Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/204831
Under the Dome Charting The Irish The Third Degree One out of every three times Notre Dame's offense takes the field, it doesn't get past the third play. The Irish went three-and-out or worse on 31 of their 94 offensive possessions in the first eight games of the season. That includes turnovers before picking up a first down, but does not include drives that ended by taking a knee at the end of a half or drives that ended in a touchdown in three plays or less. Notre Dame's 33 percent likelihood of punting before picking up a first down is considerably higher than the country's best offenses. Baylor, Texas A&M, Florida State and Louisville all go three-and-out less than 20 percent of the time. Navy has also been efficient about keeping its offense on the field. The Midshipmen ranked seventh nationally heading into their meeting with Notre Dame. What's to blame? The traditionalists would tell you the Irish pass too much on first and second down. But 18 of the 31 three-and-outs this season have come on series when Notre Dame ran more than it passed. The Irish passed on all three downs only three times when going three-and-out. The second half has been a bigger problem. More than two-thirds of the three-and-outs came after halftime, including 12 in the fourth quarter. Quarter 1 2 3 4 No. of three-and-outs 8 (.258) 2 (.064) 9 (.290) 12 (.387) Pass Attempts 0 1 2 3 No. of three-and-outs 5 (.161) 13 (.419) 10 (.323) 3 (.097) A Tight [End] Fit When Notre Dame's offense has found a rhythm the past four seasons with the run and pass, chances are a two-tight-end alignment is involved. In 2010, when the Irish started 4-5, it did not employ double-tight-end packages. During the 4-0 finish that year in which freshman quarterback Tommy Rees was forced into the lineup, backup Mike Ragone combined with Tyler Eifert in a two-tight-end set that provided a more physical identity to the offense. Last year, Troy Niklas caught only five passes as the backup tight end — but he started eight games, allowing Eifert to split out wide while at the same time significantly aiding a more physical ground attack that averaged more than 200 yards rushing per game during the regular season. This year, junior Ben Koyack presents a matchup problem with his 6‑5, 261-pound frame and downfield maneuverability (he caught more than 150 passes in high school as a top-three tight end prospect) to