Down go the Irish
USF 23, ND 20
Edit: They finished the game up on Versus, not NBC...hope nobody who wanted to watch missed out.
Link (albeit biased): http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25889627/ns/sports-notre_dame_central/
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:45 PM ^
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:45 PM ^
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:58 PM ^
His USF preview is priceless
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^
Hubris can be a pain in the ass.
Or as the Good Book says more eloquently, "Pride goeth before the fall"
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:27 PM ^
ummmmmmmm what.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:14 PM ^
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
They didnt seem to have much offensively until they put Rees in at QB and of course Floyd at WR. I love to watch them lose. I knew they wouldnt call the game when they had any prayer of coming back. It will be extra nice watching them fall to 0-2 next week.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
Do you have a link? I'd like to get out some beers and popcorn and watch the carnage...
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
Wow good thing NBC decided not to air the rest of the game, it could have been terribly embarassing for their fanbase, just like the last 20 years.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
Actually it aired on Verses.
Which is hilarious IMO!
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:53 PM ^
When they say a Beau Bridges movie is more important than the end of your nailbiting game? (It's not even the Dude Bridges). Shuffling them to VS., I almost forgive Comcast for having my Internet go out. Almost.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^
I can just picture some dumbass ND fan screaming at "The Fabulous Baker Boys" only to realize hours later that the game is over and they still lost.
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:47 PM ^
"Personal and professional issues rock a football star (Ryan McPartlin), who returns to his small North Carolina hometown and reconnects with the family, friends and community he abandoned in favor of gridiron glory."
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
That's just too bad. Maybe Denard & Co. can show them what a real offense can do next week Under The Lights! I mean, we did teach them how to play football once upon a time....
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:52 PM ^
Once upon a time? I thought we've continuously been teaching them how to play football for over a century now.
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:06 PM ^
Apparently they're slow learners.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
so overrated anyway. I cant wait to kick some irish @ss next week.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:47 PM ^
Actually, I'm double-shocked. ND is not as good as I thought, and USF is better. This changes the outlook for next week considerably. I have thought all along that ND would be an autoloss. Either ND spent too much time, especially in the first half, thinking about next week, or they are really not as good as they should be with two experienced QB's in their second year of Kelly's system.
Either way, ND's lack of improvement on offense has made next week a tossup. Michigan might even be favored.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:52 PM ^
I'm liking what I'm hearing Tater. I can remember a post of yours from about 2 weeks ago, and you were all but giving ND the national championship.
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September 3rd, 2011 at 9:55 PM ^
but I actually am surprised. I think they win without the turnovers, but I look at that roster and think, "man, that team is too talented to lose to USF under any circumstances."
The good news is that Kelly makes it really easy to hate ND.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^
I thought they were ranked too high at #16 anyway. They won their last 4 games last year against bad teams. But obviously if you win 4 straight at Notre Dame, the hype starts and the media kisses your ass.
I loved watching these guys lose tonight. LOVED IT. But I know this team and our history with them too well. Flukey things happen in this game. And they are things that will haunt you for the rest of your life. (A tipped pass here, a phantom touchdown here, a ref measuring for a first down with an index card, etc.) These things don't happen in the MSU game OR the OSU game. It's always the ND game.
These guys will play better next week. I'll gladly eat my words if I'm wrong. This game would have been equally nerve wrecking for me had they won tonight.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
I know I am going to sound like a homer, but the ND offense generated over 500 yards. The defense held USF to just over 200. I wouldn't count your chickens just yet.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:37 PM ^
I really think you are overrating stats. Don't you think that if USF's offense actually had to score, they might have thrown down field a little more. They basically played the clock all game, and that's all they needed to do. Skip was playing to win on the scoreboard, not the stat sheet.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^
This is certainly true to a point, that 5 minute drive in the 2nd half was the final nail in the coffin for ND. I am not sure how much of their play calling was changed compared the the first half but they are an option/screen offense that can burn the clock when they want to. The ND defense did make good adjustments down the stretch though
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^
Overrating stats?! On Mgoblog?! WHAT?!!!
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
And then do worse things to Sparty and Ohio.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:49 PM ^
Calling Irish... Thoughts other than turn overs?
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:43 PM ^
Just unfocused implosion on the grandest scale possible. I was laughing at the end of the 1st quarter.
I was thinking to myself, "well we haven't muffed a punt return yet" and then right on cue
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:49 PM ^
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:54 PM ^
it was USF, not UCF
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:49 PM ^
Any teams looking for a coaching change in the near future: I will give you a heads-up, you may want to avoid any coach from the Big East.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:49 PM ^
Kelly may be the least mature and compassionate coach in America today. He throws players under the bus all the time, screams and embarrasses them in camera, and is a prick to anyone who calls him out. I was happy UM never went after him as a coach at the time, and I'm doubly happy that he will likely fail at ND. I'm not an ND fan by any stretch, but after Weiss and not Kelly, I kind of feel they deserve a better coach, at least as a human being.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:06 PM ^
Agreed that he's a prick, but I'm not convinced that he's not a horrible coach. Cincinnati fell off a cliff after he left, and ND did finish strong last year with wins against USC and Utah.
Of course, Weiss and Willingham looked good too after their first seasons.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
I think he is a decent coach from an X's and O's stance, but he seems like a tough guy to like and, frankly, he never sounded that popular at his other stops once he left. I think he can win, but I'm not sold that he'll be better than a mediocre coach at ND not because of their "stringent" academic standards or talent problems, but simply because they play teams that aren't afraid of them and won't bow before touchdown jesus, and along the way they lost the immense talent advantage they used to enjoy. Some ND faithful still see themselves as USC, Alabama, UM, and OSU, when they are probably closer to Clemson, South Carolina, Miami, and Texas A&M - good teams but not dominant programs.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:43 PM ^
UC did have a bad year last year--their defense was dreadful--but even so I'm guessing no one in the administration was all that unhappy to see Kelly move on. I remember hearing him do an interview on the local radio in '09 and when he was asked a question intended to give him a chance to toss a bone to his bosses and say something nice about the school, the kind of question that would get Carr or Rodriguez talking about all the great things going on at Mott or would have Bo saying Michigan had the best darn School of Whatever in the country, Kelly took it as an opportunity to talk about himself and how he'd put the University on the map.
I know most successful football coaches have outsized egos and I know it's a little harder to toot the academic horn of the University of Cincinnati than it is at Michigan, but damn it you're the public face of the institution and it's more important than you are.
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:31 PM ^
That he's a horrible coach?
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:50 PM ^
Where's Herron on this seasons preview?
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:50 PM ^
about seeing Rees pile up 296 yards passing in one half?
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:51 PM ^
I'm disappointed because it looks like he will be the QB against Michigan. He did play pretty well.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:53 PM ^
like 7 turnovers in the red zone again today, and Floyd scares the shit out of me, but it's USF, and they were trailing the whole time. Probably a mistake to read too much into any of those numbers.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:54 PM ^
is a beast. Gonna be tough to keep him in check. I think the Irish will be a very dangerous (and much improved) team next Saturday night. Don't want our guys overconfident because of week 1 results.
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:55 PM ^
I still think our offense could have trouble slowing down the ND offense. Especially if we can't get to the QB.
But, USF was in prevent defense for what seemed like an eitre quarter. Giving up 15-20 yard passes with very little effort.
Could have skewed things a little bit.
September 3rd, 2011 at 11:06 PM ^
I wouldn't want to see our offense on the field at the same time as the ND offense.
If it were to happen, huge lean to us...
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:51 PM ^
any positive that comes out of ND losing for the game next week. Michigan can't make a statement now by beating a ranked ND team and ND may be more motivated for the game next week. I will say a part of me is somewhat satisfied to see them lose because the hype they were getting though.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 PM ^
But if things start going wrong, they don't think they can come back from anything, and the back-biting could begin. I'd rather have a team doubting themselves.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:51 PM ^
Unless you're a domer. They believed the hype(especially their coach).....once again.
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:51 PM ^
this game just proves how much turnovers can change the outcome of a game....along with our game today as well.