A look at what the media is saying ahead of Notre Dame’s matchup with No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl on Friday.
When a defense faces an offense such as Clemson’s or Alabama’s, it’s not about “dominating.” It is about damage control, especially forcing field goals instead of yielding touchdowns.
Since 2017, those two prime superpowers of college football have averaged anywhere from 44 to nearly 50 points per game. Consequently, the first objective is to keep them “subpar” by not reaching 40, and thereby giving oneself a puncher’s chance.
Notre Dame did that against Clemson on Nov. 7 when it limited the Tigers to 33 points — notably forcing four field goals — in a 60-minute regulation contest. The Fighting Irish went on to defeat Clemson in the second overtime.
In the second meeting with Clemson in the ACC Championship on Dec. 19, that this time included mega-star Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, the Notre Dame defense responded well in the second half and again “limited” the Tigers to 34 points overall.
Yes, part of it can be attributed perhaps to Clemson wanting to run more clock in the second half. Yet the Tigers also began the third quarter with strong field position on the first two series and were unable to capitalize. Unfortunately, Notre Dame was not able to get back into the game either on offense with the 34-10 defeat.
In retrospect, even in the victory against Clemson in November, during regulation time the Irish offense scored a touchdown on its first official play — and then not again until 22 seconds remained in the fourth quarter. That’s about 59 minutes out of 60 that the team was not able to cross the goal line on offense (with Butkus Award winner Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s forced fumble and touchdown return in between providing an immense boost).
For as great as the Crimson Tide’s skill players are, the core of its offense may be its line.
Along with Notre Dame and Texas A&M, Alabama is one of three finalists for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding offensive line. In fact, the dominance of their offensive line is likely a significant contributor to Jones’ success.
“MacJones has all day back there,” senior defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa said. “I don't think there’s been a defensive line that has really challenged the pocket.”
There’s definitely proof to such a statement. According to Pro Football Focus, Jones was pressured less frequently than every Power Five quarterback other than Texas Tech’s AlanBowman (minimum 100 quarterback drop-backs). While dropping back to pass on 346 occasions this season, Jones was pressured just 18.5 percent of the time.
Perhaps if the Irish defense can penetrate the offensive line and encumber Jones, they may have a chance to keep up on the scoreboard.
“Week in, week out, when faced with a tough opponent offensively, we're posed with the question of how can we stop this offense,” Tagovailoa-Amosa said. “I'll give you the same answer every time: Just dominating the line of scrimmage and affecting the QB.”
In comparing Alabama and Notre Dame, the star-ranking gap is a bit wider. Alabama has a an average of 4.1 per starter, while the Irish are still at 3.5. Based on the depth charts released this week, Alabama and Notre Dame both have 28 starting players.
We’re fully aware that there are only 22 actual “starters” on offense and defense, but we included co-starters as indicated on the depth chart at multiple positions.
The amount of four-star recruits along the starting lineups is actually quite close, with Alabama having 17 and the Irish 13. The discrepancy is in the amount of three- and five-star recruits.
Alabama has seven five-star starters compared to Notre Dame’s one, and the Crimson Tide has only four three-star starters, while the Irish have 15.
Among Notre Dame’s 15 three-star starters are some of the team’s highest-graded players per Pro Football Focus, such as fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book (81.4 rating), sophomore running back Kyren Williams (72.4), junior tight end Tommy Tremble (77.5), senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (79.8) and fifth-year senior cornerback Nick McCloud (77.8). Notre Dame will need supreme performances from these five players, in particular, to pull off the upset as a 20-point underdog.
Here’s a position-by-position overview of how the starters facing off in the College Football Playoff semifinals Rose Bowl stack up as recruits.
“If you’re looking at Notre Dame, what are the areas they need to be great at?
“First and foremost, take what the defense gives. That was the first clip. If they’ve got free access and they can throw an out route or a hitch route, take the free yardage and let Ian Book do that. Then, once you get to safeties in the middle of the field and you’ve got run ratios upfront, use that offensive line that has been so powerful during the course of the season and run the football effectively.
“On the defensive side, they’ve got to make sure they’re creating confusion in order to do two things: get stops on third down and create takeaways.”
For the rest of Klatt’s breakdown, watch the video below or click here.
“I don’t think it’s an unfair standard. People just want to see the four best teams in the country, and they want to see good games when they get to the College Football Playoff. If they’re not good games, then the question always arises: did you deserve to be there?
“Now, I do believe Notre Dame is one of the best four teams in the country, and I believe they have been in recent years when they’ve gotten into the playoffs. I don’t look at the end result and say they didn’t deserve to be there. They’ve absolutely earned their right to be there the way they’ve played the season. I think this is a better football team than we’ve seen in recent years.
“Unfortunately for Notre Dame, they’re going against a ridiculously good offense in Alabama, so it’s going to be tough.”
