Ten Initial Thoughts: Notre Dame Handles Georgia Tech, 31-13
Here are ten initial thoughts, observations and numbers from Notre Dame's 31-13 win over Georgia Tech. The Irish improved to 6-0 and 5-0 in the ACC heading into next weekend's game against No. 1 Clemson.
1. Game Script
There’s a theme emerging. Notre Dame starts with a long, methodical drive and scores, forces a stop and slowly marches down the field again. It’s hard to fall behind in that case, because the opponent simply doesn’t have the ball very often in the first quarter. Notre Dame ran 22 plays in the opening 15 minutes to Georgia Tech’s six. The plan was dented by running back Kyren Williams’ fumble, though.
In the last three games, Notre Dame has out-snapped its opponents 69 to 23 in the first quarter. In that span, the Irish have 155 rush yards on 36 carries, excluding sacks.
2. Measuring The Defense
If you want numbers to measure the Notre Dame defense’s success, counting stats may not be the best way to do it. The Irish’s main defenders just aren’t on the field all that often. Notre Dame’s last three opponents have not exceeded 30 first-half plays or 60 total plays.
Instead, emphasize percentages more than counting stats, like havoc rate (percentage of plays with a sack, tackle for loss, forced fumble, fumble recovery, interception or pass breakup) over 20 percent for the sixth straight game. A havoc rate in the 20s for an entire season is usually good enough to rank top-10 nationally.
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