I like Notre Dame in this game.They are playing for their coach and their offense will only be stopped by turnovers and penalties. Irish win.

sjmvsfscs08 wrote: Yes I do think Navy is a solid opponent. Pittsburgh beat them 27-14, I didn't watch thegame so I don't know how how dominant they were.

I did see a Notre Dame team give away twenty points, and give Navy nine. A twenty-nine-point swing would've made that game 41-14. I honestly feel the score of that game should have been in that neighborhood; I'm convinced so don't try to persuade me otherwise. However, I do understand the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" aspect of the game, I'm simply saying that if Notre Dame comes out firing on all cylinders (and yes, this would require Clausen to air it out and stretch the field), that Notre Dame takes this game by 10+.

I won't try to convince you otherwise and I'm rooting for ND just like you.

I just don't understand how you can say that Pitt hasn't beaten any solid teams on that other huddle but if you looked at their schedule you would see they beat Navy. You had referred to Navy as a solid team after ND lost to them. My question is, when you made that statement about Pitt's schedule.....had you actually looked at their opponents up to that point or were you just making an assumption without actually looking at their schedule?

No, I had looked at their schedule. I think Navy is a solid team, so I misspoke. I was implying that Pittsburgh hasn't beat a ranked team this season (they have two in their next three games). I expect more out of a team ranked #8/12 in the country. They are not as good as people are making them out to be.

I expect to see a Notre Dame team that knows it cost itself a BCS bid and a win last week from its own mental errors. I think they're going to be fired up and perform very well.

Defensively, I think Notre Dame is getting better. Last week's offense was an anomaly, I don't take much out of it (that doesn't mean I'm not pissed off). Notre Dame seemed to handle McKnight well, can they contain Lewis? Navy held him to a season-low 79 yards on 23 carries (that's a 3.4 average--also his lowest of the season).

This game is similar to the Southern Cal game. This will be determined by shutting down Lewis and not getting destroyed on third down by Stull.

killer_ewok wrote: ND COULD definitely win this game but offensive playcalling early will be key IMO.

The key IMO, is defense. If they let Pitt run over them like Navy, ND will be in for a long day. If they can at all contain the Pitt running game, I think ND has a good chance to win this game.
As I have mentioned before, I honestly don't know "how" good Pitt is. They haven't exactly played any of any significance to date. Have a loss to a bad NCST team. But they have been rolling people lately. They are a bit of an inegma at thie point IMO.

Another issue i think is, is ND mentally going to be repaired after the loss to Navy, which dashed their BCS hopes. ND was obviously NOT mentally ready last week vs Navy. After that devastating loss...will they be ready this week? Interesting week for the Irish. Should be another good nail biter.

centralbucksfan wrote:

killer_ewok wrote: ND COULD definitely win this game but offensive playcalling early will be key IMO.

The key IMO, is defense. If they let Pitt run over them like Navy, ND will be in for a long day. If they can at all contain the Pitt running game, I think ND has a good chance to win this game.
As I have mentioned before, I honestly don't know "how" good Pitt is. They haven't exactly played any of any significance to date. Have a loss to a bad NCST team. But they have been rolling people lately. They are a bit of an inegma at thie point IMO.

Another issue i think is, is ND mentally going to be repaired after the loss to Navy, which dashed their BCS hopes. ND was obviously NOT mentally ready last week vs Navy. After that devastating loss...will they be ready this week? Interesting week for the Irish. Should be another good nail biter.

indeed, cbf. sad that i agree with you

the "play calling" has been top notch and so is our offensive coordinating staff as a whole, especially when you consider how defenses have lined up to defend notre dame the past month, we have called near perfect games.

still, we have weaknesses: proper execution in the red zone, defense, and special teams have been biting us in the ass. like another poster mentioned, we could have easily defeated navy by 14+ last week and i guarantee you none of these charlie weis bashing e-tards would have said anything.

like i posted earlier, if you are going to criticize the 11th rated offense and the 5th rated passing team in the country for "conservative play-calling" then you obviously have an axe to grind. weis deserves criticisms, but offensive play-calling is not one of them...

with the said, the mental aspect will be the key factor in this game. with passion and desire to defeat the opponent, i think notre dame can win this game. so, can weis get the team fired up this weekend? time will tell...

Thanks for letting me know about this site hamp.

As always I will be cheering for an Irish victory, despite being fed up with the coaching staff. I think nd pulls this out on a 4th quarter drive.

CBF-If ND's defense is the "key," we're screwed. Everybody knew the defense was the weak link heading into the season. A very weak link at that. They're going to give up yards and points - that's a given. The offense, however, CAN win games if they get going before it's too late and that's my gripe with the playcalling.

rocket31-"e-tards?" Cute. Face of the matter is, I voiced my dissatisfaction with Weis' playcalling following a blowout victory over Wazzou so if you think I would've been grinning ear-to-ear going on about he was a genius and I loved the playcalling had ND defeated Navy....you're mistaken.

Furthermore, if I have such an axe to grind.....why was I one of the only huddlers DEFENDING Weis following the Michigan game? If I was the Weis hater that others say I am....that would've been a perfect opportunity to pile on and I was one of the only folks saying that Weis called a great game and I supported his playcalling throughout the game.

You can go on and on with the stats to support your argument but the fact remains that ND puts up big numbers (and consequently points) through the air once they're down (typically 2 or 3 scores) late in games. And again....the defense knows it's coming and still can't stop it. And your stats defeat your purpose because with those numbers.....ND should be throwing the ball downfield more often early in games instead of dinking and dunking and trying to "establish" the run. As Weis said,"Ya' are what ya' are." Well, Notre Dame is NOT a smash mouth team with a great defense. They're a team with a high octane passing game and a lousy defense. The rushing offense is average. Play to your strengths. Obviously you can't just throw every down but ND could stretch the field more earlier in the game....and that running game that Weis is trying to "establish"......would, IMO, benefit greatly.

I just tell it like it is. I have nothing personal against Weis. I've supported and defended him when I saw fit. I've criticized him when it's been warranted. I wanted the guy to succeed and I'll still be rooting for this ND team led by him on Saturday. But, I think ND is as good as they're going to be under Weis......and I think they're staring 8-4 or 7-5 in the face. I hope they respond in a big way.....but based on what I've seen from ND under Weis......I'm not counting on it. With that said....

GO IRISH!!!

the only way pitt loses this game is if they would have to beat themselves. but i would like to see ND win this one so cheesenurger charlie can stick around for a few more years. and notre dame can continue to be a non factor.

Cool story, bro.

backing ND here

ccrunner609 wrote: Pitt receiver just made what might be the best catch of the year and Mushberger didnt say anything. 25 seconds of silence. These announcers are horrible. If ND made that catch you would hear "Heisman"

I don't know. Brent sounded like he had an orgasm after Baldwin's last catch. Loud enough for ya'?

Anyways, I don't see how anyway can continue to defend Weis and his playcalling. Even Herbstreit said that ND is going to have to take some shots downfield because Pitt's DB's are sitting on 10-15 yard routes. But what does Kirk know.....

What a BEAUTIFUL run that was...

Game = over.

ccrunner609 wrote: Wow Pitts backup RB just embarrased ND defense, I think he did 4 360's.

Yeah, that was pretty bad lol..

Great run, piss poor tackling.

Wow. ND went play action and threw the ball downfield. Amazing what happens when you open it up....

Wow. Typical troll trash. Just like the old huddle. Awesome.

Time for the ND coaching staff to start sending out resumes

Interesting tidbit they said a little bit ago about how after the Navy game, the locker room was split. Some of the players said Navy out schemed them and others backed Weis...

ccrunner609 wrote: Whats the matter Killer?

Troll trash.

ccrunner609 wrote: Yeah I heard that.......

You heard it but you aren't listening......

ccrunner609 wrote: Weiss- "Hey this game is over, Pitt is kicking our ass"

Jimmy- "Yeah this stinks, what do you have there?"

Weis- "Menu from that really good Pizza place uptown"

Jimmy- "what you gonna get?"

Weis- "Lets get a deluxe!, do you think they deliver to the stadium?"

Troll trash.

ND not exactly out of it yet...

LTrain23 wrote: ND not exactly out of it yet...

With our defense and Weis calling the plays.....they are.

ccrunner609 wrote: Killer that isnt troll trash....that is basically how its going. Clausen is playing like crap because Weis is making plays off of a resturant menu.

If you want to argue that then you are an idiot.

I know Weis stinks and have said as much multiple times. You're still troll trash. And if there's an idiot here.....it's you.

FIRE WEIS NOW.

Smith is atrocious. No surprise there. He plays defense like you post.....