Wharton70

I have contained my displeasure with the complaints about the coaching staff, and the general pessimism about the program, but agree with KidGloves, Baldy, Faith, and Rocket – enough is enough. Staff: You have a motivated, smart leader who is assembling and doing a fine job of blending a talented staff – on the fly. This is his 1st head coaching job, and a season and a half into it some are bitching about (admittedly costly) mistakes. Al might not have been my 1st D.C. choice, but after 7 years (?) in the NFL returning to college is a hell of an adjustment – especially when he was hired a short time before spring practice. The improvement in the defense over last year is dramatic. (with the caveat that like all football teams solid tackling is a lost art). Bottom line: This staff rivals those of Lou and Ara. (see below for reference) Talent: You have freshman skill position players scoring TDs who would not have seen the field in prior regimes. The length, speed, strength size, and ready to play qualities of the recruits – across the board – is superb. They will fill in any gaps and seem very motivated to excel. In 18 months the coaches and support staff has exceeded my recruiting expectations, and the players are being developed! Attitude: The team likes and respects the staff. They value the school and the experience. They know that there won’t be finger pointing, throwing under the bus, and purple faced rage. All staff and team are accountable, and own their mistakes. That’s a reflection of the head man, and ND is damn lucky to have him. For reference and perspective: I have been a fan since the early 50s, Pietrosante, Hornung etal. My freshman year was Ara’s first and I am a huge fan of Lou. Any program will have ups and downs. Some have ‘joined’ this board in the last 5 – 20 years, and have only experienced the Boob, Ty, and Charlie show. Bayou Brian did some very good things for the program, but bluntly put, it was mostly, if not all, about him. Perspective? Last year, what was basically Kelly & Rees’ team (with some 1st year H.C. issues) LOST TO MARSHALL AT HOME! Saturday they went toe to toe with a team that has been in the top 5 or 10 for over a decade – O$U has the old Yankee, old Packers expect to win momentum. On Saturday, I saw that Marcus is building that momentum and mentality here. The Red Sea isn’t going to part in 18 months, and ND may lose another game or two, but my take, having followed closely since freshman year, is that this guy could be statue worthy by 2045. I was going to title this “Quit whining, and grow a pair”, but who needs to be hauled into P.C. court?

Try https://bosscast.net/ncaa.php pick the game, pick the channel, sometimes goes on the fritz, but live and free.

Couldn't agree more. Overthinking, 'smartest kid in the room' get their comeuppance.

You just defined the 5* ND Subway Alum. Congrats - that is what makes this fan base so unique.

Faith, Did Tommy pass on? I know that he had been very ill.

An observation The 3 of the 4 portal exits that have seemed most important are WR, QB, and RB. All, over the last decade, have too often been positions of concern from a talent standpoint. The 3 individuals (all talented & would probably have been starters several years ago) are leaving “for playing time”. They were not the starter, or the main man. Add to that fact that the destinations of the three may well be OSU, LSU, and Alabama, where they feel (rightly or not) that they have a clearer path to start and shine. Since Lou Left, the idea that 2 major SEC schools and THE Ohio State would entertain an ND transfer would have been very unlikely, if not absurd. Conclusion? This proves the point, beyond debate, that the positions are now well stocked with talented players. A welcome change. The 4th major portal exit – Prince, may be headed home and joining the fellow who originally recruited him to ND at Vanderbilt. The current LB position over the past 10 or 20 years is similar talent wise to the other 3, and thanks to the last two excellent classes is also well stocked. The differences in the past 18 months (and 2 recruiting cycles) have been highly effective recruiting and the player development by staff (hats off to Marcus, Matt Balis – really the whole staff) and a welcome shift to a greater emphasis on talent or ability versus seniority. An overdue and very welcome change. Just one guy’s opinion.

Ballis - wider impact, consistent output / results, longest tenure, truly passionate,, plus the voice!

jbrown - the Wisconsin exit also struck me as a possible red flag... but given the OL success there and at Pitt I think that this is his best role, and potentially a very good addition. He may have just peter principled as OC. For additional context, I pulled these down

Absolutely dead on. For a school that purports to have a top ranked business school to not do their homework, be out negotiated, out hustled by a decent but mid level profile school is an absolute embarrassment - "Harvard of the Midwest"??? more like Keck U, and most of it is on Jack & Jenkins - AKA South Bend clown show. Before you ask, graduate - class of '68.

Excellent point, OL, RB, & WR coaches are proven recruiters - FOCUS!

Unusually, I disagree. ND owes him (8-2 as a fill in) but doesn't need him. Next year ND will have 3 better* (including the freshman) options, plus a ready to play transfer. *in some or all parts more athletic, better passers, better runners. I'm sure he asked, and pretty sure that this was what he was told. That said, probably not NFL material, yet wanting to play, the decision is understandable. It has been indicated elsewhere that he can finish his ND degree on line / with credits earned at another school. The schools with openings, or opportunities probably will want to fill as quickly as possible, and not all will be focused on bowl prep- witness Iowa taking McNamara. In 3 weeks more doors will close. A thought. Connecticut, his home state, has turned around under Mora to 6 & 6 versus4 & 28 the prior 3 years. Summary: I'm pretty sure that this has the coaches blessing and thanks, and should have ours.

Agreed. Shades of John McKay in 1967. After losing 51-0 at home, he did the same thing via the JUCO route - OJ Simpson, Al Cowens and several more - it was a JUCO All-Star team, and that led to a 10-3 U$C run. I sadly agree with Frankus' comment that Riley will probably be kryptonite on a McKay/ Carroll level.

I saw it (even a blind squirrel...) about 2 series before the commentator mentioned it - UCLA rarely set the edge. This let Williams and their HBs turn the corner and get upfield. Golden should be able to stuff that- he's done it well the last few games, and that will frustrate the SC offense. From what little I have read- they don't seem to use their tight end often which will mean that they will have to rely on chunk plays. Mr. Williams, meet Mr. Morrison (and I hope Mr. Joseph). Their DE Tuli Tulpuloto is very effective, but I wonder if he has faced OTs on the Alt and Fisher level. That bears watching - a good game within a game

The film is great-wonderful touch and anticipation on the long ball. I really like his commit, especially taking him from Narduzzi. Does anyone know the extent of his 4th game shoulder injury? It looks like he sat the rest of the year. Surgery?

As Redford said to Newman, "You just keep thinkin', Butch, that's what you're good at." Seriously, a sharp catch Thunder, thanks. Keep Thinkin', Butch.WAV

Let's see what he does when he runs out of Ed's recruits, and has to use his own. To that, I'd guess that his Boston smart guy act has not and probably will not play well on the Louisiana recruiting trail. He's got 2 cupcake games and Arkansas left. If they meet, I think that Kirby will eat his lunch, just like Heupel today. Could be wrong, we'll see.

FWIW - my Friday sequence - mass, dinner, pep rally. God, Country (the food mostly from our great farms), Notre Dame. A natural, building progression to focus the effort. Just a thought.

I still have faith in Freeman. I think that the defense will right itself, but needs more Collie, Sneed etc. No longer so in Rees. I have been a fan of Tommy since he thanked Diaco for bailing him out in the tunnel at SC. The problem is that he has been infected with ‘Kelly-it is’ and HAS to show how much smarter he is than the other kids. News alert, sparky, while you are playing chess, and confusing your players with too much to absorb, the other kids have taken your lunch money (with less talent – 4 of the 1st 7 games). The stubborn aspect of Kelly shows with forcing a 4.3 runner to run inside. Easy solution - #7 inside, #25 outside, #23 some of both – play to their strengths, no forcing round pegs in to square holes. As to #7 fumbling, Johnny Lattner dropped 5 against Purdue, but turned out OK. We have a great backfield coach. Have him spend 3 practices with Audric on ball security – focus on that and let the young man play football. (See attached - Fumble Recovery By Lou Somogyi) I still like Tommy and what he has done for ND. He needs more seasoning, but is very likable, and interviews so well that he will Peter Principle on up. The sooner the better, just not here. Faith is a two way street. If I were Colzie or Merriweather, I’d hit the portal ASAP. How many Freshman WRs at ‘Bama, Georgia, Texas etc, have lit up the sky recently? 2 things – they ain’t Rhodes scholars, and they don’t know the whole playbook. If our young talented WRs are more dense than that, they should not have been recruited. Give #15 & #16 six or ten plays, and use them for those. But use them. The same thing with Collie, Sneed and other young defenders. Side note – Lenzy either can't get under the ball, fight for it, or catch it. Use him on jet sweeps, or other hand off plays, but otherwise sit him down, and use (or lose) 15 & 16. Keeping a legit 4 star on the bench and playing more senior or shaky players is a criminal waste of talent at the expense of ‘them earning the coaches faith’. I’m sorry, but Wilkins and Salerno are not Avery Davis, Toma, or the Slippery Fox, and Styles has been too inconsistent to rely on. Show a little faith in these players that you pursued so ardently a year or 2 ago, and forgive some mistakes of commission. Fumble Recovery By Lou Somogyi.docx

NYGD - Outstanding analysis and insight. Going by what you saw and reported, if coach Hiestand & coach Washington are as good as I think they are, they could really impact this game and as a result, the trajectory of the season's results. Let's hope so. Thank you very much.

Faith, are you going to put out a summary or final list? A lot of work, great post, and fun walk down memory lane. Thanks.

OL, in general, played well - and very physically - I think that I saw the RT (#54) let a few through - his low point was the last sack. Also missed the experience and leadership of Patterson.

Easy, Joe Montana. Impact on the program and overcoming Dan's overcontrolling, with a great, "I got this" swagger.

THE. BUS.!!!

Huarte Won The Heisman, started the era of Ara - overcame Kuharich's management (being polite) and is as much a story of redemption and rising from the ashes as Montana/Devine. While Theismann & Clausen had longer careers and better career statistics they had far better coaching and support. Leahy, Ara, and Lou as coaches had the greatest (turnaround) impact on Notre Dame football, but no player can match the impact that John did. He was and is a very humble, down to earth guy.

I wish that I had tuned in earlier. Jersey #48 - ND's 1st Heisman No. 19 on SI's top 50 ND player list Angelo Bertelli (1941-43) QB Jersey #72 No. 27 on SI's top 50 ND player list Bill Fischer (1945-48) OL - as good as Nick Martin was, this fellow was better, William Anton "Moose" Fischer: 3× Pro Bowl (1950–1952) 2× College football national champion (1946–1947) 2× Consensus All-American (1947–1948) Outland Trophy (1948) Leon Hart - jersey #82 was SI's #3 and SI's #1 was Johnny Lujack (1943, 1946-47) QB Jersey #32 BTW Jim Martin (Jersey #38) was #16 on SI's list, one ahead of Jimmy Lynch. Emil Sitko* (jersey #14) was #9 on their list, I'd suggest a tie with Johnny Lattner (HT 1953 Maxwell '52 & '53) (SI's #5) for the #14 jersey 2× Consensus All-American (1948, 1949) Sitkoo was that generation's 'Rocket' - 6 Yards Sitko - At only 5'8" and 180 pounds he was not considered a big man. "Emil wasn't very big as football players go -- even for those days", Irish coach Frank Leahy once said. "But he was the fastest starting back I ever coached." In his 4 years as a starter, the ND record was 36-0-2. also played defense - this &see the end zone) preserved the tie. From Leahy’s Lads – 1946 Sitko intercepts the 4th quarter against Army at Yankee Stadium in the 1946 Army 'Game of the Century' a 0-0 Tie - John Lujack (32) holds out hands for possible lateral