Game observations:
1. Riley wears his faith on his sleeve--the Matthew 23:12 patch he showed during the Holly Rowe interview. He was evangelizing his belief in Jesus and the importance of humility. Good character guy.
2. With his boyish good looks (choir boy, boy scout, little leaguer, etc.) Riley could become a rock star if he develops some accuracy. The girls will swoon.
3. The nightmare of having a true freshman starting as a LT came true on the play where the blitzer blew right by a confused Knapp on a straight line to the QB.
4. Everyone should pump the brakes on the adulation of CB Benjamin Morrison. He made a number of blunders in the game.
5. Throw the damn ball down the field!
6. Our running game sucked. It should improve, though, and then watch out for Love and Price.
7. Weigman was dreadful. Thank you!
8. Are our TEs in the Witness Protection Program?
9. Winning ugly? As Al Davis said: "Just win, baby!"
10. Go Irish! ☘️
Replies to: Game observations:
Wrong on a few. BS on pumping brakes on Morrison, he blanketed his man all night. Running we had
enough good runs and had one called back, just need a little more consistency but that was one tough line we faced. A good opponent can make any team have to win ugly. That's why I said we would win 23-13 and we did exactly that. LOL
We ran for 200 yards and 2 TDs against one of the top run Ds...
...in the country, and our running game sucked?
More observations
Great young LB corp, like KVA a lot, fast, reactive and brings the lumber
Line grew up last night, had mistakes all game but when game was on the line they shoved it down A&M’s face. 85 yard drive at the end was big boy football, hat on hat. That gives me hope.
WR group is better than I thought, I hope Faison is OK, we need him. One point however, if we do not have deep threats, defenses will sit on short routes until we beat teams over the top. Must take some deep shots.
Guys that disappointed me last night, Mills I expected more from him upfront especially against the run. RJ Oben is not the pass rushing specialist we were told, at least not in this game. Mitchel Evans did not have an impressive game and was MIA.
Our defense backs are the best I have seen in a long time. Stay healthy and they will be a force.
RBs, have legitimate speed and quickness, very pleased, one issue is blocking by them some big misses last night
Leonard, kid has moxy and is a leader. Running ability is way underrated he is an asset. People need to stop calling for QB changes in 1st game. Best defense we will face all year until playoffs.
Golden great game, I think Denbrock was a little cautious last night with the playbook. Understandable though with environment and young o-line. Good news is we have time to breath and gel moving forward
Penalties were too high and negated are +2 turnover margin. ACC crew did not have a good night.
Overall very hopeful for a team that has promise and a good schedule moving forward
On #1, please remind Riley that he no longer plays for a Bible Belt School.
Touchdown Jesus teaches: Act Like You’ve Been There Before.
We need more people in the world with the attitude of Riley.
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200% right.
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100& right, kid is a class act and a nice representative of Notre Dame
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Wow, you’re a dik on this board too??
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No, just a Catholic University? Sorry, if I am missing your humor.
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If only he had kneeled for the national anthem
…that would have been fine. But express your faith? Not a good look, Riley. Stay in your lane, son.
I like the idea of "there are things to clean up but we still won the game".
You play in hostile place , first game of the season, make more than a few errors, and still come out the other side with a double digit win. Not too shabby. Our guys fought hard till the end. I'm very proud of them. I would love to talk to the review guys over a friendly beer and have them explain why that wasn't a first down. What didn't they see that the rest of mankind did? IMHO, one of the most grievous mistakes of the night that the Irish got away with was the push by Beaux Collins. I know that was corrected immediately if not sooner by MF.
Note that the replay officials were ACC - don't think for 1 minute ND will ever get the...........
benefit-of-the-doubt with those "cross-burners!"
TERRIBLE.
That 4th down spot was egregious. Beyond egregious, criminal.
The guy in the far side of the field saw the ball not the guy who spotted it. He just saw Leonard’s
Back. That was the mistake to me