Coming off the victory against Army in the Shamrock Series, the Fighting Irish appeared to have gained some momentum.
The momentum that I thought would help them get to the six win minimum to qualify for a bowl game. Heck, even the Sports Media Department was even mentioning it!
The Fighting Irish entered the final home game of the season 4-6. This game was Senior Day and I thought the rest of team will be inspired to win for the 28 seniors.
Their opponent was the Virginia Tech Hokies, who were making their first trip ever to Notre Dame Stadium. This matchup was also the first-ever football meeting between the two schools.
Surprisingly, I didn’t get to see the entire game because I went to the Flyers game that the college I go to, Millersville University sponsored a trip for.
I only got to see the last five minutes of the game on my iPhone.
From text messages to my mom sending me, the fighting Irish blank the road and went. However, they blew a 17 point lead and lost.
By blowing a 17 point lead, Notre Dame then entered the following week with a 4-7 record against their archrivals, the University of Southern California Trojans.
This game is known as the “greatest intersectional rivalry” in college football. This rivalry has had its share of moments throughout the years. Both teams are rich in tradition, Hall of Famers, big-name coaches and football excellence.
Not only are they playing for yearly rivalry bragging rights, they also play for a trophy called the Jeweled Shillelagh. The Jeweled Shillelagh is a Gaelic war club that has rubies for USC wins and emeralds for Notre Dame wins.
In the rivalry’s history, two of them have been used. The first shillelagh ran out space, so they are currently on the second one. The trophy is handed out to the winner by the Notre Dame Club of Los Angeles.
I truly thought Notre Dame would play with heart. That game was their bowl game. Since they got the seventh loss against Virginia Tech.
The team played with heart in the first quarter. However, things just fell apart. At halftime, Coach Kelly still had his team on the sideline giving them an ear full of yelling.
Apparently, the message wasn’t sent.
The Irish defense played with a lack of discipline, especially in the fourth quarter. One notable incident was when an injured USC player was being treated on the field, Jerry Tillery, a Notre Dame player, kicked him in the head. Tillery would also step on another USC player’s leg.
To me, this was clearly unacceptable. That moment showed me that Kelly may have lost his team — for the season at least.
I am so relieved that this season is over. It was nothing but torture to watch Notre Dame fall apart as the season progressed.
This self-implosion within the program wasn’t expected. Going into the season, I saw the Irish finishing at least 8-4.
The 2016 season was certainly not the case.
So, how and why did the 2016 season go so badly?
First of all, off the field issues. Seven Notre Dame players were charged with misdemeanors for illegal gun and marijuana possession.
One of the players was senior safety Max Redfield who in the past had disciplinary issues. He was poised to be our starting safety this season. Kelly immediately kicked him off the team.
Another potential starter, Devin Butler was also suspended. It would not have mattered anyway since he was recovering from a foot injury and would have been available later in the season.
Secondly, the quarterback controversy during fall camp. I truly believed that if Coach Kelly would’ve named DeShone Kizer the definite starting quarterback, things would be a lot different the season. I feel that the starting quarterback is the team captain.
The quarterback always gets the notoriety, attention and folklore in American sports. I truly believe that if the team rallied around Kizer from the beginning, we would’ve beat Texas. To me, he performed like he deserved the job.
That decision was truly overdue than Kelly should’ve made that from the beginning of fall camp.
Third, the NFL Draft. What contributed to Notre Dame’s success last season was a core group of juniors.
The only reason why DeShone Kizer was able to replace Malik Zaire was because of the offensive weapons he had. The Irish offense lost deep threat receiver Will Fuller and power running back CJ Prosise.
These two players were very productive for the Irish offense. They made such a huge impact that those two positions heard Kizer’s performance this year. The Irish had sophomores and freshmen at those positions, with one upperclassman as a wide receiver.
The Irish also lost junior linebacker Jaylon Smith who won the Dick Butkus Award for best collegiate linebacker last season. This kid was a hard hitter and the void he left allowed once again sophomores and freshmen to give up big plays and create holes in the line of scrimmage.
Besides, he got injured in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. Which made me thought that he may come back for his senior season. Instead, he got drafted by the Cowboys and set out for a whole season.
So, where does Notre Dame go from here?
Well, Coach Kelly is here to stay. Just because he had one bad season doesn’t mean he will be fired.
Even though there is growing anti-Kellysentiment growing amongst students, alumni and the fan base.
One of his big priorities this coming offseason is to find a new defensive coordinator. I truly don’t think Greg Hudson will retain the role for next season.
My pick for defensive coordinator is now obsolete because Charlie Strong was just named the head coach of South Florida.
On offense, the big question is whether or not DeShone Kizer will stay for another season in South Bend.
Kizer has two seasons of eligibility left since he was redshirted his freshman season in 2014.
He finished 2016 with 2,925 passing yards, 26 touchdowns with eight of them by rushing with nine interceptions.
I agree with draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay on how Kizer should stay in school for at least one more year. Two years in college is not enough for someone to be drafted high in the NFL Draft.
Kizer shows potential NFL stardom due to his arm strength, but now is not the time for him to get drafted.
If Kizer were to leave, Brandon Wimbush will be the starter next season in my book due to Malik Zaire transferring.
This team goes into 2017 with many more questions that need to be answered.
With a demanding schedule that includes an SEC team along with our traditional rivals and a few ACC teams, I truly cannot forecast how the Irish will do next season.
Right now, all I can say is, “GO IRISH!!!! BEAT TEMPLE!!!!!!!”
