Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2019 13 UNDER THE DOME Among 129 teams in the Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision rated by the NCAA, here are Notre Dame's final placements in the most notable cat- egories on offense: Rushing Offense: 51st — 182.6 yards per game Huge drop from the 269.5 mark in 2017, the highest output for the Irish since 1996, but not unexpected with a rebuilt offensive line. Passing Offense: 36th — 257.5 yards per game Team Passing Efficiency Rating: 43rd — 143.31 In 2017, the Irish were 102nd in passing offense (178.9 yards per game) and, more importantly, 101st in pass efficiency rating (120.28). That resulted in a change at quarterback in game four this year. Total Offense: 32nd — 440.1 yards per game The highest output in head coach Brian Kelly's nine seasons was the 466.4 by the 10-3 outfit in 2015. Scoring Offense: 41st — 31.4 points per game The top figure under Kelly is 34.2, set in 2015 and matched in 2017. Turnovers Lost: Tied for 35th — 17 The same number as last year, and for the second year in a row a run- ning back did not lose a fumble. Sacks Allowed: 49th — 25 (1.92 per game) The number dropped from 30 in 2017 (tied for 83rd). Red Zone Offense: Tied for 44th — .865 (45 scores in 52 attempts) The Irish tallied touchdowns at a much better rate in 2017 (76.1 percent on 35 touchdowns in 46 attempts) compared to 2018, when it found the end zone 61.5 percent of the time (32 touchdowns in 52 opportunities). Third-Down Conversion Percent- age: 32nd — 43.0 (83 of 193) Same ranking (32nd) as last year when it was 43.8 percent at 84 of 192. Only five teams finished above 50 percent, with Army (57.1 percent) easily No. 1 for the second year in a row. Here are Notre Dame's final place- ments in the most notable categories on defense: Rushing Defense: 36th — 139.5 Improved from 154.3 (51st nation- ally) last year. This year 's national champ Clemson finished No. 4 in this category (96.3), while Alabama was No. 1 in 2017 at 94.7. Passing Defense: 44th — 207.9 Passing Efficiency Defense: 6th — 105.8 The Irish produced their best pass efficiency defense finish since the NCAA first began keeping it in the early 1990s. It was also a significant jump from last year's No. 46 ranking Total Defense: 30th — 347.4 Over the past three years from 4-8 to 12-1, this total has fallen from 378.8 to 369.2 and 347.4. Scoring Defense: 13th — 18.2 per game For the second year in a row, the national champion (Clemson at 13.1) finished No. 1 in this category. Turnovers Forced: Tied for 44th with 21 Turnover Margin: 41st — plus-0.31 per game The number was one higher than last year with nine fumbles and 12 interceptions. Sacks Recorded: Tied for 34th — 34 (2.62 per game) In 2016, Notre Dame finished tied for 117th with 14, only three by line- men. It improved to 24 quarterback takedowns in 2017, with 16.5 by the lineman. This year it went up 49 spots — with the linemen account- ing for 26 of the 34 sacks. In tack- les for loss, Notre Dame was tied at 63rd with 6.0 per game. Clemson was No. 2 with 9.1 per game. Red Zone Defense — 12th (.750, 27 of 36, with 19 touchdowns and eight field goals) The Irish went from 45th in 2016 (.810) to 29th in 2017 (.792) to the top dozen this year. Third-Down Percentage Defense: 64th — .389 (82 of 211) Practically identical from last year when it was .390 while going 73 of 207. Here are Notre Dame's final place- ments in the most notable categories on special teams: Net Punting: 60th — 37.74 Similar to the No. 64 rating in 2017. Kickoff Returns: 51st — 21.3 Notre Dame had only 13 returns — the eighth fewest in the country. Thirty-three teams returned a kick- off for a score, and six had at least two returns for scores, led by New Mexico State's three. Kick Return Defense: 108th — 23.9 Sophomore Jonathan Doerer had 56 of the 82 kickoffs, and 25 of his were touchbacks. But two misplaced returns for scores and three others that went out of bounds led to Justin Yoon taking over in the second half of the season. He had only eight of his 26 kickoffs go for touchbacks — but his directional, high kickoffs of- ten resulted in the Irish pinning the opponent inside its 20-yard line. This "efficiency" stat allowed the Irish to finish among the top 25 in special teams overall, per the Fremeau Ef- ficiency Index. The Irish joined Arkansas, Georgia Tech and SMU as the only four teams to allow more than one kick return for a score. Punt Returns: 56th — 9.80 Senior Chris Finke's 20 returns av- eraged 9.8 yards to rank 23rd nation- ally. Sixty-five FBS teams — or half — had a punt return for a score this year, and 20 had two. Punt Return Defense: 62nd – 8.28 Among the 18 returns against the Irish this season, none was longer than 22 yards. Coordinator Clark Lea's unit produced Notre Dame's best pass efficiency defense (sixth nationally with a 105.8 rating) since the NCAA first began keeping the stat in the early 1990s. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL Final 2018 Notre Dame Statistical Rankings