Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 10, 2020 23 pound opponents into submission as long as they allow and not show their best downfield plays? The answer isn't the same to both. WHAT HAS WORKED On the first question, before the post- ponement of the Sept. 26 game at Wake Forest, Notre Dame opened the season with three opponents whose defenses should allow Notre Dame to score in the 20s even with an unpolished of- fensive display. The Demon Deacons, who surrendered 270 rushing yards to North Carolina State on Sept. 19, were an inviting chance for Notre Dame to once again run wherever it wanted. Now, though, Florida State and its talent-laden defense is up next after a three-week layoff that will contain an undetermined amount of prac- tice. The Seminoles are stout up front with potential first-round pick Mar- vin Wilson and have playmakers in the secondary, namely do-everything safety Hamsah Nasirildeen. On the second, Rees has given no hint that a lopsided pass-run distri- bution like last year 's 47-to-14 split against Georgia is incoming. The identity Rees seeks revolves around the outside zone running game. The Irish have an athletic, experienced of- fensive line. They have running backs who can make defenders miss and are difficult to tackle. The ingredients are there for it to be a tour de force and to succeed against any defense. "We believe with the size we have, athleticism we have, the ability [to use] multiple tight ends, misdirec- tions, boots and things we want to do off that, that [outside zone] is what we believe is our system from a running game perspective," Kelly said. "You're going to see that as our base and we'll work off that week to week." Rees even worked off it to create something downfield against USF. In a way, he turned the concept of play action on its head, passing to set up the run. Notre Dame's first three plays were play-action passes and resulted in three completions for 37 yards. Its first play of the second drive was a play-action roll out and completion to Lenzy for 22 yards. All told, Book was 7-of-8 passing for 98 yards on play-fake passes, per PFF. Those early passes played to his strengths and showed verti- cal throws could come from Notre Dame's multiple-tight-end sets, which at first sight scream incoming run play. The 12 (one running back, two tight ends) and 13 (one back, three tight ends) sets often feature two of the team's most-skilled receiv- ers in Michael Mayer and Tommy Tremble. The latter has a team-high eight receptions so far. "He was really tuned in," Kelly said of Book. "I thought he had a great week of practice. Really liked his de- meanor. Really worked on his pocket presence. I liked his calmness in the pocket. It was a really good progres- sion from where he was last week." Screens have been a staple, too, producing gains of 75, 20, 18 and 18 yards from running backs Kyren Wil- liams and Jafar Armstrong. They have included misdirection, play fakes and powerful downfield blocking. "We would like to see that as a sta- ple in terms of what we do," Kelly said of screens. WHAT HAS BEEN ABSENT At some point, though, Notre Dame is going to find itself in close games where it needs Book's arm and its receivers to be the reason the team wins. Spots where play fakes aren't as believable. Where Mayer or Tremble are covered. Where a score has to come fast, or a third-and-long conversion can ice a game. When lack of time to work with unfamiliar receivers can't explain discord. On non-play-action throws, Book is 20 of 36 and averaging 6.8 yards per attempt. Notre Dame's most-utilized receiver through two games is fifth- year senior Javon McKinley, who has played 100 snaps, run 46 routes — and caught only one pass for seven yards. Its most experienced is fifth- year senior Bennett Skowronek, a graduate transfer from Northwestern who had a catch-less first half against Duke before injuring his hamstring. Lenzy's return was a boost, al- though he didn't get any chances on shot plays or screens. If he averages 2.43 yards per route run (YPRR) for the entire season like he did against USF, he'd be only .05 yards off Chase Claypool's YPRR number from 2019, which ranked 70th nationally among receivers with at least 20 targets. Maybe the time where Notre Dame must turn to Book is not until Nov. 7 against Clemson. But heading into that day with questions about pass- ing capabilities would be a queasy position. Early on, Kelly has stressed the importance of making all the "la- yup" throws, a few of which Book has missed this year. To borrow the coach's analogy, Notre Dame's offensive ceiling rests on Book and his receivers' ability to also connect on a few contested three-pointers. In other words, the ability to be more than a manager. ✦ Junior Braden Lenzy, the team's fastest wideout, could be instrumental to the Fighting Irish making more big plays down the field. He caught three passes for 34 yards while seeing action for the first time this year against USF Sept. 19. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER