Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/616353
UNDER THE DOME Defense By Andrew Owens Notre Dame's defense has simply been a disap- pointment in year two under coordinator Brian Van- Gorder. The Irish, after surrendering more than 30 points in each of their final eight games of 2014, allowed fewer than 20 points only three times in 12 regular-sea- son games in 2015. Those perfor- mances came against Texas, Wake Forest and Boston College, which finished 85th, 120th and 121st in scoring offense, respectively. A strong performance against a potent Ohio State offense in the Fiesta Bowl could go a long way to- ward suggesting improvement is on the way in 2016. The Buckeyes did not play to their abilities offensively in much of 2015, due in large part to how long it took the coaching staff to hand the keys of the offense over to quarterback J.T. Barrett rather than Cardale Jones. Running back Ezekiel Elliott could provide the Irish defense fits, but Notre Dame contained Stanford running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Christian McCaffrey about as well as any team did during the regular season. A repeat performance would likely lead to an Irish win. Notre Dame's explosive offense scored 28 or more points in nine of 12 games and is typically a safe bet to reach the 30s. Despite the NFL talent on the Buck- eyes' defense and Ohio State entering the game as the nation's No. 2 scoring defense, head coach Brian Kelly's offense should be able to do its part to finish the season on a winning note. As usual, the defense carries no such guarantee. Offense By Bryan Driskell If the Irish are going to pull off the Fiesta Bowl upset, there is no doubt that Notre Dame's strug- gling defense must improve its play. A poor perfor- mance from the defense will make things harder for Notre Dame, but even if the defense plays well the Irish offense is truly the key to the upset. Ohio State has one of the nation's premier de- fenses, ranking second na- tionally in scoring defense, 10th in total defense and 22nd in rushing defense. Even when then Buckeyes offense has scuffled this season, the defense has been able to shut oppo- nents down. It is the Ohio State defense that has car- ried the team all season. Notre Dame has faced strong defenses all season, and Ohio State is ev- ery bit as good as the Clemson and Boston Col- lege units — the two best the Irish faced in 2015. Against those defenses, the Irish had inconsistent results, showing the ability to move the ball but struggling to consistently get into the end zone. Pittsburgh was the only top defense the Irish were able to move the ball against and rack up a lot of points. Against Ohio State, the Irish offense will have to be at its best. If the Irish offense can put together a balanced attack, create big plays and be sharp in the red zone it has the ability to strike early and often, giving the Irish a great chance to win regard- less of what happens on defense. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH SIDE OF THE BALL IS MOST IMPORTANT TO NOTRE DAME WINNING THE FIESTA BOWL? The Irish defense will have its hands full containing quarterback J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State offense in the Fiesta Bowl. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL