We just came off 16 straight double digit wins, let’s support the coaches
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I remember after the Miami and Texas A&M games last year -- particularly, the Miami game -- the remarks (including from me) about the misevaluations of personnel by the staff and the close-to-the vest, non-aggressive, "just play clean and we'll win" game-planning. The challenge of those two teams forced a re-evaluation that produced the most dominant football the program has seen since Holtz. Those 16 wins against over-matched opponents seems to have engendered complacency and recreated the same issues that last year started with. That shouldn't happen.
We have enough talent to beat them all. Especially non top 15 teams easily.
Either we have coaches who don't know how to coach the high-level talent we have or these same coaches are doing a poor job of identifying the players we need to win the important games.
For me, we have lost the last 3 important games due to coaching failures. While I might give some slack to Ash at the beginning of last year because he was installing a new defense, I do not to Denbrock who has demonstrated an appalling misuse/underuse of talented players that seem to have their talent limited by a very pedestrian offense.
And while I support Freeman, he needs to do a better job of coaching, and/or selecting, his Coordinators.
I hope Freeman and company prove me wrong, but it's entirely possible that the '24 season was an aberration and he really is just Kelly 2.0 with better clothes and slightly better bowl performance.
Freeman at ND
2021 - 0-1 with major choke in Fiesta Bowl Finished 8th [See BK below]
2022 - 9-4 finished 18th
2023 - 10-2 finished 14th
2024 - 14-2 finished 2nd
2025 - 10-2 finished 10th
Kelly at ND last 5
2017 10-3 finished 11th
2018 12-1 finished 5th
2019 11-2 finished 12th
2020 10-2 finished 10th
2021 11-1 finished 8th