Notre Dame Line Named A Finalist For The Joe Moore Award
All season the Notre Dame line has carried the offense, and its dominant play has been recognized by the Joe Moore Award. Notre Dame has been named one of three finalists for the award, along with Auburn and Alabama.
The honor is named after the legendary line coach, Joe Moore, who led the Notre Dame offensive line from 1988-96. Moore coached the Irish line during its last national championship, which came in 1988.
The criteria for the award is the following (taken from the award’s website):
“The Foundation for Teamwork presents the JOE MOORE AWARD, recognizing the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in College Football. The award is named after Joe Moore, widely regarded as the best offensive line coach in college football history, and is the only major college football award to honor a unit.
“The Joe Moore Award annually recognizes the nation’s Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit that best displays toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique, and ‘finishing.’ The voting committee is comprised of college football experts, especially people who played or coached the offensive line position, including all of the current offensive line coaches at the Division I/FBS level as well as former players, coaches, colleagues of Coach Moore and select media.”
Notre Dame’s line led the way for a record-setting offensive performance this season.
The Irish are averaging 35.3 points and 454.9 yards per game, and 6.4 yards per play. But the success on the ground has fueled the team’s 9-3 season. Notre Dame averaged 279.1 rushing yards per game during the regular season, which ranks third nationally among Power Five teams and seventh overall. Its 6.37 yards per rush is the third best average in the nation.
Notre Dame’s 279.1 rushing yards per game is the program’s most since 1992, when a backfield led by Reggie Brooks and Jerome Bettis led the Irish to 280.9 yards per game. If Notre Dame ends the season with its current yards per carry average it would set an all-time record, breaking the 6.2 mark that was established in 1921.
The modern (post-World War II era) record of 5.62 was set in 2015 and will certainly be eclipsed.
The line has been driven by a pair of truly outstanding seniors. Senior left guard Quenton Nelson was graded out by Pro Football Focus as the nation’s best offensive lineman, and fifth-year senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey was graded as the country’s third best offensive lineman and second best offensive tackle.
Nelson was the only Power Five offensive lineman in the country to be named to the Pro Football Focus weekly all-national team three times, which is given to the players who grade out the highest at their respective positions. McGlinchey was named to the all-national team two times.
Nelson earned the first, third and eight best overall grades of the season by any guard for his performances against North Carolina State, USC and Georgia, respectively. McGlinchey earned the fourth and eighth best single-game grades by an offensive tackle for his performance against USC and Stanford.
Nelson and McGlinchey were the only offensive linemen in the country to grade out with multiple top-10 single-game performances.
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