Total yardage and yards per play were almost identical. Michigan had a significant edge in efficiency. So how did Notre Dame control the game and come away with the win last weekend over Jim Harbaugh and company? Confused? Check out this handy-dandy advanced stats glossary. The Basics As you can see, the Irish and Michigan [...]
Breaking down the advanced stats for Notre Dame vs. Michigan - how can the Irish come out on top in what figures to be a defensive struggle? What parallels are there for this opener and the UGA game of 2017? And what four toss-up stats will help determine the winner Saturday night? When Michigan has [...]
It's not surprising that advanced stats see the Irish as a top 10 team entering 2018. After a significant leap forward on defense last season, Notre Dame returns more production on that side of the ball than almost every team in the nation. The offense, which fueled by a dominant run game performed like a [...]
After breaking down Notre Dame's 2018 opponent offenses last week, let's take a look at the other side of the ball. What caliber of defenses will Brandon Wimbush, Chip Long and company be up against this season? The graph below shows how each opponent (and the Irish) performed last season in explosiveness (IsoPPP) allowed and [...]
Expectations are sky-high this fall for rookie defensive coordinator Clark Lea with a combination of talented and experienced returning starters. While there are a few outstanding questions - who will emerge at safety and to what level of performance, how Lea will handle game-planning and play-calling, how key position changes will play out - it [...]
In part one of a three-post series, let's take a look at Notre Dame's 2018 opponents ranked by their preseason S&P+ ratings. Beginning with the toughest five games on the schedule, what elements are driving these preseason ratings, in a positive or a negative direction, for each team? How does each team look in terms [...]
Recapping Notre Dame's narrow escape over an always irritating Navy offense - many offensive numbers that were better than they looked on film, a solid defensive effort with a few missed opportunities, and a look at Bryce Love and Stanford. The Basics Possessions Plays Yards Scoring Opportunities Notre Dame 7 47 331 4 Navy 8 [...]
Breaking down the advanced stats from a wild win over Wake Forest - a poor performance from the defense that isn't as bad without garbage time, an uncharacteristic struggle in the red zone, and a look ahead at an enormous showdown in Miami this weekend. The Basics This game is a perfect summary of why [...]
Eventually Notre Dame will have a game where they aren't ripping away turnovers, rushing at will for over 300 yards, and dominating on both sides of the ball in the red zone. That day was not last weekend against USC, as Brian Kelly stayed undefeated since dancing with his team to Post Malone and Quavo [...]
Ahead of Saturday's battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh (anyone notice Brian Kelly is super into rivalry trophies lately?), how do the Trojans and Irish match up in each advanced stats category? Where is USC susceptible, and what should Notre Dame fans be worried about? USC Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense Immediately after the loss to [...]
Checking out the advanced stats from Notre Dame at North Carolina: a dominant defensive performance, solid job by Ian Book as game manager, and a look at what's ailing the wide receivers. The Basics This wasn't a particularly pretty win, but thanks to a dominant defensive effort it never felt like an Irish victory was [...]
When the post-game conversation centers around how high the performance ranked in the Brian Kelly era and debating the significance of a +3 turnover margin and garbage time yards, things went pretty well. Below we'll take a look at the advanced stats from Notre Dame's wire-to-wire win over Michigan State. The basics The “First Take”-style [...]
Recapping Notre Dame's tough loss to Georgia with an review of the advanced stats. In a fairly even contest, where did the Irish come up short? Bear with me for a quick trip into an alternate universe… Notre Dame finally reversed their streak of losses in close games, gutting out a tough 22-20 win over [...]
Recapping Notre Dame –Temple with advanced stats: a dominant rushing performance, some questions in the passing game, and an improving defense that showed flashes but needs more consistency. Introduction If you’ve been with us a few years, you’ll notice a few tweaks and changes for 2017. I’ll introduce them as they arrive, but as always [...]
It's time to break out the advanced stats again, taking a glance at the few things that went right and the many things that went wrong in 2016 and predicting how they'll change this season. Last year I broke out each of Bill Connelly's Five Factors into it's own posts, but procrastination has led to [...]
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