Here is a quick look back at some of the highlights of Saturday afternoon's victory over Air Force.
It Was Over When ...
After swapping 3 and outs to start the 2nd half, Notre Dame forced Air Force to put for a second time and drove down the field and scored on a Jonas Gray TD run to make the score 49-16. (Admit it, plenty of you were still fairly worried up to this point)
Turning Point
Jamoris Slaughter's highlight reel interception and the ensuing TD drive that culminated with Cierre Wood's 8 yard TD run to make the game 35-9.
Three Good Stats
- 59 points! -- ND's highest scoring output since a 62-0 beatdown of Rutgers in 1996. The offense was impressive all day and Air Force was essentially unable to stop ND in any fashion
- 0 -- 0 turnovers again(!) and 0 sacks allowed by the OL...again. As noted above, the efficiency that the offense operated out during the game was impressive
- 9.2/12 ypc -- This is stolen from friend of the blog Keith Arnold's Inside the Irish recap (link). So I'll let him describe how well ND ran the ball.
The Irish ran for a gaudy 9.2 yards per carry, numbers that would have been even better if the Irish didn’t run for just seven yards on their final seven carries of the afternoon. Take those runs out and the Irish ran for 259 yards on 22 carries, roughly 12 yards a carry. To put it into context, Julius Jones ran for 262 yards on 24 carries in his record-setting performance against Pitt in 2003. The Irish didn’t need to put the weight on one man’s back, and with Wood and Gray carrying the load, and Hendrix adding a zone-read wrinkle into the mix, the Irish’s offense — led by some incredible work up front by Ed Warinner‘s troops — did some devastating work.
Three Bad Stats
- 5-5 -- Air Force's performance on 4th down. When you play an option team, you're going to give up forth down conversions. It's just the way it's going to go and option teams are going to attempt to go for it a bunch. However, 2 of the conversions (1 of which probably isn't part of the 5-5) were on special teams and led to AFA TDs. Aaron Lynch jumping offside on the FG attempt and the punt return failing to stop the fake punt were mistakes that could come back to haunt ND against better teams or in games in which the offense isn't clicking like it was Saturday.
- 565 yards -- The yards given up by the defense. Even removing the garbage time yards given up by the 3rd string defense, the defense did give up too many yards to feel comfortable. I understand BK's comments after the game regarding that the yards don't matter and the points do. It was true. The D certainly performed better in the red zone allowing only 19 points to Air Force's first string Offense. Additionally, adjustments were made at halftime and the D definitely improved in the 3rd quarter.
- 78 yards -- Yards run by Hendrix on his breakaway run in the 4th quarter. He needed 80 to get the TD, stumbled while checking trailing defenders, which allowed him to get tackled before the end zone. While it was nice of Hendrix to allow George Atkinson to get the first rushing TD of his career, he needs to finish that run if he wants to play against better teams! (Yes that was fairly tongue-in-cheek but when your starters beats a team 59-19, it's hard to find many things to complain about.)
Three Stars
- Jamoris Slaughter -- replacing Prince Shembo in the defensive scheme and playing in the box most of the day, Slaughter caused two major turnovers that led to Irish TDs. Both turnovers, which occurred early in the game, allowed ND to pull ahead easily and made Air Force play catch up all days which was a major advantage for ND.
- Andrew Hendrix -- making his debut for the Irish, Hendrix shined. He completed all 4 of his passes, and ended up leading the Irish in rushing with 111 yards on 6 carries including the 78 yard scamper noted above. More importantly, he looked decisive with his passes and added a new wrinkle to the offense that future opponents will have to account for.
- Theo Riddick -- After Purdue mindbogglingly decided to double team him instead of Floyd last week, leading to 0 catches, Riddick was all over the place on Saturday. Riddick finished with 8 catches for 75 yards and a TD and added another 14 yards on a 1 carry after lining up in the backfield. Riddick certainly forced future teams to worry about him and if Floyd and Riddick can get going, it will be hard to stop the Irish offense
Housekeeping:
- For those keeping track, Chase Hounshell and Josh Atkinson burnt their red shirts on Saturday so expect them to play even more in the weeks going forward. At quick recap (please correct me in the comments if I'm wrong), the following freshman have played so far this season: Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt, Ben Koyack, Troy Niklas, Chase Hounshell, Josh Atkinson, George Atkinson III, Kyle Brindza, Ishaq Williams, Cam McDaniel.
- On a similar note, despite BK's comments in the preseason, DaVaris Daniels will redshirt per his father on twitter. Additionally, BK indicated that Golson will almost definitely redshirt too.
- Tate Nichols & Anthony Rabasa had season ending surgeries this past week and both should be fully healthy for the Spring.
- Ethan Johnson did not play this week after suffering an injury early against Purdue. He should hopefully be good to go in 2 weeks.
- #FUSC
Next Week:
Notre Dame has a bye week. Enjoy the stress-free Saturday you guys!
That said, Southern Cal is in 2 weeks which means we have a solid two weeks of hate to spread/enjoy/spew so don't slack off! Remember, #BeatTheTrojans #FUSC. Also, both NDTex & myself will be on campus representing HLS.
By Brian October 9, 2011 - 7:26 pm
Freshmen you forgot – Ishaq Williams and Cam McDaniel
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By PootND October 9, 2011 - 7:50 pm
Damn. Thanks. I updated the post.
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By starkruzr October 9, 2011 - 9:23 pm
When did McDaniel get play time? Was he any good?
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By notredamegrad October 9, 2011 - 10:00 pm
He had a little run up the middle from Crist against Purdue. He’s also playing special teams – I think he was out there for the fake punt vs. AFA.
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By theIrishLion10 October 9, 2011 - 10:29 pm
McDaniel also got a couple carries in the 4th against AFA. Got smacked in the backfield on his first carry, then went for 12 on his second carry due to a very nice cut-back. Netted 8 yards.
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By E-Man October 9, 2011 - 8:22 pm
Don’t know about anyone else… but I was nervous until the end of the 3rd quarter.
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By Matt Q. (DMQ) October 9, 2011 - 8:37 pm
I was terrified until 2 minutes were left in the game.
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By Samari October 9, 2011 - 11:32 pm
Wimps. We had it in the bag after we scored off of the fumble. The fact that we went 6/6 on possessions in the first half meant that either Air Force was going to have to get pass happy or continue trudging along with their ball control offense and draining the clock on themselves.
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By kyndfan October 10, 2011 - 9:53 am
Really? Our D is solid and our offense was rolling. What was there to be nervous about this week?
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By The Biscuit October 10, 2011 - 1:53 pm
Ummm, every game we’ve played outside of Purdue for the last 10 years?
exaggerating, but i was nervous too
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By tlndma October 9, 2011 - 8:44 pm
Trojans, Achilles wears #3. Good luck.
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By PootND October 9, 2011 - 8:49 pm
Wasn’t Achilles killed at the Battle of Troy?
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By Matt Q. (DMQ) October 9, 2011 - 8:56 pm
Yeah, but Troy was annihilated. Worth it.
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By tlndma October 9, 2011 - 9:15 pm
Troy must be destroyed!
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By trey October 10, 2011 - 8:11 am
Cassandra’s warning has been laid! The destruction of the AFA was the precurser to the destruction of Troy!
Matt Barkley=Hector of Troy
Tommy Rees=Odysseus
Mike Floyd=Ajax
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By notredamegrad October 10, 2011 - 8:23 am
Yes!
Kiffin=Paris
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By kyndfan October 10, 2011 - 9:54 am
So who is BK?
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By SDI October 10, 2011 - 10:24 am
BK=Agamemnon
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By trey October 10, 2011 - 11:59 am
Another reason I just love Notre Dame…where else will you find discussions on ancient epic poetry on a teams football blog?
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By a68domer October 10, 2011 - 6:45 am
What about Alex Welch? Isn’t he a Freshman? Sorta an inauspicious start!
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By PootND October 10, 2011 - 6:53 am
Nope. Welch is a RS freshman. Koyack was the only TE recruited in the last class.
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By canuck75 October 10, 2011 - 8:33 am
I wasn’t worried at 21-3 but when Lynch jumped offside I shuddered a bit.
Tommy looked like a surgeon out there. Loved the pass to Toma.
Funny thing is, I think we could have simply run off tackle all day.
McDaniel looked good- I think he is the real thing.
BTW, Minnesota is definitely the worst Big10 in a long time, so USC looks pretty weak.
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By kyndfan October 10, 2011 - 10:01 am
I know they are fun talking points, but I am not all that concerned with true freshman playing. If Kelly continues to recruit the way he has been there won’t be much room for fifth year seniors anyway. Anyone upset that Tuitt, Lynch, or GAIII have gotten into the game. BK will only put people in if he thinks they can be difference makers. The only exception being Koyack, but that is due to injury/depth.
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By PootND October 10, 2011 - 10:06 am
Neither am I (if that is what you are referring too).
Just wanted to point out which freshman have played as BK has stated week 6ish is usually the time we’ll know who’ll get a redshirt and who won’t
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By E-Man October 10, 2011 - 11:12 am
I wonder if getting freshmen in now is helping recruiting. Kelly is kinda showcasing “hey, if you can help us now, and it makes sense, we’re going to play you”. That’s got to be attractive to some recruits, especially in positions of need, or who think are ready on day one.
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By tjak October 10, 2011 - 11:13 am
I agree, as well the studs may leave early for the pros anyway(Rudolph); so I say play them while we got them.
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By Pat October 10, 2011 - 10:19 am
“Man, I’d hate to be Notre Dame’s next opponent.” — USC.
I loved seeing us mix it up with Hendrix in there (not sure why they didn’t bring him in at Purdue). There seems to be a lot of people chopping at the bit for true frosh Golson (not necessarily here, but throughout the ND universe). My question: why? Look what we have in Hendrix — without burning a shirt.
Not to bash him because I like the kid, but I still think Tommy has a modest ceiling. BUT, with all the weapons on offense, and a super talented defense, just look what we can do if we don’t turn the ball over. I like this football team a lot, and I like where we are headed. We are going to crush Troy. Go Irish.
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By E-Man October 10, 2011 - 11:15 am
I’m crazy about Golson potential, making wild predictions on a daily basis, but can understand perserving the redshirt. Seems to make sense.
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By trey October 10, 2011 - 11:56 am
As am i. I think that kid will be NUTS once hes a starter. Love the redshirt plan, though because Hendrix showed that he is REALLY good too and just a Frosh!
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By The Biscuit October 10, 2011 - 1:56 pm
Hendrix is a Sophomore. RS Frosh yeah, but he’s the same age as Tommy.
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By kyndfan October 10, 2011 - 12:20 pm
I was crazy about Hendrix after the spring game. Then after we saw Rees and Crist as the top two, I figured he just wasn’t coming along so my hopes turned toward Golson. Incase you didn’t notice, I am not happy with Rees or Crist. Rees gives us everything he has, I just don’t think his ceiling is high enough for the Irish to be a championship team.
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By canuck75 October 10, 2011 - 2:01 pm
Pat, you are entitled to your opinion of course,as I am) but I think any talk of Tommy’s low ceiling is ridiculous. Neither Drew Brees or Tom Brady are any more mobile. And while they both throw the ball better than our Tommy, they don’t necessarily look any better on the bread and butter 15-20 yarders. Those passes call for timing and instinct, and Tommy has them both, and those passes are delivered as crisply as the aforementioned NFL stars passes. Some people seem to think its heresy to suggest that Tommy is better than Clausen, but to me there is no question-he is already better.
I love what Hendrix and Golsen bring to the table, but the Drew Brees type qb is the most reliable bet.
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By SDI October 10, 2011 - 4:18 pm
Canuck–good points about Rees, he does a lot things well. I don’t agree that he is as good as Clausen and I think any comparison to Brees or Brady is awfully kind to Rees, but for the sake of argument, if Hendrix proves that he is as good as Rees (not today necessarily) in the areas you cite above, but is much more mobile and has a much stronger arm, wouldn’t he be the better choice for the position in the long run?
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By canuck75 October 11, 2011 - 9:08 am
Yes, good and valid point. If Hendrix can match Tommy on most throws and can run like that-wow. Then imagine if Golson is actually the best. We will all go insane trying to decide what to do!
I admit I am usually loyal to the qb incumbent, although I can honestly say that I was worried about Crist v.Rees, but was willing to defer to the Coach. I was unhappy when they yanked Carlyle Holiday in favour of Brady a few years back, but that worked out pretty well.
Anyway, aren’t these great problems to discuss. As I said last week, do you think they would like Hendrix at Ohio State about now?
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By SDI October 11, 2011 - 10:07 am
Absolutely. Florida too. Someone on another board reminded me of how hard Urban Meyer went after Hendrix even after he committed to ND. That guy knows a thing or two about QBs.
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By Pat October 11, 2011 - 10:54 am
Keep in mind that Tommy is only a soph and he was Plan B this year. That said, maybe he has a lot of room to grown and improve. In other words, maybe his ceiling is higher in the future than I’m letting on.
I think Tommy’s best attribute is his calm and composure. He doesn’t have all the physical tools — which I believe limits his ceiling — but he wins games, when he doesn’t turn the ball over. His arm strength is not going to improve much — compare to Dayne or Hendrix who have cannons. But he can become a smarter QB. Watch him, he’ll still stares down receivers and won’t make it through his progressions. The game still moves a bit fast for him. This is stuff he can improve upon, regardless of God-given ability.
Not bashing Tommy; again, I like him. Alabama has won a few football games with QBs often regarded merely as ‘serviceable.’ Hendrix, though, does give us a nice new look, and probably the offense Kelly really wants to run. But we’ll have to wait and see next year if he ups his game a level and can make the necessary throws.
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By Erik '04 October 10, 2011 - 5:26 pm
If scoring more points than any team since LOU is a “modest” ceiling, I’ll take it. Even while breaking all sorts of offensive (passing) records, none of Weis’ teams scored as many points as we did on Saturday. Tommy is definitely the guy to run this offense this year, and throw in some Hendrix to keep teams off balance and we could definitely run the table without even having to RELY on our defense to get us there. This team is fun to watch! 7 different players scored TDs on Saturday. Who are opposing teams supposed to stop?
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By SDI October 10, 2011 - 6:27 pm
I guess we’ll see. If Rees puts up 30 or 40 points against USC, Stanford, and against a good team in a bowl game, I’ll take it too and he’ll be very difficult to take off the field. I think that ND fans (including myself) that are still not 100% convinced want to see if his lack of mobility and arm strength will limit offensive production against a good defenses, because he really hasn’t played one yet.
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By notredamegrad October 10, 2011 - 7:21 pm
Right. One game is an awesome start to the high scoring, but it was one game – those same 7 players have been on the field all year (excluding Atkinson), and Rees was still – until AFA – only putting up, on average, as many points per game as Crist did, and that was with an explosive, two-headed running game to help. He was solid Saturday, but we need to see more of him playing turnover-free ball, getting it to his receivers when it counts.
I’d also love to see more credit given to our unbelievable O-line – talk about mobility! Rees better be treating them to dinner.
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By SDI October 10, 2011 - 11:36 pm
absolutely. oline has been nails. warriner is my hero right about now.
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By Erik '04 October 11, 2011 - 2:25 pm
Agreed on that front!
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By Brad October 10, 2011 - 3:59 pm
Ah, yes. Nothing is more beloved at Notre Dame and the NEXT quarterback.
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By HLS Pre-Snap Read « Her Loyal Sons October 15, 2011 - 8:46 am
[...] Force Postmortem: Poot makes his quick recap, DMQ takes a look at our Time Well Spent, and I take a look beyond the [...]
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