Two weeks through the college football season, two painful losses for my Fighting Irish. For the sake of my own health, mental and physical, I'm not even gonna discuss the South Florida meltdown. Instead I'm turning my full attention to the delightful and historical Michigan game.114,000 people + The Big House + Night Game = Rocking Atmosphere
By far one of the most exciting crowds I have ever seen. The energy in the stadium appeared to challenge the likes of an SEC rivalry game. Watching on television was awesome, I can only imagine what it was like in the stadium.
Looking past all the buildup, the game itself was rather disappointing. Yes everyone is still blabbing about how it is, and will be, an "Instant Classic." But seriously look at the stat lines... Denard "Shoelace" Robinson completed 11 passes for 338 yards!! Where was the Notre Dame secondary!?!? The last 2 mins answered that question... ND's secondary does not exist.
Being a diehard Irish fan it was hard for me to see the team lose another heartbreaker. The season can be summed up in one word thus far... Turnovers. Nine in two games. How is any team supposed to win with that glaring number? Simple. You can't. Another thought. If you are a ND defensive back (or coach) why not commit pass interference and force them to kick a FG and head to overtime. The attitude should be no matter what happens, Michigan cannot catch the ball in the end zone. Do whatever is necessary to prevent that. Commit the foul, play for overtime, see what happens. Instead, Gary Gray got spun around like a merry-go-round, committed the foul, but, Roy Roundtree still made the catch. Losing while looking like a fool... classic
A NCAA DI football coach has multiple responsibilities. Some defensively, some offensively, and sometimes legally (but lets not discuss Brian Kelly's fumble with Michael Floyd's criminal record). But the most important job of a head coach is to mentally prepare his football team for battle. Thus far, ND has for the most part looked scared. There have been a few bright lights (Tommy Rees and Cierre Wood to name a couple). However, when the majority of the team doesn't have the look of confidence in their eyes, you aren't gonna win.
Even Brian Kelly looked flustered. At one point in the fourth quarter ESPN showed both Kelly and new Michigan coach Brady Hoke on a split screen. Kelly, the more "experienced" coach looked like he was losing control and didn't know how to carry himself. While on the other hand, Hoke looked clam, cool, and collected. Like he had done this before. His face said he was gonna win this game.
Two minutes, two comebacks and another Michigan victory. Michigan is now 2-0, filled with confidence led by a star athlete in "Shoelace" Robinson and "Michigan Man" Brady Hoke. Notre Dame is in a downward spiral of doubt. The nation doubting their mentality, the team doubting themselves. It doesn't get any easier next week when #15 Michigan St. comes to town.
This isn't the time to look for pity. This is the time to pick up the ashes, gain some mental toughness, and play a complete game like the Irish are capable of doing. The talent is there, the performance is just lacking...
Nespo, from a fellow miserable but still dedicated ND fan, i wanted to correct a statement in this wonderfully article. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had 5 turnovers in this amazing yet awful game (which i was at by the way). The final kickoff of the game was labeled in the stat book, as a turnover, therefore adding up to 5 for the game.
ReplyDeleteNespo clearly doesn't know haha
Please...
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