Notre Dame will be facing a defense that will give them many looks but the most important may be the odd front that the Irish will see for the majority of the game. Notre Dame has struggled against odd fronts this season so it will be nice to see if they can handle this test late in the year. We will take a look at what PFF has to say about the Cyclone defense entering the matchup with the Irish in the 2019 Camping World Bowl on Saturday.
Defensive Line
Iowa State brings to the table an odd front which means sophomore center Jarrett Patterson will have a man on his head for most of the game. Early in the season he was known to struggle with this alignment but a lot of that had to do with the fact that he was starting for the first time and it is difficult for any center to deal with that kind of pressure right off the bat once you snap the ball. Most centers are more comfortable double teaming and climbing to the next level and we have seen Patterson excel at times in that role.
You cannot run an odd front unless you have talent at the nose position and Iowa State has just that. In the past, it was just fifth year senior Ray Lima holding down the middle of the defensive front and he would understandably tire as the game moved forward. Now he has a dynamic partner in senior Jahmal Johnson that can take some of the pressure off of Lima as the game wears down. Johnson and Lima combine to be very solid up front and their rotation allows them to stay fresh thought out the game. They graded out at 74.5 and 70.5 respectively. They do a decent job of getting pressure up the middle but that is not their main jobs. Force double teams and let the linebackers flow and weighing in at over 300 pounds a piece they do a very good job of that.
Both Zach Peterson and Enyi Uwazurike are serviceable at the defensive end position and have combined for 3.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss but most of the pressures come from the linebacker position behind them. They are both decent in the run game but below average according to PFF in the pass game. They are not really asked to make big plays and should not be a major problem for the Notre Dame tackles. Where the Irish will be tested is for the next level with the linebacking corp.
Linebackers
As Lou and I spoke about in the Irish Huddle podcast yesterday, after you get away from the defensive front of Iowa State the linebackers and defensive backs are almost interchangeable. I broke them up here to minimize the data but you will see a number of guys playing at a number of positions throughout the day on Saturday.
Most of the production from a sack standpoint comes from this group. Of the 27 sacks that ISU has accumulated this season, 12.5 come from the linebacker position. They will bring pressures from a blitz standpoint but they will also fall into coverage. That is where ISU is effective, when they can mask what they want to do, especially in the middle of the field. Both Mike Rose and Marcel Spears are very effective in coverage at a 79.7 and 69.4 respectively while Spears checks in with a 74.8 in tackling. O'Rien Vance is not as good at coverage (46.0) but excels at providing pressure. Overall this is a group that will line up at all three levels of the defense and be effective throughout. The question for the Irish is if they can catch the ISU linebackers in positions where they are vulnerable. Quarterback Ian Book should be able to check into plays that will compliment what the Irish want to do in both the run and pass game.
Secondary
The secondary for the Cyclones is one that can overwhelm with their numbers but underwhelm with their production. Iowa State ranks 69th in pass defense, 51st in scoring defense, and 111th in interceptions. That all goes along with their 72nd ranking in turnover margin at -1 for the season. A lot of the struggles for ISU stem from the secondary. Their individual grades are actually not too bad with an average coverage score of 67.42 which is at the very top of the "average" category according to PFF. FS Lawrence White is kind of the do-it-all player for the Cyclones on the back end. He can cover in space, play centerfield and come up and make tackles. He only has one sack on the year but he also has 4 tackles for loss to go along with that sack. ISU only has 6 interceptions on the year but White accounts for 2 of them. Do not be surprised if Notre Dame knows where #11 is at all times.
This is the matchup to watch on the defensive side of the ball for sure. Can Ian Book get Notre Dame into plays that will put pressure on this group? Can he check out of bad plays when it appears like ISU is going to drop 8 into a run? Can playmakers like Cole Kmet and Chase Claypool take advantage of the mismatches that are sure to come their way? Ultimately I think they can but only time will tell.
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