That was the rallying cry before the game started, and it seems appropriate after game 1. You could see the swagger before the first kick-off, and I have to say I was extremely excited! It just got better from there. Notre Dame 35 Nevada 0. I like Aldridge at fullback. He wasn't a great RB, but he's a solid running FB. I hope he's going to be all right for next week. Rudolph looked good from the start with a nice juke on a LB, then a TD. Then what can you say about Michael Floyd!? Not a fan of the "Wildcat" formation with an average RB like Armando Allen. Let's get rid of that. The defense was definitely the question mark coming in. It had been 7 years since ND had shut out an opponent. Yes, we have to keep in mind that we played Nevada, but they did bring in an experienced QB who nearly had 20 rushing and 20 passing TD's last year. Freshman phenom, LB Manti Te'o showed his speed pretty early. Not a spectacular play, but ran the QB down from behind. LB Brian Smith had 2 sacks in the first half. Overall, the defense was a nice surprise. Allen had some nice runs, Gray did too. A look at the top 25 hurts a little. Iowa and OSU almost got upset, but pulled them out. #16 Oregon lost to #14 Boise St. 19-8, but I don't think we'll pass them. As of this post, I'm sure #20 BYU will wind up losing at #3 Oklahoma. As far as future opponents, Navy scares me! They gave Ohio St. all they wanted at OSU. 31-27. They have led the NCAA in rushing 4 straight years and now have the best passing QB they've had in 6 years. Purdue beat Toledo pretty easily, but gave up 31 points and their new QB threw 3 INTs vs. Toledo. Michigan St. beat Montana St. 44-3, but what does that say? Boston College beat Northeastern 54-0. Michigan beat W.Michigan easily.
Offensive MVP: How could it not be Floyd? 189 yards and 3 TDs. Clausen had nice numbers(15-18 315 yards 4 TDs) too, but a lot of that was because of his weapons!
Defensive MVP: LB Brian Smith set the tone with 2 sacks in the 1st half. Freshman Manti Te'o seems to already be a crowd favorite though.
Pleasant surprise: The defense in general.
Disappointing: Maybe the running game, but it was sufficient.
I'd say look for us to be #22 or #21 in the new polls, and I expect a win next week, so we can climb to #20 or better very easily. Go Irish!
1 comment:
how could i forget 2 other HUGE good things: penalties(lack there of) and no kicking debacles! can't believe BYU won.
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