The Back Corner Fade
NOTE: Mike Kane is a Notre Dame fan writing a weekly column from a fan’s perspective about the lighter side of college football.
Have you ever been to a concert that you left and were just kind of underwhelmed? Sure, the band you went to see put on a decent show, but you came to listen to their bangers from their first three CD’s (yes, just dated myself), but you had to listen to a bunch of their new stuff from their latest release. They mixed in a few of the old hits that had you thinking, “now we go!” but then they reverted back to the new material, and you felt frustrated and somewhat annoyed.
I had that feeling watching the Irish just perform okay this past Saturday. There were some of the hits (seeing Sammy Dimes hitting deep balls to Tobias and Chris), but there also was way more of the stuff you just didn’t need to see, namely dumb penalties, poor tackling, and a lack-luster performance by the front seven and offensive lines. Maybe “the band” you went to see was looking ahead to their show next week in Carnagie Hall and weren’t paying attention to the show in Trenton? We shall see. Every Irish fan knows what’s coming this Saturday. We’ll get to that in a bit.
Right now, let’s quickly breeze through what happened this past weekend. It was a boring weekend of games but there were some tussles of interest.
FSU learned you just don’t walk into Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill and expect a win. Pesky little bunch of Eagles. There again, this was a game where the Noles may just have been looking ahead for their show down in Death Valley against Saint Dabo and the boys. BC showed up to play and gave Jordan Travis and Free Shoes all they could handle. If it weren’t for the 18 penalties (which is ironically the same number of fans BC has) this might have been a different story. In all seriousness, I give BC a lot of credit in this one. They didn’t back down.
Alabama is a trainwreck right now. Let me repeat that because it feels so incredibly wonderful to say: Alabama is a trainwreck. 17 points against USF, musical QB’s, and zero offensive identity. Flounder in Animal House nailed it: “Oh boy, is this great!!”
Speaking of a below average offenses, see the Georgia Bulldogs. All the talent in the world and they look exceptionally pedestrian when they have the ball. The UGA fans didn’t like Mike Bobo the first time he was there, and they were just starting their rise. Imagine what it’s going to sound and look like now in the talk shows and X when they are stacked with dudes all over the place on the offensive side of the ball.
Texas was 10-10 with Wyoming late in the 3rd quarter before pulling away late. Lot of hurt backs in Austin this week from people patting them so much telling them how great they are.
Pitt scored 6 points and had 81 yards passing with 3 picks. I’ll leave it there.
Ok, let’s get to this week. “Judgement Day.” “Movement of Truth Saturday.” “Throwdown Weekend.” Whatever Dana White/Vince McMahon title you want to use, here we are for the biggest week of games so far. It’s gonna be fun….
Like I mentioned before, FSU heads to Clemson at noon for a date with the Tigers. Clemson has had a few weeks to lick their wounds from the Duke debacle and seem to be playing much better on offense albeit against air while Florida State may have had the kick in the tail they needed to refocus this past weekend. If this game were at Doak I’d like Florida State in a comfortable 2 TD win. Playing in Death Valley is a different story, and I expect this one to be close. That all being said, Klubnik has yet to win a big game, and if he had issues with Duke’s defense, I expect FSU to frustrate him even further. FSU gets it done on the road and gets the win. Noles 31-23.
Alabama has Ole Miss coming to town, and frankly, that may be their only advantage in this one. Jaxson Dart is quietly doing a great job leading the Rebels offense, and even with a solid Alabama defense, I don’t know where Alabama is going to score enough points with the issues they have on offense. The Rebels have had injuries, and it’s not determined yet if their leading receiver, Tre Harris, will play. Lane finally beats his old master. Johnny Reb 27-17.
UCLA heads to Utah bringing super-Frosh Dante Moore with them for their first test of the season. Utah has just been “meh” since beating Florida Week Zero and they’re not without their own issues at QB with Cam Rising still on the shelf. Does Chip Kelly finally have the team that can break though and make some real noise in the last season in the PAC-2? If this game were in the Rose Bowl I’d say that UCLA could possibly get it done. On the road with a true freshman in a tough environment is a tall order. Utah 24-20.
Fresh off an “emotional win” against a bad Colorado State team, Coach Prime and his boys get their first taste of Big Boy football as they head to Oregon. Nasty place to play, and without The Rock and his collection of hip-hop star buddies on the sidelines, Prime is truly going to be outnumbered on and off the field. I think this is finally the week that Side Show Prime and his Buffs get a wake-up call to what swimming in the deep end looks like. Bo Nix will have a field day with the CU secondary and with his legs. Sunglasses on or off, it’s not going to matter. Oregon 42-20.
Not that you’re going to be watching since the game is at 7:30, but Iowa heads to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Kitties. Iowa scored 40, yes 40 points this past weekend against W. Michigan (man, things are not going well for our old friend Lance Taylor in Kalamazoo) and might have somewhat of a pulse on offense. The Hawks always pack a defense, and if you like boring Woody-Bo Big 10 football, you’ve come to the right place. Nitts get the boring win just because they have a little bit more offense. PSU 21-10.
Finally, we end a great day of CFB in South Bend where Ohio State comes a calling as the Buckeyes take on the Irish. ESPN Game Day will be there to kiss the posterior of Ryan Day and the rest of the Scarlet and Grey, and I’m sure Desmond and Kirk will take OSU to win. Rinse/repeat. We should also expect countless Buckeye fans (some with ankle monitors) taking pictures flipping the “you’re number one” to Touchdown Jesus to show their friends or put on their family Christmas card. Those are just the women.
None of that matters (by the way, did you catch I’m not a fan of OSU or their fan base) because the game is on the field. Can the line give Sam Hartman time to get the ball down field? Can ND get to Kyle McCord with the front four without having to blitz? Heck, I could go on and on with the “can” questions because there simply are so many unknowns. I think the biggest issue is being able to get separation with OSU’s DB’s. After four games, I just don’t know if ND’s receivers have the ability to do that. If they can’t it’s going to make OSU’s front seven’s job that much easier to stop Audric and Co. on the ground.
I also believe that Cam Hart needs to have the game of his life. I think the Ben Morrison vs Marvin Harrison Jr. matchup is going to be a lot of fun, but can Cam shut down Emeka Egbuka on the other side? We’re not going to shut down OSU’s receivers, but they have to slow them down. It’s going to be a hell of a test.
All that being said, if there was a year to beat “A” Ohio State University, this is it. Game is in South Bend, at night, with a veteran QB who has seen it all at the controls. Kyle McCord has never played in a game like this, and beating up on tomato cans in The Shoe is going to be light-years from what he’s about to face Saturday night. This is it, Notre Dame Football. This is your chance to shut millions of people up saying they can’t win the “big ones.” Sick of hearing it? Do something about it because frankly, they’re not wrong. It’s there for the taking. Now go do it.
Offensive Pick to Click: Sam Hartman 275/3 TD’s
Defensive Beast of the Week: Jason Onye (it’s time to just let this kid eat.)
ND 27-24
Beat OSU!