Cub Football.... from Pat Jacobs This game is not being played on a computer The algorithms, permutations and combinations by which calpreps arrives at its game-by-game predictions is indecipherable to the limited mathematic skill set of this scribe. The Calpreps projection for Loyola’s October 11th game against Alemany had the Warriors as the probable victors by a 28-20 score. The Cubs defeated Alemany 31-20 in their best game of the year, an inspired effort in all phases of the game. Apparently the computers did not factor in the “will to win” and a superior game plan. So once again the prognostications of the math whizzes as well as the sports media have the Cubs picked to go down at the hands of the mighty Notre Dame Knights to secure for Notre Dame no worse than a tie for the 2013 Serra League championship. Calpreps picks it ND 28, Loyola 19. The Los Angeles Times continues to posit that Notre Dame will complete its Serra League campaign with a 3-1 record, with the Cubs finishing as an afterthought and out of the playoff hunt. Fortunately, the game will not be played on a computer, and the outcome will not be determined by the application of statistical functions. The sense here is that the Cubs will show up to play their best and that the role of underdog will fit them just fine. A humbling gut check loss to Crespi and two weeks to prepare will likely serve Loyola well on Friday evening. One thing is certain: to survive another week in the quest for a league championship and a Pac-5 Division playoff berth, Loyola will have to play TOUGH, error-free football for four full quarters. A safe prediction is that ND will stack the box to shut down the Cub running game and try to establish a strong running game of its own. Against a quality slate, the Knights’ three losses (20-13 to Serra in OT, 46-43 to Chaminade and 35-27 to Alemany) all had a common denominator – Notre Dame passed the ball over 20 times. Not coincidentally, the robust Knight rushing attack produced well below its average in each of those three setbacks. Translation: shut down the ND run game and force the Knights to depend on the pass. It will also be necessary for Loyola to pound the rock on offense. Before the Alemany game it was predicted here that the Cubs would have to hit some big-chunk pass plays to win. Turned out to be unnecessary, but the thought again is that Loyola will have to be a decent passing team on Friday to win the football game. Notre Dame appears to play fast – probably because the Knights are not doing a lot of thinking as their system is so ingrained in their players that they play loose and with great confidence. If this were a track meet Loyola would win, which is often not the case when these two teams meet on the gridiron, but this is not a track meet – it is a war of wills. That being said, if the Cubs can break some plays in the open field with some of their speedy athletes, maybe more than just a modicum of that Notre Dame swagger and confidence will be broken. It would be nice to see the Knights back on their heels early and often. Former legendary Loyola defensive coordinator, the late Jon Dawson, once commented that Loyola teams are manned generally by nice young men, which he acknowledged posed be a challenge in coaching such an incredibly violent game, but indeed “JD” found a way to get his guys to play with unbridled fury. On Friday the Cubs will need to channel some of that ‘Blue Attitude’ to vanquish the Knights. Here’s predicting the Cubs will play with toughness, intensity and passion come 7:00 p.m. November 1st in their home lair at Los Angeles Valley College.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:25:40 +0000
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