Three Notre Dame leftovers: Why the up-tempo offense could be here to stay
Brian Kelly acknowledges the element of surprise to Notre Dame’s latest offensive trial balloon may have given the Irish a boost in their 31-16 win over USC.
Notre Dame going up-tempo for an entire game wasn’t just a swerve. It was something no one could have foreseen as a more permanent move unless they turned on quarterback Jack Coan’s five-year-old Hudl film from his days at Sayville (N.Y.) High School. It was a continuation of Coan’s last two drives in a comeback win at Virginia Tech, but the clock necessitated tempo.
“Certainly, they weren't expecting Hurry-Up Jack to be up there,” Kelly quipped afterward. “He's been less than that all year.”
Indeed, Notre Dame had played at a slower pace in the first six games. Coan also operated an under-center, slow-tempo offense in his prior stop at Wisconsin.
Kelly and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, though, saw his comfort in the higher-tempo approach at Virginia Tech when leading two scoring drives and took the plunge. The byproduct was arguably Notre Dame’s most effective passing performance since the first game. Coan’s 2.5-second average time to throw was his second-fastest of the year.
That approach is here to stay, in part because it’s a less drastic change for Coan than his background might suggest.
“Tempo seems to be an ally for us within this offensive structure,” Kelly said Monday. “It has never really been about the plays as much as how the plays will be executed at the most consistent level. Sometimes you have to huddle, it takes time, and you have to see it and scan it.
“This offense, this group and [Coan] in particular seems to work better if there’s a pace to it. He’s a guy who makes quick decisions. Based on what we had seen leading into the USC game, the snapshots of his effective and efficient play were tempo-driven.”
Added Coan: “It gets me in a little bit of a rhythm, gets me a couple quick completions and running a bit.”
It sounds and looks promising after a crisp, efficient offensive display vs. USC. Notre Dame averaged 5.4 yards per play, ran for 178 yards (excluding sacks and kneel-downs) and gave up just one sack. The Irish drove at least 70 yards five times. Their two-quarterback system with Coan and Tyler Buchner felt organized and clearly defined.
These feelings, of course, have been fleeting this year. Notre Dame has yet to find a sustainable approach at quarterback or identity on offense. Ideas that brought promising early returns have often flopped or never resurfaced the next week. Notre Dame has only played one full game and four minutes of another with the tempo approach.
It’s all out there on tape for North Carolina and other upcoming opponents to see. There won’t be any element of surprise.
But given how well the tempo worked from first drive to final drive vs. USC, Notre Dame might not need surprise.
Offensive line playing ‘freer’
For the first time all season, Notre Dame played an entire game with the same five offensive linemen.
There were no injuries or performance-related substitutions. The Irish’s coaching staff liked what it saw from the left to right combination of Joe Alt, Andrew Kristofic, Jarrett Patterson, Cain Madden and Josh Lugg — which also played all but the first two drives of the 32-29 win at Virginia Tech Oct. 9.
That same five started last week’s 31-16 win over USC and put forth the offensive line’s best effort yet. Notre Dame allowed one sack and one tackle for loss on a run play. Remove the sack and two kneel-downs, and the Irish averaged 4.7 yards per rush. Not dominant, but good enough. That’s all this unit needs to be.
Kelly touted Alt and Kristofic’s physicality after the Virginia Tech game. Following the USC win, he pointed out a byproduct of it: A freer Patterson.
“He's out to the second level a lot more,” Kelly said. “There's a little bit more control at the line of scrimmage and it's allowing him to get up to that second level a little bit more.”
No play illustrated it better than Kyren Williams’ 38-yard run in the third quarter, a chunk gain generated from a basic inside rushing play. Kristofic and Patterson begin it with a double-team on USC defensive tackle Stanley Ta’ufo’ou, with the former taking the brunt of it to allow the latter to move to the second level. Patterson quickly sensed Kristofic could handle Ta’ufo’ou himself and left to find a linebacker to block.
Williams was still a yard behind the line of scrimmage when Patterson met linebacker Kana’i Mauga and blocked him out of the play. Williams cut back behind Kristofic and Patterson, made another defender miss and hit the gas. Ta’ufo’ou and Mauga ended up on the ground, pancaked.
Plays like that have been more frequent in the last two weeks and have evoked the real possibility Notre Dame’s latest offensive line combination might be its last, health provided.
“There’s a feeling that the five work,” Kelly noted. “You’re trying to find the combinations and how they work well. They seem to work well together. There’s better communication. Alt is a guy who communicates well. That passes on down the line. It’s not just one guy. They all just work well together.”
Quick-hitters
• If you have been trying to think of the right comparison for Williams’ running style and limitless energy, Kelly offered his suggestion.
“He plays with such an energy and an edge,” Kelly said. “It’s hard not to pass that on to the entire group. Maybe Theo Riddick had a similar kind of vibe to him. He played like that, played physical and it rubbed off on the group. That’s who he reminds me of.”
• North Carolina (4-3, 3-3 ACC) has lost to three teams with sub-.500 records and is unranked after starting the year in the top 10. Kelly, though, is much more concerned with their ceiling.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a team as deep on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “We were matching them up against teams we play. They have Cincinnati talent, they have Florida State talent, they have everything. Why it hasn’t gone their way, that’s not my job to figure out, but I know we have to go into this game expecting them to put it all together.”
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