About Michael Bryan

Atlanta native, Double Domer ('10/'12), and current Indianapolis resident. Writing mostly about advanced stats, since they're more informative than traditional ones, but the numbers are always the starting point - not the whole story.

Advanced Stats Review: Army (+ Bonus SC Lookahead!)

When Miami (Florida edition) dropped Notre Dame from the 2024 schedule late in the process (as scheduling goes), the Irish pivoted to hosting Army. Everything after that point turned into the ideal outcomes Marcus Freeman's team, with the Black Knights entering the game undefeated and incredibly ranked #19 in the CFP rankings and Notre Dame [...]

By |2024-11-26T23:40:10-05:00November 26th, 2024|Football|5 Comments

Advanced Stats Review: Virginia

Notre Dame dominated Virginia down-to-down, but officiating and startling momentum shifts on Senior Day gave this game a strange flow. Once again Al Golden's defense was dominant, forcing 5 turnovers and Cavs QB Anthony Colandrea to the bench after he accumulated -17 expected points added (total EPA) for the game. For a second straight week [...]

By |2024-11-19T14:26:18-05:00November 19th, 2024|Football|5 Comments

Advanced Stats Midseason(+) Check In

With advanced stats recaps on vacation the last few weeks, we have some catching up to do! With the calendar turning toward November and the playoff picture beginning to take shape, let's check on in Notre Dame's season-long advanced stats and what strengths and weaknesses could fuel or doom a 12-team playoff run. Offensive Profile [...]

By |2024-11-06T08:56:41-05:00November 6th, 2024|Football|3 Comments

Advanced Stats Review: Purdue

Notre Dame bounced back with a vengeance in West Lafayette, laying waste to a Purdue team that was completely overwhelmed on both sides of the ball. The explosive rushing attack once again fueled the Irish offense and was complemented by a more efficient passing game. Passing explosiveness, still a question mark. The defense was dominant [...]

By |2024-09-20T09:07:13-04:00September 19th, 2024|Football|0 Comments

Advanced Stats Review: NIU

Notre Dame couldn’t separate from Northern Illinois. While a fact check reveal there was some luck involved, the Huskies were just as efficient as the Irish, more explosive, and doubled up the 4-TD favorites in scoring chances created. The post-game win expectancy from SP+ reveals a coin-flip game - one that Marcus Freeman couldn't afford [...]

By |2024-09-12T13:34:19-04:00September 12th, 2024|Football|2 Comments

Advanced Stats Review: Texas A&M

Notre Dame aced the projected toughest test of 2024 in College Station, shutting down the Aggies offense and creating the explosive plays to decide a defensive battle. Al Golden's defense put on a masterclass, shutting down explosive plays and forcing Conner Weigman and the unproven A&M skill talent to sustain long drives to score. Riley [...]

By |2024-09-04T16:42:20-04:00September 4th, 2024|Football|6 Comments

ND Stats Deep Dive: The Offense

The Irish offense finished 2023 ranked 14th in Offensive F+, which feels like a "meets expectations" grade from where things stood in the preseason. Still, the game-by-game output that placed Notre Dame there feels underwhelming - Sam Hartman and company throttled some inferior opponents but struggled to put points on the board in most of [...]

By |2024-08-24T08:46:43-04:00August 24th, 2024|Football|33 Comments
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