The Notre Dame offense came to life against a terrible North Carolina defense in Chapel Hill, and the defense shut down the 15th ranked offense in F+ for a large middle stretch of the game, allowing the Irish to pull away from the Heels. Drew Pyne found his rhythm, the rushing attack gashed UNC, and [...]
It was ugly early and often for Notre Dame against Cal. But with both lines finally controlling the game for solid stretches, the Irish carved out enough advantages against the Bears to pull away late. In Drew Pyne's first start the ND offense was extremely careful but moved the ball well enough with short to [...]
Sometimes when Notre Dame plays down the level of inferior competition, there are bright spots and data to brush off those concerns. The Toledo game last year is a good example - it easily could have been an embarrassing loss, and was zero fun to watch. But the Irish had higher yards per play, a [...]
Notre Dame losing by 11 points at Ohio State wasn't a total surprise, but the advanced stats from this game would have qualified as a shocker for fans before the game. Breaking down how the Irish stayed close with a draw in explosive plays, ultimately couldn't hang with the Buckeyes because of a dramatic loss [...]
Once again the 18 Stripes crew was invited to participate in the annual "Counting Down the Irish" list of top 25 preseason Notre Dame players. While the votes are tied to my name, I like to go with a "wisdom of the crowds" approach each year, opening voting to the staff and then averaging our [...]
Real football is almost here, and if you're checking in after offseason hibernation, you may wonder how the 2022 schedule is shaping up. Good news, I've done your homework for you! Below is a summary of each of Notre Dame's 12 opponents, with a recap of what the projection systems like about each, where the [...]
This offseason, we’ll be breaking down the performance of each unit – passing and rushing offense and defense – with a look ahead to 2022 and what this means for the Irish. As we move to the defense, Notre Dame struggled with big rushes allowed more last fall than any year of the Clark Lea [...]
This offseason, we’ll be breaking down the performance of each unit – passing and rushing offense and defense – with a look ahead to 2022 and what this means for the Irish. Next is the Notre Dame passing game, which was a wild ride in 2022 with Jack Coan taking time to find his footing [...]
This offseason, we’ll be breaking down the performance of each unit – passing and rushing offense and defense – with a look ahead to 2022 and what this means for the Irish. First up is the Notre Dame run game, which struggled immensely through the first half of the year despite talented running backs, then [...]
The story of Brian Kelly at Notre Dame is one of steady improvement. His success wasn't instant, with close-game struggles and a 4-5 start in Year 1 and the most frustrating possible 0-2 start in Year 2. There were dramatic swings here and there - the breakthrough in 2012 few saw coming, and the collapse [...]
Well, that escalated quickly. Late this afternoon reports surfaced that LSU was targeting Brian Kelly as their next head coach, with athletic director Scott Woodward likely to make some type of godfather offer. While the details haven't emerged, it appears he found an offer that Kelly couldn't refuse. Sources: LSU is expecting to hire Notre [...]
Notre Dame was nearly perfect in the 2021 home finale against Georgia Tech, scoring on every possession in the first half (with just one field goal) and shutting out the Yellow Jackets. The Irish continued to dominate inexperienced quarterbacks, and Jack Coan's recent run of passing efficiency hit levels Ian Book rarely matched against P5 [...]
Notre Dame and North Carolina matched up extremely evenly in explosiveness and efficiency in a defense-optional battle. Still, the Irish created just enough advantages on the margins, like converting scoring chances and field position to pull away. Breaking down the ND defensive performance and if Marcus Freeman is still within the return policy window, how [...]
Notre Dame dictated the game from start to finish, but USC was on par or better in efficiency and explosiveness. A massive early turnover (worth nearly 10 points in EPA, expected points added) set the tone, and the Irish dominated the Trojans in cashing in scoring chances to hold Southern Cal at arm's length. The [...]
With no game last weekend to recap, let's check in on Notre Dame's statistical profile at the midway point of the regular season. In this wild year, what are the Irish doing well to keep winning close games? And where can they find traction to begin pulling away from opponents and increasing the margin of [...]
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