Notre Dame vs. USF Analysis

Tommy Rees (blue jersey) after USF defeated Notre Dame 23-20

           
            The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost their first game of the season to the University of South Florida Bulls last Saturday night. The final score was 23-20 but it was never really that close of a game. The Bulls played hard all day (literally all day, it took six hours to play the game because of weather delays) but Notre Dame basically gave the game away. The Irish had five turnovers, three of which came in the redzone.

Three things I liked about the game:

1. Tommy Rees: You heard it here first folks. Ever since the end of the 2011 season I have been praising and preaching that Rees is the best quarterback on Notre Dame’s roster. After starter Dayne Crist put no points on the scoreboard, Rees was put into the game at halftime. On his first drive he marched the Irish all the way down to the goal line until he threw the ball and it bounced off wide receiver T.J. Jones’s helmet. Eventually Rees would allow the Irish offense to score 20 points. Rees HAS to be the starter the rest of the year. It’s a crying shame that it took a loss to prove I was right about Tommy.

2. Notre Dame’s defense: The Irish defense held USF’s offense to just one touchdown and three field goals and only gave up about 250 total yards the whole game. That is damn impressive considering how many times USF had the ball in good field position. Everybody on the defense should be applauded for the way they played. They played with heart and tenacity when the offense showed none.

3. Michael Floyd: Thank god for Floyd. It seemed like Floyd was the ONLY Irish receiver that realized there was a game on Saturday. Floyd finished the game with 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He has a serious chance for the Heisman trophy in my opinion esp. if he can average a touchdown a game.

I’d also like to mention running back Cierre Wood and the Irish offensive line. Wood and the o-line played with a lot heart and skill. Wood finished the game with 21 carries and 104 yards. That would not have been possible though without his o-line opening up holes in the defensive line.

Three things I didn’t like:

I don’t know where to start, there are just so many different things to choose from.

1. Dayne Crist and other wide receivers not named Floyd: Crist played like his usual self so I guess I’m not too disappointed with him. I am disappointed that head coach Brian Kelly did not realize this. Receivers T.J. Jones and Theo Riddick ought to both be placed on probation or something for their absolutely inexcusable performances. Jones’s ineptness right outside the end zone and Riddick’s dropped punt return destroyed all momentum Notre Dame ever had. Both players also dropped several catchable passes. You are scholarship athletes at the University of Notre Dame. Play like it. Or how about “playing like a champion today”?

2. Defensive penalties: At first I was going to write about how awful the Big East officiating crew was during the game. Then I saw that USF actually had more penalties called on them. Irish safety, Harrison Smith, was called for two back to back facemask calls. That was two penalties on subsequent plays that gave the USF Bulls free 30 yards. Smith ought to be riding the bench next week. There was also a late hit call on one of the Irish defensive lineman that gave the Bulls another 15 yards. Again, you are a scholarship athlete. You are being soundly beaten. Why take your anger out on the other team? How about you go hit yourself.

3. Turnovers: This destroyed Notre Dame’s chances. You can not commit five turnovers and expect to win the game. There was a fumble by Jonas Gray that USF recovered and took back for a touchdown. The punt return fumble by Riddick led to the Bulls getting a field goal. There were two interceptions by Rees (I can only account for one and that was when it bounced off of Jones’s helmet.) but neither resulted in the Bulls getting any points. Then of course Crist threw an interception in the end zone. As I also stated, three of those five turnovers occurred in the red zone. You got to believe that even if ND hadn’t of scored a touchdown, they would have at least gotten three field goals and have nine points.

            In my preview posted on Saturday I said the three keys to the game for the Irish would be to: Stop B.J. Daniels, get the offense rolling, and start strong. Notre Dame did stop USF’s quarterback B.J. Daniels. However, the Irish did not get any kind of offense going consistently until the second half. They also had the complete opposite of a strong start. That is basically why they did not win.

Skip Holtz with one of his players after the game. Holtz's father, Lou, coached a national championship team at Notre Dame. Skip also attended Notre Dame and was a member of the football team.

            Notre Dame’s (0-1) next game is next Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines (1-0) who won their game, beating mighty Western Michigan. Be sure to watch ESPN’s “College Gameday” Saturday morning as they will be broadcasting from Michigan Stadium.