October 23rd, 2011 at 1:05 AM ^
Payton might have been there more to see USC than ND though. Hopefully we can hold.
On a related note, NDNation is fantastic tonight. Would urge everyone to check it out.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:16 AM ^
Payton was there to see USC more than ND. I mean, why travel halfway across the country to watch a game (albiet a rivalry game) in the stadium of a team that you're not really interested in, when you could stay in your home city and actually take a visit to the university, see a game and tour the facilities? Also, he's only listed as having 'low' interest in USC on Rivals FWIW.
October 23rd, 2011 at 9:24 AM ^
Oaks Christian/ND enough said.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:06 AM ^
The key word is "had"
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:41 AM ^
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:10 AM ^
I like this. I like this a lot.
I didn't get to watch the game at all, but did Kelly keep his composure? Or did he go into Psycho-Kelly-Freakout mode and scare away the rectruits?
Hopefully this bodes well for us getting Banner [edit: and Payton too]
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:10 AM ^
didn't see any freakouts. Seemed more resigned to absurd turnovers at this point. ND fans, at least of the insane internet variety, seem to absolutely want him fired though.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:59 AM ^
October 23rd, 2011 at 9:57 AM ^
Yeah, a reported $2.85M / year is clearly not worth it!
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:33 PM ^
I don't know if it's the worst job in the country, but it might be the worst high-profile job. It's definitely turning into a coaching graveyard. I think Kelly still can get it done there, but already it seems like ND fans are throwing in the towel.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:38 PM ^
nd has just done an awful job of picking coaches. its not like they took good coaches and ruined them - they've just picked awful coaches. davie hasn't had a job post-nd. willingham fairly clearly demonstrated his failings in washington. weis is a perfectly dandy offensive coordinator and has no idea what it means to be a head coach.
the only guy who seemed to be on a respectable trajectory that nd might be altering downwards is kelly.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:36 PM ^
unless you win every game, have the respect of all men and make women swoon, you can't live up to the standard of nd internet crazies.
given that we've been mediocre for 15 years, i find this to be an awfully weird standard. i'd be happy just to stop sucking and maybe maybe compete for a title in a year where everything falls right.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:00 AM ^
generally more composed, but he did have a bit of a hissy fit when Rees threw an interception at the end.
I think what hurt him more than anything was how ND gave up at the end and wouldn't call any of their timeouts...
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
Kelly went off on Rees on this one turnover. Showed on TV too.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:12 AM ^
I haven't been on MGoBlog as much as i'd like to because of college, but how many more recruits can we have in this years class?
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:14 AM ^
most you can take under Big 10 rules is 28. Can probably get up to that number if they want, but there's some chance they can't. If they can, 6 more, which they'd like to look something like: Brionte Dunn, Zach Banner, Jordan Payton, Amara Darboh, Yuri Wright, and ???.
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:35 AM ^
Most likely.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:13 AM ^
I don't think ND losing is that big a deal. Only when the crowd boos or walks out early does it really matter. They're there to see facilities, talk to coaches, etc.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:43 AM ^
October 23rd, 2011 at 10:37 AM ^
Yeah, I have to agree with the senitment of losing not really being a big deal for ND recruits. ND hasn't been elite on the field on a consistent basis for 15 years yet they still reel in elite prospects in droves every season. ND is sort of like Clemson, except without all the illegal benefits to recruits.
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:33 PM ^
it was really quiet. the fans generally sucked. the nd gameday experience used to be pretty intense. now, its flaccid.
i can't imagine that game impressed much of anybody. i can't imagine 4-3 looks terriby impressive either.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:14 AM ^
So ND markets the game as "Under the Lights". They make uniform moderations. They hand out towels (??) for fans to whirl. They pump RAWK music into the stadium (which I've never noticed them do). They specifically played White Stripes - 7 Nation Army repeatedly and attempt to start the "chant" ..... anybody else find that strange? Almost like they were pretending that UM UTL never happened. ND is garbage these days.
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:03 AM ^
we were the first team to ever do any of those things
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:34 AM ^
Copy of UTL. They even lost, just like UTL.
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:35 AM ^
it doesn't mean what you think it means
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^
I wouldn't have thought it was so weird, but the fact that they were pushing it as "Under the Lights". I live in South Bend and that slogan was used everywhere, especially local media outlets. You would think they'd at least come up with an original title for their version. Maybe I just hate ND with a passion.
October 23rd, 2011 at 10:13 AM ^
NDNation naturally loved every minute of it:
http://www.ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=football;pid=257190;d=this
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:31 PM ^
the nd administration will do anything for a dollar, but its not like calling the first home night game in a couple decades, "under the lights" is so wildly creative that nobody else could have come up with it.
sadly, the RAWK has been there for a year or so. its awful. after that game, hearing crazy one more time will probably be enough to send me into the fetal position. but, the rawk does a little good to prod the horrifically passive crowd onto their feet and get them to make a little noise.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:26 AM ^
getting obliterated by the Cardinal helps with Banner as well
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:29 AM ^
Can't hurt for Michigan...
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:32 AM ^
I heard Michigan might not go after him. But u never know.
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:24 AM ^
Go after Kiel. We have a lot of very good prospects at positions of need. We have Denard for another year, Gardner for 3(?), and then we have Morris in 2013.
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:37 AM ^
Morris will ARRIVE in 2013, but not likely to be ready to play until 2014 or 2015. I think Kiel may be somewhat over rated, but would be happy to have him as solid depth because in 2013, we will have only Devin and Bellomy plus a true freshman Morris. Kiel would be a redshirt freshman in 2013, and thus a viable option should injuries occur.
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:36 PM ^
The thing is does Kiel what to hold a clipboard if Morris is the real deal? I doubt it.
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:42 PM ^
I'm all for recruiting Kiel if he's interested. You can never have too much talent, especially at QB. Shane Morris is a high school junior. He may turn out to be awesome, but he also might not. Even if he does pan out, it might take him a couple of years, as it did for Drew Henson.
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:03 PM ^
As another poster has stated, post-Denard, we have Gardner, Bellomy, and a true freshman Morris without signing anyone in 2012. That's kind of thin given what negative things can happen to the depth chart if someone is injured or there's a transfer, etc. Since, it's often difficult to pull 5* caliber QB's in successive (or the same) recruiting classes, I'm sure Michigan was going after some guys a notch below that as a backup plan. Unfortunately, so far, it looks like all our targets for 2012 have committed elsewhere. That doesn't mean the coaches haven't given up on signing one this year, although we haven't heard of any serious contenders of late. Still, there's a long time until signing day.
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:49 AM ^
I was glad USC won, just got to cross our fingers tuesday and hopefully we will all wake up to a hello: jordan peyton post followed by _________? fill in the blank
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:23 AM ^
I forgot how much he hates USC and as always, he had a great prediction.
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:01 AM ^
I'm never going back to that blog...
The dudes an idiot......
Herp....
Derp.....
Derp.....
October 23rd, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^
Will ND get 6 timeouts next game? I figured Kelly must be saving them for something.
October 23rd, 2011 at 9:32 AM ^
Rumor has Greg Brown leaving...I don't know if the story has legs, I haven't seen it posted here.
If so, 28 becomes a very REAL option assuming we can get 3 guys to enroll early. Wilson is one, I truly believe Dunn is going to decommit and commit to Michigan right before he needs to enroll early (it makes sense, especially since EE is before signing day. He basically can announce and then move to Ann Arbor the next day and avoid the backlash).
I know we had a couple LBs in Ringer (and I think Bolden) that were talking about it. So if we can get to 28...I think we can add another guy than we're talking about. Wright, Dunn, Banner, Payton, Darboh and one more.
October 23rd, 2011 at 9:44 AM ^
Last I heard, Dunn is NOT enrolling early.
October 23rd, 2011 at 10:37 AM ^
TomVH talks to Dunn and his Dad regularly...planning to enroll early still. Making up a class (espn insider).
October 23rd, 2011 at 10:23 AM ^
I think Royce Jenkins-Stone was talking about enrolling early also.
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
...with Good Counsel (Olney, MD) athletes Stefon Diggs and Wes Brown. I was at their alumni weekend (homecoming) game last night doing reporting and talked to Wes Brown post-game. He mentioned he had interest in FSU, Clemson, Vandy, Michigan and Maryland. He specifically mentioned Michigan (among others) when I asked about teams he likes to watch on Saturdays and what programs he has interest in.
FWIW Blake Countess was there in full Michigan gear, too. I did not talk to Diggs but I have heard he has a list of about 11 schools that he's seriously looking at. You can read about the Good Counsel game here:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:00 PM ^
That would be AWESOME. Seems like a bit of stretch, though, doesn't it? I've heard Maryland is in the lead for him.
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
Having Countess as a recruiter can't hurt. But, I'd have to say those two guys (Diggs and Brown) would be real long shots at this point.