In many ways I'm more encouraged than I have been all season. For a chunk of that game the offensive style actually resembled what I expected when Richt was hired. We actually got in power formations and ran the ball with authority. We had a few wrinkles out of those formations. I have to believe it will be the foundation for the remainder of the season. If we sit in the shotgun with RPO crap we'll be bullied and embarrassed. The power formations allow weak or mediocre players to outperform their true level, and it instills a more confident and aggressive attitude throughout the entire team.
I'm not saying I appreciated the back to back I formation runs that were smothered before the punt when it was 20-20. After we established the I formation there should have been far greater variety, including more play action. I was secretly hoping for that fake toss/spin slant to the tight end that I described last week. We were seemingly setting that up with pitches that we hadn't shown all year. The variety we did display generally succeeded.
I think we were so shell shocked after the prior 3 weeks, and then the first quarter avalanche of this game, that we switched to power sets for self preservation, and once it worked we weren't fully prepared for what to do next.
Our defensive personnel is weak by Miami standards. That's what stood out today. Our defensive tackles were pushed around when it mattered. Jenkins was abused on the 42 yard touchdown run. Wiped out to the inside by Bivin. Norton has more belly than ability.
I wasn't feeling too bad once I projected superior defensive tackles into those spots, along with maturity from the freshmen linebackers, and increasing reliance on power sets on offense. I have to believe Richt will understand the necessity for that.
There was a consolation prize in my wager of Notre Dame +2.5. That was another example of the proper use of preseason ratings. A highly ranked team from preseason was home underdog to a team ranked nowhere in preseason. That's the way to do it. Notre Dame was rated in the
#10 range. I always get a kick out of fans who mock those ratings as September unfolds. I know darn well I'll take advantage as the season progresses.
There was a flood of Irish money in the final half hour. Notre Dame crossed back to 1 point favorite entering Saturday and then it pushed up to -2.5 and even some scattered -3 offerings at game time.