Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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TAKING A CLOSER LOOK What Worked • Minimizing the ground game. Notre Dame's defense has been stout against the run throughout the 2011 season, but the unit's efforts particularly stood out against a Florida State team with plenty of offensive weapons. The Irish held the Seminoles to nine yards rushing in the first half and lim- ited them to just 41 net yards in the contest while allowing only 1.4 yards per carry. It was a defensive battle for the duration of the contest, but Florida State was forced to go through the air due to how well the Irish players filled the running lanes and read their keys. • Third-down success. Offensively, sophomore quarter- back Tommy Rees was able to find a number of targets to convert on third downs, mainly junior tight end Tyler Eifert. Notre Dame converted on 7 of 15 attempts (46.7 percent), which is just above the 40-percent conversion rate the coaching staff wants to see on average. On defense, Notre Dame didn't leave many holes for the Seminoles to take advantage of on third-down situations and buckled down to get as many offensive possessions in the game as possible. Florida State converted only 3 of 14 third-down tries and was 0 of 1 on fourth down. • Applying pressure. While Florida State is typically known for its athleticism and defensive front, Notre Dame responded and displayed its ability to cause trouble for opposing quar- terbacks. In the first half of the game in particular, FSU quar- terback EJ Manuel didn't have much time to find an open receiver based on how aggressive the Irish defense attacked and exposed an inexperienced offensive line. Notre Dame finished with five sacks for a loss of 44 yards and added another five quarterback hurries. However, four of the sacks took place in the first half. The coaches utilized fewer blitzes in the second half. What Didn't Work • Protecting the football. Turnovers have been an issue all season for the Notre Dame offense, and the matchup with Florida State proved to be no different. The Irish threw three interceptions, two by Rees within scoring range and one by sophomore Andrew Hendrix to set up the Seminoles in the red zone, and didn't record any of their own. The Irish did strip the ball for a fumble return score, but still lost the turnover battle, 3-1. • Playing a full game on defense. After an impressive first half in which Notre Dame kept Florida State out of the end zone and limited the Seminoles to 104 total yards, the Irish began to take a "bend but don't break" approach with a reduced blitz package. The change in game plan didn't have an immediate effect, but Manuel gradually earned more confidence after he was given more time to throw and finished the day by complet- ing 20 passes for 249 yards (12.4 yards per completion) and two touchdowns. The Irish have had weak spots in the coverage at the sec- ond level of the defense and along the sidelines in the flats, and those areas were exposed late in the game. • Red-zone opportunities. After only scoring on one of three trips to the red zone, Notre Dame allowed Florida State to find success on 4 of 4 trips down to the scoring area. The Irish scored a touchdown on their one conversion, but the Seminoles were able to score twice and add two field goals that eventually became 18 unanswered points to lead their team to victory. — Jason Sapp www.BLUEANDGOLD.com BY THE NUMBERS 2 the Seminoles still rallied from being down 14-0 to score 18 unanswered points in the second half for the victory. The FSU offen- sive line quartet has 14 career starts among them, nine by right tackle Bobby Hart. Guards Tre' Jackson and Josue Matias made their first starts. 4 dating back to the 1990 Orange Bowl in Miami (Colorado). The others were 1995 Orange (Florida State), the Gator Bowl in 1999 (Georgia Tech) and 2003 (North Caro- lina State) in Jacksonville, and now the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. 5 11 Points Notre Dame led by entering the fourth quarter (14-3) before los- ing 18-14. It was the second time this sea- son the Irish squandered at least a double- digit cushion entering the fourth quarter. The other was the Sept. 10 meltdown at Michigan when Notre Dame had a 24-7 lead. In both cases, the opponent tallied a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter, Michigan Straight losses by Notre Dame in bowl games played in the state of Florida, BY LOU SOMOGYI Consecutive losses by Notre Dame's Brian Kelly to end the season — the first time that has happened in his 21 years as a head coach, dating back to his first sea- son at Grand Valley State in 1991. The Irish lost to Stanford 28-14 in the regular-season finale prior to their Champs Sports Bowl defeat at the hands of Florida State. True freshmen who started along Florida State's offensive line — yet with 14:54 left and Florida State with an 18- yard pass, also at the 14:54 mark. against Florida State after a 77-yard kickoff return). That represented the fewest points yielded by an Irish team in any quarter since the 1988 national champs surrendered only 16 in the first quarter. 16 the fewest given up by Notre Dame in the first 15 minutes of a game this year, bet- tering the 27 by Michigan on Sept. 10. In both cases, Notre Dame was in control through three quarters before collapsing in the fourth. 18 41 57 Yards gained on senior wide re- ceiver Michael Floyd's punt return after the game's opening possession by Florida State. It was the first time in eight games Notre Dame even attempted a punt return, and it was 38 yards more than the three yards the Irish totaled during their 8-4 regular season. Consecutive games won by Irish head coach Brian Kelly — entering the Champs Sports Bowl — when his team held the opposition to less than 20 points. That streak ended with the 18-14 defeat to the Seminoles. Kelly had won 12 such games in a row at Notre Dame, seven in 2010 and five in the 2011 regular season. Total offense yards produced by Florida State in the first quarter, Points given up all year by Notre Dame in the third quarter (three The back-to-back losses to end Notre Dame's 2011 season was the first time that has hap- pened to Brian Kelly in his 21 years as a head coach. PHOTO BY GREG OYSTER FEBRUARY 2012 31