Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/216396
Under the Dome Charting The Irish Irish Wall Crumbling A lack of turnovers and a propensity to give up big plays have set the Irish defense back this season, but the biggest difference between this year's group and the 2012 team is in the red zone. Notre Dame's trademark goal-line stands are a thing of the past. Air Force, Navy and Pittsburgh combined to snap the ball 12 times from inside the Irish 10-yard line during their respective games. Seven of those plays ended in touchdowns. Through 10 games in 2013, the Irish defense had faced almost the same amount of red-zone snaps as in the 2012 season (114 versus 116), but had allowed more than twice as many touchdowns (20 versus eight). Opponents average more than three times as many yards per play compared to last season, and Notre Dame is forcing far fewer negative plays. Heading into the Senior Day matchup with BYU, the Irish had yet to force a turnover in the red zone. Allowing teams to finish their drives has kept Notre Dame from finishing wins. ■ 2012 ■ 2013 (Through 10 games) Plays116 114 Yards Allowed 111 366 Yards Per Play 0.96 3.21 Negative Plays 29 (25%) 14 (12.3%) Penalty Yards Against 3 (2 penalties) 32 (6 penalties) Touchdowns Allowed 8 20 A Hurting Unit Some years a football team might be blessed with pretty good health, and others it might not be. Exhibits A & B are the 2012 and 2013 Notre Dame defenses. In 2012: • Notre Dame had a perfect attendance record along the defensive line among its two-deep with starters Kapron Lewis-Moore, Louis Nix III and Stephon Tuitt playing every game, while top backups Tony Springmann and Sheldon Day did the same. The No. 2 nose guard, Kona Schwenke, played in 11 of the 13 games. • At linebacker, Manti Te'o, Prince Shembo and the tag-team of Dan Fox/