Tag: 2020 acc football

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

Defense will be the name of the game when Notre Dame plays Pittsburgh.

Defense will be the name of the game when Notre Dame plays Pittsburgh. Though Kyren Williams has paced the Irish en route to becoming the seventh-best rushing offense in the country, he and the other backs will have contend with a Panthers defense that has become the prototype for stopping the run in 2020. In fact, the Panthers have to be chomping at the bit to face an Irish offense that just came off a putrid performance against Louisville and has done little to prove anything in the passing game this entire season. If Pitt’s defense lives up to its reputation, all its offense has to do is pick up first downs at the rate it usually does, and we could be looking at an upset.

Of course, none of this discounts the tough defense the Irish bring on the road. It will tighten up on third down and also keep points off the scoreboard. As a whole, the Irish are far more disciplined, too, so perhaps the Panthers will be just as charitable on the penalty front as the Cardinals were last week. But whether there are lots of penalties or not, we’re looking at a game which could be determined by which defense blinks first.

Tale of the Tape: Leading Rushers – Kyren Williams vs. Vincent Davis

The difference in the leading rusher comparison for the Notre Dame-Pittsburgh game is efficiency.

The difference in the leading rusher comparison for the Notre Dame-Pittsburgh game is efficiency. Kyren Williams has done a lot with fewer opportunities, but every Irish fan knows by now how talented he is regardless of who he’s being compared to. It’s a given by now that he will have a dominant game if he merely steps on the field. In fact, it would be a complete shock if he didn’t have a 100-yard game.

The Panthers enter this game with Vincent Davis as their top rusher. While he’s definitely gotten his share of opportunities both in the running and passing games, he’s hasn’t done a whole lot with them. Given those chances and this point in Pittsburgh’s season, most of his numbers shouldn’t be this low, though he seems to be doing well running the ball into the end zone. Of course, we could be saying all of the above about Ian Book, but that’s an issue for another day.

Tale of the Tape: Starting Quarterbacks – Ian Book vs. Joey Yellen

Whether Ian Book is the better quarterback going into Notre Dame’s matchup with Pittsburgh remains to be seen.

Whether Ian Book is the better quarterback going into Notre Dame’s matchup with Pittsburgh remains to be seen. What we know is that time to prove that his mainly unremarkable numbers through his first four games were an anomaly could be running out. While Book has proven capable of carrying the ball himself, planned or otherwise, the gap in his running and throwing abilities appears to be shrinking. Irish fans keep waiting for him to tear up a defense through the air, which he hasn’t done yet.Though Kenny Pickett could be available after missing their last game against Florida State, the Panthers are expected to start Joey Yellen, a redshirt freshman who transferred from Arizona State. Yellen still is feeling his way into his new surroundings, and it shows. There’s really nothing to write home about with him, which is unfair given the situation he and the Panthers are in, but it’s the reality. The question is whether Pat Narduzzi will pull the plug on Yellen early and decide to summon Davis Beville or a partially healthy Pickett.

Notre Dame vs. Louisville: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Although it was far from a pretty game, Notre Dame will take the victory.

Although it was far from a pretty game, Notre Dame will take the victory. Few would have predicted a close, low-scoring clash with Louisville in South Bend on Saturday, but that’s what we got. Notre Dame needed every bit of the luck of the Irish to squeeze out a 12-7 victory.

The fourth quarter was a whole lot of blah, but at this point, all the Irish (4-0, 3-0) needed to do was run out the clock on the Cardinals (1-3, 0-3), who were resilient all afternoon. They might have pulled off the upset had they not hurt themselves with eight penalties for 65 yards. Alas, it wasn’t meant to happen.

The Irish are going to need to make some serious adjustments before traveling to play Pittsburgh next week. Whether it was the effect of the wind at Notre Dame Stadium or the unexpected resilience shown by Louisville, it wasn’t nearly the effort most expected and hardly one worthy of their No. 4 ranking. It will take a real show of empathy by the voters to maintain that stature. Whatever we saw Saturday, that’s not what we’re used to seeing or what we should see.

Notre Dame vs. Louisville: Third-Quarter Analysis

For the first time this season, we can legitimately say Notre Dame is having a difficult time with an opponent.

For the first time this season, we can legitimately say Notre Dame is having a difficult time with an opponent. We just didn’t think Louisville would provide that before Clemson. Yet somehow after three quarters, the Irish find themselves ahead, 12-7.

The Cardinals got the ball to begin the second half and started to move the ball well, mainly on the ground. They dealt the Irish a back-breaker when Malik Cunningham took it himself and converted on a fourth-and-3, making his way into Irish territory in the process. From there, Cunningham attacked through the air and needed only three plays to find Marshon Ford for a 1-yard touchdown pass. Louisville nearly took the ball right back on a surprise onside kick, but a replay review showed that its kickoff team began blocking before the ball went 10 yards, so the recovery was nullified.

Given new life, the Irish’s offense took advantage and actually found success this time. The drive was highlighted by back-to-back 15-yard runs from Javon McKinley and Chris Tyree. Ian Book punctuated it by running 13 yards into the end zone on a third-and-8 to give the Irish the lead right back. But that was all the points the Irish got as an attempt to go up by a full possession failed after a two-point conversion pass intended for McKinley was broken up.

Depending on how you look at it, the Irish might have a chance of hanging on. On Louisville’s next drive and with time running out in the quarter, Cunningham left the game with an injury and was replaced by sophomore Evan Conley. We’ll see how this changes the course of the game if Cunningham doesn’t return.

Notre Dame vs. Louisville: Second-Quarter Analysis

Mike Tirico said it best on the NBC broadcast: “One team goes [into halftime] with the lead, the other goes in feeling good.”

Mike Tirico said it best on the NBC broadcast: “One team goes [into halftime] with the lead, the other goes in feeling good.”

For the second quarter in a row, Notre Dame is having trouble shaking off Louisville’s defense. Like the first 15 minutes, the offense kept the ball for a long time and had little to show for it. But also just like last time, they’ll gladly take a 6-0 lead as the clock hits zero. Still, Brian Kelly and Tommy Rees will have one heck of a time talking to their guys.

The saving grace is that the Irish remained dominant on defense, so it’s not like Louisville has had much success with the ball either. The Cardinals also have hurt themselves with penalties. Without those, we could be talking about a different game right now. Credit also goes to punter Ryan Harwell for giving the Irish tough field position whenever his own offense stalled out.

The big issue for Notre Dame seems to be the Cardinals’ secondary. On several occasions, the Irish’s receivers have tried to get open, but to no avail. That’s made life more difficult for Ian Book, who’s had to wait so long to make decisions that he finds himself getting wrapped up. A lot of tactical adjustments will need to be made, especially after a failed fake field goal punctuated a 14-play drive that lasted nearly seven-and-a-half minutes, which would have led to the Cardinals getting on the scoreboard but for little time left and a missed 52-yard field goal from James Turner at the halftime gun.

Notre Dame vs. Louisville: First-Quarter Analysis

Notre Dame’s offense is off to another slow start despite dominating time of possession through the first 15 minutes.

Notre Dame’s offense is off to another slow start despite dominating time of possession through the first 15 minutes. Louisville has to be happy to hold the Irish to such a low offensive output thus far. However, the Irish are happier to hold a 6-0 lead after one quarter.

The Irish put together a 12-play drive mainly consisting of runs to begin the quarter, but it stalled it out. Though Jonathan Doerer salvaged the drive with a 32-yard field goal, it was a disappointing outcome. Fortunately, the defense lived up to its name immediately as it forced on three-and-out on the Cardinals’ first possession.

When the Irish got the ball back, they held onto it for a lengthy amount again. This time, they got as far as the Louisville 7-yard line. Once again, a touchdown eluded them, which was a clear outcome once Monty Montgomery sacked Ian Book for a 5-yard loss on third down. Doerer kicked a 30-yard field goal this time, but again, it could have been much more productive.

 

Notre Dame Press Box Pays Tribute to Vaughn McClure

Even if you haven’t covered Notre Dame football in years, it doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten.

Even if you haven’t covered Notre Dame football in years, it doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten. That’s the case with Vaughn McClure, the former Irish reporter for the South Bend Tribune, who died this week at the age of 48. McClure, whose picture was in Notre Dame Stadium’s press box for Saturday’s game against Louisville, wrote about the Irish for both the newspaper and its Irish Sports Report magazine during a tenure that spanned from 1999 to 2004. Since 2013, he had been ESPN’s beat reporter for the Atlanta Falcons.

Eric Hansen, the Tribune’s assistant sports editor and columnist, also used to be the aforementioned magazine’s managing editor. In the paper’s story about McClure, Hansen said the following:

“To try to sum up Vaughn McClure’s impact in a couple of paragraphs is like trying to pour the Pacific Ocean into thimble.

When we hired him in 1999, his goal — his obsession, really — was being better at his craft than the day before. And I’ve never seen someone grow as fast and as dramatically in our business as Vaughn, which isn’t even the most impressive thing about him.

What was? It’s who he was at his core, a man who wanted to make a difference in the world. Through his writing. Through some very frank late-night talks about life in America. Through his hugs. Through his disarming smile.

He didn’t just crush his mission of getting better. He made all of us, who came in contact with him, better people along the way.”

 

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

On Saturday, Notre Dame will play Louisville, a team it’s one or two tiers above as far as most major statistical categories.

On Saturday, Notre Dame will play Louisville, a team it’s one or two tiers above as far as most major statistical categories. Though Ian Book’s passing leaves a little to be desired, the offense as a whole is doing quite well, especially the ground game, which is paced by Kyren Williams. More importantly, the defense continues to be in shutdown mode, and there are no signs that it will ease up on that anytime soon. With so few penalties, the Irish won’t beat themselves, either.

If there’s one thing the Cardinals desperately need to improve upon, it’s limiting turnovers. That potent offense won’t mean a thing otherwise. While time of possession and scoring opportunities in the red zone don’t seem to be much of an issue, all it takes is one slip-up to undo an entire afternoon’s work. Against the Irish’s defense, that’s a real possibility, so if the Cardinals are going to lose, they better make sure it doesn’t happen that way.

Tale of the Tape: Leading Receivers – Javon McKinley vs. Tutu Atwell

Although Notre Dame still doesn’t have a breakout receiver, it enters Saturday’s game against Louisville with someone on the radar.

Although Notre Dame still doesn’t have a breakout receiver, it enters Saturday’s game against Louisville with someone on the radar. Javon McKinley played very well against Florida State, and he could be the leader of this receiving corps going forward. While his receiving yards a game remain very modest, he gains plenty of yards with each catch he makes, spanning nearly a fifth of the field. But the way the Irish have started this season, there could be another name in this spot next week.

The Cardinals have a much more productive player as their top receiver: Tutu Atwell. Though his receiving yards a game merely are decent for the college level, he’s averaging a touchdown a game, making him a bright spot on a struggling team. Malik Cunningham will throw to him often, so the Irish’s defense will be watching him like a hawk the entire game. If Atwell is shut down and the Cardinals can’t get anything out of Dez Fitzpatrick, another key receiver, this game should be a breeze.