Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/187176
Under the Dome Defensive Doldrums During Notre Dame's disappointing 3‑2 start, much of the criticism was directed at the offense. Senior quarterback Tommy Rees ranked only 75th nationally in passing efficiency (129.1 rating) and the running game's 135.4 yards per game was 92nd among 123 teams. However, maybe even more disheartening was a defense that was nowhere near its top-five level in 2012. That was the bulwark upon which head coach Brian Kelly built the program to get to the BCS National Championship Game last year, and it was projected to carry the team again in 2013 while the offense was trying to find itself. Yet the numbers during the 3‑2 start were alarming. Notre Dame had only four sacks in five games, ranking 119th nationally. It also was 109th in tackles for loss (4.0 per game), 91st in third-down conversions defense (42.7 percent) and 110th in first downs allowed (110). Maybe the most telling defensive stat of all was Senior nose guard Louis Nix III, who typically that Notre Dame forced only four turnovers in played 40-50 snaps a game last year, was on the five games — 109th in the country. field for 72 of Oklahoma's 73 offensive plays in the It was too much of a reminder of 2011, when 35-21 loss to the Sooners Sept. 28. photo by bill panzica the Irish defense forced only 14 during the 8-5 season (it was upped to 23 last year). That's the lowest number we've found by a Notre Dame team in the post-World War II era. The 2013 defense was on pace to have fewer than that. The 2013 defense did come through with stops in the fourth quarter against Purdue and Michigan State, although neither possesses a top-notch offense. "It's been a mixed bag," Kelly said of the defense. "… It needs to get better, no question. "Our defense is solid. I don't think they're spectacular, but it's a solid defense that we can win with." The line in particular has taken huge hits this season with the graduation of Kapron Lewis-Moore, season-ending injuries to juniors Tony Springmann and Chase Hounshell, the defection of five-star recruit Eddie Vanderdoes (UCLA), and an ankle injury that forced sophomore Sheldon Day to sit out the Michigan State and Oklahoma games plus a good part of the Purdue contest. Furthermore, hernia surgery last winter has noticeably affected junior end Stephon Tuitt's quickness. Consequently, senior Louis Nix III was on the field for a career-high 72 plays (Oklahoma ran 73 offensive plays) against the Sooners — and was not credited with a "loaf" on any of them in the tape review. Last year Nix averaged about 40 to 50 snaps per game, according to Kelly. "He played a whale of a football game," Kelly said. "But he's playing a lot of football. … We're trying to give them as much of a blow as we can, but we also feel like we're a better defense with [the starters] on the field."