Painful to Watch

I was so tense on Saturday while watching the Irish that my girlfriend asked me how could I not possibly have fun watching the Irish play, especially when they were winning. The answer lies in the fact that Irish were simply too painful to almost watch. Even though the Irish squeaked out a 33-30 victory, they could not have looked worse and played more frustrating. The Irish opened up a 14-3 lead in the first quarter after just two possessions, but failed to maintain that level of play. For the second week in a row, the Irish dominated the first half statistics only to find themselves down a point at halftime. How you might ask? Well here are five areas of concern where the Irish must improve to turn first half success into dominating victories:


5. DEPTH

One Irish expert (Rabes) was quick to point out that in order be a GREAT team, the Irish must establish depth at the skill positions, especially now that Floyd is potentially out for the year. Tate, Rudolph, and Allen accounted for 77% of the Irish offensive output (337 of the 437 yards). Senior wide out Robby Parris and junior target Duval Kamara must step up to fill the void left by Floyd. And can someone please find Robert Hughes?


4. SPECIAL TEAMS

Even though freshman kicker Nick Tausch was 2 for 2 on field goals (22, 46), that missed extra point could have come back to haunt the Irish. Still, the Irish have yet to incorporate special teams as a weapon. Riddick and Gallup have yet to really break open a kick off return and Tate hasn't had many opportunities in the punt return game. Kudos to Ethan Johnson for the blocked PAT. Bottom line, the Irish got lazy and gave away a free onside kick to the Spartans which was completely inexcusable. See mental mistakes below.


3. KILLER INSTINCT

A few weeks ago, I praised the Irish D for their shut out performance, and lauded the Irish O for stepping on Nevada when they were down. Well, I'm not quite sure what happened to that mindset. The Irish once again dominated in the opening minutes, but failed to deliver the knock out blow early. As the Irish face must win games the next two weeks, they need to get on a roll to gain some mental swagger.


2. PASS DEFENSE

Remember the "No Fly Zone" images created by Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls following their signing with ND as recruits. Well its more like Fly, Fly Away. Our depth at defensive back was suppose to be the anchor of our defense. Well, that anchor has a lot of rust as DWalls struggles to return to his old form. The Irish defense always seemed to be one step behind as Michigan State racked up 354 yards through the air.


1. MENTAL MISTAKES

This is easily the most frustrating aspect about this football team, and the list from Saturday is endless. Onside kick. Sam Young jumping offside. Dropped balls on offensive and defense. Holding penalties. Personal fouls. Two personal fouls in a row. Three personal fouls in a row! Are you kidding me?!! All in all, the Irish racked up 99 yards in penalties. That is simply atrocious.


OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Golden Tate

Tate hauled in 7 receptions for 127 yards and the game winning TD. Tate's spectacular grab to give the Irish the lead with 5 minutes to play more than made up for his terrible drop earlier in the game. However, with Michael Floyd possibly out for the season, Tate will have to put up these numbers each and every week.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kyle McCarthy

The Irish safety earned his second straight "Defensive Player of the Game" nod after sealing the Irish victory with an interception. It's McCarthy's third interception in three games. On top of that, McCarthy leads the Irish defense in tackles. McCarthy has been and should continue to be an Irish force on defense.

-DH