Notre Dame

[NU Houston]

Scouting report. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What's the game plan to beat them?

Michigan has a dominant D and a dual threat QB who can move the ball on offense. I know the Irish beat Michigan in week 1, but I think Michigan is the better team now.

 

[GOUNUII]

Scouting report. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What's the game plan to beat them?

Michigan has a dominant D and a dual threat QB who can move the ball on offense. I know the Irish beat Michigan in week 1, but I think Michigan is the better team now.

Talent wise ND is Top 20 solid or better across the board. Their best unit is probably the DL. They can get to QBs. WR/TE unit is deep. Nobody with great numbers, but several WRs/TEs that can hurt opposing defenses. Dexter Williams at TB is pretty good. But we have seen and had success against as good RBs. Weaknesses are a QB with a low ceiling, an OL that struggles vs quicker front 7s, a team tendency to play down and a HC that isn’t very good at anything. Overall, they have played more like an underperforming top 20 team than a top 5 team. Their elite ranking has been driven largely by a very weak schedule.

Ball St., Vandy and Pitt ... all close, fortunate Ws ... were just plain awful showings by the Irish. In every phase of the game. Very much like us against Rutgers. Decisive wins over Stanford, Navy and Va. Tech told us little about the Irish. All 3 of those teams are having very down years. So we’ll be only the 2nd good team ND has played to date....along with Michigan....who ND beat by 7 when UM was most beatable this year. A putrid SOS may be the Irish’s biggest weakness. We are far more battle tested.

I don’t think this game will be any different than any other this year. If McCall earns his paycheck, our OL does its job reasonably well and CT plays one of his better games we’ll have our chances to win the game.

GOUNUII

 

[DaCat]

Talent wise ND is Top 20 solid or better across the board. Their best unit is probably the DL. They can get to QBs. WR/TE unit is deep. Nobody with great numbers, but several WRs/TEs that can hurt opposing defenses. Dexter Williams at TB is pretty good. But we have seen and had success against as good RBs. Weaknesses are a QB with a low ceiling, an OL that struggles vs quicker front 7s, a team tendency to play down and a HC that isn’t very good at anything. Overall, they have played more like an underperforming top 20 team than a top 5 team. Their elite ranking has been driven largely by a very weak schedule.

Ball St., Vandy and Pitt ... all close, fortunate Ws ... were just plain awful showings by the Irish. In every phase of the game. Very much like us against Rutgers. Decisive wins over Stanford, Navy and Va. Tech told us little about the Irish. All 3 of those teams are having very down years. So we’ll be only the 2nd good team ND has played to date....along with Michigan....who ND beat by 7 when UM was most beatable this year. A putrid SOS may be the Irish’s biggest weakness. We are far more battle tested.

I don’t think this game will be any different than any other this year. If McCall earns his paycheck, our OL does its job reasonably well and CT plays one of his better games we’ll have our chances to win the game.

GOUNUII

Thanks! Very encouraging analysis for the Cats. I look forward to beating N* D* and dashing their playoff hopes.

 

[zonairish]

Scouting report. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What's the game plan to beat them?

Michigan has a dominant D and a dual threat QB who can move the ball on offense. I know the Irish beat Michigan in week 1, but I think Michigan is the better team now.

They beat Michigan with the back up qb. Notre Dame controlled the game and late they played keep the ball in front of them. Only reason it was close was because of the kickoff return for TD. Which to me is Notre Dame's weakest part of their game (Special Teams) The Irish D is very good and big and fast. The offense has very good skill players. The starting WR's are not blazers but very large and fast enough. Solid TE's one Alize Mack is more like a WR. can NW win sure if you bring your A game and win the Turnover battle say +2 or 3 and covert them into scores. NW has a very good front 7 but they have zero speed across the board. The QB looked decent but makes some really boneheaded decisions and is consistent at those decisions. You lost your best RB due to medical red shirt, I am not sold on your new running game yet with the new back. In college football it is very difficult to go undefeated see Purdue's win over a superior talented Ohio State. So everyone has a chance. and every week you may get different effort out of players you depend on. As far as the last time NW met the Irish. Notre Dame gave the game to you. This years version of the Irish is far better than the 2014 team So I expect a close game because Fitz seems to get his guys going for bigger games. I would say Notre Dame should win by 6 to 10 points. because of that range I would not bet it. I believe line is in the 7-9 point range. My guess the over under will be about 60. If it is over 60 I would say the Irish will win big and under it will be dog fight. my guess it will be a dog fight

 

[zeek55]

I haven't seen ND play, but I'd imagine our gameplan will be similar to the Wisconsin game (even though ND probably isn't anywhere near as heavy of a rushing team as Wisconsin).

If our OL protects CT well and he plays well and our OL opens holes for Bowser to get his 3-4 yards average on 25+ attempts, we should be fine.

Hartage has to be as lockdown as he was against Wisconsin; rest of our defense has to be as opportunistic (including catching some of those would be INTs, felt like we dropped 4 possible INTs against Wisconsin).

Winning the turnover margin is a must; need like +2 in my opinion.


It's pretty simple, if our OL protects well and CT/Bowser have good games, it'll be a close contest that we can steal at the end. If not, well it could get ugly...

 

[Pete Purple]

I appreciate you stopping by with your intel, and a polite post. Our best RB had to retire from football, permanently. I can’t wish you good luck. Rather, here’s to a clean game with no serious injuries. And thanks for giving us our last win - very charitable.

 

[zonairish]

I appreciate you stopping by with your intel, and a polite post. Our best RB had to retire from football, permanently. I can’t wish you good luck. Rather, here’s to a clean game with no serious injuries. And thanks for giving us our last win - very charitable.

Funny response, if you rewatch the game. It appeared the Irish were trying to give the game away they kept on making boneheaded turnovers and bad defensive plays one after the other. BVG is a terrible DC as you can see with Louisville. I even think Fitz was surprised at it. Watch the whole game watch Fitz's reaction during the last quarter.

 

[DaCat]

Funny response, if you rewatch the game. It appeared the Irish were trying to give the game away they kept on making boneheaded turnovers and bad defensive plays one after the other. BVG is a terrible DC as you can see with Louisville. I even think Fitz was surprised at it. Watch the whole game watch Fitz's reaction during the last quarter.

Of course it had nothing to do with Northwestern playing well, right?

Get off my lawn! Arrogant Domehead.

 

[NUCat320]

Funny response, if you rewatch the game. It appeared the Irish were trying to give the game away they kept on making boneheaded turnovers and bad defensive plays one after the other. BVG is a terrible DC as you can see with Louisville. I even think Fitz was surprised at it. Watch the whole game watch Fitz's reaction during the last quarter.

Kelly going for two was wonderfully stupid. A decision that could only come from a wonderfully stupid combination of a) arrogance (“this game is in the bag”) and b) red-assesness (“lemme show that awful kicker who’s boss”).

There was no reasonable football strategy behind that decision. It remains a wonderful distillation of Brian Kelly.

 

[Catreporter]

Ian Book (only a 3-star coming out of high school) at QB has made a BIG difference for the Irish. Winbush was not the decision maker and passer that he is. Thorson will have to bring the A-game we saw at Michigan State and we can't turn the ball over.

 

[corbi296]

Ian Book (only a 3-star coming out of high school) at QB has made a BIG difference for the Irish. Winbush was not the decision maker and passer that he is. Thorson will have to bring the A-game we saw at Michigan State and we can't turn the ball over.

Agreed with this. But Book is nowhere near as mobile. The key to this game will be disrupting Book in the pocket. Our front 7 will need to be on there A game in order to do this because the Irish have another good OL unit. Would love to get Newsome back for this game. ND's WRs are not particularly fast but they are big and physical. Newsome and Hartage have the size to be able to play these guys straight up in man coverage.

 

[phatcat]

I. And thanks for giving us our last win - very charitable.

See other thread - no fanbase accepts losing to NU because we are better. It is always because they played poorly or the refs.

We have some of that here, but I, for one, am perfectly willing to say that Duke and Akron deserved to beat us. They outplayed us

 

[zonairish]

Ian Book (only a 3-star coming out of high school) at QB has made a BIG difference for the Irish. Winbush was not the decision maker and passer that he is. Thorson will have to bring the A-game we saw at Michigan State and we can't turn the ball over.

Interesting note about Book. Yes he was a 3 star. However, the coaching staff was debating who should they take Book or the current QB at Stanford (Costello). Costello was going to sign with Irish but the OC and QB coach liked something about Book. So they flipped a 3* instead of taking a 4* with all the measurable's. Book's HS film is outstanding even though he has that drew Brees size player. Also Wimbush is a pure runner with a cannon of an arm but never could transition to that decision maker that the coaches wanted. Book can run he has wheels but he is a QB first

 

[zonairish]

I appreciate you stopping by with your intel, and a polite post. Our best RB had to retire from football, permanently. I can’t wish you good luck. Rather, here’s to a clean game with no serious injuries. And thanks for giving us our last win - very charitable.

I realize going to other fan bases sites can be problematic. I never go guns blazing. I will state my opinion so that may rub people the wrong way but it is always in a respectful way. I am a fan of the Irish and also a fan of college football so I follow good teams play and I like the way Fitz prepares his teams.

 

[DaCat]

Interesting note about Book. Yes he was a 3 star. However, the coaching staff was debating who should they take Book or the current QB at Stanford (Costello). Costello was going to sign with Irish but the OC and QB coach liked something about Book. So they flipped a 3* instead of taking a 4* with all the measurable's. Book's HS film is outstanding even though he has that drew Brees size player. Also Wimbush is a pure runner with a cannon of an arm but never could transition to that decision maker that the coaches wanted. Book can run he has wheels but he is a QB first

I think your coaches made the right choice taking Book over Costello, who I think is pedestrian.

 

[GOUNUII]

Interesting note about Book. Yes he was a 3 star. However, the coaching staff was debating who should they take Book or the current QB at Stanford (Costello). Costello was going to sign with Irish but the OC and QB coach liked something about Book. So they flipped a 3* instead of taking a 4* with all the measurable's. Book's HS film is outstanding even though he has that drew Brees size player. Also Wimbush is a pure runner with a cannon of an arm but never could transition to that decision maker that the coaches wanted. Book can run he has wheels but he is a QB

first

Book is solid for sure. A good smart take by the Irish. Reminds me of Bough and Lewerke. Two QBs we’ve seen quite a bit of. With consistent success.

GOUNUII

 

[Pukecat]

Agreed with this. But Book is nowhere near as mobile. The key to this game will be disrupting Book in the pocket. Our front 7 will need to be on there A game in order to do this because the Irish have another good OL unit. Would love to get Newsome back for this game. ND's WRs are not particularly fast but they are big and physical. Newsome and Hartage have the size to be able to play these guys straight up in man coverage.

Beg to differ but Book is way more mobile than you think he is. Good at eluding the rush and scrambling. He’s not as mobile as Patterson but can do some of the same things like run for first downs on 3rd and long. I have watched him in person and he’s not a burner by any means but takes advantage of the defense when a hole opens and coverage is good. I would say Book is more elusive in the pocket than Thorson, but Thorson has the edge in size, strength and straight line speed.

 

[Pukecat]

Book is solid for sure. A good smart take by the Irish. Reminds me of Bough and Lewerke. Two QBs we’ve seen quite a bit of. With consistent success.

GOUNUII

Better than Lewerke, similar to Blough height wise and rushing for yardage when pocket breaks down. Book is also very knowledgeable of the offense and will scramble and throw on the move which is similar to Blough.

 

[WashedUpCat]

They beat Michigan with the back up qb.

Laugh out loud funny ND is claiming a win against Michigan as one with their back up QB. Only double digit starts and was their QB1 going in to that game.

 

[corbi296]

Beg to differ but Book is way more mobile than you think he is. Good at eluding the rush and scrambling. He’s not as mobile as Patterson but can do some of the same things like run for first downs on 3rd and long. I have watched him in person and he’s not a burner by any means but takes advantage of the defense when a hole opens and coverage is good. I would say Book is more elusive in the pocket than Thorson, but Thorson has the edge in size, strength and straight line speed.

I didn’t say he wasn’t mobile. I said he was nowhere near as mobile as Wimbush. Unlike Wimbush, Book has shown to be most effective while in the pocket so I think our best chance is to disrupt his rhythm and timing by flushing him out and making him throw on the move. I am sure he’ll still make plays but from what i have seen he is much less effective on the move than when he is in the pocket.

 

[zonairish]

Laugh out loud funny ND is claiming a win against Michigan as one with their back up QB. Only double digit starts and was their QB1 going in to that game.

Yes it is a tongue in cheek statement I made

 

[Pukecat]

I didn’t say he wasn’t mobile. I said he was nowhere near as mobile as Wimbush. Unlike Wimbush, Book has shown to be most effective while in the pocket so I think our best chance is to disrupt his rhythm and timing by flushing him out and making him throw on the move. I am sure he’ll still make plays but from what i have seen he is much less effective on the move than when he is in the pocket.

Fair enough. I didn’t see the ‘near’ in your message. Apologies.

 

[Pukecat]

Laugh out loud funny ND is claiming a win against Michigan as one with their back up QB. Only double digit starts and was their QB1 going in to that game.

They did beat Mich and we did not so they can say whatever they want imo

 

[Figrating]

Hearty thanks to ND for beating UM, the Jurassic skunks.

Look out for NU who plays to the competition - Rutgers or UM. The Cardiac CATS might steal another one with the help of the refs and maybe some bad weather.

GO CATS!

 

[DaCat]

The Cardiac CATS might steal another one with the help of the refs and maybe some bad weather.

Boo. What a grotesquely insulting post to our team and our fans. When did refs help us win this year?

We. Can't. Have. Nice. Things.

 

[Williesfan]

Funny response, if you rewatch the game. It appeared the Irish were trying to give the game away they kept on making boneheaded turnovers and bad defensive plays one after the other. BVG is a terrible DC as you can see with Louisville. I even think Fitz was surprised at it. Watch the whole game watch Fitz's reaction during the last quarter.

And the bonehead decision at the end of regulation by Kelly.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

And the bonehead decision at the end of regulation by Kelly.

Kelly is flat out awful. He gets talent because it is ND.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I didn’t say he wasn’t mobile. I said he was nowhere near as mobile as Wimbush. Unlike Wimbush, Book has shown to be most effective while in the pocket so I think our best chance is to disrupt his rhythm and timing by flushing him out and making him throw on the move. I am sure he’ll still make plays but from what i have seen he is much less effective on the move than when he is in the pocket.

Book is much better than Wimbush. CT is better than both and would Start for them today. If he had ND’s OL (especially last year) he would be in the League now.

 

[phatcat]

Better than Lewerke, similar to Blough height wise and rushing for yardage when pocket breaks down. Book is also very knowledgeable of the offense and will scramble and throw on the move which is similar to Blough.

So...Book makes good reads.

Thanks for the fastball down the middle

 

[StreamCat]

Of course it had nothing to do with Northwestern playing well, right?

Get off my lawn! Arrogant Domehead.

Is this sarcasm? If this thread goes south, it's because we are so thin-skinned.

 

[Mr Wickerpark]

They beat Michigan with the back up qb. Notre Dame controlled the game and late they played keep the ball in front of them. Only reason it was close was because of the kickoff return for TD. Which to me is Notre Dame's weakest part of their game (Special Teams) The Irish D is very good and big and fast. The offense has very good skill players. The starting WR's are not blazers but very large and fast enough. Solid TE's one Alize Mack is more like a WR. can NW win sure if you bring your A game and win the Turnover battle say +2 or 3 and covert them into scores. NW has a very good front 7 but they have zero speed across the board. The QB looked decent but makes some really boneheaded decisions and is consistent at those decisions. You lost your best RB due to medical red shirt, I am not sold on your new running game yet with the new back. In college football it is very difficult to go undefeated see Purdue's win over a superior talented Ohio State. So everyone has a chance. and every week you may get different effort out of players you depend on. As far as the last time NW met the Irish. Notre Dame gave the game to you. This years version of the Irish is far better than the 2014 team So I expect a close game because Fitz seems to get his guys going for bigger games. I would say Notre Dame should win by 6 to 10 points. because of that range I would not bet it. I believe line is in the 7-9 point range. My guess the over under will be about 60. If it is over 60 I would say the Irish will win big and under it will be dog fight. my guess it will be a dog fight

Ive watched most of the Irish games and Id say luck is on their side. Vandy was a much better team. Va Tech was about equal but melted at the end. You guys are a decent team that would finish in the middle of the mix if you were in the bigten. Better than purdue but Iowalike.
Im taking the pts. Easiest $100 ill ever make.
I do love your DL and WR but we are on lockdown mode. You caught us at a bad time as we are on a roll.

Good Luck!

 

[Aging Booster]

Ive watched most of the Irish games and Id say luck is on their side. Vandy was a much better team. Va Tech was about equal but melted at the end. You guys are a decent team that would finish in the middle of the mix if you were in the bigten. Better than purdue but Iowalike.
Im taking the pts. Easiest $100 ill ever make.
I do love your DL and WR but we are on lockdown mode. You caught us at a bad time as we are on a roll.

Good Luck!

I am no fan of the Irish, but be reasonable. Who in the Big Ten is better than UM right now? ND beat UM! I'd much rather beat Iowa than ND and would not play slightly injured players in this one, preferring to hold them out for the truly big game the next week. However, ND is ranked #2 in the country and no Big Ten team is even close to that this year.

 

[curdog]

Funny response, if you rewatch the game. It appeared the Irish were trying to give the game away they kept on making boneheaded turnovers and bad defensive plays one after the other. BVG is a terrible DC as you can see with Louisville. I even think Fitz was surprised at it. Watch the whole game watch Fitz's reaction during the last quarter.

Yes, ND made multiple boneheaded plays against NU in 2014. You are forgetting the cats had multiple turnovers as well. Also, NU’s top receiver Tony Jones, dropped 2 wide open deep balls, one of which was definitely a TD if he caught it. Absolutely inexplicable as these were easy catches.

Fans focus on their teams mistakes and forget the opponent’s mistakes. In the end, I think both teams were evenly matched and it came down to the kicking game. I hope Saturday is as close a game.

 

[corbi296]

I am no fan of the Irish, but be reasonable. Who in the Big Ten is better than UM right now? ND beat UM! I'd much rather beat Iowa than ND and would not play slightly injured players in this one, preferring to hold them out for the truly big game the next week. However, ND is ranked #2 in the country and no Big Ten team is even close to that this year.

ND is a very solid, albeit unspectacular, team. They are much better than I anticipated going into the year. Their OL is better than I anticipated despite the loss of two top picks/their position coach to the NFL and production from the QB position is much better than I anticipated given the switch to Book. Their skill position players are not world beaters, although they have significant size at the RB & WR position. They are solid across the board defensively with athleticism and good depth, particularly on the DL. As always, the game will be won on the line of scrimmage. Defensively, we would greatly benefit from Newsome's return because I think we are best served by stacking the box, playing more man coverage and pressuring the QB with more blitzing than what you typically see from Hank and our defense. We have to take some chances to win this game. Crowd the box, flush Book, crowd their receivers and make them beat us over the top. Myles Boykin from Providence Catholic is a really good player but I don't think they have the arm at QB and long speed at WR to consistently beat us over the top. On offense, if our OL can create decent time and space, I think Thorson's "A" game will be better than any QB they have faced this year. If we see the Thorson of the MSU and Nebraska games, I think we have a decent shot to pull off our third win a row against ND.

 

[zonairish]

They beat Michigan with the back up qb. Notre Dame controlled the game and late they played keep the ball in front of them. Only reason it was close was because of the kickoff return for TD. Which to me is Notre Dame's weakest part of their game (Special Teams) The Irish D is very good and big and fast. The offense has very good skill players. The starting WR's are not blazers but very large and fast enough. Solid TE's one Alize Mack is more like a WR. can NW win sure if you bring your A game and win the Turnover battle say +2 or 3 and covert them into scores. NW has a very good front 7 but they have zero speed across the board. The QB looked decent but makes some really boneheaded decisions and is consistent at those decisions. You lost your best RB due to medical red shirt, I am not sold on your new running game yet with the new back. In college football it is very difficult to go undefeated see Purdue's win over a superior talented Ohio State. So everyone has a chance. and every week you may get different effort out of players you depend on. As far as the last time NW met the Irish. Notre Dame gave the game to you. This years version of the Irish is far better than the 2014 team So I expect a close game because Fitz seems to get his guys going for bigger games. I would say Notre Dame should win by 6 to 10 points. because of that range I would not bet it. I believe line is in the 7-9 point range. My guess the over under will be about 60. If it is over 60 I would say the Irish will win big and under it will be dog fight. my guess it will be a dog fight

Ive watched most of the Irish games and Id say luck is on their side. Vandy was a much better team. Va Tech was about equal but melted at the end. You guys are a decent team that would finish in the middle of the mix if you were in the bigten. Better than purdue but Iowalike.
Im taking the pts. Easiest $100 ill ever make.
I do love your DL and WR but we are on lockdown mode. You caught us at a bad time as we are on a roll.

Good Luck!

Appreciate the response. Vandy a much better team? Virginia Tech about =? B10 middle of the pack? You obviously do not watch film and know who is good or bad. First watch the Michigan game again Notre Dame controlled the game only reason it was close is because of KO return and special teams is a problem for the Irish however that put the skunkbears in a situation that they could be in the game. The Irish played conservative so wimbush would not screw it up and the kept everything in front of them on D to slow the game down in the 4th quarter.

Vandy is no where close to the Irish. Yea they played well but wimbush had 4 to 5 easy TD’s that he didn’t see. That is why Book is starting. Again watch the film. We would win the b10 this year. Virginia Tech is an average team with a good D coordinator that rolled the dice and lost after that 97 yard run.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Appreciate the response. Vandy a much better team? Virginia Tech about =? B10 middle of the pack? You obviously do not watch film and know who is good or bad. First watch the Michigan game again Notre Dame controlled the game only reason it was close is because of KO return and special teams is a problem for the Irish however that put the skunkbears in a situation that they could be in the game. The Irish played conservative so wimbush would not screw it up and the kept everything in front of them on D to slow the game down in the 4th quarter.

Vandy is no where close to the Irish. Yea they played well but wimbush had 4 to 5 easy TD’s that he didn’t see. That is why Book is starting. Again watch the film. We would win the b10 this year. Virginia Tech is an average team with a good D coordinator that rolled the dice and lost after that 97 yard run.

We have a better D coordinator, our coach loves rolling the dice, and we have great luck against the Irish. Prepare to go home without the Shillelagh once again!

 

[fedman]

Yes, ND made multiple boneheaded plays against NU in 2014. You are forgetting the cats had multiple turnovers as well. Also, NU’s top receiver Tony Jones, dropped 2 wide open deep balls, one of which was definitely a TD if he caught it. Absolutely inexplicable as these were easy catches.

Fans focus on their teams mistakes and forget the opponent’s mistakes. In the end, I think both teams were evenly matched and it came down to the kicking game. I hope Saturday is as close a game.

I would not make any judgments based on how Northwestern played against ND in 2014. I have watched/followed ND for over 60+ years and I have never seen an ND team so decimated on defense by injury as they were by the time they played Arizona State, Northwestern, Louisvile and USC to end the year. ND was literally pulling guys off the scout team to start on defense by the end of the season. It was no coincidence that they gave up 55, 43, 31 and 49 points to end the season. USC showed mercy by calling off the dogs in the 2nd half or they would have scored 70. That was how banged up the ND defense was the last 3rd of the year that season.

 

[StreamCat]

I would not make any judgments based on how Northwestern played against ND in 2014. I have watched/followed ND for over 60+ years and I have never seen an ND team so decimated on defense by injury as they were by the time they played Arizona State, Northwestern, Louisvile and USC to end the year. ND was literally pulling guys off the scout team to start on defense by the end of the season. It was no coincidence that they gave up 55, 43, 31 and 49 points to end the season. USC showed mercy by calling off the dogs in the 2nd half or they would have scored 70. That was how banged up the ND defense was the last 3rd of the year that season.

Yep, that's football.

 

[hdhntr1]

Talent wise ND is Top 20 solid or better across the board. Their best unit is probably the DL. They can get to QBs. WR/TE unit is deep. Nobody with great numbers, but several WRs/TEs that can hurt opposing defenses. Dexter Williams at TB is pretty good. But we have seen and had success against as good RBs. Weaknesses are a QB with a low ceiling, an OL that struggles vs quicker front 7s, a team tendency to play down and a HC that isn’t very good at anything. Overall, they have played more like an underperforming top 20 team than a top 5 team. Their elite ranking has been driven largely by a very weak schedule.

Ball St., Vandy and Pitt ... all close, fortunate Ws ... were just plain awful showings by the Irish. In every phase of the game. Very much like us against Rutgers. Decisive wins over Stanford, Navy and Va. Tech told us little about the Irish. All 3 of those teams are having very down years. So we’ll be only the 2nd good team ND has played to date....along with Michigan....who ND beat by 7 when UM was most beatable this year. A putrid SOS may be the Irish’s biggest weakness. We are far more battle tested.

I don’t think this game will be any different than any other this year. If McCall earns his paycheck, our OL does its job reasonably well and CT plays one of his better games we’ll have our chances to win the game.

GOUNUII

Add to that the fact that this is their 2nd road game in a row.

 

[CatChatAR]

Agreed with this. But Book is nowhere near as mobile. The key to this game will be disrupting Book in the pocket. Our front 7 will need to be on there A game in order to do this because the Irish have another good OL unit. Would love to get Newsome back for this game. ND's WRs are not particularly fast but they are big and physical. Newsome and Hartage have the size to be able to play these guys straight up in man coverage.

Doesn't size but not top end speed play into Williams strengths? I thought the knock on him is that he is susceptible to getting burned by fast outside receivers.