Notre Dame vs. Purdue: News and Notes

The Irish CAN Run The Football

For the first time in a long time Notre Dame ran the football consistently and effectively. Not only did this help the passing game via a balanced offensive attack, it also led to improved red zone efficiency and a substantial edge in time of possession.

Naturally, the improved production in the running game was partially due to better offensive line play. In particular, much maligned tight end Kyle Rudolph turned in a drastically improved blocking performance. But the real reasons for success are far more subtle.

Against Purdue the improvement in the run game was four fold.

First, offensive coordinator Mike Haywood showed a commitment to running the football. This was primarily evident in his patience as a play caller, sticking with the run after not seeing much production early on in the game.

Second, the balance of the passing game opened up the run. Passes over the middle of the field to Rudolph helped keep the Purdue linebackers guessing.

Third, Haywood used different types of running plays and blocking schemes up front. Many have been begging for this for quite some time.

Haywood called designed counters and more quickly developing run plays for most of the day. A few zone stretch plays snuck their way in, but the Irish mostly ran right at the Boilermaker defense.

Haywood primarily stuck with a zone blocking scheme, but focused on sealing the edge and gave the Irish offensive line the angles with his play calling. For the first time this season the play calling utilized the talents of the offensive personnel.

Lastly, running back Armando Allen burst on the scene with a career day. He continues to run with a tough, physical style. Allen also showed much more patience than he ever has.

For the first time in his young career his speed was a strength, rather than a weakness. He used his vision to see the play develop and accelerated through the hole when it opened. He even cut against the grain a few times for big gains.

It’s Not Great, But We’ll Take It

Haywood still has a long way to go as a play caller but he did show signs of improvement Saturday.

As mentioned above, there was much more patience sticking with the ground game. An effective rushing attack doesn’t always show up early in the game. Hopefully Haywood has learned this and will continue to be patient in the future. Haywood also kept the Boilermaker defense guessing with a good mix of runs and passes.

Most importantly, the halftime adjustments made by the offensive staff were tremendous. In addition to finding the best formation(s) to get Notre Dame’s best eleven offensive players on the field, the defense was on its heels the entire second half.

There are, however, still negatives.

The fade seems to be the only play in the red zone. Against less talented teams when there are favorable matchups this may work. But more talented defenses will take it away and the Irish must develop an alternative to putting points on the board inside the twenty.

Notre Dame goes deep far too often on third down. The Irish faced third and long more than 70 percent of the time against Purdue but that doesn’t excuse quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Haywood from taking shots thirty yards down the field. The play calling needs to evolve in order to move the ball down the field more consistently.

While not used many times against Purdue, the screen game is still suspect for the Irish. This is coupled with an absence of a running threat in the shotgun and little deception of play intent with offensive formations obviously catered to running or passing. Add it all up and Notre Dame has few weapons to slow a powerful pass rush. If the defense knows you’re throwing the ball their job is much easier. This must be rectified in the future.

Speaking of tipping off the defense, Clausen’s pass audibles are completely transparent. Not only do greater than 90 percent of his play changes result in a pass, the change in depth of the running back (from the line of scrimmage) all but screams pass protection. The Irish must work to hide these indicating factors.

Better and more talented defenses (and defensive coordinators) will force the Irish offense to be one-dimensional. Continued unpredictability in play calling and perfection in one facet of the offense will go a long way in cultivating an identity and giving the players something to come back to when they need to generate yards.

The Turtle Does Not Win The Race

Lately head coach Charlie Weis’ offense has been slow to start. In addition to not playing a complete game, this allows less talented teams to stay in the game and good teams to build a lead. Neither is desirable and the latter is deadly for a young team.

The Irish tried to prevent a slow start with a no-huddle, spread offense but it proved ineffective. Two drives into the game things looked pretty bleak and only excellent halftime adjustments paved the way for a big third quarter.

These slow starts are driven mostly by inconsistent execution and must be a focus going forward.

Is Clausen’s Jersey Still Clean?

Once a pre-season dream, good protection of Clausen is now a reality. While Clausen’s decision making and Allen’s pass protection are improved, it all starts up front with the play of the offensive line.

Statistically, Notre Dame has improved dramatically protecting the passer. Once the culprit of killed drives, the Irish have minimized sacks and made the game much more manageable. This has allowed the offense to spread the field and has been the catalyst for a more vertical passing game.

But the passing game is just the beginning.

Coming off a disappointing performance against Michigan State, the offensive line looks to have regained its footing. The emotion, toughness, and physicality that was lacking against the Spartans was present Saturday and led to more than 200 yards rushing. While the Irish still struggle to engage at the second level, improvement sealing the edge sprung Allen on many long runs.

“We’re Eating A Lot Of Hamburger But You Really Want To Be Eating Steak”

After seeing first hand in 2007 (and hearing all off-season) what a Jon Tenuta led defense can do to a quarterback many Irish fans are disappointed in the sack production of the Notre Dame defense. While the aggressive, blitzing defensive scheme has caused pressure on the quarterback, only one sack has materialized.

Naturally, the first question for Irish fans is “should we care?” Despite the lack of sacks Notre Dame has repeatedly pressured opposing quarterbacks, forced errant throws, and batted down multiple balls at the line of scrimmage. It seems like, at least partially, the defense is doing what it is designed to do.

The short answer is yes. Against a more talented offense the Irish will pay for risking single man coverage or rolling up the zone. It might not happen in the immediate future, but it’s coming. It will most certainly happen when Notre Dame makes a trip to the Coliseum but also potentially when they face North Carolina.

The defense’s inability to get to opposing quarterbacks is primarily due to four things.

One, Notre Dame lacks the pure pass rushers up front to generate consistent pressure without sending two or three more players. There is talent on the defensive line but most of it is young and inexperienced. This leaves the secondary vulnerable to one-on-one man coverage or a zone rotation.

Second, like the offense, Notre Dame’s defense has personnel tendencies that hamper its success. Harrison Smith and Sergio Brown are rarely used in coverage, spending much more of their time coming off the edge into the opponent’s backfield. Conversely, defensive backs David Bruton, Kyle McCarthy, Terrail Lambert, Gary Gray, and Raeshon McNeil rarely blitz.

Third, Tenuta has been a part of the defensive staff for less than a year. This is mostly evident in execution. Often the timing of the Irish defenders is poor and the defensive line frequently struggles to take the correct angles and generate the appropriate space for the blitzing members of the secondary and linebacking corps.

Applying pressure in the passing game is much more difficult than executing a run blitz. The latter requires simple gap responsibility. The former requires precision in timing, rotating, and disciplined coverage. More time might be needed to execute Tenuta’s scheme at a high level.

Fourth, opposing offenses counter Notre Dame’s pressure scheme with a quick, three-step drop or shotgun, short passing game. This is the correct call for the opposition but the Irish are not adjusting appropriately or taking advantage of turnover opportunities.

Far too often the secondary is playing loose in coverage. This results in space for opposing wide receivers making tackling more difficult, allowing yards after the catch, and sacrificing opportunities for interceptions. Tighter secondary play will likely result in improvement in all three areas.

If the Irish defense isn't getting to the quarterback, production from the blitz in the form of turnovers would be a nice consolation. In the second half against Purdue Notre Dame began to do this but were unable to catch the football.

What A Freakin’ Day

Not only did Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen have a career statistical performance, he showed what the future holds for Notre Dame football.

Clausen is starting to live up to the hype. His arm strength is no longer a question, his touch is rapidly improving, and his accuracy is unquestionable. This was never more evident than on two completions to wide receiver David Grimes.

The first came on the opening offensive play of the second half when Clausen zipped a perfectly placed ball on an out route across the field and between two defenders. The second came on fourth and seven at Purdue’s thirty yard line. Clausen took the snap, Grimes got a quick release, and the ball was delivered in perfect stride for a touchdown.

Like always, there is still room for improvement. Clausen must adapt to avoiding the pass rush by stepping up into the pocket. He must continue to improve in his progressions, stop staring down receivers, and check-down. He must be more judicious deciding when to go down field. And he must refine his play action mechanics.

But Saturday was a huge step in the right direction.

Learning On The Job

If the Michigan State game showed Weis is still learning, Saturday showed he is coming up the learning curve.

Multiple young players were gaining invaluable experience by getting meaningful minutes of playing time. This builds depth. Weis didn’t do this 2005 or 2006 and it helped contribute to the disaster of a season in 2007.

Weis faced a significant challenge at halftime. The Irish had come off a disappointing loss to the Spartans and sputtered offensively for much of the first half. The team came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter. Weis successfully navigated the psyche of his team and motivated them to play better in the second half.

Now Weis faces another challenge. Much like life after the Michigan win, the team must remain even and keep working to improve. Weis must accomplish this with a team who has experienced very little success.