Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481361
6 OCT. 15, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FAN FORUM IRISH IDOL Jim Lefebvre's article on ND's 1947 national champions was fabulous. I was 7 years old at that time and persuaded my mother to make a green jersey with bold number 32 across the front. I have idolized Johnny Lujack ever since. Bill Hottell Twisp, Wash. NO EXCUSES This is in reference to Anubis42's comments in the Fan Forum section of Sept. 24, 2022 issue of Blue & Gold Il- lustrated. I am an alum and a fan since 1954. We have to quit making excuses and demand that Marcus Freeman and his group perform. Oklahoma has a rookie head coach, he was a defensive coordinator, had never called an offensive play, has a new quarterback, has an all new group of coaches, was not forced to sign the of- fensive coordinator the AD wanted, lost his playmakers to the transfer portal, is scoring, defending and is 3-0. Gilberto Marxuach Via the internet Editor's Note: OU is now 3-2 after losing to Kansas State 41-34 and TCU 55-24, and the Irish are 2-2. It's still ap- ples and oranges at this point. The more apt measure of any team — and coach — should be taken after a full season. There are eight more regular-season games re- maining on the Irish's 2022 slate. The Fighting Irish rebounded from a 0-2 start to head into their bye week at the beginning of October with a 2-2 record, reigniting some debate about how they will finish the season. Here is a sampling from a discussion following the win at North Carolina Sept. 24 on our message board at BlueandGold.com: SpaddyND: These next 4 games are huge. Have to go 3-1 to have a chance of winning 8 games this season. I think ND is better than every team in the next 4 but BYU, Stanford and Syracuse aren't going to be easy games. … BYU game is huge, win that one and I think 4-0 is easily attainable. mgbirish: 4-0 baby let's go. Made a post about it all starts with a win today and they delivered. Too many fans are down about the Marshall loss. This team wasn't going to the playoffs. We held OSU to 21 and Cal ain't really that bad of a team — they will finish with a winning record, too. Now it all starts with a win vs. BYU. Kcndmis97: I can see a 4-0 stretch, 3-1 at worst. Now I have confidence in an 8-4 season, which would be really good considering the first 3 weeks. fedman: I think that if the ND offensive line plays like it did today, the Irish will win the next 4 games. However, I still wonder if the offensive line improved as much as they looked today, or if a major contributing factor was that North Carolina is one of the worst coached and disciplined defense that I have seen in many years. Toe Fuzz: BYU is the game that scares me. On paper ND is the better team and they should be pretty confident after today's game, but who knows if the progress we saw today is real. If ND wins that game I see 4-0 happening. Otherwise they'll go either 2-2 or 3-1. Irishchef3: Overall I will go 4-0 if ND keeps improving. Lucky905: I would be happy with 3-1 the next four games. … ND is getting better each week. They just need to figure out how to remain consistent on offense and clean up some details in the back seven on D. 6-2 against Clem- son is a strong possibility. Just no steps backwards! HTXIrishWave: The season really hinges on the BYU game. Tough opponent on a neutral field. ND will be heavy favorites in the following three. Win the BYU game, and ND is likely 6-2 with Clemson coming to town. We'll be dogs but would have nice momentum in a game against a ranked team. PreTill: No reason they shouldn't go 4-0. ND only has one game left against a team with more talent than them. Even though Clemson does have more talent, I wouldn't trust DJ if I were a Clemson fan. … Before this week, I said no excuse not to go at least 8-4. I am starting to see 8-4 would be a very poor job by this staff. 9-3 should be the bar. Smcnd: 9 + wins this season … Nymaknights: I agreed with you that the BYU game will be a huge test and if the offense and defense continue to improve then they should be 4-0. Domerdad: ND will likely lose 1 of the next 4 games and also lose to Clemson and USC. I predict a 7-5 regular season at best. mh2365: I've got over 8.5 so we have to go 4-0 for me to have any shot at it. FROM THE WEBSITE .com .com Johnny Lujack not only led the 1947 Irish to a 9-0 season and the national championship, he also became Notre Dame's second Heisman Trophy winner. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS