Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IN THE TRENCHES ANDREW OWENS look. During a 30-minute media view- ing of practice March 3, the Irish used it in an 11-on-0 drill. "I think we all know, with college football and where it is, the quarter- back is really going to be the center- piece of this offense and the way we run it," Kelly said, "It's going to fall on him." Interestingly, Kelly's fast-paced look didn't necessarily lead to many more offensive snaps during his time at Cin- cinnati. During his four years in South Bend, the Irish have never averaged more than 70 plays per game. With the Bearcats, his offense snapped the ball more than 67 times per game just once (72.3 in 2007). In 2013, the national average was 72. Whether Golson's presence allows Notre Dame to crack the 70-play-per- game mark is yet to be seen. But the focus should be on whether it leads to a significant rise in points per game. Last fall, a reporter asked Kelly why his offense hasn't put up better num- bers in an era when teams left and right seem to be scoring 50 points with little difficulty. After all, Kelly was hired with an offensive background, but the unit has never ranked better than 49th in the nation in points per game during his four seasons. Kelly's reply made it clear — with- out throwing Rees under the bus — that he hasn't had the quarterback personnel to approach the video game- like offensive numbers that have been posted by Oregon, Baylor or other of- fensive powers. In 2014, that trend could change. It might need to change. With a new defensive system put into place and five new starters in the front seven, it seems unlikely that the Irish defense will be the unit the team relies upon again this season. For the first time, the offense might need to outscore opponents for Notre Dame to reach an elite bowl game or contend for a College Football Playoff berth. Even outside the parameters of the quarterback discussion, this offense might be the most primed to score consistently. It features a pair of heav- ily recruited sophomore running backs (Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant), a returning receiver who caught seven touchdown passes in 2013 in DaVaris Daniels (assuming his application for readmission is accepted), and a num- ber of promising young wideouts ea- ger to leave their mark on the offense (sophomores Will Fuller and Corey Robinson, freshmen Justin Brent and Corey Holmes, and even junior wide receiver Chris Brown). Kelly said the Irish could benefit from having a flurry of options in the passing game, rather than just relying on one pass catcher like the Irish did with receiver Michael Floyd in 2011, tight end Tyler Eifert in 2012 and re- ceiver TJ Jones last year. It could lead to an offense that's more evenly distributed. It could lead to a faster-paced offense. Most im- portantly, it could lead to many more points. ✦ Andrew Owens has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2013. He can be reached at aowens@blueandgold.com