Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 13, 2017 5 FAN FORUM THE 'GRIT FACTOR' This Irish team has true grit: Built to run the ball behind the road grader offensive line, stop the run, disrupt the passing routes and force turnovers. Like Ara Parseghian told Justice Alan Page: "Football is about two things: field position and possession." This team will run the table and be one of the four teams selected to play for the national championship. Could there be a Georgia do-over? A shot to avenge the Alabama 2012 beat-down? #33 Keep on Truckin'! Carpe Diem! Steve Barry '02 Spring Lake, N.J. SOUND OFF How much longer do we have to listen to Notre Dame hater Doug Flutie? I'm so fed up with his com- mentary on NBC that I sometimes turn the volume down and just watch. It seems as though he has to force any compliments for the Irish out of his mouth, but he continues to "talk up" the opponent throughout each game. I don't know what the dynamic is between Notre Dame and NBC when it comes to who the commentators are for the Irish broad- casts, but if there's any way to get rid of Flutie, I'm all for it. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only can that feels this way. Todd Cahoe Louisville, Ky. KICKING UP A STORM We do not have one of the better kickoff coverage teams in football, so please explain to me why we have nobody on the roster that can con- tinually kick the ball out of, or even into, the end zone. I understand their theory is "di- rectional kicking." Well, how's that working out? It is totally frustrating to have a kickoff returned close to or beyond the 50-yard line. Pat Buckley Portage, Mich. Mr. Buckley, we agree kickoff coverage has been spotty with Notre Dame rank- ing 108th nationally through the first eight games. Against USC, though, only once off Notre Dame's eight kickoffs did the Tro- jans start beyond the 29-yard line, with five of them at or inside the 25-yard line (where the ball would be placed on a touchback). Two were touchbacks, and there were also tackles at the 14-, 22- and 23-yard lines. Versus North Carolina State the next week, the first four Irish kickoffs resulted in the Wolfpack starting at its 19-, 13-, 24- and 20-yard lines, which is excellent. The last two, unfortunately, saw them start at the Notre Dame 42-yard line and the North Carolina State 35 (when the directional kick went out of bounds). All they can do is keep working on it. The bright side is you know Notre Dame is having a really good season when top complaints revolve on kickoff coverage. 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 FROM THE WEBSITE College Football Playoff fever was back in No- vember at Notre Dame after a one-year hiatus. Particularly gratifying to many BlueandGold.com subscribers was how the CFP committee in its initial rankings valued strength of schedule to put Notre Dame No. 3, instead of No. 5 like the As- sociated Press or No. 8 like the coaches poll. Here were some responses to the first poll: KenND: Other than ND being ranked exactly where they should, the committee ignoring the complete idiocy of the AP and Coaches polls rank- ing of Ohio State over Oklahoma does as much as anything to give the CFP poll a great deal of credibility. A.H.Irish: The other thing I like is from now on only the CFP rankings matter. Coaching poll, AP, all toilet paper at this point. Slupe333: What does everyone think of this sce- nario. Georgia and Alabama keep winning and one defeats the other in the SEC Championship game, ND wins out, Clemson wins out (ACC Champions), and Oklahoma wins out (B12 Champions). Ohio State wins out (Big Ten Champions). Who is left out?? OSU??? IrishRunt: Most likely ND....but it depends. Does Clemson squeak by NC State and Miami while ND destroys Miami? We need style points. MH2365: SEC champ, Clemson, Oklahoma and Notre Dame — 1-point loss at home to a top team, better than a 15-point loss at home by Ohio State. But in that scenario it would be better for us if Georgia won over Alabama. SMCND: Winning a conference championship has to count for something. If Alabama loses to UGA by more than 7, it could become very inter- esting because Alabama's SOS isn't great. Having said that, I agree with Kirk Herbstreit saying it's the committee's job to put the 4 best teams in the playoffs without regard for conference affiliation. Notre Dame's physical ground game led by junior Josh Adams running behind the likes of seniors Quenton Nelson (56) and Mike McGlinchey (68) resulted in a No. 3 spot in the initial CFP rankings. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL