Wow, I actually said that aloud. And no one is more surprised than me.
Less surprising was my saying it to no one in particular, insofar as I was, as it were, alone. (As a small, sickly child, I often sought comfort in the company of imaginary friends whose open-mindedness was far more accepting of my eccentricities than, say, that of my family.)
But I digress.
Me - former placekicker / English major / left-leaning snowflake... saying such harsh things. He loves his mother, Jerrence. Probably goes to mass every weekend too. Lighten up, Francis.
But even a card-carrying Weanie Boy gets tired of the incessant 'ooh the coaches treated me badly... I didn't get a fair shake... the system didn't fit me... I fell in love w the ND brand... now I'm angry... and now my shoulder hurts too' prattle that's become The Narrative of Le Grande Jurkovec Story.
Meet a real western PA man, Phil...
Well, cry me a fucking river, Phil. Marcel and I watched you in that infamous Spring Game where you couldn't hit the ocean if you were standing on the beach. Granted, we were ingesting anything in the 1842 Club that was offered to us so our attention span was not, shall we say, at the pro scout-level.
But there wasn't much nuance to your performance. In the parlance of our great country's youth, you sucked. As in, painful-to-watch sucked.
And frankly, I'd expect a little more toughness from a western PA kid. (And given my experience with guys from that area, a whole lot more weirdness. But that's a topic for a future blog.)
So I'm done with you. For at least two more years, hopefully. Time to move on.
Word of the Week.
Used in a sentence paragraph: As young Jerrence watched - or rather, listened to, the beginning of last Saturday's game, the ABC narrative, obsession really, involving the Boston College QB was getting almost too much to take.
Was he the vulnerable Love Child of Mother Teresa and Dan Marino - a kid whose goodness and athletic prowess was well nigh unmatched? Had Notre Dame lured him, cult-like, into a program that wasn't just a bad fit but actually harmful to him - physically, emotionally, spiritually?
Almost unfathomably, the announcers suggested the QB had actually contemplated becoming... a Tight End.
Now you're just making shit up, Jerrence thought.
Nonetheless, as the game progressed, the broadcast's running hagiography could not obnubliate the fact that Phil Jurkovec was not only not the best QB 'in all the land' he wasn't even the best QB in the stadium. And the gap wasn't particularly close.
Quote of the Week.
"Never get married in the morning. You never know who you'll meet that night..."
Paul Hornung
1935-2020
...yet the Golden Boy was married to his wife for 41 years, until he died.
Of course he didn't tie the knot until he was 43.
And for the record, he was Joe Namath a decade before Namath became 'Broadway Joe' - famous for his partying / womanizing ways. The difference being Hornung was saddled with having to 'fraternize' in South Bend and Green Bay, not Manhattan. Not that it seemed to slow him down much.
Game Observations.
"...but I do not want a war."
1) I got your holy war right here, BC... and since you haven't won this game since the Weis Era, it's really not much of a war, now is it? More like a skirmish. Or, from ND's perspective, a scrimmage.
2) What did they use to say about Hall of Famer ex- Minnesota Viking WR, Cris Carter - "all he does is catch touchdowns." Well, Ben Skowronek - Carter 2.0 - your table is ready.
3) Just spit-ballin' here but... perhaps we ought to spend a little more practice time on our on-side kick recovery protocols, yes?
4) Look, Clark Lea is, undeniably, a coaching star. Future head coach. Super smart and the players play hard for him. But this is two games in a row where we've played really passive and gave (for most of the game) QB's a ton of time to throw. And gotten away with it.
Maybe that was The Plan - he knows his personnel far better than me. But I don't know how that works against Sam Howell - Trevor Lawrence - Justin Fields or Mac Jones.
5) Do our LB's have better hands than our DB's? That pass that Kiser caught was a bullet. (Somewhere Pete Bercich was watching and thinking, so that's how you do it.)
6) Another week, another set of really questionable refs. Who knew that to make a naughty face at the opposing player represented unsportsmanlike conduct.
Perhaps it's a local Chestnut Hill quirk. Pansies.
7). Making Flippy Floppy.
Perhaps you saw this week that ND received a couple more verbal commitments, one a highly regarded CB and the other allegedly the best placekicker in the country.
And each a flip - one actually a double flip whose decision-making contortion reminded me of the time AJ Brunett contemplated what would happen if one sneezed and farted at the same time. A front flip? Back flip? Broken back? (He lost me when he started talking about torque.)
Note: Probably the only instance where I thought, maybe - just on - it might be interesting to audit an Engineering class.
Nonetheless, a couple quick reactions:
* The CB. Forgive me for being a bit cynical on this: a) he's from Florida (and we've had such consistent success recruiting there), b) he de-committed from ND in the Spring to go to USC (character alert!) and c) he's supposedly not the best student in the world (uh oh). So, color me dubious. I wonder if he realizes that weed isn't yet legal in Indiana.
* The kicker. Shocking that I'd be more excited about this. Much like France's attitude toward the U.S. (they're only nice to us when they want us to save their asses from the Germans), kickers are typically roundly devalued ('but only the Ivy League offered him) until there's :08 left and the team is down by 1. Whose your daddy then?
No one makes a monkey out of me...
BTW, if you're at all struggling with mental health right now - and who isn't these days - put on Stop Making Sense and feel your limbic cortex activate those endorphins and throw your brain into Happiness Overdrive.
All things considered, looking like a pretty successful semester...
Buddy's Buddy.
In honor of this week's winner, this blogger shall be known as J'Errence (to be pronounced JAY-rence) until ND plays their next game.
Honestly, how impossible is it not to love our RB's - and C'Bo Flemister in particular. The kid was a complete afterthought this year - at minimum 4th on the depth chart in August - with absolutely zero pre-season buzz.
(Okay, there really was no appreciable pre-season to buzz about but if there had been, you know it wouldn't have been directed at him.)
His stats last Saturday weren't overly remarkable: 10 carries / 53 yards. But the context sure was clutch: backed up to ND's own 5 yd. line in the 3rd quarter with a game not entirely secured, he carries 10 yards - 4 yards - 15 yards before an uncharacteristic Skowronek fumble (given back to ND via INT one play later) leads to an Irish TD - scored by C'Bo - to make the game a very comfortable 38-16.
Macallan Time! Thank you, Mr. Flemister.
And now, with Williams a little banged up, Tyree possibly hitting the freshman wall, Armstrong moved (back) to WR, C'Bo is looking more and more like he could be THE MAN. And I'm not sure anyone will be terribly uncomfortable with that.
RE-PETE (a shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mailbag).
Following on last week's question of whether Mr. Sampson's mailbox gets more traffic after a big win or a loss...
We may have the answer - he's gotten over 200 questions over the last two weeks. Sadly none involve Dale Murphy or the future of higher education in America - making the next Arts & Letters dinner in need of some new topics.
At any rate, this week's The Athletic Mailbag sample question throw a little red meat to those who have us pencilled in to the BCS playoffs, as well as offering a sober reminder of the elevated quality of opposing QB we're likely to encounter over the next 4-6 (hopefully) games:
What position group concerns you the most when thinking down the line about competing with Clemson in the ACC championship and presumably Alabama or Ohio State in the Playoff? Could be a depth issue or a current starter issue.
Joey H.
I go back to my preseason perspective on Notre Dame’s defense, before Brian Kelly changed my mind about the right way to see the roster. I looked at the Irish defense in the summer and saw a rebuilding secondary that might struggle in nickel or dime sets. He saw a defense that lacked pass rush compared to the past two seasons. I think we were both right, but which issue might be bigger against Clemson (and Trevor Lawrence) or against Alabama and/or Ohio State? I’m not sure. Both?
Take Pro Football Focus grades for what they are, but the team’s top four pass rush grades among defensive linemen go to Rylie Mills, Kurt Hinish, Howard Cross and Ovie Oghoufo. Those four have combined for 2.5 sacks. But Notre Dame is actually averaging almost an identical average of sacks per game (2.63) to the past two seasons. And the team’s tackle-for-loss totals per game (8.38) are the highest of the Kelly era by more than one TFL per game. It feels like it’s been a mixed bag from the pass rush this season, which is odd to say because the pass rush ended the Clemson game. Kelly’s concern in the summer was the pass rush might not have that big moment where Ade Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes close out a game with sacks. But they did when Notre Dame needed it most. Will that happen again in Charlotte? Or in the College Football Playoff? I don’t know.
The secondary is a curious group because even eight games in, I’m not sure how to measure it. Notre Dame has played some very poor quarterbacks and even worse offensive lines. A freshman making his first road start was the best quarterback on the schedule so far, and he torched Notre Dame for an opponent-record 439 yards passing. A career backup who transferred to Boston College was probably second-best. Now Notre Dame might get Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields in back-to-back games. Does Clark Lea have the personnel flexibility in the secondary to get D.J. Brown or Houston Griffith on the field on third-and-long against a top-two NFL Draft pick? Are the Irish going to roll with freshman cornerback Clarence Lewis to the field side over TaRiq Bracy?
To me, this is why next week’s North Carolina game will be so interesting. Quarterback Sam Howell will stress-test both the pass rush and the secondary. Maybe the former covers up for the latter. What we find out on Black Friday probably dictates how Notre Dame’s defense feels about itself heading toward Charlotte.
Source: The Athletic
11/18/20
Cocktail of the Week
Playing Boston College, after beating Clemson, is akin to being in your senior year and realizing you haven't fulfilled all your Arts & Letters requirements to graduate. You gotta do it, 'pass Go / collect $200' or you don't get to where you want to be. But...
Sandeen's Poetry class is full.
Ditto for 'A-B' Leahy's Econ.
Fuck. What are your options, now? You're know you're not going to go anywhere near a General Program class - you've heard the stories of students making "I didn't see the waterfall, I didn't hear the waterfall, I WAS the waterfall" proclamations. No thank you to that. And American Studies, that'd be cool - all they do is watch TV, right? But that secret is out and there's not a course anywhere to sleaze into.
Leaving you with an English Lit. Okay, you can deal with that - how hard can that be, it's Corrigan's major. But that Prof. Krier's Novel course has waaay too many books to read. And Costello's Film sounds a little too intense. Robinson's Creative Writing involves, well, writing... and you're more quantitatively oriented. Isn't there something more basic? Something one can just survive?
The Canterbury Ales
The Canterbury Tales (1476)
by Geoffrey Chaucer
Before "100 bottles of beer on the wall"; before license plates games; before asking Dad to pull over to pee after only 10 minutes on the highway - there was The Canterbury Tales.
Written in regular Olde English (and not, gasp, Latin) in the 14th Century, this trailblazing book follows a group of pilgrims on a journey to a Canterbury cathedral, with each traveller challenged to outdo one another - and help pass the time - with their own tale well told. And mead.
Lots of mead.
In other words, the antecedent to every Castellini - Gruley - Corrigan dinner outing for the past several years.
Stock up on your next quest with this trail mix tipple people will be telling stories about..
* 6 oz. pale ale * 1 oz. hazelnut liqueur (e.g., Frangelico) * 4 oz. prune juice * 1 pinch salt
* 1 tsp. chocolate sauce
* pretzel, for garnish
Place all the ingredients, except for the pretzel, in a Thermos (or pint glass) and stir.
Garnish with the pretzel on top, take a sip and look for a rest stop.
Source: Are You There God? It's Me, Margarita
More Cocktails With A Hollywood Twist
by Tim Federle
Schedule.
September
12 DukeW
19 USF W
October
10 FSU W
17 LouisvilleW
24 @Pitt. W
31 @Ga. Tech W
November
7 CLEMSON W
14 @BC W
21
26 (Friday) @UNC
December
5 SYRACUSE TBA / NBC
12 Wake Forest
The Wager.
Chapel Hill => South Bend => Winston Salem => Charlotte.
"And signs that might be omens say I'm going
Going I'm gone to Carolina in my mind..."
Wins
Archetype (Embodies)
Domer
12+
Marcel (Lunacy).
This construct, not officially Jungian... would surely exist had Carl met Dave. New Jersey meets California with a sneaky, sly madness and a dollop of WTF. The result? A "he did not just do that" kind of guy.
Yes, he did do that. He'll go for 14 wins if you let him.
Gary (14)
John (14)
Moon (14)
Raz The Elder (13)
Peter (13)
Gutsch (12)
Bob (12)
Jim S (12)
Bryan (12)
Marcel (of course)
11
The Magician (Power).
"Dreams really can come true" albeit in somewhat unfathomable ways, defying common belief... the Magician is a true Visionary where one sees ND running the table, at least to the point of making it to the ACC Championship and, likely, beating Clemson at least once.
Jerry
Jerry
Jerry
Jerry
Jerrence
Bill
Ted
Randy
Daryl
10
The Hero (Mastery).
Primarily motivated by proving their worth through courage and determination, this archetype suggests an ND season where nothing is easy and considerable success is achieved despite daunting, unforeseen obstacles.
Rev. Mark
9
The Ruler (Control).
This is all about Dominance through Intimidation. Confident, in control.
For ND, a solid year where an authoritarian mentality may not get them all the way to the BCS finish line.
Matt
Sully
Bose
Mike G
8
The Jester (Enjoyment).
Here, we're all about having fun and seeing the glass half full. 8 wins could mean an undefeated season in a truncated, pandemic affected season. Or it could just be '8 more wins than any of those Big 10 wussies had...'
Either way, we had a pretty good time.
Alvin
Jim T
7
The Creator (Innovation)
With a desire to create something new and exceptional where there previously wasn't, does a 7-win season indicate some unforeseen growing pains w a new OC and several inexperienced skills position players.
A season where less than a full slate is played could still be a successful one, setting up a great '21 campaign.
6
The Explorer (Freedom).
Manifesting a palpable inner drive to push themselves outside their comfort zone - it's a "we understand the risks we're taking!" attitude. Unfortunately ND can't overcome them all, whether they're internally or externally driven.
5
The Sage (Understanding).
Seeker of Truth, Knowledge and Wisdom, this archetype may suggest a 'I told you it was a bad idea to play a contact sport during a pandemic' scenario. The 2020 season gets cancelled halfway through. "But, still, we were 5-0..."
4
The Outlaw (Liberation).
This figure digs anarchy, with a "you not the boss of me" disdain for rules. For the ND season that may suggest a 'go for it' mentality where the wheels ultimately come off - either from a team meltdown or a season's premature cancellation.
3 or less
The Innocent (Safety).
A positive personality that craves safety while wishing for all to be happy. Honest and with no ill-will... no agendas... they believe everyone has the right to truly be who they are.
Unfortunately, in an ND football context, The Innocent sees virus spikes with students back on campus and by the end of September, feels prudence demands that the plug be pulled on the football season.
Mike C
Schadenfreude.
Down to the final quarter of the football season. One that, bluntly, continues to get even weirder, as incredible as that is to grasp.
Fun Fact: fully 25% (15 out of 59) of last weekend's games were either cancelled or postponed.
And 13 already cancelled / postponed for this weekend.
Thank God we still have the Big 10. Said no one from ND ever.
1) Michigan. Ouch. An ugly nationally televised humiliation. One hadn't seen such a lack of effort from a team since, well, ND vs. Michigan last year.
But haven't the Wolverines suffered enough now? Nope, still not yet time to let up.
However, UM's impending coaching dilemma may be worth ND Nation remembering in the future, as thoughts of a Kelly succession plan become more frontal lobe.
Is the homegrown candidate always the best choice to run the family business?
Many of us think about Clark Lea as The Iideal. Don't be surprised, if ND sustains their current success, that Tom Rees may be the name ~3-4 years down the road.
If one were to take a 'painting with a broad brush' view, on a macro-level, it'd be difficult to refute that there's a lot of bad behavior going on these days.
One could probably write a rather lengthy list just about schools / teams and their inability to either commit to COVID protocols (looking at you, Las Vegas Raiders) or maybe even care.
There's a school of thought (looking at you, Syracuse) that programs whose seasons are already in the toilet, their players are just not gonna bother with pandemic compliance. Let's hope not (the ripple effect could be huge). Until then, this week's idiots:
1) Bryson DeChambeau. I'm not proud of my inclination to arbitrarily dislike certain public figures, almost of which I'll certainly never meet (probably best for both parties). In this case, it's not just the fact his name sounds like a pretentious French varietal - "I've just bought a case of the 2002 DeChambeau du Pape and it is divine..."
Did you ever think, maybe, they're not trying that hard to find your ball...
Or the fact that his swing looks like something a Mechanical Engineer designed as the optimal structure for their doctoral dissertation. Doesn't anyone else have flashes of Peter Boyle / Young Frankenstein when you see him standing over his ball with arms completely extended?
This week it was simply the hubris of saying, "Augusta National should be a par 67 for me..." Oh really? Clearly not a believer in golf gods. Next time, Bry, ya might want to keep those thoughts to yourself.
2) Power Index's. From Contributing Editor Mark Ungashick:
* UNC remains the same after an historic comeback against WFU, down 21 in the 3rd (they barely covered the over/under with a 59-53 win!).
* But Va. Tech moves up 1 after blowing a late lead and losing to Miami.
* Penn St remains in the Top 25... they also remain winless, falling to 0-4 and losing to the previously winless Huskers.
* The Hoosiers pound previously ranked Mich St in a shutout 24-0 but drop 1 spot - they now have beaten Michigan / Mich St. / Penn St.
* Auburn drops 2 spots and Clemson drops 1 spot because they didn't play ... but Texas A&M goes up 2 spots because they didn't play!
* And Clemson is ranked 3 spots ahead of our Irish... by virtue of losing to 8-0 Notre Dame!
A poll put out by "The Onion"?
Actually the secret-sauced covered in the Iowa description... its "ESPN's algorithmic rankings."
3) It takes a special kind of fool to blow a $24M guaranteed contract while in the 16th year of one's career. (I guess I would've thought, at that point, one would be in the Bobby Bonilla 'if they're going to offer it to me, I'm gonna take it' mindset of revenue stream maximization.)
Have you ever caught yourself experiencing nearly pure bliss? Having a moment of intense introspection where you know you're really, really happy - almost like an out of body experience. They don't have to always be 'big' moments - while living in Milan, being at an enoteca in Piemonte with some other ex-pats, three bottles of wine and a mountain of reggiamo cheese in front of us. Super simple. By no means opulent. Just some very nice local wine makers, a table and the picture postcard vineyard in front of us. And all one could think was, "This. is. fucking. awesome."
The Europeans have this brilliant concept of 'white week' at the end of February - a winter school vacation which encourages families to get away, bond. Skiing is a popular venue and for la famiglia Corrigan, one we took advantage of.
Our last year in Italy, we were driving back from France (3-4 hr. drive) when dad was giving his daughters yet another music lesson, U2 and Irish rock.
The Corrigan girls are nothing if not fast studies and were already familiar with their latest CD, All That You Can't Leave Behind, when Elevation came on. Jerrence sensed a silent call from the back seat to (and I'm paraphrasing here) 'crank that bitch'... with much enthusiastic singing and indiscriminate hoo hoo'ing resulting. Madame Defarge indulged us.
That was an exceptionally happy moment, and I remember being very aware of it at the time.
Last Saturday was, now, another really happy experience. And I went to bed knowing that too.
Word of The Week.
Used in a sentence paragraph: Young Jerrence was having trouble processing what he had just seen.
Why? Was it the single single malt he'd been drinking for the past three hours?
Had his wife dosed the popcorn she made for him at halftime? I mean, why did she have ketamine in the pantry - we don't even have horses anymore.
And she had left the room in a suspiciously rapid fashion, practically throwing the snack at him, like he was some sort of caged zoo animal, to be fed but with a by all means 'keep your hands and feet away from his mouth' attitude. Odd.
And then there was the periodic sideline shots of Trevor Lawrence and a head of hair that could only be described as luxuriant, mesmerizing actually - hello, Pantene endorsement.
From a Jeff Spicoli lookalike as a freshman to now, Fabio. Sensory overload for Jerrence.
It was all simply too much for his little brain.
More likely, Jerrence's dull-wittedness was merely Reality catching up to his own intellectual limitations. Whatever the root cause, reflecting on seeing Notre Dame's offense transmogrify into an unstoppable machine over its final three possessions against the vaunted Brent Venables Clemson defense - after virtually an entire game of "not quite there" inconsistency - well, that transformation was making his head hurt.
On second thought, Jerrence was pretty sure that actually was the single malt.
Quote of the Week.
Now hold on there, cowboy. Beating Clemson after a few tough losses is really nice but there's a certain matter of Boston College and 1993 to avenge... your mission isn't over yet.
Game Observations.
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
'Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs...
NostraRasmus. Mr. "Ya Gotta Believe" Op-Ed Beautiful Dreamer. Why did we ever doubt you?
NostraJerrence. Avery Davis. Hey, better late than never.
NostraFlaherty. The man who said at halftime, "we need two more TD's." True dat.
Other random acts of observational revelry:
1) Redemption. Mayer - McKinley - Book. Every one of these guys has messed up, been vilified - some in Saturday's game, some throughout the season - and every one has bounced back. And you knew they would.
2) DJ Uiagalelei. Outside of his own team and Ohio State, I defy anyone to tell me that kid wouldn't start right now for every other college program. Including the Chicago Bears.
So as for the prior concern of this representing a Trevor-free, discounted victory? Fuck that.
3) Lea & Rees. It's funny to say that they did a great job, when one gave up 40 pts. and the other took 59 minutes in between scoring TD's. But... they did a great job. And shutting down Etienne was the absolute right priority.
I hate to get ahead of myself - but is Lea this generation's Barry Alvarez, the DC who'll have to seek greener pastures and never come back?
4) Mike & Tony. Really warming up to the Tirico - Dungy show. The former just knows what he's doing and while the latter will never approach Mike Mayock-level insight, he's calm and clearly getting more comfortable with college football and his role on the telecast. And you could see it progress through the telecast. My favorite moment:
Start of the 1st OT. DJ throws an apparent TD on the first play and Dungy matter-of-factly says, "that didn't take long..."
HA! So true - but can you imagine if Flutie had said that?
5) Joe Montana and Guinness. Good things come for those who wait. Fuck, yeah! (And talk about "perfect Brand message meets perfect media buy.")
6) Points Left On The Table. While one can't count on 65 yd runs and defensive TD's in future contests, one can take solace in recognizing ND's offense left at least 15 pts. on the table, between Mayer's uncharacteristic goal line lapses and Book's premature "I'm gonna score... whoops no I'm not" fumble.
That ought to represent some legitimate 'hey we didn't even play our best game' confidence.
Not today, Satan!
7) Special Teams. Okay, as more than one pundit said, "the 57 yd FG thing? Yeah, let's not do that again..."
BUT otherwise, they were spectacular.
And Jay Bramblett - could one play garner a coveted Buddy's Buddy nomination?
Hell, yes - any other week than this one. But man, that tackle was clutch.
Freedom!!!
8) Kurt Hinish. Honestly, what's not love about this guy? His western PA roots, the proclivity to go full Braveheart with the face paint, his Tom Thibodeau 'just do your job' work ethic...
Never as splashy as JOK or Daelin / Ade / Isaiah but if you want a compelling reason for why Etienne didn't do jack shit, you could do a lot worse than starting the discussion with him.
9) "Wendy, baby, I think you hurt my head real bad..." Clemson's attrition at the end of the game wasn't a coincidence. ND beat the living shit out of them. All night. On both sides. Who are the nancy-boys now, ESPN?
It was glorious.
And can we hear it for Kyren "None Shall Pass" Williams - not just for his running (which seems to be increasingly revelatory by the week) but for his pass blocking! I'm guessing he was probably one of those little pediatrician-waiting-room-shits I referenced last week who, had I called him out on it, probably would've planted me on my ass as a 6 yr old.
The sequence below is just too much fun to watch. One wonders what he and Tremble do for fun. Check that - I don't want to know.
10) Dabo. Becoming still very difficult to hate (and for me, that's saying something).
Are you angry about him working the refs? Please. If it were Kelly you'd have loved it. It what good coaches do. And bad refs allow.
Totally gracious after the game - he avoided the dreaded explanation every winner hates to hear from the losers ("we beat ourselves") so thank you for that, coach. Plus I'm sure he's reasonably confident there'll be a Round II.
11) Rushing the field. Hmmm, hard to reconcile (and defend) here what the scientific Letter of the Law demanded and what college-age human nature was inevitably going to dictate. In hindsight, a few reactions:
let's see how COVID testing for the team checks out this week. Fingers crossed - ND's pregame protocols would suggest a pretty clean audience in attendance.
While the story was covered nationally by the media, mildly surprised there wasn't more condemnation proffered. Probably because no other community is acting appreciably better.
Not a good look for Fr. Jenkins, after his Rose Garden appearance, to be the one chastising the student body for their behavior - couldn't you have assigned that communique to the Provost or the Dean of Students?
By the way, did Kelly channel his inner Digger Phelps* in telling the team, beforehand, how to act when they win?
*If you don't understand the reference, ask Abe.
Buddy's Buddy.
"That guy has brass balls..."
Matt Fortuna
Writer, The Athletic
For those of us who've had the pleasure of meeting Matt (and enjoying a few cocktails with him), he has one quality in particular that separates him from a great many other sports journalists - making for a wonderfully enjoyable night out - unfailing objectivity.
So the quote above, referring to Ian Book comes not from any place of homer-inspired hyperbole. It's his watching a guy, after experiencing what coulda been a soul crushing / game-losing fumble, say "I got this" and take his team 91 yards in 1:16 (using no time outs) to tie the score. After the offense hadn't scored a TD since the 2nd play of the game - for those counting, a gap of 59 minutes.
And then do it again two more times in OT.
Fuckin' A, bubba. Talk about exorcizing some demons. And this blogger couldn't be more happy for a guy who's had his share of up's and down's...
I declare this henceforth an Ian Book criticism-free blog!
They say every man needs protection
They say every man must fall.
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Somewhere so high above this wall.
RE-PETE (a shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mailbag).
I've begun to wonder whether Mr. Sampson dreads the questions he gets more after a big win (like this week) or a loss.
One on hand, everyone's an expert either way... the former incites premature delusions of grandeur (like 'how do we beat Clemson next time' - a topic this writer absolutely won't entertain until after, maybe, the Syracuse game) while the latter fuels attitudinal death spirals and thoughts of modern day coaching staff lynchings ('Pete, do you have the coaches' home addresses...').
This week's The Athletic Mailbag sample question attempts to strike a practical middle ground - legitimate concern w a dollop of optimism:
Was the breakout performance Saturday of the passing game due more to the fact that Notre Dame took those shots down the field much more frequently than games past, or because Clemson “allowed” us to take those shots in ways that other defenses hadn’t yet? How do you think opposing teams will change how they defend Notre Dame after they have proven to have a downfield passing attack?
Brian C.
Interesting question. As the great Michael Scott said while quoting Wayne Gretzky, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” And against Clemson, Ian Book took some shots. He attempted eight passes of 20-plus yards. He’d averaged 2.3 in Notre Dame’s first six games. Did Clemson allow that? That’s one way to look at it considering the Tigers showed they were poor against the deep ball a week earlier against Boston College. It was on Notre Dame to see if that was fluke or a trend. Seems like it’s a trend. But then you have to have receivers actually make plays on the ball, which has not always happened for Javon McKinley, Ben Skowronek and Avery Davis. On Saturday, McKinley and Davis had huge nights.
The second part of your question is whether the Clemson game will change how other teams defend Notre Dame. I don’t think it will, and I think that’s a very good thing. If Notre Dame didn’t develop that part of the passing game, it would have led to opponents overloading the box until Ian Book forced them to stop it. That had not quite happened yet, but it was going to, similar to the 2017 team after Brandon Wimbush got found out a little bit. There was a straightforward game plan for that offense. There really has not been for this group, and Saturday night ensures that there won’t be. Teams will continue to play the run first against Notre Dame, obviously. But they can’t begin to overcommit to it because of how the passing game flashed.
Source: The Athletic
11/11/20
Cocktail of the Week
What's the one word everyone heard, post-game, be it from ND or Clemson personnel, to describe Saturday evening's match?
Epic.
A game like that, therefore, deserves a cocktail (or at least a literary reference) similarly grand. Both bold and sustaining... something that'll kick ass right down to the very last drop. Or play.
Except this time, no one will be bitching about the series ending.
The Drinking Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones (1996)
by George R. R. Martin
Every battle royale has its casualties...
Maybe it's the Tolkien-like setting, or the references to fur as lounge-wear, but George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones universe seems to have been around forever - though the book only debuted in the mid-1990's.
Martin has now killed off so many characters - dropping like Clemson defensemen in the 2nd half of Saturday night's game - and written so many pages that he is said to rely upon his vast fandom to help keep all the subplots straight.
This drink will have you seeing sideways - with a goblet full of fire and ice.
(Hail Sur Jerome!)
* 2 oz. scotch * 1 oz. Fireball * 1 oz. ginger liqueur * 1 oz lemon juice
Pour all the ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake for several seconds
Strain into a goblet (or Collins glass) and settle into your throne (or comfy chair).
Go Irish!
Source: Are You There God? It's Me, Margarita
More Cocktails With A Hollywood Twist
by Tim Federle
Schedule.
September
12 DukeW
19 USF W
October
10 FSU W
17 LouisvilleW
24 @Pitt. W
31 @Ga. Tech W
November
7 CLEMSON W
14 @Boston College
21 Bye
26 (Friday) @UNC
December
5 SYRACUSE TBA / NBC
12 Wake Forest
The Wager.
You can't get to 12 wins (or 13 or 14) without getting to seven...
Wins
Archetype (Embodies)
Domer
12+
Marcel (Lunacy).
This construct, not officially Jungian... would surely exist had Carl met Dave. New Jersey meets California with a sneaky, sly madness and a dollop of WTF. The result? A "he did not just do that" kind of guy.
Yes, he did do that. He'll go for 14 wins if you let him.
Gary (14)
John (14)
Moon (14)
Raz The Elder (13)
Peter (13)
Gutsch (12)
Bob (12)
Jim S (12)
Bryan (12)
Marcel (of course)
11
The Magician (Power).
"Dreams really can come true" albeit in somewhat unfathomable ways, defying common belief... the Magician is a true Visionary where one sees ND running the table, at least to the point of making it to the ACC Championship and, likely, beating Clemson at least once.
Jerry
Jerry
Jerry
Jerry
Jerrence
Bill
Ted
Randy
Daryl
10
The Hero (Mastery).
Primarily motivated by proving their worth through courage and determination, this archetype suggests an ND season where nothing is easy and considerable success is achieved despite daunting, unforeseen obstacles.
Rev. Mark
9
The Ruler (Control).
This is all about Dominance through Intimidation. Confident, in control.
For ND, a solid year where an authoritarian mentality may not get them all the way to the BCS finish line.
Matt
Sully
Bose
Mike G
8
The Jester (Enjoyment).
Here, we're all about having fun and seeing the glass half full. 8 wins could mean an undefeated season in a truncated, pandemic affected season. Or it could just be '8 more wins than any of those Big 10 wussies had...'
Either way, we had a pretty good time.
Alvin
Jim T
7
The Creator (Innovation)
With a desire to create something new and exceptional where there previously wasn't, does a 7-win season indicate some unforeseen growing pains w a new OC and several inexperienced skills position players.
A season where less than a full slate is played could still be a successful one, setting up a great '21 campaign.
6
The Explorer (Freedom).
Manifesting a palpable inner drive to push themselves outside their comfort zone - it's a "we understand the risks we're taking!" attitude. Unfortunately ND can't overcome them all, whether they're internally or externally driven.
5
The Sage (Understanding).
Seeker of Truth, Knowledge and Wisdom, this archetype may suggest a 'I told you it was a bad idea to play a contact sport during a pandemic' scenario. The 2020 season gets cancelled halfway through. "But, still, we were 5-0..."
4
The Outlaw (Liberation).
This figure digs anarchy, with a "you not the boss of me" disdain for rules. For the ND season that may suggest a 'go for it' mentality where the wheels ultimately come off - either from a team meltdown or a season's premature cancellation.
3 or less
The Innocent (Safety).
A positive personality that craves safety while wishing for all to be happy. Honest and with no ill-will... no agendas... they believe everyone has the right to truly be who they are.
Unfortunately, in an ND football context, The Innocent sees virus spikes with students back on campus and by the end of September, feels prudence demands that the plug be pulled on the football season.
Mike C
Schadenfreude.
We've entered the November period where the games are bigger, the stakes higher, the schaden deeper and the freude sweeter.
That is, unless you play in the Big 10 where one is now more concerned with how to spin Maryland as a trophy win.
Or the Pac-12, where you're still trying to talk yourself into believing the rest of the country is going to take your 7-game season seriously.
1) Michigan. Are we yet at the point where one says, "Jerrence, give the Wolverines a break - now you're just piling on... isn't it time to lighten up?"
No.
2) Big 10. Some fun facts:
Indiana / Northwestern / Purdue, collectively 8-0
Michigan / Penn State / Nebraska, a combined 1-7
Q. I understand the world thinks Ohio State is really good - undoubtedly so - but with that conference, how can you tell?
3) Georgia. Can we please dispense with the narrative that UGA is elite? Or that Kirby Smart is a particularly good coach? Teams in the SEC are the perfect example of "born on 3rd base, think they hit a triple" entitlement.
Terry's Tools.
One would think that with Jerrence's heart swelling over the team's biggest win in almost 30 years, that his thoughts... his attitude... would be full of open-minded beneficence to all.
"Sure they're simple minded yahoos but they're good, God-fearing people too...", that kind of stuff.
Well, one would be incorrect. This week's list is blissfully short and very ACC directed.
Do you even know what pass interference is?
1) ACC Leadership. So. You've known this was your conference's Game of The Year for how long? A year?
Even as COVID struck, you were probably lighting vigil candles to ensure this game would get played.
Honestly, I'm surprised Kay Corrigan didn't get a call from you. She is that wired to The Big Guy.
And yet. That's the best you could do for an officiating crew?
2) Pat Narduzzi. Most of you have seen this already, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be documented for the time capsule. It would seem that coach Pat is upset. And he chooses now to declare, "ND, bend the knee! You need to declare your fealty, join our conference or we're done with you!"
Psst, coach, did you see the NBC audience numbers the game pulled? Ka-ching.
The ACC Commissioner be saying, "Wait, Jack! He doesn't speak for us!"
I'm also guessing Narduzzi's wife doesn't let him get anywhere near a poker table. Or any negotiation for that matter.
Moral: you can take the guy out of Michigan State but you can't take the Michigan State out of the guy.
Final Thoughts.
"If you lose this game, you'll
take it to your fucking graves...."
Herb Brooks
(not Mike's dad)
Brooks' words and 'The Miracle On Ice' achievement are an apt, cautionary reminder not because of the feat - beating the Russians was a slightly bigger accomplishment than beating Clemson. Rather because, even after winning, Team USA still had to go out and defeat Finland to win the gold medal. ND has bigger objectives in front of them. And I, for one, hope Kelly does remind the team about 1993 (Pete fucking Bercich... right between your numbers!) and has them ready to step on BC's neck from the very first play.
History ain't repeating itself. ('Cause you know BC will be bringing it up all week long.)
* The CB. Forgive me for being a bit cynical on this: a) he's from Florida (and we've had such consistent success recruiting there), b) he de-committed from ND in the Spring to go to USC (character alert!) and c) he's supposedly not the best student in the world (uh oh). So, color me dubious. I wonder if he realizes that weed isn't yet legal in Indiana.
