Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/377020
UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE "If you're working so hard to put your football team together, and your surface is not where it needs to be, then you need to make a change," Kelly said. Based on very early returns, the coach knew exactly what he was talk- ing about. Clearly, the new surface will never be a distinct advantage for Notre Dame when similar or superior ath- letic teams come to town. The advan- tage will be most evident when lesser opponents such as Rice, North Car- olina and Northwestern play here, teams that the Irish hold a talent ad- vantage over. The benefits of FieldTurf were ob- vious in the 48-17 rout of Rice in the season opener: • Notre Dame piled up 576 total yards, the third most during the Kelly era. • The 48 points were the most scored in a home opener since a 48-13 drubbing of Kansas in 1999. • The Irish offense averaged an im- pressive 9.0 yards on its 64 plays from scrimmage. • Five different Irish receivers caught passes of at least 25 yards. • Led by sophomore tailback Greg Bryant's 8.9 yards per carry, the Irish averaged 6.7 yards on their 42 rush- ing attempts. • And perhaps most telling, Notre Dame averaged 16 yards per punt return for 80 total yards after tallying 106 total punt return yards all of last season. The slow sod surface often allowed less talented teams to keep games close and often pull an upset because the Irish players were so often "stuck in the mud." The most notable recent example was the upset loss in the pouring rain to South Florida in 2011. The new playing surface will mag- nify the talent advantage over oppo- nents such as Rice and finally allow the Irish to put lesser teams away earlier rather than later. Also consider that Notre Dame practices on FieldTurf. There is an added consistency between prep time and game time. And finally, the Irish can actually practice on their stadium field without tearing it up. The sod field was replaced three times last year, but the divots, patches, holes and pockmarks always returned. Simply put, the new surface gives Notre Dame a home-field advantage that has been missing for more than a decade — 2012 is the only season since 1998 the Irish have gone unde- feated at home. And as for the traditionalists who balked at the idea of a new field, Irish senior kicker Kyle Brindza, perhaps the player that will benefit most, also has a message. "A lot of people are saying the Kelly era is taking away traditions," Brindza said. "No, we are starting a new tradition that is much more presentable, better to play on, and a lot safer for us. That's what we're doing." ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com