Pinstripe Bowl Preview: Notre Dame vs Rutgers

Notre Dame’s 2013 season concludes tomorrow when the Fighting Irish (8-4) take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-6) in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. The game will take place at Yankee Stadium, and it figures to be a great environment considering that the two teams have a large following in New York.

Bowl games are meant to reward teams for having a successful season, but the goal is still to win the game. A win for Notre Dame would be the ninth victory of the year, and it would be the first time the Irish have won at least nine games in back-to-back seasons since 2005-2006. For Rutgers, a victory would secure a winning season at 7-6, and give the Knights some confidence as the head to the Big Ten Conference next season.

Bowl games can be difficult to predict with a long layoff, but here’s what we should expect to see tomorrow.

Offensively, Notre Dame will be eager to take the field considering that Rutgers has surrendered 29.8 points per game, placing them 82^nd in the country. The Knights’ poor defense is due in large part to a lousy pass defense. Opponents have averaged 311.4 yards in the air versus the Knights’ secondary, good for a 120^th ranked pass defense. Despite their struggles against the pass, the Knights’ have a stout run defense that ranks 4^th in the nation by allowing just 94.6 rushing yards per game. Given the statistical breakdown, it is clear that the Irish should have a much easier time throwing the ball, and that is exactly what I expect them to do on Saturday. Tommy Rees will be making his final appearance in a Notre Dame uniform, and he should have an outstanding day throwing the ball to fellow senior T.J. Jones and the rest of the receiving corps. I don’t see how the Rutgers’ defensive backs will be able to matchup with the talent that Rees has to throw to, so points should be scored early and often. Of course, for any offense to be successful you must also be able to run the ball. Brian Kelly has stated that freshman Tarean Folston will start and I expect several Notre Dame running backs to get carries as well. Ideally, I think Kelly would like to establish an early lead with big plays in the passing game before leaning on his running backs to put the game away.

Defensively, the Irish shouldn’t be challenged too much by a Knights’ offense that ranks 72^nd in points scored (27.4) and 85^th in total offense at 375.9 yards per game. The Knights lack of success on offense has been highlighted by a 98^th ranked rushing offense (133.7 yards per game) and an average passing attack (54^th) that has average 242.3 yards per game. The Knights’ offense is expected to be led by senior quarterback Chas Dodd who will be making just his third start of the season. Despite making just his third start, Dodd has plenty of experience as a starter and has thrown for 3,923 yards, 23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions during his career. Although he has experience, Dodd could struggle against an Irish defense that ranks 18^th against the pass (201.7 yards per game). If Notre Dame’s offense can find the end zone early in this game, it will likely force the Knights to throw the ball more than they would like. If that happens and this Rutgers’ offense becomes one-dimensional, then it will likely be a long day for the Knights.

This game might be close for the first quarter due to some rust, but I expect Notre Dame’s talent to be too much for Rutgers.

Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Rutgers 17

-Eric Tichelbaut

Follow me on Twitter @etichel07