UHND.com - Notre Dame Football, Basketball, & Recruiting

Baby steps...be patient

stalled the offense. I believe recruiting is better, use of the portal is good, and I like the direction of the program. Dline played well, but recruiting dline needs to improve. We will find out more this coming year about offensive play calling. Lots of persons were down on Rees, but Alabama is in the playoffs (elite players matter and ND was forced to play a lot of young guys this year. Multiple years in a system really does help players excel).
Lastly, MF gets ND and sells it. If ND ever turned into a sleazy, win at all cost program, which didn't care about the players or their education, I wouldn't watch or care.

Future improvement on Parker as OC is just crazy and will likely lead to similar results in next year or 2. I don’t believe Parker will be significantly better next year unless we get him some help with an experienced analyst.

The defense is fine, the talent is there but we should bring in experienced DC if golden moves on. Keeping golden and an OC analyst are needed to ensure moving forward in my opinion.

Finally, if we can’t develop our own QBs none of the above matters. I thought we would be able to be better coached and better prepared at a minimum and that doesn’t seem to be the case

2024 will be Freeman's third year

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You do realize a lot of people feel this way. And they don’t go on and on about Michigan at the same time. It’s funny how you think you are the one that’s right. Just read the comments.

about how much better the program would be if they called the shots. One of which, said we should play higher ranked players sooner, even if they don't know the routes and don't block well.

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better than the coaches, who are at every practice and who know the players. All the posters from the thread are not like this (only the same 4 - 5).

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we still rarely win them either. So, we're still in the "oh look, Notre Dame almost won against xxxx". We're still in the cycle of getting credit for playing tough while losing. This year my expectation for showing progress was going at minimum 2-1 in the only 3 games we had on the schedule - Clem, OSU, USC. All winnable games and actually easier in real-time than they looked coming into the year. We went 1-2 and dropped our annual surprise game, so on the net, that was a step backwards.

The coaching gaffe's were pretty unexplainably bad this year, but we can blame that on a coach with no experience. That part has to be rectified fast or it will spiral out of control and turn into a dumpster fire. Both offseasons so far, under the new staff, have been full on damage control type turmoil as well. Recruiting feels like it's much higher, but statistically it is inline with what Kelly did in his early years and was doing. So that is a net wash.

All-in-all, I'd say the excitement of the new and the potential to be a lot better is starting to wear off.

Removing the rose colored glasses and being objectively honest, I think the program is about the same as it was and possibly trending down given how things came unhinged with the offense, WR room, and the mismanagement of the QB room. The OC deal is a bad one and seems worse than what we thought we got away from. Mismanaging the QB depth by going to the portal last year and what looks to be again this year is more likely to continue a mess in that room instead of fixing it. Additionally, it doesn't help that the restrictions we have on the portal basically remedy it almost useless in regards to its intent and how other schools are using it.

On the whole, we're realistically in the same spot. Same record, same issues at QB, same issues with OC and vanilla offenses, same issues with WR routes and getting open. Same good RBs, better DB play. Same good and improving defensive play. Same missing DL pressure/sack ability and same quality LB play but nothing to write home about. Kicking game also is about the same 80%-ish and a coin-flip when it's really needed.

We're the same team with signs of stagnating and potentially trending down. Year three is truly make or break given the fumbles and what didn't happen in year 2.

Excited to see how it shakes out, just not as excited as when the hire was made.

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Too bad he was a severe INT machine. "Turnover Tommy" returned wearing #10. He had 3 INTs and 2 lost fumbles that game. What a joke, 5 turnovers on his own. Winning with 5 TOs is an extremely low odds probability, and these were all Sam's fault. One player. The one we brought in thinking he'd win games he couldn't win at Wake. That's bad player evaluation.

The first INT - lead to LVU TD - 7 points
first fumble - LVU no points
second INT - lead to LVU FG - 3 points
second fumble - LVU 3 points
third INT - just outside the redzone, potentially cost 3 points at minimum

Sam gave LVU: 13 points off turnovers and we lost by 13. He potentially cost ND another 3 points with the last pick which means if he was worth anything, we win the game. Instead, Hartman was the primary reason ND lost the "annual surprise game". Let's also not forget two incompletions in a failed 4th down conversion on our own 35. Bad QB play and bad OC / HC decisions against an inferior opponent who has you on the ropes.

Now, are you going to tell me how tough Lousiville was and that you had this game circled as a loss preseason? If so, feel free to post a link where you made these claims before the season started.

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But you can't with any level of logic, sanity, or without removing your homer glasses.

Sorry, I live in the world that is. Not one full of unicorns and rainbows as you like to see it.

You have serious issues.

I think that I struck one of your chords….which one I wonder?

direction. Coaching screwed the pooch more this year than the quality of players. At a minimum this team should have been 11-1 or undefeated if not for bad coaching. Recruiting is still doing well so I’ll be fair and see how 2024 goes.

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I'm not very optimistic at this point.

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then took the team to the Gator Bowl and now we're in the Sun Bowl.

Doesn't give the appearance of the right trajectory.

But I guess we have to hope Gerad Parker suddenly becomes the guy to help change that.

Secondary recruiting has improved, but we've gotta start landing some of these guys for the trenches (3* projects will not suffice) and continue to get faster at the skill positions especially WR! Perhaps get a OC who has a clue of what he's doing and sonm diversity on 3rd downs.

I have been very happy with how the defense has seemed to improve. But the offense was not consistent, nor does it instill any confidence in ability to beat good opponents.

I’m not really sure what I expected but I didn’t think the offense would look so bad as they did at various times this season

12-0. Only the latter two to qualify as very good to excellent seasons.

My main point was that if we are 10-2 but all we are doing is the same old "beating up the weak teams" and getting thrashed by the good teams, then I don't view that as an improvement over Big Game Brian

Correct?

elated with 12-0. Yet, there is an empty feeling if you come close but don't quite get there.