Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 20, 2017 23 MIAMI RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE An unusual amount of missed tackles first reared their head for the Irish in the previous week's 48-37 win versus Wake Forest, but proved costlier against the Hurricanes, whose 42 carries for 237 yards were nearly identical to the Demon Deacons' 40 attempts for 239 yards. Malik Rosier's quarterback draws in the first quarter, highlighted by a 16-yard touchdown, helped set into motion other successful running lanes, including some counter plays that Notre Dame reacted to tentatively. Miami kept the clock running in the second half with running back Travis Homer, who had 40- and 38-yard runs in the third quarter and finished with 146 yards — the most versus the Irish this season — on 18 carries. ADVANTAGE: Miami MIAMI PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Rosier followed the blueprint the Irish had in victories versus USC and North Carolina State when junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush did his most passing damage in the opening minutes. In the first quarter, Rosier was 6-of-9 passing for 72 yards, and thereafter a more modest 9-of-15 passing for 65 yards, throw- ing mostly underneath the zone, other than a 28-yard jump-ball completion to 6-5 Lawrence Cager on fourth-and-nine early in the third quarter. The numbers were relatively pedestrian (15-of-24 passing for 137 yards with one touchdown) — similar to Wimbush's much of the season — but effective, especially early on, to help open up the ground game. ADVANTAGE: Miami NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MIAMI RUN DEFENSE Similar to the Sept. 9 loss to Georgia in which the Irish were held to 55 rush- ing yards, Miami's quickness — especially in backside pursuit from its linemen when the Irish linemen pulled — was overwhelming. The development of the Irish plays almost seemed to be in slow motion versus the fast Miami defenders. While the breakaway jaunt was not made available to junior running back Josh Adams (16 carries for 40 yards), more relevant was the Irish could not grind out a consistent slew of four- to six-yard gains with its downhill running identity to keep the chains moving. Notre Dame's 109 yards on the ground was three times below its average. ADVANTAGE: Miami NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. MIAMI PASS DEFENSE On the game's opening series, Wimbush (10-of-21 passing for 119 yards with two interceptions, one touchdown) completed third-and-five and third-and-10 passes for first downs, but when he missed an open junior Equanimeous St. Brown in the end zone on a post route, his entire game unraveled. Wimbush threw seven straight incompletions with two interceptions (and two others that were dropped by Miami, one on a batted ball) and displayed subpar mechanics and footwork, leading several intermediate tosses to sail wildly and screens to hit the sod. Sophomore Ian Book (3-of-6 passing for 33 yards with one interception) pro- vided a brief spark prior to halftime before tossing an easy interception that was returned for a 65-yard score. ADVANTAGE: Miami SPECIAL TEAMS In the first quarter alone, Miami returned a punt 17 yards to its 42 to set up one touchdown, and Notre Dame was penalized for 10 yards on both a kickoff return to start at its 15 and then on a punt that allowed the Hurricanes to begin another scoring series at its 46-yard line. That pretty much summarized the collective evening for the Irish. ADVANTAGE: Miami THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Miami entered the game ranked 117th nationally in third-down conversions at 31.3 percent, and it was even worse against the Irish with a 2-of-13 showing (15.4 percent). Nevertheless, it did convert all three fourth-down situations (including fourth-and-nine in the third quarter) to balance it out a little better. Notre Dame converted its first two third downs on the opening series — but then missed on eight of its next nine while the Hurricanes built a 34-0 advan- tage. The Irish finished 6 of 16 (37.5 percent), but the later conversions were inconsequential. ADVANTAGE: Even TURNOVERS Committing only two turnovers over the previous six games the way Notre Dame did prior to Miami is not normal. Unfortunately, the nature of football usually has one "return to the mean," and the floodgates opened with four Irish turnovers (three interceptions, plus a fumble by Wimbush). A week earlier, Rosier tossed three interceptions for Miami, but this time he had none, and the Hurricanes finished with zero turnovers. The 24-0 advantage in points off the turnovers devastated Notre Dame's chances at victory. ADVANTAGE: Miami ANALYSIS Notre Dame did not meet the energy and force with which Miami entered the game, and the raucous atmosphere made it feel like the vintage "U" of the 1980s that terrorized college football, including Notre Dame. The Irish had trailed only about five percent of the time this season, and even when they did they almost always answered with a touchdown. This time when Notre Dame fell behind 14-0 in a span of 1:28, it lost its composure, particularly on offense where its passing attack could not rescue a stalled run game. Trying to run along the perimeter was fruitless versus Miami's speed. Similar to a triple-option team, the Irish offense appeared to be doomed once it faced a two-score deficit for the first time this season. ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Miami quarterback Malik Rosier hurt the Irish with his legs, carrying the ball nine times for 44 yards and a touchdown. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA