Irish Woes Continue

Another thrilling finish to another game between Michigan and Notre Dame leaves the Irish stunned again, dropping them to 0-2 on the season.


There was so much hype surrounding this team in 2011, returning 19 starters from a season ago.  The sporadic play and consecutive losses has people scratching their heads, trying to figure out what's going on with the Irish.  This team has all the talent in the world, but they appear to be undisciplined.  Five turnovers against South Florida and then five more Saturday night against Michigan.  Of these 10 turnovers, five of them were inside their opponents five yard line.  This is virtually 35 points they gave away in two games.  You cannot beat any team with these mistakes.  This is simply a lack of concentration on the players part.  Being disciplined comes down from the coaching staff, and it's very surprising to see a Brian Kelly coached team play with such a lack of mental focus and discipline. 

This team is almost there.  Over 500 yards of total offense in each of the first two games.  We know this team can move the ball and put up points.  They just need to hang on to the ball and punch it in the end zone when they get inside the red zone instead of handing it to the other team.  They will play a stout Michigan State defense next weekend, who gave up just one first down last week against Florida Atlantic.  If they turn the ball over five times against State, expect the Irish to lose this one by 20.  If they play turnover free, they may win by 20.  

I will be at the game on Saturday to see what happens.  These two teams always put on an exciting performance, and this year should be no different.