Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/638727
UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame Finishes No. 11 In AP Poll There is a right to believe that the 2015 Fighting Irish that finished 10-3 — with the three losses to Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams, two of them in the closing seconds — were one of the 10 best teams in the country. However, the record books will show head coach Brian Kelly's team fin- ishing No. 11 in the Associated Press poll. Since 1993, Notre Dame has finished in the AP top 10 only twice: No. 9 in 2005 (9-3) and No. 4 in 2012 (12-1). Excluding Knute Rockne's (1918-30) tenure because he never coached during the AP poll era, Kelly is tied with Charlie Weis for sixth place among CHARTING THE IRISH TURNOVERS UNDER MIKE BREY One of the biggest keys to the offensive success enjoyed during Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey's 16‑year tenure is the program's ability to limit turnovers. Committing a turnover is one of the largest productivity killers in the sport. Not only is there no op‑ portunity for a positive outcome when a turnover is committed, but they can sometimes lead to easy points for the opponent. When a possession goes poorly and a bad shot has to be taken, at least there's a chance for an offensive rebound. But when a turnover is committed, there is zero hope the possession ends well. Brey understands that, which is why he places such a high priority on his players valuing the ball. He attributed ball control as one of the main reasons freshman guard Rex Pflueger didn't earn as much playing time as expected in the first part of the season — the head coach will let some things slide, but not turnovers. Therefore his teams are annually great at avoiding turnovers, sometimes ranking among the best in the country. According to TeamRankings.com — a statistics website that filters out data from games against non‑Division I opponents — the Irish ranked first nationally in turnovers per contest with just 9.0 per game as of Feb. 9. The average ranking from the last eight seasons is 11.3, with the worst outlier being 33rd in 2012‑13. NOTRE DAME'S TURNOVERS PER GAME Season TO Per Game National Ranking 2015‑16 9.0 1st 2014‑15 9.4 5th 2013‑14 10.3 27th 2012‑13 11.2 33rd 2011‑12 9.9 3rd 2010‑11 10.4 12th 2009‑10 10.1 8th 2008‑09 9.4 1st