Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE back to Notre Dame, because he wants that. "Clearly he's going to be the one that drives this for us." A year apart never looked so good. The obvious evaluations this spring from most of the media "experts" and armchair quarterbacks will focus on how well Golson demonstrates his throwing touch and ability to read de- fensive schemes in the passing game. Given that Golson finished only 62nd nationally in passing efficiency as es- sentially Notre Dame's full-time starter in 2012, touch and awareness are vital areas of emphasis and improvement. But more important than the contri- butions Golson needs to bring in the passing game this season will be the boost he can add to the mediocre Irish ground game. With no threat in the run game from Rees in 2013, rushing production (151.0 yards per game) suffered a 20-percent drop-off from 2012 when Golson was behind center. That's without mention- ing the inherent advantages a mobile quarterback also brings to the passing game. Rees finished with negative-56 rush- ing yards last season, with no rush- ing touchdowns. As the starter in 2012, Golson finished fourth on the team with 298 rushing yards and a team-best six rushing touchdowns. The Irish av- eraged 189.4 rushing yards a game with Golson at the helm in 2012, not stellar production but easily the best per-game mark during the first four years of the Brian Kelly era. And while discussing improved pro- duction in the running game seems awkward in a story about a quarter- back, the landscape around college football shows a clear correlation be- tween a productive ground game and winning football. Of the top 10 teams ranked in the final BCS poll last season, all but Michi- gan State averaged at least 200 yards a game on the ground. Auburn, Ohio State, Baylor and Or- egon all averaged better than 250 rush- ing yards, or more than 100 yards a game better than Notre Dame. Auburn rode a nation's-best 328 rushing yards per game — more than twice the Irish production — to a shot at the national championship. Golson will face his share of chal- lenges when he almost certainly takes over again as the starter against Rice in the season opener Aug. 30. Unfamiliar- ity and rust will be the greatest of them after almost 20 months and 602 days without any live game action. Barring injury, Christian Lombard will be the lone offensive lineman from Golson's 2012 starting unit. And work- ing on the assumption that senior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels returns in the fall after his academic suspension this spring, Daniels will be the only wide- out Golson shares any tangible famil- iarity with. But if a second first impression counts for anything this spring, an aca- demic suspension may ultimately lead to Golson's football ascension. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com