Last Saturday, Notre Dame defeated their rival Michigan
State in a low-scoring game, 17-13. Based on my prediction that the Irish would
win 20-17 and the history of this rivalry, Saturday’s game was exactly what we
thought it was going to be, a tough, physical battle. It wasn’t always pretty,
but the result is all that matters. Notre Dame got a much needed victory.
Early on, the Irish offense struggled to move the ball
versus one of the best defenses in the country. But, the offense finally got
into the end zone with a late touchdown pass to T.J. Jones before the half, giving
Notre Dame a 10-7 lead. Michigan State would get a field goal in the third
quarter to tie the score, before Cam McDaniel scampered for a game-winning 7-yard
touchdown run in the fourth quarter. From there, the Irish defense held on for
the win.
The Positives
1. Early Game Plan. As I stated in my game preview, it was
apparent that the Irish were not going to be able to sustain many long drives
against the Spartan defense. In response to that, I thought Brian Kelly’s
opening game plan was spot on. Notre Dame went deep early and often, and they
had some open receivers that Rees missed (which I’ll touch on later). However,
as much as I liked the aggressive play calling early, I felt that Notre Dame
went to the well too much. After the defense was playing back and covering the
go-routes, it looked like the Irish receivers would have been wide open if they
ran some comeback routes. Despite the aggressive play calling, Notre Dame did a
great job in trying to commit to a running game as well. Based on the early
play calling, I was actually shocked to see that the Irish ran the ball 32
times and passed it 34 times.
2. Freshman Contributors. Freshmen receivers Corey Robinson and
Will Fuller combined to catch 4 big passes for 91 yards, and without them the
Irish would not have won the game. Robinson looks like a big, physical receiver
(I guess that is to be expected since he is the son of The Admiral), and Fuller
showed his speed and athleticism on an acrobatic catch down the sideline. In a
game where T.J. Jones and DaVaris Daniels were held in-check, it was great to
see the two freshmen make an impact.
3. Matthias Farley’s INT. This play was a turning point in the
game. Farley picked off running back R.J Shelton on an attempted halfback pass,
and returned the ball towards mid-field to help set up the winning score.
The Negatives
1. Lack of Running Game. I
understand the game plan was to throw it early and often, but the lack of a
running game is beginning to be a serious problem. The Irish have five talented
backs, but the fact is none of them have stepped up to take charge of the role.
Cam McDaniel is a tough runner for his size, but Notre Dame needs more out of their
backfield than just him. Yes, Michigan State has a stout run defense, but 78
yards on 32 carries won’t get you many victories. The Irish need to improve in
this area as the season wears on.
2. Penalties. In a low scoring, defensive battle, penalties can
kill you. The Irish committed 8 penalties for 86 yards, both numbers are way
too high. In fact, the Spartans’ lone touchdown drive was aided by 30 yards in
personal foul penalties. Luckily for the Irish, Michigan State committed 10
penalties for 115 yards, so the damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
3. Rees’ Inaccuracy. I mentioned above that Rees missed several
open receivers on some of the deep throws early on. If the Irish would have lost
the game, this would have been a bigger deal, because there could have been at
least two or three touchdowns on deep balls. It should be noted that it was
windy in South Bend on Saturday and it appeared to affect Rees. In the first
quarter, Rees underthrew a few balls where the receivers had to come back and
make a play. Then, when the quarter ended and Rees had the wind at his back, he
really had issues with missing open receivers. It is not an excuse, but the
wind definitely appeared to have an impact in the passing game.
-Eric Tichelbaut
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