Notre Dame vs. Boston College Preview

Well, once again Notre Dame has landed another 8 PM night game that will air on either ABC, or ESPN2.  This week we will be facing off against the Boston College Golden Eagles.  This could be the game that starts a winning streak for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.  As of now, Boston College is sitting at 2-1, while Notre Dame is at 1-3.  This is a big statement game for both programs that have had some bad blood over the past couple of years. 

            The big news of the week is that Boston College will be starting true freshman quarterback Chase Rettig.  He will be moved to number one on the depth chart, and Dave Shinskie (a 26 year old former minor league baseball player) will assume number two in the depth chart.  This could be good news for the Irish, who’s defense has struggled this year.  Hopefully the Irish will be able to put pressure on the true freshman, and force some big turnovers that will turn into Irish touchdowns. 

            Boston College is 2-1 this year with wins coming against Weber State, and Kent State.  There only loss was to Virginia Tech last week where the score was 19-0.  The Golden Eagles rank 73^rd in pass offense, and 93^rd in rushing offense.  They also only average 21.3 points per game.  This offense is not as strong as it has been in the past couple of years, so look for Boston College to struggle to put points on the board against Notre Dame.  Manti Teo recorded 21 tackles last week, so look for him to come out strong, and hopefully his work ethic and intensity will wear off onto other member of the Notre Dame defense. 

            On the flip side, Notre Dame struggled rushing the ball last game, totaling only 44 yards.  Notre Dame looks to get back on track running the ball considering this was one of the strong points in the opening game against Purdue.  If Notre Dame can come out and establish a strong running game with starting tailback Armando Allen, and now backup Robert Hughes.  Hughes has moved up to the #2 back, which pushes Cierre Wood to the #3 back.  Look for Hughes to have some power runs up the middle to establish a strong running game. 

            The Irish’s passing game has been its one strong point throughout the year.  They rank 7^th in the country with 315.5 passing yards per game.  Dayne Crist has found new offensive weapon Theo Riddick.  Michael Floyd has also played a larger role in the offense in the past 2 games.  Crist’s favorite weapon Kyle Rudolph was nearly non-existent last week against the Stanford Cardinal’s with only 1 yard on 1 reception.  Look for Dayne Crist to spread the ball around, and set up Michael Floyd for some shots downfield. 

            In a nutshell, Notre Dame has all the talent and weapons to win this game by two touchdowns.  In reality though, it should be another close game since they are heading up to Boston to play this game.  This will be a statement game for coach Brian Kelly and his reputation with all the Notre Dame fans.  I feel like he will not let his team lose this weekend.  With that said, my predicition for the game is Notre Dame 34 – Boston College – 28.  Lets Go Irish!

Week 5 Preview

Hello to all you Irish Football Nation fans. As Meghan did, let me give you a brief overview who I am. My name is Matt Foreman. I am currently a freshman at Lock Haven University studying as a Sports Administration major. I attended Penn State University as a Sports Journalism major but decided it wasn’t for me. I watch any college football game on television. However, I am I die hard Penn State supporter. Obviously you can see that I am not a huge Notre Dame fan so I a will be giving a look at other happenings in the NCAA.

Lets start off with the biggest topic all year. If Boise State goes undefeated do they deserve a shot to play in the BCS title game? Everywhere I go people tell me “no”. The most common reason I see is that they play in a weak conference. My question is, how can you punish a team for what conference they play in? They can’t just pick and choose a conference to be a part of. I guess they could have joined the Pac-10 this year but who knows if they would have been invited to play and I don’t think it’s fair to all the other sports teams at Boise to move into a power conference just because of one of their teams. They go out every year and play well and win against automatic qualifying conference schools. I do agree that if a team from one of the automatic qualifying conferences goes undefeated, that they deserve to play in the title game only because they play tough competition every week. But I don’t see how a one loss team deserves to play in the national title game in place of an undefeated Boise State team. We’ll see how Boise ends up at the end of the season with one more test left when they travel to play Nevada and the nation’s number 6 rushing offense.

Over the past several weeks the nation has seen Michigan QB Denard Robinson climb to the top of the list of many analysts list of top Heisman trophy contenders. And I agree, Robinson has played amazing football so far this year. Another person that has proved to be looking for a shot at college football’s biggest individual award is last years recipient, Alabama tail back Mark Ingram. After missing opening week games against San Jose State and Penn State, Ingram has put together solid games the past two weeks rushing for 151 against Duke and 157 against Arkansas. He almost single handedly won that game against Arkansas last week with big runs late in the fourth quarter. But, I want to talk about another stud tail back who I haven’t really heard much about for Heisman considerations despite putting up huge numbers and having a team in the AP top 5. This would be Oregon tail back LaMicheal James. James is currently 8th in the nation in rushing yards despite missing the first game of the year. James is also second in the nation in yards per game averaging 158.3 yards per game. If he continues at this pace, I think that you will see more and more people hop on the LaMicheal James bandwagon because it will be interesting to see if Robinson is going to be able to keep up his torrid pace for two reasons.

-First, cause there is no way defenses like Iowa, Ohio State and Penn State are going to let him go off for almost 160 per game

-Second, because I foresee an injury that puts him out a game or more. His 6”0” 193 lb. body isn’t going to be able to hold up in the very physical Big 10, especially if he keeps taking shots like he has been. He has been sidelined with injuries twice this season already; most recently being last week when he fell on his knee in the first quarter and was held out the rest of the game, most likely for precautionary reasons. But still, if he’s already banged up so as it is, teams are going to target that already weakened knee.

As for Ingram, he has a good shot, but I don’t see him putting the numbers capable of James in the SEC. The SEC has some of the best defense in the nation, while the Pac-10 has some shaky defense, most notably in Washington State who is ranked 118 out of 120 in total defense. And when looking at the stats, Oregon still has 3 teams, including Washington State, on their schedule who rank in the bottom 20 in total defense. While Alabama’s lowest remaining opponent is number 72 South Carolina. That makes a much easier path for James than Ingram.

Now for something I’d like to run weekly my top 25 game predictions and my game of the week.

1. Alabama vs. 7. Florida

My Pick: Alabama

Too much Alabama D for Florida’s pedestrian looking offense

2. Ohio State vs. Illinois

My Pick: Ohio State

Terrelle Pryor keeps his name in the Heisman hat with a great game

3. Boise State vs. New Mexico State

My Pick: Boise State

Playing arguably one of the worst teams in the nation, look for Boise to gain some of those much talked about “style points”

*Game of the Week*

4. Oregon vs. 9. Stanford

My Pick: Oregon

Oregon wins in a shootout by playing just a little bit better on offense

5. TCU vs. Colorado State

My Pick: TCU

Another team looking for “style points”, TCU ends this game early

6. Nebraska off

8. Oklahoma vs. 21. Texas

My Pick: Texas

After a crushing loss against unranked UCLA, Texas puts the loss behind them and makes Oklahoma a one dimensional team and wins this years Red River rivalry

10. Auburn vs. Louisiana-Monroe

My Pick: Auburn

Cam Newton leads the War Eagles in easy defeat after two hard fought games

11. Wisconsin vs. 24 Michigan State

My Pick: Wisconsin

No trick plays this week, Wisconsin lead by John Clay wins in East Lansing

12. LSU vs. Tennessee

My Pick: LSU

Patrick Peterson and the Tigers defense stifles Tennessee offense

13. Utah off

14. Arizona off

15. Arkansas off

16. Miami vs. Clemson

My Pick: Miami

The Hurricanes big play offense continues to roll

17. Iowa vs. 22. Penn State

My Pick: Iowa

My heart says Nittany Lions, but my head says Hawkeyes in close fought game; Iowa’s offense proves to be better than Penn State in a low scoring game

18. USC vs. Washington

My Pick: USC

Matt Barkley picks apart the Huskies defense as Jake Locker’s Heisman and first overall pick hopes continue to dwindle

19. Michigan vs. Indiana

My Pick: Michigan

Michigan’s offense led by Denard Robinson overpowers the Hoosiers average defense

20. South Carolina off

23. North Carolina State vs. Virginia Tech

My Pick: Virginia Tech

Ryan Williams has his first big game of the season as the Hookies steal one in Raleigh

25. Nevada vs. UNLV

My Pick: Nevada

The Wolf Pack runs every which way over the Rebel’s defense.

Notre Dame vs. Boston College

My Pick: Notre Dame

Dayne Christ and Michael Floyd steal the show as the Fighting Irish stop the slide

Postgame Analysis- Stanford 37, Notre Dame 14

I know a fair share of Notre Dame fans had a positive outlook coming into this game against Stanford, hoping the Irish could come away with a big, breakout 'W'.

There's always next week, right?

Notre Dame is 1-3 at this point (although I'm sure I don't have to tell my fellow Irish fans about how we easily could be 2-2 or even 3-1... *sigh*). I wasn't among those who thought Brian Kelly would come in and instantly give the Irish four more wins than last season. Turning around a team takes time. I was hoping we'd be able to finish somewhere along the lines of 8-4.

Technically 8-4 could still happen. Judging by today's game, however, that seems like a stretch. The Irish still have quite a bit of work to do.

Positives-

-Manti T'eo is looking better and better every game. He recorded a career-high 21 tackles (13 individual). Think of how great a player he'll be when he's a senior.

-The Irish won the turnover battle 3-2. It's always a plus if you can generate more turnovers than the opposition. Even more of a plus if you can score more than three points off of three turnovers...

-At least our kicker is looking good. David Ruffer is seven-for-seven on the year and he's only a sophomore. He nailed home 22 and 40 yarders in today's game.

Negatives-

-Where to start? The Irish need to establish the running game, and establish it early. When I was little, one of the first things my dad taught me about football was exactly how important a dominant running game is for winning teams. How many rushing yards did Notre Dame have against Stanford? 44. That's all. A mere 44 rushing yards. Notre Dame needs to come out and run the ball early, so they don't have to play catchup every single game and chuck the ball downfield. It would also help the offense settle in and get some rhythm, which was a problem today. Remember when, I think it was in the third quarter, Notre Dame's offense had third-and-one at midfield, and opted to throw the ball. Not only did they throw the ball, they attempted to throw it about 10 yards downfield. Why, why, why would you ever throw the ball in a third-and-one situation? Notre Dame needs to get the running game going early if they want to snap their three-game losing streak.

-Winning the turnover battle is a good thing. Turning the ball over about twice a game is not. Dayne Crist is still in the adjustment period so some of his interceptions can be credited to learning pains. Still, the Irish need to take better care of the ball if they want to win. You can't win if you don't have the ball to score. Speaking of which...

-Time of possession. Another battle Notre Dame has to try and win. I know Brian Kelly likes a hurry-up, spread offense, but still. Stanford had the ball for almost 13 minutes longer than Notre Dame. There's nothing wrong with having an offense that can score quickly if they need to, but they also need to be able to maintain longer drives, keep the ball out of their opponents' hands, and give the defense a rest.

-The defense was better than the statistics suggested, I think, (some of that can be attributed to fatigue because of the offense's inability to establish any rhythm and hold on to the ball) but they still need work. The secondary has been decent, and Gary Gray is turning out to be quite a player for Notre Dame, but they need to practice their open-field tackling. The run defense is better than last year. Nose tackle Ian Williams is thriving in the 3-4 defense and is doing a better job at clogging up the middle, but they still get beat on runs to the outside too easily. You know what else is killing them? Screen plays. Notre Dame has been defending well against the long ball but giving up too many chunks of yardage on screen plays.

-Brian Kelly has to stop wearing a visor and start wearing an actual hat. Just kidding. I like poking fun at grown men who wear visors, even if they play for or coach a team I like.

-Going back to turnovers for a minute, the Irish have to be able to capitalize and gain momentum off of the turnovers they force. Winning the turnover battle is no good if you can't score off them. Three points off of three turnovers isn't going to cut it. If Notre Dame had scored a touchdown rather than a field goal off of the recovered muffed punt early in the game, they could've established some early-game momentum and the turnout may have been different.

Those are the things that really stuck out to me this game. Notre Dame can learn from their mistakes this game and use them to prepare for Boston College next week. It's still early and the season isn't lost yet. I still think Brian Kelly is the right man for this job, but like I said, it's going to take a couple of seasons for it to start to show. But if Kelly can get a program like Cincy in the top 5, he will be able to get the Fighting Irish back in BCS contention.

Hello to Irish Nation

Hello fellow Notre Dame fans! My name is Meghan and I'm one of the contributing writers for Irish Football Nation. Yes, I am, in fact, a girl who loves Notre Dame football. No, I am not one of those girls who only started liking Notre Dame because Brady Quinn was "so cute!" (I'm not going to say what I think of girls like that because it's not exactly what you would call "family friendly".)

Since the blog is so new, I thought I'd write a quick little post about myself so our readers could learn a little about me.

-I've been a Notre Dame fan my entire life. I've been watching the Irish play football for as long as I can remember. My dad is the biggest ND fan I know, and he passed his love of Notre Dame football on to me and my brothers. So yes, I've suffered through the Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis years just like the rest of you have.

-I'm pretty sure I learned the words to the Notre Dame fight song before our country's national anthem.

-I am also a misplaced Notre Dame fan in NY (not the city), so you can imagine how much ridicule I took after the 2008 loss to Syracuse. Everyone in NY who lives north of the city roots for the Orangemen.

-I'm a junior in college and I'm majoring in sport media.

-I also blog for a Pittsburgh Penguins site called Pens Nation, so I do have some experience as a blogger. I also interned at my local newspaper over the summer so I have a decent amount of writing experience.

That's about it, I think. I'm looking forward to writing about Notre Dame football and I hope you all look forward to reading it! Go Irish!

Poll - Will Notre Dame be 1-3 after this weekend?

The poll question for the week is Will Notre Dame be 1-3 after this weekend? I don't see this as being unrealistic.  Stanford has a high powered offense that seems to be flying under the radar this year.  Here are some interesting stats on the Stanford Cardinals:

-155 Points For, 41 Points Against - There offense has been firing in all cylinders.  It is high powered with the strong arm of Andrew Luck, but they still have consistency in the running game.

-Against Wake Forest Stanford scored 68 points.  Andrew Luck had 5 total TD's. 4 passing and 1 rushing.  This was last weeks performance and I don't think Andrew Luck and the Cardinals want to stop there.

-Lastly, Andrew Luck as a QB rating of 192.31.  He has thrown for 674 yards and 10 TD's to 0 INT.  These are some unreal stats.  He is one of, if not, the best QB in the country.

The 3 games that they have played were against Sacramento State, UCLA and Wake Forest.  This isn't the scrub schedule that big time programs play.  I hope Notre Dame can turn it around, stop the run, and force Andrew Luck to make quick decisions.  1-3 doesn't seem like an unrealistic prediction, but 2-2 sounds much better.

Leave some opinions in the comment section!

Getting started

Well, this is the first day of this blog.  We are looking for writers right now, and we will probably end up having 5 writers.  We will be giving in-game analysis, post game analysis, upcoming game previews, and news and info from around South Bend.  Stay tuned for your up to date Irish Football news...