Tag: 2020 acc football

Irish losing grip as Clemson’s main challenger in ACC?

A few analysts see Notre Dame trending in the wrong way. Should the Irish be concerned at all?

After one week of play, there is a concerning trend that some analysts have taken when looking at Notre Dame. The Irish are on the verge of losing their grip as Clemson’s main challenger for the ACC crown.

Eric Mac Lain, an analyst at the ACC Network, has the Irish behind North Carolina. Both teams won, both teams needed big second half’s to secure those wins.

Over at 247Sports, they looked at week two overreactions and the Irish showed up. Brandon Marcello stated the obvious that the passing game needed to be better, but his assessment after was concerning. Marcello noted “North Carolina, meanwhile, looks like more of a challenger than Notre Dame in the ACC.”

Yes, this was a look at overreactions, but it’s still a reaction. One that doesn’t have the Irish trending in the right direction. The good news is that after Kelly’s meeting with the media yesterday, he shed some light on the offense. A new zone blocking scheme held the offense back a bit, without live reps in preseason camp, there were kinks to be worked out.

Could that have been why quarterback Ian Book struggled? There were other reasons, his receiver with the most reps in camp, Bennett Skowronek, got injured and didn’t return. All new skill position players needed to be broken in.

North Carolina returned a 1,000 yard rusher, two 1,000 yard receivers and quarterback Sam Howell. They have the chemistry but still struggled.

Yes, some have “dropped” the Irish a notch in there rankings but it doesn’t matter much. Notre Dame’s schedule is set up for them to be able to break in a new offense, while still being able to win. Louisville and Pittsburgh are ranked opponents, but would they be in a normal season? Doubtful.

The defense looks like it won’t skip a beat from last years very good group. They will give the offense a cushion to get comfortable. Brian Kelly’s group should be fine going forward as they compete for the ACC title.

 

Notre Dame vs. Duke: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

There’s no doubt this game was torture for a lot of people.

There’s no doubt this game was torture for a lot of people. When was Notre Dame going to look like the national-title contender it’s supposed to be? We need a little more time to see that in earnest. Regardless, the Irish will take their 27-13 season-opening win over Duke.

Notre Dame (1-0, 1-0) continued its drive from the end of the third quarter by mainly going to the ground game that worked so well. Then, Ian Book hit Kyren Williams for an 18-yard completion that got the Irish into the red zone. After two incomplete passes, Book hit Avery Davis in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass that could have been caught by him or Blue Devils safety Michael Carter II.

Duke (0-1, 0-1) couldn’t get anything going on its ensuing possession, and the Irish moved again upon getting the ball back. Chris Tyree ran 25 yards on the drive’s first play, and Book hit Michael Mayer for 14 yards to get into Blue Devils territory. That set up a 34-yard field goal for Jonathan Doerer, the game’s final score. As the cherry on top of the victory, Adetokunbo Ogundeji recovered a fumble after a sack on Chase Brice that ended Duke’s final drive.

If Notre Dame wants to beat Clemson later in the season, it will have to do a little better than what it showed Saturday. It came out flat but slowly found its footing on both sides of the ball. Hopefully, that can be chalked up to opening-day jitters more than anything else. Regardless, it’s a good beginning to a season with high expectations.

Notre Dame vs. Duke: Third-Quarter Analysis

Little by little, we’re seeing glimpses of how Notre Dame is expected to play this season.

Little by little, we’re seeing glimpses of how Notre Dame is expected to play this season. It may not be pretty, but the Irish are getting the job done. They lead Duke, 17-13, after three quarters.

The Blue Devils’ first possession of the second half was cut short when Jalon Calhoun, their leading receiver from last year, fumbled a reception and saw Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah make the recovery. However, it wasn’t all good for the Irish as Kyle Hamilton limped off the field and has yet to return. Gotta give something to get something, I suppose.

Out of a timeout and with eight minutes left in the quarter, Kyren Williams took the ball on a fourth-and-1 and ran it 26 yards for his second touchdown of the game. So far, this kid looks to be worth the hype. Of course, he got a little help on a nice block from Javon McKinley.

It turned out the Irish needed that 17-6 lead because the Blue Devils aren’t going away. After the Irish went three-and-out deep in their own territory, Chase Brice took advantage of a short field and made a couple of nice passes to lead a touchdown drive. He finished it off himself by running in from 2 yards out.

Notre Dame vs. Duke: Second-Quarter Analysis

Well, that’s a little more like it. Though it may not seem so, Notre Dame finally looks something like the team it’s expected to be in 2020.

Well, that’s a little more like it. Though it may not seem so, Notre Dame finally looks something like the team it’s expected to be in 2020. Thanks to a little trickery, the Irish find themselves ahead of Duke at halftime, 10-6.

When it looked like another Irish drive would die early, Jay Bramblett successfully executed a late punt. It woke the offense up, as evidenced by Kyren Williams’ 11-yard run, which was added onto by a face-mask penalty, and a nice catch by Jafar Armstrong, who took it 20 yards to the Duke 2. Williams ran it in for the Irish’s first touchdown of the season one play later.

The defense was picked apart on a drive that Duke got down to the Notre Dame 2. With the Blue Devils threatening to retake the lead on third-and-goal, Isaiah Foskey got to Chase Brice and ultimately was credited with a 10-yard sack after a replay review. Charlie Ham salvaged the drive with a 30-yard field, his second of the game and his career.

On the next drive, the Irish had a chance to extend their lead further after Williams caught an Ian Book pass and ran 75 yards to the Duke 11. But Book made an ill-advised throw into traffic, and Lummie Young IV intercepted it in the end zone for a touchback. Book then threw another interception when he got back on the field, but an offsides penalty wiped it out. The drive continued, and Jonathan Doerer kicked a 48-yard field goal as the clock expired on the first half.

Notre Dame vs. Duke: First-Quarter Analysis

If Notre Dame was hoping to come out fast in its opener, the first quarter was anything but, resulting in a 3-0 Duke lead.

If Notre Dame was hoping to come out fast in its opener, the first quarter was anything but, resulting in a 3-0 Duke lead.

The Irish allowed the Blue Devils to get on the outskirts of field-goal range on the game’s first possession before forcing a turnover on downs. The next time Duke had the ball, Chase Brice hit Eli Pancol for a 55-yard completion, and it was lackluster tackling execution that allowed Pancol to get to the Notre Dame 8-yard line. Though the Irish held the Blue Devils to a 29-yard field goal by Charlie Ham, the first of his collegiate career, it was a disappointing drive given that it started on the Duke 10.

The offense looked even worse, going three-and-out on its first three possessions. The lowlight came when Ian Book got sacked by Rocky Shelton II for a 10-yard loss. Just a wild guess here, but you probably need to pick up first downs to have a chance at winning a football game. Anyone wanna argue that?

Watch: Here Come the Irish for the First Time in 2020

You didn’t know if you would see this in 2020, did you?

You didn’t know if you would see this in 2020, did you? With everything we’ve had to go through, you couldn’t be blamed if you didn’t think it would happen.  Nonetheless, here it is:

It’s true that this doesn’t mean COVID-19 is over. Not by a long shot. We have a long way to go before normalcy is even considered. But man, if this doesn’t signify that things will be OK for a few hours, nothing will.

We don’t know if the Irish will be ahead on the scoreboard at the end of this game, but the university and the ACC already have won for being able to pull this off. Hopefully, this season will be played without interruption, which isn’t a guarantee in the current environment. Still, the Irish coming out of the tunnel proves that some traditions just refuse to die, even if for a year or two. Everyone involved can stand with pride today.

Tale of the Tape: Team Stats – Notre Dame vs. Duke

As Notre Dame prepares for Saturday’s game against Duke, a few areas of strength, at least from 2019, are obvious.

As Notre Dame prepares for Saturday’s game against Duke, a few areas of strength, at least from 2019, are obvious. The defense made life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, which helped the team’s turnover margin rank among the best in the country. The offense did well, too, converting often on fourth downs and in the red zone. Unfortunately, the Irish also had the second-worst red zone defense in the country, so there’s literally nowhere to go but up there.

As for Duke, it had strong showings with special teams, red zone offense, fourth-down conversions, penalties on both sides, and preventing passing yards and first downs. The offense overall left something to be desired, and turnovers didn’t serve the Blue Devils well either. The rushing game was the best part of the offense, but even that didn’t rank highly compared to other teams. The Devils’ best chance is offensive execution with whatever good chances they have because the Irish won’t allow many of them.

Dabo Swinney Wants Notre Dame to Permanently Join ACC

Notre Dame’s independence in normal seasons came up again in Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s weekly news conference Tuesday.

Notre Dame’s independence in normal seasons came up again in Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s weekly news conference Tuesday. Speaking ahead of his team’s season opener against Wake Forest, Swinney was asked about the Irish. He made his position clear:

“I am happy they are in the league. Heck, I wish they were a permanent member. I think that would be great.”

While it’s admirable that the ACC’s most prolific coach thinks highly enough of Notre Dame to have this wish, they’re ultimately nothing more than words right now. It’s true that the Irish becoming a permanent member of the conference would make it better overall. But don’t let yourself think that Notre Dame will do anything beyond what’s best for it and not other schools. Everyone and their brother knows why this 2020 arrangement is happening.

Perhaps this arrangement will work well enough that Swinney’s comments will become gospel. We don’t know because we haven’t played a game yet. In the meantime, Irish fans will continue yearn for the day their team is free once again, even with the previous ACC arrangement still in affect.

ESPN and 247Sports make predictions ahead of ‘20 season

Experts from two major outlets predict how the 2020 ACC and college football season will play out.

Saturday can’t get here soon enough, but until then we have to count down the hours until the Irish kickoff against Duke at 2:30pm EST. While we wait, let’s take a look at how some of the biggest football analysts see the season playing out.

Over at ESPN, Mark Schlabach gave out his predictions to how the conference would shake out, the Irish finishing second behind Clemson, and conference awards, where the Irish went home empty handed. Notre Dame was featured in each of Schlabach’s game’s of the year: ACC conference game, non-conference game and upset of the year. The game of the year is obvious, when the Irish host Clemson on November 7, which Schlabach has Notre Dame winning. If correct, the Irish could potentially stop the Tigers from tying the longest winning streak in-conference play at 29 games set by FSU in the early 90’s.

When looking at the upset of the year, you won’t think the Irish would worry much about Pat Narduzzi’s Pittsburgh Panthers. A so-so offense, but solid defense, shouldn’t pose many problems from Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees but Schlabach thinks Pitt will. Having home-field advantage won’t be much on an advantage for any team this year, as crowds aren’t expected to be capacity by any means. An upset would be very disappointing especially against the Panthers, as Notre Dame on paper is a much better team.

As for the non-conference game of the year, the tilt against South Florida won’t be an easy win, but should be a win regardless. It’s a bit concerning that Notre Dame didn’t sniff any of the individual awards, but if it’s wins over individual awards, the Irish will surely take it.

Over at 247Sports, it was more of a collective on how the season would play out. Six of their seven experts have the Irish making the ACC championship game, the other team with a berth was North Carolina. The end goal is winning an ACC championship, at least this year it is, getting to the College Football Playoff is a byproduct of winning the conference.

Staying with 247Sports, only one of their seven experts had Notre Dame in the final four of the CFP, Bud Elliott had them finishing 3rd overall. That’s the good news, back to ESPN, Schlabach has the Irish losing twice, once to the aforementioned Pitt and again to North Carolina. This loss would hurt the most, as Schlabach predicts it will knock the Irish out of a CFP spot. What hurts even more is the Irish will have a shot to beat Clemson twice, but fail to achieve the sweep and finish second in the ACC.

These are just predictions, a guess as to what the season will hold of the Irish as they venture into the ACC for the season. I think we all hope Elliott is correct, making the CFP would be exactly what Brian Kelly is looking for this season.

Rivals: Irish don’t have enough firepower to beat Clemson

It’s a bit premature to make that assumption, there are a lot of unknowns about Notre Dame’s new offense behind Tommy Rees’ direction.

There are plenty of prognosticators who want to go out on a limb and make predictions that might be a bit far out there. Rivals’ Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney both looked at if the Irish could beat out Clemson for the ACC Title.

Both, Farrell and Gorney, believe that Notre Dame won’t be able to knock off the perennial College Football Playoff contestant. Farrell says that “I don’t think there’s a threat” when referring to Notre Dame’s potential to topple the Tigers. Farrell cites Clemson’s hunger after losing last year’s CFB Championship to LSU and that he “can’t see either (North Carolina or Notre Dame’s) defense holding up to the explosive Clemson offense.”

Clemson’s explosive offense has probably the best pair of backfield mates in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne in the country. However, losing potential star wide receiver Justyn Ross to a spinal injury and Tee Higgins going to the NFL, gives the Tigers WR unit some questions going into the season also. Lots of talented players are behind them, but like the Irish, they’re going to have to find playmakers. Their situations, Notre Dame’s and Clemson’s, are very similar and claiming Clemson has an explosive offense at this point in time seems foolish.

Gorney see’s things playing out very similar to Farrell. He worries “the Irish don’t have enough offensive firepower to keep up with Clemson… because Notre Dame is still looking for playmakers in the passing game.” Gorney, like Farrell, fails to see the similarities between both teams playmakers situations.

It’s a bit premature to say Notre Dame’s offense won’t be able to contend with Clemson’s. Defensive coordinator Clark Lea is a rising star and new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees had time to install his offense during the offseason. Rees will find playmakers from his talented group, it could be tight end Brock Wright, wide receiver Braden Lenzy or Lawrence Keys III, running back Chris Tryee that breaks out. The Irish will have players break out and perform at a high level this year.

Farrell and Gorney are a bit off when saying the Irish don’t have the offensive firepower, there’s plenty of talented players on the Notre Dame roster who will have their opportunities this season. Each team will have plenty of time to get their offenses humming by the time they meet on the field November 7th. It should be a great one that will impact not just the ACC race, but the CFP as well.