Before we get too high off our beatdown of OSU today
Recognize that the best team we beat was a 4 loss NC State team ranked 19th before their 4th loss, or a 5 loss USC, 4 loss Oregon State. These are mediocre teams.
Our losses came at the hands of every good team we played, not great teams. - Louisville, Clemson, Ohio state.
Sure, lots of improvement, ie our record, 10-3, our defense, the beatdowns delivered in 9 of the 10 wins.
However, still quite a ways from competing at the NC level - We need the signature win over an elite team, We need to find an identity for our offense,
Hiring Denbrock, starting a better QB next year, and bringing in a top 10 recruiting class this year are all positives looking to 2024. We should "expect" to go deep in the playoffs in 2024.
Go Irish!
Replies to: Before we get too high off our beatdown of OSU today
Blah, blah, blah. It's 2023, 10 wins, and I intend to enjoy it. Next year is still next year.
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What we did this year was done with major, glaring deficiencies. The deficiencies have been remedied
The defense was outstanding and with Mills, Cross, Botelho, Kiser and Watts all coming back, the young guys stepping in, outstanding play at CB and the third year with Golden (second in the simplified version used this year), we are going to be outstanding next year as well. Botelho played injured this year so getting him back healthy will be a huge plus. Should be championship quality next season for sure.
The deficiencies were on offense:
1. QB - Hartman lacked the physical attributes to be a difference maker. Not big, not tall, not fast and not used to/comfortable or all that proficient in a pro-style system. Leonard is all of those things.
2. WR - Losing Greathouse, Thomas and Colzie was absolutely devastating to an already thin room. Merriweather was a zero all season as was James. Flores did fine but was a freshman and not a #1 type of guy. Tyree did well in his first year playing WR but strictly a good WR and nothing more. We played with Merriweather, Flores and Tyree (an enigma, a true freshman and a converted RB) for large portions of the season. Next year we'll have a healthy Greathouse, Thomas, Faison (the three who played primarily yesterday) as well as Collins, Mitchell, a healthy Colzie and Cam Williams who I think will see the field early. So our WR room went from being a debilitating position to very good. The upgrade from Stuckey to Brown leading it will only accentuate the vast upgrade of the room.
3. OC - We went from a young, new and very simple OC last season who was basically holding the spot for a year to quite simply the best OC in the country that ND could have possibly gotten. Denbrock will be able to coach/instruct the position coaches to coach what he wants in every single position and his working with Brown and Guidugli has had years of proven success at a high level. No doubt we will have a very quality, well-run offense under Denbrock next season.
We were not championship quality last season. The defense was but the offense wasn't. Not with that QB, that WR room and that OC. We learned that relatively early in the season. I have very little doubt that given who's coming back and what we brought in (Obey and Clark), the defense will again be championship quality. I also now have very little doubt that with what we brought in on offense (Leonard, WR's) and who's running it (Denbrock, Guidugli, Brown, McCullough and Rudolph) our offense will be potent and championship quality as well.
So it is not so much a high off the beatdown of OSU, it is more a high of knowing how good we can and will be next season given the changes over the past month. We are going to be a very serious National Championship contender. The OSU beatdown isn't the cause of the high, it is just another positive thrown on top of the heap of positives we've experienced, got us to 10 wins and maintained the forward momentum.
Gosh, why play the games then. We had a legitimate shot this year if the OC didn't go stupid late in
the Ohio State game. Ragging on Hartman is just stupid. He was rushed all the time. His protection was mediocre after the Ohio State game.
Not ragging on Hartman. He was limited in what he could do. He’s a good QB and
we had a better season this year than we would have had because he played for us. He was more suited to the slow mesh and was greatly affected by both the OC and WR deficiencies. However, I think his reads were not great and he missed open guys. You are correct that he got pressure in his face a lot and it was his relatively shorter height that made it difficult to see or throw and his lack of real good elusiveness and running ability largely kept him in the pocket and did not allow him to punish other teams with his legs for it.
So, the three deficiencies are really just three facets of one big problem we had this year and he was affected by the other two. If we had outstanding OC’ing and great WR play, he may have been outstanding as well. But given the OC and WR play, his deficiencies were put on full display and so, because they are three facets of the same overall problem, his deficiencies contributed to that problem.
Again, good QB and we were better off having him. I included that facet of the problem as a guy like Leonard (true 6’4”) would be able to easily see over a line pushed back towards him, force the defense to be discipline in rushing, can beat a team with his legs, and help the running game against stacked boxes. So he fixes a lot of the stuff Hartman had trouble with that were caused by the WR/OC problems and because of that I thought it relevant to include.
You assume Leonard has the job? I agree others not so much
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Yeah. Whether they play it off as an open competition or not, he has the job.
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Unfortunately correct. Only injury will change this.
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So far Leonard has shown himself to be a 50% passer against defenses with a pulse. I really
hope he lights it up, but there is no guarantee he's a great/ good passer. He's a runner first, truth
He’s very one dimensional. Good news. We play almost no one next yr. So it could work until the
Playoffs.
Not just his running but his ability at 6’4” to easily see and throw over the line. That helps too.
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His development is similar to Daniel Jones, we will see. Hope is a good thing.
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Some posters are just unbelievable. A massive beat down and you aren’t happy.
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Some of these guys would bitch about a free lunch.
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Is this not the truth? Holy shit I just don't get it. That game was fun, hands down.
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One of the better games of the season and we even kept it fairly vanilla. Most of the
Dumb stuff we did in season seemed to be remedied.
We had a beatdown win in a bowl game with a ton of backups - lets enjoy it
And if we want to start competing at a NC level we need to recruit better. I just do not know if that is possible.
Attaboy, Fish. TRUTH.
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Ok... but you have to admit that the trend is positive.
We definitely hit a cailing with Kelly (as LSU is quickly learning).
Coach Freeman seems to be improving steadily and his ceiling is indeterminate.
Let's call this a contact high that will last until next fall.
Optimism doesn't suck for a fan.
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Couldn't agree more...!
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14-3 ???? Maybe Lou Holtz was spot on
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