Cavalier Corner Digital

The Irish Giveth, But Don't Take Away T he autopsy from Notre Dame's 35-21 loss to No. 12 Oklahoma returned with no surprises. Cause of death: Turnovers. The Irish lost the turnover battle 3-0. All three takeaways were first-half interceptions thrown by senior quarterback Tommy Rees. All three led to touchdowns for the Sooners. Two of them came in the first three minutes of the game and gave Oklahoma a 14-0 lead Notre Dame could not surmount. murphy's Law dan murphy Rees is stuck spending another week dodging digital rotten tomatoes, which has become as much a part of his job description as throwing passes and managing the offense. He felt the same wrath after throwing two interceptions in a loss to Michigan earlier in the season. In their two losses this season the Irish trailed 5-1 in turnover margin, but it's the latter half of that stat that should be the bigger concern in South Bend. Notre Dame finished in the black in turnover margin a season ago. The focus for rookie quarterback Everett Golson was to protect the football at all costs. That he did. Opposing teams stole the ball 15 times in 2012, only a dozen Football Bowl Subdivision teams did a better job of keeping possession. So far, Rees and the Irish offense are keeping pace with that number. It's the defense that is lagging behind. Through five games the Irish have coughed up the ball six times — five Rees interceptions and a fumble by junior running back Amir Carlisle. That puts them on pace to finish the year with 15.6 turnovers, nearly identical numbers from a year ago. The defense, however, has created only three turnovers in its first five games (a fourth came via a fumbled punt against Temple late in the fourth quarter). At that rate, they'll complete the season with eight takeaways, a major step back compared to the 24 they created a year ago and the lowest total since at least the 1950s. "It's frustrating that we're in the right position sometimes and we may not capitalize on that opportunity," said senior cornerback Bennett Jackson, who has one of the team's three interceptions. Only eight teams in the country created fewer turnovers in September, and combined those teams have compiled a record of 11-22. UCLA (3-0) is the only member of that group that has yet to lose a game. To Notre Dame's credit, the defense has made the most of the few sudden-change plays it's mustered thus far. Jackson's interception against Purdue and a leaping grab by defensive end Stephon Tuitt against Michigan both went for touchdowns. Safety Matthias Farley flipped the momentum of a 17-13 win over Michigan State when he picked off an ill-advised trick play attempt late in the third quarter. Notre Dame's offense eventually converted that play into a go-ahead score against the Spartans. Irish head coach Brian Kelly said there are no plans to add any emphasis to taking the ball away from opponents in practice moving forward. "I think we continue to do the same things that we have always had in terms of preaching what we do defensively and going after the football and stripping it and obviously getting to it," he said. "… I think more importantly for us, it's on the offensive side of the ball, taking care of the football." Jackson, who led the secondary a year ago with four interceptions, said the dip in September wasn't about a less aggressive mentality as much as a failure to capitalize when the chance presents itself. Junior safety Matthias Farley's interception against Michigan State was one of just three takeaways by the Irish defense in September — a pace of only eight for the season, a year after they produced 24. photo by bill panzica "We've just got to execute. When your opportunity is in front of you, you have to make the most of it," he said. "There were several opportunities this year where the ball hit guys right in the hands, and we didn't catch it. That's a huge game change that we need to work as a defense to improve." This summer Irish safeties coach Bob Elliott attributed Notre Dame's success in the turnover department to two factors: a touch of luck that has to come to create the opportunities and a certain linebacker who seemed to always be around when that lucky break occurred. ✦ Page 20 Add this to the lengthy list of reasons why Notre Dame's defense misses AllAmerican linebacker Manti Te'o more than it imagined. Te'o intercepted seven passes a year ago and helped to create several others by forcing bad throws from quarterbacks under duress. The Irish defense had 13 turnovers at the end of September a year ago. Those lamenting the return of "Turnover Tommy" this month should perhaps change their tune to a requiem for Turnover Te'o. ✦ E-mail Dan at dmurphy@blueandgold.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @BGI_DanMurphy.

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