Perspective from ND Fan

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Hey @ND08Fan, **** you.

Jk, not really, but kinda.

Good write up. I think QB could be the difference maker. Ian Book on record saying Hardrock the loudest place they played, it will be crazy Sunday night. I think both teams are really talented and have depth (probably 10 teams in America like that). There is some positions you seem to be ‘hoping’ about and if any Canes fan is honest we’re ’hoping’ the defense is fixed with a new coordinator and huge influx of talent at DB.

It’s going to be a great game (but hope it goes like 2017 LOL)

Thanks for stoping by.
 
First, thanks for letting me join and chime in on this Sunday's game from a Notre Dame perspective. Yes, there are some ND fans (not unlike any fanbase) that think we shouldn't have a problem beating Miami on Sunday. I've read similar posts from Miami fans on this message board - we're all fans and support our guys - that's who we are and what makes this fun: tribalism.

Second, I'll tell you the mindset of educated ND Fans and where we're coming from - why there's reason for us to be confident in certain areas and why we're hoping for the best in others. I've seen some other posts here that give grades/analysis by position group, which is how my mind works as well, but I won't compare our position groups to your opposing groups (EX: ND RBs vs. Miami DL/LBs). I think all positions rooms are interconnected in the success of collective group - it's not quite that binary to me. Forgive me, this will be heavy on Notre Dame insight. I know a decent amount about Miami, but obviously my Notre Dame intel is far greater.

Finally, I have no idea what's going to happen on Sunday night. I believe it'll be a good game, and probably pretty low scoring. I do know this Notre Dame team is not going to be intimidated by the environment (except maybe CJ since it's his first start). Freeman is the real deal and this is a team full of players who played at A&M last year in front of 107k (I was there) and made it to all the way to the national championship game last year (I was there as well). That's really good experience to draw on.

RB: We believe this to be the most talented and deepest RB room in America. Jeremiyah Love is a different caliber of player, one we haven't seen in South Bend in a long time. We also believe his #2, Jadarian Price, is an NFL-caliber back. I think we'll see some different looks from ND's offense this year with both on the field, and possibly splitting out Love into the slot to force 1:1 coverage with a LB or Safety. That's a matchup we would like very much. This is an A++ room, no doubt.

OL: There were a lot of people considering the Notre Dame OL as the preseason favorite for the Joe Moore award this year. I think they'd be a contender if Charles Jagusah was healthy all year, but even then, I have questions. They return a lot from last year, but we also struggled in run block and pass pro against the better teams we played. Does Bain switch sides? I'd guess he'd have more success against our LT, Anthonie Knapp, who is undersized for the position. RT, Aamil Wagner, is much larger and has been mentioned in All-America conversations. There's lots more to say on this Miami DL/ND OL matchup. Overall: I think ND's floor in this room is a B+, but could be an A-. Need to see more.

WR/TE: We believe we've upgraded the WR room since last year, pretty significantly. I don't know that we have the 'homerun hitter' we've been missing for a long time, but I think this is a very solid group. Greathouse showed he can be depended on in the playoff and we added Malachi Fields from UVA and Will Pauling from Wisconsin. There's a good amount of young talent as well. Eli Raridon at TE could be a matchup nightmare and should be CJ Carr's best friend. 6'7"/250 and can move. It'll be interesting to see this matchup with an overhauled Miami secondary. Overall, I give this group a B+.

QB: Honestly, who knows ... CJ has a lot of talent and the ceiling is high, but he's obviously young. Having your first game on the road against a good Miami team is a tough spot. He's a gun-slinger and rumor is he presses. With that comes some amazing throws, but also silly mistakes. My hope is the game plan and Miami-specific installs limit those and he throws less than 2 INTs on Sunday. I tend to think he'll get a lot better throughout the year and I certainly wish he'd get 2 or 3 cupcakes before Miami. Hopefully it's a B.

DL: Not having Jordan Bothelo for Miami hurts. He sets the edge really well and is extremely valuable in the run game. Luckily, there's depth at DE, and ND will run this by committee. A name to keep an eye on is, Bryce Young. He's true sophomore and he's 6'7"/275. We're pretty high on him and expect a lot of production this year. The interior DL was our concern pre-camp, but we might be okay here. We've heard really good things about Jason Onye at DT (long story with him over the years). So, here's an area we're 'hoping' is solid - we'll have to see. This is another area ND will run by committee to keep a less talented IDL fresh. Edge: A- / IDL: B.

LB: We're really good here. Not going to blow you away like Saban's LBs or Georgia's LBs when they've been really good, but probably the best LB group ND has had since the 90s? Might be. No super stars (hopefully 'yet'), but we have four really good ones (Drayk Bowen is the highest PFF returning starter at LB in college football). We blitz them a lot to pressure the QB, which we absolutely need to do to win this game. Beck is outstanding when he has time, but he was one of the worst in the Power 4 last year when pressured. We have the ability to do this because of our secondary (see below). Overall: A- (could be A)

Secondary: Here's a group we're pretty confident in. Leonard Moore is a pre-season first team All-American and the #1 PFF ranked CB in America. Opposite him, is Christian Gray, who's a very good college corner. Sometimes he gets picked on because Moore has taken away half the field. Miami has young talent, and these guys have to do their job, so the DL and LBs can focus on stopping the run. Adon Shuler, at Safety, is a guy we like a lot. He's going to be more of a roamer in the outfield this year, whereas last year he played a lot of underneath. We run a 4-2-5 with a lot of pressure and we brought in Devonta Smith, Alabama's starting nickel from last year to play the slot position. Expect to see him on blitzes as well. Overall: this group is an A.

As you can tell - this comes down to QB play for us. There's a lot to like about this team and as long as they stop the run and take care of the ball on Sunday, we'll have a great opportunity to win. Miami has some dudes. As I said before, I expect a low scoring game and it likely coming down to the 4th quarter. Sorry for the long post - couldn't get to everything, but happy to interact.

Man, **** all that. I've been hating on you mofos since the 80's. **** notre dame every which way. As for you.. go stub your ******* toe or something. Dumb *** it enough that it bleeds.
 
Your team on paper is more talented in more position groups.

However our defensive line is more talented than yours. We will negate your running back.

Our quarterback - baring injuries - will carve up your secondary in a way you are not anticipating.

And you haven’t seen Malachi Toney yet. No one outside of the team has seen him in action yet.

 
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Your team on paper is more talented in more position groups.

However our defensive line is more talented than yours. We will negate your running back.

Our quarterback - baring injuries - will carve up your secondary in a way you are not anticipating.

And you haven’t seen Malachi Toney yet. No one outside of the team has seen him in action yet.

And Elijah Lofton...

CDZwopbecAbIc.gif



at least so we've been told a couple thousand times.
 
LMAO

Just reading the first sentence of what this guy wrote for each position group:

"
RB: We believe this to be the most talented and deepest RB room in America. ...

OL: There were a lot of people considering the Notre Dame OL as the preseason favorite for the Joe Moore award this year. ...


Typical arrogant bull****, just what you'd expect from a Notre Dame fan. When we beat these guys down it'll be a sweet feeling.
IMO it's typical preseason talk for most fanbases including our own. Most fans (including guys like DMoney) overrate their own team's talent.

That said, these are two pretty talented teams.
 
First, thanks for letting me join and chime in on this Sunday's game from a Notre Dame perspective. Yes, there are some ND fans (not unlike any fanbase) that think we shouldn't have a problem beating Miami on Sunday. I've read similar posts from Miami fans on this message board - we're all fans and support our guys - that's who we are and what makes this fun: tribalism.

Second, I'll tell you the mindset of educated ND Fans and where we're coming from - why there's reason for us to be confident in certain areas and why we're hoping for the best in others. I've seen some other posts here that give grades/analysis by position group, which is how my mind works as well, but I won't compare our position groups to your opposing groups (EX: ND RBs vs. Miami DL/LBs). I think all positions rooms are interconnected in the success of collective group - it's not quite that binary to me. Forgive me, this will be heavy on Notre Dame insight. I know a decent amount about Miami, but obviously my Notre Dame intel is far greater.

Finally, I have no idea what's going to happen on Sunday night. I believe it'll be a good game, and probably pretty low scoring. I do know this Notre Dame team is not going to be intimidated by the environment (except maybe CJ since it's his first start). Freeman is the real deal and this is a team full of players who played at A&M last year in front of 107k (I was there) and made it to all the way to the national championship game last year (I was there as well). That's really good experience to draw on.

RB: We believe this to be the most talented and deepest RB room in America. Jeremiyah Love is a different caliber of player, one we haven't seen in South Bend in a long time. We also believe his #2, Jadarian Price, is an NFL-caliber back. I think we'll see some different looks from ND's offense this year with both on the field, and possibly splitting out Love into the slot to force 1:1 coverage with a LB or Safety. That's a matchup we would like very much. This is an A++ room, no doubt.

OL: There were a lot of people considering the Notre Dame OL as the preseason favorite for the Joe Moore award this year. I think they'd be a contender if Charles Jagusah was healthy all year, but even then, I have questions. They return a lot from last year, but we also struggled in run block and pass pro against the better teams we played. Does Bain switch sides? I'd guess he'd have more success against our LT, Anthonie Knapp, who is undersized for the position. RT, Aamil Wagner, is much larger and has been mentioned in All-America conversations. There's lots more to say on this Miami DL/ND OL matchup. Overall: I think ND's floor in this room is a B+, but could be an A-. Need to see more.

WR/TE: We believe we've upgraded the WR room since last year, pretty significantly. I don't know that we have the 'homerun hitter' we've been missing for a long time, but I think this is a very solid group. Greathouse showed he can be depended on in the playoff and we added Malachi Fields from UVA and Will Pauling from Wisconsin. There's a good amount of young talent as well. Eli Raridon at TE could be a matchup nightmare and should be CJ Carr's best friend. 6'7"/250 and can move. It'll be interesting to see this matchup with an overhauled Miami secondary. Overall, I give this group a B+.

QB: Honestly, who knows ... CJ has a lot of talent and the ceiling is high, but he's obviously young. Having your first game on the road against a good Miami team is a tough spot. He's a gun-slinger and rumor is he presses. With that comes some amazing throws, but also silly mistakes. My hope is the game plan and Miami-specific installs limit those and he throws less than 2 INTs on Sunday. I tend to think he'll get a lot better throughout the year and I certainly wish he'd get 2 or 3 cupcakes before Miami. Hopefully it's a B.

DL: Not having Jordan Bothelo for Miami hurts. He sets the edge really well and is extremely valuable in the run game. Luckily, there's depth at DE, and ND will run this by committee. A name to keep an eye on is, Bryce Young. He's true sophomore and he's 6'7"/275. We're pretty high on him and expect a lot of production this year. The interior DL was our concern pre-camp, but we might be okay here. We've heard really good things about Jason Onye at DT (long story with him over the years). So, here's an area we're 'hoping' is solid - we'll have to see. This is another area ND will run by committee to keep a less talented IDL fresh. Edge: A- / IDL: B.

LB: We're really good here. Not going to blow you away like Saban's LBs or Georgia's LBs when they've been really good, but probably the best LB group ND has had since the 90s? Might be. No super stars (hopefully 'yet'), but we have four really good ones (Drayk Bowen is the highest PFF returning starter at LB in college football). We blitz them a lot to pressure the QB, which we absolutely need to do to win this game. Beck is outstanding when he has time, but he was one of the worst in the Power 4 last year when pressured. We have the ability to do this because of our secondary (see below). Overall: A- (could be A)

Secondary: Here's a group we're pretty confident in. Leonard Moore is a pre-season first team All-American and the #1 PFF ranked CB in America. Opposite him, is Christian Gray, who's a very good college corner. Sometimes he gets picked on because Moore has taken away half the field. Miami has young talent, and these guys have to do their job, so the DL and LBs can focus on stopping the run. Adon Shuler, at Safety, is a guy we like a lot. He's going to be more of a roamer in the outfield this year, whereas last year he played a lot of underneath. We run a 4-2-5 with a lot of pressure and we brought in Devonta Smith, Alabama's starting nickel from last year to play the slot position. Expect to see him on blitzes as well. Overall: this group is an A.

As you can tell - this comes down to QB play for us. There's a lot to like about this team and as long as they stop the run and take care of the ball on Sunday, we'll have a great opportunity to win. Miami has some dudes. As I said before, I expect a low scoring game and it likely coming down to the 4th quarter. Sorry for the long post - couldn't get to everything, but happy to interact.
What do you bench?
 
First, thanks for letting me join and chime in on this Sunday's game from a Notre Dame perspective. Yes, there are some ND fans (not unlike any fanbase) that think we shouldn't have a problem beating Miami on Sunday. I've read similar posts from Miami fans on this message board - we're all fans and support our guys - that's who we are and what makes this fun: tribalism.

Second, I'll tell you the mindset of educated ND Fans and where we're coming from - why there's reason for us to be confident in certain areas and why we're hoping for the best in others. I've seen some other posts here that give grades/analysis by position group, which is how my mind works as well, but I won't compare our position groups to your opposing groups (EX: ND RBs vs. Miami DL/LBs). I think all positions rooms are interconnected in the success of collective group - it's not quite that binary to me. Forgive me, this will be heavy on Notre Dame insight. I know a decent amount about Miami, but obviously my Notre Dame intel is far greater.

Finally, I have no idea what's going to happen on Sunday night. I believe it'll be a good game, and probably pretty low scoring. I do know this Notre Dame team is not going to be intimidated by the environment (except maybe CJ since it's his first start). Freeman is the real deal and this is a team full of players who played at A&M last year in front of 107k (I was there) and made it to all the way to the national championship game last year (I was there as well). That's really good experience to draw on.

RB: We believe this to be the most talented and deepest RB room in America. Jeremiyah Love is a different caliber of player, one we haven't seen in South Bend in a long time. We also believe his #2, Jadarian Price, is an NFL-caliber back. I think we'll see some different looks from ND's offense this year with both on the field, and possibly splitting out Love into the slot to force 1:1 coverage with a LB or Safety. That's a matchup we would like very much. This is an A++ room, no doubt.

OL: There were a lot of people considering the Notre Dame OL as the preseason favorite for the Joe Moore award this year. I think they'd be a contender if Charles Jagusah was healthy all year, but even then, I have questions. They return a lot from last year, but we also struggled in run block and pass pro against the better teams we played. Does Bain switch sides? I'd guess he'd have more success against our LT, Anthonie Knapp, who is undersized for the position. RT, Aamil Wagner, is much larger and has been mentioned in All-America conversations. There's lots more to say on this Miami DL/ND OL matchup. Overall: I think ND's floor in this room is a B+, but could be an A-. Need to see more.

WR/TE: We believe we've upgraded the WR room since last year, pretty significantly. I don't know that we have the 'homerun hitter' we've been missing for a long time, but I think this is a very solid group. Greathouse showed he can be depended on in the playoff and we added Malachi Fields from UVA and Will Pauling from Wisconsin. There's a good amount of young talent as well. Eli Raridon at TE could be a matchup nightmare and should be CJ Carr's best friend. 6'7"/250 and can move. It'll be interesting to see this matchup with an overhauled Miami secondary. Overall, I give this group a B+.

QB: Honestly, who knows ... CJ has a lot of talent and the ceiling is high, but he's obviously young. Having your first game on the road against a good Miami team is a tough spot. He's a gun-slinger and rumor is he presses. With that comes some amazing throws, but also silly mistakes. My hope is the game plan and Miami-specific installs limit those and he throws less than 2 INTs on Sunday. I tend to think he'll get a lot better throughout the year and I certainly wish he'd get 2 or 3 cupcakes before Miami. Hopefully it's a B.

DL: Not having Jordan Bothelo for Miami hurts. He sets the edge really well and is extremely valuable in the run game. Luckily, there's depth at DE, and ND will run this by committee. A name to keep an eye on is, Bryce Young. He's true sophomore and he's 6'7"/275. We're pretty high on him and expect a lot of production this year. The interior DL was our concern pre-camp, but we might be okay here. We've heard really good things about Jason Onye at DT (long story with him over the years). So, here's an area we're 'hoping' is solid - we'll have to see. This is another area ND will run by committee to keep a less talented IDL fresh. Edge: A- / IDL: B.

LB: We're really good here. Not going to blow you away like Saban's LBs or Georgia's LBs when they've been really good, but probably the best LB group ND has had since the 90s? Might be. No super stars (hopefully 'yet'), but we have four really good ones (Drayk Bowen is the highest PFF returning starter at LB in college football). We blitz them a lot to pressure the QB, which we absolutely need to do to win this game. Beck is outstanding when he has time, but he was one of the worst in the Power 4 last year when pressured. We have the ability to do this because of our secondary (see below). Overall: A- (could be A)

Secondary: Here's a group we're pretty confident in. Leonard Moore is a pre-season first team All-American and the #1 PFF ranked CB in America. Opposite him, is Christian Gray, who's a very good college corner. Sometimes he gets picked on because Moore has taken away half the field. Miami has young talent, and these guys have to do their job, so the DL and LBs can focus on stopping the run. Adon Shuler, at Safety, is a guy we like a lot. He's going to be more of a roamer in the outfield this year, whereas last year he played a lot of underneath. We run a 4-2-5 with a lot of pressure and we brought in Devonta Smith, Alabama's starting nickel from last year to play the slot position. Expect to see him on blitzes as well. Overall: this group is an A.

As you can tell - this comes down to QB play for us. There's a lot to like about this team and as long as they stop the run and take care of the ball on Sunday, we'll have a great opportunity to win. Miami has some dudes. As I said before, I expect a low scoring game and it likely coming down to the 4th quarter. Sorry for the long post - couldn't get to everything, but happy to interact.
What I would add in addition to the idea that it matters more how the unit as a whole plays, there is the quality level of "this guy is good enough to physically match up and do his job within the system", and then there is the next level of "this guy is a game-breaking talent".

The ND RBs are good enough to truck tackles and generate scoring opportunities that wouldn't have been there so they get the gamebreaker tag. Leonard Moore is supposedly good enough to warrant not targeting his side at all.

For interior defense I expect both teams to be good enough that the other side isn't going to be able to line up and run over them hat on a hat but I don't expect any DT to look like Ndamukong Suh out there blowing up the offense immediately at the point of attack.

Last year from what I saw ND crowded the box and let their DBs man up against aTm and Georgia, if Miami gets shut down it probably looks like Miami WRs getting no separation and Beck with post-injury jitters hearing footsteps and having a poor day of accuracy on intermediate stuff. ND defense should be sound enough that dink and dunk checkdowns and swing passes isn't going to be enough.

Beck, when he is on, is better than many around CFB are remembering him to be so he is potentially a gamebreaker problem, he is good enough to make plays against tight coverage. I think both Beck and Carr are more mobile than the narratives are assuming.
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For receivers I am curious if anyone so good that they have to be bracketed all game. Brian Smith thinks Malachi Fields and Elija Lofton both won't be guardable (Fields deep, Lofton in space against LBs), practice reports on Lofton are effusive but we haven't seen that from Lofton live yet.

A lot has been made of Miami losing receiver production from last year, Miami's WRs are unknown but talent wise this year's group of guys are physically superior overall if they happen to hit.

If this game is higher scoring than anticipated then Bain v Knapp in pass rush situations might be a game-breaking problem that needs to be schemed around.
 
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