Rockne's Roundtable

As I said in some earlier post at some earlier time, my biggest fears are turnovers and GG. I want GG to have the game of his career.

“The thing we harp on with those guys is we want to keep the points down as a defense overall,” Cooks said. “We’re going to do what we do — we’re going to play sound, we’re going to play fundamentally … there’s not a magical coverage we can put on [Woods]. He’s going to make plays and we’ve just got to make sure we’re in a position to make our share of them.”

That's the equivalent of the feared 'kiss of death" given to coaches before they're canned.

Let's hope other coaches are going to assist Cooks.

I am so pleased that someone finally got the "give the people something to wave around if you want them to be unified and energetic" memo. And those of you who will be there on Saturday - please be unified and energetic. :)

If GG gets burned early..I would pull him off the field or go double coverage on his side of the field..the key to this game is not to give Barkley time to look for receivers..if he has time we are not going to win..the secondary of ND is not that good..

Clutch Cargo... I don't see what is so wrong with that statement from coach Cooks. He seems to recognize that Woods will get his... we just need to be in a position to make sure they dont' turn into points. That sounds very much the same philosophy that held MSU to 13 points, even though they threw the ball up and down the field on us.

As important as the play of Gary Gray is going to be on Saturday night, we need our D-Line to put pressure on Barkley all day long.

If we play a clean game, we win...it's that simple. If we have a couple of turnovers at halftime, it will come down to who has the ball last, just like in Ann Arbor.

great read Lou, now i am nervous,lol.

I see this game as playing out similar to Michigan St. ND will shut down the run, and force SC into being one-dimensional. D-line will tee off and get sacks and holding penalties. I think Barkely has lots of yards, but hopefully, we keep them out of the end zone like we did with Sparty.

I remember that 71 game vividly and cited it in an earlier post. USC was 2-4 and just wasn't supposed to win. ND, on the other hand, was undefeated. Two years later, wtih Luther Bradley in the defensive backfield, Lynn Swan was neutralized.

This year, they have to stop Barkley, not let him get comfortable back there. Otherwise, he will torch us, and the game will wind up a shootout with the win going to the team that has the ball last.

Lou, great read.
You certainly have identified the match-up that gives USC an advantage. Other posters have identified how to neutralize it (stuff run, pressure Barkley).
But SC certainly has talent that can't be overlooked.
The difference now is -- so does ND.
We have talent on both sides of the ball that they have to game plan to stop.
I like our odds.
Go Irish!

The main problem with his quote is his belief that "we're going to play fundamentally sound".

When has this happened, apart from Blanton's performances? Motta and Smith haven't looked like game changers, either. Yes, they managed to hold MSU to only 13 points but do you really believe their passing attack is comparable to SC?