Blue and Gold Illustrated

Oct 9, 2021

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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6 OCT. 9, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FAN FORUM NO STATUE YET Regarding your Point/Counterpoint in the Sept. 11 issue, Brian Kelly in no way deserves a statue. He is doing a good job, good, not great. He has so far been a compiler. Compiling wins against often inferior teams, as he should. Win a big one? Not yet. Last year's big win was exposed once Clemson got their quarterback back and looks even worse considering how the current quarterback is struggling. Put- ting up a statue for Brian Kelly at this point would be analogous to a "par- ticipation" award in children's soccer. Twelve or 13 games per year, so sure he wins more games than Rockne could. Forget Rockne, Leahy and Ara, would anyone want a statue of him now, any- where near Lou Holtz? I definitely would not. Again doing a good job so far, but need to get to the next level to get a statue. Mike Chmell Via the internet PEACOCK PLAUDITS I was surprised reading the two letters complaining about the poor coverage by Peacock of the Toledo game. I admit I wasn't looking forward to it myself, but was pleasantly surprised. No question the one-hour pregame was well done and young Jac Collinsworth and Corey Robinson did an excellent job. Although I had to view the game on my computer monitor, I found it adequate and easy to view. Also, the postgame show was excellent. Too bad NBC cannot devote the time for pre and post shows, but understand it would be impossible. I started to watch the Purdue game on Pea- cock thinking there would be a one-hour pregame again, but I was wrong. I reverted back to NBC as it was the exact same pro- duction as Peacock but on a larger screen. I just found it interesting that both neg- ative comments came from California and the game was no different than it would have been on NBC. John Karas Marion, N.C. RUDY MOMENTS Congrats to Coach Kelly for an his- toric win at Soldier Field. The Wis- consin game, like the other three this year, was nerve racking until the fourth quarter when Chis Tyree ran back the kickoff. That seemed to ignite the Irish on both sides of the ball. I have watched Notre Dame football for many years, while dreaming of how it must feel to wear that uniform and play for the Irish. During the Wisconsin game, like many in the past and many more to come, I was thrilled at what I call "Rudy Moments" with Cam Hart's two interceptions, Tyree's kickoff re- turn, Drew White and Jack Kiser's pick- sixes and Drew Pyne's first touchdown pass to Kevin Austin Jr. I enjoyed Pyne's sideline "swagger- ing" celebration, guessing that will be his brand. I'm sure like Dan "Rudy" Ru- ettiger, these players have worked hard to achieve their goals and these shin- ing moments against Wisconsin will be cherished memories in their lives and others for many years to come. Go Irish! Jack L. Schneider Marquette, Mich. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: sdowney@comanpub.com FROM THE WEBSITE During Notre Dame's 4-0 start, the one glar- ing weakness for the Fighting Irish that stood out was the offensive line. After four games, the Irish ranked 129th out of 130 FBS teams in sacks allowed (21), 128th in tackles for loss allowed per game (9.75) and tied for 122nd in rushing yards per game (80.0). Here is a sampling of some of the opinions expressed on BlueandGold.com's message board: rpm912: Would this ND team make a serious run this year at the national championship of the O-line was above average? I say yes. Maybe a little too much uncertainty about QB, but I think the pieces are there. BGI3279: Can the O-line simply aspire to mediocrity? My head is spinning over the prospect of them being "above average." Senator99: I think if we still had Ian Book, our running game and margins of victory would be much better than they are. Domerdad: Only with an above average OL coach to go with it. charliehorses: At this point, I'd settle for slightly below average. Josh Lugg and Tosh Baker look like they have cement on their shoes. cmck: I generally think position coaches are hard to evaluate. There's so many variables around scheme and being a fit generally that it's hard to tell. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine a justifica- tion for a Notre Dame OL being this bad. So, is Jeff Quinn an issue? Jameskroner3: This O-line is terrible and Quinn needs to be held accountable. When your players are still having communication issues and are still not recognizing pressures, whose fault is that? It's not like these guys aren't talented. And even if they aren't as talented as their ranking, ND shouldn't be struggling to run for 50 yards a game. It's embarrassing is what it is. I know you think that's harsh, but Brian Kelly needs to do the right thing and tell Quinn your not preparing these guys well and if it doesn't shape up, ship out. Sophomore quarterback Drew Pyne threw his first career touchdown pass in Notre Dame's 41-13 win over Wisconsin. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER

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