Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 19, 2020 37 NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. SOUTH FLORIDA RUN DEFENSE Just one game this season makes it difficult to figure out how the Notre Dame running back rota- tion will evolve. But given that the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility in 2021 for all 2020 FBS football players because of COVID-19, the Irish coaches can dig as deeply as they prefer, or need to, down the depth chart without worrying about burning any eligibility — a nice luxury with a roster full of youthful promise but not much previous production. Notre Dame finished No. 45 in the country last season in rushing at 179.2 yards per game, but no running back beyond graduated senior Tony Jones Jr. ever showed consistent production in 2019. Defense is expected to be the calling card this season for USF, though most likely with its pass defense. New Bulls defensive coordinator Glenn Spen- cer came with Weis from Florida Atlantic. During Spencer's one season there, FAU's defense showed quick and marked improvement. Spencer will build his rush defense around tal- ented junior linebacker Dwayne Boyles, an active 6-3, 227-pound wrecking-machine who led the Bulls with 75 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss last season. Unfortunately for Spencer, Boyles is one of only two returning players along his front seven. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. SOUTH FLORIDA PASS DEFENSE USF entered this season priding itself on what is expected to be a stingy pass defense. This seasoned secondary crew is highlighted by senior cornerback KJ Sails, who had three intercep- tions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble last season while playing his way into NFL Draft consideration. Graduate student Mike Hampton complements Sails as the other veteran starting corner. Hampton finished with 50 tackles last season. Similar to Duke last week, this will be strength versus strength between these two teams because of the terrific work Notre Dame's offensive line does protecting fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book. Pro Football Focus ranked this Irish unit as the second best in pass protection last season, and all five starters are back. USF ranked 47th nationally in sacks (2.42 per game) and fifth in tackles for loss (8.3) in 2019. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS With just one game played, the sample size re- mains too small to determine if Notre Dame has found solid solutions in the return game, although we do expect its kicking game to remain steady with 2019 starters Jay Bramblett back at punter and Jonathan Doerer at placekicker. One glaring special teams deficiency for USF last season worth watching in this game — the Bulls gave up three blocked kicks and two blocked punts in 2019. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING While 11th-year Irish head coach Brian Kelly is on a quest in 2020 to set a program record with at least 10 wins in four straight seasons, first-year Bulls head coach Jeff Scott — who spent the previ- ous 12 seasons at Clemson as an assistant on of- fense — enters only his second game as a college head coach. It's also Scott's first-ever game against an FBS op- ponent after opening his season and head coach- ing career last week against The Citadel, a Football Championship Subdivision foe. With multiple national championships and un- rivaled success at Clemson, Scott knows plenty about winning and what it takes for a program to reach an elite level. But with multiple voids to fill on this USF team left by the previous coaches, nobody in Tampa expects Scott to provide an over- night fix. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES If this were the South Florida program from three and four seasons ago — the one that went 21-4 in 2016 and 2017, and finished in the final Associated Press poll both seasons — this game would be much more interesting. Instead, the Bulls program backslid mightily the last two seasons under Strong, going 7-6 in 2018 and 4-8 last season. South Florida is projected to finish 10th this year in the 11-member American Athletic Conference. Notre Dame, meanwhile, thrives at home versus unranked opponents, its last such loss coming to Virginia Tech in 2016 during the miserable 4-8 campaign. Advantage: Notre Dame GAME PREVIEW: SOUTH FLORIDA Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 11 Ben Skowronek 6-3 220 5th-Sr. 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. 6-1½ 190 Jr. WR 3 Avery Davis 5-11 202 Sr. 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10 173 Jr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 302 5th-Sr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5 292 So. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 330 Sr. 76 Dillon Gibbons 6-4 309 Sr. C 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 305 Jr. 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 295 So. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 317 5th-Sr. 56 John Dirksen 6-5 306 Jr. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-5 290 Sr. 75 Josh Lugg 6-7 310 Sr. TE 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 255 Sr. 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3 242 Jr. or 85 George Takacs 6-6 245 Jr. or 87 Michael Mayer 6-5 235 Fr. WR 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 215 5th-Sr. 0 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 181 Jr. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 206 5th-Sr. 7 Brendon Clark 6-2 212 So. RB 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 194 So. 25 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 188 Fr. or 34 Jahmir Smith 5-11 207 Jr. or 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11 195 Jr. or 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-1 220 Sr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Vyper 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 270 5th-Sr. 29 Ovie Oghoufo 6-3 240 Jr. or 7 Isaiah Foskey 6-5 257 So. DT 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 282 Sr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 Jr. NT 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 296 Sr. 54 Jacob Lacey 6-2 293 So. SDE 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4 268 5th-Sr. 19 Justin Ademilola 6-2 248 Jr. or 7 Isaiah Foskey 6-5 257 So. Buck 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 228 Jr. or 35 Marist Liufau 6-2 226 So. Mike 40 Drew White 6-0 227 Sr. 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 230 Jr. Rover 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 215 Sr. 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 224 Jr. CB 4 Nick McCloud 6-0½ 192 5th-Sr. 5 Cam Hart 6-2½ 207 So. CB 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 180 Jr. or 26 Clarence Lewis 5-11½ 192 Fr. SS 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 180 6th-Sr. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 204 Jr. FS 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 219 So. 12 DJ Brown 6-0 194 Jr. or 10 Isaiah Pryor 6-1½ 204 Gr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 197 Sr. 38 Dawson Goepferich 6-2 200 5th-Sr. K 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 197 Sr. 38 Dawson Goepferich 6-2 200 5th-Sr. P 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1½ 193 So. 38 Dawson Goepferich 6-2 200 5th-Sr. LS 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 226 Jr. 44 Alex Peitsch 6-1 208 Fr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. H 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1½ 193 So. 14 J.D. Carney 5-10 180 Sr. PR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10 173 Jr. 29 Kyren Williams 5-9 194 So. KR 25 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 188 Fr. or 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-1 220 Sr. Special Teams