Has anyone had a chance to watch any Notre Dame games?

[selmaborntidefan]

i've watched a good bit of their games. and one thing that stood out is those guys play "hard" the full 60 minutes. they dont take plays off and fire off the line. reminds me of the intensity of our guys

Yeah, but to be fair they had to. Two of their games went OT and a few others came down to the final five minutes or so. It's not like us where there were 11 blowouts in 13 games



That should be 10, but it won't let me correct it.

 

[gamersfuel]

Yeah, but to be fair they had to. Two of their games went OT and a few others came down to the final five minutes or so. It's not like us where there were 11 blowouts in 13 games



That should be 10, but it won't let me correct it.

the point i'm trying to make though is that in their eyes the game is never over. they fight. the same intensity they played in OT and those close games was shown in the 1st half. just like with our team.

 

[tru2thaduce]

I have watched almost every ND since my wife is a ND fan.Their front seven is good enough to play their safety's back against most opponents.Not against Alabama.At some point they will have to load up the box.As good as their D line is,our O line is better.I am very confident in our ability to run.I think we will get the magic 150 yards without much trouble.In goal to go situations they are tough.I can't wait to see Barrett,Chance,DJ,Anthony andCyrus show ND what it's all about in the trenches.It won't be easy but if we don't give up on the run we will win in the fourth.

 

[Maverick2]

Couple of things

1) ND has moved the ball between the 20's they have left TOO manny points on the field i.e. the USC game 5 FG's instead of TD's they should have had at least two more TD's. They are ranked near the bottom in redzone offense

2) Robert Woods and Marquiese Lee are BY FAR the best WR combination in the country with PLENTY of speed. Both of them said ND was the best defense they played all year

4) Running straight at Teo like Alabama did with Jarvis would be stupid. First of all they are TOTALLY different type players. Jones is an outside LB who rushes the QB. You run at guys like that. Teo is a big physical middle LB 6' 2'' 255 lbs you run away from guys like that. Think of it like this, on the Ravens D, Jarvis Jones = Terrel Suggs, Teo = Ray Lewis. You run at a Suggs you run away from a Lewis.

5) The game will come down to the two primary things that ALWAYS decides FB games 1) War in the trenches 2) Turnovers


I expect the game to be close UNLESS one team turns it over a lot and then you could have a blowout EITHER way.

Saban has 5 weeks to prepare, ND playing with a fr QB, I expect Alabama to win 20-13.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Something i found interesting when looking at stats-
ND- 6th in the nation in defense, 286.83 yards per game and 4.55 per a play.
Michigan- 11th in the nation in defense, 311.17 per a game and 4.72 per a play.

Just goes to show how misleading it can be, Michigan has a good defense if you look at the numbers, but any Alabama fan can tell you Michigan got ran over like a stampede when they faced an elite Alabama squad that can run and pass.

I do think ND has good defense, but i think the question is, will they hold up against a team like Alabama?
No team on their schedule has prepared them for us.

Where do we rate on that list?

 

[CRMSNtide]

Where do we rate on that list?

Alabama is 1st in total defense, 246 yards a game and 4.09 per a play.

 

[sanjosecrimson]

2) Robert Woods and Marquiese Lee are BY FAR the best WR combination in the country with PLENTY of speed. Both of them said ND was the best defense they played all year

no disrespect to ND defense, but when you played in the PAC 12, its not hard to make that statement. IMO, Stanford did a better job of containing Lee/ Woods with Barkley at QB.

4) Running straight at Teo like Alabama did with Jarvis would be stupid. First of all they are TOTALLY different type players. Jones is an outside LB who rushes the QB. You run at guys like that. Teo is a big physical middle LB 6' 2'' 255 lbs you run away from guys like that. Think of it like this, on the Ravens D, Jarvis Jones = Terrel Suggs, Teo = Ray Lewis. You run at a Suggs you run away from a Lewis.

we shall see if Bama doesn't run right at Teo. you will be surprise what this OLine and TEs Williams/Vogler will do when it comes to the running game.

 

[FriendlyIrish]

Mmmm, Stanford did not do better.

We held those two to their lowest yards after catch of the entire season (and, I think, their entire careers). Besides one 53 yard grab, I think Lee only had like 16 yards.

Yes, it was Wittek. But still, what you said I believe is incorrect.

 

[rgw]

That USC game is a throwaway other than the fact a bad USC defense stalled ND a bit. It looks like Notre Dame has similar problems that we experience on offense: we have games where we put up big yardage but settle for a lot of field goals. By yardage, ND should have had 28-31 points...ended up with only 22. I find it interesting that they struggled against a truly pitiful defense at that juncture. Of course, I bet penalties and missed assignments probably had a lot to do with it too.

 

[Alasippi]

To me the key to their success is three fold. (1) They make big plays and force critical turnovers on defense. (2) They don't beat themselves on offense and (3) Their opponents have blown countless opportunities in critical situations.

I think we need to follow the Coach Saban formula in this one and we'll be fine. That formula being score early and get the lead, establish the run, create turnovers, wear them down and put them away.

I give them credit for being a good team but they haven't seen anything even comparable to us with the possible exception of Stanford.

Vice versa we've seen several teams that would e favored over the Irish.

When I think of this game I ask myself, "Are they as good as LSU in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night?"

Not really even close in my opinion but we'll still have to play our best and come out swinging.

I think we will.

RR!

sip

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

To me the key to their success is three fold. (1) They make big plays and force critical turnovers on defense. (2) They don't beat themselves on offense and (3) Their opponents have blown countless opportunities in critical situations.

I think we need to follow the Coach Saban formula in this one and we'll be fine. That formula being score early and get the lead, establish the run, create turnovers, wear them down and put them away.

I give them credit for being a good team but they haven't seen anything even comparable to us with the possible exception of Stanford.

Vice versa we've seen several teams that would e favored over the Irish.

When I think of this game I ask myself, "Are they as good as LSU in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night?"

Not really even close in my opinion but we'll still have to play our best and come out swinging.

I think we will.

RR!

sip

That's the best question we can ask! But other than Bama what team is better? I don't think ND is anywhere close to that.

 

[BFANLC]

Couple of things

1) ND has moved the ball between the 20's they have left TOO manny points on the field i.e. the USC game 5 FG's instead of TD's they should have had at least two more TD's. They are ranked near the bottom in redzone offense

2) Robert Woods and Marquiese Lee are BY FAR the best WR combination in the country with PLENTY of speed. Both of them said ND was the best defense they played all year

4) Running straight at Teo like Alabama did with Jarvis would be stupid. First of all they are TOTALLY different type players. Jones is an outside LB who rushes the QB. You run at guys like that. Teo is a big physical middle LB 6' 2'' 255 lbs you run away from guys like that. Think of it like this, on the Ravens D, Jarvis Jones = Terrel Suggs, Teo = Ray Lewis. You run at a Suggs you run away from a Lewis.

5) The game will come down to the two primary things that ALWAYS decides FB games 1) War in the trenches 2) Turnovers


I expect the game to be close UNLESS one team turns it over a lot and then you could have a blowout EITHER way.

Saban has 5 weeks to prepare, ND playing with a fr QB, I expect Alabama to win 20-13.

From what I can tell Nd likes to use Teo back away from the line in more of a pass protection that's why he has the interceptions he has. I don't think ND will be able to do that against Bama. Your Dline will need help. I saw multiple whiffs by USC during the game which isn't something you will see against Bama. I also wasn't impressed with Marquiese Lee, I know the country loves him but I'll take Coop over him any day of the week. I'm not trying to undermine NDs wins but throwing out the observations I've seen. I've enjoyed all of the discussion in this thread. This is the way I prefer to discuss a game not the my team is better than you team back n forth. If you are gonna say it at least have something concrete to back it up. Anyway It should be a great game between two great teams and I can hardly wait for it. RTR

 

[thefloydian]

I just watched the ND vs. OU game. The Sooners caught some really horrible breaks in the first half and it was still 10-6. They had a holding call on a would-be touchdown, and they had a horrible botched snap when they were driving in ND territory. They were able to move the ball on ND pretty well in the first half.

It was tied with 6 minutes left.

 

[bamabelle1991]

To me the key to their success is three fold. (1) They make big plays and force critical turnovers on defense. (2) They don't beat themselves on offense and (3) Their opponents have blown countless opportunities in critical situations.

I think we need to follow the Coach Saban formula in this one and we'll be fine. That formula being score early and get the lead, establish the run, create turnovers, wear them down and put them away.

I give them credit for being a good team but they haven't seen anything even comparable to us with the possible exception of Stanford.

Vice versa we've seen several teams that would e favored over the Irish.

When I think of this game I ask myself, "Are they as good as LSU in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night?"

Not really even close in my opinion but we'll still have to play our best and come out swinging.

I think we will.

RR!

sip

I firmly believe that besides Bama, the SEC teams who could beat ND on any given day are (in no order) Florida, Georgia, USCe, LSU, and Texas A&M.

Roll Tide!!

 

[tidehawk]

This reminds me of what Coach Stalling used to say: run, stop the run, and win the turnover battle and you win the game.

This x100. Schemes do not win, tricks do not win. If you can run the ball and stop the run and not turn the ball over you win 9 times out of 10.

 

[bamafaninOhiO]

I firmly believe that besides Bama, the SEC teams who could beat ND on any given day are (in no order) Florida, Georgia, USCe, LSU, and Texas A&M.

Roll Tide!!

Of course, so could Notre Dame...
they have a good team, and I expect a good game...and i think that like almost always, whoever comes in and controls the clock, limits turnovers and plays the most disciplined will win...

 

[runtheoption22]

2nd half offensive play calling vs UGA = 14+ point victory. ND does not have the talent UGA has and we can pound them into submission.

 

[BamaMoon]

To me the key to their success is three fold. (1) They make big plays and force critical turnovers on defense. (2) They don't beat themselves on offense and (3) Their opponents have blown countless opportunities in critical situations.

I think we need to follow the Coach Saban formula in this one and we'll be fine. That formula being score early and get the lead, establish the run, create turnovers, wear them down and put them away.

I give them credit for being a good team but they haven't seen anything even comparable to us with the possible exception of Stanford.

Vice versa we've seen several teams that would e favored over the Irish.

When I think of this game I ask myself, "Are they as good as LSU in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night?"

Not really even close in my opinion but we'll still have to play our best and come out swinging.

I think we will.

RR!

sip

I know it's impossible to compare who we played vs. who they played, but if Bama played their schedule does anybody think we wouldn't be exactly where they are, except having done it a little more impressively?

OTOH, if ND played our schedule this year, I think they have a minimum of 2 losses and maybe three (LSU, TAMU, Georgia).

That doesn't mean this won't be a good game, but it would seem we are more battle tested and if we commit to the run and mix in some play action we have a tested formula to win #15.

 

[sanjosecrimson]

Mmmm, Stanford did not do better.

We held those two to their lowest yards after catch of the entire season (and, I think, their entire careers). Besides one 53 yard grab, I think Lee only had like 16 yards.

Yes, it was Wittek. But still, what you said I believe is incorrect.

that's why I put in bold with Barkely at QB. can you honestly say that ND would still hold Lee/Woods under their season average with a 4 year starter , Heisman hopeful under center playing at home???????

 

[BamaJama17]

Notre Dame on offense ranks 76th overall in passing with 218.8 yards per game, 27th rushing with 202.5 yards per game but they rank 76th overall in scoring offense only averaging 27 points a game. Alabama on the other hand ranks 85th overall in passing with 214.5 a game, 20th overall in rushing with 224.6 yards a game and 15th overall in scoring offense averaging 38.5 points a game. ND doesn't seem to have a problem moving the ball but they do not score as often as we do. I can't wait to play them January 7th!!!