Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 SEPT. 16, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T he preseason strategy that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly out- lined publicly for a success- ful season wasn't overly sur- prising. This isn't the first time we've heard Kelly — or almost any other football coach for that matter — ex- plain that the secret to sus- tained success will be to "run the football and stop the run." W h a t w a s s o m e w h a t striking is how continually Kelly emphasized his point leading up to the Louisville game. "For the success of this football team, it's going to have to be up front," Kelly said in some form or fashion at least three times. "It's go- ing to be our offensive line, our defensive line, our ability to run the football and stop the run." Again, no breaking news, memo- rable quotes or hot takes there. And given a schedule that includes the likes of New Mexico, Bowling Green and Navy, Kelly's mission and mantra of dominating the trenches should fall neatly into place most weekends. The nagging questions remain how well the Irish will be at holding their strategy against teams such as Geor- gia, Michigan, Stanford and possibly an elite bowl opponent? And how equipped are the Irish to stand toe-to-toe against these teams if the preseason plan implodes? Will this Notre Dame team be able to play from behind, something it has been seldom asked to do during con- secutive double-digit win seasons in 2017 and 2018? We've seen this before. For perspective, among the four playoff teams last season — Notre Dame, Clemson, Alabama and Okla- homa — the Irish were fourth in the final national rankings in rushing of- fense and third in rushing defense, finishing slightly better than Okla- homa at run stoppage. Notre Dame's two toughest op- ponents this season — Georgia and Michigan — also finished ahead of the Irish in each of those two categories. "We're going to have to play with physicality," Kelly reiterated. "You can't really see that right now." Hopefully, it resonates by game three when Notre Dame plays at title- hopeful Georgia, a team that returns seven defensive starters. Kelly has led his Irish to a premier bowl game three times during his first nine seasons here. Notre Dame had little trouble bullying its way into these bowl games through the regu- lar seasons, averaging more than 190 rushing yards (twice more than 200) and allowing fewer than 180 those three years. But elite postseason opponents have brought stark contrast — and frankly massive blowouts — when it comes to winning games in tradi- tional ground-and-pound fashion, which brings strategic skepticism. As far as the trench wars in their three post-New Year's bowl games: • After Notre Dame's 12-0 regular season in 2012, Alabama outrushed the Irish 265-32 and won 42-14 in the national championship game. • After a 10-2 regular season in 2015, Notre Dame was outrushed 285- 121 by Ohio State and beaten 44-28. • And after another perfect 12-0 regular season by Notre Dame in 2018, Clemson out- rushed the Irish 211-88 and won 30-3 in the Cotton Bowl. With a couple of bruising backs in Jafar Armstrong (6- 0, 220) and Tony Jones Jr. (5- 11, 224) and a veteran future NFL offensive line to run behind, Notre Dame has the pieces for a dominating run game in place. And with three guaran- teed 2020 NFL Draft picks along the defensive line in Irish seniors Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara and Daelin Hayes — complemented by hard-hitting senior safe- ties Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott — the rush defense looks to be in great hands also. But no plan ever com- pletely stays on script. In the inevitable moments of uncertainty, a Plan B beyond "run and stop the run" will eventually become a necessity. Finding some offensive balance will be vital and with early season inju- ries to valuable receiving targets Cole Kmet at tight end and Michael Young as an outside receiver, the challenges grow if something beyond a pound- ing rush game is required. With plenty of weapons to score quickly and aerially, Notre Dame may have the balance and firepower to come from behind this season, even against the big boys on the schedule. That's a wait-and-see proposition. But if this team becomes one-di- mensional and predictable by relying solely on the play of its front lines, then 2019 might end as sourly as the other three times Kelly has reached a major bowl game. "Our ability to run the football and stop the run," Kelly said one final time in summation. "If we do that, this is going to be a pretty good foot- ball team." Presumably, against the weak, and more importantly against the strong. ✦ All The Best Laid Plans? UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com To take the next step, the Fighting Irish will need to do a better job running the ball and stopping the run against top opponents like Georgia. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA