Alright, alright… I fucked up. My apologies go out to those of you who were disappointed by the thinned-out Anti-Preview last week. And, yes, I know I shouldn’t of called it an “Anti-Preview” with none of the regular stuff I usually put into it (talking to you NDcarl85). Mad props to KGG and The Brawling Hibernian for still submitting their portions into their Editor Emperor. It still was a quaity piece of work, and I thank them for helping me out during a “stupid-ass” week that was beating me down.
Moving on…
Friends, the Fighting Irish are back to .500 with their victory over the Mustached Warriors of Pitt. It feels like it was ages ago that Notre Dame was 1-3 after a heart-breaking (and shirt-ripping) overtime loss to Michigan State, and then the morale-busting loss against Stanford, where the Irish looked sloppy and outplayed on both sides of the ball. Fans were going about as apeshit as they were in the last half of the Charlie Weis era.
I preached to the masses to calm the fuck down. This is a process, and I asked that they look more at the positive changes in the program, instead of bearing down upon the mistakes made by both the players and the staff. Even if no one wants to call this a rebuilding/transition year… it is exactly that. The good news is that ND is still 3-3 after their toughest 6 game stretch of the season, and have a legitimate chance to go 8-4 and even 9-3, and if you have been paying attention, that’s where most people thought the Irish would be on their way to the Champs Sports Bowl.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to take care of some business…
Western Michigan. Western Michigan is no stranger to playing against the “big-boys” of college football. They regularly appear on BCS conference schools schedules to play the role of “cupcake,” but as Michigan State found out last year, they are able to rise to the occasion and give a tough game to those that should blow them out. Bill Cubit has done a really nice job with this MAC squad.
Western lost their top dog at quarterback from last year due to graduation, Tim Hiller, but have replaced him with Alex Carder. Carder isn’t quite the prolific passer as Hiller, but he is an athletic runner and has 4 rushing TD’s for the season. (3 of those came against Ball State- so take it for what it’s worth).
Defensively… nah.
One more fun thing before we move on; In 1920, Notre Dame beat Western Michigan when George Gipp completed a 62 yard drop-kick. It is the longest drop-kick in football history. Talk about going up against some ghosts…
What should you be drinking? It sure as fuck ain’t anything from the Bells Brewery in Kalamazoo. Domer.mq of Her Loyal Sons would disown you for life. Instead, jump into the spirit of autumn as we finally start seeing some fall-like weather approaching (but how “fall” is 67 degrees and sunny?). What spirit is that, you might ask… getting messed up with a bunch of apples. It’s a Subway Domer Classic, known as “Subway Domer Crack.”
- 1) 750 ml bottle of Captain Morgan or Bacardi Apple Rum
- 1) Gallon of Apple Cider
Mix. Pour out one, and then the other- or both at the same time, or alternate… whatever. Just mix this nectar of Johnny Appleseed, and enjoy.
What should you be eating? We might as well keep this thing as classic as that George Gipp drop-kick; Sausage & Fried Apples.
- 3 lbs. Ekrich Smoked Sausage
- 5 Apples sliced (preferably something crisp)
- 1 Shotglass of rum
- 2 leveled tbs. of brown sugar
- Butter
- 1 cup of Subway Domer Crack
Start by melting some butter. Start by melting a stick of butter (you can go half a stick if you are a pansy). Throw in your apple slices, rum, and brown sugar. Stir-fry on high for 5 minutes. Cut your sausage into 2 inch pieces (or whatever) and add that to the apples. Stir-fry for another 5 minutes. After you’re done frying it all up (you could fry it for a few minutes longer) place all the contents into a crock-pot. Pour 1 cup of the Subway Domer Crack into the same crock-pot and cook on low for 2-3 hours. I swear to Crist, you will love this shit.
Irish Stew: If you can go to the game- go to the fucking game. The weather is going to be fantastic football weather, with a high of 67 with little to no cloud cover. I don’t care about some sellout streak that is nothing more than a well-told lie. However, there could be an abundance of tickets available, and I urge those who have never been to the Stadium to make a trek and enjoy yourselves for a day. Take an underprivileged kid, take your mom, take your wife/girlfriend, take that buddy of yours that is a fan of some other school, take your neighbor, take your priest, take your mistress, take your gay-lover, take your old football coach- take whoever you want. Just go to the game. It’s not the streak that I care about, but it would be an insult to the players- not the administrators, to have empty seats. Just sayin’…
What’s in a name? Tevin Drake. Western Michigan, like most MAC schools has a long list of top quality names on their roster. Tevin Drake, for some reason, stood out from the rest. When I say that name, I am reminded of the old R&B singer, Tevin Cambell (don’t act like you don’t know him), and current R&B singer; Drake (I know he exists). Tevin Drake…R&B…is a RB. That’s right, a running back. Drake is a 6’1″ 210 pound running back that is a different type of runner than what the rest of the Bronco lineup contains (which are a lot of “scatbacks”). He had 8 carries for 63 yards against Ball State, and showed some power in a run game that severely lacks power.
The Angle of The Brawling Hibernian: After a difficult, and sometimes uneven, start to the season, Notre Dame reaches a point in the schedule which seems to offer a bit less challenge than that which came before. The next three opponents (Western Michigan, Navy, Tulsa) are a combined 7-9 and, on paper at least, would seem to be ripe for dominance by the Irish.
First up is Western Michigan. The Irish and Broncos have actually played twice previously (with Notre Dame winning both), but the last time was in 1920 when some guy named Rockne was strolling the sidelines in South Bend. How badly has ND dominated WMU in those two games; well, the next points the Broncos score against the Irish will be the program’s first. Notre Dame won the inaugural meeting, 53-0 in 1919 and, the following year, pumped the brakes a bit on their way to eeeking out a 41-0 thriller. While this year’s ND squad may not be as talented as those two (both of whom finished undefeated at 9-0), they should be a good deal better than the Broncs.
If you’ve checked the Las Vegas line on this game (for entertainment purposes only, of course), you’ll note that the Irish are favored by 24 points. Impressive against any opponent, but even more when one considers Notre Dame has only averaged 24 ppg coming into this Saturday. Does Las Vegas really think the Irish are 24 points better? Are they? I will offer a resounding, “I have no idea” on both points. In the case of Vegas bookies, their methodology is as arcane, complex and closely guarded as that of most garden-variety alchemists, so you never know with those guys. For those of us who’ve watched Notre Dame more casually (and with less pecuniary investment), it’s equally tough to say exactly which version of Kelly’s Heroes will show up. Will this be the week the offense finally clicks for two halves? Can the defense shut down a team before they get to the Red Zone? Add in the fact that Kyle Rudolph is now done for the year, and Armando Allen is likely sitting for at least this week, and it becomes even more vexing to guesstimate what Saturday will offer. Still, you fan(s) come here to read my, eerily prescient predictions each week, so I owe you something for your time and loyalty. Looking into my crystal ball, I see a game where Notre Dame plays better offensively, but still can’t get a complete game under their belts. The defense will let up a bunch of yards and a handful of points to a mobile QB they’ll struggle to contain all day but, ultimately, will impose their will. The good news for WMU is that they finally score points against the Irish. The bad news, it will be woefully inadequate. Notre Dame, 38 – Western Michigan 20.
KGG’s Slant: The Irish come into this week on a 2 game winning streak. man that feels good to type. What looked like a bleaker season in this rebuilding year has turned around quite nicely. The Irish have strung together a couple nice games but not a complete game. These past 2 games have shown inconsistencies with the offense, but the defense has been down right impressive. Throw out Gary Gray biting on the wheel route against BC, throw out Slaughter jumping the Baldwin route against Pitt or RJ Blanton not staying home against the bootleg again vs. Pittsburgh. Throw out these three plays and we have a dominating defense on our hands.
OK I said it. Throw out a play here and there and we would be a better team. There it is, the typical Notre Dame fan response (If I start talking about how next years recruiting class will conquer the world, then I’ve really lost it). The point I am trying to make is not that we should have stopped the fake field goal against MSU or stood up to D-Rob on that last drive against Michigan, I am only saying that this team is starting to come along. What they are struggling with is consistency. If the D stops those 3 plays mentioned earlier (I know they were all homerun plays) we might not be thinking of this team as a high school defense. The D has risen to the occasion against two powerful running teams and has looked great of late. If the Irish can continue over the season to play a consistent level of football, both offensively and defensively, they could really surprise some people next year.
The Irish will look to get consistent this week against the Broncos of Western Michigan. The Broncos enter this game 2-3 with their lone wins coming against Nicholls State and Ball State. Their offense is centered around their QB, Alex Carder. Carder leads the #23 ranked passing offense in the country and is completing 60% of his throws for 1290 yards but has struggled with the INT’s. He has 10 TD’s to 7 INT’s. The bread and butter of this team is the passing game as the rushing attack only averages 103 yards a game. That’s even wore than the Irish average. The Broncos will look to try and get the Irish into a shootout. They average 29 points a game but also give up 27 points a game. The Irish D will need to get pressure on Carder all day. The recent emergence of Darius Flemming and Prince Shembo as the nickel rusher, has really propelled this pass rush. If these guys continue to get after the QB this weekend, then the talent that’s in the secondary should be primed for some turnovers. Smith is building on some momentum and has really had a solid season in the secondary. Walls, Gray and Blanton need to play at a high level this weekend because they should be tested early and often. The Broncos offense will really need to show up this weekend against this newly confident Irish football team if they have any shot of winning this game.
Offensively for the Irish, they also struggle with consistency. They looked brilliant in the first 3 drives against BC but quickly fizzled out. Against Pitt then also put together 4 straight drives that ended in points. Where they have struggled is in the red-zone. The Irish offense will need to be at its best against a high powered passing attack. With Kyle Rudolph out and Eifert hurt, the Irish could employ 4 receivers instead of a tight-end if they feel that Ragone isn’t ready for big-time action. With Armando being dinged up as well, they may hold him this game. That means guys that don’t normally play a whole bunch will be called upon this game. We should see names like Kamara, Ragone, Wood, Hughes, and Goodman a lot more this weekend. The hardest part about this game is getting trapped. Trapped into playing down to your opponents level but I think Kelly has a Holtz-ian style speech lined up for the gents this weekend the Irish will extend their winning streak.
Irish win 34-13.
Offensive MVP: I really, REALLY, want to put Armando Allen’s name in this slot. I really want to do it, but after hearing about Armando sitting out of practice, and this whole Rudolph thing… I have to go with Cierre Wood. Allen will probably start and get his carries, albeit fewer of them, but I think Kelly is just foaming at the mouth to get Cierre Wood a huge game on the ground. Honestly, I think we could see a lot of rushing yards on the perimeter. If the line can collapse on the front 7, Wood will have big running lanes on the outside, in space, to use to his advantage. Other than our WR’s versus their secondary, there should be no bigger mismatch than our O-line versus their defensive front, which gives Wood the glory.
Defensive MVP: Harrison Smith is inching closer and closer to having one of those, “Oh, shit!” breakout games this season. Take last week, for example: Smith had 11 tackles, 1 INT, and 2 pass breakups. One of those pass breakups was just inches away from becoming his 2nd INT od the day. 11 tackles and 2 picks is a hell of a day for anyone- let alone a guy that has took more than his fair share of verbal abuse from his own fanbase. I pretty much expect more of the same this week. WMU is a pass-happy team, and my gut tells me that the Irish will get up on them fairly quickly. This will allow Smith to sit back in centerfield and make plays on the ball in the air, and it could have Bob Diaco using Smith on a blitz or two- just to make it interesting.
Something else to watch for… The Fighting Irish offensive line versus the Bronco defensive line. The Broncos boast a 202 pound starter at defensive end in Paul Hazel. At defensive tackle, the Broncos have a 5’11” 300 coke machine with, Travonte Boles. This will be the first game this season where the Irish have the clear advantage over the opponents defensive line. Will they be able to own that, and dominate the line of scrimmage, or will guys like Hazel, make our tackles look ridiculous as he blows right past them to get to Crist?
At the end of the day… Notre Dame cruises right past Western Michigan in an ass-stomping. Kelly makes sure that this team handles its business and they come out sharp, and stay sharp. Irish win 49-6. If there was ever a time for this Notre Dame team to open it up and go wild, this is certainly it.
