Let's Go IrishTHE Notre Dame Football Blog

What a week. It has been YEARS since there has been so little buzz heading up to a Notre Dame-Boston College game. Especially when the Irish have their best chance in a long time to bury Boston College in the Irish turf, which they are sure to then try and take home.

Expect more of the same today that we have seen in the last two weeks. The offense unchallenged and allowed to run free, and the defense playing good enough because they really don’t have to rise to any sort of challenge or the game being in jeopardy.

So it is time for the IBG, this week’s iteration was hosted by Go Irish Blog

He was nice enough to taunt NBC’s Keith Arnold in a post about him looking like Jay Cutler and to also provide the gathering with this week’s questions, so without further ado….LEGHOOOOOOOOOO!!

1. Having actually seen the uniforms in the wild on Saturday night, what are your final thoughts regarding them? Does Ronald Darby stating that he liked them change your views on trying out the different uniforms for the “Shamrock Series”?

LGI

I like the idea of the Shamrock Series. Let the marketing department have one game a season to go nuts and the rest of the season we stay in our traditional blue and gold. This year has been a little crazy with all of the jumbotron, throwback uniforms, field turf talk but I think they will get it right going forward. BTW I hate the idea of field turf.

Disgruntled Leprechaun

Honestly, if the recruits and players like them, I don’t care. I take no solace in the traditional look when we lose, and new looks don’t cheapen a win. Just win.

Quite frankly I’m glad that Kelly is exercising some influence. And if the turf helps attract better athletes and/or yields greater results on the field, I am all for that too. Of course, it would help Kelly’s position if he’d win a few more games

2. Manti is clearly hobbled right now. Re-watching the game on Sunday, I barely noticed him on the field and I rarely remember Mayock or Hammond’s calling his name. I believe Kelly stated in his Sunday teleconference that Manti was did not play most of the 3rd or 4th quarters. If you are BK, do you sit Manti on Saturday?

LGI

I think Manti is much more ready to play this week than last. The interesting thing that has come of Manti being injured is the rise of Kellen Moore. We are told we haven’t seen Moore…umm…..more because he can only play Manti’s position. Is this like the fact that we didn’t see Robby Toma more because Mars was in the second phase of its orbit around the sun?

 

Disgruntled Leprechaun

Absolutely. If we can’t beat BC sans Manti, we’re in trouble. I’m sure he’d love to be out there for the final home game of the season, but this better not be HIS final home game! However, if this IS his last game, we need to learn how to play without him.

We can’t beat 2011 Stanford without Manti, but we sure ought to beat BC with or without him.

3. We’ve seen Tommy Rees play deep into blowouts against Navy, Air Force and Maryland with Hendrix only getting a significant number of snaps in the Air Force game. Rees is only a sophomore but it seems most Irish fans take it as a foregone conclusion that Golson or Hendrix will pass Tommy going into the 2012 season. So do you agree with the use, or lack thereof, of Hendrix so far this season? Do you accept the thought that this is Rees’ last year as starter?

LGI

The elephant in the room each week is the QB play. I can’t figure out Kelly’s thinking when it comes to that position and I don’t think anyone else can either. I think you could ask a person from the mountains of Tibet and they would be able to give you as educated of an answer as a Notre Dame fan as per what Kelly’s past/present/future thinking was/is/will be on the quarterback position at Notre Dame.

 

Disgruntled Leprechaun

Wow, the whole season has been weird. First, our "4-0" starter was replaced by the resilient Dayne Crist. Then, just a mere half into the season opener, Crist was shelved, never to start again. Tommy Rees lost the very next game but seemed to show enough fight — he took back the lead with 30 seconds left — to warrant another start. After the crucial win over MSU, Rees appeared to lock down the starter position, even though he continued turning the ball over at an alarming rate. At that point, who was #2? Kelly said Crist, but Hendrix finally got a chance to shine against Air Force and looked outstanding. But against USC, Crist came in for an injured Rees only to swap out with Hendrix at the goal line. Whenever you expect Hendrix, he never comes.�

So, I have no idea what Kelly is planning. From all the speculation about Gunner Kiel and the sporadic opportunities for Hendrix, you have to wonder if Kelly thinks that Rees is simply the best of the worst, or at least mediocre. Does all the focus shift to a freshman Golson and/or an EE Kiel? How long can Kelly wait for Hendrix to grasp the offense…if that’s what’s holding the RS Freshman back?

Whoever thinks they have a bead on it, I’d love to hear it.

4. Tommy Rees needs 608 yards for 3000 passing yards on the season. Cierre Wood is 93 yards short while Jonas Gray is 270 yards short of 1000 rushing yards. Michael Floyd is 78 yards shy of 1000 receiving yards for the season. Despite SubwayDomer’s insistence that bowl stats count, predict final numbers for all 4 players before the bowl. Do they all hit the milestones?

LGI

No Rees – he ends with 3813 1/2 yards
Yes Wood – Cierre ends up with 1001
No Gray – Jonas ends up with 999 symbolic of the times that the duo has just be short of both gaining 100 yards in the same game
Yes Floyd – He ends up with 1095

Disgruntled Leprechaun

Everyone but Jonas hits. In order of likelihood, it’s:
Floyd
Wood
Rees
Gray

Gray will have to rip BC a new one, but it could happen. He has had the hot hand lately.

5. Notre Dame opens up as a 24.5 favorite for Saturday’s game and this is clearly the worst Boston College team in recent memory. That said, BC absolutely loves to play spoiler when it comes to Notre Dame and this game will be the last chance for something good to happen this season. Given those two thoughts, does the margin of victory matter to you on Saturday?

LGI

Yes, the margin of victory does matter because there is a large segment of the Boston population that contains the most obnoxious, self-serving, self-important, odorous people that you will ever meet outside of France. I like to believe that all of these people are Boston College fans and that by beating Boston College by 86 points it will cause the NCAA to overturn the 1993 outcome.

 

Disgruntled Leprechaun

Absolutely. If this team has to eek one out against BC, Stanford will be tough to watch.

 

 

Alright, now it is your turn. Sound off on these questions or our responses in the comments section below.

Go Irish!