Notre Dame Football: One Thought for Vanderbilt: Over Reaction Edition

Thought

RELAX.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan base is spinning into a frenzy acting like we need to burn things to the ground. What everyone seems to be forgetting is that this team is 2-0. We played poorly and had a bizarre game plan. I get it. The natural thing to do is to panic, but I am here to offer you a couple of ways to help cope with this feeling. Along with my list, please share your ways/stats/rationalizations/optimism that will help you mentally prepare for the upcoming SEC showdown with the Vanderbilt Commodores

The Defense

A couple of stats that help me sleep soundly:

1. They have given up 2 Touchdowns in 8 quarters of football. Actually Good.
2. They haven’t given up a rush over 15 yards.
3. Jalen Elliott had 2 interceptions (0 last year from that position group)
4. Te’Von Coney is really big and strong and scary and good at tackling everyone.
5. The Biggest question mark (Asmar Bilal) has been quite solid.
6. They gave up 16 points when a team ran more plays than any other in history vs. ND (97).

Dexter Williams

Williams will be back as we face off vs. Stanford in week 5. Jafar Armstrong and Tony Jones Jr. have shown they can be solid contributors and great change of pace backs. Dexter Williams isn’t a change of pace back, but the top dog. His skill set will bring a massive spark to the offense as a whole.

Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines came out and destroyed Western Michigan Broncos and dropped 49 points. It looks like they aren’t horrible at all. We showed that we played a good team and won. Neat.

Wimbush/Book

Brandon Wimbush is not going to come out and repeat this performance. He will look at the film all week and realize the opportunities for him to run while under pressure and will make adjustments. The coaches will hopefully make similar adjustments. Also, if this fails and he truly tanks (I am still in support of him) our defense is good enough to win games with an offense that is led by a more than capable Ian Book.

Next Two Games

The next two games are winnable, but are against teams that are solid. I think the fact that we shit the bed this week (but won, don’t forget) will force this team to play like they have something to prove. All week ESPN and co. will be talking overrated, let down, and all other things that will motivate this team. Be glad that we got a wakeup call early in the year and won. That....Is Motivation.

Please vote on which one of these calms your nerves the most, and add in any that I may have missed! This is about POSITIVITY. There will be enough negative energy around the blogsphere this week. Remember, 2-0 and GO IRISH.

PS if we come out flat the next two weeks this article was just a prank.