As COVID-19 cases continue to climb again, athletes are tested, and schools declare intentions for students to return to campus (or not), plans for the college football season change by the day. But for a second, let's live in a world where football will be played this fall and indulge in some analysis. The most [...]
Entering the 2019 season, the run defense was a primary concern for Notre Dame. Replacing Te'von Coney, Drue Tranquill, and Jerry Tillery was daunting, as each had been mainstays of strong units in 2017 and 2018 and rarely left the field. Depth charts at linebacker gave fans heart palpitations as players cross-trained and seemed to [...]
Ian Book had a strange season in his second year as a starter, winning 11 games yet struggling with consistency and seeing a decline in all major passing stats. The Notre Dame passing offense as a whole was less productive and efficient compared to 2018 but finished the year on a strong note. What led [...]
Let's begin breaking down Notre Dame's 2019 advanced stats starting with the unit that enters the fall under the most scrutiny, the Irish running game. Since 2017's record-setting efforts on the ground, the Irish have struggled to run efficiently, especially in big games, and been plagued by high stuff rates. What improved last season, and [...]
As the dust settles on the last games of the 2019 season, taking (with video!) a look at Notre Dame's advanced stats in the Camping World Bowl win over Iowa State. The Irish dominated the key categories of explosiveness, efficiency, and creating and converting scoring chances. But things were closer than they appeared in the [...]
The chaos of the offseason reached South Bend today, as Notre Dame and offensive coordinator Chip Long mutually agreed to part ways. First reported by Football Scoop and confirmed by South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen and a host of other beat writers, Long was Brian Kelly's offensive coordinator for the past three seasons. Long arrived [...]
Notre Dame finally broke through in Palo Alto, gaining an edge with an explosive offense and a defensive crackdown after the first quarter. The Irish lost the efficiency battle but were more consistent stringing successful plays together and on passing downs, allowing the visitors to create far more scoring opportunities. No garbage time was removed [...]
A dominant defensive effort led Notre Dame to a 40-7 route of Boston College that could have been an even bigger blowout on senior day. The Irish offense created nine scoring chances in ten drives before garbage time compared to just one all game for BC. But the ND offense settled for four field goals [...]
The Irish checked all the boxes for a perfect game against Navy - scoring every possession early, forcing turnovers and passing downs, and limiting first down yardage. Second-half garbage time stats obscure in the final box score what was an incredibly dominant performance by Notre Dame against a Navy team that's still competing for the [...]
Notre Dame dominated the Hokies in the most important categories that decide games, but the Irish shot themselves in the foot in all of the less predictable and more random facets of the game. Turnovers and special teams blunders that cost valuable field position nearly led to a horrendous loss reminiscent of South Florida loss [...]
As the great NBA writer Zach Lowe put it on a recent podcast, "as analytical as sports [now] gets, it's still about feeling". The feelings after Notre Dame's blowout loss in Ann Arbor mirrored the stages of grief - perhaps with an overemphasis on the anger and depression, although there may have been some "what [...]
Notre Dame hung on to a massive first-half advantage to defeat the Trojans in a three-point win in South Bend. Despite controlling the game, SP+ gave Notre Dame a 28% postgame win expectancy looking at the final box score - how did the Irish escape despite allowing a massive success rate on the ground, the [...]
Notre Dame played the worst team in FBS per the latest SP+ rankings, and dominated as expected with season-high advantages in explosiveness and efficiency. Where can the Irish continue to improve, what were the most impressive stats from the blowout win, and what challenges USC brings to South Bend next week. Per SP+ garbage time [...]
Notre Dame covered the spread while defeating #18 Virginia in a drama free 4th quarter, yet fell in SP+ rating. The Irish havoc rate was outstanding, the offense perfect in the red zone, and the defense limited Bryce Perkins and the Cavs when they had great field position. But the advanced stats see some sustainability [...]
In a hostile, very red environment, Notre Dame was able to create the same number of scoring opportunities as Georgia, and hang close in efficiency and explosiveness. What were the advantages that tipped the scales in the Bulldogs favor, and what encouraging signs and questions remain for the rest of the season, where the Irish [...]
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