Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Upon Further Review todd D. burlage point in nine of their first 10 games, and resurrected many of the offensive mistakes that have led to upsets and second-tier bowl games. The loss of Everett Golson at starting quarterback should have alone suggested that a strong running game behind one of the best offensive lines in the country would be the best approach to cover the physical limitations of senior Tommy Rees as the starting quarterback. Adding even more frustration to the game planning this season has been a seemingly whimsical approach to appropriating snaps and carries within the stable of running backs. After posting only the second 100yard rushing performance by an Irish tailback this season with his 140-yard game against Navy Nov. 2, freshman Tarean Folston was given the ball only four times for 13 yards in the loss to Pittsburgh the following week. In a game that Notre Dame was thinned by injuries but still managed to lead or stay tied with the Panthers for 50 of the 60 minutes, the decision to abandon Folston — and basically the entire running game — was puzzling and disappointing. Notre Dame ran the ball only six times for 10 yards in the second half after rushing for more than 100 yards and better than six yards per carry in the first half. To use Folson only sparingly a week after his breakout performance served as more evidence to a general lack of direction in the ground game this entire season. Amazingly, the Irish have had four different running backs lead the team in carries during a game this season — Folston (twice), George Atkinson III (twice), Cam McDaniel (five times) and Amir Carlisle (once). The Irish coaches call the seemingly endless mixing and matching at tailback as searching for the hot hand. I call it indecision. Kelly seems to have fallen into the routine of spending much of his prep time building his offensive game plan according to what an opponent does defensively, rather than designing a scheme that dictates to a defense and forces it to make the necessary adjustments off of the strengths of his Irish offense. Elite college coaches and teams spend little time trying to surprise or overhauling personnel schemes each week to fit an opposing defense. Elite college teams improve their base offensive plan throughout the season, have it nearly perfected by the end of the year, and dare defenses to stop them. I won't pretend to understand or appreciate everything that goes into game planning for an entire football season or even a single football game. But couple the offensive successes of last season out of a run-first formula with a backup starting quarterback this year, and to never commit to the running game has to provide some level of regret within the Notre Dame coaching staff — and continued head scratching among the Irish fan base. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com