Turk's Game Analysis and Player Grades

[Turk_rivals223269]

View from 108 and 6. Shout out to Williefan and his bunch for rocking the place.

Head Coach: Grade A
Solid game and the starters were well prepared. Also, pinched in a blocked punt which was probably a result of some tape that Genryk noticed.

Offensive Coordinator: Grade B+
I thought the game plan was a goodie. And I thought the play calling was decent as well. No complaints with McCall on this one. Actually, not bad although I wish he would take advantage of a bootleg to the left. McCall's problem to solve was our LT. And I felt McCall managed that all night pretty well with max protection or at least leaving in a RB to give Hance extra support.

DL: Grade B
Some people may think that a B is an inflated grade. It's not. It seemed to me that Hankwitz wanted us to stop the run. We did. Dexter Williams is the typical Florida back with all of the offers (OSU, Michigan, Georgia, etc) and came in averaging probably 7 or 8 yards a carry. In short, he is pretty damn good. Well, tonight our DL and LB shut him down. I doubt he avg 3 yards a carry tonight.
I was thoroughly impressed. And although I doubt Wyatt had many stats, he was a load inside. Man, what a good game from him and then the other guys up front. Sacks? None. They doubled up on graz a lot with a OT and RB and sometimes a TE so Graz wasn't going to beat them. Would have still loved to see Gaziano push through and make a sack but it didn't happen. But overall, we matched up fine.

LB: Grade B
Solid play from Paddy and Gallagher. Those two are special. Great having Hall back but a few arm tackles by him keeps this group from being an A. Hall played decent but not his best game.

DB: Grade D
The grade is warranted but honestly it comes down to 2 guys being unprepared.
With the McGee injury, Whitlock got burned for a TD but I was thoroughly impressed with him other than that one play. Solid. I'd give Hartage a B but just because of one play. Ultimately, we are lacking at other corners due to injury. Ruiz and #9 (our 4 star recruit) were just awful. As in putrid. Sorry but both of them simply were NOT prepared to play. Ruiz had a blocked punt but was just awful (seriously) and totally unprepared with blown assignment after blown assignment. And he was only playing because Roderick Campbell blew all of his assignments. Essentially, they just picked on that position for the entire second half and made them theirs. Nuff said. Move on. Cost us the game. Hopefully, these two are better prepared for their team next week.

Defensive Coordinator: Grade B+
Game plan was safe with unpredictable blitzing. Very aggressive and even though the stats probably show ND with a lot of yards, it was only because ND was exploiting that corner mismatch and totally up yards and converting 3rd downs whenever they wanted.

OL: Grade B
I'm going to be honest. Hance gets another F. We won't miss him when he leaves. Sorry but I'm just being honest. Thorson only had 2 or 3 wr to throw to on most occasions. We left in the RB and even the TE for max protection on HANCE's side. He let us down massively. Sad.
On a good note. Our center and right tackle really kicked butt. But at the end of the day, we only had 4 quality OL at this level. And we almost pulled it off.

RB: Grade A
I give Bowser a solid grade here. A bruiser and a ball control dude. Vault simply doesn't belong as a RB at this level.

WR: Grade B-
I thought this group did a decent job. Good to see Lees get a nice TD grab. But oftentimes we only had 3 guys in route with no secondary dump off due to protection schemes we had to employ. Still, I felt we made it work and after we brought it to within 3, I felt that whoever had the significant last possession was going to win the game. Unfortunately, that was ND.

QB" : Grade C
He didn't do anything really bad but he just didn't make many plays. I expect better. He was given extra protection and didn't have 5 guys in route but still, he has to be better.

Special Teams; Grade B+
I think we gained a lot of ground on ND as their special teams sorta sucked. Genryk must have seen something to sneak in a blocked punt. Also our punting was good, not much hang time but seemed to intentionally dink and dunk the ball far enough to get bounces and rolls. My only gripe about our special teams is leaving Vault on the sidelines for KOR. I was told that Fitz simply doesn't want to do returns due to high risk concussions on kickoffs. I disagree but he is erroring on the side of caution. The new concussion protocol means you could lose a player for 2 weeks. Whatever.
Lees looked pretty good on the punt returns though.

At any rate, the game wasn't close because we "Played our heart out". We did play our heart out but the game was close because we have solid players. Whoever had the last significant possession was going to win. That's the story. And unfortunately, ND had that last significant possession.

Good game.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

View from 108 and 6. Shout out to Williefan and his bunch for rocking the place.

Head Coach: Grade A
Solid game and the starters were well prepared. Also, pinched in a blocked punt which was probably a result of some tape that Genryk noticed.

Offensive Coordinator: Grade B+
I thought the game plan was a goodie. And I thought the play calling was decent as well. No complaints with McCall on this one. Actually, not bad although I wish he would take advantage of a bootleg to the left. McCall's problem to solve was our LT. And I felt McCall managed that all night pretty well with max protection or at least leaving in a RB to give Hance extra support.

DL: Grade B
Some people may think that a B is an inflated grade. It's not. It seemed to me that Hankwitz wanted us to stop the run. We did. Dexter Williams is the typical Florida back with all of the offers (OSU, Michigan, Georgia, etc) and came in averaging probably 7 or 8 yards a carry. In short, he is pretty damn good. Well, tonight our DL and LB shut him down. I doubt he avg 3 yards a carry tonight.
I was thoroughly impressed. And although I doubt Wyatt had many stats, he was a load inside. Man, what a good game from him and then the other guys up front. Sacks? None. They doubled up on graz a lot with a OT and RB and sometimes a TE so Graz wasn't going to beat them. Would have still loved to see Gaziano push through and make a sack but it didn't happen. But overall, we matched up fine.

LB: Grade B
Solid play from Paddy and Gallagher. Those two are special. Great having Hall back but a few arm tackles by him keeps this group from being an A. Hall played decent but not his best game.

DB: Grade D
The grade is warranted but honestly it comes down to 2 guys being unprepared.
With the McGee injury, Whitlock got burned for a TD but I was thoroughly impressed with him other than that one play. Solid. I'd give Hartage a B but just because of one play. Ultimately, we are lacking at other corners due to injury. Ruiz and #9 (our 4 star recruit) were just awful. As in putrid. Sorry but both of them simply were NOT prepared to play. Ruiz had a blocked punt but was just awful (seriously) and totally unprepared with blown assignment after blown assignment. And he was only playing because Roderick Campbell blew all of his assignments. Essentially, they just picked on that position for the entire second half and made them theirs. Nuff said. Move on. Cost us the game. Hopefully, these two are better prepared for their team next week.

Defensive Coordinator: Grade B+
Game plan was safe with unpredictable blitzing. Very aggressive and even though the stats probably show ND with a lot of yards, it was only because ND was exploiting that corner mismatch and totally up yards and converting 3rd downs whenever they wanted.

OL: Grade B
I'm going to be honest. Hance gets another F. We won't miss him when he leaves. Sorry but I'm just being honest. Thorson only had 2 or 3 wr to throw to on most occasions. We left in the RB and even the TE for max protection on HANCE's side. He let us down massively. Sad.
On a good note. Our center and right tackle really kicked butt. But at the end of the day, we only had 4 quality OL at this level. And we almost pulled it off.

RB: Grade A
I give Bowser a solid grade here. A bruiser and a ball control dude. Vault simply doesn't belong as a RB at this level.

WR: Grade B-
I thought this group did a decent job. Good to see Lees get a nice TD grab. But oftentimes we only had 3 guys in route with no secondary dump off due to protection schemes we had to employ. Still, I felt we made it work and after we brought it to within 3, I felt that whoever had the significant last possession was going to win the game. Unfortunately, that was ND.

QB" : Grade C
He didn't do anything really bad but he just didn't make many plays. I expect better. He was given extra protection and didn't have 5 guys in route but still, he has to be better.

Special Teams; Grade B+
I think we gained a lot of ground on ND as their special teams sorta sucked. Genryk must have seen something to sneak in a blocked punt. Also our punting was good, not much hang time but seemed to intentionally dink and dunk the ball far enough to get bounces and rolls. My only gripe about our special teams is leaving Vault on the sidelines for KOR. I was told that Fitz simply doesn't want to do returns due to high risk concussions on kickoffs. I disagree but he is erroring on the side of caution. The new concussion protocol means you could lose a player for 2 weeks. Whatever.
Lees looked pretty good on the punt returns though.

At any rate, the game wasn't close because we "Played our heart out". We did play our heart out but the game was close because we have solid players. Whoever had the last significant possession was going to win. That's the story. And unfortunately, ND had that last significant possession.

Good game.

Nate Hall still looks a little dinged to me. Got sucking in a few times and couldn’t recover.

CT rarely had anyone open. I mean not even a tiny window on many drop backs.

OL ran block pretty good, pass blocking not so much. ND DL got plenty of pressure without bringing anyone extra.

Their WR’s were too much for our corners not named Montre. I think we had to roll the dice in the 4th and play much tighter. If we got beat deep, we get beat. It seemed like a death of a thousand cuts.

I like the potential of Whillock too, but I though he got beat on both TD passes. The one he was a step late with help and the other he just got beat long. He will be alright with more reps.

There was space to attempt a kickoff return OT two. Hadn’t heard that there is an automatic fair catch at the direction of Fitz.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

Nate Hall still looks a little dinged to me. Got sucking in a few times and couldn’t recover.

CT rarely had anyone open. I mean not even a tiny window on many drop backs.

OL ran block pretty good, pass blocking not so much. ND DL got plenty of pressure without bringing anyone extra.

Their WR’s were too much for our corners not named Montre. I think we had to roll the dice in the 4th and play much tighter. If we got beat deep, we get beat. It seemed like a death of a thousand cuts.

I like the potential of Whillock too, but I though he got beat on both TD passes. The one he was a step late with help and the other he just got beat long. He will be alright with more reps.

There was space to attempt a kickoff return OT two. Hadn’t heard that there is an automatic fair catch at the direction of Fitz.

Moving forward, although I hope McGee regains his health and gets back on the field, Whitlock is equal with better potential. Reminded me of Brad back there. Interesting player, previously I only saw him in the nickel situations. Plays like a LB.

 

[phatcat_rivals223240]

Agree about Vault on KOR. A long return on the last kick could , hypothetically, get us back in it with one more chance to stop ND.. I understand player safety, but to just say "I won't return it" gives the other team a slight advantage. We actually have returned a small number of kicks so it's not verboten

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

Agree about Vault on KOR. A long return on the last kick could , hypothetically, get us back in it with one more chance to stop ND.. I understand player safety, but to just say "I won't return it" gives the other team a slight advantage. We actually have returned a small number of kicks so it's not verboten

I wonder if it's a gentleman's agreement with Big10 coaches or do other Big10 teams actually try to do returns? IMO, the Notre Dame kickng was it's weakest part of the game. We had some really good opportunities last night but doing a fair catch at the 15 yard line was odd. Well, anyways, that's not why we lost but we aren't good enough to just leave plays on the field if we want to beat our first top 5 team since 1959.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

View from 108 and 6. Shout out to Williefan and his bunch for rocking the place.

Head Coach: Grade A
Solid game and the starters were well prepared. Also, pinched in a blocked punt which was probably a result of some tape that Genryk noticed.

Offensive Coordinator: Grade B+
I thought the game plan was a goodie. And I thought the play calling was decent as well. No complaints with McCall on this one. Actually, not bad although I wish he would take advantage of a bootleg to the left. McCall's problem to solve was our LT. And I felt McCall managed that all night pretty well with max protection or at least leaving in a RB to give Hance extra support.

DL: Grade B
Some people may think that a B is an inflated grade. It's not. It seemed to me that Hankwitz wanted us to stop the run. We did. Dexter Williams is the typical Florida back with all of the offers (OSU, Michigan, Georgia, etc) and came in averaging probably 7 or 8 yards a carry. In short, he is pretty damn good. Well, tonight our DL and LB shut him down. I doubt he avg 3 yards a carry tonight.
I was thoroughly impressed. And although I doubt Wyatt had many stats, he was a load inside. Man, what a good game from him and then the other guys up front. Sacks? None. They doubled up on graz a lot with a OT and RB and sometimes a TE so Graz wasn't going to beat them. Would have still loved to see Gaziano push through and make a sack but it didn't happen. But overall, we matched up fine.

LB: Grade B
Solid play from Paddy and Gallagher. Those two are special. Great having Hall back but a few arm tackles by him keeps this group from being an A. Hall played decent but not his best game.

DB: Grade D
The grade is warranted but honestly it comes down to 2 guys being unprepared.
With the McGee injury, Whitlock got burned for a TD but I was thoroughly impressed with him other than that one play. Solid. I'd give Hartage a B but just because of one play. Ultimately, we are lacking at other corners due to injury. Ruiz and #9 (our 4 star recruit) were just awful. As in putrid. Sorry but both of them simply were NOT prepared to play. Ruiz had a blocked punt but was just awful (seriously) and totally unprepared with blown assignment after blown assignment. And he was only playing because Roderick Campbell blew all of his assignments. Essentially, they just picked on that position for the entire second half and made them theirs. Nuff said. Move on. Cost us the game. Hopefully, these two are better prepared for their team next week.

Defensive Coordinator: Grade B+
Game plan was safe with unpredictable blitzing. Very aggressive and even though the stats probably show ND with a lot of yards, it was only because ND was exploiting that corner mismatch and totally up yards and converting 3rd downs whenever they wanted.

OL: Grade B
I'm going to be honest. Hance gets another F. We won't miss him when he leaves. Sorry but I'm just being honest. Thorson only had 2 or 3 wr to throw to on most occasions. We left in the RB and even the TE for max protection on HANCE's side. He let us down massively. Sad.
On a good note. Our center and right tackle really kicked butt. But at the end of the day, we only had 4 quality OL at this level. And we almost pulled it off.

RB: Grade A
I give Bowser a solid grade here. A bruiser and a ball control dude. Vault simply doesn't belong as a RB at this level.

WR: Grade B-
I thought this group did a decent job. Good to see Lees get a nice TD grab. But oftentimes we only had 3 guys in route with no secondary dump off due to protection schemes we had to employ. Still, I felt we made it work and after we brought it to within 3, I felt that whoever had the significant last possession was going to win the game. Unfortunately, that was ND.

QB" : Grade C
He didn't do anything really bad but he just didn't make many plays. I expect better. He was given extra protection and didn't have 5 guys in route but still, he has to be better.

Special Teams; Grade B+
I think we gained a lot of ground on ND as their special teams sorta sucked. Genryk must have seen something to sneak in a blocked punt. Also our punting was good, not much hang time but seemed to intentionally dink and dunk the ball far enough to get bounces and rolls. My only gripe about our special teams is leaving Vault on the sidelines for KOR. I was told that Fitz simply doesn't want to do returns due to high risk concussions on kickoffs. I disagree but he is erroring on the side of caution. The new concussion protocol means you could lose a player for 2 weeks. Whatever.
Lees looked pretty good on the punt returns though.

At any rate, the game wasn't close because we "Played our heart out". We did play our heart out but the game was close because we have solid players. Whoever had the last significant possession was going to win. That's the story. And unfortunately, ND had that last significant possession.

Good game.

Game didn't matter. Beat Iowa!

 

[Mr Wickerpark]

View from 108 and 6. Shout out to Williefan and his bunch for rocking the place.

Head Coach: Grade A
Solid game and the starters were well prepared. Also, pinched in a blocked punt which was probably a result of some tape that Genryk noticed.

Offensive Coordinator: Grade B+
I thought the game plan was a goodie. And I thought the play calling was decent as well. No complaints with McCall on this one. Actually, not bad although I wish he would take advantage of a bootleg to the left. McCall's problem to solve was our LT. And I felt McCall managed that all night pretty well with max protection or at least leaving in a RB to give Hance extra support.

DL: Grade B
Some people may think that a B is an inflated grade. It's not. It seemed to me that Hankwitz wanted us to stop the run. We did. Dexter Williams is the typical Florida back with all of the offers (OSU, Michigan, Georgia, etc) and came in averaging probably 7 or 8 yards a carry. In short, he is pretty damn good. Well, tonight our DL and LB shut him down. I doubt he avg 3 yards a carry tonight.
I was thoroughly impressed. And although I doubt Wyatt had many stats, he was a load inside. Man, what a good game from him and then the other guys up front. Sacks? None. They doubled up on graz a lot with a OT and RB and sometimes a TE so Graz wasn't going to beat them. Would have still loved to see Gaziano push through and make a sack but it didn't happen. But overall, we matched up fine.

LB: Grade B
Solid play from Paddy and Gallagher. Those two are special. Great having Hall back but a few arm tackles by him keeps this group from being an A. Hall played decent but not his best game.

DB: Grade D
The grade is warranted but honestly it comes down to 2 guys being unprepared.
With the McGee injury, Whitlock got burned for a TD but I was thoroughly impressed with him other than that one play. Solid. I'd give Hartage a B but just because of one play. Ultimately, we are lacking at other corners due to injury. Ruiz and #9 (our 4 star recruit) were just awful. As in putrid. Sorry but both of them simply were NOT prepared to play. Ruiz had a blocked punt but was just awful (seriously) and totally unprepared with blown assignment after blown assignment. And he was only playing because Roderick Campbell blew all of his assignments. Essentially, they just picked on that position for the entire second half and made them theirs. Nuff said. Move on. Cost us the game. Hopefully, these two are better prepared for their team next week.

Defensive Coordinator: Grade B+
Game plan was safe with unpredictable blitzing. Very aggressive and even though the stats probably show ND with a lot of yards, it was only because ND was exploiting that corner mismatch and totally up yards and converting 3rd downs whenever they wanted.

OL: Grade B
I'm going to be honest. Hance gets another F. We won't miss him when he leaves. Sorry but I'm just being honest. Thorson only had 2 or 3 wr to throw to on most occasions. We left in the RB and even the TE for max protection on HANCE's side. He let us down massively. Sad.
On a good note. Our center and right tackle really kicked butt. But at the end of the day, we only had 4 quality OL at this level. And we almost pulled it off.

RB: Grade A
I give Bowser a solid grade here. A bruiser and a ball control dude. Vault simply doesn't belong as a RB at this level.

WR: Grade B-
I thought this group did a decent job. Good to see Lees get a nice TD grab. But oftentimes we only had 3 guys in route with no secondary dump off due to protection schemes we had to employ. Still, I felt we made it work and after we brought it to within 3, I felt that whoever had the significant last possession was going to win the game. Unfortunately, that was ND.

QB" : Grade C
He didn't do anything really bad but he just didn't make many plays. I expect better. He was given extra protection and didn't have 5 guys in route but still, he has to be better.

Special Teams; Grade B+
I think we gained a lot of ground on ND as their special teams sorta sucked. Genryk must have seen something to sneak in a blocked punt. Also our punting was good, not much hang time but seemed to intentionally dink and dunk the ball far enough to get bounces and rolls. My only gripe about our special teams is leaving Vault on the sidelines for KOR. I was told that Fitz simply doesn't want to do returns due to high risk concussions on kickoffs. I disagree but he is erroring on the side of caution. The new concussion protocol means you could lose a player for 2 weeks. Whatever.
Lees looked pretty good on the punt returns though.

At any rate, the game wasn't close because we "Played our heart out". We did play our heart out but the game was close because we have solid players. Whoever had the last significant possession was going to win. That's the story. And unfortunately, ND had that last significant possession.

Good game.

#18 was picked on for most of the late conversions and late TD. He kept blowing his assignment and also missed tackles.
Our depth became an issue and give credit to ND for exploiting that.

 

[CatManTrue]

#18 was picked on for most of the late conversions and late TD. He kept blowing his assignment and also missed tackles.
Our depth became an issue and give credit to ND for exploiting that.

Turk, this is true but he is only a freshman and was amped up. He also “went in for the kill” on a WR screen and tried to blow it up for a loss, but whiffed on the tackle. At least he made aggressive mistakes.

He also blocked the punt to get us back in the game, which you called out in your grades. The game would have been over a lot sooner if not for that. Take it easy on the freshmen who play hard & compete.

 

[Williesfan]

Nice to see you back in section 108.

My thoughts are we where in the game until that final TD. That TD was defensible as all we had to do was seal the edge. This has been a problem all season.

It didn’t appear that we had an answer for their tight end. He was continually open and made us pay.

There is a disparaging difference in the size and athleticism between the two rosters. I am proud to be an NU fan and our athletes. We always appear to get more out of each and every one.

With a thin secondary to start the year and a couple more losses in personnel. I wish I could say I am optimistic for the rest of the season. I just don’t see us having enough horses in the stable.

A little surprised we didn’t try to exploit their corners.

I don’t think I can recall that many people being in and around Ryan Field ever. Lines for the lots were vast. Once in the lot it was quite congested.

 

[EvanstonCat]

What was the crowd mix? Was it majority Irish fans or did we hold our own?

 

[SciCat_rivals]

What was the crowd mix? Was it majority Irish fans or did we hold our own?

Hard to tell, as the colors for both teams were dark, but based on crown noise, there were more NU fans, and it wasn’t that close.

 

[Figrating]

CT rarely had anyone open. I mean not even a tiny window on many drop backs. .

Grade on CT is harsh. ND DBs were all over our WRs.

 

[LACatFan]

What was the crowd mix? Was it majority Irish fans or did we hold our own?

ESPN announcers said better than the estimated 60/40 NU.

 

[zeek55]

What was the crowd mix? Was it majority Irish fans or did we hold our own?

It was definitely much louder on TV when we were making plays than the Irish.

Sounded and looked like we had near 28-30k and they had 17-19k.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

ESPN announcers said better than the estimated 60/40 NU.

Well, I'm not so sure of that. From the east, looking to the west side, it looked all purple except for the viditor section and some reaches of the upper deck. It couldn't have possibly been more than 40% ND in the place. The true measurement was when they attempted a few "Go Irish" from one side of the stadium t the other side and it was not only weak but we drowned them out each time except for that last score. Nebraska, OSU, and even Michigan chants were sustainable over the years but I'm almost certain NU had 60%+. So much so that I was actually impressed. My take out of it is that there were prolly at least a couple thousand "Non NU fans" who went to see a great College football game and to view a "playoff upset". Thus, in the parking lot, there were actually Michigan fans who bought tickets just to come see ND get beat.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

Grade on CT is harsh. ND DBs were all over our WRs.

A QB has to be determined to run the damn ball a helluva lot better than what CT is giving us. I've never seen a QB at NU that is so doggy to run. In fact, it could be argued that was the difference last night. The ND QB took some hits to get some first downs.

So here is what happens. While it may be true that the WR weren't open, and I think that was true since we only had 3 out in pattern, CT took his normal roll out right which is almost always a complete disaster, and at worst he runs it out of bounds if he does't get sacked. With his speed, I have been extremely disappointed in his thorough lack of mobility, except for the rare occasions.

Sure, he has the NU records but I'd take Persa, Bazmanian, Kustoc, Shnur, Colter over him any day of the week as far as college football goes. I'd take CT over TS and Tim Hughes and that's about it.

 

[mikewebb68]

Nice to see you back in section 108.

My thoughts are we where in the game until that final TD. That TD was defensible as all we had to do was seal the edge. This has been a problem all season.

It didn’t appear that we had an answer for their tight end. He was continually open and made us pay.

There is a disparaging difference in the size and athleticism between the two rosters. I am proud to be an NU fan and our athletes. We always appear to get more out of each and every one.

With a thin secondary to start the year and a couple more losses in personnel. I wish I could say I am optimistic for the rest of the season. I just don’t see us having enough horses in the stable.

A little surprised we didn’t try to exploit their corners.

I don’t think I can recall that many people being in and around Ryan Field ever. Lines for the lots were vast. Once in the lot it was quite congested.

That was a GREAT fake, tho snd excellent design for the TE to start kn ond side like it is a run to that side, the completely con accross to block Gaz. Even the cameraman was fooled, he followed the back thrpugh the tackle.

 

[mikewebb68]

Nate Hall still looks a little dinged to me. Got sucking in a few times and couldn’t recover.

CT rarely had anyone open. I mean not even a tiny window on many drop backs.

OL ran block pretty good, pass blocking not so much. ND DL got plenty of pressure without bringing anyone extra.

Their WR’s were too much for our corners not named Montre. I think we had to roll the dice in the 4th and play much tighter. If we got beat deep, we get beat. It seemed like a death of a thousand cuts.

I like the potential of Whillock too, but I though he got beat on both TD passes. The one he was a step late with help and the other he just got beat long. He will be alright with more reps.

There was space to attempt a kickoff return OT two. Hadn’t heard that there is an automatic fair catch at the direction of Fitz.

Didn't Pace get beat on the long TD, or did the announcers screw that one up?

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

That was a GREAT fake, tho snd excellent design for the TE to start kn ond side like it is a run to that side, the completely con accross to block Gaz. Even the cameraman was fooled, he followed the back thrpugh the tackle.

It was an overall great play call. Credit to ND. The game was on the line and I was convinced that if we held them to a FG that we would win. That said, they put 3 wide outs on the far side of the field and I was screaming for Fitz to call a TO because Ruiz shifted inside the DE lineup and Tom Brady could have walked that in the end zone based on the simple poor lineup of our defense. Ruiz was so out of position that there was little hope. Prior to the snap I was first relieved that they chose to lineup on Hartage's side but then quickly realized that the play was coming on this side, prior to snap, and was hoping for a timeout.
That was coaching. And Kelly got the best of us on that one. Credit to ND because that was the call of the game.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Sure, he has the NU records but I'd take Persa, Bazmanian, Kustoc, Shnur, Colter over him any day of the week as far as college football goes. I'd take CT over TS and Tim Hughes and that's about i

The guy is coming off a major knee injury. I love most of those QB’s too, but none of them can make the throws CT can make. He is not a running dual threat QB. Never was and you shouldn’t expect him to be as elusive as some others. You forget that the guy has lit up several teams pulling games out of the fire. He just wins. It feels like CT has BMac syndrome that people will always expect more before realizing we had a 4 year starter at the most critical position in the sport.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Didn't Pace get beat on the long TD, or did the announcers screw that one up?

Someone will need to help me on this one because I was at the game and didn’t see the replay. If I recall, both Pace and Whillock we’re back there with Whillock late on the help. That was unusual in that their were no CB’s back there, but ND was sending a lot of players out on routes because they didn’t need to keep them in to block our DL. Probably more on Pace than Whillock. I actually like both of them, but they are still young.

 

[BigNUFan51]

The guy is coming off a major knee injury. I love most of those QB’s too, but none of them can make the throws CT can make. He is not a running dual threat QB. Never was and you shouldn’t expect him to be as elusive as some others. You forget that the guy has lit up several teams pulling games out of the fire. He just wins. It feels like CT has BMac syndrome that people will always expect more before realizing we had a 4 year starter at the most critical position in the sport.

CT is far better than what hes given credit for, and its a reach to assume Hunter will be better next year.

At the end of the day if the oline cant block the play the play wont work.

 

[Hungry Jack]

ESPN announcers said better than the estimated 60/40 NU.

Quite clearly NU. The stadium really started to drain when the Irish went up by 10 late.

It was Pace who was beaten deep on the long TD pass. Both receivers ran posts, so Whillock was back too. Both guys were beaten deep on those routes.

 

[Mbuhl]

View from 108 and 6. Shout out to Williefan and his bunch for rocking the place.

Head Coach: Grade A
Solid game and the starters were well prepared. Also, pinched in a blocked punt which was probably a result of some tape that Genryk noticed.

Offensive Coordinator: Grade B+
I thought the game plan was a goodie. And I thought the play calling was decent as well. No complaints with McCall on this one. Actually, not bad although I wish he would take advantage of a bootleg to the left. McCall's problem to solve was our LT. And I felt McCall managed that all night pretty well with max protection or at least leaving in a RB to give Hance extra support.

DL: Grade B
Some people may think that a B is an inflated grade. It's not. It seemed to me that Hankwitz wanted us to stop the run. We did. Dexter Williams is the typical Florida back with all of the offers (OSU, Michigan, Georgia, etc) and came in averaging probably 7 or 8 yards a carry. In short, he is pretty damn good. Well, tonight our DL and LB shut him down. I doubt he avg 3 yards a carry tonight.
I was thoroughly impressed. And although I doubt Wyatt had many stats, he was a load inside. Man, what a good game from him and then the other guys up front. Sacks? None. They doubled up on graz a lot with a OT and RB and sometimes a TE so Graz wasn't going to beat them. Would have still loved to see Gaziano push through and make a sack but it didn't happen. But overall, we matched up fine.

LB: Grade B
Solid play from Paddy and Gallagher. Those two are special. Great having Hall back but a few arm tackles by him keeps this group from being an A. Hall played decent but not his best game.

DB: Grade D
The grade is warranted but honestly it comes down to 2 guys being unprepared.
With the McGee injury, Whitlock got burned for a TD but I was thoroughly impressed with him other than that one play. Solid. I'd give Hartage a B but just because of one play. Ultimately, we are lacking at other corners due to injury. Ruiz and #9 (our 4 star recruit) were just awful. As in putrid. Sorry but both of them simply were NOT prepared to play. Ruiz had a blocked punt but was just awful (seriously) and totally unprepared with blown assignment after blown assignment. And he was only playing because Roderick Campbell blew all of his assignments. Essentially, they just picked on that position for the entire second half and made them theirs. Nuff said. Move on. Cost us the game. Hopefully, these two are better prepared for their team next week.

Defensive Coordinator: Grade B+
Game plan was safe with unpredictable blitzing. Very aggressive and even though the stats probably show ND with a lot of yards, it was only because ND was exploiting that corner mismatch and totally up yards and converting 3rd downs whenever they wanted.

OL: Grade B
I'm going to be honest. Hance gets another F. We won't miss him when he leaves. Sorry but I'm just being honest. Thorson only had 2 or 3 wr to throw to on most occasions. We left in the RB and even the TE for max protection on HANCE's side. He let us down massively. Sad.
On a good note. Our center and right tackle really kicked butt. But at the end of the day, we only had 4 quality OL at this level. And we almost pulled it off.

RB: Grade A
I give Bowser a solid grade here. A bruiser and a ball control dude. Vault simply doesn't belong as a RB at this level.

WR: Grade B-
I thought this group did a decent job. Good to see Lees get a nice TD grab. But oftentimes we only had 3 guys in route with no secondary dump off due to protection schemes we had to employ. Still, I felt we made it work and after we brought it to within 3, I felt that whoever had the significant last possession was going to win the game. Unfortunately, that was ND.

QB" : Grade C
He didn't do anything really bad but he just didn't make many plays. I expect better. He was given extra protection and didn't have 5 guys in route but still, he has to be better.

Special Teams; Grade B+
I think we gained a lot of ground on ND as their special teams sorta sucked. Genryk must have seen something to sneak in a blocked punt. Also our punting was good, not much hang time but seemed to intentionally dink and dunk the ball far enough to get bounces and rolls. My only gripe about our special teams is leaving Vault on the sidelines for KOR. I was told that Fitz simply doesn't want to do returns due to high risk concussions on kickoffs. I disagree but he is erroring on the side of caution. The new concussion protocol means you could lose a player for 2 weeks. Whatever.
Lees looked pretty good on the punt returns though.

At any rate, the game wasn't close because we "Played our heart out". We did play our heart out but the game was close because we have solid players. Whoever had the last significant possession was going to win. That's the story. And unfortunately, ND had that last significant possession.

Good game.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...m-notre-dames-victory-over-northwestern-31-21

 

[EvanstonCat]

Grade on CT is harsh. ND DBs were all over our WRs.

True, but he had some not so good throws and he's still gotta find a way to make some plays. He had about two drives where he played like the Clayton Thorson we needed all night to win this one. And he's going to have to do better against Iowa if we want to beat them.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Well, I'm not so sure of that. From the east, looking to the west side, it looked all purple except for the viditor section and some reaches of the upper deck. It couldn't have possibly been more than 40% ND in the place. The true measurement was when they attempted a few "Go Irish" from one side of the stadium t the other side and it was not only weak but we drowned them out each time except for that last score. Nebraska, OSU, and even Michigan chants were sustainable over the years but I'm almost certain NU had 60%+. So much so that I was actually impressed. My take out of it is that there were prolly at least a couple thousand "Non NU fans" who went to see a great College football game and to view a "playoff upset". Thus, in the parking lot, there were actually Michigan fans who bought tickets just to come see ND get beat.

Yeah, well they said it looked like NU had quite a bit more than 60/40 so it 's not really different from what you're saying.

 

[Bwm57]

Sure, he has the NU records but I'd take Persa, Bazmanian, Kustoc, Shnur, Colter over him any day of the week as far as college football goes. I'd take CT over TS and Tim Hughes and that's about it.

Colter?
You are out of your mind.

 

[phatcat_rivals223240]

A QB has to be determined to run the damn ball a helluva lot better than what CT is giving us. I've never seen a QB at NU that is so doggy to run. In fact, it could be argued that was the difference last night. The ND QB took some hits to get some first downs.

So here is what happens. While it may be true that the WR weren't open, and I think that was true since we only had 3 out in pattern, CT took his normal roll out right which is almost always a complete disaster, and at worst he runs it out of bounds if he does't get sacked. With his speed, I have been extremely disappointed in his thorough lack of mobility, except for the rare occasions.

Sure, he has the NU records but I'd take Persa, Bazmanian, Kustoc, Shnur, Colter over him any day of the week as far as college football goes. I'd take CT over TS and Tim Hughes and that's about it.

OSU guy looks like he has army boots when he runs

 

[Chuckster1973]

Thorson is a good quarterback but not great this year he probably hurt his NFL stock coming back this year.

 

[CSCatFan1]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...m-notre-dames-victory-over-northwestern-31-21

Great info here. Thanks for posting. Slater is solid. Need more like him.

 

[cat inkansas]

Great info here. Thanks for posting. Slater is solid. Need more like him.

This info is always helpful to laymen like me. Also confirms that former Kansas City area standout Fred Wyatt is having a productive senior year.

 

[CSCatFan1]

This info is always helpful to laymen like me. Also confirms that former Kansas City area standout Fred Wyatt is having a productive senior year.

Wyatt looked great last night...had a couple of very nice stops in the run game.

 

[cat inkansas]

Wyatt looked great last night...had a couple of very nice stops in the run game.

FWIW a 2019 commit from Kansas city area, Tommy Adebawore, might be pretty good as well. His team hasn't been good in a long time and a win this Friday puts them in "Final Four" for state championship.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

Wyatt looked great last night...had a couple of very nice stops in the run game.

This guy came close to dominating. Pretty much plugged up everything. Isn't his recent plat sorta 'out of the blue?" Guy pretty much picked up where Lancaster left off. Very interesting play.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...m-notre-dames-victory-over-northwestern-31-21

Thanks. Not surprised by Slater and Wyatt's grades. Brown's grading was pretty cool. Good for the future.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

CT is far better than what hes given credit for, and its a reach to assume Hunter will be better next year.

At the end of the day if the oline cant block the play the play wont work.

I've seen other NU QB's have worse lines and do better. As far as senior years, I'd still take Kafka, CJ, Baz, ZK, SS, Persa over him even though CT can make all the throws they couldn't. They were all much better leaders.

CT has been adequate but at 5-4 the bar isn't set too high for Hunter Johnson. I would expect comparable productivity from Hunter, even though Johnson would only be a redshirt freshman.

CT does better in warm weather as he can't grip the ball as good when it's cool or cold. Thus, I like our chances at Indy. He very well could light it up there.

If we don't win at Indy, we could very well be a 6 loss team with nowhere to go.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I've seen other NU QB's have worse lines and do better. As far as senior years, I'd still take Kafka, CJ, Baz, ZK, SS, Persa over him even though CT can make all the throws they couldn't. They were all much better leaders.

CT has been adequate but at 5-4 the bar isn't set too high for Hunter Johnson. I would expect comparable productivity from Hunter, even though Johnson would only be a redshirt freshman.

CT does better in warm weather as he can't grip the ball as good when it's cool or cold. Thus, I like our chances at Indy. He very well could light it up there.

If we don't win at Indy, we could very well be a 6 loss team with nowhere to go.

Hunter will be a Sophomore not a redshirt Freshman. .

 

[EvanstonCat]

Colter?
You are out of your mind.

You're nuts to take Colter over TS as well. Pretty much destroys any credibility you have or any qualifications you may have in awarding any Turkey awards, at least at the QB position.

 

[stpaulcat]

Nice to see you back in section 108.

My thoughts are we where in the game until that final TD. That TD was defensible as all we had to do was seal the edge. This has been a problem all season.

It didn’t appear that we had an answer for their tight end. He was continually open and made us pay.

There is a disparaging difference in the size and athleticism between the two rosters. I am proud to be an NU fan and our athletes. We always appear to get more out of each and every one.

With a thin secondary to start the year and a couple more losses in personnel. I wish I could say I am optimistic for the rest of the season. I just don’t see us having enough horses in the stable.

A little surprised we didn’t try to exploit their corners.

I don’t think I can recall that many people being in and around Ryan Field ever. Lines for the lots were vast. Once in the lot it was quite congested.

Because of the DB situation, I too an concerned about Iowa. They barely lost to an improved Purdue team in the Boiler's house. If we hadn't let ND have that last touchdown, I would feel better about Iowa, but giving them three seemingly easy touch downs in two quarters is concerning, in spite of their monster WR's.

 

[zeek55]

CT is far better than what hes given credit for, and its a reach to assume Hunter will be better next year.

At the end of the day if the oline cant block the play the play wont work.

Hunter's a legit 5 star QB recruit with 2.5 years of training under his belt when the 2019 season starts (he enrolled in Clemson in Feb 2017). That's 3 full offseasons of training: 1.5 in our system.

It's reasonable to expect a high quality of production from him; perhaps more consistent excellence than we've seen from CT this year.

Seriously he should be nowhere near a freshman in quality. I expect him to look closer to a veteran...