Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 5, 2018 35 BY BRYAN DRISKELL NORTHWESTERN RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Through the first seven weeks of the season, the Northwestern offense was dreadful when it tried to run the football. During their 4‑3 start, the Wildcats averaged just 78.1 rushing yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry, numbers that ranked it 128th and 129th, respectively, in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Only twice did the Wildcats top 100 yards on the ground in a game, and during a three‑game stretch from Sept. 29 to Oct. 13 the Wildcats totaled just 68 rushing yards (22.7 per contest). They had 128 yards in an 18‑15 victory over Rutgers Oct. 20, but the Scarlet Knights own the nation's 117th‑ranked rushing defense. A bright spot from that victory was the perfor‑ mance of freshman Isaiah Bowser, who rushed for 108 yards on 24 carries against Rutgers in his first extensive action of the season. The Notre Dame defense was relatively stout against the run the first two months of the season, ranking 30th nationally in yards allowed per game (126.1), 26th in yards allowed per rush (3.5) and 20th in rushing touchdowns given up (seven). Even those numbers don't really tell how good the Fighting Irish rush defense performed, because almost half of Wake Forest's 259 yards Sept. 22 came after the outcome was no longer in doubt. Notre Dame held three of its first seven opponents to less than 100 yards, most notably limiting Michi‑ gan to only 58 in the season opener. In fact, the only two top‑50 rushing offenses to face Notre Dame through the first eight weeks — Michigan and Pittsburgh — combined for just 174 yards while averaging merely 2.8 yards per carry against the Irish defense. Advantage: Notre Dame NORTHWESTERN PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Stats can lie when not given proper context, and Northwestern's passing offense proves that point extremely well. The Wildcats averaged 296.3 yards per game through the air in their first seven con‑ tests, which ranked 20th in the nation. The problem is that Northwestern ranked in the bottom half of every other passing stat. The Wild‑ cats were 68th nationally in completion percent‑ age (60.1), 93rd in touchdown passes (nine), 95th in interceptions thrown (eight), 106th in yards per pass attempt (6.4), 106th in pass efficiency (117.76 rating) and 112th in yards per completion (10.6). The high number of yards is due to Northwestern throwing the ball 326 times in its first seven games, the seventh most in the country. Senior quarterback Clayton Thorson is going to become Northwestern's all‑time leading passer. Through seven games this fall, he had racked up 9,453 career yards, trailing Brett Basanez (2002‑05) by just 1,127. If he maintains his current season average, he'll break the record during the regular season. His 53 career touchdown passes are al‑ ready the most in school history. Notre Dame's pass defense numbers are just as misleading. Through eight weeks of the season, the Irish ranked 50th in the land in yards allowed per game (214.7) — but was fourth in yards al‑ lowed per catch (9.8), fifth in touchdowns allowed (five), eighth in yards allowed per attempt (5.6), 11th in pass efficiency defense (105.11 rating) and 34th in interceptions (seven). The vaunted Notre Dame pass rush matches up quite well against a Northwestern line that was tied for 91st in the country in sacks allowed per game (2.57). According to CFB Film Room, through the first seven weeks of the season the Fighting Irish defense had three defensive linemen with at least 20 quarterback pressures — Julian Okwara On PaPer Senior right guard Tommy Doles (71) is part of an offensive line that has struggled to open running lanes, with the Wildcats posting just 78.1 rushing yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry through seven contests. PHOTO BY STEPHEN J. CARRERA/NORTHWESTERN ATHLETICS GAME PREVIEW: NORTHWESTERN