Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 DEC. 5, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Observations, Numbers and Musings From Notre Dame's 31-17 win at North Carolina Defense Leads the Way • Take a bow, Clark Lea. Another masterful game for the Irish defensive coor- dinator. Notre Dame's defense got socked early on and never flinched. North Carolina hung 14 points and 8.9 yards per play on Lea's defense on its first two drives. In the second half, the Tar Heels ran 25 plays and gained just 78 yards. That's 3.1 yards per play. • Join Lea, Marist Liufau. Brian Kelly said earlier in November the Buck line- backer job wasn't totally settled despite some strong recent play from starter Shayne Simon. Liufau, a sophomore, came into the game on Notre Dame's third defensive series and stayed there. He was at his best on blitzes. The half-sack he was credited with doesn't illustrate how disruptive he was as a rusher. He finished with five tackles. • If you want one area to point to on defense, the linebackers were aggressive coming downhill and got home on blitzes. Liufau, senior Mike linebacker Drew White, senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and junior nickel linebacker Bo Bauer combined for 21 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one pass broken up. They were in passing lanes, in the proper gaps and causing problems on interior rushes. North Carolina's normally lethal run-pass options aren't shut down without them. O-Line Adapts • Notre Dame's offensive line was up and down early on with new starters at center (sophomore Zeke Correll) and right guard (senior Josh Lugg). The run blocking was effective. Correll had a key second-level block on freshman Chris Tyree's 16-yard run in the first half. Lugg was effective as a puller. • Pass protection was a bit bumpier. In the first half, Lugg allowed a pressure that led to Book needing to check down to sophomore running back Kyren Williams on a third down. The result was a punt. Correll had two bad snaps. Ball Control Seals the Deal • What mattered in the end: Notre Dame did what it usually did. Control the clock. Run the ball well. Its game-sealing drive took 4:32 off the clock, and the Irish held the ball for just more than 35 minutes. Take out sacks, and they ran for 214 yards on 34 carries. The 25 second-half plays North Carolina ran is a testament to the offense as much as the defense. Book Finds a Way • Seriously, Ian Book's escapability is such a weapon. He creates big plays. Just as important, he negates crushing negative ones. • Something just seemed a bit off with the passing offense early on, though. For the first time in a few weeks, there was a hint of unease from Book in the pocket. Wide receivers Ben Skowronek, Avery Davis and Joe Wilkins Jr. had a combined four first-half targets. Perhaps it was a subconscious reaction to the changes up front and some early pass protection issues. • All forgotten by game's end. Book was 23-of-33 passing for 279 yards with a touchdown. The receivers had 13 catches for 191 yards. • Book can now say he has the longest streak of passes without an intercep- tion (237) in school history. He passed Brady Quinn's mark of 226. Right Calls, Right Time • Have to give offensive coordinator Tommy Rees props for staying aggressive and putting the game in Book's hands in important moments. Two plays stood out in the second half: calling a shot play to fifth-year senior wide receiver Javon McKinley on first down that gained 53 yards, and the third-and-five play- action throw out of 14 personnel (one running back, four tight ends) that set up Notre Dame's final touchdown. It didn't seem like there was any hesitation to let Book throw on that third down instead of calling a run to ensure time continued to drip off the clock. • Notre Dame wasn't even trying to hide the booby trap on fourth-and-one from its own 24-yard line. North Carolina still stepped in it, was called for offsides and fueled the 97-yard scoring drive that produced Notre Dame's touchdown to take a 24-17 lead in the third quarter. • Speaking of that drive, Skowronek can run, by the way. As you read in here earlier. Irish Respond Without Hamilton • The targeting call on sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton was correct. It's hard for Hamilton and his 6-4 frame to get his head down when tackling a shorter player, but helmet-to-helmet contact is going to get called. Hamilton surely would've still made the tackle if he came in a little less hot. • All things considered, Notre Dame responded fine to the targeting call. Hamilton's replacement, junior Houston Griffith, whiffed on an open-field tackle on the next play, but the Irish forced a field goal after a third-and-short stuff. Griffith produced a fine game, too. Slow Start, No Problem • Notre Dame's opening drive three-and-out was the first time the Irish didn't score on their first possession since Oct. 10 versus Florida State. Not exactly the ideal start against 1) an explosive offense and 2) a sketchy defense. • Same time, you had to figure Notre Dame wouldn't be flustered by the unfamiliar position of playing from behind and ditch its identity. The scoring drive right after North Carolina's first touchdown took 4:37 to go 75 yards, and six of the nine plays were runs. By the end, Notre Dame was in its clock-milking ways and had four touchdown drives of at least 75 yards. Secondary Adjustment • Freshman Clarence Lewis replaced junior TaRiq Bracy at field corner in the first quarter after Bracy was burned on a touchdown and a 51-yard completion. Lewis finished with one tackle and one pass broken up. No Returns • Notre Dame has to get something out of its punt return game. It's costing yards right now. There's just nothing about it that is giving Notre Dame much help. INITIAL THOUGHTS BY PATRICK ENGEL Notre Dame ran for 199 yards behind an offensive line with two new starters. Sophomore Kyren Williams led the way with 23 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS