Rakes Report #179: Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged fore and aft, and oh, how the wild wind drove her (The Navy Review)
~highly recommended musical accompaniment~
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1) If we are going to live in this unfortunate timeline where Notre Dame continues to play Navy, that was a solid result after a slow start. Not as fun as the last couple times when the Irish torpedoed them from the jump, but I won’t turn down a two-touchdown lead at the break, a second half where the Midshipmen never had the ball with a chance to take the lead or even tie, a four-yards-per-snap advantage overall and a final score that anyone scanning the day’s results would just gloss over due to its comfortable nature. The Irish are 8-1 and barring a disaster of sorts I do not want to imagine at this moment they are on track to reach double-digit victories for the fifth consecutive autumn. The season is already three-quarters of the way over so I hope you are savoring every second of this because it will unfortunately be over very soon.
2) It’s hard to ask much more of the defense: They held Navy to three yards per play, kept them out of the end zone, got a safety and forced three-and-outs on four the Midshipmen’s first five drives. We were pondering if a defensive line and evolving offense could get the Irish through November unscathed and so far the answer is yes. Kurt Hinish led the way, earning the team lead in tackles, the game ball and some great air time for his mom. Jayson Ademilola, Howard Cross and Jacob Lacey were also big factors in the middle, Jordan Bothelo got a sack for the second straight game and I loved the creativity of using Jack Kiser at safety, following Julian Love in the Random Guy Playing Safety Against Navy formation. A much larger and pass-happy test looms Saturday evening, but other than getting caught in the churn to start the second half, an A+ effort from Marcus Freeman and crew.
After the game, Brian Kelly said that Drew White tore his PCL this week and still played 38 snaps, notching two tackles - some tough dudes wearing the blue and gold. On the freshman front, was fun to see Prince Kollie and Xavier Watts get in the mix at the end, as well as Kahuna Kia, who dropped a hammer on special teams.
3) It wasn’t ideal to start both halves with three-and-outs, as Navy got the best of Jack Coan and Tommy Rees a few times with an aggressive alternation between heavy blitzes and heavy dropping but they eventually worked things out to the tune of seven yards per play and touchdowns on four of their final six drives. Rees was a bit too conservative at times, but I can see the issues with trying to balance “We want to take shots and jump on Navy early” with “We want to get rid of the ball quickly since that’s been working” and also a little of “If we try to go up-tempo and have a fast three-and-out we might really let the defense hung out to dry.” Would have liked to see a little more Buchner, but Coan completed 79 percent of his passes for 9.3 yards per attempt, so pretty good.
In the worst news of the day, Avery Davis went down and seems done for the remainder of the season, a heartbreaking development considering what he has meant for this team over the last calendar year. The Irish are simply running out of bodies at the skill positions, and Davis is a particularly tough one considering his ability to work every level of the field. Will we be seeing more multiple running back formations? More tight ends? Lorenzo Styles in the slot? Probably all of the above to varying degrees.
Kevin Austin had another impressive game, combining raw physicality and smooth acceleration with a masterful level of body control. Kyren Williams continues to pinball productively and while we make peace with his ascension to the professional ranks next season, my heart is lifted somewhat by the fact Logan Diggs seems really, really cool, and as a three-star prospect has already proven a great find by Rees and Lance Taylor. Awesome catch by Braden Lenzy on the two-point conversion, and a nice 31-yard snag from Deion Colzie, who will likely be seeing his snap count rise as well.
Something else to consider: After turnovers cost the Irish dearly against Cincinnati and nearly led to a loss against Virginia Tech, the team is yet to truly turn the ball over after the bye week (if we consider Austin’s catch against Southern Cal a catch and not an interception as it was unjustly ruled on the field). I can’t even recall many passes from Coan or Buchner that were close to being picked, which is a trend I hope continues.
4) Winning is Hard/Schadenfreude Round-Up: One thing I can’t imagine as a Notre Dame fan is my favorite team losing a game in the 2021 season to either Purdue or North Carolina. Unfortunately for previously undefeated Michigan State and Wake Forest, they cannot say the same thing. Sparty never led in West Lafayette, failing to cover David Bell and giving up nearly 600 yards of offense. Now they get to prepare for the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions. The Demon Deacons led by two touchdowns going into the fourth quarter, but Sam Howell and Ty Chandler were too much to handle as the Tar Heels pulled off the upset.
Struggles all over the top of the polls Saturday, as Alabama was nearly upset by LSU as a four-touchdown favorite, Ohio State couldn’t pull away from Nebraska* and Cincinnati struggled mightily with Tulsa. And hey, Georgia trailed Missouri 3-0 in the first quarter, so that’s something? No. 12 Baylor lost to a TCU team that just fired its coach. Mississippi State and Kentucky were both in the Top 20 of the initial playoff rankings but both fell, losing at Arkansas and at home to Rocky Top, respectively.
* Here are some decisions Scott Frost made as the coach of a 3-6 team that was a two-touchdown underdog at home: Attempting a field goal on 4th and 4 from the Ohio State 27, attempting a field goal on 4th and 6 from the 21, punting on 4th and 4 from midfield and attempting a field goal on 4th and 4 from the OSU 13. That string of text is so madness-inspiring Sutter Cane would be jealous.
P.J. Fleck got himself a contract extension but as soon as pen was put to paper Minnesota lost at home to Illinois as a double-digit home favorite, which as a reminder is not their worst loss of the year because Bowling Green beat them as a 31-point underdog. Speaking of big underdogs, Florida was a 20-point favorite at South Carolina and got crushed, with Dan Mullen’s crew dropping to 4-5 on the season. 4-5 is also the record of the Texas Longhorns — remember when they were up by a bunch in Red River? — after getting outscored 27-0 in the second half against Iowa State. They’re probably going to make a bowl but it’s not a certainty, as Steve Sarkisian has already matched Tom Herman’s highest single-season loss total in Austin.
Stanford lost 52-7 at home to Utah and while David Shaw probably isn’t going to get fired that would be very funny. Virginia Tech lost 17-3 to Boston College in an abomination of a collegiate football game and Justin Fuente is almost certainly going to get fired. Fresno State was blown out at home by Boise. 7-1 SMU lost at a Memphis team that had been struggling all season. Clemson needed a goal line stand to survive in Louisville. Jimmy Lake lost at home to Oregon in a game where they managed seven first downs, fired his offensive coordinator the next day and is currently being investigated for striking his own player on the sideline. I am sure Husky fans are enjoying the recruiting upgrade from Chris Petersen.
5) Following the win in Blacksburg, I thought the best case for this Notre Dame was to fly under the radar nationally while torturing us all on their way to grinding out ten or maybe eleven wins. Things are perhaps trending a little better than that, as after trailing in the fourth quarter of four of their first six games and going to overtime in a fifth*, the Irish have led for the entirety of every final frame since the bye and have now covered in six of their last seven games. Teams around them keep losing to the point where the return trip to the Commonwealth is now the ABC primetime broadcast and one can start to perhaps dream a little bigger darling.
* The only limited-drama fourth quarter before the break was of course against a team that’s knocked off two undefeated, top-three teams so far this season.
But before aspirations can grow too large, the Irish have to take care of things in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers sport a dynamic offense and have had a bye to make arrangements for their guest’s first visit since the Will Fuller miracle in 2015. (Fun fact: That game resulted in the first use of “Winning Is Hard.”) While the Irish have faced passing offenses with one true alpha threat (David Bell, Drake London, Josh Downs), Virginia features a balanced and prolific attack with five players having already accrued at least 28 catches and 400 yards. With the health of quarterback Brennan Armstrong a question mark, perhaps the personnel losses will be evened out but I’m preparing in my heart for a game that matches the first two ACC road trips, culminating in Jonathan Doerer field goals to escape.
The Irish are going to have to score a bunch and I hope Rees and the quarterback rotation are up to the task. This team has responded so well since the final minutes against the Hokies and it would be a shame to ruin a good thing now. Go Irish, Beat Cavaliers. Keep going.
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