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✦ News & notes By Lou Somogyi son] is a guy that I wanted to get downhill," Kelly said. "He's got great speed and acceleration. He ran downhill very well in high school, and we felt like the pistol could fit him very well. Not just him, but we felt like it was something that could benefit us moving forward." The element that needs to be resolved for Notre Dame is sorting out all the plays from the shotgun and conventional snaps to see which are executed best in the pistol. Another purpose is to prevent the opposing defense from knowing what the tendencies of the Irish are in the shotgun or in the direct snap by running those same plays from the pistol. "You can do all the plays — but are they as good? Is the timing as good?" offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Chuck Martin said. "Just to say, 'Yeah, we can run a power play from the pistol just like we can from direct snap' — is it as effective a play? Is a back hitting the hole at the right time? Holes open and close pretty quickly, so you're still sorting through that." The learning process with the pistol in ongoing, which is why it can't be the main course of the Notre Dame offense, but a good side dish. "How much we use the pistol will be determined for us in terms of the game plan week to week," Kelly said. "We just think it's another piece that we can use to get some downhill runs. I don't think we've turned into a pistol offense. We're still a shotgun offense that will operate similar to what we have in the past." Pistol Added To Notre Dame's Ammunition Notre Dame's 2013 offense will have a new wrinkle with the pistol formation as an auxiliary element to its base look. The pistol is a hybrid between the quarterback taking the conventional direct snap from center and the traditional shotgun where he is lined seven yards behind the center. In the pistol formation, the quarterback lines up only four yards behind the center, while the running back is three yards behind the quarterback instead of adjacent to him in the shotgun. The theory is that it can provide the best of both worlds to a savvy, veteran quarterback — a la Tommy Rees — because he is close enough to the line to read the run defense, but far enough back to still give him vision for passing plays (plus a little extra time to set up). A possible side benefit is the middle linebacker might have less of a vision of where the back is headed because he is directly behind the quarterback instead of to the side, thereby enabling the back to run downhill perhaps a little more. "When you are in the shotgun, you limit some of the runs that you have," head coach Brian Kelly said. "When the back is not offset, I think you open up a lot more versatility. The backers have to obviously play a lot more downhill. They can't offset one way or the other based upon the back. It also helps a little bit with your back working coast to coast in protections." Kelly said he ran a little pistol his first season with the Irish, but he now wants to incorporate it a little more because of the personnel on hand. Former Nevada head coach Chris Ault, a forefather of the pistol, spoke at Notre Dame's coaches' clinic this spring. "[Junior running back] George [Atkin- Take Nothing For Granted The pistol formation is a good fit for junior ball carrier George Atkinson III's downhill running style. photo by bill panzica ✦ Page 12 When you're a four-touchdown favorite the way Notre Dame is against Temple, the tendency to overlook the Owls or look ahead to the showdown at Michigan next week is natural.