Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/140903
under the dome It's Not About Time In 2009 at the University of Cincinnati, head coach Brian Kelly's Bearcats finished 12‑0 before he accepted the Notre Dame job. What seemed amazing is Cincinnati achieved that perfection while finishing dead last among 120 teams in time of possession per game at 25:46. Three years later at Notre Dame, Kelly re‑ corded another 12-0 regular-season ledger. Only this time, his Fighting Irish finished 10th nationally in time of possession at 32:34. The moral of the story is there isn't a right or wrong answer when it comes to time of pos‑ session. It's based on personal — and person‑ nel — preferences and overall team strengths and deficiencies, including defense and special teams. In 2012, Rice (7-6) led the nation in time of possession (34:00 per game) while head coach Bob Davie's New Mexico team (4‑9) was second (33:48), which allowed it to stay competitive in most games while undergoing massive rebuilding. National champ Alabama finished 11th (32:16) with its basic no-frills offense, and Stanford was one second behind by Notre Dame with its attack that centers on power running. Sugar Bowl participants Louisville and Flor‑ ida both finished in the top 10 in time of pos‑ session with their more methodical approaches. Conversely, other top-10 teams such as Clemson (88th), Texas A&M (96th), Geor‑ gia (97th) and Oregon (104th) ranked much lower in time of possession with their giddyup attacks. Much of the pace is quarterback driven. In Kelly's first season at Notre Dame, his starting quarterback, Dayne Crist, was coming off knee surgery and learning a new nomenclature. In Kelly's second season, sophomore Tommy Rees was in his first full season as a starter, and his forte was pre-snap reads. Last year, sophomore Everett Golson was a first-time starter whose knowledge base was much lower than Rees' but his physical upside greater. The foremost objective was to protect the ball with a methodical, efficient attack, and not put the dominant Irish defense in bad positions or field position. With Golson suspended and ineligible in 2013, Notre Dame is turning back to Rees again. "I would like to think we would be more balanced with our tempo … that we have the ability to kind of play whatever tempo we want to play," Martin said. Whatever works is the right "answer." Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly doesn't spend much time thinking about time of possession, nor did he at his previous coaching stops. photo by bill panzica 7225 Heritage Square Drive, Granger, IN 574-272-2292 | SohoJapaneseBistro.com Japanese Bistro / Tapan Grill / Sushi Bar Minutes From Notre Dame 16 ✦ blue & gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview 4-6,8,10-17.Under The Dome.indd 16 6/25/13 4:51 PM