As we head into week three of college football, many Irish fans are starting to panic about the slow 0-2 start to the season. Notre Dame has not lived up to the high standards that the university itself and the wider sports world had expected during the off-season.
But if nothing else, the Irish are keeping things interesting. Few could have predicted Notre Dame scoring in the final minute of the Michigan game, then losing in the final 30 seconds. Here are a few things I have deduced over the past two weeks:
You cannot win football games with a 3-10 turnover ratio. This one seems pretty obvious, but lies at the heart of the Irish woes. Notre Dame has turned the ball over 5 times in both games, while forcing only 3 turnovers against Michigan, and none against USF. How easily the Irish march down the field does not matter, if the opponent capitalizes on Notre Dame’s mistakes.
The Irish are wasting red zone trips. Over the last two games, Notre Dame had 11 red zone trips, one of the top numbers in college football. We scored points on 5 of those trips, one of the lowest numbers in college football. It does not matter that our offense put up over 500 yards in both games. They are leaving too many points on the field, mostly as a result of turnovers.
I thought about this for a while and can explain it in only one way. The Irish offense is the equivalent of the bend-but-don’t-break defense. This type of defense gives up a ton of yards, but always buckles down in the red zone.
Notre Dame is doing the opposite. I think I will start calling it the “Three Stooges Syndrome.” Much like Moe, Larry, and Curly (or Shemp, depending on your taste), who try to walk through a door at the same time and get stuck, the Irish offense runs full speed into the red zone, then gets stuck. Unfortunately, instead of poking each other in the eyes, Notre Dame turns the ball over.
The offense needs to get more creative on short yardage plays. For most of the game against Michigan, Rees and the offense moved quickly and effectively. That is, until they got to a third and one situation. How many times did the Irish have a third and short, and try to run the ball up the middle, only to get stopped for a loss? The offensive line looked great all night, and is one of the strongest assets of the team thus far. But Michigan made them look bad on short yardage plays.
The defense shows signs of what was advertised, but still needs work. Considering that they are not getting as much help from the offense as they should, the defense has played pretty well. The defensive line looks better than in the past, and last week in particular made Denard Robinson pretty uncomfortable for most of the game. That being said, the secondary completely fell apart against Michigan. Robinson did not impress me as a passer.
Granted, his receivers would not have made the cut for our inter-hall teams, but he made some questionable throws, three of which resulted in interceptions. The problem is that the Irish let these receivers beat them big time. Receivers were open too often, and even when covered, made catches they should not have. With 30 seconds to go, Irish fans cringed in embarrassment as a Michigan receiver ran across the field untouched for 64 yards, setting up the game-winning touchdown.
Overall, it seems the talent is there for the team to be successful. If the first two series of the Michigan game are any indication, there is no reason why this team cannot execute on both sides of the ball. It is the mental mistakes that are killing them. This is something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. But it is also something that can be fixed. After the debacles in punt returning against USF, things looked better against Michigan (though kick returning was a little shaky). Turnovers are holding this team back, and once that is worked out, this team can get back on track.
Luck may have been against Notre Dame for the past two weeks, but it is time for the luck of the Irish to return to South Bend. Let’s get some Irish eyes smiling so Coach Kelly does not have to turn purple and red on the sidelines.
Mike Johnson had a great time in Ann Arbor until the very end. Despite the tough loss, he is convinced that the Michigan band is not in the same league as the Band of the Fighting Irish. He is also looking for people interested in writing sports articles for THE ROVER, and can be reached at mjohns32@nd.edu.