Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 OCT. 12, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED N o matter how much football evolves or changes over the de- cades, a coaching axiom that re- mains timeless in providing the best opportunity to success is "run the ball and stop the run." There is seldom one end-all, be-all answer to anything, but this one is close. Not long after Notre Dame's 31-28 Mu- sic City Bowl victory versus No. 22 LSU to finish the 2014 season 8-5, then-Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Mike Den- brock (now at the University of Cincin- nati) gave his manifesto on what the iden- tity of the football operation should be. It came on the heels of racking up 263 rushing yards and 5.2 yards per carry against a Tigers defense that had been earmarked for its physicality. In that month of preparation following a four- game losing streak, Notre Dame made a commitment with new quarterback Malik Zaire and a burgeoning offensive line to be much more physical at the point of attack after averaging a modest 151.4 yards per game on the ground. "I hope it wasn't game specific," Den- brock said of the LSU game in which the Irish ran 51 times while passing 26 times. "It's the way Notre Dame should play football every Saturday: Line up, physi- cality, leaning on the big boys up front to create space for the running backs and getting the ball in space to some skilled receivers. … Playing sound, fundamental football. When I think of Notre Dame football, that's what I think of, and that's really what we're trying to get to." Overall, that carried over into the 2015 season in which the Irish finished No. 11 in ground offense (third-highest ranking since 1994). The 207.6-yard rushing av- erage was the highest since 1998, and the run game was propelled by a couple of top NFL picks (offensive linemen Ronnie Stanley in the first round and Nick Mar- tin in the second), a deep stable of backs led by C.J. Prosise (1,032 yards rushing) and freshman Josh Adams (835 yards), plus a bona fide running threat at quar- terback in DeShone Kizer (525 yards). A lot like 2017, in other words. The physicality aspect took a detour last season with a rebuilding line, but head coach Brian Kelly and first-year offensive coordinator Chip Long are playing once again to the strengths of this year's team, which includes a vet- eran offensive line with at least two top NFL prospects, a dynamic ground game and a new quarterback with running skills getting broken into the offense. Through four games, the red-zone of- fense remained tied for No. 1 nationally (highlighted by 17 touchdowns on its 19 attempts), while the rushing offense was No. 7 at 293.5 yards per game, both un- usually high figures that likely won't be sustainable over a 12-game regular sea- son. Especially uplifting during that time to Kelly was the fact that the Irish tallied 16 rushing touchdowns while allowing only 1. During last year's 4-8 campaign, the Irish scored merely 18 rushing touch- downs while permitting 23. Kelly said the improvement can be traced to one of the simplest precepts in coaching: You achieve what you emphasize. "The way we've prepared this football team since January, it is focused on that fundamental principle of physicality, and running the football and being great against the run. This has been inten- tional from January in terms of what I wanted this to look like," he said. "It would not be, in my estimation, suc- cessful if we had 16 rushing touchdowns and 16 given up. We want the differen- tial. Making the changes that I made, it's been about this intentional crafting of what we wanted to look like. "That's what we look like right now — and we've still got some work to do." In the past 20 years (1997-2016), Notre Dame averaged at least 200 rushing yards only four times during the regular season: 1998, 2000, 2012 and 2015. The combined record in those years was 40-6 (.870). Interestingly, each season was pro- pelled by a new quarterback (Jarious Jack- son, Matt LoVecchio, Everett Golson and DeShone Kizer) who "forced" the Irish to run more and be more physically oriented. Is a physical ground attack or even a 200-yard rushing average the elixir or silver bullet to football prosperity? By itself, absolutely not. It takes far more: Defense, special teams, passing balance, coaching, recruiting to a system … But it's not a coincidence that the pattern in the past, present and most likely in the future supports Denbrock's contention that Notre Dame football is much more often at its best with rush- ing excellence. ✦ BEST OF THE FIFTH QUARTER ✦ LOU SOMOGYI ✦ OCT. 9, 2017 Physicality Is A Mental State Of Mind EDITOR'S NOTE: The late, great Lou Somogyi possessed an unmatched knowledge of Notre Dame football, and it was his mission in life to share it with others. Those of us at Blue & Gold Illustrated would like to continue to provide his wis- dom and unique perspective from his more than 37 years covering the Fighting Irish for this publication. In 2017, a veteran offensive line led by eventual top-10 NFL Draft picks Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson paved the way for running back Josh Adams and company to average 269.5 yards per game on the ground. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA