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Kelly says he told Kizer he's 'unequivocally the starting quarterback' & they were looking for a shot in the arm. "Obviously it didn't work"
— Angelo Di Carlo (@angdicarlowndu) October 16, 2016
Shot in the arm? Sounds about right because Notre Dame played like they got shot in the arm after Malik Zaire came in the game. Yea, Kizer wasn’t on top of his game Saturday night, but an off Kizer is arguably better than anything Zaire has shown so far. Kizer gives the Irish the best chance to win week in and week out, and Kelly should leave that be from here on out.
Brian Kelly asked how DeShone Kizer can improve. Answer includes “play calling can be better"
— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) October 16, 2016
Another week, another quote from Kelly about how some aspect of the coaching could be better. Maybe it’s just one of those years for Kelly? Players have bad seasons, maybe this is a case of a coach having a bad season. Unfortunately for Kelly it’s a whole lot easier to get rid of a coach than it is a player.
Malik Zaire has been getting 40 percent of the work in practice, DeShone Kizer gets 60 percent.
— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) October 16, 2016
Now I’m not sure what a typical starter vs. backup split is, but I have a feeling it’s more than 60/40. It makes you wonder what Kelly is possibly thinking in regards to Zaire. Every opportunity Zaire has had this season, he hasn’t performed. Even in mop up time against Nevada he didn’t look all that great. Kizer is the guy, he’s been the guy for the past 19 games. Kelly needs to stick with him.
ND has scored 212 points and allowed 194. "To be 2-5 and to outscore your opponents has got to be one of the craziest stats in America.” -BK
— BlueandGold.com (@BGInews) October 16, 2016
If you were told before the season Notre Dame would be outscoring their opponents seven games into the season, you wouldn’t guess they would be 2-5. It’s just been one of those years for the Irish to date. Anything and everything has gone wrong. The Irish have five games to turn this season around. If they can end it on a high note, they will have momentum heading into the offseason.
Kelly pointed out ND’s limited possessions against Stanford “If we capitalize on our red zone opportunities, it’s a much different outcome."
— BlueandGold.com (@BGInews) October 16, 2016
For much of the season the Irish have performed pretty well in the red zone, especially when you consider where they were last year. In recent weeks though they have regressed back to what they were last season. Red zone struggles doomed the Irish on Saturday night. They arguably should have had a touchdown and not a field goal in the second quarter. And obviously at the end of the game they couldn’t convert when they got the ball down inside the Stanford 15 yard line. Kelly is right in that if they cash in, in the red zone it would have been a different game.
Other News and Notes
- Kelly said he doesn’t have any plans to change up the starting five on the offensive line. He said the unit as a whole needs to play better.
- Kelly noted that his team still has the desire and energy to play.
- In regards to recruiting with a losing record, Kelly said that it’s a temporary situation and the recruits are a solution to the current problem.