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Live blogs: Notre Dame vs. USC

Oct 22, 2011, 7:38 PM EDT

44 Comments
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SOUTH BEND, Ind.  – It’s finally time to play.

After a long week of talking about every conceivable angle this rivalry match has to offer, the Irish and the Trojans are finally ready to square off. The sidelines of Notre Dame Stadium are packed full with recruits and VIPs and one look at the field lets you understand with certainty that this isn’t just another game.

The stadium is electric, and now it’s finally time to actually see what happens. As usual, you can join me here for the traditional live blog. You can also find me in the live stream of the game, answering your questions in the HD Player with DVR capabilities.

Buckle up and let’s get ready to go.

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  1. 1notredamefan - Oct 22, 2011 at 8:08 PM

    anyone have a clue what’s going on rite now?

  2. 1notredamefan - Oct 22, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    I’m here enjoying my halftime beer, How bout you guys?

    On another note…..It is a really good thing I’m not able to hurt Referees…….pac 12 refs would be pac 0 dead!!

  3. sfnd - Oct 22, 2011 at 10:45 PM

    Rees was terrible tonight. And , as much as I hate to say it, Kiffin out coached Kelly. Still a long way to go to be a top 10 program.

  4. kiopta1 - Oct 22, 2011 at 10:52 PM

    And the turnover bug strikes again!

  5. irish9314 - Oct 22, 2011 at 10:56 PM

    I must make this statement… Its hard to say…. but ND quit at the end. Very Very sad. Also on a side note… ND let usc run before them in the tunnel on the way in. That is our house, they can wait on us. We tucked our tails. That game just proved to the nation that we are 100% not BCS caliber.

    • sfnd - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:34 PM

      Saying the team quit is too harsh and unfair to the players. USC played the better game and appeared stronger throughout the game. Add the turnovers. And we have the recipe for a very disappointing loss.

      Let’s win out from here.

      • irish9314 - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:45 PM

        I understand it is harsh… but they did quit. Also, as much as I love christ, that lose could almost, IMO it should be, on him. If you dont fumble that ball, ND wins. If I were kelly, I would move him to #3.

      • irish9314 - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:46 PM

        It is harsh… But they did quit. That last series, you could see it in their faces. Also IMO, you could put that loss on christ. He needs to be moved to number 3.

      • notredamegrad - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:56 PM

        They didn’t quit. Not at all. Defense kept USC out of the end zone in the final minutes.

        You can pin the fumbled snap on Crist if you want (he played very, very impressively on every other snap he took), but there’s no way you can rationally pin the loss on him. If Carlo doesn’t taunt and give USC a first down when they’re about to get off the field (and they go on to score), maybe we win. If Tommy doesn’t throw that pick that turns into points for USC and instead takes us down the field for a TD, we win. If Cierre catches the lateral pass or lands on it and we don’t turn it over to USC for a next-minute TD, we win. We could go on like this. No point in ever laying the whole game on one play.

      • c4evr - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:52 AM

        Personally, I’d prefer thinking the team quit… otherwise they were way overmatched. And, if all things are considered equal when recruits arrive at campus, you have to look at poor player development by the coaching staff. These kids lacked only one thing – the fire that a truly inspirational coach can instill in his men to give their all. Lou Holtz was the last Irish coach to master that. Willingham was monstrous fail. Mr. X’s and O’s Weis had his humble hat handed to him. And now Kelly displays once again why he is woefully lacking. I don’t think it matters how good ND’s record is from here on out – this year or any year under BK – what stands out is how uninspired play is on the field against BCS opposition. Kelly simply is overmatched at this level.

  6. fightinmad35 - Oct 22, 2011 at 10:57 PM

    This team just is not ready for prime time.. A decent team.. Very inconsistent. The turnover story is unbelievable to me. The timing of the turnovers is the worst part of it. What a horrible game to have all those recruits on campus. Wow that’s gonna hurt. Or maybe a recruit will see a chance to play early if he’s an optimist. Cornerbacks played so far off the line it was painful to watch. Lo Wood one on one with Woods, just horrible.. The defense letting them run all over them was truly the story of the game. That week off hurt more than it helped because everybody looked sluggish and delayed….. If Barkeley picked us apart like this then I won’t even bother watching the Stanford game… Insight Bowl here we come…

    • ndgiants11 - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:55 PM

      What’s worse for the Stanford game is that they ran for over 400 yards tonight. I don’t care who you’re playing, for a non-option offense to put that up is insane.

  7. papers531 - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    I personally am sick of Mike Mayock and Tom Hammond sucking the teat of any team ND is playing and just shitting on ND. Its not just tonight though they deserved it they played like crap. How about announcers who give a shit about the school they are calling a game for.

    • sfnd - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:23 PM

      I am going to disagree with this one. I find that they try to be “neutral” announcers and at time seems to be overly complimentary to the visitors. More frequently, the announcers do not criticize ND play / players when they make mistakes. For example, specific players who over pursue defensively leaving a open opportunity for the offense and poor passes — wrong read, not leading the receiver etc). Also, they do not seem to critique the ND coaching even when the other team is executing a better / more effective scheme.

      • papers531 - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:49 PM

        there is one reason I tune into NBC Notre dame coverage and its not to listen to them 2 miss calls as they interview the usc athletic director( yes i know who he is and i dont care) the neutrality part is crap because its nd who has the contract with nbc its not like abc espn who show random games and should be neutral.

      • 9irish - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:02 AM

        Hammond really does not seem to know what the hell is going on half the time….and I’m not saying that to be mean

  8. nickynardini1 - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    Such a sad loss, after such exciting promise. I really think this loss was even harder on Keith than on any of us on the live blog. Must be hard to be in South Bend right now.

  9. 1notredamefan - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    well we almost coulda shoulda woulda might have won this one……BUT reality just slapped me……

  10. c4evr - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:48 PM

    Really ND?? That’s the best you have to offer? On Natl. TV, at night, while hosting a bevy of Blue Chip recruits – that’s the best Kelly can do? Not many people can say they’ve been out coached by Lane Kiffin. I used to say I didn’t think Kelly’s spread could work because he could never recruit the elite speed players. Now I just believe he’s a man in way over his head – This isn’t D2 ball and it isn’t Big East football. He’s as uninspiring a coach as he is an orator. Give me Lou Holtz’s self-effacing humor and fight-to-the-death squads any day over this vanilla doughnut of a team.

  11. irish1015 - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:56 PM

    I know all Irish fans are sick to there stomach right now. Partly because we know ND can play better and mostly because we all hate USC.

    Many things happened tonight that I can’t get over. Fumbles for 90 yard touchdowns. Int’s. And all in all just piss poor football. Statistically ND plays poorly after bye weeks. Not sure what happened. All I know Is this will not be our year for BCS and Brian Kelly has a lot of work to do. We have the best fan base out there. Stay positive and look forward to Navy. Go Irish.

  12. ndfanor - Oct 22, 2011 at 11:59 PM

    Well, like a lot of ND fans I’m hurting. I don’t think that bye week did anything for the team. They lost the momentum of a 4 game winnng streak and played worst tonight then the opening game of the season. Points off turnovers and stupid penalties cost us dearly tonight. Also some questionable coaching decisions. Kelly needs to pick a first string, second string and third string QB. The drive that Rees got hurt. Crist goes in a drives to the 5, then Hendrix comes in for one play, then Crist again…fumble….USC TD. If Kellys is going to play one of these guys, then let the guy play. With thoughts of BCS no longer in questions, perhaps our team can concentrate on playing and winning games. I will be looking forward to the rest of the season, especially the Stanford game because I already have my tickets!! GO IRISH!!!!

  13. 9irish - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    did that really just happen? Is there a statistic about how many times a team has fumbled twice in the same season to have it returned 90 yards for a touchdown by the other team?

    • ndgiants11 - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:01 AM

      There wasn’t a statistic to measure that until ND did it for the second time this season.

      • 9irish - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:11 AM

        good point…that’s kind of what I was thinking. I don’t mind it when they get beat BEAT (Navy, Stanford last year)…this stuff of fumbling bumbling stumbling games away is starting to annoy me

  14. ndgoldandblue - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:01 AM

    The thing that really gets me about this game is that we got thoroughly beaten on a night with so many recruits visiting. And…we were beaten by the slime of the college football world. And….we could have lost many of these recruits to USC tonight. I would feel so much better about losing if it were to a team with great character like Navy or…I don’t know…anyone. These recruits are going to sign on the dotted line to a program who knowingly and willingly cheats. And, this is a program who hired the biggest weasel in all of college football to be their head coach. I don’t want to go so far as to say that it’s a good guys versus bad guys sort of thing, but it is. Does anyone on here really think that USC would suspend a player for skipping a class? When I told me wife about that, she asked me how soon we could register our unborn child for classes at Notre Dame. To get ahead in college football, as well as in life I suppose, you have to get there by cheating. It’s like that quote from The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or live long enough to be the villain.” Notre Dame will never, ever be a national championship contender again because the program will not compromise on its virtues to get there. That, I will admire indefinitely. What I feel bad for is the young student athletes who will commit to USC over Notre Dame because they don’t know any better.

    • ndgiants11 - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:04 AM

      Tuitt is suspended for a one game for missing one class. Jordan Jefferson of LSU is suspended 4 games for a bar fight and allegedly kicking a guy in the head. He’s playing again, albeit in a limited role. You tell me what Jefferson’s punishment would have been had he been at ND.

      Disclaimer: I ignored Floyd’s reinstatement throughout this entire post.

      • ndgoldandblue - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:23 AM

        Keep in mind, Floyd had to live a squeaky-clean life after his DWI. The standards at Notre Dame have not been compromised, just adjusted. I give Res Life credit for giving a guy a chance to turn his life around. A student gets a DWI in the off-season, so give him a chance to prove that he can really change. Kelly, himself, admitted that if Floyd messed up once, he would be off the team. I’m just saying…look at all of the teams that have had BCS success in the last decade. Every single one of them has had allegations of impropriety of some sort, whether it be financial/personal gain or with their academic standards. I’m just saying, if every institution held itself accountable like Notre Dame does, many, many of their players would be missing games. And let’s just remember the last time Notre Dame made it to a BCS game, JaMarcus Russell lit up the Irish D. Yep, a real class act that guy turned out to be. Do we really want douchebags like him gracing our sidelines? I’m asking that in all seriousness.

    • papadec - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:23 AM

      Notre Dame WILL BE a national contender again – and WILL WIN!! It will be interesting to see which of the non-committed recruits, at tonight’s game, commit to usc or ND. I will particularly be interested in where Arik Armstead commits & plays.

    • rtrblade - Oct 23, 2011 at 1:23 AM

      You are really living in a dreamworld if you truly believe what you are spouting. Look at the stats, we got our butts kicked. All this chivalry you think exists at Notre Dame is a figment of your imagination, there is plenty of all of the normal human behaviours going on on this team, only very slightly less than the worst offenders. Kelly is no different than any other coach at a school of this caliber, he just hasn’t been caught yet. Bringing up Lou Holtz or any other past coach is a waste of time, today’s players will not accept or respond the same way as they did then, and his shtick today is wearing very thin, Dr. Lou is well past his prime, almost an embarrassment.

      • c4evr - Oct 23, 2011 at 3:24 AM

        If your argument that today’s players will not accept or respond the same way as they did in past years, then bringing up Lou Holtz’ name is no more a waste of time than beating the dead horse that says ‘ Notre Dame will, should, and deserves to be a football powerhouse based on it’s tradition.’

    • c4evr - Oct 23, 2011 at 1:24 AM

      Let’s see what holds up after the ship takes on enough water – ND’s impeccable standards or Irish Football irrelevance. Something tells me losing and NBC contract and forced inclusion into a sub-par conference may give the powers that be reason to pause and reconsider. Nowhere is it written that a top-notch academic institution and a BCS caliber football program go hand-in-hand. If you want to remain dominant on the field, then settle for the academic second fiddle and join the Ivy League…

  15. papadec - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:07 AM

    Kiffin did not out coach Kelly. What the officials called, OR didn’t call – doesn’t matter. Plain & simple – ND gave it away – AGAIN. In the next few years, ND will be a great team – but, not this year. Stanford destroyed UWash tonight. It looks, to me, like an 8-4 season and a non-BCS Bowl invite. I don’t think the players quit – it looked to me as though they were trying as hard as they could, right to the end. A disappointing loss – yes. The end of the world – NO.

    • txbeej - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:52 AM

      Front 7 got abused, game wasn’t given away. I didn’t see much of the second half because company came a-callin’, though I did get to see the fumbled snap and the resulting scoop and score, but that wasn’t what cost Notre Dame the game. Face it, we were very fortunate to even be in it by that point. The only thing that was ever close about this thing was the score.

      USC was the more physical team and they deserved to win.

  16. jerseyshorendfan1 - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:09 AM

    Hello Meinecke Car Care Bowl, if we beat Navy and Wake that is. Such a disappointment tonight. USC came out playing like a BCS team and we looked like we had cement boots on. Crist’s f up probably solidified his position on the bench….that fumble was the turning point of the game, all downhill from there. Slow, sluggish and tentative is not the way to win games.

    • tradertrik - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:35 AM

      I agree. I’ve always been a supporter of Rees and I believe that Crist should never, ever see the football field under game conditions again unless we are at least 3 touchdown ahead. For pity’s sake. We could have won that game if we had scored a touchdown. After the return of the fumble, I could feel stadium deflate through my TV set. What a sad state of affairs to be playing like this, this late in the season. Go Irish!!!!!

  17. ndgiants11 - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:15 AM

    I just wanted to say this is an unfortunate for ND nation, but I still have hope for the future. Call me naive, but I do. Winning and losing has no effect on recruits choosing to or not to attend Notre Dame. The fact that the crowd did their job tonight and made for one heck of an atmosphere will certainly not go unnoticed by the recruits in attendance.

    And I’m not jumping off the Kelly bandwagon yet. ND’s secondary has been exposed, and he knows that. Why do you think other teams are able to take Floyd out of games, yet Woods can have 12 catches for 120 yards and 2 TDs? But Kelly knows this, he’s out recruiting corners and safeties like a mad man. And last year he knew they needed a defensive line, so he went out and got some great guys in Tuitt, Lynch, Hounshell, etc.

    When I listen to Kelly speak, I get the feeling the guy knows what is needed to maintain long-term success. The turnovers will take care of themselves – a team as good as ND can’t keep this pace. He took mediocre Divison II talent, and dominated opposing Division II talent…he took Big East talent, and dominated opposing Big East talent…why shouldn’t he be able to take national talent and dominate opposing national talent?

    Go Irish.

    • papadec - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:28 AM

      AMEN!!!!!!!!!! ndgiants11 is right on the money. We are going to take some lumps & disappointments on the way to the BCS title.

    • c4evr - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:33 AM

      Because it’s D2 and because it’s the Big East…

    • c4evr - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:39 AM

      And Lou H was a great recruiter, motivator, and coach. So far as I can tell, BK is a good recruiter, a lousy motivator, and a… well, the jury is still out on the last one. But being out coached by LK can’t be a feather in his cap.

      • ndgiants11 - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:52 AM

        I am a Kelly backer through and through, but I will agree with you assessment on motivation. He said after the game that he came down fairly hard at his team at the half. I was disheartened to hear this. If Lou were in that locker room, I strongly believe he would have refrained from excessive negative comments, knowing it wouldn’t get his team very far. Instead of discussing what went wrong in the first half, he probably would have focused on how to improve in the second half.

  18. txbeej - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:43 AM

    USC – 44 carries 219 yards.

    ND – 14 carries 41 yards

    Believe the kids might call that “ownage”.

    • ndgiants11 - Oct 23, 2011 at 12:47 AM

      ^ Stats from the Weis era.

  19. txbeej - Oct 23, 2011 at 1:09 AM

    I pray if Notre Dame should go on another modest winning streak, which they may well with the schedule being what it is (right up until The Massacre of Palo Alto ends it), no one starts complaining that the Irish should be ranked. Do not want to hear it.

  20. txbeej - Oct 23, 2011 at 1:25 AM

    Oh, and I do have to say that the helmets looked great.

    And Jesus, how can you not feel terrible for Crist?

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