Attendance

Boy was I wrong when I predicted 15,000 fans or less. There were probably around 30,000 people there. After last year’s debacle, that’s a heck of a lot of loyalty.

Weather

Rained moderately when we arrived at the parking lot around 7:45 AM, but stopped by the time most people arrived. Turned out to be a beautiful spring day, and I even got a little sunburn.

Game Observations

Like Luke said, take these observations with a grain of salt. Junior Jabbie was last year’s B/G game MVP and ended up fourth on the depth chart.

I zoned in on the tackles as frequently as possible, and it would appear that Paul Duncan might have improved slightly. The fact that the left side of the line didn’t implode on literally every single play indicates to me that strides have been made. Sam Young, on the other hand, was miserable. He had multiple false starts, multiple holds (some went uncalled) and lost several matchups against our unheralded defensive line. I’d have to agree with Luke and call him a bust, because he’s already got more experience than almost any offensive lineman in the country and he’s still a liability and can’t beat Paul Duncan of all people for the left tackle spot. I didn’t focus on the interior line as much, but it’s hard not to notice Chris Stewart. He’s 340 pounds of man-mountain and should be a real factor in our ground game.

Clausen looked better than ever, and should have answered any lingering questions about his arm strength on that 60 yard bomb in the fourth. He threw some bullets over the flat that proved he has more arm strength than we’ll ever need.

Grimes looks great. Reports that he came into Spring practice in tremendous shape and had an excellent camp seem to be substantiated. Kamara had a few easy drops, which would support the unsettling rumor that he’s been dealing with concentration issues this Spring. However, his game-winning catch in the corner of the end zone was a thing of beauty. Tate caught at least one pass that didn’t involve him running as fast as he could in a straight line, so he’s at least doubled the number of routes he’s memorized. I’m generally more optimistic about our receiving corps than most, but I would still like to see Floyd make a contribution this season.

Hughes was pretty impressive, but I have no idea what to make of that. Like I have said before, runningback is the most overrated position in football. A great offensive line will make a mediocre tailback into an all-american, and a poor offensive line will turn an all-american into a McDonalds employee. I’d love to see Hughes moved to fullback and Aldridge getting the nod at tailback. Allen has done nothing to impress me since he got here, and that trend continued on Saturday. Gallup may see some time as our hurry-up offense back, a la Junior Jabbie, but that would be the greatest possible extent of his contributions. Too much talent in front of him. Paskorz replaced Schwapp on one play and got absolutely tracked by a linebacker.

Plenty of four down-linemen sets on Saturday. I think this is a reflection of my theory that Tenuta is secretly in charge of our defense, and that is what he is used to working with. Williams looked like he had a great game, constantly getting double teamed and not ceding any ground. Again, this could be due to the fact that our offensive line couldn’t block my sister last year.

Harrison Smith is a baller. He’s similar to Tommy Z in that he just seems to have a knack for making big plays. Let’s just hope he’s more controllable than our mohawked maniac.

I thought the corners had a great game. I believe Charlie when he says he wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to play four corners. Gary Gray was particularly impressive given his lack of experience.

Recruiting

For all the complaints I have about Charlie, I will never count recruiting among them. In fact, I would argue emphatically that he is the best recruiter in the nation. At the very least, his consistently excellent results merit him consideration for the top spot, along with Pete Carroll, Mack Brown, and Urban Meyer. However, those other three coaches are located in the three most stocked talent pools in the country (SoCal, Texas, and Florida), whereas Indiana might produce one legitimate Division I candidate per year. Carroll, Mack, and Brown also have beautiful weather, hot/slutty women, and degrees in ballroom dancing to sell. Notre Dame has lake-effect snow, fat chicks, and a rigorous academic experience to offer.

Despite these disadvantages, as well as fielding the worst team in the history of organized sports, Charlie reeled in the #1 recruiting class in the country last year, and he’s not slowing down a bit. This weekend, we landed Cierre Wood, the nation’s top runningback and #3 overall player, along with Tyler Stockton, a four star, 300 pound defensive tackle from New Jersey. Reclaiming the top spot seems unlikely, as recruiting services tend to reward quantity over quality and scholarships are tight this year, but it would appear that we are headed towards Charlie’s fourth straight elite recruiting class. Way to go, big guy.

Odds and Ends

The new turf looks great. Construction underway on Duncan Hall, the law school, and a new engineering building. DeBart quad pretty much torn to shreds. Campus is beautiful... trees are starting to bloom. Couldn’t ask for a better way to spend a Saturday. Hopefully Luke will have some pictures up soon, but in the meantime, I leave you with my artsy fartsy picture of the Dome.

Labels: Blue Gold Game