I don't know why sometimes I get frightened...
Dateline: Flint Lake, IN
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| I am not amused. |
Turns out, she wasn't wrong.
Looking back to the last time I did this, the autumns of 1989 (Ryan) and 1992 (Shea), I recall the indoctrination to ND football going significantly smoother. But then again, ND went 12-1 (finishing #2 in the polls) in the former and 10-1-1 (finishing #4) in the latter year - with most of those games involving relatively little stress.
At any rate, it's safe to say the October edition of Notre Dame football has not improved markedly on their ability to play down to their competition. And while I'm saddened that the littlest Corrigan blood relation has returned home to Virginia Beach at September's end, I feel good that she didn't have to see the team or grandpa last weekend. And that I haven't entirely warped her with bad football and my associated psychoses.
There's always next year.
Quote of the Week
Sometimes the on-line cretins do get it right, not unlike the proverbial stopped clock that's right twice a day. In this particular case - halfway through the season - let's indeed celebrate one thing in particular that we can all agree this team does well: they DO NOT give up. Ever.
Word of the Week
Game 6 Thoughts
Actually, no, I wasn't. (I thought I had made that clear by now.) Although I suspect the overwhelming majority of the viewing world was, no doubt wildly so. A card-carrying liberal nancy-boy, I prefer my football entertainment more of the "42-13, over-by-halftime, time to start planning one's celebratory romp through Scotland's single malt regions" ilk.
Not, 'how can we play down to another mediocre ACC team while making a QB who won't even play in the Arena league look like a Heisman candidate.'
But I also understand why his players probably love him. As much of a hard ass as he might be on the practice field, he clearly has their backs when it hits game time - no matter how it appears to the viewing millions and the inevitable memes it sets off.
This has got to be a really whacky, challenging year for him. Nothing seems to ever go entirely to plan. And I bet he's quietly loving it.
He may not be The Present.
Or maybe he is. Who knows? I'm not sure even Kelly does.
But it wasn't lost on me this past weekend that both Oklahoma and Alabama were (are) playing freshmen QB's who made on Saturday alternatively great and boneheaded plays. And the stakes are no less high for those programs. So do you love the good and accept the bad?
Buchner got thrown into the deep end of the pool - here's the full playbook, oh we haven't run that for you before? too bad - in one of the more hostile environments in college football. And for at least one quarter, he saved our asses. Maybe if he gets a little more practice time w the 1st team...
3) Drew Pyne. More than one of you have asked me - what did he do to piss off Kelly?! Great question. Hard to not see him putting his name in the transfer portal about January 3rd.
4) O-line. A few things to opine, and as a former place kicker, I feel uniquely qualified to speak from a place of credibility:
- Youth has been served. Joe Alt looked pretty damn good.
- and it must be said, Zeke Correll is pretty damn bad.
- It cannot possibly be a coincidence that the run game got 100% better when Buchner was in the game (and seemed to revert back when he wasn't)
- While ecstatic about it, what's less clear is why O-line stayed so stout in pass protection for the final, Coan-led series
- Theory #1: With Alt and Kristolic in, the group has finally gelled. Dare to dream.
- Theory #2: Fatigue; after chasing Buchner for 2 1/2 quarters, Va. Tech's front wore down. (Time of possession, lost by ND doesn't exactly support this.)
8) I typically don't like to jump on the referee conspiracy bandwagon but man, there was some extremely questionable calls - at key moments - that went against ND:
- Hamilton's roughing the QB - violent yes (hello, this is not flag football) but not even remotely a late hit
- Evans' blind side - the Va. Tech guy was facing directly in front in him for practically the entire play
You can take your mouthy, Metallica-lovin', militia joinin', strobe light flashin', cracker asses back to whatever holes y'all crawled out of - because that shit ain't flying with The Irish.
Oof. (I didn't say that out loud, did I?)
Looks like, perhaps it's special medicine time for grandpa, Sloane.
Buddy's Buddy
One last footnote: Avery Davis should go down as one of the great unsung heroes of this team over the last two years.
RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)
What if Notre Dame can prepare for next year and win this year at the same time? Because that’s what’s happening, even if it’s getting lost in the conversation about who’s playing and how much.
Let’s get something out of the way: Notre Dame doesn’t need to prepare for next year at the expense of winning in October and November this year. That’s how coaches lose locker rooms. That’s how recruiting classes go sideways. But what the Irish did Saturday night at Virginia Tech was both a look ahead to next season and a reminder that what’s done in service of 2022 can also serve 2021.
“We’re reaching the halfway point. We’re going to be who we are,” Kelly said. “We gotta get these (young) guys in the game and get this experience if we want to win the rest of the games we play. They gotta get in this game, they gotta feel it, they gotta be part of it.”
Freshmen Logan Diggs, Tyler Buchner, Mitchell Evans, Cane Berrong and Joe Alt all had season-highs for snaps played in Blacksburg. On one snap, Buchner handed to Diggs who ran around Alt for a 10-yard gain. On another, Buchner miscommunicated with freshman receiver Deion Colzie, which turned into a pick six. Freshman receiver Lorenzo Styles was featured only lightly, but he had a key catch a week earlier against Cincinnati.
A source inside the Gug told The Athletic on Saturday night that the freshman class has a chance to be outstanding, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. That doesn’t mean Notre Dame needs to force the issue by playing talent that’s not ready, but it does mean players in the freshman class are now clicking to the point that they’ve earned time. That helps get the Irish ready for their trip to Columbus a year from now, but it also helps Notre Dame get ready for USC’s visit two weeks from now.
Cocktail of the Week
As a road-trip comedy through the cosmos, starring the world's last living man, the universe of Hitchhiker titles contains nothing less than the answer to the meaning of life.
1 oz. vodka
Schedule
Wager
Wins | Archetype (Embodies) | Domer |
 12 | Miracle On Ice To be clear, ND running the table wouldn't come remotely close to approximating the USA ice hockey victory over Russia in '80. Nothing in my lifetime will beat this. Nor will anything exceed the guilt I still have for ruining this for Castellini. Still ND going 12-0 seems similarly tough to envision with the little we know right now. |
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 11 | Kerry Strug One final vault. Hit it, basically perfectly, and your country wins the gold medal. No pressure. Oh and you just tore two ligaments in your ankle on your prior attempt - you can barely walk. But apparently, you still have one more sprint in you. Boom! Done. ND winning 11 games is not really analogous to this but right now, it's looking just as iffy. | Jay F. Bill B. Bob J. Dave G. Peter B. Jim S. Jim B. Daryl M. Dennis R. Mike C. |
 10 | Super Bowl III | Jerrence Sloane B. Raz Phillip S. Jerry P. Kevin M. Jim T. Tim S. The Dim One Ungie Lini Bob S. Blair R. Alex S. Ted C. Tom F. Randy R. Mike G. |
 9 | NC St over Phi Slamma Jamma | Brian W. Garrett R. Mike B. John L. Ward H. |
 8 | Villanova over Georgetown In terms of improbability, you could probably flip this game w NC State's victory - they were both pretty awesome in a vicarious way. These rankings all being relative vs. the others, it's feeling 8'ish even if it probably deserves better. | Albert B. |
 7 | ND over Miami, 1988 Was this improbable at the time? Depends on who you ask - and if they're honest. Miami owned ND in the '80s. And yet, Holtz & Co. made everyone believe. Impressive, definitely. But on a scale of 1-10 as unlikely, maybe a 7. | |
 6 | ND over Clemson, 2020 | |
 5 | ND over Florida St., 1993 After the '88 Miami win, with Holtz still in charge... while never a 'lock', beating FSU was certainly no great surprise. And ultimately tempered by spitting the bit the next week against BC. | |
4 | If anyone wishes to play down here... | |
3 | ...be my guest. |
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Schadenfreude of the Week
Then you find at the bottom of the bag, something truly exceptional, like your favorite chocolate wrapped in a $5 bill. Whose house was that? That was sorta this weekend:
2) USC. This will NEVER, EVER get old.
3) Penn State. Don't worry, coach Franklin, LSU's is looking like a solid back up if the USC opportunity falls through.
4) BYU. See you in Vegas next year, Mormon Nation. Prepare to lose badly there too.
Terry's Tools
This probably feels like a re-hashing of the same lament... but can we all agree that world is not in a particularly good place right now?
And sports - amateur or professional - quite often seems to shine a pretty bright light on a dysfunction borne out across the rest of society.
Still athletes, and their minions, have made being bad / stupid / evil / whatever an art form.
I find myself conflicted. Am I a whistleblower or sycophant? Honestly, some weeks it's hard to tell. Sometimes the idiocy is just so impressive.
Plays like dookie, OU gets down by 18 to historical arch-rival. Gets replaced by a highly touted freshman (sounds familiar?)... even after the replacement has some success, he retreats to the bench to sulk and plot his transfer portal strategy.
A real leader.
2. Laser Boy. There was that small matter of ND needing a 48 yard FG - not exactly a gimme - to win Saturday's game.
And from a guy who has not been the model of consistency (yet, weirdly, always seems to be absolute money when the game is on the line).
And while, at the time, the TV cameras seemed to focus on a Va. Tech fan's use of a flashing, can-we-induce-an-epileptic-seizure type of light. Later it was reported the offending laser that got Kelly so excited was of a more insidious type, the singular dot kind and apparently aimed at Doerer's eyes - the strategy apparently being:
- Best case: I blind him. (Tough to make kick like that!)
- Worst case: I make him think I've got a sniper trained on him. (Très distracting, oui?)
To Jon Boy's credit, while Kelly was trying to get that stopped, our fearless kicker was telling him (and I may be playing a little fast and loose with the anecdote),
"Screw that mickey mouse bullshit, coach. Let's kick this thing and get the fuck out of this hell hole."
Kickers rule.
Especially if someone has an axe to grind against you.
And, at that level of the sport, someone always has an axe to grind.
Mr. Irving has decided that getting the COVID vaccine is no bueno - very 'on Brand' for him - while the Nets management has, in turn, said 'well, Kyrie, no tickee - no washee.' Which is to say, you're not playing - you're not even practicing - without being vaccinated. We've got other players (better than you) to think about.
For a team with very legitimate championship aspirations, Kyrie's "personal decision" seems a bit... selfish.
But then, he is a Man of Science.
Final Thoughts
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