Weekly Musings - Notre Dame Edition

- I am going to say it just one time: There is NOTHING like beating Notre Dame! NOTHING!!!! And I am only going to say it one more time: There is NOTHING like beating Notre Dame ...- I just couldn't be more proud of this team, and certainly couldn't be more proud of this coaching staff. We outplayed Notre Dame in this game, but we unquestionably out-coached them too. Fight on CLK, and look at what has gotten into this defense!- The final score being just a 14-point difference, and the fact that Notre Dame made the mistakes they made, should not take away from the real story of this game. We out ran them (big time), we out threw them, we out tackled them, and we outplayed them. Their 96-yard kickoff return kept them in the game (I need to see what happened there), and obviously the 14-point turnaround from that fumble was an unbelievable development, but when the time of possession is 40 minutes USC to 20 minutes Notre Dame, someone got their tail kicked in.- Wow. I have been at Notre Dame throughout the last ten years (Trojan decade of dominance over the Irish), and there is no question that this was the most pumped the Irish were before the game. I think Notre Dame came into this game with an unambiguous expectation that they would win. They played so well against Michigan State and knew of the relative struggles in Trojan performances this season, and came in very, very confident (and if their fans were this confident, I assume their coaches and players were too).- I will never agree with the decision to receive the ball when you win the coin flip. I think you always, always, always want the ball to start the second half. Notre Dame won the toss, took the ball, and went three and out.- The Trojans then came down the field in what I think was Lane's finest drive of the season. Not only was it a 75-yard scoring drive for seven points, but we ran and ran and ran, and punched it down their throats. It sucked the oxygen out of the stadium.- The defense played an absolutely stellar first half, containing their run, covering their receivers, and stopping Notre Dame from moving the chains.- USC really hurt themselves in the first half by not capitaizing on opportunities. The score was 14-0, we're driving the ball, and couldn't get two yards between a third down and a fourth down. Then, on the next possession, when a Domer is called for a taunting foul that demoralized the crowd and Notre Dame defense by keeping our drive alive, we had to settle for a field goal. If somehow between those two possessions we had gone up 21-0 (let alone 28-0), I really believe we would have forced the foot down much harder on their throats.- I had to get up to take my six-year old for a "visit" right when I heard the Domer crowd erupt, running a kickoff to the house that dropped my heart into my stomach.- I think the misdirection plays and bootleg plays we run with Matt are very effective, and I love seeing Tyler and McNeal run between the tackles. Our offense requires a rythym and when we are in it is fun to watch. The one thing I don't like, at least not until we are a better team, is the frequent plays wasted through excessive aggressiveness. I just don't think the 40 and 50 yard pass plays on first down are a good idea - yet.- When we establish our run, we are a potent offensive football team. And Matt played a really good football game tonight - an absolutely incredible one, as a matter of fact. By the way, was he showing a little Michael Vick action out there tonight??? -)- The first half stats did two things to me: (1) It made me smile at our balance (125 yards rushing and 125 yards passing); (2) It made me wince that we were only up seven points. We just dominated them statistically (17 first downs to 7), and yet the 7 point lead just felt like it didn't reflect how we had played.- I was absolutely dumbfounded when USC picked up a fumble and ran 99 yards for a touchdown. Those 14-point turnarounds just don't happen very often where I am the one happy.- But to follow it up with letting them go down field for a touchdown was very discouraging. A stop there ends the game.- But so did two subsequent takeaways, the first on a heads up play by Chris Gallipo to go get that ball on the lateral, and the second on Robey's fantastic pick in the middle of the field. This defense just would not let the crowd get into the game tonight ...- The Barkley to Woods TD after the Gallipo fumble recovery was a beauty, but whoever made the decision to review that play should be ashamed of themselves. There ought to be some kind of plausible doubt in a call before it gets reviewed; that one was as controversial a call as my decision to send my wife flowers on our anniversary.- The comments after the game from Gallipo and Tyler about Notre Dame giving up were not controversial. They chose a guaranteed 14-point loss over a possible 21-point loss where they COULD have done something to win it. Not using any timeouts with six minutes to go is a chicken move, explainable ONLY by the desire to keep the score sensible. Lane showed class by not scoring an additional touchdown, though if we had scored one it would have been Brian Kelly's fault.- I like Notre Dame fans a lot more when they don't think they are going to win. The three hours spent on campus with my wife and son and the hour spent in the stadium were not what I am used to from the good people of Notre Dame. Mouthy. Vulgar. Rude. Oh, and now 4-3. -)- What can I say about Curtis McNeal? What a stud. An absolute stud.- I want to beat Stanford sooooooo bad, but I do know how good they are. I personally believe USC beat them last year at the farm, but I will avoid focusing on the injustices of the past. I actually think Stanford is every bit the *(&^&s that UCLA and Cal are, but Stanford is enjoying a really solid run of football success (UCLA and Cal are, ummm, not). I like this Andrew Luck kid, and think he is special young player, but I would love to see him come into the Coliseum next Saturday and meet Nick Perry the way I envision them meeting. I pray the team is ready. Come on Trojans, beat the Farm..********- Ummmm, did Stanford just score 65 points on Washington tonight??- I feel no need to pile on the issues at UCLA, and I am heavily leaning towards reversing my theory that Neuheisel will be back next year at UCLA. I am not changing my belief that he will stay throughout the year. First of all, losing to a 1-5 team that just fired their coach by a million points is NOT the unforgivable offense at UCLA; losing to USC over and over is. So he will given the chance to save his job by winning the only game they care about in Westwood. But as for next year, the despondency in Westwood is brutally high even for them, and I think that even with a $1.25 million buyout and all the financial problems UCLA faces, short of defeating the Trojans this year, Rick is gone. But we shall see. In the meantime, that game in Tucson was all I needed to confirm that the Bruins have given up on their season save one game, which of course was true before the season started.- That Kirk Cousins kid at Michigan State who threw the hail mary to beat Wisconsin is a special kid, and I am happy for him in having this moment. Watch his speech on YouTube regarding what it ought to mean to be a college athlete if you have a chance - simply awesome.- That play was the play of the season so far, but I will say that it would have been a little more dramatic had the score not been tied when he did it! But, of course, a hail mary to win a game is a hail mary to win the game.- I have a very strong feeling one of the two teams in the BcS Fictitious Championship game this year will have one loss prior to the game - a very strong feeling.- I hear some people are saying Bob Stoops should be fired after Oklahoma was upset by Texas Tech tonight. This just goes to show that EVERY school has their fair share of fans who live in a fantasy world, and lack the maturity to have any kind of coherent thought (not just "fans" of my beloved Trojans). No one seems to appreciate the torture that is a coaching carousel. But teams with perennially top 10 programs would be wise to shut their mouths, just say "thank you", and go on their way.I plan to write an article very soon entitled "What the Occupy Wall Street Folks and the USC Haters Have in Common". I am excited to get it done. I will distribute it on both www.bahnsenviewpoint.com and my Musings site.It was just a surreal weekend, and I am thrilled to be hitting "send" from high above the skies on a Trojan sky-way home. My son absolutely loved Chicago, and the rally at the Navy Pier Friday was all he hoped it would be. My son is not 1-0 in South Bend, my wife is 3-0, and I am 4-1. Head Coach Lane Kiffin in South Bend? Undefeated. Fight on Trojans!