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Crack Backs Atcha by Bacchus
“Offensively did some really good things tonight,” said Brian Kelly as he opened his postgame press conference.. “Good balance on offense and defense -- excuse me, offensive... running the football and throwing it.” For that correction, Brian, you are most certainly excused.
Michael Kinsley’s famous definition of a gaffe is when a politician accidently tells the truth. I think that applies to coachspeak, too.
Of all of the defense’s faults on Saturday, the most egregious was the inability to tackle Sam Howell after contact. ND recorded three sacks for 14 yards that easily could have been for 30 yards, and I’m guessing that another 6 to 8 of Howell’s positive yardage runs happened after missed arm tackles in the backfield. Stop two or three UNC scoring drives with sacks, and the game is over in the third quarter.
Those were the most glaring and frustrating examples, but Tarheel receivers and backs were routinely met by Irish tacklers short of the sticks, and just as routinely they churned forward to get the first down. A few negative yards after contact every once in a while would be nice.
Chris Tyree returned, but only for ceremonial duties.
Still enough to get a juice box and orange slices.
After all these years at Notre Dame, the Kelly offense has stopped relying on quarterback improvisation. Unfortunately the play selection reverts to form when Tyler Buchner goes into the game.
The Irish offense will be exquisitely aligned with its quarterback’s skill set just in time for the 5th year transfer to exhaust his eligibility. There’s something very Kellyesque about that. But after having called for a permanent switch to Drew Pyne, I’m very glad to see Jack Coan finding success in this version of the offense.
Kyren Williams’ 91-yard touchdown run deserves several line items starting with Williams himself. Reversing field, treating linebacker Tomon Fox like a pesky little brother, and turning on the jets as he ran down the sideline.
A special mention must be made of the medical staff, without whose ministrations in the medical tent, Kyren wouldn’t have been able to get back on the field for that heroic run.
The offensive line lost the battle of initial contact; but despite being pushed backward, the offensive linemen maintained contact and kept their feet moving, enabling Williams’ initial escape.
Not since the Battle of Cannae has the collapse of the center of the line ended in such a glorious result. Of course, the big difference was that Hannibal withdrew his line on purpose, so that he could envelop the Roman flanks. That, and all the blood, death, and dismemberment.
The one defender who had an angle that would have stopped the play for a mere nice game was DB Tony Grimes. Mr. Grimes, meet Mr. Mayer.
Always a scary prospect.
Linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel probably wouldn’t have caught Williams, but Avery Davis made sure. Note how Davis made it a point to just run across Gemmel’s path instead of unloading on the unsuspecting defender which could have been flagged under the defenseless player rule.
Earlier in the play, Davis had a bead on Tarheel safety Don Chapman (no. 2). Chapman was trying to get an angle on Williams, but Davis warded him off before veering ahead of Gemmel, as you describe. Can they give out game balls to three different players on the same play?
Finally, there’s the obligatory stupid media question when discussing Williams’ run after the game. “We've asked you this a ton of times, but just the attitude that Kyren injects into the rest of the team, do you see that every week?” If the unnamed media creature concedes that the question has been asked a ton of times, what makes this trained professional reporter think the answer will be different or even fresh when it’s asked a ton of times plus one?
Were you able to type “trained professional reporter” without giggling?
It’s rare that a coach earns a Hardin Award nomination for citing a nominally true but worthless statistic, but one of Brian Kelly’s postgame comments deserves the recognition. “We've got, I don't know, five Power Five wins. Is that right, Katie? Six. We've got six Power Five wins.” Beating Power Five teams is fine and dandy; but wins vs. middling power conference opponents aren’t going to overcome the debacles vs. teams not from Power Five conferences, Toledo and Cincinnati, when it’s time to select playoff teams.
Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Stanford are the remaining Power Five opponents on our slate and each will further erode our SOS. Maybe we should start referring to them as “Power” Five opponents.
Florida Assistant AD Rick Hurtado slices the salami thin to find slivers of good news as the Gators were crushed by the Bulldogs 34-7 in the World’s Least Exclusive Cocktail Party. He notes that UFL edged UGA in total offense, 355-354, and takes special pride in pointing out Florida’s 66-61 TO advantage after the first quarter. That’s just a warm-up. Later Hurtado tells us that “in four games vs. Georgia under Mullen, UF has out-gained UGA, 1,479 yards to 1,458 yards.” Mullen is 1-3 vs. Georgia in that stretch. Hurtado also dispenses always reliable Hardin-bait by noting that quarterback Anthony Richardson attempted “a career high” twenty passes---in his first ever start. For sheer breadth and persistence of effort, Hurtado gets my nomination this week.
I don’t have a Pinkel award nominee this week because every D1-A game was either a match within the conference or a contest with an independent that typically competes against a comparable level of competition. However, Duke deserves a season-long mention given its 3-5/0-4 record. The three wins came at the expense of 1-AA North Carolina A&T (3-5/2-3), Northwestern (3-5/1-4), and Kansas (1-7/0-5). Nice scheduling.
It’s no defense of Duke to note that both Northwestern and Kansas were emulating the Blue Devils’ scheduling approach.
I napped through Michigan State’s big comeback to defeat Michigan which prompted me to watch the Big Ten Network’s football recap program for the first time ever just to see an in-depth recap.
It’s always tricky following Michigan football. It’s rarely worth watching unless you know the ending..
If Notre Dame is looking for a new corporate sponsor for next week’s game, nearby Zimmer Biomet would be a natural.
I’d rather our players wear something more prophylactic..
Kayo
Bacchus