Indy Sports Crew

Notre Dame Taking Talents to South Beach for Title Shot

The stage was set for USC to ruin the Irish run to the National Title game. Over hyped team goes into a rivals house, rookie QB, much maligned coach, and an underachieving team rises up and destroys the BCS. But the thing about that story is that Notre Dame wasn’t over hyped, they went into the Coliseum and punched USC right in the mouth. The rookie QB had 2 picks and was rattled early and often. Lane Kiffin and his play calling and clock management are highly questioned today (4th qtr USC had 11 snaps inside the Irish 5 and came away with 3 points), and the over hyped team was USC! Came into the season as preseason #1 and ended the season 7-5 and lost 5 of 6 to close out the year. This Irish team isn’t going to win any beauty contests but they’re going to win a lot of football games and that is far more important.

Brian Kelly and his coaching staff were the perfect fit to replace Charlie Weis and his underachieving staff. Kelly is a program builder and that was exactly what those under the Golden Dome were in need of 3 years ago. Kelly had just led Cincinnati to an undefeated regular season and knew the Bearcats were on their way to a BCS game and what did he do? He took the Notre Dame job and almost immediately started laying the ground work for this season’s undefeated bunch. He put together a staff of strong recruiters, free thinkers, and simply great college football coaches. The previous regime had a lot of NFL coaches, yes men, and over the hill recruiters. That began to change in the last year when they got Manti Te’o to commit, Zeke Matta, Theo Riddick, and Tyler Eifert. So I will say thank you to Charlie Weis for that. I will now thank Brian Kelly for being exactly what Notre Dame needed then, needs now, and will need in the future.

Notre Dame is on the cusp of something I never thought I’d see again. A shot at a National Championship. Can you still underestimate them? Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it. To underestimate this Irish team is to do what everyone did in the preseason did, what everyone did after they started 4-0…..6-0…..11-0 did! To continue and underestimate the heart, skill, and will of this Irish team would be dumb but to each his or her own.

Bennett Jackson and Fans celebrate after the Win Saturday at USC

The Irish will continue their world wide tour to South Beach on January 7th and hope to bring home the most storied football progam’s first National Title since 1988. Not a single player on the squad was born, hell I was 5 and know I wasn’t watching it. My dad was but me I was probably asleep or playing with some Lincoln Logs and GI Joe’s. But on January 7th I will be glued to my TV and having a few adult sodas, some snacks, and I will have my phone off. I will not be bothered and I will say this as I go; if you don’t believe in this years Notre Dame team, I don’t care and I’ll be laughing all the way to the “Natty” or National Championship come January and after that game is over I believe all of College Football will stand up applaud and watch as Brian Kelly, Manti Te’o and Co. hoist that Title amongst the confetti, streamers, and tears. If they win I’ll be crying and I’ll even video it and post on the website.

Let me know what you think and hit me up on Twitter @C_K_42.

Irish back on top of College Football

So many haters out in College Football land have said Notre Dame isn’t that good, they have been lucky, and they can’t beat the big boys. Well the Irish ARE good, they have been lucky, and they have beaten the big boys!

Manti Te’o hugs Coach Brian Kelly as he leaves field for last time

The next step in the Irish journey is to take care of a USC team that is in the midst of a bad season, off field controversy, and a coach who has proved time and time again that he can’t be a leader of men! The Irish will roll into So Cal next Saturday night with an 11-0 record, the nation’s #1 ranking, and the keys to the BCS National Title Game in their pocket. That being said USC is going to play this game all out, this is essentially the Trojans Super Bowl. They’ve had a lack luster season and what better way to salvage your season then to ruin your long time rivals shot at a National Title? Brian Kelly will not allow the Irish to feel good about the new #1 ranking. He will use it as another motivating tool and get the Irish to rally around it and hopefully make another statement on the national stage.  Early reports out of USC is that QB Matt Barkley won’t play because of a separated shoulder he suffered in Saturday’s loss to UCLA. If that is true then the Irish road will be a little easier, but I don’t believe a thing out of USC’s mouths and I’m fully expecting Barkley to be under center Saturday night.

It’s been 19 years since Notre Dame sat atop the rankings in College Football. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long, but if you remember the lows of the past few years this makes this high even better! The #1 will be lit above Grace Hall on campus for the first night since beating Florida State all the way back in 1993. The bulbs were replaced today and the #1 is bright above the Irish campus. That is not the goal coming into this season, that goal won’t be reached until the Irish play on January 7th in Miami, Florida in the National Championship Game. If the Irish are able to win Saturday and then Monday the 7th of January it would mark the first National Championship for the Irish since 1988. Not to get ahead of ourselves but if ND is playing in that game I won’t be able to focus on much else the entire Christmas/New Years holiday.

Kapron Lewis-Moore waving to the Irish crowd upon leaving the field for the Final time at Notre Dame.

I’d now like to take some time to thank the Irish Senior Class. Everyone knows Manti Te’o, but how bout Kapron Lewis-Moore, Roby Toma, Tyler Eifert, Braxton Cave,  Zach Martin, Zeke Motta, Theo Riddick, and the list goes on and on. These men stuck it out in South Bend when they could’ve rolled out to an easier school academically, an easier place to get wins or BCS appearances, but the stayed and have left their mark on the University of Notre Dame and the hearts of Irish fans everywhere. We will look back and say this was the Senior class that led the Irish back to national prominence. So I’ll simply say Thank You Seniors!

As I wrap up today I’d like to leave a video the University of Notre Dame has put together about Manti Te’o.   http://youtu.be/n7UxpYMNd5w

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Ugly, Lucky, and Still Unbeaten in South Bend

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish did just that last night in defeating upstart Pitt in triple OT.  They fought like crazy to stay undefeated and in doing so they still have a shot at playing for a National Title on January 7th.

Everett Golson celebrates after the game winning TD in triple OT Saturday night

It was a perfect storm in South Bend yesterday; emotional let down after a huge win in Norman,  a Pitt team dealing with some off field issues, an underdog knowing this was their Super Bowl, and the Irish defense playing the worst game of the season. The Irish had heard from everyone all week how great they are. How after the win at Oklahoma they were beyond a doubt back and better then ever. In hearing and seeing “how great” they are, the Irish forgot to show the same respect to this weeks opponent as it did last week.  The unit I felt showed this lackadaisical attitude was the defense, especially early on as Ray Graham racked up a 50+ yard run on the Panthers opening play.  The Irish gave up 144 yards on the ground which is by far the most all season. They looked a step slow all afternoon, especially when Pitt got the ball out on the edges. Graham had a big TD run in the first half after he popped it outside and ran away from the Irish defenders. A chink in the defensive armor? A fluke? Just a flat out lack of respect for Pitt and their senior leaders? I believe all of those are 100% true of the Irish effort yesterday, but like any great team the other unit picked them up.

Golson dives for the 2 point conversion at the end of regulation Saturday at ND

The Irish Offense was slow out of the gates. Golson got benched, Rees was worse then Golson, the Offense turned it over 3 times, and some how, some way the Irish offense answered the call when they were most needed. With under a minute to go in the 3rd quarter Notre Dame was staring an 8-1 record directly in the face. The Panthers had just made a FG to make it 20-6 and Notre Dame hadn’t scored in 23 and a half minutes. Not exactly setting the offensive world on fire. But then Everett Golson brought the Irish down the field for a big TD pass to TJ Jones and suddenly it was 20-12 after a missed PAT. Then some sketchy Pitt play calling and another Irish possession which ended when Golson under threw a potential TD pass to Troy Niklas and it was intercepted in the end zone and I for one thought the game was over. But then some more suspect play calling on Pitt’s end and the youngster from Myrtle Beach got the ball back and this time he started by dropping a beautiful deep ball into Davaris Daniels lap, then he found Theo Riddick for a 5 yd touchdown on the next snap. Then the 2 point try and young Mr. Golson rolled right and found a crease and lunged for the goal line and a 20-20 tie and overtime was on its way. Golson made play after play on the last few drives for Brian Kelly and crew, yes he threw the pick in the end zone but the D stepped up and got him another chance.

The Panthers of Pitt had a golden opportunity to wreck the dream season and ruin my weekend but somehow, some way they just couldn’t do it. In the 2nd OT when Cierre Wood could’ve given the Irish a 7 point lead he fumbled on his dive into the end zone and Pitt recovered. All the Panthers had to do was kick a FG and it was bye, bye dream season. And hello the ghost of David Gordon, whose that you might ask yourself. He was the kicker for Boston College in 1993 who beat the Irish on a kick from 41 yards out and destroyed the National Title season I thought I was witnessing (Yes, that was the last time I cried watching a sporting event). Kevin Harper a 5th year senior kicker for Pitt had to knock through a 33 yarder and he could be mentioned in the same sentence as David Gordon. But we won’t be looking back 15, 20, 25 years from now talking about Martin’s dagger from 33 yards out. He pushed it wide right, the snap was bad and thus threw his timing off just enough to afford the Irish another shot. I was watching from a cigar shop in Decatur IL, and when Martin missed I looked to my buddy and said “Jesus loves me, yes I know!” The Panthers did respond with a Martin FG of 44 yards just moments later to give them a 26-23 lead.

But young Everett Golson looked poised to not only end the game at hand but the game of musical quarterbacks! Golson grabbed the QB job by the throat and in my mind isn’t going to allow Rees another shot. But with his 2nd down completion to Riddick for 11 yards he cemented his spot as ND’s #1 guy and moments later Golson touted the rock across the goal line for the game ending score and Notre Dame Stadium went nuts and the Irish faithful cheered and let out a gasp in disbelief that the Irish had survived this scariest of post Halloween ghouls!

The Irish have found their man to play under center and he has finally gotten my nod of approval. I know that doesn’t mean anything to him but to me and the rest of Notre Dame Nation Everett Golson was finally able to deliver us from evil when Manti Te’o and the defense just couldn’t!

This isn’t going to help them in style points for the BCS or some human pollsters but when you look at the result it will only say WIN. So if this Irish squad makes it’s way to Miami for the Title Game this will be the game we look back on and say they had no business winning, but somehow did! Great teams every year win games like this and this years ND team is no different. Ugly yes, scary yes, but most importantly it is a WIN! Winning UGLY is still winning and an ugly win beats an exciting loss any day!

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Mission Possible: Irish in Drivers Seat for National Title Shot

Is this a dream? Am I really seeing this incredible story unfold like it is? That is what I’ve been asking myself over the last few hours as my Victory hangover has subsided. No, this isn’t a dream and yes, I am really seeing the Irish write the script to their own BCS Title Movie. Over the last few weeks many College Football pundits have told us why Notre Dame isn’t title worthy. Why the once “toughest” schedule looks relatively easy. It would’ve been easy for all of them to be able to look into our TV sets this week and say to us “I knew Notre Dame was overrated” but unfortunately for them the Irish don’t care what you think!

Te’o introduces himself to Oklahoma QB Landry Jones

As we head down the back stretch of this college football season the blue and gold sit among the elite of the game. Both in the polls and the ever important BCS computer rankings. The Irish have continued to improve week after week. The defense last night used the bend but don’t break mentality. They did give up a lot of yards through the air, as Landry Jones tossed for 356 yards. But most of those yards came between the 20′s and once the Sooners were inside the red-zone that is where their drives went to die! An offense that was coming in averaging 45 points a game, close to 200 rushing yards a game, and striking fear into opposing defenses. Then you look at what ND did to Oklahoma on Saturday night and you should realize this is an elite defensive unit! Led by Heisman Trophy front runner Manti Te’o held Oklahoma to 1 touchdown and 2 FG’s, stifled the running game to just 15 yards on 24 carries. If you were wondering that breaks down to .6 yards per carry. I’m not a math genius but that’s pretty good. The Irish front seven didn’t dominate like they had before by living in the Sooner backfield, but the Irish front seven tackled everything that moved Saturday night. The Oklahoma receivers did have a nice day but they didn’t have any breath taking TD’s or long runs. The Irish defense is fantastic at tackling, they always seem to be in the right position, they break you down and fly to the ball and smack you right in the chest. It’s a beautiful sight to see if you’re a football fan. The Irish defensive unit is led in the booth by Bob Diaco and to be honest if he’s not a D1 head coach within the next 3 years I’ll be shocked. Just look at what he’s done in a short three years with the Domers.

The man who stole the show last night was Everett Golson, the kid was 13/25 for 177 yards. He didn’t throw for 400 and 4 TD’s but he didn’t turn it over and he looked every bit the guy Brian Kelly has said he is all season. The pass that sold me on EG was on 2nd and 2 after the Sooners had just tied the game. Golson unleashed a beauty of a deep ball to Chris Brown (not that Chris Brown). Brown is a kid the Irish have tried to get in the game plan for weeks and he showed up big time on that drive. Then to cap off his coming out party he ran in a TD to put the Irish up for good in Norman. All in all Everett Golson looks to have nailed down the starting job in South Bend, and the D dominates week after week.

So in the next 4 weeks the Irish have lesser teams in their way with battles with Pitt, Boston College (always scary, remember 1993!), Wake Forest, and then USC on Thanksgiving weekend. For the first time since that 1993 team beat Florida State the Irish are a legit title contender and if they run the table from here on out it’s going to be hard for anyone to keep them from Miami and the National Title Game. Alabama is amazing, Oregon is stupid athletic, Kansas State is solid and has Optimus Klein, and Notre Dame has something 2 of the 3 don’t have- HISTORY! Is it fair that if ND is there with Oregon or K State they get in because they are ND? No it’s not fair but…..I Don’t CARE!!!!! If ND is in the discussion for the title game they will get there. I’m not saying crazy things can’t happen but I’d be stunned if they don’t handle the next three teams and then battle USC for a shot at a title.

If I’m really dreaming and this season is a figment of my imagination, please do me a favor and don’t wake me up till Tuesday, January 8th. That is the day after the National Title game and if this is a dream, it’s going to be a happy one! National Championship Style!!

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Epic Defense Stops Michigan; QB Controversy Develops in South Bend

As the dust settled from last night’s epic defensive struggle in South Bend, two things are clear to me. The Irish defense is legit, and there most certainly is a QB controversy developing in South Bend.

First off the defense slapped the Wolverines around, much the same way they did to Michigan State last weekend. This game was different. It wasn’t that the Irish D stopped the Wolverine offense. It was that the Irish turned Michigan over 6 times in the game, including 5 turnovers by Denard “Shoelace” Robinson. At one point in the 2nd quarter Michigan had 3 consecutive passes intercepted by the Irish D. The biggest stars of the Irish defense were obviously Manti Te’o who recorded 8 tackles and 2 picks. Stephan Tuitt who recorded his 6th sack of this young season, Bennett Jackson who came up with his 3rd pick and 1st fumble recovery. All in all the ND defensive unit flew around and made plays. They held Robinson to only 228 total yards.

The magic of Denard against ND in the past 2 seasons has been well documented and talked about. Coming into Saturday night, Denard had an incredible 948 total yards from scrimmage against the Irish, the most in history for an Irish opponent.  The Irish had a bit of a bend but don’t break mentality last night. In trying to contain “Shoelace”, you must contain first and foremost and pressure second. You must keep Denard in your sights, can’t let him cut back, and the outside linebackers and defensive ends must keep contain. The Irish did a great job of this Saturday night. They weren’t as dominate as Alabama but there are 15 NFL teams that aren’t as dominate as Alabama is. Fact of the matter is that Notre Dame has a dominating defensive front 7, and don’t look now but the young secondary grew up a lot last night. No I don’t think any of the young’ens are the second comings of Ronnie Lott, Deion Sanders, or even Shane Walton (last ND corner to be an All American), but this group of converted CB’s or Safeties are starting to believe! That is a dangerous thing for the upcoming ND offenses. If the back four can continue to tackle in run support, stick with their match ups in pass coverage, and keep snagging picks, the Irish D can vault them into the a stratosphere of the nations elite.

The elephant in the room after Saturday nights victory was is there a QB controversy? Brian Kelly immediately came out and said Golson was his starter but I have a hard time believing that. Is Tommy Rees the Dennis Eckersley or Mariano Rivera of Notre Dame Football? He very well might be. He has started big games, won many of those big games, and can thrive under the pressure that is playing QB at ND. Everett Golson looked mentally over-matched last night, he threw 2 terrible interceptions. The first of his 2 was on the opening drive of the night and he under threw intended target Chris Brown badly. Then his second while marching down the field should’ve been a throw away but he lobbed it into the end zone and was easily picked. Golson finished 3-8 for 30 yards and the 2 picks. Then out of the Irish bullpen came junior Tommy Rees, who all he did was lead the Irish on their only TD drive of the night and capped it with his 1st career TD run.  I’ve been as critical of Tommy Rees as anyone I know. I appreciated what he did in Kelly’s first 2 seasons under the Golden Dome but knew it was time for a change under center this season. Then his arrest in May while at a off campus party. That was the nail in the coffin, or so I thought. Rees was suspended for the season opener in Ireland, relegated to back up duty in his return against Purdue. But then Golson put the ball on the carpet late against the Boilers and in came “Touchdown” Tommy for the game winning drive. I guess he was “field goal” Tommy as the Irish kicked a game winning FG against Purdue, but Saturday night he ran out to cheers, not jeers as was the case against the Boilers. The Irish faithful saw young Everett struggling and looking scared and thus they welcomed their prodigal son back with open arms.

Is Tommy Rees the long term answer at QB? I still don’t think so but honestly I think right now he is the BEST answer for Kelly and Co. He has seen things young Golson hasn’t. He has done things Golson hasn’t. He has gone through life’s peaks and valleys which Golson hasn’t had to. All in all I believe Tommy Rees gives ND the best chance to win today! I believe Golson can be a big time player under the Golden Dome but I think the Irish need a Trent Dilfer type or Rees. Golson is still said to be the starter but how much longer will the Irish faithful be okay with two steps forward and three steps back from the young signal caller?

I’ll just say this to you and you can chew on it. If you think Gunner Kiel came to Notre Dame to sit behind Golson, Rees, and Hendrix you’re sadly mistaken. If you’ve seen Kiel sling the rock then you know how the ball explodes out of his hand. You can see why SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and NOTRE DAME recruited him until the very end last winter. Gunner Kiel will be the BEST option at QB next fall and I will go on the record right here and now and say Gunner Kiel will start on opening day August 31st against Temple.

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