....our OL is starting to function efficiently. FSU has lots of problems, but their DL isn’t one of them - in fact, it was their strength, and they had a great rushing defense. Our OL gave them a good, old fashioned beating. Good to see, and it bodes well for us that they are coming together at this time.
It sounded like FSU was one of our opponents that did not stack the box. I didn't see the game yet, but apparently they left the safeties high. Kelly said we can and will run against that.
FSU probably convinced themselves that they were a good run defense and did not need to stack the box against ND. Horrible coaching, since we had our weaker passer and better runner in at QB.
Other teams will stack the box again, mostly because nobody likes to be beaten on the ground. They'd rather force Book or Wimbush to make plays.
which is why there was nothing but green pastures in front of him once he broke the LOS, so take that for what its worth but personally I'd call BS on that.
I am going to insist that I am right!
I will check it out tonight.
I'm not 100%, but I think they even had the box crowded on his second long TD because we had just run the ball 11 (Yes Eleven) straight times before he broke free for a 32 yd TD on the 12th straight run of the drive.
(no message)
(no message)
Thank gawd Wims wasn’t destroyed by one of his whiffs.
(no message)
What game were u watching...the FSU speed rushing defensive end was killing ND's left tackle...he whiffed seveal times...do not think Syracuse did not take note of that...the line did do a good job in run blocking...
Does 'Cuse have a DE that quick?
Burns beat Eichenberg several times. That said, the OL surrendered zero sack and zero TFLs. And run blocked well. Overall, very good. By the way, that "speed rushing defensive end" who we are talking about is going to be an NFL player. He's outstanding. It's not like some mope was beating the LT. Good night overall, . . need some work on pass pro from the blind side.
(no message)
(no message)
(no message)
If it was not for the ACC deal FSU probably would have never agreed to a November game is South Bend.
One true positive I would like to point out is the offensive coaching. Instead of side-side stretch plays - where Pitt and Northwestern killed us by slanting their safeties in - we ran traps straight ahead, which more than once caught their safeties out of position, resulting in long runs.
which defensive statistic you are siting that defines this defense of which you speak
Passing 110th
Overall 85th
Rushing 28th
TDs allowed 85th
Their defense sucks
Va Tech- 40 for 122, 2.8 ypc
Samford- 19 for 50, 2.6 ypc
Syracuse- 57 for 222, 3.9 ypc
Northern Ill.- 20 for 6, 0.3 ypc
Louisville- 38 for 115, 3.03 ypc
Miami- 46 for 102, 2.2 ypc
Wake Forest- 50 for 96, 1.9 ypc
Clemson- 33 for 120, 3.6 ypc
NC State- 49 for 177, 3.6 ypc
Notre Dame- 50 for 365, 7.3 ypc
Hope this helps.
had anything to do with it?
Every game is full of variables.
Their D gave up an average of 120 yards/game rushing. We ran for 365.
I think we may have found the optimal mix Saturday night, in Eichenberg - Banks - Mustipher - Kraemer - Hainsey. First time this season that we deployed this combo.
Also, no sacks allowed and no negative rushing plays. Truly impressive.
This is very encouraging.
120 was the amount of rushing yards they yielded to Clemson. They were also #7 nationally in yards per carry allowed -- under 2.9 ypc -- before playing ND. ND averaged 7.3 yards per carry against them. FSU had surrendered a total of 1000 yards rushing on the season before playing ND. ND ran for 365 -- that is more than a third of the total rushing yards FSU gave up in its prior 9 games. This wasn't a great FSU team. Not even a good one. But they were good against the run. And that isn't just post-game revisionism. It was openly discussed on the board before the game: "the one thing FSU is good at is stopping the run." It was an impressive rushing performance by ND. I don't think there is anyway around that.
It still comes down to what the defense gives you. FSU's pass defense sucks. Given that the season is lost, It's entirely possible that FSU was trying different things to improve their pass defense at the expense of the run defense.
Not what my eyes saw...they looked just as determined to stop our run as anyone else we've played and in fact we had several no gainers and probably well over 15 runs of 3 yards or less (the type of runs that usually lead to us airing it out), but the coaches did a better job of not giving up on the run game too quick this time, IMO.
Then The Beast took over, then we got fancy in the 3rd QTR while up 32-6 and tried the "Kelly Way" for a bit and threw 2 picks in three series and nearly saw a 32-6 lead turn into a 35-20 ball game, then we never threw the ball again the rest of the game [wisely], regained control and ran the clock out with "literally" 25 runs and 0 passes after the second INT [third if not for the PI call].
Nobody has claimed otherwise. I'm not trying to polish a turd here. FSU isn't good. They aren't even a good D overall. But they had been good at stopping the run this year. Very good. And though they may well have devoted effort and energy to pass defense, nobody tries to give up run yardage to ND. Especially with Wimbush at QB. This is such a bizarre discussion. ND had a great night running the football against a D that had been pretty good at stopping the run, . . a D front with good talent. And yet a couple of posters just seem determined to spin it as though it wasn't a good rushing performance. Maybe this has something to do with ND fan PTSD.
(no message)
(no message)
(no message)