Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/762987
28 JANUARY 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey and senior defensive end Isaac Ro- chell. McGlinchey wasn't nearly as dominant or as powerful as he was a season ago, which has little to do with his shift from right to left tackle. Rochell was a physically imposing force as a sophomore in 2014, but in each of the last two seasons his on- field power has decreased. The fact Notre Dame performed so poorly in the second half of games — especially in the fourth quarter — is more evidence of flaws in the strength and conditioning program. Notre Dame was outscored 81-52 in the fourth quarter this season — and tal- lied only 22 points the last eight games. It marked the third time in Kelly's tenure that the Irish were outscored in the final quarter. Notre Dame has given up at least 81 points in the fourth quarter four times during that time. Notre Dame struggled to handle adversity in 2016, often jumping out to big leads but then fading away as teams chipped away and started to make plays. The snowball effect im- pacted this team far too much, which shows a lack of leadership, condi- tioning and mental toughness. Mental toughness is first estab- lished through the strength and con- ditioning program. This is one part of the program where players can and absolutely must be pushed past what they think they are capable of achiev- ing. It is then that mental and physi- cal toughness is first instilled, and according to multiple sources close to the program, this is an area where Notre Dame is severely lacking. Pushing players in this manner not only benefits them from a toughness, strength and conditioning stand- point, it also creates an environment where leaders must emerge. 5. SPECIAL TEAMS MUST BECOME A GREATER PRIORITY According to the Fremeau Efficiency Index, Notre Dame ranked 79th in special teams this season, a number that was boosted by the strong per- formance of sophomore kick returner C.J. Sanders. Notre Dame ranked 121st in punt efficiency (coverage), 119th in punt return efficiency and 99th in kick efficiency (coverage). This was not the first time Notre Dame has struggled on special teams. Only once (2015) in special teams co- ordinator Scott Booker's five years in charge has Notre Dame ranked higher than 53rd in special teams efficiency. Results like this are not accept- able for a program like Notre Dame, or one that wants to truly compete for championships with any kind of consistency. On Dec. 13, just as Blue & Gold Il- lustrated went to print, it was learned that Booker had been terminated from his job as the special teams coor- dinator/tight ends coach. But chang- ing the coordinator alone won't really fix the problem. Kelly needs to take a far greater role in special teams, re- gardless of who his coordinator is. He has a highly competent offen- sive staff and assuming he makes the right hire on defense, that part of the team should be in good hands. Moving forward, Kelly needs to go the Urban Meyer route and make the special teams his baby. Since Kelly arrived at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish have played in 42 games decided by one score or less. Notre Dame went 5-0 in one- score games in 2012. Outside of that season, Notre Dame has gone 18-19 Senior left tackle and captain Mike McGlinchey was called for nine false start penalties in 2016. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA