Here is why you should be concerned by ND's win against UW
Posted 10-04-2009 at 08:52 PM by lep927
I am typing this thread in sloooooooooooooooooow motion so that everyone can follow Lep's logic on why the game against UW was disappointing even though ND won.
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See, a poster posted that [COLOR="Red"]it is a myth that Washington is not a good team[/COLOR].
[COLOR="DarkGreen"][B]THAT IS SUCH A BOGUS STATEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/B][/COLOR]
UW earned a cumulative ranking of 60 when looking at 47 different stats. Guess how many teams there are in D1 (or whatever foolish name you want to call it) college football? 120. Ranking a cumulative of 60th means that UW is [COLOR="darkgreen"][B]AVERAGE.[/B][/COLOR] not good, only [COLOR="darkgreen"][U][B]average[/B][/U][/COLOR].
This poster attempted to use UW's defeat of USC as proof that UW is a good team. Such a platform to base the original bogus statement on is laughable, at best. I mean, come on, Steve Sarkisian was facing his former boss (Pete Carroll) at USC for the very fist time. Have you ever heard of a team playing above its capabilities based on intangible factors??? Of course you have, since that is one of the arguments this very same poster (and many others) uses to explain why ND can never really outplay inferior opponents. Below are this poster's words, verbatim, as to why ND could not put UW away more convincingly.
[COLOR="Red"]"Another thing we have to realize is we play every team on their best day. We catch no one buy surprise."[/COLOR]
Such a statement may very well be true, but it works both ways!!!
UW clearly played above its capabilities against USC because Sarkisian undoubtedly had them amped higher than a tower of speakers at an AC / DC concert!!!
The poster also stated that "A Stanford team that is steamrolling people.” as part of his reasoning for calling UW a good team. Stanford beat Washington State. Big deal!!!! My daughter's elementary school flag football team could beat Washington State. Stanford was also beaten by Wake Forest who lost to Baylor. Another great win for Stanford came against San Jose State - refer back to my comment regarding my daughter's flag football team. The next win for Stanford came against UW when they beat the Huskies 34-14 at home. Since the premise that UW is a good football team and one of the reasons for this is because they played Stanford well for a half, then it only goes to reason that Stanford is almost 3 TDs better than ND, right? I say this because Stanford beat UW by 20 points in regulation and ND tied UW in regulation. Therefore, basing the UW is good statement on them playing Stanford well for [B][I][U]ONE HALF[/U][/I][/B], is even more insane than trying to prove that UW is good because they beat USC, which was only accomplished by them playing [B][I][U]ABOVE THEIR HEADS!!![/U][/I][/B]
Crazy talk!!!! Nothing but crazy talk!!!!
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The very same poster went on to attempt a second myth. A myth that nobody, other than this poster, created!!! He stated "[COLOR="red"][B][I][U]Myth 2. We lost today. [/U][/I][/B][/COLOR]"
Uh, I watched the game and knew that ND won. I then read USA Today, as well as several Internet web sites, looking for proof that ND lost, as this poster contests. Well, after all of my extensive research, I can, with 100% certainty, tell you that ND did not lose. What is this poster thinking???
The poster also said:
"[COLOR="red"][B][I][U]Some people are acting like we lost. We won.[/U][/I][/B][/COLOR]"
Wrong. Many, many smart people can look beyond the numbers (as one great football guru who lives in the Bay Area has me to do several times) and see that ND [B][I][U]almost[/U][/I][/B] blew a game that it should have won by double digits. Expressing disgust with the fact that ND allows teams to hang around when the Irish should win handily, at least by the spread (there is more on this below) is not acting like ND lost. It is pointing out that there is still something terribly wrong. Is it the coaching? My humble, and very astute, opinion is that coaching is at least 80% why ND continues to struggle, even when it wins.
Lastly, this very same poster concluded with:
"[COLOR="red"][B]Now, all you bedwetters who want to cry about this one take the night off. You know who you are.[/B][/COLOR]"
Really, now??? Bedwetters? We are not the people who try to pump up an Irish win based on falsehoods. Some of us have also been watching EVERY televised ND football game long before this poster was born, let alone wetting his bed. Therefore, I will not resort to name-calling, as I respect the rules that were recently laid out by the web sites moderators.
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Now, I shall relate, specifically, why the game vs. UW was disappointing. There many reasons why the game never should have gone to overtime. Some of them are outlined below.
1. ND's offense stumbled, repeatedly, in the red zone. The Irish settled for 5 FGs, including one after a 67 yard pass completion set up a first and goal from the two yard line. Don’t ask me what should have been called. Ask the self-proclaimed offensive genius. Ask the guy who said that he has a distinct Xs and Os advantage when ND hired him.
2. UW had 25 first downs compared to ND’s 23.
3. UW averaged 4.5 yards per carry compared to ND’s 3.7 yards per carry. UW was only averaging 3.28 YPC before the ND game. UW was allowing 5.76 YPC before the ND game. Clearly, something went terribly wrong on the ground vs. UW.
4. UW ran for 176 yards to ND’s 108 yards.
5. ND converted only 2, of 10, 3rd down chances. Refer back to point #1. Twenty percent!!! That is pathetic, no matter how to try to spin it!!!
6. ND handed UW 7 points on a backwards pass that UW ran back for a TD. Words can not define my utter disbelief at what my eyes were witnessing as this play developed.
7. ND allowed UW to put up 3 points just before the end of H1. This NEVER should have happened!
8. ND was favored by 12.5 points and won by only 7 points. ND is 1-4 against the spread this season, losing the last four games, when accounting for the spread.
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I will conclude by saying that I am happy ND beat UW. However, I am very concerned by how ND beat UW. There is a common theme this year and it was carried over from last year. That theme is that ND plays down to its opponents. That is not good, no matter what flimsy, false, weak arguments anyone tries to sugarcoat ND’s struggles with.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See, a poster posted that [COLOR="Red"]it is a myth that Washington is not a good team[/COLOR].
[COLOR="DarkGreen"][B]THAT IS SUCH A BOGUS STATEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/B][/COLOR]
UW earned a cumulative ranking of 60 when looking at 47 different stats. Guess how many teams there are in D1 (or whatever foolish name you want to call it) college football? 120. Ranking a cumulative of 60th means that UW is [COLOR="darkgreen"][B]AVERAGE.[/B][/COLOR] not good, only [COLOR="darkgreen"][U][B]average[/B][/U][/COLOR].
This poster attempted to use UW's defeat of USC as proof that UW is a good team. Such a platform to base the original bogus statement on is laughable, at best. I mean, come on, Steve Sarkisian was facing his former boss (Pete Carroll) at USC for the very fist time. Have you ever heard of a team playing above its capabilities based on intangible factors??? Of course you have, since that is one of the arguments this very same poster (and many others) uses to explain why ND can never really outplay inferior opponents. Below are this poster's words, verbatim, as to why ND could not put UW away more convincingly.
[COLOR="Red"]"Another thing we have to realize is we play every team on their best day. We catch no one buy surprise."[/COLOR]
Such a statement may very well be true, but it works both ways!!!
UW clearly played above its capabilities against USC because Sarkisian undoubtedly had them amped higher than a tower of speakers at an AC / DC concert!!!
The poster also stated that "A Stanford team that is steamrolling people.” as part of his reasoning for calling UW a good team. Stanford beat Washington State. Big deal!!!! My daughter's elementary school flag football team could beat Washington State. Stanford was also beaten by Wake Forest who lost to Baylor. Another great win for Stanford came against San Jose State - refer back to my comment regarding my daughter's flag football team. The next win for Stanford came against UW when they beat the Huskies 34-14 at home. Since the premise that UW is a good football team and one of the reasons for this is because they played Stanford well for a half, then it only goes to reason that Stanford is almost 3 TDs better than ND, right? I say this because Stanford beat UW by 20 points in regulation and ND tied UW in regulation. Therefore, basing the UW is good statement on them playing Stanford well for [B][I][U]ONE HALF[/U][/I][/B], is even more insane than trying to prove that UW is good because they beat USC, which was only accomplished by them playing [B][I][U]ABOVE THEIR HEADS!!![/U][/I][/B]
Crazy talk!!!! Nothing but crazy talk!!!!
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The very same poster went on to attempt a second myth. A myth that nobody, other than this poster, created!!! He stated "[COLOR="red"][B][I][U]Myth 2. We lost today. [/U][/I][/B][/COLOR]"
Uh, I watched the game and knew that ND won. I then read USA Today, as well as several Internet web sites, looking for proof that ND lost, as this poster contests. Well, after all of my extensive research, I can, with 100% certainty, tell you that ND did not lose. What is this poster thinking???
The poster also said:
"[COLOR="red"][B][I][U]Some people are acting like we lost. We won.[/U][/I][/B][/COLOR]"
Wrong. Many, many smart people can look beyond the numbers (as one great football guru who lives in the Bay Area has me to do several times) and see that ND [B][I][U]almost[/U][/I][/B] blew a game that it should have won by double digits. Expressing disgust with the fact that ND allows teams to hang around when the Irish should win handily, at least by the spread (there is more on this below) is not acting like ND lost. It is pointing out that there is still something terribly wrong. Is it the coaching? My humble, and very astute, opinion is that coaching is at least 80% why ND continues to struggle, even when it wins.
Lastly, this very same poster concluded with:
"[COLOR="red"][B]Now, all you bedwetters who want to cry about this one take the night off. You know who you are.[/B][/COLOR]"
Really, now??? Bedwetters? We are not the people who try to pump up an Irish win based on falsehoods. Some of us have also been watching EVERY televised ND football game long before this poster was born, let alone wetting his bed. Therefore, I will not resort to name-calling, as I respect the rules that were recently laid out by the web sites moderators.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, I shall relate, specifically, why the game vs. UW was disappointing. There many reasons why the game never should have gone to overtime. Some of them are outlined below.
1. ND's offense stumbled, repeatedly, in the red zone. The Irish settled for 5 FGs, including one after a 67 yard pass completion set up a first and goal from the two yard line. Don’t ask me what should have been called. Ask the self-proclaimed offensive genius. Ask the guy who said that he has a distinct Xs and Os advantage when ND hired him.
2. UW had 25 first downs compared to ND’s 23.
3. UW averaged 4.5 yards per carry compared to ND’s 3.7 yards per carry. UW was only averaging 3.28 YPC before the ND game. UW was allowing 5.76 YPC before the ND game. Clearly, something went terribly wrong on the ground vs. UW.
4. UW ran for 176 yards to ND’s 108 yards.
5. ND converted only 2, of 10, 3rd down chances. Refer back to point #1. Twenty percent!!! That is pathetic, no matter how to try to spin it!!!
6. ND handed UW 7 points on a backwards pass that UW ran back for a TD. Words can not define my utter disbelief at what my eyes were witnessing as this play developed.
7. ND allowed UW to put up 3 points just before the end of H1. This NEVER should have happened!
8. ND was favored by 12.5 points and won by only 7 points. ND is 1-4 against the spread this season, losing the last four games, when accounting for the spread.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will conclude by saying that I am happy ND beat UW. However, I am very concerned by how ND beat UW. There is a common theme this year and it was carried over from last year. That theme is that ND plays down to its opponents. That is not good, no matter what flimsy, false, weak arguments anyone tries to sugarcoat ND’s struggles with.
