Sports Champ Bowl: Florida State vs Notre Dame

Notre Dame and Florida State’s  return to glory in 2011 was not to be… the good news for their fan base was that they were not led on with false hope or a fragile win. ND was short circuited by lightning and Skippy Holtz’s South Florida in its first outing and then by Michigan… where the Irish (not Fighting…just plain old, same old, Irish) could not defend an 80 yard field for 30 seconds! The Seminoles, not be outdone by this annual Irish collapse, determined the best way to equal or surpass, the not so Fighting Irish’s ignoring of the sound asleep echoes, was to lose 3 in a row. Mission accomplished!

I’m not sure what the Irish manager/trainer packs in the old medicine kit, but I would recommend several ice packs for Kelly’s head. One wonders what kind of teaching goes on during the week, as it is crystal clear, based on Kelly’s reactions to perceived transgressions on the field, that the players did not get Sunday through Friday’s message. That leaves the sideline on Game Day to re-teach (probably to late … but what other options are available to a coach), given that challenge, Kelly’s rage all but eliminates (actually annihilates)  that possibility. You simply cannot teach when you are that angry/frustrated.

Meanwhile, old Jimbo looks confused (not Jumbo as I often call him… maybe I’m confused). His team is way to young for that kind of pressure…. via the expectations…. that were piled on their front doorstep this season. Not this year Jumbo … oops… Jimbo… not sure how successful you can be with that name in the athletic ACC. Jumbo seems more like a frost giant, while Jimbo reminds me of some kind of dancing scarecrow. Makes me think of Lovie Smith & the Bears… used to be Iron Mike – now it’s Lovie… and to make matters worse … he is coaching in the Black & Blue Division. Seems incongruous, yet he did lead his team to a Super Bowl! So looks like I am confused, just like the expectations that Florida State had to deal with this year… confusing!

ND has to play this game minus Jonas Gray (knee)…a huge loss to the Irish running game! This means the game may turn on Tommy Rees’ ability to throw, extend, and escape against a formidable FSU front seven and solid defense backs, led by Greg Reid.  The key to this game for the Irish may well be the number of snaps given to Andrew Hendrix and, of course, the number of ice packs available for Kelly’s head.