[WorkHorse]

After finding out 2012 starter Everett Golson would be lost for the season, Brian Kelly announced the quarterback starter would not be named until fall practice. Kelly has since had a change of heart and named senior Tommy Rees to lead the Irish in the opener. Rees is a veteran with starting experience. Last season, he completed 34 of 59 for 436 yards with 2 touchdowns. He started 12 games in 2011 and put up some decent numbers. For his career at ND:

Passing: 403/634 for 4,413 yards, 34 touchdowns, 24 interceptions
Rushing: 71 for -71 yards

Golson stats for 2012:
Passing: 187/318 for 2405 yards, 58%, 12 touchdowns, 6 interceptions
Rushing: 94 for 298 yards and 6 touchdowns

Kelly knows that Rees is not a good fit for his offense because he's a slow runner. If Rees is the man he sticks with...look for some adjustment to help Rees in the offense. With Rees no thread as a runner and the leading returning rusher (George Atkinson) with only 361 yards. Got to think Kelly and offensive coaches will be burning some mid-night oil trying to figure out the best way for the offense to be productive.

[BigdaddyQH]

They had no choice. It is going to be a tough year for Irish fans.

[WorkHorse]

With Golson out, Notre Dame returns only four starters on offense. The Irish offense was no ballburners last year ranking 78th in scoring. Kelly knows the strength of the team is defense where they are deep and talented. He'll play it like last year relying on the defense to keep them in games and the offense to score just enough to win.

The Irish were 7th in total defense last year and could be just as good this season. But the offense is a different matter.............

[SamDiamond]

Wow, surprised you guys are burying ND.

Kelly has proven one thing. He can win with his 4th string QB, remember the days of Tony Pike and Zach Collaros? Calloras was a 2-star recruit who didn't have a single offer outside of Cincinnati, and Kelly used him to win, what 11 games?

My point. Kelly will find a way to win with Rees, add in Rees' experience, and knowledge of the system, and I think ND will be just fine on offense. Add in the USC transfer RB Amir Carlisle, and the 5-star RB they landed in Greg Bryant, and I think they are going to be just fine.

The Nugget has ND favored in 10 games, they are only an underdog to Stanford on the road, and the Michigan game is a pick.

I would be stunned if they lost 3 games this year.

[Kaplan]

Tommy is average. if the rest of the team plays well......10 wins is not out of reach.

[WorkHorse]

I have a feeling that Rees and wide receiver T.J. Jones will become best friends this season.

Solid defense but a lot of inexperience and questions concerning the offense.

[SamDiamond]

Workhorse, this one is just for you.

Numbers, numbers, and damn numbers.

Basically it comes down to this. If Rees protects the football, he throws it better than Golson does, and he has a completion % that is almost 7% higher than Golson.

A few caveats.

Rees orchestrated 2 reliefs wins for Golson last year.

Purdue and Stanford. And, while Golson has a better winning %--- he also was the benificiary of a much better ND defense in 2012, than Rees had in 2011.

[Gameday]

Irish are back to their usual disappointing selves this year. I heard Touchdown Tommy Rees will be dedicating this season to Lennay Kekua!!


dam shes fine

[Gameday]

hahaha but back to serious talk... They are in deep shit this year. It will be interesting to see how much credit Vegas will give them.

[SamDiamond]

hahaha but back to serious talk... They are in deep shit this year. It will be interesting to see how much credit Vegas will give them.

I love the debate. So, why are they in deep shit?

What specifically?

[Gameday]

Loosing Golson along with 8 other starters from last year for one. With Golson I would consider them a great team, but without, not so much. Tommy Rees just doesnt have it, hes good but not great by any means.

I think they will be lucky if they beat one of these teams. Michigan, Michigan State, USC, and Oklahoma. Arizona State may also be a tough game for them.

I'm a fan of Notre Dame so I'm pretty disappointed, but I just really don't see them doing anything remotely comparable to last years season.

[SamDiamond]

Loosing Golson along with 8 other starters from last year for one. With Golson I would consider them a great team, but without, not so much. Tommy Rees just doesnt have it, hes good but not great by any means.

I think they will be lucky if they beat one of these teams. Michigan, Michigan State, USC, and Oklahoma. Arizona State may also be a tough game for them.

I'm a fan of Notre Dame so I'm pretty disappointed, but I just really don't see them doing anything remotely comparable to last years season.

Here is where we disagree. The 5 teams you listed, ND beat 4 of them (They didn't play ASU) ----and not one of them was because of Golson's play. Think back to last year's Michigan game. Golson couldn't get it done, and it was Tommy Rees who completed the 3rd down pass to Eifert to seal that game. ND forced 5 Michigan turnovers, and Golson produced 6 points.

Listen, I agree. Golson is a dynamic athlete, but ND won with defense last year. There were times when Golson was good, but it was Rees who Kelly turned to beat Purdue, Stanford, and Michigan.

3 of the 5 team you listed, ND gets at home. ASU is in Dallas. The only true road game among those 5 is Michigan.

I think ND loses 2 games this year, Michigan and Stanford.

[WorkHorse]

The sign of a good coaching staff is how they make adjustments...especially on game day. Kelly has three months to adjust his offense to a different style of quarterback, one reason I believe he named Rees as the early starter. Rees can manage a game and I'm sure that's what will be ask of him.

I never bet on Notre Dame, haven't for years because of their huge public following. I will bet against them in the right situations like against Bama last season. Five games I will take some interest in are: Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, USC and Stanford. I can see four outright losses in those five. The Oklahoma and USC games are going to be tough ones...guarantee you.

[BigdaddyQH]

Notre Dakme was very fortunate last season. They should have lost to Stanford, but got a home field call. They barely got past Purdue and BYU, both at home. They beat a USC team minus their starting QB by 9 points, in a game that USC gave to them. Then they played a real team and got crushed. This season, Notre Dame loses at Stanford, and Michigan, and possibly at Arizona State. They lose to OU at home, and possibly USC. Now they have an offense that is basically non-existant. They can forget about a BS Bowl this season.

[SamDiamond]

Notre Dakme was very fortunate last season. They should have lost to Stanford, but got a home field call. They barely got past Purdue and BYU, both at home. They beat a USC team minus their starting QB by 9 points, in a game that USC gave to them. Then they played a real team and got crushed. This season, Notre Dame loses at Stanford, and Michigan, and possibly at Arizona State. They lose to OU at home, and possibly USC. Now they have an offense that is basically non-existant. They can forget about a BS Bowl this season.

Now we're playing the coulda shoulda game?

This thread is going to be fun to follow, especially with all the declarations.