USC-ND

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:44 pm

ND's new, gaudy helmets look like the type of finish Liberace would've used on his '72 Coupe Deville.

Alex Flannigan is just begging for a nice, thick rope across her cheek.

I still can't see USC's young, injury-depleted defense keeping this thing close, so I'll stick to my ND 40, USC 20 prediction. The only way USC has a chance here is if Barkley/Woods go crazy while ND burps up a few turnovers. USC will need some easy points to keep this one within reach. Their pass D is going to get torched.

And here we go....

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:49 pm

Wow, an impressive three-and-out for the USC D on the first posssesion. It must be those new ND helmets. Hopefully going pimp will prove to be a curse for ND.

Okay, Marc Tyler is going to give this thing a go, separated shoulder notwithstanding.

Notre Dame Stadium looks badass like this: lit up, packed, the crowd going wild.

First big play of the game, 4th and short, aaaaaand...Barkley runs for the first-down.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:51 pm

Yeah, douche ND homer announcer, we all know Mante Te'o nearly chose USC before picking ND. Dick.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:51 pm

a good start for USC would be a TD on this drive, no FG.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:52 pm

Yep. ND is hitting hard.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:55 pm

And USC is running the ball surprisingly well so far, considering how shitty their rushing game has been this season. If USC can achieve any sort of offensive balance to keep ND's LBs off Barkley's back, it would be an immense and unexpected boon to the Trojan passing game.

That play-action TD pass was entirely too easy...the result of the running game giving ND's D pause.

Nice.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:07 am

Who are these imposters occupying the uniforms of USC's defense? These people are way too aggressive to be the sleepwalking dullards I've been watching all year.

While it's still very early, ND needs a stop here following that killer punt return by Woods. This is the most fired-up USC has played all season, and they're not even beating themselves yet with stupid penalties.

And now Barkley hits for a long one...and another! What in the hell is going on here?

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:07 am

working the irish on the screen/play action in the flat.
2 score lead would be nice.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:09 am

there ya go VAn. 14-0. apparently #40 for USC is allowed to hold on every play.

i'm off to OU-Tech.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:13 am

WHAT?!

ND? Hello? The game started about a half-hour ago, you know. You might want to hit your alarm clocks.

14-0 USC, with about a minute left in the 1st quarter. ND has no first-downs and only nine yards, and USC hasn't even been slowed yet. Barkley already has two TD throws, both of which I could've completed.

This cannot last. The only way this makes any sense is if YaFJ picked ND to win big.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:27 am

Ah, there is the USC D I know and loathe...third and four, and rather than attempt to put any pressure on Rees they show blitz before retreating into a soft zone, giving the guy all day to find a receiver for an easy first-down.

Cierre Wood drops a third-down pass, then trudges off the field with his left arm hanging limply at his side. Something to watch for. If he goes down, that's big trouble for ND.

USC holds, and now it's their third posession. Either ND stops them here or it's another Pete Carroll era USC-ND game in the making.

No penalties or turnovers yet for USC. Highly unusual. ~knocks on wood~

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:30 am

IRish D holds on 3rd and 4th. no props to the announcers on their "student body right" trip after #22 steps OOB on the pitch-sweep on 3rd and 2.

dicks.

USC scores there, and it's a boat-race.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:32 am

Another fourth-and-one for USC...

...and they get stuffed. Goddamn it, Kiffin, the O-Line has been making mincemeat of ND's front seven, so just let Barkley follow their push forward for thirty-six inches. Why do you always have to complicate shit?

Okay, now we have a game. That was the play ND had to have.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:34 am

Cierre Wood is back in the game. Must have only been a shoulder stinger.

ND is at midfield...

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:36 am

It's a good thing Rees and his receivers are not on the same page because USC is now giving them all sorts of room. Fuck, I hate that soft zone.

Pressure the QB. Force him into hurried decisions. Keep the heat on.

Fuck. This will not last.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:43 am

i kinda like Kiffin's commitment to the run game here....but this is your 2nd possession in ND territory with a chance to make this a 3 score game...

you got stopped like an idiot bitch last time on 3rd and 4th and short. fling it. get the TD. cosmetics or not.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:46 am

Speaking of Kiffin, c'mon, it's a night game so ditch the fucking visor! God, that thing looks so stupid, especially with the tag sticking out!

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:46 am

chip kelly looks like the only meal he ever eats is Dinty Moore beef stew.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:49 am

Mante Te'o might want to try wrapping up rather than just going for the knockout. But hey, we'll take it. That was a great recovery run by Curtis McNeal.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:51 am

#40 has to make that catch.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:53 am

Rhett Ellison has to make that catch for an easy TD. Christ, he just plain whiffed on it.

Wow, ND has some nice cheerleaders this year! I can't ever recall seeing such a stellar collection of talent on ND's side of the field.

And Ellison's whiff costs USC a TD as they're forced to settle for a FG.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:54 am

can't complain too much about 17-0 on the road but SC has some tastes at 21-0.

lot of football to play.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:56 am

wtf? that's exactly what you don't need. that's OU-esque against Texas. you have your knee on their throat and give up that crap. now you have to beat them again.

ND has no business being in this game, but now they are. at home. they haven't scored on your D. you are moving the ball at will. all of sudden, the clowns are back in it.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:57 am

Yep, they've left anywhere from four to eleven points on the field, but I'll take this so far. No way this thing is over.

And just as I'm typing that, ND runs the kickoff back for a TD...no flags.

I knew this was too good to last. I'm thinking USC will end up needing somewhere in the high thirties to win this thing.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:00 am

Still, goddammit...a kickoff return? That was the very last thing USC needed. Making them have to march down the field for a score is one thing, but giving them such a quick burst of energy that way?

Brutal.

USC needs to answer with a methodical, soul-crushing assfucking right here.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:02 am

That is the fourth time that the snap came skittering back to Barkley in the shotgun. Jesus, dude, haven't you ever hiked before?

Okay, ND with the stop. That kickoff lit their fire. It's anybody's ballgame now.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:04 am

shit punt.

3rd straight time for SC in ND territory and 3 points to show for it.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:09 am

And they're firmly in bend-but-don't-stop-anyone mode now on defense. Besides maybe Maynard at Cal there isn't a QB in D1 who wouldn't shred them when given this much time to throw. If Monte Kiffin doesn't release the fucking hounds, this game will still end up being an ND boatrace.

Take the chance, Monte. At least give your D a chance to make some plays. This slow-bleed nonsense is just diarrhea on the eyes.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:10 am

this gonna be one-score game at halftime. should be 3.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:12 am

2 pretty average teams here. red zone o looks like Landry Jones against Kansas.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:18 am

It won't matter. USC will not beat any decent team while playing Prevent D for most of the game. ND's offense is too good to get away with this shit. If USC doesn't begin pressuring Rees, ND will score at will over the final thirty minutes.

Okay, is there any college crowd in America that isn't doing that White Stripes sing-along?

And we arrive at halftime with USC's tails tucked firmly between their legs. All the fire they exhibited during the 1st quarter is gone. They're back to looking soft, uninspired...easy pickings.

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:18 am

ND has no business only being down 7. Kelly is calling a fucking brutal game on offense. ASU beat USC by running the ball consistently. Jonas Gray has 3 carries, I think.

And Van, that's what I was talking about with Manti Te'o when we were talking about him earlier this year. Doesn't wrap up real well.

The refs have been, interesting.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:29 am

Te'o's main strength seems to be his sideline-to-sideline play. The thing that makes him unique is his ability to run...and run...and run. Then he brings a heavy load when he finally arrives. He does need to wrap up, though.

Yeah, I still wish he was playing for USC.

While it's a really hoary cliche, this time it really holds true: USC's first posession of the second half is key. They'd better reestablish their offensive line's dominance, and this time they'd better cash it in. If they go three-and-out we'll have a tie game before the third quarter is six minutes old, and ND will be up seven-to-ten by the start of the fourth quarter.

I just hated the way USC's intensity completely vanished following those stupid fucking fourth-down calls. Also, they did not respond to that kickoff TD. They let ND take over the intensity battle, and that was the one thing carrying USC for the first twenty minutes or so.

Not looking forward to the second half. I'll be more than mildly surprised if USC hangs on to win this thing, mainly because it already feels like they're merely hanging on.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:49 am

Opening drive of the third quarter...that holding call on the McNeal run was huge. It put USC back into dink-and-dunk mode, which I'm tired of watching. They have to stop bogging down every time they cross into ND territory...and pffffft...the drive fizzles to a halt.

Once again, they used up seven minutes only to come away with nothing following another screw-up. This looks much more like the USC I'm used to seeing lately.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:01 am

This is just painful to watch. Every time USC sends people at Rees...incomplete pass. Rushed throw, disrupted timing. Every time they sit back and give ND's receivers a nice ten-yard cushion...a ten-yard completion.

Their only chance is to risk giving up the big play in lieu of making plays themselves. Otherwise, this will simply be the South Bend Death March.

Uh-oh...Rees is down, clutching his knee. USC blitzed him, forcing him to throw one out-of-bounds, and apparently something happened at the end of the play. The replay makes it seem as if he hurt himsaelf without being touched. Kennard fell on him, but it looked like he'd already sustained the injury, whatever it is.

Crist is now in.

Goddammit. Fourth-and-six, and AGAIN USC retreats into a soft cushion with only a token three-man rush. Pitch-and-catch...easy first-down.

HOW do they not come after Crist there? It's the only thing that's working! WTF!!

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:03 am

here's the gift you need Van. no excuses now.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:06 am

ND-USF, Revisited...

USC just got the luckiest fucking TD ever when ND inexplicably fumbled the snap on the Trojan two-yard line, then Jawanza Starling picked up the loose ball and ran it eighty yards for the score.

Total bullshit. No way USC deserved to escape that drive unscathed, much less benefit from it. If I'm an ND fan, I'm ready to kill right now.

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:11 am

Dayne Crist is cursed. I feel so bad for that kid right now.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:14 am

KC, do I sound like I'm looking for excuses?

I fully expect(ed) USC to lose, and the way Monte has retreated to this horrible defeatist soft zone has me screaming at the TV. And now he's doing it again.

My god, when will this old feeb ever learn? IT ISN'T WORKING! You know what is? Pressuring the QB! Jamming ND's receivers at the line! Fuck, Kiffin, make ND prove they can run the ball and/or beat man-coverage. Don't just lay a red carpet out for them to march unhindered down the field!

If USC wins this thing, I'll just have to chalk it up to the gods paying us back for the injury to Barkley last year, followed by Rojo's game-blowing drop.

Still, there's all kinds of time left, and Monte is sticking USC right back into that bullshit cushion defense. ND is already throwing with ease again, and now Rees is back in the game.

I still like ND to win this thing.

(Edit: And sure enough, an easy ND score. 24-17, USC. This is death and taxes.)

Van · Post by **Van** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:28 am

Once again, a USC drive deep into ND territory fizzles...only this time the kicker shanked the thirty-two yard FG attempt.

Had he converted that kick I was about to say that ND is a lock to win this thing, 31-27. Just too many blown opportunities leading to an inevitable ND winning drive.

Now?