Care: The Postgame Interview
People here have criticisms of Ryan Day. Many of them valid. I mentally was done with this game after the Egbuka perimeter run that got stuffed and gave ND the ball back to potentially ice the game.
But Day's post-game interview about this team. About his emotion. About their toughness. If that doesn't fire you up, you're broken. Our coach cares SO much for this team. That was a huge win for everyone and that interview was glorious. Thank you for that, Coach Day.
Don't Care: Late Down Play calling
That being said... Our short yardage, late down play calling was not good tonight. It was gimmicky at best, and predictable at worst. Even the game winning play left someone unblocked that hit Chip behind the LOS. This is still an issue.
Care: McCord's confidence
He clearly needed time to adjust to the environment and stakes of the game. He was shaky the first half and his inexperience and "not as good as Stroud"-ness was obvious for a few throws. But when it mattered, he delivered. His confidence in his receivers and himself grew almost tangibly throughout the game. That is huge for the rest of this season. He could be a real gamer.
Don't Care: Any rankings adjustments this week for OSU.
Whether voters view this as a grwat win or one (or both) teams not being great, the rankings after this mean little. There will be a lot of gut reactions and they simply shouldn't affect this team. We should guts and grit tonight, as did ND. Both teams look like worthy contenders for the playoffs. We should really enjoy the win and understand this is where the momentum should begin to build for us.
Care: Notre Dame is legit
They were an exceptional opponent. They are well-coached. Hartman likely is a Top 3 QB taken in the draft this year. And escaping with a win tonight is a huge deal because ND outplayed us for most of the game. This isn't last year's ND team. They have what it takes to be a Top 6 team all year. They shouldn't go down in the rankings.
Don't Care: Critics of the defense
We just played one of the best QBs and defenses in the country. Change my mind. This was a great win and it's because of our defense being legitimately good now, compared to last year. This was an opponent who came in with the ability to move the ball well and we held them to 14 points. We let them get yards but the defense was sound. It was a statement about where we were last year and where we are now. Fans should be happy and excited for their continued improvement becuase this team could end up VERY good.
