Irish Safety Austin Collinsworth Out For 2-4 Weeks (MCL)

Submitted by Caesar on

Hello folks,

Here's the link: http://www.wsbt.com/sports/breaking-notre-dame-captain-austin-collinswo…

Best wishes to the young man on his recovery, but I believe this is really bad news for ND's secondary (and D, generally). 

Edit: Posted wrong link AND wrong info. Link:

https://twitter.com/ISDUpdate/status/505857487002931200

Boom Goes the …

August 31st, 2014 at 4:14 AM ^

but they are gonna get carved up Saturday.  PS it only mentioned he was out for the opener, but may miss more games

Gucci Mane

August 31st, 2014 at 4:38 AM ^

If we can beat ND on the road with an offense that consists of something other than Devin Gardner being superman that would bode well for the rest of the season.

aiglick

August 31st, 2014 at 9:02 AM ^

Maybe although this appears to be a much weaker squad than we would've faced due to suspensions, injuries, departures, and general Notre Daminess, etc. I do agree that if the OLine is competent in this game that would be a great sign.

Pelinka2Voskuil

August 31st, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^

Edit: Sorry, this was a response to a comment below.

The Yuri Wright mention made me laugh. What an odd recruitment. I actually enjoy looking back at recruiting battles M lost or withdrew from and seeing how those players developed (or didn't).

Speaking of odd recruiting battles, I live in Santa Monica and a couple weeks ago saw former M target (and Santa Monica native) Jordan Payton running along the beach. He was wearing Michigan shorts which made me smile. Jordan caught eight passes for 95 yards to lead UCLA yesterday.

Pelinka2Voskuil

August 31st, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^

The Yuri Wright mention made me laugh. What an odd recruitment. I actually enjoy looking back at recruiting battles M lost or withdrew from and seeing how those players developed (or didn't).

Speaking of odd recruiting battles, I live in Santa Monica and a couple weeks ago saw former M target (and Santa Monica native) Jordan Payton running along the beach. He was wearing Michigan shorts which made me smile. Jordan caught eight passes for 95 yards to lead UCLA yesterday.

LSAClassOf2000

August 31st, 2014 at 7:09 AM ^

Well, I would hardly say "sweet" in reply to anyone's injury (hopefully, that's not what you meant), and I do wish Collinsworth a speedy recovery. What it does do, of course, is deplete a very depleted defense, and that makes our game next week seem that much less stressful somehow.

As for the academic fraud investigation, a few articles out there in the Chicago media mainly are making it seem as if we won't get a meaningful update on this until sometime in the middle of this coming week. There is supposed to be some sort of meeting about it between Swarbrick and Kelly and other parties then. 

CLord

August 31st, 2014 at 10:38 AM ^

2 paragraphs, 9-11 lines.  As the sun rises!

We need to beat ND but I, and I assume many others, feel like the villagers after the little boy cried wolf one too many times.  If we beat ND, the hype train will start once again, Michigan will go 6-0 or so, and we'll be in a familiar place.  All I care about this year is how we finish the season, not so much how we start it.  Tired of the same song and dance - fast start, slow finish.  This year needs to be different, and ND is just small part of that.

Beating them in South Bend after their not very Catholic stunt of ending the series to their home field advantage, would be very, very sweet though.  

BlowGoo

August 31st, 2014 at 9:32 AM ^

I think it has to do with the thread having the actual name of a college kid.

Bad: Austin Collinsworth is injured. Sweet!

Okay: NDs secondary weak vs Michigan WRs. Sweet!

Preferred: To hell with ND. I hope we blow them out and forget to flush after we take a dump in their end zone, as is often the case with many public restrooms that people do not intend to ever be visiting again.

Double-D

August 31st, 2014 at 8:34 AM ^

Looked tough. We are going to have our hands full with him. This should be a good test for our D. I hope Frank and Brennan keep him contained and get the heat on him.

I dumped the Dope

August 31st, 2014 at 9:06 AM ^

from what I saw.  He can beat you with his feet, he can fit the ball into fairly tight windows, and he can fire it a LONG way down the field.  He seems to have patience in the pocket and evades pressure pretty well to extend a play or break a receiver open.  So I think he deserves some definite respect

Jersey #1 RB - Bryant also looked to have a few good runs and #33 McDaniel is always there to run into solid objects.

I think its going to be a real test for our defense.  Obviously a much bigger stronger team than what we faced yesterday.

 

alum96

August 31st, 2014 at 9:25 AM ^

Keys:

Contain Golson - he will get his plays in but a 40 yard TD scramble or a 50 yard bomb - avoid those things.  DEs keeping contain is going to be key on this one and LBs filling in behind the DT.  Ryan is going to need to be a lot more involved as some spy type. 

Have competent OL - this is actually not a bad matchup for UM.  Other than Day this is not an imposing DL from ND.  Their DEs are almost as green as our tackles.  It's a bunch of underclassmen as their DEs so I think Cole and Braden (if that's the 2) should be ok at neutralizing.  The interior is going to be the key.

Gardner playing within himself and finding 2nd options - Funchess is going to be at the top of their defense scouting report so I assume a safety will be cheating his way all game.  Need to see a lot more Darboh and Chesson (and any Canteen?) next week to offset that.  I also expect Gardner to run a lot more next week - one luxury of yesterday's game was the complete lack of need for hero ball QB which was awesome to see.  2007 was the last time we saw such a thing!

Should be an interesting game - ND certaintly does not have a weapon like Funchess but both QBs present big headaches for the opposing team.  Impossible to determine what type of run game we currently have until we play a team with actual athletes.  I do think we have the better defense.  This is a road game that is set up for us to win versus a similar level of team but with more holes in it than we currently have.

BlowGoo

August 31st, 2014 at 9:25 AM ^

Regardless of the secondary, unlike App State, this is a team that STILL has the resources to genuinely exploit our weaknesses.

And we won't simply be able to bullrush and flatout overpower NDs OL with any consistency.

And STRANGE things happen in South Bend. Often unfair things. But they happen.

I'm happy with our first performance, but so many intangibles, and talent level/resources just so much more with ND, AND it is away...

... at this point in season, a toss-up. And frankly, I'm pleasantly surprised that I'm willing to give us even money vs ND after the good performance of week one.

Just don't forget that ND really can make any vulnerabilities in the OL hurt, unlike App State. And that changes the game entirely (potentially).

MGoClimb

August 31st, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^

To put it simply, I think we win if we can run the ball enough so that we're not entirely one dimensional.

Notre Dame has questions on both OL and DL, and their entire secondary is a concern. They know that they need to defend Funchess closely, so that will open opportunities for our other receivers.

If Green and Smith can run the ball moderately well, I don't think Notre Dame will be able to keep up. Their defense isn't going to be the strength of the team, at least in the early season.

BlowGoo

August 31st, 2014 at 10:13 AM ^

Agreed.

If I'm ND, I'm throwing the kitchen sink into the secondary, doing whatever I can to make Funchess ineffective, even if it means dime all the time.

That means letting the ND DL take on Michs OL straight up, and challenging Mich to win by running.

I think ND has more to fear from Gardner-Funchess than Smith/Green at this point given this OL.

MGoClimb

August 31st, 2014 at 10:23 AM ^

Gardner to Funchess is definitely a problem for them. I think that, in addition to making some big plays, he opens up the rest of the field next week. There will be chances for Darboh, Chesson, Norfleet, and company next week.

Similar to yesterday, I think we use the passing game to open up the running game. If their linebackers are wondering where Gardner is going to throw next, Green and Smith will find room.

RobM_24

August 31st, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^

Golson does not make quick reads from what I've seen. I think Pep will he huge this game. If he's blitzing, Golson won't be able to simply scramble away from the blitz or buy time to throw by running around behind the LOS. The DT's ability to push in the pocket will be big as well. The biggest improvement I saw from Golson yesterday was his willingness to step up instead of rolling out (DG did this also yesterday). I'm guessing the DE's will be staying in their lanes and containing, so we'll need the DT's to flush him out.

Victor Valiant

August 31st, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^

The key to the game for us will be to establish the running game. I know every coach/fan in the country says that every week, but it's especially true here. ND wants to hurry up, spread us out, and tire out our defense on every drive they get. DG and the boys need long, clock consuming drives to let our defense rest between series, and the only way to do that is to eat clock with the ground game. The second benefit of that is that it will help contain the home field momentum ND will be looking to build. I'll certainly take the explosive plays to Funchess and the other receivers, but this game will be won on the ground, no doubt about it. 

Also, on a sidenote, does anyone doubt there will be at least 3 situations where Funchess is interfered with so blatantly without a PI call that you throw your beer through the TV? It's going to happen, prepare for it now.