Notre Dame Football: One Thought, One Take for Boston College -Coping Edition

Thought

Coming off of a Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeat last week, some fans were left hopeful of the defense, while others crucified the offense. No matter where you stand, there are always ways to cope with the myriad of dull yet sharply painful emotions that are inevitably felt throughout the week. Some people turn to booze, others to exercise, yet I turn to neither.....I try to bring myself back to a better time, a better game, and a better highlight in which the Irish haven’t let me down, but lifted me up. I present to you: Philly’s G’s top highlights to help you cope after a loss. Please leave comments on other games/clips that you turn to in times of defeat, and vote on which one brings up your spirit the most. I will put the clips below the Takes to help you get your fix in!

1. Notre Dame vs. UCLA 2006: Brady Quinn leads the improbable comeback, throwing a last second Touchdown to Jeff Samardzija. Pure joy
2. Notre Dame vs. Michagan 2014: 31-0....To this day I have never seen my brother happier-A Notre Dame win and a crushing Michigan defeat.
3. Notre Dame vs. Miami 1988: My dad used to have me watch this on VHS growing up-...his quote, “It had everything, most electric crowd ever”
4. Notre Dame Stanford 2012: Goal line Stand to take us to the National Championship and a perfect regular season.
5. Notre Dame Michigan State 2006: Massive 4th quarter comeback-capped by Terrail Lambert int TD.

Cold Take: Chris Finke will Emerge as the True #2 Receiver

I put this as cold take simply because I have been on the Chris Finke train since day 1. I think we saw Brandon Wimbush put faith in him this weekend, especially after coming back to him despite a drop in the 4th quarter. The offense desperately needs this as an option outside of Equanimeous St. Brown. On top of that, he is now listed as the true starter as opposed the OR option on the depth chart, which demonstrates the coaches belief in him too. Particularly, we will see him utilized on the ***crossing routes***, which I guarantee the coaches will DRILL into Wimbush’s head. There were multiple times last week where these late developing routes were wide open, but either the pressure got there, or Wimbush pulled the trigger too early on other options. Finke will become a true staple in the offense putting up stats along the lines of 4-8 catches for 50-85 yards, and 5-10 comments from announcers reminding us that he is, in fact, a former walk on Rudy story.... (hustle, great routes, sure handed, grit....)

***Check crossing route at 1:05 for clarification***

Hot Take: The Notre Dame Defense will post a shutout

I am all in on the improved Notre Dame Defense. I think they will dominate the 108th best offense in the country over the last two weeks. The last time they did this was in 2014 vs. Michigan (pure sweet joy). They made a stand last week against a solid SEC offense, and showed tremendous gains in open field tackling and swarming to the ball. This is something that has been completely lacking over the last 3+ years. However, this is the type of game where our offense may shit the bed and put up 13 points....However, our defense will make this game fun and I am excited to see them run around against non SEC type talent.

Coping Videos

Again- Please comment below with any additional games/highlights that bring you the most joy.