From The Cheap Seats
*I feel like an idiot. Prior to the season, I thought that Notre Dame would be in the top ten of the initial Playoff Committee Rankings. It looks like they will be in the top 4. How foolish was I? Is this really happening? In truth, I had no idea when the initial rankings were coming out. I figured that information was as relevant to my Notre Dame fandom as Kate Upton's dating status is to my love life. (Sorry, Kate, I'm married.) This is nothing short of awesome. I probably could have convinced myself prior to the first game that the Irish could be 7-1, but that would have assumed Michigan State would be bad enough to lose to Northwestern (wait, what?) and Georgia would be more like 2016 version of itself. This 7-1 is better than your 7-1, America. Deal with it!
*What does the Heisman mean to a school? I simply don't like individual rewards in team sports, but I am in the minority for sure. How important is it? Notre Dame and every school touts how many of the trophies they have . It allowed for Doug Flutie to meet the Dr. Pepper guy. Is it important enough to give Josh Adams enough carries to get to 200 yards in each of the next four games when he might otherwise rest? My sense is that it is important enough to the alums and the recruits in order to do just that. It might be time to cut a deal with a kid and family as awesome as Josh Adams's. Under no circumstances are you even allowed back on campus next fall, and we are going to use your remaining collegiate carries to put us in a spot to make the playoffs and you in a spot to win the Heisman. Who's with me?
*The defensive game plan was offensive...to NC State. That was as spectacular as it was unexpected for me. What kind of coach ostensibly states, "Keep everything behind you, boys!"? Mike Elko probably didn't say that, of course, but he changed the formula. Almost no other team can consistently go on 15-play scoring drives, but Ryan Finley and his 70% completion rate, zero-interception offense is one of them. Elko and the Irish took away the short passing game by sitting on virtually every short route and batting away footballs like it was going out of style (okay, only that phrase has gone out of style). He dared them to beat the Irish defense deep. 70% became 50% and no interceptions became a game-changing pick-six. Changing the formula absolutely worked.
*Speaking of formula, I think that the NC State coaches, players and fans whining about how Jerry Tillery failing to jump off-sides cost them that football game need to load up the baby bottles with said formula and suck them. I am feisty this week.
*Te'Von Coney is getting better and better. This team is absurdly fun to watch. Winning is undoubtedly the number one ingredient in the joy, but the style of play is exciting on both sides of the ball.
*I have always wondered what it must be like to be a punter when you are all but sure that your punt is about to be blocked, but you are taught to try it anyway in hopes that the defender misses the ball and kills you. Seriously. Best-case scenario, I get the punt away for 16 yards and the defender crashes into my kicking leg at full speed. No thanks. I give kudos to Tyler Newsome for taking his medicine. The 2nd Annual Punt-Block for a TD by NC State versus Notre Dame was not at all his fault, unlike last year. That type of play melted the Irish last year. Not this year. The difference is stark.
*I think that Notre Dame did not have a letdown from the USC game. I believe that NC State came into South Bend as a very worthy opponent. They had some tough injuries, but like every other team not named Georgia on Notre Dame's schedule, they were beaten into submission. The final score was the same score with just under five minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. It could have been worse, and ND did try one more dagger shot, but Miles Boykin decided to wear a Wolfpack defender all of the way down the sideline, and the Irish just ran out the 4th quarter five yards at a time.
*His team might have lost any chance at the playoffs with the largely one-sided loss, but Bradley Chubb did exact some revenge for his squad by taking Sam Mustipher's towel late in the game. This, of course, reminded me of incidents with Tim Brown circa 1987, but more recently of Jerry Tillery last year at USC. Each player did something out of character, although obviously Tillery's actions were much more serious. Chubb is an excellent player who never gives up on a play, and I think he realized how childish and pointless his towel-grab was right away. He and Mustipher just had an awkward exchange and it looked like Chubb's heart was not in it when he looked around and sheepishly tossed the towel to his sideline.
*I love Shaun Crawford.
*I can't overstate how exciting and fun it is to be a lifetime Irish Football fan right now. Like most of us, I have friends who only reach out when Notre Dame loses. Come to think of it, I owe a debt of gratitude to Davie, Willingham and Weis and the former-Brian Kelly for a fairly active social network since 1997. Anyway, we all wear our ND gear after losses. I always pick Notre Dame to win the NCAA Tournament during March Madness, even when they are not in the Dance. This isn't a fandom we reevaluate to see if we deem the school's teams worthy of our support. So times like these are the ultimate celebration of our fandom. Nobody can take it away. To all my friends who are all always decked out in New England Patriots gear these days, did you return the Dallas Cowboys' gear that you traded in for the San Francisco 49'ers' gear? Fair-weather, bandwagon-jumping fans never know what it feels like to bask in the sunshine because they never stick with teams through the thunderstorms and/or solar eclipses. Here's to us, Irish fans!
*We are all prone to feeling the need to compare and contrast the latest versions of things to some other iteration in the recent or distant past, but I think that we need to be careful in doing so with the 2017 Fighting Irish. This team feels nothing like any other Brian Kelly teams, including the 2012 and 2015 versions. 2015 had a spectacular collection of skill position talent on offense and a smoke-and-mirror defense. 2012 was the opposite. Perhaps this year's offense is not as glamorous as the 2015 offense, but it is sustainable in any weather and might just now be hitting its stride. Perhaps this year's defense is not as stout as the 2012's team, but it is darned good. The difference, then, is clearly that the complementary units on this year's team blows away the weaker side of the ball in 2012 and 2015. There is no fool's gold to be sucked in by with this team. It might lose again in 2017, but it won't be because the house of cards was exposed.
*Wake Forest would be a classic trap-game if it were bringing its superb receiver Greg Dortch and if this Notre Dame team were not so task-focused. Unlike last week, if this game is tight to the end, I will attribute it to a letdown. This is a quality opponent in Wake Forest, but it is not in the same class with the 2017 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This should be a game to loosen up the defense with some deeper passes then allow Josh Adams to find the end zone and surpass 150 yards once again.
*As I have mentioned ad nausea, I am not a fan of individual awards in team sports, but not surprisingly, the Heisman Campaign for Josh Adams has all of the elements of class and fun and is as team-oriented as an individual award campaign can possibly be.
*Temple, please feel free to lose this week.
*USC's demolition of ASU does tell me something about Sam Darnold and Clay Helton. They were out-classed in South Bend, but rose up and gave everything they had just a week later. I suspect that NC State might have a little something for Clemson on Saturday afternoon. They are still of course undefeated in ACC play and control their own destiny as it pertains to the ACC race. Go 'Pack!
*I want so much for Miami to be unbeaten and in the Top-6 when ND visits them on November 11, but I think that the winning streak comes to a close for the Hurricanes against VA Tech on Saturday night. I hope that I am wrong!.
*Go Irish!