The Back Corner Fade
One of the lines that Lou Holtz has said on numerous occasions to his team and in his speaking engagements is that “nothing is as good as it seems, nothing is as bad as it seems, and in the middle is reality.” I think that is a great saying for the first three outings of the Irish football team.
The offense has looked very good at times, extremely bad in others, and the defense, while very stout for the most part, has also had its bad moments as well. The Vanderbilt outing was just another example of how up and down this team can be. The same can be said for the coaching. This should have been put to bed by halftime, and that’s the sad reality. There is no way it should have been a 60 minute affair. For whatever reason, this team and coaching staff (see above) lacks the ability to knock a team out when they’re staggering. Three games, three standing 8-counts.
The number of the day is 19. That’s the number of points the Irish have combined to score in the second half of all three games. Nine-freaking-teen. This hasn’t been against Saban, Dabo, and Meyer. This has been against three mediocre coaches and that is alarming. They’re making adjustments to counter what ND is doing on both sides of the ball. I simply haven’t seen anything on our side of the equation. This isn’t said to bash the Irish coaching staff, but it is the reality. The opponents are making corrections, and Kelly and his staff seem content to ride the storm out with the game plan they have.
Gunny Highway in “Heartbreak Ridge” used the expression “adapt, improvise, and overcome.” This team and coaches, need to let that expression soak in. But 3-0 is 3-0. I believe 4-0 is on its way this weekend. We’ll get to that in a minute.
What did we learn this past weekend?
Well, for starters, the Big 10 once again proved it’s the most overhyped conference in America. Tip of the cap to BYU, Kansas (yes, Kansas,) Temple, Troy, USF, Missouri, and Zippy the Kangaroo, for dropping L-pieces on the Leaders and Legends.
Florida St has hit rock bottom. I can sense the concern and worry in all of you as I type this. A week after getting by Samford, they scored a whopping seven points against a Syracuse team that looks at defense as an afterthought. Many of the ND posters were up in arms about our offensive line after the Ball St game (and yes, they were bad,) but that line looks like the ’83 Redskins compared to what the ‘Noles are trotting out there.
Alabama is truly on a different playing field right now. Yes, it’s early, but I can’t see even the really good teams (Clemson, OSU, or Georgia) coming within 14 points of them right now. Ole Miss isn’t great by any stretch, but Bama made them look like the Oregon State Beavers. They’re simply a scary football team.
USC is a very, very soft football team. 5 yards rushing this past week in Austin in beat down they took against an average Texas team. J.T. Daniels and little EQ are going to be great players, that much is obvious, but the rest of the team is middle of the road Pac-12. I think the Clay Helton job watch has officially begun. They really could be .500 by the time this is all over.
Chad Morris truly inherited a classic dumpster fire at Arkansas. 44-17 to North Texas? I don’t care how much of a reclamation project you may have, but an SEC school should never get beat down by a non-Power 5 like that. I think Morris is a good coach. He just has himself a hell of a road in front of him.
Week Four is upon us. What kind of fun do we have coming our way this weekend?
Urban’s back and you’re gonna be in trouble. Hey la, hey la, the liar’s back. After a three week break, Urb gets a sweetheart of a warm-up before the daunting challenge that is the 2018 Big 10. Have fun, Tulane.
The week before the showdown in The Bend, Stanford travels to Oregon for a Pac-12 showdown with the Ducks. Bryce Love should be back against a Duck team that we really don’t know much about after three cupcakes. I love the fact that they have, what should be, a four quarter affair. Autzen is always a nasty place to play, especially at night. Stanford will get the win, but it’s a 5-7 point game
An under-the-radar game to keep an eye on is Mississippi St heading up to the Commonwealth to take on Kentucky. Both these teams feature great back’s and very mobile QB’s. Mark Stoops has very quietly built a respectable program in Lexington and knocking off the #14 team in the country would be another feather in his cap. I like the ‘Cats in this one by 3.
BC is 3-0 and heads to Purdue and probably be 25,000 Boiler fans. Make it 4-0 for Fredo.
If you’re bored Friday night, Wazzou heads to Watts to take on the aforementioned SC Trojans. The Pirate has his gun-metal grey clad Cougs 3-0 and will be chucking the ball all over the yard. Granted, WSU has played three convents so far, but they are up to they’re old tricks, throwing for over 400 yards a game. You beat SC by punching them in the mouth. Wazzou isn’t built to do that and because that’s the case, they leave town with a 7 point lose.
And finally at noon, yes noon on Saturday…..
ND takes a trip to Winston-Salem and the friendly confines of an above-average Texas high school stadium to take on Wake Forest. Wake’s offense is scary. A veteran offensive line (minus their starting LT,) a tremendous WR in Greg Dortch and a proven system that Dave Clawson has run since he has was at Richmond, then Bowling Green, and now at Wake has the ability to give any defensive coordinator a few sleepless nights. Another big concern is the fact that Clawson knows the Elko/Lea system and how ND will attack him defensively. If you remember last year, they carved up an above average ND defense.
That being said, in that same game, ND had 700 yards of offense. While this isn’t the same unit that will be going against the Deac’s, and I think it’d be a far cry to see 500 yards let alone 700, I have a very hard time believing that Wake can stop ND with any regularity. Consider the fact that Wake has given up over 300 yards a game in the air in their three games……two of which were Tulane and Townson St. BC has the great AJ Dillon and are known as a ground and pound team. They lit up the Deacon secondary for over 300 yards. While the last thing we want to see is Brandon Wimbush throwing 30+ times, there’s no reason that this offense shouldn’t be able to move up and down the field. The key is touchdowns not and settling for field goals like we saw against Vandy. If that’s the case, get the Tums ready…….for the 4th week in a row.
As was the case against Vandy and Ball St, the talent level isn’t even close. There’s no reason if they play well, win the turnover battle, and have a decent game plan (Chip Long, cough) that ND shouldn’t roll these guys. Until I see otherwise, I think it’s going to be another grind, but we get to 4-0 with the Trees coming to town next week. ND 38-28.
Beat Wake.
Mike Kane is a long time ISD subscriber. The Back Corner Fade is a weekly "voice of the fan" piece and does not reflect the views of the ISD staff