Friends, here is your Hangover for Notre Dame's triple overtime victory over Pitt 29-26. We all face obstacles in our lives that hamper the spring to greatness. Take your Emperor, for example. There was a very well written and detailed hangover post ready to publish last night- and then it was lost forever because Joomla is a motherfucker. Now, you must suffer a hastily thrown together pile of crap.

This is very much like the game Saturday. We were expecting quite a bit of fun- and then we were handed a heart attack on a plate.

On to the Hangover…

Please keep in mind the "top" doesn't exactly mean "the best." It's the top things on my mind coming out of the game. I guess I could change the title- but I won't. Screw you guys:

The Top 5

1. This whole "special teams" thing is getting out of hand. The kick return unit was lethargic and perhaps George Atkinson III was still feeling under the weather after staying home last week due to illness. Either way, it was an absolute non-factor. The punt return team is still unbelievably bad, and it sunk a bit lower thanks to a few poor decisions by freshman Davonte Neal. Add all of that to missing a field goal AND an extra point and see your average offense look even more pedestrian.

2. So I guess I wasn't too far off in the Pitt Anti-Preview when I was discussing the MVP's. I called for Dan Fox & DaVaris Daniels to be the clear MVP's for the Irish. Fox led the team with 9 tackles and Daniels led the team in receptions and receiving yards. Having said all of that… Prince Shembo was a MAN out there with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, and 2 QB hurries. And while I'm amending things, Theo Riddick gets the nod on offense from me. The guy just does a little bit of everything and balls hard. HARD.

3. Brian Kelly might be feeling the stress of the expectations of an undefeated season at Notre Dame. I saw a much more animated Brian Kelly on the sideline Saturday, and there were a couple of times that I thought we were pretty close to a CODE PURPLE ALERT. The more obvious signs were in the post game presser. It wasn't just the overreaction to the "chicken soup" question, it was Kelly's whole demeanor. The same questions each week are eating at him like a flesh-eating virus. If Notre Dame would have blown Pitt out if the water, I'm sure we would have seen the more political Kelly that we have seen most of the season. Hang on folks… shit could get even bumpier.

4. This is a team of destiny. At least for the moment. Sure, the moniker would have had much more credence if one or more of the 3 teams ranked ahead of the Irish would have lost, but I think we can still use it after the type of games ND has played and won. If you haven't been a believer up to this point, I suggest you think it over a bit more. This is the type of season that 2010 Auburn & 2002 Ohio State had- ALL THE WAY TO THE FUCKING TITLE Y'ALL!

5. Everett Golson is the keystone of this offense. Duh. Look, I don't think it can be overstated enough about how much Golson's ability to keep plays alive with his feet mean. As much as this offense has struggled at times, could you REALLY imagine Tommy Rees at the helm full time? Yup- you just had a stroke. The future of ND quarterbacks is here and is still learning. This shit is exciting!

Headbutts

KeiVarae Russell. Russell had 2 TD saving tackles & still has not looked much like a freshman that was recruited to play running back.
Louis Nix. The flu sucks ass when you just have to go to work and be present. None of us would go to work after 2 nights in the infirmary. Louis Nix is a Holy Warrior. 
Ray Graham. I normally don't give the opposing team headbutts- but when you rush for 177 yards on this defense… my hat is off to you sir.

Swift Kick To The Nuts

Double numbers. 99 numbers. 85 scholarship players. Kelly must do what he will because of recruiting, but I'm looking right at you NCAA. Right at you.
Mike Mayock. Mayock had a lot of fun Saturday and wanted to let everyone know that he was, like every 3 minutes. Only Musburger can get away with that Mike. Know your god damn role.
Dan Hicks. BC 2002. South Florida 2011. Pitt 2012. DO NOT BRING THIS SOB BACK. EVER.

Final Words

As the saying goes, "A win is a win is a win." I'm fine with all of that. Unfortunately, when you are nearing the end of a title run and so are 3 other teams, you really can't put that "shadow of a doubt" in voters minds. So, a better showing would have been nice. However, with a lot of football left to play, Notre Dame is still sitting in a great position because they have not lost. Take the win. Learn from it. Use it. KEEP FUCKING WINNING.

DAMSHA BUA!!!!

Welcome to your Pitt Hangover. Friends, this was a huge game for the Irish. Had Notre Dame lost, they would have been sitting at 1-3 for the second year in a row. A loss would have slammed shut any good will given towards the program due to “beating themselves” against Michigan and South Florida. A loss would have had us ALL questioning if the program was indeed improving and becoming one of the better teams in the country.

Of course, Notre dame did win the game 15-12. The Irish are sitting at 2-2 with homestate bitch, Purdue, next up on the schedule. There were a lot of negatives from this game- that much is obvious. However, the biggest positive is the thing that matter s the most; Notre Dame went on the road and got the victory.

Ain’t life funny?

Tyler Eifert. We have to start with Tyler. He had a magnificent game for Notre Dame and really bailed Tommy Rees out. Eifert caught 8 passes for 75 yards and a TD. The bigger stat is what he did on the last touchdown drive for Notre Dame. Of the 8 passes thrown, Eifert caught 4 of them for 34 yards and the go ahead TD. He also nabbed the two point conversion.

He still is in shadow of former Notre Dame tight end, Kyle Rudolph- but not by Irish fans. We have see the same type of production out of Eifert as we had with Rudolph, and frankly, there might even be a higher ceiling when it comes to production catching the ball.

Prince Shembo. Above all else that Shembo did on Saturday (6 tackles 1 TFL 1 sack), his biggest play was on a great play from Pitt. Pitt running back Ray Graham ripped off a 42 yard run- but it could have been a TD if it was not for the hustle and SPEED of Prince Shembo. Prince (260 pound OLB/DE) flat out ran Graham (190 pound RB) from behind while both players were running as fast as they could, and tackled his ass. It’s something that you see in the SEC, not in South Bend. It was impressive.

Michael Floyd. Oh dear. It wasn’t a banner day for Floyd who had only 4 grabs for 27 yards. That’s three games in a row for Floyd without a touchdown. It’s starting to get a little ridiculous. I know teams are focusing in on Floyd, and Pitt did the best job thus far. However, there is blame to be passed around. Kelly is at fault for not thinking of better ways to get Floyd open, and Rees for locking in like a heat-seeking misile. Ugh. Seriously though, this could be a frustrating season for Floyd if teams mirror and execute the way Pitt did. 

Crazy Stats:

• Kelly is 7-0 at ND when ND passes for fewer yards than opponent.
• Kelly is 9-0 at ND when ND defense allows 19 points or less.
• Kelly is 0-2 at ND when ND has a 100 yard rusher. 
• Notre Dame has given up 2 rushing TD’s in its last 9 games.
• Notre Dame hasn’t had an opposing RB rush for a TD since Stanford’s Owen Marecic ran in a 1 yard TD on September 25th, 2010. OVER A YEAR AGO.

Jonas Gray & Cierre Wood. I read a comment or an article heading or something that stated that Gray and Wood switched their supposed “Thunder & Lightning” role on Saturday. Kind of, but not really. Wood did pick up a lot of valuable short yardage, and all season he has shown a lot more power than we would have guessed. Although Wood’s “power” has been surprising, how about Jonas’s productivity since that tragic fumble versus South Florida? Gray is averaging over 9 yards a carry. His 79 yard TD run against Pitt certainly helped out, but it is safe to say that this tandem is very productive, and barring injury, it should really help the Irish down the stretch.

Rees & Kelly. It is obvious that Rees is Kelly’s guy. What is also obvious, is that the two will be joined at the hip in terms of vocal criticisms. This was not a very good day for Rees, and is was magnified because of two more turnovers. Kelly is not going back to Crist outside of an injury, or a blowout, and I doubt we see the so called, “goaline package” any time soon. Nope, it’s just Kelly and Rees. Somehow, someway they have to figure out a way to get the vertical passing game clicking. They have to stretch the field- even if it’s just a little bit. 

The final drive. No, not the TD drive, but the last drive Notre Dame had to seal the victory. With 2:24 to play, the Irish did what they have struggled to do in a lot of games over the last few years; kill the clock. Drain it. After 2 runs by Wood that netted them a 3rd and 8, Kelly opted for a pass play. Floyd caught the throw from Rees but failed to get the first down. Kelly elects to go for it on 4th down and a yard and a half, and call a QB sneak. The Irish nutted up, and got the first down. So many things about those 4 plays are different than what we have grown used to in regards to Notre Dame football. ND took a couple of small risks, and went balls deep to seal the victory. Yeah! 

Molly’s take. The Notre Dame fanbase is missing some “positive” vibes. Molly (@Lluckoftheirsh) has that in bunches. Here is her recap of the game:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=o33YFG8c3Nw

Hello Purdue, meet our gang…