Frankus

The offensive run play calling was predictable and unimaginative. When your power game is being stuffed, you need to at least try to outflank them with reverses. Chris Tyree is a former running back, yet I don’t recall any play we’re he was utilized to outflank the defensive front. It was all power, power, power, which made it easy for them to defend our run game with the stout defensive front they have. Estime finally broke free on the last drive, but we needed to attack their flanks earlier and never did. The Duke Qb was never going to beat us with his arm. We rushed 4 in the first half and he threw a pick and was ineffective. What does Golden do up 13-0 in the second half? He blitzes a lot, which allows the Qb to make plays with his legs and opens lanes for longer runs and scores. How do you have two wide receivers out with hamstring injuries this far into the season? I’ve never seen that at ND. There’s a stretching/preparation issue there. Freeman said all of Correll’s issues were due to noise. That’s on Freeman for not simulating the environment. That was a sloppy display of football overall. I had hope for Merriwether this season. I don’t anymore. He has a lot of raw talent, but it’s meaningless if he can’t catch possession receiver type routes. The deep ball was a bit too long, but the other drops, which he keeps doing, are a problem. He’s got three more years of eligibility. Let’s hope he learns how to catch the football reliably. The biggest off-season mistake was not bringing in an elite wide receiver through the portal. Anything can happen, particularly because it’s a night game in a colder climate, but I’m not optimistic about USC. They stuffed our run game last year. Golden couldn’t contain their Qb. I don’t see two coordinators who can find ways to get it done. I hope I’m wrong.

I do see a difference with Freeman, who has a combination of recruiting prowess, character and an intensity to win. The guy that he reminds me of the most is Ara, except that Ara had way more experience. It’s hard to tell about the admin situation. If guys start flunking out, you’ll know that Freeman perhaps is getting a bit more leniency.

Hartman’s responses at the Press Conference were interesting. He seemed pissed and matter of fact. He even said “you tell me” when a reporter inferred that he should have gotten those crucial 4th down runs and wanted to know what he needed to do better. I expect him to play well and think we’ll make more hay passing downfield.

I’m looking for the team to fit Freeman’s narrative: We have to play to our potential. If we do, we’re winning by 14. If we lose, there’s a disconnect between the narrative and the ability of the coaching staff. in the end, all we need is a W and move on W by W.

This board is 100 times better than ndnation when it comes to emotional rants. Kudos to board mods here who set the tone.

I will be stunned if this happens. Freeman is dialed in on the entire organization getting better and winning games by playing to their potential. I don’t think this is going to change after a last second loss to Ohio State.

I want to see the same kind of discipline we’ve seen in the first two games in a more hostile environment. I watched The FSU/LSU game and the Clemson/Duke games and all four teams were sloppy as heck.

I don’t know if getting rid of the ball faster was a part of the Mike Leach philosophy, but not only is Hartman distributing the ball more he’s also doing it faster. I don’t think it can be overstated how much better a QB Hartman is than any QB in the past 17 years. Personally, I love that this isn’t a read option offense and that it isn’t predictable. I watched Kelly’s postgame and they asked him about his (failed) plays on 4th and 1 at the goal line. Predictably , he said “read option” as if FSU didn’t have all year to prepare (and stuff) what Kelly handed them on a plate. There were also all of those “two many guys in the box” sideline passes. Kelly’s offense looks like a high school offense compared to what ND’s offense looks like so far. Hopefully , Freeman can continue to up the QB talent going forward in this offense.

I thought Merriwether dropping that ball early was a disappointment, but he was wide open on that post pattern and Hartman threw it late and not in stride. I’m sure Hartman would love to have that back. Nevertheless, I think Merriwether has the skills to be a dangerous deep threat and will make an impact going forward. Because of Hartman’s ability to see the field, no one receiver is going to be featured, but I suspect Merriwether will get his share of catches.

To me that is further proof that Notre Dame is not a destination program. I don’t expect Marcus Freeman to be here long. His recruiting ability and magnetism is bigger than Notre Dame. He’ll learn his head coaching chops at ND and head to a better program much faster than Kelly.

I just hope like hell that Hiestand’s retirement wasn’t based on the false believe that they had Ludwig wrapped up and he was going to bring his line coach. We need a guy like Hiestand, but if they hire a guy like Watt that will be another nail in the coffin. This is taking a long time and it comes on the heels of the Ludwig disaster. So, I assume there’s some real strong conversations going on between Freeman and Swarbrick.

And on top of the Rees hire,Saban hired Ken Wisenhunt- a two time NFL Offensive Coordinator and two time NFL Head Coach- and John McNulty a two time P5 Offensive Coordinator. Their offense War Room is shopping down a different aisle than ND.

I can tell you what’s going to happen next season. The same thing that’s happened in the ACC era. Notre Dame will have a decent record due to it’s cupcake filled schedule, but will not in any way have a chance of winning a National Championship. Why? Because Notre Dame is not interested in doing what is needed to win a National Championship. This Offensive Coordinator debacle is yet another data point. I’ve been saying this for years, but hope springs eternal for the fan base pining for glory days that are far in the rear view mirror. Notre Dame is no longer a destination program, it’s a transitional school and Notre Dame is just fine with that.

He’s a tough kid, who improved as the season progressed. Good luck to him. If I were him, I’d go to an IVY school. He has no shot at the NFL.

We would have beaten them with a one legged Williams. Just goes to show how important the QB position is. He WAS their team. We need at least close to that level of talent at QB.

If Buchner is the starter, I hope Rees designs a game plan where QB play is more pass focused than run. I want to see if Buchner can be a high completion percentage guy, including downfield passes. I also want to see the ball distributed more to our young wide receivers.

We had 7 points at halftime. How is that an example of the offense working in the game? For perspective: of USC’s opponents, only Colorado scored less in the first half and even Rice had 14 at half.

Gone and replaced with an entire new crop of superior portal players. In one year with that strategy, he’s going to the CFP. He can duplicate that easily next year. Elite portal players are going to flock there.

If ND doesn’t get into the portal/NIL game, USC is going to dominate us until Lincoln Riley is gone. Everything else is secondary. He’s a better head coach than Freeman, a better OC than Rees and he’s going to stockpile talent. The only chance we have is if we keep up by filling holes via the portal and NIL, which is perfectly legal. I expect ND to do no such thing, which will result in the annual butt whooping by USC. ND will be perfectly satisfied beating shitty ACC teams and getting pounded by USC.

Losing to Marshall and Stanford was disgraceful. Outcoached in both games. Hopefully, Freeman knows who he needs to fire and pulls the trigger.

Yeah. If people want Rees to compete against Lincoln Riley, USC is going to dominate us like they did in the Carroll era.

Rees vs Lincoln Riley will always be a mismatch. Freeman needs to get an elite guy, not a Kelly tree guy.

I knew he’d play well. He’s legitimately talented. Their run game shredding our defense surprised me.

We’re not going anywhere with Pyne, or Angelli. They need to get a tier 1 portal QB for next year. and develop Minchey/Carr. If Rees isn’t fired, I’ll be stunned.

I didn’t think DJ from Clemson played well at all. He was missing even simple passes. I think this SC Qb is much better and more agile. We’ll have our hands full, but should be able to score running the ball and controlling the clock.