Re: College Football 2007
Posted: 18/11/2007, 13:56
Mi permetto di sottolineare la prima vittoria casalinga di Notre Dame (28-7 su Duke) che così evita l’umiliazione ai giocatori senior di finire la stagione non vincendo mai in casa (come nel lontano 1933). Notre Dame, ora 2-9, finisce questa stagione disastrosa sabato a Stanford.
A cominciare dall’opener (33-3 per Georgia Tech) passando per la batosta a Penn State, alla sconfitta per 38-0 subita a Michigan, a sconfitte con Michigan State, Purdue e BC, fino all’altro 38-0 subito in casa da USC, e poi alla sconfitta con Navy per 46-44 in 3 OT, con la quale gli Irish non perdevano dal 1963 (un certo Roger Staubach guidava i Midshipmen), proprio nella settimana in cui il fratello di Robert Hughes viene ucciso in una sparatoria, è stato un vero disastro.
Muore anche un maratoneta Irish agli US Trials nello stesso giorno.
Poi sconfitta anche con Air Force; oltre a Duke, gli Irish vincono solo con UCLA.
E solo 56.6 rushing yds per game prima di ieri, nonostante i ben 102 giocatori tra scholarship roster e walk on. Ieri Hughes va oltre 100yds.
Insomma un anno davvero nero in tutti i sensi.
Di positivo ci sono i freshman.
A cominciare dal QB Jimmy Clausen, dal RB Robert Hughes, dall’altro RB tuttofare Armando Allen, al WR Duval Kamara. E’ sono soltanto sophomore l’altro RB James Aldridge ed il WR Robby Parris. Insomma ci sono le premesse per rifondare qualcosa.
L’altra metà della “catholic connection” va invece a gonfie vele. Avrebbe potuto essere un’annata davvero speciale per gli Eagles (non so cosa ci sia nell’acqua di Boston quest’anno! Red Sox campioni, Pats 9-0, Celtics 8-0, Bruins in zona PO), ma l’inopinata sconfitta con FSU ha rovinato i sogni di gloria. E’ arrivato poi il setback, 35-42, contro Maryland, molto psicologico, IMO.
Comunque vittoria ieri per Boston College contro Clemson nella Death Valley per 20-17 con rimonta finale e record ora a 9-2. Con Miami sabato prossimo l’ultima, poi l’ACC Championship Game e speriamo l'Orange Bowl. Era l’anno giusto, credo, con tanti upset, solo una squadra imbattuta, anzi due con Hawaii, e cinque team con 1 sconfitta. Tutti gli altri battuti almeno due volte. E c’era il QB giusto per fare i miracoli. Pazienza.
Infine una storia di 50 anni fa…
Members of 1957 Notre Dame team recall ending Oklahoma's 47-game streak
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Left guard Jim Schaaf best remembers the
look on Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson's face when Notre Dame scored
with 3:50 left to shock the Sooners 7-0 50 years ago.
"The look he had is his mouth opened up and I'd say it was a look of
shock. It was a look of, 'What happened?"' Schaaf said.
A year after Oklahoma beat the Irish 40-0 at Notre Dame Stadium,
handing the Irish what is still the worst home loss in school
history, the Irish rebounded with a shocking upset at Oklahoma on
Nov. 16, 1957.
The Fighting Irish were 18-point underdogs that game and the
two-time defending national champion Sooners had scored in 123
straight games. The Irish won after Dick Lynch scored on a pitch
wide right on fourth-and-3 to end the Sooners' NCAA-record winning
streak at 47 games.
Several members of the 1957 team said the thing they remember best
about the victory was how quiet the stadium got after Lynch scored.
"The silence was deafening," then Irish coach Terry Brennan said
last week.
They also recalled how thousands of Sooners fans stayed in the
stands long after the game was over.
"After we dressed and came out to leave the stadium, half the
stadium was full," Schaaf said. "I think they just couldn't believe
it happened. That's a big memory, all those people still there. I
remember that very clearly."
Left end Dick Prendergast said Sooner fans helped inspire the
victory.
"When we got down there, there was a lot of graffiti on the walls
and signs up saying, 'Don't feel bad, you're going to lose,"' he
recalled. "It really got the team turned up."
Brennan, who is 79, said the Irish were so young when they lost to
the Sooners in 1956 that he took some chances that didn't work out.
He felt more confident of his team's ability in 1957 so he played
the game more conservatively. He also said he got "lucky."
"In a game like that, you guess you right," he said.
It wasn't all guessing, though. Brennan described Wilkinson as
"predictable."
"So I thought, 'Here's our shot,"' he said.
Brennan also admits he had assistant coaches signaling in defenses
even though it wasn't allowed at the time. He said everyone did it,
though, and officials knew it. Players still played both offense and
defense in 1957, and the play on defense was key, Brennan said.
"You never play a perfect game, but I don't think the guys made a
lot of mistakes," he said. "There were very few, if any, and that
was the key."
The Irish gained confidence early when they stopped the Sooners on
the 13-yard line on the opening drive, Prendergast said.
"As the game progressed. They marched down and we made some stops in
the red zone and each time we felt stronger and stronger," he said.
The Irish held the Sooners to 98 yards rushing and 47 yards passing.
Notre Dame drove 80 yards for the game-winning score. Brennan said
he never thought about attempting a field goal on fourth-and-3.
"Because we felt we could score. If you kick the field goal, they
could still get you 7-3," he said.
When the Irish returned to South Bend there were thousands of fans
waiting. "The students were going bananas. It was a long night, but it was a
fun night," Brennan said.
A cominciare dall’opener (33-3 per Georgia Tech) passando per la batosta a Penn State, alla sconfitta per 38-0 subita a Michigan, a sconfitte con Michigan State, Purdue e BC, fino all’altro 38-0 subito in casa da USC, e poi alla sconfitta con Navy per 46-44 in 3 OT, con la quale gli Irish non perdevano dal 1963 (un certo Roger Staubach guidava i Midshipmen), proprio nella settimana in cui il fratello di Robert Hughes viene ucciso in una sparatoria, è stato un vero disastro.
Muore anche un maratoneta Irish agli US Trials nello stesso giorno.
Poi sconfitta anche con Air Force; oltre a Duke, gli Irish vincono solo con UCLA.
E solo 56.6 rushing yds per game prima di ieri, nonostante i ben 102 giocatori tra scholarship roster e walk on. Ieri Hughes va oltre 100yds.
Insomma un anno davvero nero in tutti i sensi.
Di positivo ci sono i freshman.
A cominciare dal QB Jimmy Clausen, dal RB Robert Hughes, dall’altro RB tuttofare Armando Allen, al WR Duval Kamara. E’ sono soltanto sophomore l’altro RB James Aldridge ed il WR Robby Parris. Insomma ci sono le premesse per rifondare qualcosa.
L’altra metà della “catholic connection” va invece a gonfie vele. Avrebbe potuto essere un’annata davvero speciale per gli Eagles (non so cosa ci sia nell’acqua di Boston quest’anno! Red Sox campioni, Pats 9-0, Celtics 8-0, Bruins in zona PO), ma l’inopinata sconfitta con FSU ha rovinato i sogni di gloria. E’ arrivato poi il setback, 35-42, contro Maryland, molto psicologico, IMO.
Comunque vittoria ieri per Boston College contro Clemson nella Death Valley per 20-17 con rimonta finale e record ora a 9-2. Con Miami sabato prossimo l’ultima, poi l’ACC Championship Game e speriamo l'Orange Bowl. Era l’anno giusto, credo, con tanti upset, solo una squadra imbattuta, anzi due con Hawaii, e cinque team con 1 sconfitta. Tutti gli altri battuti almeno due volte. E c’era il QB giusto per fare i miracoli. Pazienza.
Infine una storia di 50 anni fa…
Members of 1957 Notre Dame team recall ending Oklahoma's 47-game streak
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Left guard Jim Schaaf best remembers the
look on Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson's face when Notre Dame scored
with 3:50 left to shock the Sooners 7-0 50 years ago.
"The look he had is his mouth opened up and I'd say it was a look of
shock. It was a look of, 'What happened?"' Schaaf said.
A year after Oklahoma beat the Irish 40-0 at Notre Dame Stadium,
handing the Irish what is still the worst home loss in school
history, the Irish rebounded with a shocking upset at Oklahoma on
Nov. 16, 1957.
The Fighting Irish were 18-point underdogs that game and the
two-time defending national champion Sooners had scored in 123
straight games. The Irish won after Dick Lynch scored on a pitch
wide right on fourth-and-3 to end the Sooners' NCAA-record winning
streak at 47 games.
Several members of the 1957 team said the thing they remember best
about the victory was how quiet the stadium got after Lynch scored.
"The silence was deafening," then Irish coach Terry Brennan said
last week.
They also recalled how thousands of Sooners fans stayed in the
stands long after the game was over.
"After we dressed and came out to leave the stadium, half the
stadium was full," Schaaf said. "I think they just couldn't believe
it happened. That's a big memory, all those people still there. I
remember that very clearly."
Left end Dick Prendergast said Sooner fans helped inspire the
victory.
"When we got down there, there was a lot of graffiti on the walls
and signs up saying, 'Don't feel bad, you're going to lose,"' he
recalled. "It really got the team turned up."
Brennan, who is 79, said the Irish were so young when they lost to
the Sooners in 1956 that he took some chances that didn't work out.
He felt more confident of his team's ability in 1957 so he played
the game more conservatively. He also said he got "lucky."
"In a game like that, you guess you right," he said.
It wasn't all guessing, though. Brennan described Wilkinson as
"predictable."
"So I thought, 'Here's our shot,"' he said.
Brennan also admits he had assistant coaches signaling in defenses
even though it wasn't allowed at the time. He said everyone did it,
though, and officials knew it. Players still played both offense and
defense in 1957, and the play on defense was key, Brennan said.
"You never play a perfect game, but I don't think the guys made a
lot of mistakes," he said. "There were very few, if any, and that
was the key."
The Irish gained confidence early when they stopped the Sooners on
the 13-yard line on the opening drive, Prendergast said.
"As the game progressed. They marched down and we made some stops in
the red zone and each time we felt stronger and stronger," he said.
The Irish held the Sooners to 98 yards rushing and 47 yards passing.
Notre Dame drove 80 yards for the game-winning score. Brennan said
he never thought about attempting a field goal on fourth-and-3.
"Because we felt we could score. If you kick the field goal, they
could still get you 7-3," he said.
When the Irish returned to South Bend there were thousands of fans
waiting. "The students were going bananas. It was a long night, but it was a
fun night," Brennan said.
