Do these things just happen? Do teams lose games to teams with less talent? Well? The answer is; Yes, of course. However… when one of those teams is Navy and the other is Notre Dame- they typically haven’t for the past 40+ years. Once again though, Navy has went to South Bend and crushed the hopes of ND Nation for the 2nd time in 3 years.
In these types of games there are a lot of excuses, but there are also a lot of reasons as well. There is a difference. I will certainly try to stay away from excuses, and instead, make sure that this Hangover provides some reasons and some insight that is void of hatred towards a certain coach or is on the verge of jumping overboard like that dumb redhead in Titanic.
Where’s Jack?!
You must do this, and I told you so. Before I get into the game itself, I have to get something off of my chest. I am amazed, and I know I shouldn’t be, with the insane amount of articles, and TV spots about Notre Dame and Head Coach Charlie Weis. It’s like the entire main stream media has turned into one gigantic Internet message board.
Everyone wants Weis fired. Everyone.
Whether it’s some random fan, a blogger, a “journalist”, a talk show host- whoever, they are all chanting the same thing, like firing Charlie Weis will bring peace to the Mideast and feed all of the hungry children of the world. Really.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at all of the commotion (I’m speaking about the non ND media and fanbase), but something in Weis breeds hate that is generally reserved for things like the Taliban, or Hello Kitty, or boy bands.
I am not defending Weis, but merely trying to defend us as fans of Notre Dame. Who gives a fuck about what some Penn State fan says about ND’s coaching situation? Who gives a fuck about some Florida blogger ripping Weis and demanding his head? It’s like having a screw up for a kid. Yeah, he may be a screw up, but shut your fucking mouth- he’s my kid. I know people are just trying to sell ads for their website, or newspapers, or trying to make themselves bigger than what they are- but seriously.
I love opinions, and I love opinions from all sources, but when those opinions evolve into demands from the media or others outside the ND Nation- I get a little worked up. I’m glad i got that off of my chest… let’s continue.
Light as a feather, stiff as a board. The idea is to be flat. So flat and so stiff, that a group of people with will-power can pick you up easily and drop you on your spine causing severe nerve damage. That’s a pretty good explanation of what happened on Saturday.
As I watched the team walk down the tunnel and “run” on to the field, I had an overwhelming feeling of dread encompass me. The team looked flat, uninspired, and uninterested. This is not a good recipe when you are about to go up against a team that is as unconventional as Navy, and play with fire and passion. It just isn’t.
The first half was just awful. However it was, in some ways, encouraging to see the team come out in the second half with a different attitude. The problem was that it was too little too late as they gave up too many points to Navy in the first half and scored not nearly enough themselves. And by “not nearly enough” I mean ZERO.
In all sports, emotion can be a great equalizer. In Saturdays case, it was the destroyer. Did you see those hits from Navy? Nerve damage my friends.
Here ya go buddy. Turnovers kill. If coming out to play a game flat wasn’t enough, turning the ball over to a team that rarely will give you the same opportunity. It started early. Real early. After Robby Parris fumbled the ball in the flat, i had even more feelings of dread pound me into my living room carpet. It was the same feeling I got in 2006 when Michigan picked off a tipped pass from Brady Quinn through John Carlson’s hand and took it to the house.
The stat line may have only showed 3 actual turnovers (2 fumbles and 1 INT), but a closer look reveals 8 turnovers. The 2 fumbles, 1 INT, 2 missed FG’s, 2 turnover on downs, and a safety. This is an amazing amount of obstacles, that are mostly self-inflicted, to overcome. For comparison, Navy had a zero in all of those categories and in fact were 2-2 on 4th down.
So you have a flat team that is turning the ball over to a ball control team 8 times and you don’t get the favor returned. Losing by 2 points is unimaginable. It should have been 28.
Red Zone = No Hope. Notre Dame has had considerable trouble this year once it gets inside the redzone. I won’t post the season stat (but if someone wants to do it for me and put it in the comment section below- thanks) but it has been really bad. Notre Dame was able to overcome this against Washington with a handful of field goals, but against Navy- it just didn’t happen.
What’s the deal? Well, it may be simpler than examining the X’s and O’s. Notre Dame is not nearly physical enough to will itself into the endzone. I was talking about this with a buddy of mine and it came down to something from the Holtz era. Inside the 5, T-Formation, Jeff Burris… touchdown. Man I miss being physical.
Being a physical team allows you to impose your will, which means touchdowns, upon the other team. Being physical means not having to throw it up for a fade route almost every play, and the times you don’t, mean that you don’t get stuffed on the run. Notre Dame is a top 10 offense, but with a lack of physicality inside the opponents 10 yardline, it turns them into a predictable, soft, floundering offense.
Shut the hell up. Hammond and Haden have no idea that Notre Dame plays Navy every year. Otherwise, they wouldn’t talk about the same bullshit they always do when Navy comes to town. They talk for talking’s sake while Hammond would rather be ice skating and Haden would rather be under Pete Carroll’s desk. Enough.
Bowling scenario. This is a bit like last year, isn’t it? Of course the BCS is out of question, but the next big bowl for the Irish could be the Gator. Here are a few possibilities in light of the loss to Navy…
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3-0 in the final three games (9-3). Off to the Gator Bowl to play either Virginia Tech or Miami Fl. (just a guess at this point on the ACC- anything is possible).
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2-1 in the final three games (8-4). Gator Bowl still is probable. Remember the economy.
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1-2 in the final three games (7-5). Gator Bowl is STILL probable, but more than likely it would be the Sun Bowl, which would fit in with Notre Dame’s obsession with Texas. Also, it would face ND off against another Pac-10 school, most likely Arizona or Oregon State.
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0-3 in the final three games (6-6). Maybe the Sun Bowl- but they will probably go to the Texas Bowll to continue the theme, or Hawai’i to drop off Manti Te’o and Roby Toma.
There is still a lot of football to play, but I can honestly see any of those scenarios coming to fruition.
A few closing thoughts…
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Regardless of where you stand on the Weis debate, this unquestionably a disappointing season. However, if ND can manage to win its next three games and their bowl game, than I think this team would have accomplished most of what the real expectations were this season.
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The schedule is not as weak as some thought before the season. Three losses all under a touchdown in the final minutes of play does not classify a team as “bad.” Lucky and unlucky- but not bad. Quit throwing the team under the bus.
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Coaching is a fickle thing. But what makes anyone think that any big name college coach wants this job? I thought we learned that over the past two seasons.
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This team is not physical- and probably won’t be for at least a few more years.
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I am a fence sitter. I am looking at the big picture of this team, this program, and this coaching staff, and I am waiting until after the Stanford game before I fall on one side or the other. So, don’t worry about swaying my opinion and I won’t try to sway you with mine.
Go Irish, and someone pass me a bottle of Jack! Shit.
