Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/561665
BY LOU SOMOGYI S top us if you've heard this one before … but Notre Dame's running attack could be its best since the turn of the 21st century. The Fighting Irish haven't finished a full season averaging more than 200 yards on the ground since the 9‑3 fin‑ ish in 1998 under Bob Davie (208.1) — and current first‑year running back coach Autry Denson's senior season. It is "officially" listed with 213.5 in 2000, but that's before bowl games were included. The Irish rushed for only 17 yards in the 41‑9 Fiesta Bowl loss to Oregon State to finish at 197.1. During the 12‑0 regular season in 2012, Notre Dame averaged 202.5 yards rushing per contest — but the final tally was 189.4 after managing only 32 yards in the 42‑14 BCS Na‑ tional Championship Game fiasco ver‑ sus Alabama. Stats can often be whatever you want to make them, but 200 yards rushing is often a sign of success on a top‑notch offense. Nine of the last 10 national champions averaged at least 200 yards rushing, and so did nine of last year 's final Associated Press top 10. Notre Dame's run game since 2002 has generally hovered in the pedes‑ trian 125‑ to 160‑yard range, including 159.5 last year despite closing with a 263‑yard rushing effort in the Music City Bowl win versus LSU. With junior quarterback Malik Zaire excelling at the read option and the offensive line displaying a physical, hard‑edged mentality in that game, it has carried over into this season. Asso‑ ciate head coach/wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock, the main architect of the offensive game plan during the week, was asked if 2015 will be head coach Brian Kelly's best running team in his six seasons. "I would be surprised if it's not," Denbrock said. "There's obviously an emphasis with what we're trying to do to make sure that the running game is at the forefront. We've got a big, pow‑ erful group of guys up front that have a little bit of an edge and a little bit of nastiness to them, so we're going to lean on those guys. "And we've got a quarterback that can do some things with the ball in his hands, we've got some backs … we're structured that way." TAKE IT ON THE RUN The pieces are in place for ground game to flourish more consistently in 2015