Today kicks off a small off-season project winding my way through the best and worst defensive efforts of the Brian Kelly era. Part one will look at some of the best performances and hopefully provide us plenty of good memories. I will be using S&P+ rankings throughout this whole series as the anchor for discussion.

The Coordinators

Bob Diaco: 37-15 (.711)
Brian VanGorder: 19-11 (.633)
Greg Hudson (interim): 3-5 (.375)
Mike Elko: 10-3 (.769)

Best Performance Against an Elite Offense

Bronze Medal: Michigan, 2012, 13-6 Win

Technically the 9th best offense from this season, although I don’t think that number is very accurate to reality. The previous ’11 Michigan offense was far better and this was the last ride of The ‘Nard which resulted in his throwing abilities finally being brutally exposed and Devin Gardner getting more snaps over the course of the season. Otherwise, this game could’ve received higher status.

Michigan didn’t score until the 4th quarter and were held without a touchdown. The Irish picked off 5 passes–including 4 from Denard Robinson–and let Tommy Rees be the caretaker of a conservative offense that didn’t need much to win.

Silver Medal: USC, 2017, 49-14 Win

Statistically this one won’t blow the doors off anyone. The Trojans averaged 5.01 yards per play which is only the 49th best performance for Notre Dame in this era. Still, the Irish pitched a first half shutout and made USC look really poor for long stretches of the game.

USC’s run game was stifled (76 yards), they turned it over 3 times, and allowed Notre Dame plenty of opportunity to harass quarterback Sam Darnold. For the 16th best offense this was by far their worst performance during the regular season. And while Darnold certainly had his ups and downs in 2017 putting a hurting on the potential No. 1 overall pick is kind of a big deal.

Gold Medal: Oklahoma, 2012, 30-13 Win

Diaco’s masterclass rope-a-dope strategy was the highlight of his keep-everything-in-front-of-you scheme. At times, Oklahoma had bouts of success (36 completions!) but the run-game was non-existent (15 net rushing yards) and the Sooners continually bogged down at the worst times.

Oklahoma was the No. 6 offense in 2012 which makes this the best win over anyone ranked that highly, hardly a surprise for Irish fans. The Sooners’ 379 yards would be the fewest on the season and their 13 points would be tied for the fewest they scored all year.

Best Performance Against an Elite Offense in a Loss

Bronze Medal: Stanford, 2010, 37-14 Loss

A bit of a lost one from the archives and a game, from the scoreline, you wouldn’t think should make this list. But, the Irish fought really hard against the second best offense (3rd overall in 2010) faced of the Kelly era giving up 19 points well into the last quarter. A minute and a half into the 4th quarter, Jonas Gray failed on a 4th & 1 near midfield. Stanford went on to score a touchdown and followed it up with a pick six off Dayne Crist.

The Irish picked Andrew Luck off twice, held Stepfan Taylor in check (3.9 per rush, long rush of 9 yards), and with a couple bounces (especially with a better offense) could’ve made this a very close game down to the wire.

Silver Medal: Georgia, 2017, 20-19 Loss

True, the quarterback switch that would pay dividends for Georgia later in the season was a bit of an advantage for the Irish. The Dawgs finished with 141 passing yards, 16 first downs, and just 3 first downs through the air. Plus, they needed a sensational catch from Terry Godwin for one of their 2 touchdowns.

Georgia was the 14th best offense of 2017 (12th hardest of the era) and the 4.53 yards per play is tied for the best mark out of those top 12 offenses the Irish have faced since 2010.

Gold Medal: Florida State, 2014, 31-27 Loss*

This was the one that ended* Florida State’s 22-game winning streak, after all. The Seminoles returned most of their offense from a National Championship season, and although their production took a dip overall, this was still a loaded attack with NFL players everywhere. S&P+ putting this offense at the 16th best of 2014 (tied 13th hardest face by Notre Dame since 2010) probably undervalues the ceiling of the Seminoles.

Florida State finished this game with only 18 first downs, 50 rushing yards (with Dalvin Cook!), and one could argue the VanGorder defense never looked more aggressive and productive on the big stage.

Best Performance in a Loss

Bronze Medal: Stanford, 2016, 17-10 Loss

Our lone offering from the Greg Hudson interim era saw the Irish pitch a 1st half shutout as the offense crapped away what should’ve been an easy win. This was 1 of 33 games (32% of all Kelly games) where Notre Dame held an opponent under 300 total yards and 1 of 5 losses in those games. From those 5 losses where an opponent couldn’t gain 300 yards this was the worst offense (60th nationally) of the bunch.

Even worse, 9 of Stanford’s points came off a pick six and safety.

Silver Medal: Florida State, 2011, 18-14 Loss

Hey, another first half shutout for the Irish defense that would end in a loss! And another game in which the opponent couldn’t gain 300 yards. In fact, the Seminoles had just 113 yards at halftime.

Ten of Florida State’s points came courtesy of a 77-yard kickoff return to set up a field goal and an Andrew Hendrix interception that set up FSU at the Irish 18-yard line where they’d score a touchdown. This was also a very pedestrian offense (48th nationally) with a weak run-game that had no business winning this game. Granted, the Notre Dame offense is mostly to blame for not scoring in the 2nd half.

Gold Medal: USF, 2011, 23-20 Loss

A pair of performances from 2011 in this section sums up that year quite well. In non-hurricane games there is one game out of the 24 best defensive performances as judged by total yards where the Irish lost and it’s this dumb, no good South Florida game in the 2011 opener.

USF’s 254 yards are the 12th fewest Notre Dame has given up in the Kelly-era and the Bulls’ 3.53 yards per play were the 7th fewest in the same time frame. The Bulls were also 2 of 13 on 3rd down, scored one offensive touchdown, and as many of you know benefited greatly from 5 Notre Dame turnovers.

Most Thoroughly Dominant Performances

Bronze Medal: NC State, 2017, 35-14 Win

This game didn’t start out like it’d make this list as early in the 2nd quarter the game was tied 14-14. By the time it ended it had the taste of a thoroughly impressive defensive performance from Notre Dame. They limited NC State to only 1 offensive touchdown and a paltry 50 yards rushing.

The 263 yards for NC State was the 15th fewest of this era and that’s from the 21st S&P+ offense in 2017. The way this game ended was the best part–no scoring for the Wolfpack after the 1st quarter and no offensive drives over 40 yards after the first frame.

Silver Medal: Utah, 2010, 28-3 Win

Many fans didn’t respect the ranked Utah team when they came to town in 2010 mostly due to their mid-major status and blowout loss the week prior to TCU. However, when things were clicking this Utes offense could put up some big numbers (38+ points in 6 games) and finished as the 19th best offense in the country.

Utah opened up with a field goal after the Irish turned the ball over on downs in their own territory. From there, they didn’t have a drive over 20 yards until well into garbage time in the 4th quarter, and obviously never scored again. The 3.84 yards per play given up is the 13th best effort for Notre Dame since 2010.

Gold Medal: Stanford, 2014, 17-14 Win

By no means was this Stanford offense very good. They finished 45th overall by S&P+ and averaged just over 27 points per game. They were experiencing Bad Kevin Hogan and the run game was pedestrian with a freshman Christian McCaffrey barely used and not yet a household name.

What resulted in the rainy weather was an abomination. The 205 total yards are the 4th fewest given up by Notre Dame and the 3.01 yards per play is the best of the Kelly-era defenses. Imagine if Golson didn’t find Koyack in the end zone and this was a loss.

Most Entertaining Performances

Bronze Medal: Miami, 2012, 41-3 Win

Miami found a little bit of success in this game (5.38 YPP is only the 56th best effort since 2010) and this game was still relatively close at halftime, 13-3 in favor of Notre Dame. In the 2nd half, it became clear the Hurricanes were not scoring. With the Irish run game going wild this was a super fun Shamrock Series.

Silver Medal: Texas, 2015, 38-3 Win

What a fun opener. This was a beat down bad enough that the score doesn’t do it justice. Texas was limited to 8 first downs and their 163 total yards is the fewest ever gained against a Kelly defense. The Horns 3.13 yards per play is also the 3rd lowest figure from this era. The juxtaposition between this game and the rematch in Austin the following year is a sight to behold.

Gold Medal: Michigan, 2014, 31-0 Win

None of the offenses in this category were anything special. Miami (41st), Texas (64th), and Michigan (89th) all had serious flaws and poor quarterback play. Aside from the shutout (1 of only 2 since 2010) this defensive performance against Michigan doesn’t have otherworldly stats but find me another game that left you cackling more to yourself for years to come.