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Week 5: Notre Dame def. Boston College, 31-13

  • karen lotz
    Robert Hughes moves to #2 on the depth chart at RB for this week. Jonas Gray suffered a knee injury against Stanford and although Cierre Wood showed promise early, he has been very timid on both kickoff return team as well as out of the backfield. Hopefully a little demotion will light a fire under him. Bennett Jackson will also get a chance at returning kickoffs. Hopefully his speed will provide a spark to a unit that has been a disappointment so far this year. John Goodman also passed Kumara at the #2 spot behind TJ Jones. I keep forgetting Kumara is on the team as I can't recall seeing him on the field. I guess its safe to say his career has been a large disappointment after a really good freshman season.
  • sjmvsfscs08
    Hughes is there because Wood can't pick up a blitz to save his life. Teams now know this and capitalize on it to their fullest advantage. Notre Dame has four capable backs, the running game won't miss a beat. It's the pass blocking that can hurt the offense right now.

    Jackson would do well return kicks with that speed. He's probably not as shifty as Wood, but I've always thought that was an overrated aspect of returning kickoffs.
  • vball10set
    The Holy War

  • Fly4Fun
    Notre Dame should roll in this...

    If they don't, this could be a terrible season for them.
  • Goldenboy26
    Nothing seems to be a given anymore this year, but really hoping the irish can pull out a W and get out of this skid we have going.
  • sherm03
    Goldenboy, that is an awesome avatar!

    Speaking of Tate jumping into the band...was anyone else expecting Gantt to jump into the ND band when he caught the pass on the fake fg in OT in that Michigan State game? I saw him heading towards the corner where the ND band was and fully expected him to pull a Golden and crush some flute player.
  • Pick6
    Shinskie isn't starting this week. I think Notre Dame gets their second W
  • karen lotz
    Bennett Jackson will join Cierre Wood returning kickoffs. Hopefully that means Cierre shows signs of life this week. Jackson has been really good on coverage teams and its good to see his role expand.
  • Tiger2003
    Wow...Not trying to be a dick head or starting shit, but Herbie just said Notre Dame's defense is like a high school defense...

    I don't think they are that bad, they are not good, but they aren't high school bad.
  • killer_ewok
    Gameday......GO IRISH!!!
  • killer_ewok
    Tiger2003;504404 wrote:Wow...Not trying to be a dick head or starting shit, but Herbie just said Notre Dame's defense is like a high school defense...

    I don't think they are that bad, they are not good, but they aren't high school bad.
    Yeah, I saw that. And he based that on LAST WEEK'S defensive effort vs. STANFORD. The defense actually kept the game close for a while and held a high octane Stanford offense to field goals more often than not. Sure, the defense ain't good.....but citing last week's effort as an example of them looking like a "high school defense" is off base IMO.
  • sjmvsfscs08
    Herbie lost a bit of respect from me on that one.
  • Cleveland Buck
    He was comparing Notre Dame's defensive speed to a high school team.
  • -Society-
    Cleveland Buck;505023 wrote:He was comparing Notre Dame's defensive speed to a high school team.

    It comes down to one thing, Notre Dame sucks.
  • sherm03
    -Society-;505030 wrote:It comes down to one thing, Notre Dame sucks.

    Thanks for clearing that up. You are really good at simplifying things for us.

    You are such an asset to this board...and not a complete and utter douchebag at all!
  • sjmvsfscs08
    -Society-;505030 wrote:It comes down to one thing, Notre Dame sucks less dick than me. I have a dick in my mouth right now.

    Fixed.
  • Cleveland Buck
    The Irish taking it to Boston College. BC sucks, but I do think Notre Dame is better than their record shows. They lost to 2 very good teams in Stanford and Michigan State and a pretty good team in Michigan.
  • sherm03
    An ugly win is still a win.

    If the offense can stay consistent, I can definitely see ND winning their next four games.
  • karen lotz
    Defense played a pretty solid game. Granted it was against a team with a first time starting QB, but they shut down the running game all night. 23 rushes for 5 yards is good no matter how you slice it. Offense looked great again on the scoring drives, but again it was all or nothing. If they are in rhythm they can score on any team they will face. If they aren't in rhythm, they have trouble avoiding 3 and outs. A lot of the miscues are on miscommunications between Crist and receivers. How many times did Crist expect a WR to cut a route off and he whistled a ball towards them as they are running down field? That needs to get ironed out or there are going to be some pick 6s coming.


    Overall its a badly needed win and one that will hopefully build some momentum moving forward.
  • karen lotz
    I'm gonna add the Carlo Calabrese has been a pleasant surprise this season. Does a great job with his run fits and he usually arrives with bad intentions. He and Te'o are a very solid combination in the middle of the defense.
  • sherm03
    I agree. The rush defense was absolutely solid tonight. But if BC had even a decent QB, it would have been a different story tonight. The secondary got absolutely burnt a few times, but the pass was nowhere near on target.

    I was glad to see the running game look good tonight. I think that is crucial to this offenses success. Crist is still young, and they really need to establish the running game to take some pressure off him. It's tough to ask a kid that has started 5 games to carry the team on his back.
  • athlete37
    sherm03;505519 wrote:I agree. The rush defense was absolutely solid tonight. But if BC had even a decent QB, it would have been a different story tonight. The secondary got absolutely burnt a few times, but the pass was nowhere near on target.

    I was glad to see the running game look good tonight. I think that is crucial to this offenses success. Crist is still young, and they really need to establish the running game to take some pressure off him. It's tough to ask a kid that has started 5 games to carry the team on his back.

    if there were another qb playing, we would've come out in a different defense though. i think the pressure, albeit at the sacrificing of leaving our corners on islands, was by design for this specific game. i hope we don't try the same against pitt because baldwin could hurt us if sunseri makes a few decent throws
  • sjmvsfscs08
    I'm with athlete37 on this, they wouldn't have played that defense against a veteran quarterback. The touchdown was a brilliant call by Boston College, Notre Dame was playing tight on short throws. That wide receiver sold the comeback and Gray got toasted. It's the gamble you take.

    Once again, I thought Kelly and Diaco out-coached the opponent. I say they're 3-0-1 on the year in that regard, with the Stanford game a push or leaning toward Harbaugh.

    Pittsburgh is playing uninspired football, the Irish can put together a run over the next month.
  • Zombaypirate
    Good solid win by Notre Dame, while Boston College is not great by any stretch of the imagination, Notre Dame handled them without much problem. Something to look forward too.
  • karen lotz
    slingshot4ever;497757 wrote:I have Boston College by 7 in this one.
    Skyhook79;497761 wrote:BC always gives ND fits. I wouldn't be surprised if ND is 1-5 going into the Western Mich game.
    newarkcatholicfan;498026 wrote:Hopefully BOSTON COLLEGE can come out of the coma they were in last week and pick up the win.
    ccrunner609;498068 wrote:LOL at all the posts about how unfair it is that this is a 8pm game and all of a sudden BC stinks like shit.

    BC wins this by 12
    Shabaka Bashaarat;498153 wrote:I have BC in a close one.

    Good call.