Notre Dame tried and tried and tried and tried to give the game away. “Here, Miami! Take this one from us, please!”
The Irish jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the 1st quarter on Saturday and looked really good doing so, maybe even great. By the middle of the 2nd quarter it was pushed to a 20-0 lead. Then, the inevitable 2016 blanket of depression fell over the team as the Canes ultimately went on a 27-0 run.
However, Notre Dame won! Here are 3 quick takeaways from the victory:
Jarron Jones, Wow
Coming into this game the Irish were averaging 4.8 tackles for loss per game as a team. Against the Hurricanes, Mr. Jarron Jones bossed his way to 6 tackles for loss. It’s always been an issue of consistency with Jones and we’ve seen a couple great games from him in the past. This one may have topped his career highlights.
Special Teams, Yikes
Credit to Justin Yoon for nailing the game-winner and Chris Finke for setting things up with a nice punt return. But holy cow what a disaster of mistakes once again for this unit. Another “fumbled” punt by a blocker, one of the worst defended onside kicks in the history of football, and perhaps an even worse fumbled punt return by C.J. Sanders to give Miami their only lead of the game.
Everything on special teams needs to be re-worked next year. Which likely includes firings.
There Was Some Spine, Yes
Miami looked lost offensively for most of the first half. For sure, Brad Kaaya looked very good in the second half and was smart, efficient, and accurate. However, this was a very good effort from the Irish defense. The Canes finished with a measly 306 yards (2nd worst on the season) and 3.9 yards per play–the lowest YPP for Miami this year and the best mark for a Notre Dame defense (in a non-hurricane) since the opener against Texas in 2015.
Good job, defense.
For the offense, well they went into another funk again. The game could’ve been put away in the first half and early in the third quarter but they couldn’t do it. Credit to everyone for doing enough to get the win. Just about everyone was doubting them once they fell behind 27-20 on the dumb fumbled punt return.
After 5 losses, I don’t care. This season, from here on out, it’s just to see how bad we are and where we could, maybe, have hope for next season. But then we looked great and I get excited! Just in time to hate the world again and start a migraine from bursting a blood vessel or two. But then we win! That’s it, I’m retiring from watching football until next Saturday. Can only take so much of this…
6-6 is a real possibility now.
After everything we’ve been through this year, I’d take it.
Is there a psychological term for a fan who stans far behind the seats in the room, arms-crossed, eyeing the distant tv with deep misgivings?
-Asking for a friend
Yes, they are called ND fans.
Why is BK’s press conference not on watchnd yet? I’m going to find something else to do…
That usually takes a few hours at least, doesn’t it?
Hasn’t it been… what day is it?
Dude.gif
It’s up now.
First quarter was great, next two-and-a-half were miserable, but ended on a high note. Finishing with 3 or 4 more wins won’t save the season but add a new DC and at least we can dream on next year.
Jarron Jones though…
Been watching ND FB since ’91 so I’ve seen a lot of great DT/NGs come through here: Bryant Young, Derek Landri, Ian Williams, Sheldon Day, Louis Nix, etc. Jarron had the single greatest D lineman performance I’ve seen.
Chris Zorich says hi. Then he fires past you on a torn-up knee and tackles your RB for a loss of 3.
Zorich was gone in 1991.
yeah, wish I could’ve seen him in person
BOOM #FACTCHECKED HAHA
You are, of course, correct. Reading is hard for me.
/types Prop 48 joke
//deletes Prop 48 joke
And I blame you for my unfortunate fall down the Youtube highlights hole last night, starting with Zorich and the ’88 team. By the time I finished, it was 2 AM and I’m thinking “dammit, it’s fall break, I’m supposed to actually get some sleep, why am I watching Golden Tate highlights?”
/jumps into band
Just as our D gets going (mostly) we have to switch gears and play two option teams.
Miami’s OL must be the worst in the country. We had more sacks/TFL’s in the first quarter than we had the whole rest of the season (or it at least seemed that way).
What an amazing game by Jones.
Giveth how the defense improved post BVG firing, we should fire the head of special teams immediately.
I thought three things contributed to the loss of momentum in the 2nd quarter, bleeding into the rest of the game (until the last six minutes of the 4th).
1) The refs were weird. Play started to get stopped for weird reasons. They reviewed a Tori Hunter 1st down catch in the 2nd quarter that had no need to be reviewed and slowed down our hurry-up offense. Then, in the 3rd, they reviewed another 1st down catch of ours, and the ref let our offensive play get started before blowing the whistle (or it seemed that way to me) which killed what looked like it was going to be a good gainer. When we came back from the review, our back got stuffed at the line. There were other weird stoppages.
2) After a delightful mix of play-calling and up-tempo offense, we went back to predictable play calling, and taking our time between plays. I think Miami was starting to let their tongues hang out (from fatigue), and in our gentlemanly way, we said, “let us give you some down time, to get back in the game.”
3) Why did we go to a three man rush, continually, for so long. Once we started that, Kaaya got into a rhythm, and it took us a while to go back to a four man rush, by which time, Miami was doing much better on offense.
Still, glad we won. I think it would be a great bridge to next year to make a bowl game, even if it’s the Weed-Eater Bowl or something like that.
3-man rush had been, prior to this game, by far our most effective defense, so I don’t really fault them for trying it. Should have moved off quickly, though, given its ineffectiveness against Kaaya and that we could actually generate a pass rush against their (apparently terrible) offensive line.
Scott Booker needs to be fired, today.
Well we certainly lead the nation in terrible things happening during punt plays.
A few random thoughts from across the pond:
— Granted the Convicts have fallen on mediocre times, but they still have a ton of talent and virtually everybody picked them to win. But despite the offense’s swoon and the “special” team’s faux pas (literally) and even the D letting the Cane QB get into some rhythm, BK had a point in his presser: all three units came together at the end.
— Which for a team which was bereft of all kinds of senior leadership that left early, and which as Eric says has been covered by a blanket of depression all year, was a very good thing.
— For those of us who remember the sheer awfulness of the end of the Faust era v Miami, and even the horribleness of 3rd and 39 completed in ’89, let us not underestimate the joy of beating these guys.
— I wonder if Larz or Brendan or one of our analyst types can lay out for us what caused the offensive slump? Point well taken above about the refs and their bizarre stoppages not helping. I also get it that one cannot expect sustained excellence for 60 minutes, and the opponent gets a vote re: adjustments, but it would still be interesting for our readers?
— I do concur that special teams coaching is in someways at the BVG depths; did I imagine it or was BK in Booker’s shorts towards the end? In this case, BK doesn’t like to fire guys as we know but just as he seems to have (finally!!) taken appropriate steps to start fixing the D, he needs to do the same in this area. I wonder if we could add little known but brilliant special teams coach to the DC hire search? Might it work that way?
“— For those of us who remember the sheer awfulness of the end of the Faust era v Miami, and even the horribleness of 3rd and 39 completed in ’89, let us not underestimate the joy of beating these guys.”
The idea of that play still makes me break out in cold sweats.
Then this might take you from a cold sweat to vomiting: it was actually 3rd-and-43.
So it was, 3rd and 43. Sorry! One could see the natty just… disappear.
In KG’s defense, it was 3rd and 38 before Miami false started.
Also in my defense, I was quoting More Noise…
Oddly enough Corso, Desmond Howard, and Herbstreit all picked ND to win.
Howard did add the insult of “this will probably be a pillow fight” to that prediction, though.