Fighting Irish Could Surprise Rabid Backers
Brad Diamond Sports
Coaching
The word from Fitzgerald ' s is the second coming of Lou Holtz Brian Kelly will direct the Irish to a National Championship fairly soon. Now hold on guys, no one has more respect for Kelly than this handicapper. No, he is not Nick Saban, but close, and with a more definitive eye toward offensive execution governing the big play. When Holtz was at ND he ran up a plus 67 game legend, but Holtz did not have the level of talent on hand that Kelly inherits for his initial fall practice. In 19 years of coaching experience the former Central Michigan and Cincinnati headmaster generated 17 seasons of success. Without question, he is the most talented coach to hit the Irish sidelines since 1985 when Uncle Lou took the helm.
Offense
Kelly has six starters back from last year and could surprise their opponents this season. Slated at QB, as of the early spring, was Dayne Crist who was one of the most highly recruited players in his high school graduating class. However, our most recent information has Nate Montana as quite possibly the starting QB after he led the Gold team to a 27-19 win over the Blue in the spring game. Montana completed 18 of 30 for 223 yards and two scores. Dayne Crist threw 2 interceptions and looked so-so overall. Running backs Allen (697) and Hughes (461) are seniors and should provide the unit with abilities that will offset a group looking to throw the football more down the field. Still, we must wonder if the Irish will have a good enough offensive line, one that allowed 25 sacks last season. Floyd, Jones and Rudolph are a high profile group of receivers and the incoming frosh will add depth to the unit.
Defense
With 9 starters returning there is hope in South Bend that the beleaguered Irish defense will rise up and improve during the 2010 season. ND allowed 25.9 points per game an increase of 3.7 points over 2008, while “giving away” 4.8 yards per carry on the ground. A clear illustration time of possession is an issue with this unit. HC Kelly has switched back to the 3-4 defense to take advantage of their skill at the line backing position. Sophomore Monti Te ' o (whom I mentioned last year) came on the scene, and with 9 starts under his belt is set to be the leader on the defensive side of the ball. In the secondary, the Irish are talented, but short, with the exception of junior strong safety (6-2) Harrison Smith. Further, the special teams group that struggled under Charlie Weis should improve drastically under Kelly who was a master in concept and design at Cincinnati. Finally, although Tausch and Turk are considered the starting PK and Punter going into fall camp, nothing has been assured by the coaching staff. If Notre Dame has a solid kicking game it will improve their chances of pulling the outright upset.
Scheduling
The Irish have three true road games versus Michigan State, Boston College and USC. Yes, all (at least 2 of 3) can be considered to be losses at this juncture. However, their two neutral site opponents Navy (E. Rutherford) and Army (Bronx) should be huge wins for the program. The Middies defeated ND 23-21 last season, so Kelly catches a major revenge situation after playing a “soft” home game versus Western Michigan. We note, ND has added cup cakes Western and Army to the schedule, but Tulsa and Utah at home will be very difficult for the Irish to manage. Opening up with Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, Boston College and then Pittsburgh will truly test a developing offense and the coaching abilities of one of our favorites Brian Kelly. If the Irish come up with 8 wins this season, it will be a major accomplishment.
Against The Spread
A huge surprise could be a BLOW OUT win in week #1 against the Boilermakers (11 starters return). Although this is double revenge for Purdue, it will be the first mark for Kelly who has the luxury of opening at home on Labor Day weekend. Purdue will start Miami transfer Robert Marve at the quarterback position, and we all know first time starters in road settings can have problems. Purdue is 1-11 SU at South Bend. Look for the Irish to defeat an improved Navy squad in East Rutherford this fall. The Alumni are literally nuts over the fact that Navy won the last 2 of 3 in the series. Since the game is later in the season HC Kelly should have the troops set and ready to pound the smaller Middies.