Nov. 21, 2014
Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus
Except that Santa Claus doesn’t live at the North Pole. Nor does
he fly around-on in a red sleigh pulled by “8+1” reindeer every
December 24th Eve. And most certainly he doesn’t enter your house
by scrambling down your chimney. However, rest assured, he is
alive & well. He resides in the head football coach’s office
at the University of the Noted Dames; toils away at his craft
surrounded by arrogant young people wearing shining gold helmets and
obnoxiously day-glow bright all-gold cleats, all of whom sport an
unabashed attitude of entitlement and very bad breath; is cheered-on
lustily for 12 Saturday afternoons every fall by a rabid and equally
arrogant and entitled fan base led by a dwarf dressed in a cute green
elf-like costume; and most certainly delivers brightly-colored, ribbon
& bow-topped gifts to deserving children.
To many an observer in attendance who witnessed what transpired between
the Wildcats and the Noted Dames, the whole enterprise could be
summed-up in a simple, yet extremely poignant phrase: “A comedy of
errors.” Thankfully, those errors on exhibit within this comedy
were not limited to the players wearing the purple helmet with the
white block “N” on it, but were spread relatively evenly among both
combatants. Making matters even worse (or to some of the more
cynical souls among us, more entertaining) was the fact that most of
these errors were of the hilarious brainfart variety.
Northwestern and Noted Dames fans alike, enduring the first truly
bitter cold of the 2014 winter season and the 3-inch thick sheet of
toe-numbing ice under their feet in the stands, watched in absolute
slack-jawed amazement as players from either side of the LOS fumbled,
bumbled and penalized themselves to outright embarrassment while the
head coaches more than made their presence felt and their strategic
coaching capabilities all too public as they continually made poor
decision after poor decision, until there wasn’t any more time left on
the game clock to make another one. Both teams shoulda, coulda,
woulda secured victory for themselves and their frigid fans on any one
of a half-dozen occasions; but no, each team continually failed to
execute that one critical coup de grace play to seal the deal until
that fateful overtime period. However make no mistake, in the
final analysis, the much more universally talented Noted Dames
virtually gave this game to the Wildcats; and the Wildcats, to their
credit, did not unravel like a cheap suit as they had over their
previous 4 games but rose to take advantage of the opportunity that had
been hand-delivered into their grateful mitts and executed the needful
to capture the “W” flag and transport it back to Evanston with the
collective pride of a job well done, especially at end-game.
How the ‘Cats Gave the Noted Dames
A “Nightmare Before Christmas”
Stocking Stuffers
As stated above, there is plenty of blame to go around among individual
player personnel from either team for the amusing carrousel of
brainfart field plays that went down throughout the contest.
Neither team’s offensive, defensive or special teams units stood apart
as a superior alternative to the other, despite the well-advertised
fact that the Noted Dame’s 2-deep roster is populated with 4 &
5-star recruits across every position on either side of the LOS, while
NU’s depth chart is more pedestrian with 2 & 3-star personnel, many
of which were rejected or outright ignored by ND in their mutual
recruit wars. But individual star-ratings had little to no
influence when the Wildcat players faced-off against their Irish
counterparts, then locked horns and battled like this was their 2014
championship title game.
The main difference in all this was that the Noted Dames’ brainfarts
were more consequential to the game’s final score since most of them
not only kept the Irish at bay from assuming total control of game
momentum or cutting the collective heart out of the Wildcats, but those
crucial ND blunders bolstered the ‘Cats’ mindset that they could remain
competitive over the course of the entire game, even when the outcome
appeared to have become a fait accompli late in Q4.
How could that ever happen, you might ask, especially since NU gave-up
what might have been devastating offensive explosion plays, like…
● A 61-yard TD scamper by ND QB, Everett Golson, off
a well-executed spread option quarterback-keeper on the game’s 4th play
from scrimmage – Golson’s longest TD rush of his collegiate career.
● A PAIR of 23-yard TD receptions by Irish WR Will Fuller (the first 2 of his 3 TD completions for the day).
… or gut-wrenching defensive plays, like…
● A 32-yard scoop and dash to TD paydirt by ND’s SS
Austin Collinsworth off a Garrett Dickerson fumble after his 7-yard
pitch-n-catch for a Wildcat 1st down was stripped cleanly by Noted
Dames CB Cody Riggs.
● Trevor Siemian’s INT off a potential TD toss on a
3rd-&-2 down at the Noted Dames’ 4 yard line late in Q2 where he
attempted to thread a needle eye-sized window with a laser beam pass to
WR Tony Jones, only to be picked off by Irish CB, Mathias Farley, who
jumped the throw and returned the pick 39 yards out from the shadow of
ND’s goal line, deterring NU’s bid to recapture the lead 3 minutes
before halftime.
● A 2nd INT of an errant Siemian pass – picked off by
Irish CB Cole Luke at the NU 42 and returned 16 yards to the ‘Cat 26
yard line – that set-up ND’s final TD score in regulation time, padding
the Noted Dames’ lead to what seemed to be an insurmountable 11 points
with 10:34 left in Q4.
● ‘Cat K, Jack Mitchell’s critical-at-the-time
43-yard Q4 FG attempt that was blocked on the ‘Cats’ stalled possession
following ND’s final regulation TD off that Siemian INT mentioned above.
… or frustrating drops of Wildcat passes thrown on target and in stride to NU receivers, like…
● Siemian’s 1st accurately delivered pass at
approximately the 2 minute mark of Q1 to a wide-open WR Tony Jones
running a go route that netted him 2 full yards separation beyond his
cover-2 coverage safeties at the Noted Dames 38 yard line. This
target receiver misjudged the flight of the ball yet the bean still hit
him in his hands and fell to the turf for a routine incompletion rather
than a sure-fire TD reception.
● Siemian’s 2nd accurately delivered frozen rope pass
at the end of Q1 to an open WR Tony Jones running a skinny post
starting from ND’s 10 and into the back of the end zone after gaining a
full step separation beyond his coverage DB that, again, hit the
receiver’s hands and dropped for another incompletion instead of a
second sure-fire TD. That missed TD was secured two offensive
plays later on Prater’s over-the-shoulder circus catch at the start of
Q2.
● Siemian’s 3rd accurately delivered pass, this time
in Q2 and once more to a wide-open WR Tony Jones running free and clear
3 full yards behind his cover-2 coverage DBs at the Noted Dame 10 yard
line that hit his target receiver squarely in both mitts and bounced
harmlessly to the turf for a third missed sure-fire TD.
Significant as these successful plays delivered by the potent Noted
Dames playmakers were, the following Irish field play miscues &
coaching strategy brainfarts, as a whole, fundamentally neutralized
those positive gains and opened the door to victory for the ‘Cats…
● ‘Cat RB Justin Jackson’s thrilling 44-yard burst on
the Wildcats’ opening possession of the game. The rush was a
simple B-Gap backside cut downfield off a well-blocked stretch play
against a miss-used 5-in-the-box defensive set designed primary to
defend NU’s 2x2 WR formation on either wing. Jackson merely
waited for his big uglies to lock horns with those 5 box defenders, cut
into and through an open lane at the LOS and he was off to the races,
weaving through the out-of-position Irish secondary, breaking 3 arm
tackles along the way, and finally was halted at the Noted Dames’ 6
yard line. Without a doubt, it was THE foundation play in NU’s
scoring drive that epitomized the ‘Cats’ resolute response to ND’s
initial 61-yard explosion TD possession and set the competitive tone of
the entire Wildcat O for the remainder of the contest.
● ‘Cat RB Treyvon Green’s equally electrifying
45-yard explosion draw right up the gut of the Irish D during the
Wildcats’ drive spanning Q1 - Q2. This play mimicked Jackson’s
earlier rush in that the Noted Dames D used an “empty” 5-in-the-box
formation with no LB behind the 5 DL (both Mike & Sam LBs were set
as 2-point DTs on the LOS) and backed by a lone SS positioned 10 yards
off the LOS in a typical cover-2 look directly behind the weak-side DE,
leaving ND’s middle zone without a defender and ripe for the
taking. SB Vitale went into motion and positioned himself
opposite Green in NU’s 2-RB shotgun spread formation on either side of
Siemian. At the snap, Siemian set himself in a drop-back shotgun
pass look, forcing the MLB and SLB to honor their pass reads and
back-away from the LOS to cover the short middle zone. This left
the 3 remaining Irish DL to attack NU’s 5 OL, 3 of whom easily engaged
them via effective zone blocks, while Vitale and the 2 uncovered OL ran
downfield to lock horns with the backed-off LBs, completing 6-on-5,
helmet-on-helmet blocks on every ND defender in the box. Siemian
handed the bean off to Green in draw action, who promptly ignited his
afterburners and shot into and through the center of ND’s vacant box
untouched for 40 yards until he eventually was dragged down at the
Irish 29. The perfect play to counter the Noted Dames “no-LB” or
“empty” 5-in-the-box formation. 4 downs later, Siemian finished
the drive with a highlight reel, picture perfect TD pass over the
outstretched hands of ND Safety, Tre Tranquill, into the grasp of ‘Cat
WR, Kyle Prater, running a fade route to the corner pylon of the ND end
zone that pared the Irish 11-point lead back down to 4. Thank
you, Brian Kelly.
● When ‘Cat WR Garrett Dickerson’s Q1 run-after-catch
was fumbled and converted into a scoop-6 TD by the Irish secondary,
NU’s special teams unit remained undeterred by this potential
kick-in-the-crotch setback. On the ensuing PAT, ND’s newly
installed substitute holder, Malik Zaire, bobbled the snap from center,
regained control of the bean and coolly placed it upright on the turf
in preparation for the expected kick through the uprights by ND’s
prolifically dependable and accurate senior PK, Kyle Brindza, who, up
to that juncture, had successfully converted 88 consecutive PAT
attempts. These extra few moments provided ‘Cat CB, Nick
VanHoose, just enough time to scoot around the left edge of ND’s line
and stuff Brindza’s boot just as he made contact with the hastily reset
pigskin. The bean caromed off Nick’s shins into the open space to
the right of the Irish PAT pair. Maintaining his focus on the
ball, VanHoose remained upright after the block and allowed his
momentum to carry him to the bean, whereupon he deftly snatched it off
the turf and sprinted free and clear upfield into the Noted Dames’ end
zone, to convert the rarest of all scoring plays in the game of
football: a 2-point defensive PAT, for the ‘Cats. This
mind-boggling defensive PAT proved to be THE most crucial of the 3
improbable Wildcat scores which, collectively, proffered NU the chance
to tie the score with mere seconds to go in regulation
time.
● The surreal bad-boot day for Mr. Brindza, the
player responsible for all place kicking and punting duties for the
Irish, continued its downward spiral as the game progressed. On
the Noted Dames’ first possession of Q2, his clunker 26-yard punt,
although inconsequential in the near term, foreshadowed still worse
kicking results to come. When the Noted Dames’ final drive in
H-1stalled at NU’s 21 yard line, Brindza, the Irish career leader in
FGs made, hooked his 38-yard FG attempt wide right, keeping ND’s
marginal 4-point lead within striking distance of the ‘Cats. On
the stalled Irish possession in Q4 following Jack Mitchell’s missed
43-yard FG, Brindza shanked the subsequent punt for a scant 17 yards,
providing NU with “decent” starting field position at their own 27 yard
line and setting the table for NU’s possession in which Siemian and Co.
efficiently drove the remaining 73 yards in 9 plays burning a paltry
1:58 off clock to score the ‘Cats’ final regulation time TD at the 4:10
mark and reduced the Wildcats’ deficit to manageable 3. And last
but most certainly not least, Mr. Brindza’s poorly hit & missed
42-yard FG attempt in overtime that sailed very wide left, a miscue
that essentially laid a gift-wrapped opportunity into the laps of this
much maligned team to complete their unimaginable comeback from the
edge of post-season oblivion and seal the deal with a game-clinching
score of any sort on NU’s possession that followed. Gawd Bless
You, Mr. Brindza.
● ‘Cat MLB Anthony Walker’s INT at the NU 31 off a
3rd-&-8 pass thrown during the Noted Dames’ 2nd possession of
Q2. ND’s QB Golson rolled to his right setting to throw a sprint
pass; however after 3 steps, was corralled in the vice-like grasp of
‘Cat DE, Deonte Gibson. Struggling to avoid the sack by dumping
the ball beyond the LOS, Golson tossed the bean just as he was taken to
the turf, causing an errant throw that caromed-off the helmet of his
ROT. Walker tracked the flight of the dying-quail bean, made the
grab then rumbled 65 yards upfield long the right sidelines, getting
caught from behind by a pursuing WR at the ND 4. The pick was a
very welcome turnover that represented a potential 14-point swing in
favor of the Wildcats. On NU’s first offensive play from
scrimmage following the INT, RB Jackson took the handoff, dove straight
ahead into a crease in the right A-gap and bulldozed his way across the
ND goal line, scoring a go-ahead TD that gave the Wildcats their first
and only lead of the game, at 23-20, before the overtime session’s
festivities commenced.
● ND’s disastrous 1st fumble midway through Q3,
representing the second of an exchange of mutual turnovers for each
team on sequential possessions deep in Wildcat territory. The
‘Cats’ offensive miscue occurred on a 3rd-&-21 down when they ran
another A-gap dive from their 7 yard line while facing a variation of
the Noted Dames’ “empty”-box defensive formation, this time with 4 DL
backed by the Mike & Will LBs set 8 yards off the LOS and wide
behind their DEs, providing the Wildcat O plenty of room to roam once
the ball got past the LOS and into this 2nd level. NU’s OL
quickly engaged the 4 Irish DL screening them from the POA, then
Jackson grabbed the handed-off and busted into & through the left
A-gap into that open 2nd level space, gaining 19 yards in flash and
fighting for more, when the Will LB slapped the bean from the RB’s
grip. ND’s SS summarily scooped-up the loose ball and returned it
to the NU 21. Noted Dames’ O went right to work, and ran a
quick-strike jet sweep around the ‘Cats’ left defensive edge gaining 16
yards that placed the pill on NU’s 5 yard line, poised to convert the
short-field turnover into the first points of H-2. On the next
down, Irish QB Golson faked a handoff to his tandem RB; but the ball
hit the RB’s midsection hard causing Golson to lose his handle on the
pill which fell to the turf and was inhaled immediately by Wildcat MLB,
Anthony Walker at the NU 7 for his 2nd TO grab of the contest.
With this fortunate fumble recovery at the very doorstep of their end
zone, the ‘Cats dodged yet another potential ND TD off another costly
TO.
● ND’s disastrous 2nd fumble in early Q4 by Irish WR,
Chris Brown, running another jet sweep around the ‘Cats’ left defensive
edge after taking the handoff from Golson at the Wildcat 5. The
jet sweep action was read correctly by ‘Cat SS, Ibrahim Campbell who
sprinted hard to the LOS in run support then laid a sweet hit on Brown,
separating him from the ball at the NU 1 yard line. The ball
rolled into the Wildcat end zone, where it was gobbled-up by Sam LB,
Jimmy Hall, preventing what might have been still another game-deciding
TD score by the Noted Dames.
● Siemian’s cake-walk TD that closed NU’s gap to
40-37 at the 4:10 mark of Q4. With the LOS on the Irish 6, TS
faced a more conventional wide 4-2 defensive set, with the Mike LB
positioned outside the strong-side DE & the Will LB lined-up in the
weak-side DT-DE gap, apparently to counter what I can only surmise was
a prediction by Noted Dames DC, Brian VanGorder, of a drop back-type
pass attempt into the sidelines by the ‘Cat QB, leaving an open lane in
the center of the short middle zone within NDs secondary. ‘Cat
OC Mick McCall called upon his typical side-by-side QB-RB spread
formation with a trips WR bunch on the strong-side of the LOS and a
lone WR, Kyle Prater, set to the weak-side. At the snap, NU’s OL
formed an impenetrable pass protection pocket, locking horns with the 4
Irish DL and forcing them wide & outside in the Wildcat
backfield. Meanwhile, the WRs on either side of the LOS ran short
crossing routes that passed one another as they progressed into and
through the short middle zone and continued-on into both short sideline
zones, forcing the Noted Dames DB personnel to follow and cover these
receiver targets into those short wide zones and away from ND’s now
vacated short middle zone. This pass coverage flow opened an
inviting 8-yard wide vacant lane in the middle of the field.
Siemian held the bean in hand for 3 seconds, then tucked the pill and
trotted untouched into the noted Dames end zone for NU’s easiest TD of
the game. Thank You, once again, Brian Kelly.
Good Little Boys
When identifying the most appropriate candidate to receive the game’s
most valuable player award many an ardent Wildcat fan would quickly
point to ‘Cat QB, Trevor Siemian, as the most deserving; who could
argue against this very logical selection. After all, the senior
QB had completed over 60% of his pass attempts, an interesting
statistic given the fact that it was skewed downward due to at least 8
dropped passes which had been delivered smack into the hands of his
target receiver – 3 of which, if completed, unquestionably would have
resulted in a TD score and at least another 100 yards gained via the
pass. Add to that total, another 49 yards rushing that included
TS’ moon-walk trot that accounted for NU’s final TD in regulation, and
you would be hard-pressed to elect a more worthy recipient.
However, I’m not one of that group. I wouldn’t hesitate an
instant in tapping the shoulder of every member of the Wildcat
Offensive Line to receive his personal share in the game’s most
valuable player award. Although Siemian was sacked twice, the
efficient pass protection provided TS against a very aggressive and
very fast Noted Dames defensive front 7 was light years better than the
protection provided to Trevor during the previous Saturday’s Michigan
game where these same players were gashed for 6 sacks and multiple TFLs
over the course of that 60-minute bug tussle. And the unit’s
performance profile stock went off the charts regarding their very
effective zone blocking results which opened gaping holes that were
exploited by every ‘Cat ball carrier who got PT for 290 collective
yards – a total that was more than double their per-game average thus
far in NU’s 2014 campaign.
I can only hope that this commendable performance by the Wildcat OL
wasn’t an isolated occurrence against NU’s most-anticipated opponent in
nearly 2 decades; but will prove to be a harbinger of high quality
blocking performances yet to come.
Milk & Cookies
OK, OK, so the content of this game key doesn’t have a damn thing to do
with traditional American Christmas Eve milk & cookies; but hey,
this is a Sinter Klaas-themed commentary and, hell, I’m on a roll, so
deal with it, folks. Special teams execution has been the bane of
the Wildcats’ existence throughout their 4-game losing streak; and NU’s
inconsistency on kickoffs and punt cover/punt returns have been so
commonplace, brainfart field plays on those crucial downs have almost
become a painful yet unavoidable expectation – like defending a
haymaker punch thrown at your beezer by knowingly leaning into
it. However against the Irish, the Wildcats special teams flushed
the ugly memory of their previous humiliating gaffes and shortcomings
and assumed the profile of a confident, veteran squad as underscored by
the following…
● ‘Cat CB, Nick VanHoose, who crashed the edge of the
Noted Dames’ OL and blocked the PAT attempt that followed the Irish
scoop-6 TD in Q1, then had the presence of mind to pick-up the ball and
return it 90 yards for a defensive PAT score for the Wildcats (read
above).
● NU’s successful 2-play series to score the 2-point
after TD conversion attempt that followed the Wildcats final TD scored
in the waning seconds of Q4. The first conversion play was a
roll-out by Siemian to the defensive left edge, who then lateralled to
‘Cat WR, Andrew Scanlan, running a reverse back towards the right
defensive edge. Scanlan pulled-up, with ND’s left DE crashing
into his chest, to attempt throw to a well-covered WR, Garrick
Dickerson – a vain pass that undoubtedly would have fallen short of its
target. However, to Dickerson’s credit, the true Frosh WR
realized that Scalan’s pass was going to be way short and halted his
route just as Scanlon absorbed the hit from the crashing Irish DE and
made that desperation heave in his direction. This halt caused
his cover DB, SS Drue Tranquill, to bump Dickerson softly while the
ball was in the air, forcing a dubious, but perfectly legal pass
interference penalty. The Noted Dame faithful in the stands went
totally bonkers at the sight of the yellow flag. However, the
officiating crew’s call, in fact, the correct one, proffering the ‘Cats
an incredible 2nd 2-point conversion attempt play from ND’s
1-&-a-half yard line. This time around, OC McCall abandoned
any hint at using some trickeration play and called a bulldozer-styled
headlong dive into the Noted Dames’ 8-in-the-box defensive
formation. Siemian handed the ball to Warren Long, the heaviest
player in Fitz’ stable of RBs, who followed his road-grating OL at the
left A-gap and plowed across the goal line to successfully complete
NU’s 2nd improbable 2-point conversion attempt. Thank You,
Mr. Tranquill and the refs.
● ‘Cat PK, Jack Mitchell, who played the most
memorable game of his young collegiate football career as he calmly
converted 4 of 5 FG attempts, each exceeding his previous career long
FG conversion to date of 29 yards: a 31-yarder in Q3; a 46-yarder on
NU’s possession spanning Q3 - Q4; the 45-yarder to tie the game at 40
point apiece at the end of regulation; and of course, the fateful
41-yarder to clinch the “W” for the ‘Cats in overtime. Mr.
Mitchell’s remarkable point production contribution for the ‘Cats him
earned a well-deserved B1G Special Teams POW award, his first such
accolade.
Like A Bowl Full of Hubris
This is THE MOST IMPORTANT contributing factor for the Wildcat’s
victory against the Noted Dames, bar none. It’s a game key that
underscores the essential unbridled hubris of the Noted Dames coaching
staff and their inflexible decisions that they made over the course of
the game. And it comes in the following 4 parts…
● Noted Dames’ DC, Brian VanGorder’s constant use of
the 5-man-in-the-box defensive set throughout the game. I fully
understand that a DC will give an opponent a particular offensive
attack profile in order to shut down a second or third offensive attack
option according to down and distance tendencies per specific in-game
scenarios. However, it appeared that Mr. VanGorder was obsessed
singularly with shutting-down the passing game of ‘Cat QB, Trevor
Siemian, and OC Mick McCall by removing a 2nd level defender (i.e.: a
LB) out of the box, away from run support, and re-positioning him near
or in the outside zones to give his pass coverage sets an extra
body. From the stands, I recognized this strategic move on the
Wildcats’ first possession and I’m sure the strategy wasn’t lost on
NU’s offensive brain trust either. It came as little surprise
that ‘Cat RB Justin Jackson popped his 44 yard sprint right through the
area that “normally” would have been occupied by that re-positioned
defender. But what truly put me over the moon was 1) the fact
that VanGorder kept employing it Wildcat drive after Wildcat drive and
2) I frankly knew Fitz and McCall would continue to exploit it until
the Irish DC re-thought the strategy and made the appropriate
adjustment – like not using it on a regular basis. The
demonstrative hubris to employ the 5-man-in-the-box defensive set
constantly not only opened opportunities for big yardage gains for the
‘Cat O, it was extremely instrumental in instilling a high level of
field play confidence in every ‘Cat blocker that never
diminished. Thank You, Mr. VanGorder.
● Noted Dames’ HC, Brian Kelly’s insistence to go for
the 2-point conversion after ND’s final regulation time TD that gave
the Irish a 11 point lead once more midway through Q4.
Conventional football wisdom dictates that when in the midst of a
back-and-forth scoring battle with your opponent, you take whatever
points are available at any one particular instance in the game.
I completely understand Kelly’s reasoning in his decision to go for the
post TD 2-point conversion attempt rather than booting the one point
PAT; after all, a 12 point lead (off a converted PAT kick) is just as
valuable as a 13 point lead (off a converted 2-point try), so why not
give the 2-point conversion a go. The primary problem with this
train of thought is that if neither of the point(s) after TD are
converted, the “door of opportunity” remains open, small as it might
be, for your opposition to 1) score a TD; 2) convert their own 2-point
after TD try; and 3) regain possession of the bean in the time needed
to drive into field position to score the game-tying FG then actually
kick the FG. Owning to NU’s well-known offensive yardage
production limitations throughout the 2014 season, chances were very
remote that the score-challenged ‘Cats would ever succeed in
pulling-off this scoring trifecta in the time remaining in Q4 -
approximately 10 minutes and change. So Kelley’s overwhelming
hubris to scratch his itch that would have increased his lead to 13…
failed. Then he watched in befuddled amazement as the Wildcats,
indeed, successfully completed that exact scoring trifecta to tie the
game at 40 all before the end of regulation time. Thank You,
Once, Mr. Kelly.
● Noted Dames’ HC, Brian Kelly’s insistence run out
the clock with 1:38 to go by employing his speed-laden rushing attack
to capture just one additional 1st down rather than take the benign
route to victory via 3 knees and a punt. The former choice would
have shown the Wildcats the unavoidable futility in challenging and
stopping the ground game of the Big, Bad Noted Dames. The latter
choice is one of conventional football wisdom which would have given
the Noted Dames the opportunity to burn all but approximately 15
seconds of regulation time left by executing 3 victory formation knee
plays followed by a rudimentary punt to give the ‘Cats one final
possession to execute whatever long-distance desperation play that
suited their fancy – all in those few remaining seconds. So
Kelley’s unmitigated hubris coerced him to exercise the former choice,
which resulted in his most reliable RB falling victim to a forced
fumble that turned the bean over to the ‘Cat O with a buck & a half
left on the game clock. The rest is histrionic history.
Thank You, Twice, Mr. Kelly.
● Noted Dames’ HC, Brian Kelly’s insistence to employ
a balanced attack of passing mixed with rushing, despite the fact that
ND’s dual force “speed and power” ground game was carving the ‘Cat D up
like a T-day turkey, generating big yardage gains on a consistent
basis. I truly don’t understand Brian Kelly’s mindset regarding
the employment of his rush attack versus his pass attack. During
the CBS TV broadcast of the game, the broadcast analysts openly spoke
about Kelly’s personal proclivity to use the Irish passing game to
generate yardage in numbers which equaled or surpassed those made via
his ground game. Their mutual conclusion was that Kelly honestly
desired to nurture a balanced attack for his O and then emphasize
either attack-style as game circumstances dictated to achieve success
against any one opponent, especially the FBS Big Dogs. Well, it’s
good in theory, I guess. However, against the Wildcats, Noted
Dames QB Everett Golson was having his own periodic issues with the
Irish passing game, especially overthrows to open receivers.
Those issues were suspended from time to time, especially on those 3 TD
passes from Golson to his WR of choice for this game, Will
Fuller. And I truly believe that those 3 TD pass completions put
a bug up Kelly’s behind to call passing plays at his whim.
And that bug-borne whim to go to his passing attack couldn’t have been
more in evidence than during the Noted Dames’ only possession in
overtime, where Golson completed 1 pass for no gain then miss-threw
passes on 2rd & 3rd down, respectively, forcing the Irish into a 42
yard FG attempt by their now shaky and suspect K, Kyle Brindza.
Needless to say, you know the rest of the story.
Thank You, Three Times, Mr. Kelly. Sinter Klaas has nothing on you, sir!!!
Conclusion
If you withstood the challenge of reading this very lengthy commentary
through to its end, then I tip my hat to you for your fortitude and
interest in what was written. As you can tell, the bullet points
above were a cherry-picked subset of the multiple dozens of
game-changing miscues and brainfarts made by the ‘Cats and the Noted
Dames alike. I’m still awe-struck with numb disbelief that the
‘Cats pulled this off, to snatched this “W,” in what could be the last
such Northwestern vs Notre Dame game for a very long time. I’m
hoping the ADs for both football programs will see the value in
continuing or renewing this series sometime in the future. I can
only wish to live so long
I must admit, the euphoria of watching this upset of the overwhelming
favorite Noted Dames in person cannot be described in mere words.
The 18-point underdog ‘Cats’ indescribable victory provided me with a
deep and immensely satisfying to-the-very-depths-of my-soul feeling of
pride and happiness for the players, their parents, the student
community, the University Administration, the Athletic Department, and
even the much maligned NU football coaching staff to whom I have vented
swimming pool amounts of vitriol over the last month or so. I am
that emotionally invested in this football team and this football
program. It was a complete win, but not the best one that
the post-Dark Ages ‘Cats have mustered against the
Irish.
That distinction still belongs to the 1995 ‘Cats and St. Barney’s
masterful mentorship that lead the Football Wildcats all the way out
from the Deep Hole-like abyss of ambivalence and anonymity into the
bright light of competitive relevance. Nothing, but nothing will
ever surpass that pigskin achievement for “The Men Wearing The
Purple.” I attended that game as well and, like last Saturday, I
sat next to my 6’6”, 325 lb baby brother, my “Irish Twin” (if you
understand the true drift of that phrase), who still wears his 1973
Notre Dame NCAA Championship ring with equal amounts of pride and
humility. We both have had many, many memories of athletic
competition, athletic failures and athletic accomplishments, and this
latest NU versus ND game was yet another in that string.
Please read the by-line below my moniker – it has more meaning now than ever before…
The Waterboy
“Win with Grace, Lose with Dignity”
He’s a Lumberjack
This week’s Lumberjack Trophy is awarded to ‘Cat RB, Warren Long
This award presentation is the first of its kind proffered to a Wildcat
offensive player. It commemorates Mr. Long’s total whole-body,
sell-out effort to bulldoze across the Noted Dames’ goal line with bean
in hand to successfully complete the Wildcats’ critical 2-point post TD
conversion that whittled the Wildcat deficit down to 3 points. It
set the stage for Siemian & Co.’s eventual heroics delivered in
NU’s final drive in regulation that positioned ‘Cat K Jack Mitchell to
successfully convert his game tying FG attempt with 19 seconds on the
game clock. Without this 2-popint conversion rush, the Wildcats
only come-away with an empty feeling of a job half finished.
Instead, their spirits are full.
Congratulations, Warren.
|
The Waterboy is a former football player
and a Northwestern
alumnus. Aside from these facts, he has no affiliation with
Northwestern University. The commentary he posts here is his
own, and does not necessarily reflect the views of HailToPurple.com.
