Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Although junior quarterback Tommy Rees specializes in calling the right checks at the line of scrimmage, head coach Brian Kelly would prefer to run more plays that do not require checks. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA more plays to have more chances." Most teams have failed to find a way to have that cake and eat it, too. There isn't a single Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision team in the country that averages more time of possession than its op- ponents and still runs at least 70 plays per game. Texas comes closest with 69.375 plays per game while holding serve for an average of 30 minutes, 44 seconds. Notre Dame ran 66.9 plays per game in the first two months of the season, but it would like to try to push that number into the 70s. For successful of- fenses, moving faster means moving farther. More plays can mean more yards. More yards can mean more points. That sounds good, but it doesn't necessarily lead to wins. More points can also mean more time for the opposing team to chip away at your de- fense. That's not the for- mula the Irish used dur- ing an unblemished start. "In the past we had gone to the run, and if it got stopped we just au- tomatically went right to pass. This year we've stuck with it," Cave said when asked why this team has been able to bury others at the finish line. "The O-line loves that." Kelly's willingness to change his pace won over the veteran line that was skeptical at best when he arrived in 2010. It opened the door for a relentless defense to shine. And it launched Notre Dame into the thick of a national title race, one best won by the slow and steady. ✦