Hey Horka: A look at Notre Dame settling for field goals in red zone vs UNC
Notre Dame had its chances to rub salt in North Carolina's wounds.
The Fighting Irish beat the Tar Heels by 10 points (and covered the spread if you're into that sort of thing), but it could have been closer to a dominant 20-point win had the blue and gold offense not spun its wheels in the red zone.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees' unit settled for three red zone field goals in the 44-34 victory. In this week's Hey Horka column, I answer a question from a BlueandGold.com message board user about Notre Dame's red zone struggles. Plus, a look at the Irish's shaky defense that led to a North Carolina field goal in the final seconds of the first half.
It seems like our offense inside the 10 has sputtered a lot. What changes do you think need to made to get us more TDs as opposed to FGs? — arrowfan624
Throw the ball more. Be more aggressive.
Notre Dame snapped the ball 14 times in the red zone on the three drives that resulted in short field goals. Only two of those 14 snaps were attempted passes.
Granted, two of the drives came in the fourth quarter when Notre Dame was nursing a lead and trying to balance both the clock and the score to emerge victorious. It was successful in doing that, and the six points accumulated via two field goals were actually key in that being the case.
However, one of those fourth quarter field goal drives came in the very first minute of the fourth quarter. Notre Dame led by 11 and had just intercepted Sam Howell. A touchdown would have put the Irish up by three scores and would have effectively ended the game. That's where Notre Dame needed to be aggressive, but it wasn't.
The first play of that possession was a good call by Rees. In a bunched 21 personnel formation, graduate senior quarterback Jack Coan faked a handoff to freshman running back Logan Diggs and instead gave the ball to senior wide receiver Avery Davis on an end-around running right to left. The play gained 12 yards.
From there, though, Diggs gained two yards on consecutive plays to take the ball to the one-yard line. The calls were incredibly similar. A handoff right in 11 personnel, and a handoff left in 31 personnel. Switching up the personnel combinations isn a credit to Rees trying to shake things up, but the end results of the two plays were identical. North Carolina was prepared to stop the run.
That's why third down was no different. Diggs left the game and senior running back Kyren Williams came in. Notre Dame stayed in 31 personnel with a fullback. A true goal line formation. It wasn't hard to detect what was coming. Coan handed to Williams, who lost a hard. Notre Dame settled for a field goal, and North Carolina stayed in the game.
With three tight ends on the field, where was the play action rollout? Why didn't Rees try to scheme up some crossing routes or even a back corner fade to senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr.? Why isn't sophomore tight end Michael Mayer a focal point on at least one of the three plays from inside the five yard line? Rees is going to want that particular possession back. It wasn't executed very well.
Notre Dame ran three red zone plays on the first half drive that ended in a field goal. Freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner gained two yards on a designed run. Williams gained two yards on a pitch to the right. Coan came back in and tossed an incomplete pass on a throwaway rolling to his right.
I'm not a fan of switching Coan and Buchner mid series. It's a bit of a rhythm thing. I would've let Buchner operate the offense on third down in that situation. Yes, Coan is the better passer and it was a clear passing situation. But Buchner had already thrown a red zone touchdown in the game. I like his scrambling ability on third and medium too. Another missed opportunity for the Notre Dame offense.
A holding penalty plagued Notre Dame on its first play from inside the 20 on the Irish's last possession. On first and 20 from the 22, Diggs gained six yards. The Buchner was stopped for no gain. Coan threw a fade to Austin Jr. on third and 14, and North Carolina was flagged for pass interference. Good things happen when you throw the football.
Notre Dame netted five yards on three Williams carries. In that situation, the Irish weren't going to do anything but run the ball. If you score a touchdown, great, it's now a touchdown game. If you don't, that's fine, a short field goal puts you up by 10 with less than two minutes left. North Carolina didn't have any timeouts.
So you can say Notre Dame misfired on three red zone chances and had to settle for field goals, but the last such situation was actually well played. The Irish capped off a 13-play, 73-yard drive that all but ended the game.
But on the previous two drives that stalled inside the 20, Notre Dame has to get more aggressive. Period.
Hey, Horka, what’s up with the defense at the end of the first half and beginning of the second? Opponents have bookended the half with points on at least three occasions this year, and maybe more. — irishfan1983
Let's look at this specifically as it pertained to Saturday's game. North Carolina connected on a field goal on its last drive of the first half and scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half.
What gives?
Well, first of all, it didn't help that a 40-yard kickoff return gave North Carolina its best field position of the game. The Tar Heels started the drive at their own 40 with 1:15 left in the half and zero timeouts.
Notre Dame showed a defensive look with four players near the line of scrimmage, two tackles down in three-point stances and two edge players appearing ready to rush. Senior linebacker Bo Bauer was the only other player lined up in the box.
The four Irish players on the line were taken care of, Bauer was blocked, and North Carolina gained 14 yards on the ground on the first play of the drive. Notre Dame stayed in the same look, and Bauer was pulled out of the box after the snap to cover a slot receiver. The Tar Heels once again made good on their blocking assignments up front, and the North Carolina running back didn't have any linebackers to contend with. He gained eight yards before getting tackles by senior safety DJ Brown.
"They're inviting the run," NBC analyst Drew Brees said on the broadcast.
The thought process seemed sound in theory, but defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman got too cute with it. When is it ever a good idea to have one true linebacker on the field? Bauer was on an island, and he ended up not being able to make a difference. Junior linebacker JD Bertrand has been one of the team's most reliable defenders all season, and he wasn't on the field for such a crucial drive.
The one pass North Carolina completed on the drive was a 13-yarder over the middle of the field. No linebackers in sight to clog up passing lanes. North Carolina ultimately ran out of time, but the Tar Heels didn't gain less than seven yards on any play in the drive until Howell's spike to set up the field goal. It was a totally misplayed drive from a schematic standpoint.
Notre Dame came out in a more conventional 4-2-5 dime package to start the second half, but North Carolina ate that up too. At least that time it was just a case of a good offense operating effectively.
The backbreaker of the drive was obviously Ty Chandler's 53-yard touchdown run (one play after Howell missed an open Josh Downs on a deep shot that would have likely also been a touchdown had the pass been a bit shorter). The give was a simple handoff to the left. Well-blocked. In the end, Chandler is much faster than Brown.
North Carolina's first touchdown of the second half came in conventional fashion. The field goal before halftime? That was on Notre Dame. The Irish are going to need to shore up their situational defense. It starts with getting rid of whatever the heck Freeman was thinking with that particular formation.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka, @GregLadky, and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.