Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2019 7 FAN FORUM a 29-point loser to a 6-7 Purdue team? Georgia, which had two losses, including by 20 at LSU? The Fighting Irish earned the right to be in the CFP and have nothing to apolo- gize for, just like Alabama didn't for los- ing by 28 to Clemson in the title game, or even Ohio State when it lost 31-0 to Clemson in the 2016 CFP. TO THE END I started listening to Notre Dame football on the radio in the 1950s. I got Paul Hornung's autograph at Kiser Stadium early in his Green Bay career. My dad and I watched Daryle Lamonica beat USC in the Los Ange- les Coliseum. I coached high school football for 27 years. I yell at the TV, "Why did you throw that Ian? Why did you do that Coach Kelly?" However, I am a Notre Dame foot- ball supporter first and fan second. My yelling, at home or at the game, is just tension release. Unless you are at practice every day and in meetings and know these kids and coaches, my opinion as a fan can't be taken seriously. I support them and trust them, and I know they hurt more after a loss than any fan. My tickets to Levi Stadium were waiting for me if we had defeated Clemson. I am 71 with heart disease. My time is running out, but I support Coach Kelly and his staff and all the players 100 percent, win or lose. Go Irish! See you in New Orleans next January. Greg Brown Chico, Calif. JUST WIN, BABY! I wonder how many Clemson and Alabama fans complain about their coaches' sideline behavior? Brian Yarsevich Bethlehem, Pa. DEER ME I just watched one of the most disappointing Notre Dame football games that I have ever seen in my 60-plus years of watching the team. I have no idea what the Notre Dame coaching staff did for the past month. Did they think just showing up was good enough? The team, especially the offense, played like a "deer in the headlights." I could not believe that the first play of the game was a "QB keeper." Is that how you start a game for the national championship? I'm truly disappointed in Coach Kelly and his staff for not having the team better prepared. John Carr '64 Via the Internet Mr. Carr, just for the record, the first play was an 11-yard run by Dexter Wil- liams. Ian Book didn't run until the fourth play, a five-yard gain on second-and-15. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com After the ACC released its 2019 conference foot- ball schedule in January, what stood out to many of our subscribers on BlueandGold.com was that among the five ACC opponents Notre Dame was scheduled to play, three (Virginia Tech, Duke and Boston College) had byes the previous Saturday. The fourth, Virginia, played Old Dominion the week prior (although the Monarchs did upset Virginia Tech in 2018), and the fifth, Louisville, was the opener. Here were a few reactions: GoldenJudge: The odds of that scheduling hap- pening by accident would seem small. If it was planned as in let's give every one of OUR confer- ence football schools the best chance of beating Notre Dame, then ND would be justified in being pissed. Nothing illegal about it, but it certainly would not be collegial. Maverick1: Notre Dame is lucky that the ACC al- lows it to remain independent with this part-time arrangement. You want to remain independent, having op- ponents take bye weeks before you play them is a small price to pay. Notre Dame should tell the ACC "your teams aren't allowed to have bye weeks before we play them." Yeah, right. Spaddy: Every team has 2 byes this year, so yes it was probably easy to schedule a bye before a big game. ND has a bye before Michigan. Should Michigan fans cry? It's also the first time Michigan has played ND in October. Stuff happens for con- ference teams to fit ND on their schedule. GroggyGrizzly: I personally think any confer- ence was/is stupid for allowing one member to have their cake and eat it too. They did the Irish a huge favor … at least in the landscape of a few years ago. PT77Irish: As long as Jack Swarbrick doesn't move a home game to Virginia, it's better than last year or 2015. Buck25: I see it as a compliment … Scared of the Big ND monster from the Midwest. Japbutler: Every ACC team, given a chance to have one guaranteed win, would pick Clemson over ND. Irishflu92: The ACC portion of the schedule next year is pretty weak: Louisville, Duke, Virginia, BC and VT. I'm not worried about byes with that schedule. BGIUser2232: For years, the ACC was a bas- ketball conference, with football being an af- terthought. For most of the programs, adding a home game with ND periodically was like free money in terms of filling otherwise empty seats. For ND, it was an upgrade in conference affiliation for nearly all their sports compared to a declining Big East. The deal was win-win. If teams want to take a week off before playing Notre Dame, that only makes sense. Outside of Clemson, they'll be the toughest team they have to prepare for. Take it as a sign of respect, and move on to bigger concerns. 4simm: It's gamesmanship, and this year is nothing new. Remember our game at Clemson in the rain in 2015? Clemson had 16 days to pre- pare for ND. They not only had a bye week the week before, but the ACC scheduled their previ- ous game on a Thursday night to give them the maximum amount of prep time. FROM THE WEBSITE The season-ending clunker against Clemson has created a mixed reaction among Fighting Irish faithful regarding head coach Brian Kelly. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA