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Notre Dame Red (Zone) Alert Has Put Defenses On More Notice

Tony Jones Jr. bulls in for a score at Boston College. The Irish have been much more physical than finesse in the red-zone to tie for No. 1 nationally so far.
Tony Jones Jr. bulls in for a score at Boston College. The Irish have been much more physical than finesse in the red-zone to tie for No. 1 nationally so far. (Photo by Bill Panzica)

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Throughout most of Brian Kelly’s first seven seasons, Notre Dame has hovered in the 70s nationally in red-zone scoring efficiency.

Last year it finished 72nd at 83.3 percent, and the year prior, despite a 10-3 record, it was 88th at 81.1 percent.

One of the prime reasons for the inefficiency was turnovers. During the two year period in 2014-15, the Fighting Irish led the nation in red-zone turnovers with 14 (eight in 2014 and six in 2015).

This year at the one-quarter length pole of the football season, Notre Dame is one of 20 teams (out of 129) tied for No. 1 in red-zone efficiency with a perfect 15 scores in 15 attempts. Furthermore, 15 represents the most scores among the 20 teams — as do the 13 touchdowns (to go with two field goals).

Notre Dame was not only 6-for-6 against both Temple and Boston College in scoring once it reached the opposition’s 20-yard line, but all 12 of them were touchdowns.

In the 20-19 loss to Georgia, the Irish were 3-for-3, although against the stouter Bulldogs only one of them was a touchdown.

Why the dramatic improvement? Kelly gives at least two reasons.

First, among the 13 touchdowns scored from the red zone, eight of them began in what is referred to the “low red” area, or anywhere from the 10-yard line in.

• Against Temple, three of the red-zone scores began from the Owls’ nine-, eight- and seven-yard lines.

• The lone TD versus Georgia was set up with a long pass and penalty down to the two.

• At Boston College, four of the tallies came from having long plays set up first downs at the two-, nine-, six- and three-yard lines.

“We've been in low red … which helps in that scoring efficiency,” Kelly said.

The second reason is about commitment.

For much of Kelly’s tenure, a bread-and-butter play in red-zone territory has centered on either fades or back-shoulder tosses into the end zone. That will still be a staple — Equanimeous St. Brown caught one such score versus Temple — but there is a different mind-set this season because of a veteran offensive line, big backs and a quarterback in Brandon Wimbush who also can smell the end zone once he is near it.

Wimbush has scored six rushing touchdowns this season. The only player in the country to tally more is Oregon running back Royce Freeman with nine.

Inside the 10 under new offensive coordinator Chip Long, Wimbush has even taken conventional snaps under center, as opposed to strictly shotgun, with freshman tight end Brock Wright inserted as a lead blocker as a fullback, a memory from the past for the Irish.

“We've been run-first down there, which was a commitment that we were going to make, and that has helped us down there,” Kelly explained. “More than anything else, with the rushing game down there, we've been able to really draw defenses into being pretty clear on what their intent is, and so it's helped us in our play calling.

“Maybe the right word would be insistence — persistence of wanting to run the football down there. We've taken away a lot of the exotic looks that we've gotten in the past down there and have a pretty good idea of what we're going to get.”

In a dramatic about-face during the Kelly era, Notre Dame ranks No. 5 nationally in rushing yards per game (330.7) and 114th in passing yards per game (163.3).

Junior running back Josh Adams is fifth nationally in rushing yardage with 443 while Wimbush is 23rd with 314 — making them the only two teammates among the top 25 in the country.

In rushing yards per contest, Adams is eighth (147.7) and Wimbush 26th (104.7). The only two quarterbacks ahead of Wimbush in the rushing category run the triple option, Navy’s Zach Abey and Army’s Ahmad Bradshaw.

The season is young, and whether such data is sustainable remains to be seen. At the one-quarter mark, though, it’s been an appreciable upgrade.


Other NCAA Data

• The yards passing per game is less relevant than team passing efficiency. Unfortunately, the Irish rank 124th in that category with a 94.0 rating.

That’s because Notre Dame is only 107th in yards per pass attempt (5.21) and is one of only 11 teams that is completing less than 50 percent of its passes. The .495 mark ranks 119th.

• Senior punter Tyler Newsome ranks seventh nationally with a 47.3 average (10 of his 18 punts have traveled more than 50 yards, with five inside the 20 and only one touchback).

More pertinent is the Irish are 14th in net punting (after returns) with a 43.83 figure. They finished 106th last year at 35.28.

• Defensively, the three most significant stats for now are ranking No. 16 in third-down conversion percentage defense (25.5 percent), No. 27 in turnovers gained (6) and No. 39 in scoring (18.7).

For Kelly, it’s not necessarily about numbers on defense but the basics, which received lower marks at Boston College.

“We were a little loose in some of those fundamentals at times,” he said. “Tackles show up on the sheet, but fundamentals show up on film, and we were a little bit loose in some of the fundamentals on Saturday.

“We would like to have played a little bit better in our fits and a little bit stronger fundamentally, and that will be the message moving forward. If we want to be a really good defense, we'll have to be fundamentally better than we were on Saturday.”

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