It didn’t start very pretty but it sure did end up so as Notre Dame went from three-and-out their first three possessions on Saturday to just three punts the entire rest of the game.
Why?
Part was likely play-calling while shaking off some rust certainly applies but an offensive line that dominated as the game went on was a large part of that as well.
Tuesday saw Pro Football Focus rate the best offensive line units for the college football weekend and Notre Dame topped the charts.
PFF's top Offensive Lines in College Football Wk 2 pic.twitter.com/Szg4l8XdFX
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 15, 2020
On the first three possessions Saturday we saw Notre Dame gain -5 yards on the ground on seven attempts. That’s because of the odd rule where sacks count as rush yards in college football and Ian Book was sacked twice those first three drives for a total of 12 yards lost.
The rest of the game Notre Dame ran the ball 36 times for 183 yards, an average of more than five yards per attempts, up significantly from their brutal start.
Also after allowing those two sacks on the first three possessions, the Notre Dame offense allowed just one the rest of the game, a noteworthy improvement.
It wasn’t perfect, especially the start, but the middle and end were a mighty impressive showing for Notre Dame’s big ugglies.