Let's Go Irish - Notre Dame Football Gameday

Notre Dame Football Gameday – Air Force 10/8/2011 – Open thread

Published on October 8, 2011 by ai in Featured, Notre Dame Football

It’s gameday Irish fans. Make sure you leave a comment during the day with your score predictions, a limerick, keys to the game or just a Go Irish! Check back in during the game for live game chat with other Irish fans giving their own play-by-play reactions. Below are our keys to the game and a gameday limerick to enjoy.

Keys to the Game – How to tell how the day will go

The Skinny

Today’s game vs. Air Force, on paper, should be a game that Notre Dame dominates. The Notre Dame offensive line outweighs the Air Force defensive line by an average of sixty pounds per man. Our defensive line outweighs the Air Force offensive line by over thirty. Notre Dame should be able to win this game without throwing a single pass. But the question of the day will be if Notre Dame can slow down Air Force’s amazing running attack that piled up over 360 yards last week. If the Irish play on defense resembles anything resembling Navy 2010 then Air Force will make us pay.

Air Force isn’t the traditional academy triple-option team. They can also throw the ball. Tim Jefferson, their quarterback, has completed 70% of his passes this year. Their top running back, Asher Clark, is averaging nine yards per rush.

But let’s get serious people, if this team is anywhere near an elite team, we should pound Air Force. Two of Air Force’s wins are against South Dakota and Tennessee State. A team like Air Force can beat more talented teams but they should run up against a brick wall today in the Irish. No hedging here, TCU beat them by 16 and we should do nothing less. Take the Irish and give the points.

So here are our things to watch for during the game to gauge how things are going for the Irish football team.

The Good

We stop the fullback. The key to stopping any triple option team.
Gary Gray gets his second interception in as many weeks. If Air Force can’t throw on single coverage they are in trouble
The Irish make them punt on their first drive. Option teams push all game for the weak spot in the defense but they will give the Irish they best shot out of the gate.

The Bad

Air Force has drives of double digit plays. We can’t let Air Force minimize possessions.
Turnovers – We can’t maximize their possessions.
We have multiple defensive lineman injured.

Gameday Limerick

Game day limerick time:

The Air Force is in town – salute.
Their chances of winning? Minute.
The triple option they brung,
but their bells will be rung,
as they fall to the Irish pursuit.