getting “punched in the mouth” by a swarming Miami defense. He was ill-prepared and that is 100% a failure of coaching. I predicted a Miami win, mainly because ND is completely one dimensional. Maybe there are thing Kelly could have done to mitigate the damage, but he had no contingency plan for a failed running game, and effectively fed Wimbush to the wolves. Miami is better, stronger, faster…but ND had no business getting bet down like that. I feel badly for those kids, Kelly should have known waht was coming.

    2. BW had a horrendous first half; but your 80% blame stat is too high. The OL and the DL and LBs, and the WRs also were inept.
      Josh Adams’ stutter steps and breaking to the outside waiting for the OL to move or sustain their blocks was blown up all night from Miami’s DL pursuing from behind.
      They were too quick and it was the most poorly conceived strategy, followed second by not pressuring Miami’s QB.
      If you’re going to lose, at least lose aggressively. Still waiting for the pressure stunts and blitzes Elko was supposed to bring this season.
      Games are most often won or lost at the LOS, and the U was dominant there.
      The inability to adjust and account for the dominance of Miami at the LOS told the tale.
      Plenty of blame to go around; not much credit to pass out- except for some determined resistance by the D’, backed up all night by turnovers too near their goal line.

    3. EQ should have had that first pass he misjudged it and slowed down and then with a great effort, diving for the ball he could have cautht it.

  21. Objectively, the ND football program is not quite ready for prime time….it’s getting there with better speed, athletism and depth, but still has a way to go to compete with several times that Trump them in that regard. If the Irish win out a 10-2 regular season, with loses to two very good opponents, would be an excellent season and accomplishment, especially considering last years poor outing.

    Other objective obersvations – I really like Wimbush who will only get better, but right now his passing is only as effective as is the run game. Like most college QBs who probably won’t play on Sundays, he needs, at least right now, a sound running game to keep the defense honest.

    Also, as good as our OL is they did not pass the test against two great defenses.

    Finally, ND did not cough up games they were expected to win with high probabilities like they have done frequently in past years.

    The Irish may be on the way, but have a way to go.

    1. “Fitz,”

      “The Irish may be on the way, but have a ways to go.”

      You’re right about that. Sadly, the ways to go only seems further away after last night. This team is no where near elite and never will be recruiting three star players.

      BK is a dead man walking. He’ll never win at this level because he gets outcoached all the time and can’t prepare his teams to play in big games.

      When his contract is over he’s done (unless the administration decides to give him a ten-year extension after losing another bowl game).

  22. Frank, forget the weekly “Four Horsemen” column. There weren’t four- you’d be hard pressed to think of any.
    To be fair, the D’ was put into impossible situations and did rise to the occasion at times, so start your search there if you insist on writing that weekly. I think you’d actually be saying more by not running it at all.
    One team relished the spotlight. The other was blinded by it.Each season for about the last quarter of a century, ND has shown it is a Not Ready for Prime Time team with a Not Ready for Prime Time coaching staff.
    Miami U reminded us this season’s team, much better than a 4-8 team, isn’t ready for prime time either. ND never had a chance, and would lose ‘bigly’ to most of the top ten teams if they played them. You can’t have your scout team simulate the noise and the speed of the U, who are better at QB, WR, OL, DL, LB, DB, and kicker (21-22 FGs) than NDs starters. The U’s fans are more vocal ( and how many scalped their tickets like ND fans did vs. Georgia?). Their coaches are better regarding strategy and team preparation, too. Miami’s come a long way since their last loss at ND, in which they rallied to nearly win. Exit Brian Kelly and allow me to introduce Coach Richt and his excellent staff (who generously called the dogs off after going 90 yards to start the second half) as the coaching staff of the year after this ass-whooping.
    Any NFL teams looking for an assistant w/years of head coaching experience? Give Brian a call; he’ll be waiting, if he hasn’t already started the search.
    To the critics who said ND was overrated this season, one doesn’t need to follow Nostradamus to see that prediction was true.
    Miami is too quick for NDs OL to block them, or to sustain their blocks. ND possesses too little of a passing threat to keep the LBs and DBs out of the box. This, in turn, allowed them to stunt LBs and DBs ( and get there on time) on third and long, which is what ND faced all night long, however unneeded it was most of the game since their OL and DL dominated the LOS, while their RB and QB consistently broke tackles the few plays when NDs D’ wasn’t blocked.
    Dropped passes, errant passes, poor decisions when passing, no room to run, no plan of attack against a D’ too quick for NDs QB to run around them. Too many missed tackles. A thorough team loss.
    But other than that . . .
    Stanford just beat the #9 Washington team, (and Navy won’t ever not show up for their big game) and both teams’ coaches WILL have them ready to do the same vs. ND.
    BK and Staff have a lot of work to do these next two weeks, so hold off on tweaking your resume for a couple of weeks, BK. Better coaching staffs than ND has have lost teams following nights like this. Finish strong and get your 10 wins, or be finished. 11 wins? Not likely if they play in a New Year’s Day Bowl game. Stay tuned (or not). Implementing Plan B looks a lot more sensible this morning.

    1. I agree with most of your post but the one bright spot that I saw was on our D. They did give up 34 points last night but they were constantly being put into unwinnable situations. Tevon Coney, Tranquil and Love still played a great game. Niles Morgan looked lost the entire game and couldn’t drop back into coverage all night. Coney was all over the field and looked like a man possessed. Two turnovers on our side of the field, eight men in the Box, and a Pick 6 won the night

  23. We need to come to the realization that the ceiling for Notre Dame is 8 wins. Better than average, but never again elite. Anything more than 8 wins is just gravy. Getting our hopes up for anything more is a lost cause.

  24. This was supposed to be something like 41-8 ND, not Miami. Nothing to like about this game. Nothing at all. At least against Georgia there were some positive takeaways. This time, nothing. Nobody played well. These are the games ND needs to prove itself and it has failed every…single…time since the D/W/W days really.

    What ND proved to me last night is, yes, they are probably and above average team, maybe a B+. I don’t think it’s generous to say they could probably beat 90% of the FBS teams out there. They could probably dominate most of them even. But it’s that last 10%. That is what separates ND from being elite. Elite teams can probably win 98 to 99% of the teams they face all the time. Until ND can cross that threshold, we are always going to be held back by games like this. The worse part is I’m not really sure Miami is elite. They just played an elite game last night and we didn’t.

    My goal to start the season was to see ND win a NY Day 6 bowl. That’s still a possibility (we’ll see how they respond next week–if they obliterate Navy, ok, but if not, well), but where at the beginning of the season I would have been excited at that prospect, it will no longer be as sweet.

    No playoffs, no Heisman for Adams. All they can do is get back to business and go back to playing with a chip on their shoulder. They lost their edge with all the hype. Time to get it back. You guys want respect. You have to earn it.

    1. Top 10 not top FOUR. You cannot beat an elite secondary with a below-average QB. Sorry. BW is a great guy, but he does not

      have the ability to connect on basic plays. 10 games in and the Coach admits BW is still learning on the job.

      ND’s major weakness was exposed and exploited. No passing game = No running game. It ain’t rocket science

    2. Damian,

      As usual, you’re a voice of reason.

      I would just add beating Miami (FL) to preseason hopes.

      Anyone notice the deafening silence of the pie-in-the-sky, final scoreboard-watching, Sunday-morning QBs, on this site?!

      Not only do they never rear their heads in-game with comments/observations, daring to chime in only after ND wins, but these cowards never man-up after losses like this!

      Let your cowardly, anonymous “dislikes” roll in. That’s the most some of you seem able to muster!

      1. Bruce, in SFRs defense, when he posted this there weren’t really any positive comments yet. Those came out a bit later.

      2. BGC,

        My point holds: where are in the pie-in-the-sky in-game comments. Also, I don’t really consider you pi-in-the-sky. That’s epithet is reserved for some other local celebrities.

        I’m also sarcastically responding to the new troll bait introduced on this site, namely, the “like” and “dislike” that allows the anonymous cowards on here to think they have some kind of veto power over what I or you say.

Leave a Reply to sebastian Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button