Slump busting in the Big D

 

The win over Arizona State was the best and most balanced game Notre Dame has played this season.  ASU iss a talented team as well as a ranked team that the Irish should feel proud about beating.  The Irish needed to get out of a funk, and that process has started in Dallas against Arizona State.

No, the defense did not return to the greatness of 2012, but it was as close as we have seen this year, having held the Sun Devils to 65 yards rushing.  The pass rush was back, resulting in six sacks on mobile quarterback Taylor Kelly.  At the end of the day, the defense was good enough to win on Saturday night.  Stephon Tuitt may be getting over the hump with his closing attack.  Prince Shembo showed how good he can be putting his hand on the ground coming off the edge.  Jaylon Smith did a great job and much needed one on containment.  The defensive backs are still getting beat on man to man.

The win, however, did come at a price with season ending injuries to redshirt junior inside linebacker Jarrett Grace and senior wide receiver Dan Smith, which will end up being a career ending injury as he will be out of eligibility.  Grace’s loss can be covered by Dan Fox as well as backups Kendall Moore, Joe Schmidt and even freshman Michael Deeb. 

The offensive line played well and it was nice to see Steve Elmer rotate in with Christian Lombard at right guard and not only play well but hold his own against 310 lb. ASU defensive tackle Will Sutton.  Hard-nosed running back Cam McDaniel gelled well with the line to grind out tough yards in his home state on Saturday.  This line showed it can get the job done not allowing a single sack against the Sun Devil defense, allowing Rees to be successful including tossing junior tight end Ben Koyack his first career touchdown.  However, the mistakes by center Nick Martin need to be fixed immediately if not sooner.

Take away Kyle Brindza’s first field goal attempt that looked like he was kicking it with his opposite foot, and the Irish special teams actually looked special.  Brindza redeemed himself by hitting a career long field goal, and the Irish had a punt that was downed at the one yard line late in the contest.  The Irish even had a non-terrible return game.

 

Overall, this was a solid showing for the Irish with great effort and contributions from veterans likeT.J. Jones, Dan Fox and Bennett Jackson, as well as newer on field supporters such as Ben Koyack and Romeo Okwara.

By the numbers ASU

We have two weeks with a bye coming up before USC to breakdown this matchup.  Let’s take a quick look at the game from the stats line.

37-34; the score are the only numbers that really count at the end of the day.

3.9; average yards per rush for the Irish, good enough this week but needs to get better.

2.6; Yards per carry ASU’s rushing game was held to (they had been averaging 4).  Improving defense.

9; Penalties giving up 64 yards.  Unforced errors on mental mistakes.

4; Punts (out of 5) placed inside the 20 yard line for the Irish.

7; Touchbacks (out of 8) on kick offs for Kyle Brindza.  That is exactly what he needs to do.

4 of 15; Third down conversions for the Irish offense, The Irish need to improve this number and be able to extend drives.

4 for 13; 30.8% third down completion rate for ASU who had entered the game with a 43% conversion rate.  This is how the Notre Defense must stop opposition momentum.

4-4; Scoring on Red Zone chances, 2 touchdowns and 2 field goals.  It could have been better but it could have been worse.

3-3; Scoring in the Red Zone by the Irish defense, one touchdown and 2 field goals,  It’s usually a good night when  your opponents score more field goals than touchdowns.

6; Sacks for 45 yards.  That’s the defense we remember.

0; Sacks given up by the Notre Dame offensive line.

3; different Irish receivers who caught touchdowns (Jones, Niklas, & Koyack).

53; Yards for Bindza’s career long field goal (3-4 on the night).  We know he had the leg.

2; Leg fractures (D. Smith and J. Grace). Long term losses.

2; Interceptions (Farley and Fox).  These are huge momentum swingers.

9; Tackles for true freshman Jaylon Smith.  He is improving every week.

3/3; Three tackles for a loss and three sacks for Prince Shembo.  He could be totally unstoppable.

13; Points from the leg of Kyle Brindza (9 via field goals and 4 via PAT’s).  He may end up as team MVP.

47; Career touchdown pass thrown by Rees.  He will still probably will not be remembered as an all-time ND great at quarterback.

33; Consecutive games that T.J. Jones has had at least one reception.

82; Career best in yards for Cam McDaniel.

18; Career high carries in a game for George Atkinson III.