Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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That's because the word "physical" is generally associated with or interpreted as "power running." The Irish head coach said that is not necessarily accurate. "We've got to be able to turn the switch on and play physical football regardless whether we throw it 60 times a game or run it 70 times a game," Kelly explained. "It's an attitude. It's a demeanor … on both sides of the ball, and special teams, week in and week out." Because Kelly has been labeled a pass-first coach, popular theory holds that Notre Dame's identity on offense will be perceived as more finesse. Again, Kelly disagrees. "You can knock people off the ball when you're throwing the football — great pass protection — and then when you do run the ball, you have a physical demeanor when you're out there," Kelly said. "It all depends on how you're blocking on the perimeter, what's your demand from your players. I've had teams that can intimidate their opponent if you're throwing the football. When you spread it out, you don't have to be considered a finesse team just because you spread the field. You can still attack and be physical. "We're not going to throw it 60 times unless you want us to throw it 60 times — and we're going to beat you. … You don't have to run the football to be considered a physical football team. You can be a physical football team in all areas by your demeanor and the way you approach the game." 200 Yards: The Base Line In Major League Baseball, the "Mendoza Line" is used to define the thresh- old of a position player's (non-pitcher) batting average. It was named after Mario Mendoza, whose fielding skills as a shortstop/ third baseman were good enough to keep him in the big leagues nine years from 1974-82, but whose batting average was less than .200 in more than half of his seasons. He finished with a career average of .215. There is sort of a Mendoza Line attached to Notre Dame football coaches when it comes to running the football — and that too is somewhat related to the number 200. At minimum, one would like it to be around 200 yards rushing, which generally, but not definitively, implies assertion along the line of scrimmage. As the game has evolved the past 10 or 20 years into much more passing — with bubble screens or quick flips to backs really being more an offshoot of the running game — the sliding scale might even have about 170 yards as "today's version of 200." Yet one thing that has remained consistent in Notre Dame's football program for the past 50-plus years is if the running game dips under that 200 mark, the program is not quite the same. The rushing figures at Notre Dame often reveal the trajectory or success of the football program: Joe Kuharich (1959-62) and Hugh Devore (1963) — Notre Dame was 19-30 during these dark years, and the Irish rushing average was a pedestrian 159.7 yards per game. (The previous lowest single-season figure it had was 170.8 during the 2-8 campaign in 1956.) Ara Parseghian (1964-74) — This 11year Golden Age with a 95-17-4 record