In Clark Lea’s three seasons as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator from 2018-20, his troops finished No. 16, No. 5 and this past season No. 24 nationally by Football Outsiders in overall effectiveness per the Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI).
It was a significant upgrade since the 2014-16 era when the Fighting Irish were 65th, 58th and 54th. The improvement helped them reach the College Football Playoff two of the last three seasons, and enabled the rising star Lea to be named head coach at his alma mater, Vanderbilt University, last month.
Ultimately, the most relevant stat on defense is keeping the point total down. The unit evolved from 62nd (27.8) during the 4-8 meltdown in 2016 to 31st in 2017 (21.5), when Lea was the new linebackers coach under then coordinator Mike Elko.
With Lea at the helm from 2018-20, the “keep ‘em under 20 points” standard today on defense was consistently maintained:
• 18.2 points per game in 2018 to rank 13th
• 17.9 in 2019 to finish 12th
• 19.7 this past year for a No. 14 finish — and one of the most impressive parts was actually “limiting” the juggernauts of Clemson and national champion Alabama to 34 and 31 points, respectively, to close the 10-0 start with two defeats.
It marked the first time since 1969-71 that Notre Dame finished among the top 15 nationally in scoring defense three straight years.
Replacing Lea will be a formidable task, but Cincinnati’s Marcus Freeman brings his own strong background, with his Bearcats finishing No. 2 this past year in the FEI (behind Brigham Young).
Among 127 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision rated by the NCAA, here were Notre Dame’s final placements in the most notable categories:
Rushing Defense: 16th — 113.0 Yards Allowed Per Game
In head coach Brian Kelly’s 11 seasons, this was the second-best figure against the run, behind only the 105.7 by the 12-1 unit in 2012.
In addition to limiting Clemson to 34 rushing yards in the 47-40 double-overtime victory Nov. 7, the run defense was magnificent in the 31-17 win at North Carolina Nov. 27 when the dynamic tandem of Javonte Williams and Michael Carter that had been averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground at about seven yards per pop combined for only 85.
During the 9-0 start, the Irish were permitting a paltry 85.3 rushing yards per contest, which was on pace to be the best at the school in 47 years.
However, it sputtered to the finish line, permitting 229 to 1-10 Syracuse and 219 to Clemson (8.1 yards per carry) in the ACC Championship. Versus Alabama in the CFP, it held the Crimson Tide to a respectable 140, but Najee Harris’ 125 yards on 15 carries forced the defense to at least have to honor the run enough where all the passing lanes were open.
Passing Defense: 61st — 230.6 Yards Allowed Per Game
Passing Efficiency Defense: 34th — 126.19 Rating
The graduation of three players from the 2019 secondary — all in the NFL — made this the most vulnerable area of the team.
It showed when the Irish had to recruit graduate transfer Nick McCloud from North Carolina State and count on out-of-nowhere freshman Clarence Lewis to fill some voids.
The drop-off from finishing third last year in passing yards per game allowed (168.5), and a No. 5 ranking in pass efficiency defense (110.15) was steep. But it’s bound to happen in a season when you have to face Clemson twice and Alabama.
Total Defense: 25th — 343.6 Yards Allowed Per Game
Last year’s 321.6 output was the second-best by the Irish in 16 years, with only the 305.5 average in 2012 better. Overall, this year’s figure was relatively par for the course.
Scoring Defense: 14th — 19.7 Points Allowed Per Game
As noted, this is the bottom-line stat, and it’s been 50 years since it has been as consistent over a three-year stretch relative to the national rankings.
In Lea’s first 36 games as Notre Dame’s coordinator, the Irish allowed more than 30 points only three times. In his final two it permitted 34 to Clemson and 31 to Alabama — but even then those were about 10 and 18 points, respectively, under their averages.
Turnovers Forced: 35th — 17 (10 Fumbles, Seven Interceptions)
Turnover Margin: 30th — Plus-0.50
This was a huge drop-off from last year’s 28 turnovers forced, which were fourth in the country and the most in the Kelly era (eclipsing the 25 from 2010) and the most since the 28 in 2003.
The seven interceptions were the fewest by an Irish team since the seven by the 6-5-1 outfit in 1994.
Third-Down Defense: 12th — 31.4 Percent
Notre Dame was near the top all season in this category before the final two games against Clemson (8 of 14, 57.1 percent) and Alabama (6 of 10, 60.0 percent).
Red Zone Defense: 89th — 86.7 Percent
Would you believe this is 30 spots higher than the second-to-last finish (129th) in 2019?
This year the opposition penetrated Notre Dame’s 20-yard line 30 times and scored 26 times for the .867 mark — 16 touchdowns and 10 field goals.
What we don’t like about this stat is how context can get lost when it comes to touchdowns versus field goals.
• During the 4-8 season in 2016, the opposition scored a touchdown once inside the Irish 20-yard line 76.5 percent of the time.
• In 2017, that figure dropped to 65.8.
• In 2018, of the 36 chances Irish foes had, they scored a touchdown on only 19 of them, a .528 rate. Anytime you hover near .500, that is outstanding.
• Even last year, only only 17 of those 30 chances resulted in touchdowns — 56.7 percent.
This year with 16 touchdowns on 30 chances it was a tad lower at 53.3 percent.
If you can limit red-zone opportunities by foes to field goals instead of touchdowns, that is a positive overall, so the overall percentage figure can often be misleading.
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