FOOTBALL

USC Saturday Buzz: More Color From Notre Dame

The rain came Friday night during the drummers’ rally at Notre Dame.

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  • Believe it or not, people start lining up at 5 a.m. local time outside the stadium parking lot for the first come, first served spots.
  • I hear Art Bartner made the trip. Will he get to guest conduct the Notre Dame band for the national anthem like he did when he was the USC band director?
  • The good thing for USC is the weather forecast does not have rain for this evening.
  • The traditional Friday night student rally at Notre Dame is no more. It used to be a staple before the USC game but now Notre Dame only does it for the first home game of the season.
  • Have you ever heard of The Shirt? Notre Dame sells a specifically designed T-shirt for every football season. This is Shirt 34, which will be worn tomorrow by some fans (under layers of clothing).

54 thoughts on “USC Saturday Buzz: More Color From Notre Dame”

  1. Are the ‘princesses” going to wear one of their haut couture specially designed jerseys for this game? Maybe a 🌈 motif to mirror the Bishop of Rome’s New found inclusiveness?

    Seriously a great setting and game that nothing comes close to matching in fact and legend. I see a USC victory in spite of the less than dominating linemen because the Irish have an average QB and there is a lot of pressure on them not to have a 3rd loss.

    USC by 17 – here’s hoping crow is not my repast come the morrow.

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    1. “A great setting that nothing comes close to matching.” Agree Rusoviet. There is something about the pageantry of Catholicism with the beautiful basilica, dome, and grotto coupled with the fight song and other ND traditions that make a wonderful setting for a college football weekend. Wish I was there, even in the rain. Now about our pope . . .

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      2. Ugh. It was just the bartender in Boondock Saints saying, “Why don’t you make like a tree and GTF out of here!”

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      3. Whatever happened with that Arizona election fraud investigation where you had the insider information?

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    3. The problem with this defense is that it is too complex. This is not the pros where you can spend 10 hours a day studying and practicing the playbook. These kids have their academics to deal with. When you make the defense too complex the players do too much thinking. You don’t want them thinking. You want them re-acting instinctively. When they are thinking they play slow and quite often they are out of position. You want them to play fast.

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    4. Nice guess…USC completely dominated by the Irish…no Heisman for Caleb…48-20…and ND could have scored again in the last two minutes 😱😱.

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  2. Smitten with a poetic edge to his commentary this morning is Soviet

    And why not?– It is Halloween&Christmas rolled into one– it is SC-ND time!

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  3. I’m sure some of us watched the Colorado-Stanford game last night, and once again a multi million dollar coach still doesn’t understand the concept of going for two points instead of one. Stanford was down 29-0 and made a miraculous comeback to win 46-43 in double overtime. But it should’ve never reached overtime to begin with. After Stanford scored its first two TD’s, for some reason they decided to go for two instead of going for one. They spent the rest of the game chasing those two points the rest of the game, and instead of kicking a game winning FG at the end of regulation, they kicked a game tying FG. After Stanford scored to tie the game in the first OT, Troy Taylor decides not to go for two to win the game, just like Jed The Fisch last week against USC. Now it worked out for Stanford, but when you’re an underdog on the road against a superior team, you need to go for two and get the hell on the plane and get out of there.

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      1. If Stanford would’ve kicked one more extra point the game typing FG would’ve been a game winning FG. Sorry for the confusion.

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    3. They have mathematics classes at Stanford. Perhaps they reasoned they needed a 2-pointer to get off of 28 and get to 29-points

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    4. The buff o-line might be the worst in college football….they have given up the most sacks in the nation…. it could be a product of Deion’s kid holding on to the ball too long…he’s no Caleb

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  4. It’s 7:30 am PST n the Domers don’t have the field covered? They are scared please don’t throw the ball to Mario Butterfingers Williams because he’s going to cause 2 apple turnovers for Caleb n SC. Like Homer says “Don’t” LR. Grinchy please “Don’t” dial up exotics schemes please “Don’t” use blitz packages we need 2 inch cleats it’s horrible out their.

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    2. So ND wants the field good and wet to slow down USC. Reminds me of the 2004 game wherein Charlie Weis ordered that nobody cut the grass for two weeks in an attempt to slow down Reggie Bush. I recall that didn’t work particularly well. Bush was fast even in the tall grass.

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    4. Reminds of the year that they let the grass grow long for the SC game and then cut it after the game was over. As a result, we lost one of our better players for the season with a knee injury.

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  7. SC rightfully should be favored with SC still in the running and ND already out of the ‘Championship’ race,
    But the mystique of ND’s stadium seems to get to the Trojans most of the time, and hence might have swayed the betting line.

    ND’s usual tactic is to own the line of scrimmage and ram it down SC’s defensive throat. With 2 fine backs I presume that will be its strategy

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  8. Deion is a fraud, buffs up by 29 @ half then blown out. Deion keeps making excuses for his son…the kid threw an INT in the end zone late in OT to seal the deal for the Trees

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  9. Urban Liar on Big Noon Kickoff a while ago: “Over his career, Riley has averaged 4th in offense over the season, 71st on defense.”

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  10. Don’t you just love sports-gamblers who brag, “I saw that coming,”
    when they sometimes win a game
    Due to the wetness this SC-ND game is going to play out differently

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    1. Notice how I gave my prediction on the score above, but didn’t state who would win. 😉

      I really think it could go either way and be very dependent on the weather. Our guys just aren’t used to it.

      But I would definitely take the Over on the 60.5.

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      1. ND wants to run the ball and with adverse field and weather conditions, I see a lower-scoring game. Plus, the new clock rules favor less scoring. Your total score was 83(45-38), I don’t see it getting close…just my opinion!

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      2. If it’s really pouring or even just constant, it’ll the way you say.

        Light or intermittent rain, closer to mine. But also just IMHO.

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  11. Obsessed with SC-ND pageantry, “guilty as charged”-

    Historically SC has celebrated 1964 and 1970 Notre Dame victories
    because it deprived the ‘Fighting Irish’ of National Football Titles

    I would then imagine the Notre Dame lads won’t mind teaching SC a lesson or 2

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  16. Good call by whoever mentioned IU coach Tom Allen as a possible DC replacement.

    Allen was hired on January 15, 2016, to serve as defensive coordinator on head coach Kevin Wilson’s staff at Indiana.[17] In replacing previous defensive coordinator Brian Knorr, Allen took over a defense that ranked #120 in the FBS in total defense and #106 in opponent points scored. After just one season, Allen engineered one of the top defensive turnarounds in the country with the team improving in every major statistical category against a schedule featuring four top-10 opponents, a program first. The Hoosiers were the most improved team nationally in total defense (-169.4 ypg) and passing defense (-134.1 ypg), the sixth-most improved in third-down defense (-12.2 percent) and the ninth-most improved in points per game allowed (-12.3 ypg).

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  17. The SC-ND game is now 5-hours away
    the day will soon be night in South Bend;
    things always seem more scary or something at night
    And I wonder if any players are fearful right now
    of playing in the biggest game of their lives

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  19. Just saw someone say that Grinch’s constant movement package
    has his players looking as if they have ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’

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  20. Boy, Oregon and Washington look good. Solid teams in every way. I just dont see how Caleb can beat them all by himself, which is what he will need to do.

    Our d-line needs to really step up if we are to have a chance.

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    1. I said that on Thursday and you said Oregon was probably the only one we couldn’t beat.

      I think they are both losses and ND a toss up.

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