Well here’s your Hangover. It took me a little while to figure out how I wanted to write this, and after careful consideration, I have decided to scrap all original plans.
Here’s how I see this:
- I don’t put this loss in the same category as a lot of people are wanting to put it. This is not the worse loss in Notre Dame history as so many of our fans are claiming that it is. I save those kind of losses for ones such as the 1993 Boston College game or the 1989 Miami game or the 2005 U$C game. Those games ripped my soul apart.
- Navy is a good football team. They have been for the last 5 years. If you took the name, “Navy” off of their jerseys and reanalyzed the situation- it is not as dire of a situation as you originally have thought.
- Navy runs a unique offense that NOBODY in the country runs as precise or is as lethal as how they run the triple option.
- =Notre Dame was not well prepared on the defensive side of the football for the first time since the Stanford game. So, after 8 games, they were unprepared for two of those games, and you can’t include Michigan because of the freak factor that Denard has going for him.
- On defense, nobody looked like they could handle, or come off of a chop block. Navy’s slot backs were quick and athletic, the line played their assignments, and Ricky Dobbs was healthy for the first time all year. Add that to a menace at fullback and it all adds up to a big fucking.
- Speaking of that fullback… he kept being referred to as the backup fullback, and was only playing because Vince Murray was hurt. Well, Teisch was the starter last year until he got hurt and Murray came out and kicked ass. As you can see, Navy has, and has had, great fullbacks for quite a long time.
- Notre Dame’s offensive line is soft. This one the one spot, where the irish should have held an advantage- regardless of scheme. Instead, they looked soft, weak, and out-worked.
- Speaking of the offense, I thought they did an alright job if you factor in the loss of Floyd, Riddick, and Rudolph. Crist made some poor decisions and we turned the ball over. I’ll let the offense slide, but the line gets gets no such pass. Soft.
- Once Navy got a two score lead I knew it was over.
Basically, I’m done. I won’t listen to nonsense from fans screaming to fire Bob Diaco, who has put together defense that held its last three opponents to a total of 153 yards rushing combined. Quit sounding dumb. This team has serious issues on both sides of the ball, and ran into a team that does things with precision and doesn’t turn the ball over.
It sucked ass. It really, really did. However, I am not about to cash in our chips just yet. This team HAS GOT TO get to 6 wins and go to whatever bowl game is given to us. They need the practice, obviously.
Moving on….
