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 [...]
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 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 [...]
Notre Dame averaged ten yards per play and held New Mexico to a 9.5% passing success rate in an explosive home opener. Yet there were some lingering red flags that will need to be cleaned up to have a shot at an upset in Athens. Breaking down the blowout of the Lobos and highlighting some [...]
What do projection systems like SP+ (newly re-named!) and FEI see for Notre Dame in 2019? A much more difficult schedule, an improving offense, and a defense that will hope its strength in the passing game helps it continue to be a top-10 unit. Transparently, this was intended to be a multi-part series, but hey, [...]
They've been great on paper, but they haven't faced a top-10 opponent like this in 2018. That statement applies to both the Clemson offense and Notre Dame defense, as both will raise the difficult setting considerably in the Cotton Bowl. Why Clemson's efficiency is underrated and will test Clark Lea's "bend but don't break" defense, [...]
Notre Dame entered the final game of the 2018 season having allowed an opponent to go over an average (40%) success rate just once, against Michigan. The Trojans put up a 50% efficiency mark, besting the Irish by 12%. How did Notre Dame overcome this disadvantage, and what areas still need to be cleaned up [...]
In a game where the Irish needed to lean on the run, Dexter Williams and the offensive line came through with a season-high 8.14 yards per carry (excluding garbage time) against a solid FSU front. The Noles entered the game ranked 33rd in Rushing Defense S&P+, including the 26th best run stuff rate. But the [...]
The advanced stats show that Notre Dame dominated Northwestern in most key phases of the game, yet special teams miscues, turnovers, and penalties let the Wildcats get within a score late in the 4th quarter. The Irish should walk away confident about a strong effort against a solid opponent, but maybe a bit concerned about [...]
Notre Dame couldn't establish an efficiency advantage for the first time since Ian Book took over the offense, but countered with a Dexter Williams-led win in explosiveness. The Irish also continued their excellence limiting scoring opportunities to create a big advantage in points per scoring chance, with some thanks due to Justin Fuente and his [...]
Notre Dame put up some insane numbers in the win over the Cardinal. Instead of the usual categories, it seemed like a great occasion to count down some of the best numbers from the Irish defense smothering Bryce Love and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, the extremely efficient Book-Boykin connection, and an insane amount of havoc. When you [...]
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