Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 NOV. 21, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED DEFENSE MAKES KEY ADJUSTMENTS AGAINST OPTION In its 28-27 loss to Navy Nov. 5, the Notre Dame defense had a difficult time handling the triple-option offense. The Midshipmen gashed the Irish de- fense for 320 rushing yards, converted 8 of 13 third-down attempts and kept the explosive Irish offense off the field. Notre Dame looked to bounce back defensively against Army, which runs a version of the triple option that closely mirrors the Navy scheme. The defense certainly stepped up its game, holding Army to just 242 yards of of- fense, 10 first downs and 3 of 11 (27.2 percent) on third-down conversions. "It's a difficult chore when you're going against option teams, and Army in particular," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said following his team's 44-6 victory over the Black Knights. "To hold them to six points is a great job by our defensive staff and great execution by our players." The Irish defense evidently took note of its struggles against Navy, making several adjustments for its second go-round with the option. Army head coach Jeff Monken stated after the game that he noticed Notre Dame used at least five defen- sive alignments and several coverages against Navy. Notre Dame simplified its approach defensively against Army. "We went to some more odd front," Kelly said, referring to his team's three-down linemen align- ment. "Last week we mixed up some fronts and played a few more fronts. We needed to get off the field, so we made some decisions on how we could; we felt we could force that." Monken also stated that Notre Dame ran just one coverage against his offense, and that allowed the Irish secondary players to attack the option with more confidence and speed. The adjustments also freed up the Irish linebackers to play a more downhill game, which helped slow Army's inside run game. Senior outside linebacker James On- wualu led the Irish with 13 tackles, in- cluding 1.5 for loss and a sack. Junior linebacker Greer Martini contributed nine tackles, and led the Irish with five solo stops and two tackles for loss. "The two inside backers, the two tackles did a really good job, which allowed our safeties to run," Kelly ex- plained. "They're pretty good athletes, and we were able to obviously do a re- ally good job of tracking them down." JULIAN LOVE IS A KEY TO THE DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND One of the main adjustments the defense made was moving fresh- man Julian Love from cornerback to free safety. In the loss to Navy, Love started as the field cornerback for the Irish, which meant he had to learn a brand new position in just one week. The reason for the move had to do with the responsibilities and align- ments of the free safety, which were quite different than they are against more traditional offense. Head coach Brian Kelly and the staff felt Love's experience as a cornerback fit that po- sition more than the natural safeties. "He was chasing down the B-backs, he was man-to-man on the slot, and he had to fill," Kelly said of Love's responsibilities at safety. "He had to come from the off side and track down the option. "That puts a lot on an athlete to do, and we just felt like he had the skill set and the smarts. He really picked things up well; he's got eye discipline." Love finished the game with three tackles (0.5 for loss), one pass broken up and an interception that ended an Army drive in the red zone. RUN GAME FINALLY GETS ON TRACK Notre Dame's run game has strug- gled for much of the season, with the Irish ranking just 96th nationally enter- ing its matchup against Army. The of- fensive staff looked to establish the run game early against the Black Knights. ARMY GAME NOTES BY BRYAN DRISKELL The Irish simplified their defense approach and had great success against the Black Knights, holding them to just 242 total yards, 10 first downs and 3 of 11 on third-down conversions. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Fifth-year senior Mark Harrell started at right guard for the Irish. It was his first career start. • Junior defensive end Jonathan Bonner made his first career start. • Notre Dame senior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. did not play against Army after suffering a knee injury the previous game against Navy. • Junior nose guard Daniel Cage missed his second straight game with a concussion. • Army was without starting quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw, who injured his knee against Air Force. • Freshman wideout Kevin Stepherson hauled in a career-high five passes against Army. • Senior linebacker James Onwualu set a career high with 13 tackles. • Notre Dame's 38 first-half points are its most in a half since it scored 42 in the opening half versus Air Force on Oct. 11, 2011. • Notre Dame's 32-point halftime advantage was its largest lead at intermission since the Irish led Stanford 34-0 on Nov. 29, 2003.