Thoughts, observations from rewatching Notre Dame’s win over Georgia Tech
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman’s first play call was a preview of the next three hours.
Freeman sent six rushers on the first snap of the Irish’s 55-0 win over Georgia Tech, which resulted in linebacker JD Bertrand taking a free run at quarterback Jordan Yates and nearly notching a strip sack. Yates’ pass left his hand and went right into Bertrand’s.
Georgia Tech’s offensive line didn’t pick up Bertrand as he looped through one of the A gaps. It never stood a chance. This too was a theme. Freeman threw aggressive blitzes and disguised pressures at the Yellow Jackets all game. They struggled to pick most of them up.
Yates was pressured on 55.3 percent of his dropbacks, per Pro Football Focus. Notre Dame sacked him six times. The Irish sent a blitz on 57.9 percent of Yates’ dropbacks, yielding five sacks. Yates was 6-of-15 for 55 yards and an interception against blitzes. He completed three of 12 passes when under pressure.
Freeman brought pressure from all over. He called slot blitzes, had linebackers blitz from the second level and sometimes loaded the line of scrimmage with six defenders. Cornerbacks Clarence Lewis and TaRiq Bracy blitzed a combined five times. Bracy had one pass-rush snap all season coming into the game. Rovers Jack Kiser, Isaiah Pryor and Jordan Botelho rushed eight times. Freeman used a safety as a blitzer five times.
Here’s a rundown of a few blitzes that stood out in their creativity and effectiveness.
• Second-and-10 on Georgia Tech’s own 35-yard line, first quarter: Pryor comes off the edge and finds running back Jahmyr Gibbs waiting for him. He disengages from Gibbs’ block without issue and changes direction to sack Yates as Yates tries to leave the pocket.
• Second-and-three on Georgia Tech’s 32, first quarter: Safety Xavier Watts blitzes from the slot, meets Gibbs, sheds him and crunches Yates mid-throw. It’s a one-on-one win for Watts. Somehow, Yates hits receiver Adonicas Sanders for a six-yard completion.
• First-and-10 on Georgia Tech’s 25, first quarter: Freeman sends six rushers – three linemen and three linebackers from a 3-4 alignment – against a five-man protection. Bertrand comes from the second level behind linebacker Drew White, who rushed from the line of scrimmage. He’s a free rusher and forces Yates into White and vyper Justin Ademilola’s arms.
• Third-and-six on Georgia Tech’s 29, second quarter: Six players are on the line of scrimmage, four linemen and plus Bertrand and linebacker Bo Bauer. At the snap, the two linebackers and Ademilola drop into coverage on one side while Bracy blitzes from the slot on the other side. The result is four rushers on the right side.
Georgia Tech can’t pick it up. Running back Jordan Mason runs a route on the other side, with Yates’ back to him. Bracy comes unblocked between the tackle and guard as a result of a protection breakdown and disrupts Yates’ throwing lane. His pass to receiver Malachi Carter at the first down marker is incomplete, with Bauer nearby.
Perhaps a more experienced quarterback finds a way to complete the throw. Perhaps a more cohesive line picks up Bracy. Georgia Tech had neither.
• Third-and-11, Notre Dame’s 36, third quarter: Notre Dame sends six rushers against a six-man protection. Lewis comes on a corner blitz and runs into Mason. Bauer shows blitz from one B gap, bails out as if he’s dropping into coverage, but loops into the other B gap. Right guard Ryan Johnson doesn’t see him until it’s too late and can’t get off a double-team in time.
Bauer and vyper Isaiah Foskey pop Yates as he throws, forcing an incompletion.
• Third-and-four, Georgia Tech’s 47, third quarter: Freeman calls the same overload pressure with Bracy rushing from the slot, but on the left side. Bracy once again comes through untouched and forces a hurried throw downfield that Bertrand breaks up.
Coan under pressure
On the other side, Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan was under duress himself more often than usual. Georgia Tech pressured him on 43.5 percent of his dropbacks, a season-high rate for Coan.
The Irish offensive line, all told, had a passable day in pass protection, but it kept Coan upright after two sacks on the first drive. Left tackle Joe Alt and left guard Andrew Kristofic couldn’t pass off a stunt on the first sack. Right tackle Josh Lugg lost a one-on-one rep against defensive end Jordan Domineck on the second.
Coan, though, took only the two sacks because he threw the ball on time, delivered accurate passes as he was hit and even extended a couple plays. He was 5-of-8 for 118 yards and two touchdowns when pressured.
Coan connected with receiver Braden Lenzy for a nine-yard completion on fourth-and-2 as he was flushed to his right. He hit Michael Mayer for a 52-yard touchdown with a hand in his face and pressure coming up the middle. His 20-yard screen pass touchdown to running back Logan Diggs came as a cornerback took a free rush at him.
Arguably Coan’s best sequence under pressure, though, was consecutive second-quarter throws to tight ends. He found Mayer for 18 yards on a deep over route as two defenders swarmed him. The throw was a tad behind Mayer, but still well-timed and in stride.
On the next play, Coan was flushed after nothing came open on a play action pass. Tight end George Takacs was in as a blocker, saw Coan scramble and leaked out in the flat. Coan lofted a throw over a defender to Takacs, who ran 19 yards to the cusp of the goal line.
Other notes
• Coan’s 38-yard completion to Austin on the game’s first snap was a play action catch-and-run. Lenzy ran a go route from the slot and cleared out a deep safety. Austin ran a deep over route with no help. Georgia Tech blitzed a linebacker as a second-wave rusher, but Alt came off a double-team to pick him up.
• Notre Dame used two-back sets six times — the second straight game with at least five such plays after four outings with six total. Five were passes, which resulted in four completions for 57 yards and a touchdown. The scoring play was Diggs’ screen.
• The Diggs screen was an impressive display of patience and vision. The key downfield blocker is Lugg, but Diggs catches the pass with Lugg two yards behind him. Diggs took a couple more steps toward the sideline after the catch to allow Lugg to run upfield. Ten yards later, Lugg wiped out safety Tariq Carpenter. Diggs had cut behind him moments before. He stiff-armed another defender just shy of the goal line.
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