is exactly what this fan base does after another beatdown, and it is just maddening why collectively we continue to do it. They scan the autopsy report for some sliver of positive, and then fixate on that for the next 9 months as the sign that we are almost but not quite there. I saw zero last night to suggest that. Being close for a quarter + the losing 30-3 is not a positive, it is an excuse. Using stats like yds for Clemson when Julian Love was out vs in is not a positive, it is an excuse. Saying if ND didnt have the dropsies or if the replay booth was more favorable the game result might have been different is not a positive, it is an excuse. Ian Book's portrayal of Fred Astaire dancing was spot on, but why did it occur in the biggest game of the season? Was it because Ginger Rogers wasn't by his side?
How many years will ND fans continue to put up with mediocre to shitshow performances in big games before they decide enough is enough? For nearly 5 years, many on this board collectively made excuses for Weis even though the evidence was there for all to see that he was in over his head. Now 9 years into Kelly's tenure, and the same worthless excuses are coming out again and again. Kelly looked completely lost on the sidelines as the 2nd quarter completely unraveled in about 15 minutes. And did you or anyone else notice how many timeouts ND carried into halftime? All fucking 3 of them. Gee maybe on one of the last two drives of the first half for clemson, our closer than 2012 coach could've called timeout, rallied the boys and maybe pepped them up a tad? Would it have made a difference, maybe not, but apparently he was saving those TOs for spring ball and not the actual game he was involved in at that time.
I understand trying to be positive and believing ND will again make the promised land, but after all the beatdowns in big games, 25 years and counting, the game score thread was still almost unanimously for ND. Why? What game in the last 25 years suggested that yesterday was going to be different than the actual outcome? Hell even in the few close games on the biggest stage (@ Clemson 2015, @FSU 2014), ND still lost.