IRISH SQUAD SHOW: How Notre Dame starts FASTER on offense vs Rice & stopping the triple option!

0:00This is the Lockdown Podcast Network celebrating 10 years of your team every day. Hi, this is Isaac Shade, host of Lockdown College basketball and Lockdown Tar Heels. Today's episode is brought to you by ADT. Imagine you're watching the game at a buddy's house when you get a call that someone tried to break into yours. In a second, everything can change. That's why there's ADT. ADT security systems help keep your home safe 24-7 with the most company operated monitoring centers in the industry. The ADT Plus app keeps you in control the whole time. Don't leave your home wide open during an emergency. When every second counts, count on ADT. Visit ADT.com or call 1-800-ADT-ASAP. Welcome to the Lockdown Irish Squad Show. I'm Allison Hayes. Did the slow start against Wisconsin in the first half leave some doubt or are the Irish right where they want to be? I'm George Postgame host, the triple option.

1:02It's old school. How will Notre Dame stop it? I'm Alan Fakett, two-time All-American. Notre Dame covered last week. But can they cover 44 and a half? Reggie Brooks, 1992 All-American. And I'm interested to see how they handled the triple option because, man, it is tough. Play like a champion today. It's the Fighting Irish Squad Show. Everything Notre Dame Fighting Irish every week. Breaking down the biggest news and game-changing plays, the way only Lockdown Podcast Network can. Wake up the Echoes. The Fighting Irish Squad Show starts now. All right. It's time for the home opener in South Bend. Notre Dame comes in with a win under its belt. But there's definitely some work to do. Rice might be the exact right opponent to get that work done and make some improvements from week one to week two.

2:03Today, we're going to take a look back at week one against the Badgers. We're also going to look ahead to facing the triple option. One thing we want to see against rice in this game on Saturday. And we're going to talk about the Irish in the NFL. But first, today's episode is brought to you by Calche's for a limited time. Download the Calche app and use code Lockdown to get $10 when you trade $10. All right, guys. Let's take a look back. We had our hot takes immediately, right? As soon as the game ended, I was in Green Bay. There's a lot of emotions. There's a lot of feelings going on after that first game. Now that we've had a little bit of time to digest what happened, what we saw take place on that field, I want to talk to you guys about what we saw, specifically on offense. Notre Dame definitely proved it can dominate. But what did we actually learn do you think about this team from the way it got there? The Irish B, of course, Wisconsin 41 13 down or it was a 13 10 game at half time.

3:08And Notre Dame scored all three second half possessions and finished with 111 rushing yards after managing just 29 on 16 carries in the first half. And CJ Carr, he went 19 of 29 for 239 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. But get this. Carr did not complete a pass that traveled more than 19 yards in the air. And Notre Dame was old for three on throws of 20 plus yards. A huge percentage of that production that he had came after the catch. So guys, we've talked about this since last year against Miami. Did we see a little bit of that again this time against Wisconsin? And how much do you feel like some of that first half struggle was maybe self inflicted? Coach Freeman, he said this week in his press conference, they were just taking what the defense was giving him. And they felt like they executed their game plan the way they wanted to. Well, I think that they were definitely pressing in the first half.

4:11I think what we learned was their human, you know, they're not these machines that go out and just automatically put up 40. They're humans with emotions and the emotion, I think, was nervousness. And I think the nervousness made them press a little bit. And they have high expectations of themself. And when you don't get results right away, you tend to press a little bit. And I think that they had to be reminded that, you know, you guys are good enough to win the national championship. All you got to do is relax and play and do the things you want to do. I still think that, you know, because there's no preseason games that they were trying to find themselves, a little bit and still trying to figure out what to do with their shiny toy, which is CJ Carr.

5:12I know we want to have him throwing the ball all over the place, but this offense still works by running the ball first. And when they run the ball first, it's an age old adage. If you can run the ball against the team, you can do anything you want to that team. And once they settled down, got in the second half, then we saw the true Notre Dame team for the defense. I mean, I think they played good the entire game, just to see those guys in the defensive backfield fly around, to see Drake Bowen come up and make the tackles. I was a little concerned that didn't see that much of a pass rush, but I think I tribute that to the fact that they were concerned about Wisconsin's quarterback and his running ability and just wanted to make sure that they stayed in their lanes

6:14so that if they do try to break out, they would be in position to make a tackle. But once the second half came, I think they got a teeny bit more aggressive upfront on the defensive line, but can't say enough about that defensive backfield and how they are just so sticky on the receivers and how physical they are. And I mean, watching the defensive backfield is work the price of admission. But I'll tell you what, having a sloppy first half and eventually waking up and winning is a hell of a lot better and never waking up and losing the first game. Absolutely. For me, it was just the fact that it starts with the run. I mean, plain and simple. And it was just frustrating because the first penalty was a fall start by the center.

7:18And if you watch that play, he's backing up. The first thing should not be your offensive line going backwards because that just takes all of the aggressiveness out of them so early. Again, love my dembrock, but run the ball. This team is predicated on the run. You ask him back and I got to say I was concerned about who's going to be backing up in this way. I mean, I was straight like, in this I knew we had he started off a little shaky because again, I think he was trying to feel his way through the game, but that Nolan can. Whoa. Okay. We got a little juice there. So I feel much more comfortable, but he was similar to that. It was trying to get a feel for what they couldn't couldn't do. And again, this is a new team, new offense in terms of new players. And again, offensive line receivers running backs, you know, tight ends.

8:19There's a lot of new and involved here. And when you have that, again, you can practice all day every day, but playing in the game is a different dynamic. When the lights come on, it hits you. And you, you know, if you haven't done it at this level, it's going to take some time to adjust. And I think from offensive standpoint, that's what it was. And I will say I was a little concerned early on because of C.J.'s, he missed, he missed on some throws and the throws that he missed on is like, it just didn't seem like his normal self. But again, no matter how often you've done it, you still had that first game is still, you know, with all that pressure that's been heaped on him. And I didn't think they would kind of get that stress from everybody, you know, he been praise on him. And you tend to want to press and do a little bit more and show him that, hey, I can do this.

9:23No, just play within yourself. And you saw that in the second half, it was like, God, we've been here before. Breathe and start. And you know, we talk about the slow start. Yeah, it was a slow start to the game, but normally the slow start has been from a game or two. This unfortunately for the Irish, it was one half. And I agree with you on the defensive side, Alan. Man, that back end is amazing. And again, you saw guys that, you know, we got some guys injured, but the guys that came in, they came in and played lights out, Luke Talich, played well, again, in that secondary. The tackling is much better than it has been for the last few years. And that's always been a, you know, I have a thing about tackling because you don't, you know, don't teach it. But that was some of the best tackling I've seen from the Irish this early defensive line.

10:25You know, I'm telling you, Colton Joseph is going to be an issue in the big 10 for some schools because when you have to cover not only the running backs, but the quarterback and the run game, and we'll see that again this week, playing an option team that is going to force, you know, no to name to be disciplined. Make sure they control their gaps. You're going to have to be, you know, you're not going to be able to come off the ball and pin years back and come after the quarterback. It's just not how to, and that was a situation with Colton Joseph. But as the game wore on, they started to develop what they wanted to do and how to get to the quarterback. And we didn't have to blitz as much as, you know, and you don't want to blitz a quarterback take a run because you make one little slip up and boom, they're right, he's right by you. So I was impressed with the defense from the standpoint of, yeah, we may not have gotten the past rush that, you know, everybody wanted to see, but I don't think this off, this

11:31defensively, they were structured to do that because of the type of quarterback that they were facing. And you know, that's why I said, you know, it requires discipline and patience. And you know, when you have a back end like you do in Notre Dame, that really helps out because you don't have to, you know, throw everything at the quarterback, you can play with discipline and confidence and you got guys that can cover down both at the corner position, the nickel and the safety position, which, you know, that's what you're going to see more of. And I was glad to see, you know, Tay while he was there, he got burnt one time too. But in DJ McKinney, the double moves. So we're going to be a aggressive team, but in that aggression, you got to be disciplined with your eyes and they got better as the game went on. If we had the same, we had issues in the second half out of, that'd be a whole different show today and Latin up in the other night.

12:35But these guys, I like where they're at. I like the confidence that they play with and it shows. And I'm going to say right now, I said, you know, depending on how many offensive possessions we get, I think we'll be a lot more keyed in, in particular with CJ and his precision, because that's the one thing I've always said about him is that his accuracy is his go to. And we need to get back to that and lock in on that. So I'm looking forward to a big game, but don't expect a lot of possessions because you're facing a triple option offense and they just true a club. So we have to be succinct. And again, when you saw in the second half, we were able to complete some passes and get in guys out the backfield. And I'm okay with, again, if you're not able to get the ball down, feel because they're playing coverage, boom, get it underneath and let those guys work.

13:36Because again, like I said, no one cared, he caught my eye out of the backfield, you know, running out the backfield, but also receiving, you know, I think we got some tight ends that can come out and play. But offensively, you know, I would like to see us pick it up a bit more quicker defensively. Again, stay disciplined, keep everything inside and in front, come up and tackle. I don't need a big hit, you know, even though we had a big hit in the game, I just want guys to tackle, get them on the ground and get off the field. Yeah, I think when I went back and watched, like I thought it was just like kind of disjointed a little bit. Like whether that's the penalty that happens right away, the sack and then the fumble and recovery on that first drive, you've got the punts, which ends up going out of the one yard line. Like it's hard to do a lot with that. It just felt like a little disjointed, it felt like at the beginning of the game. And then I did feel like Denbrock was another taking what they can give them, but there

14:39was a lot of stuff that was shorter the sticks that they were even going for on like third down. And like, okay, like that's not what you would be going for. You know, if you need eight yards, you're throwing up five yards. I don't love that. Especially on like a hook route or anything like that. It's just that's a lot to ask the receiver to be able to have a defensive back behind him, break that tackle, then get a first down after that. So I thought it was just disjointed. And then the second half of just, it just seemed like it clicked better. I think Nias is obviously the key factor in this that he started to run the ball a lot better. CJ was I think much better as well in the second half, just more accurate, more dialed in. So I think it was just kind of what Alan was saying a little bit of just, you know, it's the first game of the season. But everyone's going to start out fast. I mean, it happened around college football. I mean, I had people blowing me up on Saturday about Texas A&M and there's low start versus Missouri State and things like that. Like Wisconsin's going to be a solid football team this year. I think there's just a bad start. And the second half was definitely more of a reflection of who this offense is going to be the rest of the season. It'll be interesting to see what Wisconsin does moving forward.

15:42It they they looked significantly better than last year. So I think they do seem to be heading in the right direction that they could probably say this is one of those games where it's like you can learn a lot from a loss and they have to feel pretty good. I mean, I'm granted they got blown out in the second half, but they were right there in that first half and they showed a lot of positives. Yeah, that's one of the things I was going to say was Wisconsin was a lot better than expected. You know, they weren't the four and eight team that we anticipated. But you know, shame on the iris for expecting a four and eight performance team. You know, you're going to get everybody's best shot. And Wisconsin did look good. But you know, the thing that I like to harp on is it's never about the level of your competition. It's about the level of your execution. And we clearly saw that there wasn't a high level of execution in the first half, but

16:42in the second half, when they settled down and just became themselves again, then the execution was a lot better. And it didn't matter who was playing on the other side. And that's going to rain true all year long. It's not about the other team. It's about us and what we do and how we do it. Before we take our first break out, there's an interesting comment here. And it says it's from coach era, dash, H seven, R, but he says, I think Denbrock needs to rethink moving the tight end as a blocking back behind the guards on running plays. And then he says it did not work. What are your guys thoughts on that? I'm comfortable with that. But again, I still think, you know, in terms of the running, the runs that they had, you know, they were kind of, you know, you looking at the receivers. I mean, the runners and they were, they kept turning their shoulders on contact. That versus running through contact.

17:44And I really feel again, more, more traps and counters and misdirection would have been a better fit for for this offensive line just to get them coming off the ball, you know, down block, pull and get guys kicking out, you know, and it actually gets the juices thrown. Offensive, offensive is about rhythm. So I think again, that would, and George talk, Joe talked about it. No, it was just disjointed because they didn't develop a rhythm. The whole first half, I mean, they were just, you know, you have some penalties, but some of the play calling just didn't flow well with, you know, getting this offense into a rhythm. And early in it, and when you don't get into an algorithm early, it can distract and cause a lot of conflict to get in that rhythm. Because once you get that rhythm going, a lot of things will start falling into place and you start clicking and we saw that in the second half.

18:44But I think a part of it, play calling is a part of it and running the tight end because getting the tight end, they were kind of doing the same thing. They would just run up in there and sticking ahead of versus actually moving bodies. You want offensive line to move bodies from point A to point B. You know, it's almost like they were reluctant to run in the first half. And I don't mind the tight end being in position to go up and make a block, make a block, but damn it, go make a block. But I would like to see them throw out of that formation also. But what I was most, I guess, disappointed in was the lack of diversity of the runs. It's the same damn play. They were running it and sometimes you can think, we can just be vanilla and blow this team off the ball. No, I used to say this in the NFL, but I can say it in college now.

19:45They get paid on that side of the ball too. They're going to make some plays. So you got to diversify your runs. You got to have a good run mix. Like you said, Reggie, a couple counters, some off tackle stuff, some straight up the middle. And all of that helps you get into that rhythm that you spoke about in terms of how we're going to attack this other team. So yeah, happy to see them settle down in the second half. But yeah, the first half, you know, I was a little disappointed and I was really fired up when they threw that damn sideline screen. You know how I feel about that mess? Oh, I wanted to just come through the TV on that. Let this boy throw the ball down field. I hope we see some more of that this week. All right, we're going to take our first break and when we come back, we're going to start

20:47getting into rice and enforce the triple action. Today's episode of the Irish Squad Show is brought to you by Calci. Before the season even kicks off, everyone's making predictions. Who wins the division? Who makes the playoffs? Who's lifting the trophies at season ends and on Calci America's number one prediction market platform? You can trade those predictions in a live market. The football season is officially underway in ball sports, not an inspiring game. I would say last like good day for Notre Dame overall in the first Wednesday night game of the season. But if you're looking at the futures right now of what you can be trading on on Calci right now, let's take a look at the team that I root for, which is the Chicago Bears. They're trading at 22% chance. That's it to win the NFC North this year. That means you can make a trade of $100 on Calci right now to win the North. Your pay will be $431. Whether you're a cold fan, bears fan, whoever, Notre Dame fans are everywhere. You're going on Calci right now and predict your team to win the division this year on Calci.

21:50You're trading against peers in a live market, meaning there is no house and as the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position, trade the draft pick, the game, and more on Calci. Download the Calci app and use code locked on to get $10 when you trade $10. K-A-L-S-H-I Calci. Trade on anything. Eighteen plus only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Calci products are not available in all jurisdictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see calci.com slash regulatory. Today's episode is brought to you by the Dell XPS. I'm Wes Goldberg from Lockdown NBA Daily and Lockdown Heat. So what does it feel like to have a better laptop like the Dell XPS powered by Intel Core? With a premium design that's thin and light, it feels smooth. With a responsive touch screen, it feels fast and precise. And with long lasting battery life, it feels like non-stop energy with a laptop that can keep up. Built for those who want better, the Dell XPS.

22:53Built for you. Alright, we are back. So now let's flip the page and move forward. We're playing a rice team that just ran for 465 yards against Houston, Christian. So take that for what it is. This is about giving Notre Dame a completely different schematic problem though to face with that triplation. And Joe, I'm going to start with you. You're in Texas. You've been following a little bit with this rice team. They opened the season with the 31-3 win and it was a run heavy action offense. How can you tell us about the team that you do know and how does that triplation create such a match-up problem for defenses? Yeah, rice is interesting. So they're kind of like the little brother of Houston, I would say. Like, you don't want to really talk about them with Ton. But they have made a change to go back to the triplation, which is something like they used to be known for.

23:53So they've gone back to this and it's, I think it makes sense for like where that programs at. They've struggled to bring in big time quarterbacks. Now, JT Daniels, I think it was his name, was their quarterback last year or two years ago, I can't remember. He was only like his like fifth college there. I ended up having to retire early because of the discussions. Like, they've tried to like bring in like past heavy situations and go to the normal college kind of schematic of what we see. But they've gone back to the triple option. I think they're okay for like what they are in their conference. Now Houston Christian, which used to be Houston Baptist University of people don't or confuse by that team name because it's only like a year old. They're very bad. So I honestly, I think that it's a little bit of a reflection of HCU more than it is rice. The triple option, like it's interesting because it's so different than like the talent on this roster versus like one of the military academies. It is going to be dramatically different. Like rice is not going to have the guys that are as successful at it. But the difference here with the challenges is this is all they practice.

24:56Right? The advantage the one advantage rice has over Notre Dame in this game is that every single day they run the triple option. Notre Dame is probably being exposed to the triple option on defense. I would guess for the first time this week, like they're just they don't practice against it. You're not ready for it. You see it maybe twice a year now because you have rice on your schedule. And it's just about it's the only like it's the one offense on football. I feel like I know best because where I grew up in Illinois, that's all everyone ran. Was the triple option? They just got to be locked in on their keys. Like who has the full back? Who has the quarterback? Who has the guy that's going back out for the option? Like you just have to be locked in. I think Notre Dame will handle this well because I think we're going to see even with injury subs. There's going to be a large talent gap here versus, oh, especially speed versus this team. Well, Joe, you're exactly right about the discipline. If you are not fundamentally sound on that triple option, that team will run you out of

26:00the stadium. And what I mean by fundamentally sound is always tackle the full back, whether it gets the ball or not. You can't come off the line of scrimmage trying to blow up field. No, you got to read your keys. You got to read and react as cornerbacks and safeties. You can't just run up and go get the pitchman. You've got to read your keys and make sure that it is a run. Then come up. And the biggest thing is when you play a triple option team, you get less possessions on offense. Usually a team will get 10 to 12 possessions when they play a regular team. But when you face a triple option team, you get about eight possessions. So there will be some pressure on the offense to complete their job when they have the ball and make sure they score. And the last thing you want to do is get behind on a team that runs the triple option because

27:05of their ability to just run clock and continue to get forced first downs. But you don't also want to panic. You might see rice on their first drive, go down and score and have a little bit of success. But don't worry because once you become acclimated to the speed of how they run the option, then you'll be able to get after them a little bit more. You'll be able to read and react a little bit more. And whether they're playing Houston Christian or to Houston Atheist, 465 yards is a lot to run. They had 28 yards passing. So if I'm a DB, I'm like, damn, to hell am I supposed to do this game to help my stats. But look, don't be surprised if rice has that wrinkle where they decide to put it up a lot of times because an undisciplined player will run up and try and get the pitchman when you should be reading your keys.

28:13If you see that receiver, not running at you and running looking somewhere else, then you know it's a pass. So, but I have, I think Notre Dame, you got to go back early in Kelly's career where they didn't know what the hell they were doing when they played against the option, but they broke the code and figured out, okay, this is what we've got to do to stop the option. But the other thing I'll say is you always want to be up at least two scores on a triple option team because that makes them come out of their shell. Because they can only, they're only looking to get four or five yards of pop, you know occasionally, you know, bus one for, you know, 30 or 40. But most of time is four and five yards of pop and that takes a lot of time. And if they get behind by 14, then they have to do something that they're not used to doing.

29:14And that's when you get turnovers and things like that. So it will be somewhat of a challenge, but nothing that Notre Dame can't overcome. Reggie, let me pose this to you. So Jason O'Neill and Tay Johnson both out after injuries against Wisconsin, two starters there. And Tay had a tackle pass break up before he left with a foot injury. O'Neill had a tackle before his ankle injury. So especially with losing O'Neill, both of them are significant losses, but for O'Neill's absence in particular. Rice wants you to play that discipline football. And you mentioned that Alan. So especially upfront. So Notre Dame is expected to use France's brew more heavily than at detackle. Ethan Long, Joy, O'Brien are among the players who will probably see increased roles. How does losing a guy like Onyay and especially and Tay also, but those guys out and losing that better and aspect that experience there, the discipline.

30:18How does that affect the Irish when they're going up against the triple option? It plays into again that discipline again, the rotation that you have in a disrupts that. But I don't think it will be as disruptive because again, you got some bodies that comes in and can be honest with you again. The biggest issue is, you know, two gap and not getting ahead of yourself and trying to split a double team. All right, you know, make sure you know your gap and that you're in it and that you're ready to be able to shed a block. I think again with with Onyay, it disrupts the flow of you because you're going to be running tackles in and out. Are you going to need to because they're going to keep they're going to do the same thing. And it's again that discipline to stay focused and locked in on your responsibility and don't get outside of yourself. You know, I think you're in good shape with Brute because you know, he's played.

31:24It's not like this is something new to him. He's played. He's played in games. So he's for me with that. And I guarantee you they are wrapping the hell out of this triple option. Are we and it is the most monotonous offense you will ever see having played defense of that. And then put and I was the boundary corner. You have to you know, you got to keep the discipline with your eyes. And that's the same thing with the defense of line. You you cannot, you know, try to, you know, do a swim move. When you're supposed to be in the a gap and you're in the big gap. Because it they just like the Alan said just one. They just need you to make one mistake and they pop it. So it is going to be continually everything. Everything you're not going to make a lot of tackles necessarily. But if you're where you're supposed to be, you're going to put the team in the best position to win. So with only being out again, it disrupts from a depth standpoint.

32:26But hopefully, you know, because I don't think he really dealt with the triple option any more than any any other guys. So I don't think I have that much of a problem. But it's just the depth of it because again, you're your constant pounding boom, boom, boom. They keep coming at you. And you need that ability to rotate guys in there. So with him being out, that's one less guy that you'll be able to have at your disposal to, you know, again, throw a body in there to disrupt the triple option. Let me just throw this into to piggyback off of that. So Francis, he had three total tackles, one tackle for a loss and of course the sack for three yards at all a part of holding Wisconsin to just 67 rushing yards. And you kind of touched on that. You know, maybe it's not that big of a deal because only didn't have any extra preparation against the triple option. But with all of that said about brew and any of you guys can chime in on this, but just do you feel like he's shown was that just a good individual performance or do you think that brew has shown that he can handle this bigger workload.

33:34Oh, without that. I mean, that's why I mean, he was going to play regardless. Because of his skill set and his ability to get to the quarterback, you know, he is he's great with his hands. He can work against the double team. He's aggressive, explosive and you know, kind of like on you, but I think he's a little more explosive on you in terms of the ability to get through and disrupt the double team and create space to where he can get pressure up the middle. I mean, on you is definitely more than capable of doing that. But I think brew is a little more explosive and a little quicker in his ability to get penetration. And you know, but that's the thing about it. That's, you know, he has to be this one because he's not going to be asked to get penetration against this this offense. He's going to ask to hit that gap and hold that gap and force them not to be able to give up, you know, give up that gap.

34:37So you can't be moved. So where you're, you know, normally you're trying to rip off and fight and get up feel. You got to stay disciplined and hold ground and force the ball outside. If you have a, if he's struggles to maintain his ground, that could be a real problem because the fullback is, you know, with triple option. That's the first point of attack. And if they get the ball down the middle and hit you real quick, you know, you got to, you got a major problem. So you got to force the, you know, brew has got to stay disciplined and force the ball to the edges and let the, you know, the linebackers. And I think that's where we, you know, we're going to see a lot of, you know, new needs from the linebackers. So, sneak. I don't know if the KDA is going to play, but it looks like he is. That's one of the things that freemen said it looked like he is expected to not necessarily be a starter, but to get back in, get, get on the field and get some playing time.

35:39Yeah, I would actually, I would wouldn't be surprised if they had four, four linebackers from that standpoint, because those are the guys that are running sideline and sideline and making plays. And the other guys that are, you know, you got to off the defensive line is there to hold ground. The linebackers are in the safety are there to make the play and tackle the football. And we're going to need everybody 100% because, you know, yeah, they played a small team. But again, if they've rep this enough and they become disciplined in it, it is a very complicated office to deal with. And you get to the point where, you know, I remember, you know, as a, as the boundary corner, I had to come up and I was responsible for the pitch. And you can't, you know, get your eyes in there and looking at the, the, the, the freaking running back are, you can't be looking at the corner back and thinking, I'm going to make a hit.

36:39So you cannot freelance when it comes to the triple option. If you step out of line, it will be, you will find out real quickly who did it and what happened. So you can't hide when you, when you make a mistake against triple option, you can't hide because they're going to know it's you. It's a, I forgot to mention this too. It is a unique triple option. Like it does, it's not going to look like Navy. They have their five offensive line and they have two wide receivers who are on the line of scrimmage. They're two like H backs are lined up back outside the tackles and they're in shotgun. Like this is a new triple option, even like different than like you see versus like a Navy where the quarterback is under center. So it's almost like three running backs to and like the full back is, he doesn't look big. So I get really just the running back. It's like a three running back triple option. So it's even a little bit different than like Marcus, three mentioned this. Like it's a unique triple option. Like this is, it's even different preparing for this one because give the wide receivers out there.

37:41Your corners also read you then I guess they don't have probably the pitchman responsibility because they're going to have a wide receiver always in front of them. So I would like to lock up on the receivers and then the safety is will be responsible for the alley, which would be the pitch guy and the linebackers will be responsible. That's why I would, you know, it would not surprise me to see four linebackers instead of the normal two and three. You know, we're not going to have the nickel and not going to be out there. At least I would hope not to where you have guys that can match up and again physically stop the run at every point. So whether, you know, they're even with it being the shotgun, he's still he's he's riding the full back or the back in the backfield to that hole. And then guys are running behind in the normal option role. It looks different, but the principles are still the same.

38:45And let's get you back in this because I know you you're going to have to ditch out and leave us just a little bit early today. So just and this is pretty broad and probably there's more than one thing you want to see. But if you're not a name this week, what is the one thing that you need to see against rice before you start feeling really good about this football team? And an offense that shows some rhythm and offense that is dedicated to running the football and then having success running the football then complimenting that with the past. But you know, they've got one of the better offensive lines in the country and they do much better when they can move forward instead of backward. So let's take advantage of them moving forward and utilize not just, you know, a neus Williams and the Nolan kid utilize all the running backs. This is going to be a game where you should be able to see all the running backs and running the football should be a feature.

39:51Not only that running the football will make this game go fast. I mean, they should be disposed of them within two hours and 45 minutes instead of the regular three and a half four hours it takes to do a game. But yeah, just an offense that comes out and establishes a rhythm in the way to do that is with the running game. Was there anything that you still feel concerned about after Wisconsin, even though they did pull away and blow them out in the second half. Was there anything lingering from that Wisconsin game that they cannot carry over moving forward. I know we talked about the slow start that that is always going to be, you know, a concern, but the block pun things like that, you know, is there's something there that you go, I'm a little, I'm worried they got to get that figured out quick. Well, I mean, first game someone just chimed in right guard. That was the situation. Yeah, first game blues, first game you learn a lot and what's the old saying the biggest improvement you make is from week one to week two.

41:01Yeah, so they've been able to look at themselves on film and now know what game speed is so all they can do is get better and one of the ways you get better is learning from your mistakes. They made a few mistakes in that game so that now they can correct those mistakes and move forward. So like I said, if they can, you know, develop a rhythm and they, I know a lot of folks would like to see them be a little more aggressive, you know, go over the top with the throws sometimes that time will come. You know, it will happen. I don't mind them being conservative if they're taking time off the clock and continuously moving the ball getting first downs and getting scores because 44 and a half points is a lot to cover. So ready. Oh, yeah, I think I think for me it's it's really just it's the fast start is like the one thing I'm looking for like it's you know watching the highlight of rice at H.C.

42:09They seem to get after the quarterback pretty well. I think again, I think there's a huge talent gap there. Maybe and there's more here for your day works as rice, but like they did seem to get good pressure on the quarterback when H.C. was trying to throw it a little bit, but it's just a fast start like it's it's start fast. And I'm curious to see how much the balance the one thing I want to see from this game is what the bounces on the on the first play like how predictable are the Irish because it was pretty close to 50 50 it did start heavy first play was always pass which felt like a change obviously without Jeremiah love and price being on this team of like okay they're going to let C.J. car rip it on first down. I think all of us would be the agreement like this team needs to run the ball first majority of the time to set themselves up for success. So I just curious to see what that looks like this weekend and just you know making the defense just being disciplined like like you know being able to adjust to this triple option and not overlooking an opponent like this obviously can't be a martial or northern Illinois kind of game or your seasons.

43:10It's cooked so I just that's the thing like I don't I don't I don't think I need to see that but if we were doing the show before the N.I.U. game we would have been saying the exact same thing right of like level of competition and talent gap and all those things so it's just it's not playing down your competition it's actually this game because I don't think they didn't week one and week two is leave no doubt that's what I'm looking for efficiency efficiency offensively we will have to be efficient with. So we can't be efficient with every possession is going to be critical offensively so we cannot afford to come you know get out to a slow start we have to be efficient with the football take care of the football get the football in zone and I I'm going to say this and I don't want to hear no back talk we have a kicking game just let go I said okay I said we have a kicking game I don't hear anything more I'm about but we're good. We're good. They practice the kicking game this week though.

44:12Like if they're up by 30 they all are taking kick. Yeah I would have a problem with that I want to check it out like man it'd be nice to make it just you know get down there and let's just create a scenario where he kicked them off. Yeah I would I would be okay with that the more practice the better. All right well I think we're looking like we're in pretty good shape is the Notre Dame gets ready to take on rice in game two at home. Alan will say goodbye to you but the rest of us we're going to stick around and we're going to talk about some of these former Notre Dame football players making their debut in the NFL when we return. Today's episode of the Irish Squad Show is brought to you by Fandall you waited all season for this and now it's time to make every NFL week count because Fandall is making this your most rewarding season ever with is with whether it's back in a favorite team building the same game Parlay Bear props are making picks on the biggest matchups Fandall gives fans more ways to play throughout the season and for anyone who's new to Fandall there's a need bigger reason to make this NFL season count and for new customers it's getting even better get $350 in bonus bets

45:27guarantee when you bet $5 every day for seven days that's $350 bonus bets when you bet five bucks every day for seven days looking at the games this weekend I'm taking the bears minus three I think they cover that versus the Panthers I'm going to be honest I don't think there's a lot of possessions in this game. I know we talked about Notre Dame covering all the time I don't think they're going to cover 44 and a half I just think there's enough possessions in this one to do it rice will get enough first downs to slow it down just enough so I'm going to take rice plus 44 and a half to cover against the Irish I think they're still going to win by like 40 but I just think that the extra four and a half points probably does not get done this weekend get $350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet $5 every day for seven days that's right that $5 is going to be a good one for the rest of the season. Each day you get $5,350 in bonus bets for every every day for seven days visit fandall.com to get started make this your most rewarding season ever with fandall today shows also brought to you by indeed when workplace cast hits you need the right hire indeed sponsor jobs helps connect employers with candidates who match specific needs like skills certifications and location so less time gets spent searching and more time gets spent finding the right fit people are finding quality hires on indeed.

46:45Right now in the minute I've been talking to you companies like yours and made 27 hires on indeed according to indeed data worldwide I use it for my job for the radio station I work at Houston it makes it super simple and easy when I need to hire someone someone that lives in my area someone that has radio or some kind of media experience. You know especially their fresh out of college but the resume it goes right to my computer right to my email this makes the process as simple as efficient as possible so spend less time searching and more time actually in every candidates who check all your boxes less stress less time more results when you need the right person to cut through the chaos this is a job for indeed sponsor jobs in listeners of this show get a $75 sponsor job credits and help get your job premium status it deserves and indeed dot com slash podcast just go to indeed dot com slash. podcast right now support our show by saying you heard about indeed on this podcast indeed dot com slash podcast turns the conditions apply need to hire this is a job for indeed sponsor jobs.

47:49All right in that commercial break I got to say I mean I don't love what you said about them not covering but I think you're probably right. It's just I think there's going to limit the possession yeah there's going to limit the possession like 100% agree I if they cover it's going to be again rice making some mistakes and turn the ball over because it's just it's just you know from the standpoint of having enough opportunities is just not going to be there because normally you play a triple option team you you're talking about maybe eight possessions eight to 10 possessions and that's how you're going to be able to do that. high because you know they you know most of these teams they they just again they start off and that's what says so important to stay disciplined because any of that they're waiting for you to make a mistake. So if you're making a mistake then that's keep they're keeping the ball that much longer and if they're making a mistake that's when you have to capitalize on every opportunity presented to you because you they don't make a lot of mistakes when when you're running at offense the precision of it.

48:57It has to be spot on you know they have to be justice discipline because they have to have their you know hitting the right lanes of offense of I'm going to have to be stepping the right way so it's a just as much as it's going to be just as important for rice to be disciplined and focused as it is for no today and it's going to be that's that's what's going to come down to which team remains the most focus and discipline and has the fewest mistakes. I don't want to get a one question for you guys so does Notre Dame need to be efficient score quickly every time they get there do they want to also try to manage the clack but or do they try to score as quickly as possible because they know rice is going to eat up a ton of practice. I hope they just run their offense and and do it their plan is you know like and that's a good mix of running pass and you know it's not tried to you know limit the possessions either because actually if the Notre Dame limits their possessions like that's where you could get in trouble you know rice went for twice on fourth down last week they only puns at the ball one time in their game against H.C.U.

50:02you know touchdowns field field goals and misfield goals they only punted at once they they went for four on fourth and six one there what 10 passes in the game was on a fourth and six on their first drive so like I think that when they're in when rice is in position they're going to go four on fourth down because triple option like you a lot of times you can get three or four yards that would should be different against Notre Dame but I think that there's no damage to run their offense like just go out there and just like dog walk them is the way you should do it and like whether it's runner pass just be you and it's the offense the offense should be in its own lane you know it shouldn't even be thinking about what rice is doing but they know just you're going to have limited opportunities so and this is with any team you play you know you are that's the whole point of offense is you got to say getting to a rhythm quickly and developing that rhythm and taking the ball down not worried about what their offense is doing and you know kind of I'm mentioning it Notre Dame needs to focus on Notre Dame you know because when you get into these types of games you know you shouldn't be thinking about what what the defense is doing you should be focused on what the offense needs to do to be successful and what is this team built on and coach Freeman is mentioned in multiple times run the ball run the ball effectively you know I'm not saying you got to

51:32rush you know for in rush the ball 80 times no I'm saying be efficient with your runs be effective with your runs and that's going to open up the past so you can get the ball down feel. All right let's wrap things up today with a look back at the give some love we're going to give some love to our former Notre Dame football players who are in the NFL making their debut and we'll give some love to an old guy now veteran Julian love he had a nice night as the well well six total tackles and an interception for Seattle. Oh it was nice and that was a new game. It was a bad game. It was but how about the young guys where Jadari and Price gets 52 yards in his day. Yeah yeah yeah let's think to a real deal. Eli Rear maybe easy with that clutch down the first touchdown of the NFL season at that. I love it I love it. So ironic just like all life and what you saw from them last night.

52:34What what what does it make you feel like for their immediate impact in the league and was this kind of like a that was a pure locker we're going to see some some real building from here. I think I think with Eli like he he was making waves of camp like people were calling me the biggest home or possible and I'm in these dynasty fantasy football leagues. We're like you keep your team forever and I was getting Eli in all of them because I was like first of all he's good. I know he's scoring college but he's a good football player. He was making waves in camp we saw Henry get crushed last night for the Patriots like Eli I think is going to have a pretty good role in that team. His quarterback might suck but it's a little see how that goes but I think he's going to be have a good role in that offense. I think for the season and then going forward as well like the Patriots system you know Josh Rodanios is still there when he was there with you know gromp and Aaron Hernandez and all those guys and when they were you know kind of the tight end capital of the NFL. So I think he's going to have a good role in that team by the end of the season.

53:35Price I was I'm disappointed for him a little bit because I really thought like the Seahawks with losing both their starting running. They're two running backs last year one to the chiefs one to currently to injury that like price would get featured in this game and he had 10 carries. George Hullani had eight and I'm like that guy I don't even know who he is really. So when Zach Sharman a comes back like I think it's going to be like a a split still so. He's going to have a good career in Seattle. I don't think he's going to be like a bell cow back there. I think he's got a very similar role to what he had in Notre Dame and that's a Seahawks philosophy. It's not a reflection of price the football player at all. But like you lose your starting quarterback and your first round pick gets 10 carries. I was like well run the ball. Yeah I did not have a problem with where he is now just because I don't want him to get you know pushed thrust into something that he's not ready for you know and I like that about the Seahawks

54:39they're letting him grow within the position and they you know they're confident enough with the guys that they have that he doesn't have to be the featured back. And I feel that he's capable of it very certainly but I think this helps him to grow in the position but also grow in the league and stay fresh because I was I was kind of shocked that he you know the. Hallani had I mean it seemed to me he had more playing time in a sense not necessarily more carries but he was in the game quite a bit and I was a little shocked by that because I thought you know hey with Jadarian and he's going to be fine it's just I was expecting to see more of him in terms of his role within the game so I I'm glad that he's you know because he showed some signs but at the same time again you know I don't think the Seahawks are trying to press anything

55:43and that's not the biggest issue that Seahawks have now right right now anyway it's the quarterback I mean I'm glad I've heard they said it was you know for the most part good news that Sam Donald's nothing major so that's a huge relief and I know everybody was like well it's Sam Donald's no that dude is he's that dude and they need him back as quickly as possible we saw the ramifications of that nothing just drew lock but he is not the guy he is not the guy that that was it was ugly because again Drake made he struggled and was you know I'm hoping he gets things going because I agree with you Joe Eli he could be a real you know diamond in the rough in the sense of what he's able to do within that offense you know if they're kind of going back to that you know grunk you know type of type of focus because he has a ability to get down feel and make plays

56:43and I think that does will will play well for Drake May is the ability to get someone down the middle field with his size and athleticism it's gonna you know we'll see more touchdowns to come yep I agree just a final thought before we go Jeremiah love of course he's been battling that ankle high ankle sprain but Arizona says there's no limitations on him in practice they are expecting that he should play in the season opener on Sunday but he hasn't practiced since August 13th just what do you guys expect out of love are we gonna see that explosiveness that we saw from him before right out of the gate or do you think this is gonna take some time for him to come around I think it takes some time I'm also I I feel like I spent so much time on radio show talking on official death charts like they are exhausting because like they don't really mean anything but the cordon's listed Tyler Algierus they're starting running back and they're on official

57:44death chart which was like I was like what is going on here like I don't know if that's a reflection of what you're saying now so like he hasn't practiced in a while so maybe like and maybe it's literally just like Algierus will get the first carry of this game and he'll be the starter of it in quotes but I think we'll see a slower start with love I think they think you know little of floor I forgot his first name I think you realize he made a mistake of like hey let's not give our you know top number four pick 14 carries in a preseason game so he can get hurt so now we're gonna take it easy in the regular season which is like a total contradiction of what you do when you give someone 14 carries in a preseason game so I think that I don't think he'll be as featured early on I think it'll take some time to get him involved with the offense but I think we'll see big plays pretty much right away from him yeah I don't expect a lot of drop off just because of his mentality and how in place he only knows how to play one way so whether he's limited or not he's gonna come out explosive he's very instinctual and how he runs so

58:48he's gonna be who he is and that's a dynamic runner and you know and then good at the backfield you know receiving so I don't because I just don't see Arizona they don't really have a lot I mean I'm not expecting for you know a lot of I'm not expecting a lot of big plays just because they just you know this is NFL and they don't have enough around him to to where he can really do the things that he's capable of doing on a consistent basis all right well I hope we're talking about love all season I hope this becomes a regular topic that we're just keeping up on him and and what he's doing and it really a jadarian and Eli Rurden too I mean those are guys that we'd love to see but I mean Notre Dame put out a tweet 59 former Notre Dame football players are on current Notre Dame or NFL rosters right now that's awesome it's great to see I think it says a lot

59:49about the program and where it's come over these last few years in the level of talent and the level of development that's happening in South Bend and now it's translating over into the NFL so I think the futures bright for these other players that's kind of in line with where we were we use it I mean when I was playing coming through we it was like 50 or so Notre Dame players on the roster you know coming out and that was kind of a consistent deal so you know you can you know that speaks to the like you said the development of the the players and that's one of the things that you you know when people are talking about you know choosing a college everybody's focused on getting money but you know if you go to someone where they develop the players that's an opportunity for you to continue to make money after your college career you know and that's the the thing I always appreciate about the the staff at Notre Dame guys get better and you see that

1:00:49development and you know they're going to it pays off but again it pays off the next level awesome all right guys well this was a good one and rice this Saturday we will be live directly after the game with our thoughts on Notre Dame's potential 40 plus win what is it 44 and a half is the spread so we'll see but we will be back and we'll see you then go Irish on on kowshi you're trading against peers in a live market meaning there's no house and as the probability changes you can buy in and out of your position for a limited time download the kowshi app and use code locked on to get $10 when you trade 10 KALS HI kowshi trade on anything 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply event contract trading involves risk and

1:01:49may not be suitable for all investors prices values and available markets may differ from those mentioned for more information see kowshi.com slash regulatory