Notre Dame: 14, Stanford: 16 OVERREACTIONS

What in the hell did we watch on Saturday night?

I kept asking that question during the game and am still asking it now. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish laid a big, fat egg against a Stanford Cardinal team they should have beaten by at least a full possession, if not more. Pointing fingers and explanations have been needed, but it’s tough to figure out where exactly to go from here. Fortunately, the Irish play another down team in UNLV instead of jumping right to Syracuse and Clemson in back-to-back weeks. However, as we’ll see from some not-so-overreactions this week, any “lesser” opponents moniker has gone out the window after losses to Marshall and Stanford.

ND vs. Stanford: OVERREACTIONS

There were many overreaction online, and rightfully so when there is a game so poorly played like on Saturday night. I chose a few to highlight and maybe some reality checks on these takes.

This is a take I can somewhat get behind, but I don’t see the whole statement as accurate. It was VERY strange that Tobias Merriweather caught that great TD catch at the start of the fourth quarter and then didn’t see the field again. It is definitely fine to call out Tommy Rees for his coaching, but it’s a two-way street. The right players need to be played AND they need to perform well. I don’t know why Tobias didn’t see the field again, and this is coaching. This take on the players here of mine is not about Tobias, but it is about needing the players to do their job.

As I mentioned above, Tommy Rees absolutely needs to be called out for the game plan and the play calling on Saturday because a lot of it was head-scratching at best. However, this issue as it stands right now is not just two sides of a spectrum. There is somewhat of a middle ground, and I think we can call out Tommy and criticize what he has done. His seat should be warm at best and pretty scalding hot at worst, but you can’t go the fired route just yet. Also, I’m not even sorry - calling for Freeman’s job is insane at this point. It’s frustrating, and it is justified to criticize, but the calling for firings right now is just not it.

I was in the stadium on Saturday night. I have to be honest - I did not have this experience. I was in the southwest corner of the stadium, and my section was loud, standing, and our parts of the stadium were getting into the game a lot. It’s a bit tough when the team is putting on that performance to get everyone to be going nuts. People were making noise, and from my view, it seemed the crowd was trying to do everything it could to will the team to even get a FG to win on that last drive. It was just brutal play causing the fans to be quiet. Also, I wouldn’t tell people not to come back because the crowd this coming Saturday could be WOOF.