And I'll dream each night of some version of you
That I might not have, but I did not lose...
Dateline: Flint Lake, IN
I don't think it's any secret that Jerrence has been suffering a crisis of faith when it comes to Notre Dame football 2024.
Haven't we all?
And it doesn't help that with the changing of the season, temperatures dropping into the 50F's and daily planning now involving the consideration of whether this has to be a day putting on long pants.
Oh the humanity.
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| I'm a pink ghost, not a storm trooper! |
Surprising? Maybe. A little counter intuitive? Absolutely. And yet, I'd like to think weirdly optimistic in what it suggests about trusting others to do the right thing when confronted with something they perceive as different.
Okay that's probably a stretch.
But one can say the same thing about ND football for most of this year -- not remotely threatening, very different than expectations, at times looking like they ingested something... yet bringing home the candy at the end of the day.
The malaise of September feels like a long time ago. What will November bring?
Quote of the Week
"It's impossible."
Ian Book
The response from the winningest QB in Notre Dame's history when asked how easy it is to master an offense in your first year in a program.
ND Nation probably could've used this insight three months ago when setting expectations for a new QB who missed virtually all of Spring ball.
And that goes for the coaches too. (Keep that in mind when we open at Miami and at home vs. Texas A&M next year.)
Word of the Week
But no matter. "That worked out nicely," he thought. Certainly not how he thought the game would play out.
How? Why? It occurred to Jerrence that perhaps something bigger was going on. Beyond ditching those abhorrent white pants, could it be that a systemic change was afoot?
Was the team -- and by team, he meant the offense -- actually getting better?
Over the last four weeks, the team's margin of victory had increased from 7 pts. to 42, 18 and 37, averaging 40 pts. over the same period.
That's a bonafide trend, Jerrence thought, possibly turning the month of October into a critical, liminal stage in Notre Dame's path back to redemption of its reputation while securing a place in the BCS playoff pool.
Long may it last.
Game 7 Thoughts
From the dark end of the street
To the bright side of the road...
How is everyone feeling? I think I read somewhere that this is the first 6-game winning streak of Freeman's tenure. Surely, that represents progress. Dare I say, cause for optimism?
And consider this: this year's team features 13 true-or redshirt-freshmen who are either starters, regular contributors or reside on the Irish's two-deep depth chart.
And are only getting better, more experienced, each week.
Other pithy revelations from last week's game:
...this bodes extremely well for the final 4-game November stretch.
2nd Quarter, ND up comfortably 28-7 but immediately after ND's kickoff, Navy's QB takes it 60 yards and arguably would've made it 88 yards for a TD if it weren't for Leonard Moore running him down. The Midshipmen subsequently miss a FG, ND then adds 3 of their own right before the end of the half - and that really ends any thought of a comeback.
Everyone seems to be going after Christian Grey. And not that Grey has been bad - he hasn't. Just notable that you never seem to be seeing passes directed at #15.
Maybe it's entirely a scheme thing but, wow, if the freshman is genuinely this good already...
We probably only have him for one more year -- lifespans of RB's being short and him already seemingly having the NFL's attention -- so enjoy him while you can.
5. Bye Week. Who doesn't love a second Bye week only a couple weeks removed from the first? I know I do -- note my lackadaisical attitude toward any kind of timiely posting of this blog.
But one could argue that the team is playing really well - don't you want to keep the mojo going while you're in the rhythm? A fair point.
Conversely, one could also argue that with the influx of freshman and sophomores getting significantly more playing time than anticipated (and the likelihood of many of them hitting the wall, mentally and physically), this is the perfect time for an 'exhale moment' heading into the final 4-game stretch.
Buddy's Buddy
When one hears the name 'Leonard' what immediately comes to one's mind?
* Engineering majors with pocket protectors?
Tangentially, I will never forget bartending for an Engineering smoker at the Senior Bar where (and I'm paraphrasing) good friend and confidant Alvin told me, "You MUST work that night! You HAVE to see who we go to class with.... you think all the Engineering students are like Gutsch and Matt and Ungie and Sully and Gordon... It's not like that at all."
Actually, Albert I didn't think they were all like you. At least I hoped not. But yours was a fair point. And boy, was that evening an eye opener.
Other Leonards...
* Maybe Leonard Hofstadter, the similarly nerdy physicist on the TV show, The Big Bang Theory, who somehow ends up getting the smoking hot girl who lives across the hallway?
Yeah, like that's Art imitating Real Life. As if.
* Perhaps of more relevance, one thinks about ND's freshman cornerback prodigy, Leonard Moore -- who, every week looks more and more like truly The Second Coming of Benjamin Morrison? Not only is the kid (as noted above) not even being thrown at, he never comes off the field! Plays every down.
He'd be a solid Buddy choice.
But we're going with the team's other Leonard, Riley Leonard. Pretty much the program's lightning rod and whipping boy (not without some justification) for the first half of the season, the last several weeks he's been really good -- and isn't it about time to give the kid a little love?
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| Gazelle-like elegance, not seen since Ungie in The Torch. |
• 93 of 136 (68.4 percent)
• 173.2 passing yards per game
• 8 TDS / 1 INT
• 62 rushes for 460 yards
• 7.4 yards per carry, 76.7 yards per game
• 10 rushing TD's
Please keep it up, Mr. Leonard.
Honorable mention: Pete Sampson, for one of the year's great analogies, referencing former Irish QB Jack Coan in a comparison to Riley Leonard:
"One is Notre Dame’s most efficient rushing threat. The other considered a quarterback sneak to be a trick play."
Ha! Love it.
RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)
The topic of this week's section is probably tempting Fate a little bit. And the lift of Sampson's column represents one of my more egregious steals insofar as I'm taking basically the whole damn article...
Oh well, carpe diem!
So... now that the calendar has turned to November, the games get exceedingly more meaningful with every week as the BCS playoff candidate rankings begin to get updated.
For ND, it's still pretty simple: win out and they're (highly likely to be) in. But that doesn't mean one shouldn't have a rooting interest in a) securing a spot and b) securing as high of a seed as possible (who doesn't want to be on campus that third weekend of December).
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As Notre Dame takes its second bye week, here’s a viewer’s guide to the games that matter most for the Irish to make the 12-team field and how high they might rise in those rankings.
Litmus Test: Ohio State at Penn State
Notre Dame, Ohio St. and Penn St. have all played similar schedules, per the Sagarin rankings, with the Irish (#56), Buckeyes (#52) and Nittany Lions (#43) all bunched together. If #3 Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) takes a home loss this weekend to a top-10 team, would the program drop below ND in the initial rankings? Or what if #4 Ohio St. (6-1, 3-1) takes a second loss, but both are against top-5 teams? Would the two-loss Buckeyes, fresh off a struggle to beat Nebraska, drop below Notre Dame?
One way or another, Notre Dame will get a data point next week about how it stacks up against a Big Ten heavyweight. If Penn St. wins, that would all but eliminate Ohio St. from Big Ten Championship Game contention. The Buckeyes wouldn’t have a bad loss, but they wouldn’t have a great win either. If Ohio St. wins, it would be the same deal for the Nittany Lions: no great win but no bad loss.
Ohio State still hosts Indiana and Michigan in the final two weeks of the regular season. That means the Buckeyes will get national attention, even with a loss in State College. Penn State, however, could be out of sight with a loss considering it closes with Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland. And one loss might be too much to make the Big Ten Championship Game.
The best case for Notre Dame? Probably a Penn State win.
Sneaky problem … SMU?
As tempting as it might be the look up at the rankings to see how high Notre Dame can climb between now and Selection Sunday, there’s a former Group of 5 program that shouldn’t be dismissed: #20 SMU (7-1, 4-0 ACC) hosts #18 Pittsburgh (7-0, 3-0) this weekend, with the Mustangs set as 7.5-point favorites at home.
If SMU knocks off Pitt, the ACC newcomer is likely to win out — BC, at Virginia, Cal remain — and there’s a good chance the Mustangs would miss the ACC Championship Game if Clemson and Miami win out, which likely activates the league’s 5th tiebreaker (combined win percentage of conference opponents). The prospect of a team going undefeated in conference play and not getting a chance to play its way into the CFP was sort of the reason why SMU bolted the American Athletic Conference in the first place.
The only blemish on SMU’s record is an 18-15 home loss to undefeated BYU. SMU beat Louisville by a touchdown and blew out Stanford … which probably feels familiar for Notre Dame. Virginia represents a third common opponent, with the Cavaliers heading to South Bend on Nov. 16 before visiting Dallas a week later.
According to the Sagarin, SMU’s schedule ranks #58 compared to Notre Dame at #56.
Notre Dame and SMU might feel like incongruous CFP contenders, but a look under the hood shows more similarities than differences. But that all goes away if SMU loses at home to Pitt on Saturday night. And Pitt still faces Clemson on Nov. 16.
The best case for Notre Dame? Pittsburgh takes out SMU, then falls to Clemson two weeks later.
Please don’t mess it up: Texas A&M at South Carolina
Winning in College Station means Notre Dame has one of the best wins in college football this season. At least until Texas A&M loses again.
If that loss comes in the regular-season finale at home to Texas, well, Notre Dame probably can live with that. The Aggies would be stuck behind Notre Dame for good, and the Irish would still have a win over a 10-2 team in the SEC. The Longhorns likely would be headed to the CFP no matter what happened in the SEC Championship Game.
But that’s all for December…
What Notre Dame needs now is for Texas A&M to get out of Columbia unscathed, although the 3-point spread in favor of the Aggies suggests a dangerous spot. Preserving that “great win” through the first rankings reveal would be a boon for Notre Dame. Texas A&M faces New Mexico St. and Auburn the following two weeks before getting to Texas. If that “great win” makes it through Saturday, it’s lasting until Thanksgiving weekend.
It’s just hard to forget South Carolina waxing #5 Tennessee in Columbia two years ago. Those Gamecocks lost by 32 points at Florida a week earlier, then demolished the Volunteers.
The best case for Notre Dame? Duh. Texas A&M keeps winning.
The Chaos Chain: Everything else
These aren’t the only games that matter for Notre Dame’s CFP positioning, just the most obvious.
That’s why Indiana at Michigan St. and Texas Tech at Iowa St. are worth watching, too. The Hoosiers and Cyclones are undefeated CFP contenders that might be able to take a loss and still make the field, but it’s hard to believe they’d be ahead of a one-loss Notre Dame unless they somehow won their conferences.
There’s also Louisville at Clemson, which would give Notre Dame another point of comparison against the Tigers, who already have beaten Florida St., Virginia and Stanford. Or what about Oregon traveling to Michigan? That’s a pure chaos game for Notre Dame, one that probably looks like a blowout on paper … but anything can happen.
Source: The Athletic
November 1, 2024
Cocktail of the Month
It would be difficult to find two people with political views much farther apart than Jerrence and Thomas J. Feifar. (Well, okay, maybe not that difficult, I can immediately think of about half a dozen people more progressive than me.)
The point is this: Through the healing waters of a Colorado hot tub and copious amounts of that magical elixir called The Manhattan, we've discovered that we have more in common than we might've thought.
It's unclear which one of us is more concerned by that insight.
So in this conclusion to a highly stressful, extraordinarily contentious election season, I offer up one man's liquid olive branch. Here's looking at you, Tom. (And there's always a seat on the lake house couch with a ready cocktail waiting for you.)
Dashiell Hammett's
The Thin Manhattan
1894-1961
The Manhattan may belong to the East Coast in name but it complements the Northern California city -- the warm, pepper-forward notes from the rye cutting through the cloak of mist and fog.
The Manhattan transcends the lines of fiction and composition: this boozy, stirred classic is at home in the grasp of a seasoned detective or nestled by the ashtray and typewriter of the troubled author who conjures his spirit.
* 1 oz. sweet vermouth
* 2 dashes angostura bitters
* Luxardo cherry for garnishing
In a mixing glass, combine rye, vermouth and angostura bitters. Add ice and stir, combining ingredients until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the Luxardo cherry.
Source: How To Drink Like A Writer
Writing by Margaret Kaplan
Schedule 2024
August
31 @Texas A&M W
September
7 Northern Illinois L
14 @Purdue W
21 Miami (OH) W
28 Louisville W
October
12 Stanford W
19 @Georgia Tech W
26 Navy W
November
9 Florida State Night game - accepting couch viewing bookings
16 Virginia
23 @Army (Yankee Stadium) McSorley's anyone?
30 @USC
December
20 1st round playoff game at ND Stadium -- see you there?
Wager 2024
Eight down, four to go. And maybe the guys looking the most doubtful - though with this team 'never say never' - is the 9-win bettors.
Not what one would've predicted a month ago.
Wins | Director - ND Equivalence | Domer |
12  Christopher Nolan | The Nick Saban of the film world - Nolan is Mr. Swing For The Fences Big Idea Guy, even if every effort isn't always a home run. But they are undeniably ... epic. Just like a 12-0 season. |
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11  Martin McDonagh | Hello, he's Irish! Solidly predictable for always being really, really good. And as his reputation has been burnished, the star talent in his cast has followed. Sound familiar? | Jerrence, Daryl Jim S, Tim C. Jerry C, Mike C. Greg R., Bob S. George, Raz, Ted, Bob J. Peter, Tim S., Dave M |
10  David Fincher |
Pretty much a stud in both film and TV formats. Always interesting, albeit with palpably dark undertones... one is never sure how the story is going to end up. Much like a 10 win season will feel like. | Pat B, Mike B. Bill, Jim B. Sloane, Alex Phillip, Randy Mike G., Jerry P Gutsch, Mark Jim T., Brian W |
9  Yorgos Lanthimos | Do I always understand what's going on his films? Nope. | Alvin, Garrett |
8  Richard Linklater | Perhaps the product of recency bias - I quite liked 'Hit Man' - Linklater's films fall for this blogger into the "nice-fun-I see an interesting insight" category. They just don't feel especially memorable. Like we'd view an 8 win season. | |
7  Wes Anderson | When does quirky/idiosyncratic become tiresome? When you feel like you're watching - again - an inside joke that you're not included in. Anderson attracts an an all-star cast that no longer seems to add up to the sum of their parts. In a word, disappointing. | |
6  Lars Von Trier | Uncomfortable. Unpleasant. Disturbing. Often off the rails, his films might be 'art' but it's tough to call it many people's definition of entertainment. | |
Schadenfreude of the Week.
As the expression goes, "The Lord giveth. And the Lord taketh away."
Last weekend had the chance to be a pretty epic weekend for some quality schadenfreude -- looking at you, Ohio State vs. Nebraska and Texas vs. Vandy -- but this column does not trade in moral victories or 'close but no cigar' outcomes.
Thus, this week represents more of a 'quality over quantity' offering.
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1) LSU. Welcome back Cotter Kelly. And for ND Nation, something akin to hitting the double bon-ai: a loss to their favorite ex-coach as well as a credibility-building victory over the only real quality win on the Irish's schedule.
Huzzah!
Surprisingly, the Aggies did not jump ND in the polls, which saves one from arguing the point that if A&M is not the same team as they were in early September (seemingly better QB albeit he did it over 1.5 quarters), the same can be said about the Irish (Exhibit A: a demonstrably better Riley Leonard.)
So we'll save that discussion for later, when we'll surely need it come BCS Playoff consideration time.
Honorable mention
2). Oklahoma. One of the more hackneyed expressions of the past few years -- along with everyone seemingly on a freaking "journey" (well, unless you're actually in a vehicle traveling from point A to point B, no, you're not) -- is everyone claiming they're not being seen...
Or worse, someone proclaiming, "for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm being seen" blah blah blah.
Oh good Lord.
Well, we see you, Sooners. And what we're seeing is pretty mediocre.
Watch, if only for the (fairly well deserved) Notre Dame reference...
Terry's Tools.
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| The few, the proud... |
Or not thinking, as the case may be.
Anyway, like schadenfreude, we must celebrate quality over quantity this week.
Tyrique Stevenson . I'd like to say that it gives me no joy to call this player out for such an embarrassingly high profile -- and game losing -- screw up.
I'd like to say that. But I can't. That would be a lie. It, in fact, gives me tremendous joy. Not only because it came at the expense of lifelong hated Packer rival, the Bears, but because it showcased exactly what I hate about organized sports at almost any level these days: entire leagues full of players that are all about Look At Me. My Brand. My ability to talk sh*t on virtually every play, whether it's big or small.
Hey, Tyrique, just in case you weren't paying (again) attention that play was a big one. And we did keep the camera on you.
(Including interfering with play on the field, in this case, in Game 4 of the World Series, literally wrestling a caught foul ball out of the mitt of a Dodger.)
Well I say, "No boozy boys! Bye bye bad boys! Boozy boozy boys! Greasy boys! Saggy farty boys! I poke you! I poke you! I poke you!"
The fact that it occurred in the 1st inning with nothing yet at stake doesn't change that fact. (Although Steve Bartman might disagree.) Unclear what the Yankees will do about this -- probably nothing -- but if they had any balls, they'd ban those guys from Yankee Stadium for all of the 2025 season.
Presently committed -- one has to laugh even uttering that statement out loud (especially when it comes to QB's) -- to LSU but Team Underwood has communicated that they're still open for business... SHOCKER!
And the Michigan Wolverines are saying, "We'll play!" -- upping the ante, allegedly, is to $4MM. Yikes.
Your move, LSU ("Do I hear $5MM? Going once, going twice...")
It's money that I love...
Name of the Month
Case in point: my brother Mike sent me a Forbes article last week on Johnnie Walker scotch enjoying a resurgence, driven by innovative collaborations, line extensions and packaging creativity.
As a former marketer and current whisky enthusiast, I found the article both interesting and insightful.
So imagine my reaction when I turn on the Missouri - Alabama football and there's a Mizzou defender just tearing it up... wreaking havoc with a couple of 1st half sacks -- and generally being a real nuisance to a 'Bama team not exactly flush with swagger the last few weeks.
Note: This was before Drew Pyne entered the game and took it upon himself to dismiss any talk of upsets.
At any rate, what was that Missouri DE's name - you guessed it!
Johnny Walker, Jr.
"Whiskey gods, I HEAR AND OBEY!!!"
BTW, Mr. Walker ended the game with four tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss.
Well done, sir!
Final Thought
Fun fact #1: Florida State has not played a game this year north of Durham, NC.
Fun fact #2: The 'feels like' temperature at kickoff for their game in South Bend is forecasted to be ~40F. Possibly rainy. Oh, and that'll be a chilly rain. (What are the odds the Seminoles will be dressed like they're on Shackleton's voyage to the South Pole?)
For a team that seems to have already given up on their season, I like our chances next week.
