This year’s team has been up and down on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, with the notable ‘down’ portion in the 4th Quarter against Michigan. Other than that 15 minutes of mess, the Irish D has been really, really good this year. And especially so against the Run.
Notre Dame is currently a Top 25 Defense against the Run, averaging only 93 yards per game on the ground for opponents. And note that this is against a really solid schedule with USF (running QB), Michigan (Denard), MSU (traditionally a solid running team) and Pitt (going into the game on Saturday I was sure that Graham was suiting up for the Steelers, not the Panthers). 25th against that kind of competition is far more than respectable. It’s DAMN GOOD.
The Irish front 7 were touted as being really solid this year, and the group has not disappointed at all. The starting 3 of EJ, LNIII and KLM have been really solid, and their backups in Lynch, Tuitt and Cwynar have also performed really well. The LB corps remains up and down but in general have been good, and we’ve seen bits of brilliance from all of the guys in that crew. While the ILB spot opposite Manti (not Monty!!!) still remains a weak spot, Fox and Calabrese have shown improvement as the season has progressed, each working to patch up the holes in their game.
To give a little context, ND’s current ranking of 25th against the run is 24 spots better than their BEST finish since 2007. ND wrapped up each year ranked well below 25, as follows:
2007: 96th (!)
2008: 49th
2009: 85th (!)
2010: 51st
Granted, the season isn’t over year, but if anything we should see ND’s rankings rise as other teams get out of their cupcake warm-up games and into conference play.
BK’s philosophy largely focuses on stopping the run on D, then shoring up the passing game. Thus far, phase I seems to be well on its way. I have to say, it’s really, really nice to be confident in our DL. It’s been a while since I truly felt like we had a dominant front 7 and I’d say we’re getting really close to that point.
Don't take me, yourself, or life so seriously. This is supposed to be fun.
Biscuit co-founded HerLoyalSons in partnership with his ND roommate (Dillon Hall baby!), MQ, in 2006 and has been ranting about ND Football and everything Notre Dame since. He strongly believes in the mission of ND and its football program. Biscuit expects logic and data in arguments and will absolutely crush you if you come to a debate missing one or the other. He despises everything Michigan, and his favorite pastime is mocking Purdue.
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Football Outsiders ranks our Rush defense as 9th in the nation through Week 3.
Not sure which stat that is – we’re 25th in Total Rush Yards and 26th in Yards Per Carry. Could be an adjusted stat – mine’s based on raw numbers.
I just read a Purdue blog called hammer and rails where the blogger compares who has the advantage on particular parts of the game. The guy gives purdue the advantage in the running game. Maybe someone should forward him these stats.
A fan in the comment section also said Purdue will gain 505 yards against Notre Dame, and win of course.
Can someone please find out when the last time Purdue gained over 500 yards on ND?
Because ND has given up 500+ only once over the past 5 years.
Or the last time Purdue gained 500+ yards not against an FCS school, period?
I’d like to know where they got the figure 505. Not “500” not “More than 500” but “505”. Maybe he was really pessismistic and meant “SOS”.
Great screen capture of Nix’s picture. He instantly became my wife’s favorite player, just because of that picture. Now just waiting for Toma to take one to the house, and then have her get all confused…
Fan said:
330 passing yards and 175 rushing yards.
So, Purdue will run for twice as many yards as ND has been giving up this year.
Purdue.
Anyone know what happened to LNIII and Cwynar last game at the nose? I thought both played well, but seemed like Tuiit got a lot of the reps. Just curious? I am in total favor of moving studs like Tuitt around as well as Lynch. Just wasnlt sure if there was a problem. I know the politically correct answer given by BK. “Tuiit demands a double down from guard”, but man it nice seeing #9 in the middle clogging everything up!
Purdue fans are, literally, insane.
Through 4 games, ND has given up one (1) rushing touchdown.
On that play, the running back got stuffed at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and goal, pushed back, and the ball came free. Denard Robinson picked it up and ran in untouched for a fluke ending to what should have been a fantastic defensive stand. That’s the ONE (1!!) rushing touchdown this defense has given up.
I hate that play with the heat of a thousand suns. F that play. F F F it.
I concur. F that play right to H. Let it die 1000 deaths.
My mom (who lives in Michigan) told me she almost threw up when that play happened.
The ball literally bounced right to him. Absolutely the luckiest play ever.
Loved what I saw out of the front 7 against Pitt. They did a great job against Graham, stuffing him multiple times for minimal gain. Even on his one long run, they didn’t give up, and chased him down. Then, they absolutely dominated on Pitt’s last possesion. Getting sacks when you have a big lead is nice, but getting them when the other team is trying to drive for a tying or go-ahead score is clutch, and something we haven’t seen ND’s defense do in a long, long time.
This week we will see just how good our run D is when it faces the monsterous rushing attack…..I can’t even finish that sentence. Irish win by 3 td’s
I have visions of LN3 as Clark Kent in Superman I. He has the ability to, literally, send a ball into orbit but he must hold back to preserve his secret.
This Saturday is gonna be fun for us, I think. I intend on watching it at the NYC gamewatch location in Manhattan and seeing who shows up.
I would love to see a blowout this week, like I was hoping for at Pitt. I really think the biggest problem in the Pitt game was the team was emotionally drained from the last three weeks. Along with our offense being out of sync, I mean, Rees mailing it in for the first 3 quarters, our defense, which by the end of the game, had put in an excellent game, was not getting the push on the line of scrimmage that I expected for most of the game – that still didn’t translate into Pitt rushing yards mind you.
Overall, I think we saw the team show that, even when they weren’t really on their game, they stuck it out and willed themselves to victory instead of feeling like they were going to lose (a feeling they apparently reserve now only for Michigan).
The defense wasn’t getting as much of a push because they were defending the run. This means, rather than getting into the backfield, the D-line is to plug gaps, hold ground and occupy O-linemen. This reduces options for the runner and frees up our LB’s to roam and destroy the runner as he comes through the line.
I think there was plenty of disruption in the backfield when we tried to get it – 6 sacks says so – but Pitt’s greatest threat by far was Graham, so we focused on stopping the run.
That makes sense. Thanks.
Love that picture of Nix. And KLM has a look that says “I can’t believe I’m being pictured with these two smiling fools.”
Top 25 rush D will be boosted by other teams getting into conference play…but tempered by going up against the #1 and #4 rush offenses in the country. No chance we keep AF and Navy under 100 yards each, even if we do dominate the game overall.
Greatness is moments away, I assure you.