Coach Kelly Is Wrong, But He Did The Right Thing

In his post game press conference, Coach Brian Kelly pretty much put the Arizona State loss all on Everett Golson. I have already stated that I don't believe any of the 5 turnovers were on Golson at all, but more due to poor offensive play. I stand by that.

Coach Kelly knows that. He saw the game. He also knows that Golson was the driving force in bringing the team back to come within 3. But Kelly had a good reason to go off on that rant. To be a respected quarterback, you sometimes have to take it in the chin even when it isn't really your fault. The players know it is not your fault and will rally around you and go out of their way to make sure they make that block or hang onto that ball next time. My guess would be that that is a lesson he is trying to teach Golson.

This is a big week for the coaches this week. The playoffs are gone. Notre Dame can still play in a really good bowl game. Northwestern is not exactly an opponent to get excited about. That is where it takes a great coach to bring this team together in what can still be a great season.

Time For Notre Dame To Be Honest With Themselves

Going into this game with Arizona State, I had a bad feeling and I am not at all surprised by the result. That was for two main reasons.

The first one is the Navy factor. Mack Brown mentioned it in the pre-game that a team like Navy takes a lot out of a team because of the different style and the cut blocking they do. I don't want to buy into a theory like this but the history speaks for itself. They lost to Tulsa the one year after Navy. Even two years ago during the great 12-0 season the Irish struggled against Purdue, which isn't unusual either. Last year they lost to a bad Pittsburgh team. The Irish are not the only team affected by this. Of the teams that have faced Navy this season, only one team has won the following week. One of the teams who played Navy was Ohio State and they lost to Virginia Tech, who isn't good, the next week. We know what Ohio State has done since then. So there is something to this and I hope Notre Dame is smarter in how they handle Navy in the future. Maybe put them the last game after USC/Stanford, or just schedule a bye the next week.

The next reason is that although they were 7-1, I got the sense that this was a young and inexperienced team who really overachieved. That showed big time. Everybody wants to blame Everett Golson, but that is not fair at all. He really played a heck of a game and threw for over 400 yards. I am not saying that 17 turnovers in 6 games isn't a concern, but none of the five that happened against Arizona State were on him. I honestly felt sorry for him. The offensive line has a lot of underclassmen other than Nick Martin. They have shuffled around all season. Their inexperience showed as they were unable to pick up blitzes all first half. The Sun Devils were coming in untouched. That is what led to 4 of the turnovers. The first was a fumble in which the defensive back got Golson from the blindside and nobody picked him up.

The next two interceptions were both tipped at the line due to the pass rush they were unable to pick up. The next interception was in the end zone early in the second half when he was hit as he threw. The last one was on Corey Robinson. So it was bad play by the line and a young receiver that led to the turnovers, not Golson.

The other area that showed inexperience was the young defense. They were placed in bad positions a lot in the first half and given short fields. But a veteran defense, would still go out there and shut it down holding them to a field goal. They still cannot give up touchdowns. They play really good for most of the second half which enabled the offense to come back. But after the Amir Carlisle score that pulled the to within 3, they let Taylor Kelly lead his team right down the field and score. Again, a great defense would not allow that. Part of that is finding their leader. They still haven't replaced Manti Te'o in that regard.

So Notre Dame really needs to be honest with itself. First, they need to either take Navy off the schedule or be smarter about where they place them. Being honest, they haven't been smart about it. Second, the Irish need to acknowledge that this is a young team that really is a year away from being a team that can contend for a 4 team playoff. That being said, there is still a lot to play for this year. They win out and go 10-2, Notre Dame will still go to a big name bowl game like the Orange, Fiesta, or Cotton.

That won't be easy though. Northwestern is next and although they haven't looked good this year, they did beat Wisconsin. So they do have ability. Louisville is a solid team who was able to build a 21 point lead against Florida State. And of course, the USC game is always the game of the year for both teams. Beating those teams and winning a bowl game would be a great building block for next season.

In closing, I just want to congratulate Arizona State. They came ready to play and showed they are as good as anybody in the country.

Notre Dame-Arizona State Is Among 3 Playoff Games

Make no mistake of it, this is a playoff game. The winner will strengthen significantly their chance to make the playoff. The loser will have to settle for trying to make either the Orange or the Fiesta Bowl which is not a bad place either. For Notre Dame, this is their absolute last chance to get a "quality" win. After this they have  3 spoilers in Northwestern, Louisville, and USC. For Arizona State, they still have the PAC 12 championship to fall back on so it is not quite as critical, but still 2 losses will make it tougher to get in with only 4 teams. Notre Dame has no conference championship to fall back on so this is do or die.

With this new playoff format, Notre Dame fans cannot just pay attention to the Irish. There are other games that impact Notre Dame. The first is TCU-Kansas State. This is for all practical purposes a playoff and a conference championship game. The loser is out and the winner is in the driver's seat to be the conference champ since the Big 12 is the only power conference without an official championship game. The best value is has to Notre Dame is that one of them has to lose.

Michigan State-Ohio State is the other one with the winner practically a shoe in to win the Big Ten East and a trip to the Big 10 Championship. The loser is out for sure. Again, the best value it has for Notre Dame is that somebody has to lose. The Big Ten hasn't really proven to be a good conference this year, but for whatever reason the committee seems to want to forgive Michigan State's bad loss to Oregon and their soft schedule. Notre Dame picked the wrong year to leave them off the schedule.

Other games of interest include LSU can play spoiler to Alabama. The Irish need Florida State to dominate Virginia. Oklahoma can play spoiler to Baylor and if Utah can somehow knock off Oregon that would be great.

Of course, none of it matters if Notre Dame doesn't take care of it's business. So the best thing the Irish can do is play a great game and let all those other games work themselves out.

Go Irish.

The Problem With The "Quality" Win Idea

Two weeks into the new playoff poll, it is very clear that the committee will be weighing heavily on what they call a "quality" win. But that leads me to the question what is a "quality" win? Is it a win over a ranked team? Is it a win over a team with a winning record? But what if you beat a team that was ranked when you played them but then they fall apart the rest of the way? Is that still a quality win? Case and point is Notre Dame's win over Stanford. At the time The Cardinal was ranked #14 but has since lost two more times. So again I ask, is that still considered a "quality" win?

There are two problems with it as I see it. One, there really isn't a transparent criteria on what qualifies as a "quality" win. Two, the committee is penalizing teams for something they have no control over. Look at Notre Dame's Schedule for example. So far they have beaten Michigan, Purdue, Syracuse, Stanford, and North Carolina. Those are all name schools from Power conferences. Notre Dame has no control over what those teams do against the rest of their schedule.

So the real problem is that a committee is subjectively deciding who they think are the four best teams. The committee should be there to set the criteria and let the teams decide it on the field. For me it could be quite simple. I would only have conference champs and have a Notre Dame Clause.

The clause for Notre Dame is that if they go 12-0 they are in and if they go 11-1 they are eligible. But since they don't play in a conference, they need to have 10 of their games against Power 5 competition and only one service academy a year. I think that's fair.

Now for the conference champs. There are five conferences and only four spots. Three if Notre Dame is in. So how do you determine who gets in of the conference champs? That is where you have clearly define what a "quality" win is. I think a fair definition of a quality win would be a win over a team from a power conference or Notre Dame. Then you say the conference champs with the most quality wins are in. That way you punish a team for what other teams on their schedule do and you also encourage Power 5 teams to schedule from other conferences and maybe only one FCS team.

If it comes out that two teams are tied for that last spot, let them play. The winner is in and the loser gets the first major bowl game out. What is so hard about that?

Arizona State Is Really Good

Of all the one loss teams in the nation, the college football world is just now starting to talk about Arizona State. Notre Dame is well aware of how good they are. It took their best shot to beat the Sun Devils in Dallas a year ago. That was a great game that could have gone either way. From there Arizona State didn't lose again in the regular season. They won the PAC 12 South before running into a road block at Stanford in the PAC 12 Championship.

Arizona State picked up right where they left off this year and are among the 12 teams in the Top 25 with just one loss along with Notre Dame. They have a very potent offense led by Senior quarterback Taylor Kelly. He has 1010 yards with 9 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Considering he missed 3 games with a leg injury that is good. Junior  back up Mike Bercovici was solid in those three games with 1322 yards with 10 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. It doesn't matter who is in at quarterback, this offense is good.

They have two really good weapons. Junior runner D.J. Foster has 701 yards with 6 touchdowns. He is also a factor in the passing game with 452 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. The leading receiver is Junior Jaelen Strong with 57 catches for 821 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The Sun Devil defense, like Notre Dame, has had it's ups and downs this season. In the first 5 games they were giving up an average of 31.4 points. They had one really bad game against UCLA in which they gave up 62 points and 580 total yards. But they have improved the last 3 games by giving up just 13 a game.

They have had only one common opponent with Notre Dame in Stanford. While the Irish had the late conversion to pull out a last minute win, the Sun Devils beat the Cardinal convincinly 26-10.

This is probably the best opponent left on Notre Dame's schedule and probably our last chance to get what the playoff  committee will consider a quality win. Let's hope they have a really good week of practice.

The Dilemma With The Navy Tradition

We all know the story of the Notre Dame and Navy and how they became acquainted during World War II. We know that there is a lifetime contract to honor the memory of it. It is a game that Notre Dame has dominated with a 75-12-1 advantage. It is a game of friendship and mutual respect. It is not rivalry of dislike like USC and Michigan.

Having said that, Notre Dame needs to consider whether it is a good idea to keep this game on the schedule. It is a game where the Irish have nothing to gain. If they win big, they were supposed to. If it is close, what's wrong with Notre Dame?

Also, they run a wishbone which is different from all the other offenses the Irish face. Notre Dame has to completely change their defense for one game a year. The fact is that the doesn't give scholarships to kids who help them stop Navy. Those are for the kids who can help them stop USC, Michigan State, Stanford, and I guess you can now put teams like Florida State and Clemson on that list. Yet, these scholarship players who were recruited for these other offenses have to try to stop something that is probably not their specialty. It may be a good idea to offer a couple scholarships for a couple of defensive players who can specialize in the service academies. Notre Dame does play Army and Air Force every now and then.

Honestly, I would be willing to overlook those first two factors if not for the third factor. That is the cut blocking. Now I will not call Navy dirty for doing this. They are undersized to Notre Dame and have to do what they can to gain an advantage. At this point, it is still legal. Whether or not it should be is another debate for another piece. Although it is not with malice intent, Navy puts Notre Dame defenders at risk with this kind of play.

I remember last season when Notre Dame was 7-2 and setting up for a BCS run until a not very good Pittsburgh upset Notre Dame. While that was a bad loss for the Irish, there certainly were factors that contributed to it. The week before they played Navy and suffered a lot of injuries from the cut blocking. At the Pitt game, Notre Dame had one healthy lineman Stephon Tuitt and he got ejected early on a questionable targeting penalty. That definitely contributed to that upset. Now this year Joe Schmidt the former walk on and now starter is out for the year. He was a great story for college football and now his season is done. Now the Irish have to prepare for a really good team in Arizona State without a key player and Jaron Jones is also banged up. This is a playoff elimination game for both teams. Notre Dame needs all their players healthy.

So with that in mind, is keeping Navy on the schedule in Notre Dame's best interests? I am all about honoring lifetime commitments. However, that agreement was made at a time when a college football playoff wasn't even a thought. The fact is that Notre Dame will not only be competing for a playoff spot every year and I would hate to see an injury to a team like Navy.

Navy needs this game more than Notre Dame does. It is one of only two games that lands them on national TV, while Notre Dame is on TV every week. Jack Swarbrick  definitely needs to sit down with whomever makes the football decisions for Navy and explain that the Irish want to honor the agreement. At the same time, the concern over cut blocking is legit. Not only will it make them less healthy for the playoff run, but also a kid who has a bright NFL career ahead of him get ruined because of a dangerous block in a game against an opponent like Navy. Swarbrick needs to tell Navy to cut the cut blocking or it will be removed from the schedule because we don't need this.

Navy Game Much Closer Than It Needed To Be

This is why. This is why. This is why Notre Dame doesn't get the respect nationally. This is why so many doubt Notre Dame. On a day when other one loss teams (Georgia, Ole Miss, East Carolina, Utah, Arizona) all went down, the Irish where in a position to make a statement against Navy. They got the win, but this was no statement at all.

The way the game started, it looked like Notre Dame would just dominate. They got off to a 28-7 lead and the one touchdown the Midshipmen scored shouldn't have counted because of a penalty. Then the team just got sloppy and allowed Navy to score 10 quick points to end the half. Navy then took half the third quarter to score a touchdown to pull within 4. After a stop, Navy scored again and took the lead to end the third quarter before Notre Dame would take care of business in the 4th.

Looking at the two teams and Notre Dame just has more talent and should just dominate a team like Navy. I mean no disrespect to those who protect us at home by that. But the reality is that it was Notre Dame who kept it close and not Navy.

Let's start with the kicking game. Notre Dame had two chances to put this one away but Kyle Brindza missed two field goals late in the game. Being fair, both were from beyond 40 and into the wind. However, a really good kicker makes those tough kicks.

Now on to the offense. For the most part the offense was solid in this one. Everett Golson threw for over 300 and had 6 total touchdowns. Tarean Folston went over 100 yards for the third straight game. But the offense still made critical mistakes that they cannot make against the tougher opponents. They were moving right down the field at the end of the first half and could have easily added another touchdown to go up by 3 touchdowns at halftime. But Golson threw an interception that gave the ball back to Navy so they could get a field goal to end the half. Then the offense had two chances late in the game close it out. But they could not get a first down. That is what led to those long field goal misses. Yes the play calling was a little conservative at that point, but Notre Dame's line should be able to handle Navy's line.

Now for the defense. I was a defensive coordinator at the high school level. One team we played ran a single wing similar to Navy. We did not design our defense to stop this kind of offenses. For one game a year we would have to change everything. Plus we had to deal with the cut blocking. I know how difficult it is to prepare for an offense like this with all those factors. But that cannot be an excuse. A great defense finds a way to stop them anyway. The fact is that the Irish defense gave up 39 points. And let's just be honest with our selves, do you really think teams like Alabama, LSU, Oregon, etc. would give up more than 14 points to Navy? In fact, Ohio State only surrendered 17. Two years in that magic season, that great Notre Dame defense gave up just 13 against Navy. The point is that a great defense finds a way to stop them any way.

Notre Dame has been great against the run all year, but against Navy they gave up over 300 yards. The worst was allowing Navy to keep the ball for half the third quarter.

Sometimes I wonder if it is in Notre Dame's best interests to keep this rivalry. I know it is a lifetime contract and all the World War II history behind it. But it is really a game where Notre Dame has nothing to win. They are supposed to dominate and anything less than that leads to questions and criticism. But at the end of the day, Navy does not have anywhere near the players Notre Dame has.

Moving forward, Arizona State is next. That was a great game last year in Dallas. This year both teams have just a single loss so for that reason, this is really a playoff game.