2015 Opponent Review

Record 10 Wins and 2 Losses

Let's look at the season by the schedule of opponents.  NOTE: Rankings are at time of games played.

 

Win 38-3 vs. Texas (5-7) Notable wins; #10 Oklahoma and # 12 Baylor.  Notable loss; three point loss to #24 Oklahoma State.

Win 34-27 vs. Virginia (4-8) Notable win over Duke. Notable loss; nine point loss to #9 Notre Dame.

Win 30-22 vs. #14 Georgia Tech (3-9) Notable win over #9 Florida State.  Notable loss;  seven point loss to North Carolina.

Win 62-27 vs. UMass (3-9) Notable win; none.  Notable loss; two point loss to Temple. 

Loss 24-22 vs. #12 / *#1 Clemson (13-0, 1st Place ACC - Atlantic, ACC Champions) Notable wins over 3 top 25 teams (#6 Notre Dame, #16 Florida State and #10 North Carolina. Notable loss; None. 

Win 41-24 vs. *#21 Navy (10-2, 1st Place American Athletic Conference - West) Notable win; 45-20 over #13 Memphis.  Notable loss; none.  

Win 41-31 vs. *#25 USC (8-5, 1st Place Pac 12 - South) Notable wins; #3 Utah and #22 UCLA.  Notable loss; none. 

Win 24-20 vs. #21 / *#24 Temple (10-3, 1st Place American Athletic East) Notable win; #21 Memphis.  Notable loss; 4 point loss to Notre Dame.

Win 42-30 vs. Pittsburgh (8-4) Notable Win; *13 Duke.  Notable loss; Iowa. 

Win 28-7 vs. Wake Forest (3-9) Notable win; none.  Notable loss; 6 point loss to *13 Duke.

Win 19-16 vs. Boston College (3-9) Notable win; none.  Notable loss; 3 point loss to Notre Dame.

Loss 38-36 vs. Stanford (11-2, 1sr Place Pac 12 North).  Notable wins; #6 USC, #18 UCLA, #6 Notre Dame.  Notable loss; None.

Notable Numbers - Boston College



Chris Brown

5; Turnovers for the Irish, and they still won.

3; Interceptions thrown by DeShone Kizer

104; Receiving yards for Chris Brown

10; Wins on the season

19; Points for the Irish, the lowest for Notre Dame this season

2; Consecutive years Will Fuller has 1000 yard seasons after 72 yards on Saturday

38; Pass attempts by DeShone Kizer, the most this season

87; Number of yards BC outrushed the Irish

232; More yards Notre Dame had passing than Boston College

4; Fumbles committed by the Irish, losing 2 of them

26.6; Percentage of third downs converted by Notre Dame

11; Tackles for Jaylon Smith

Notable Numbers - Wake Forest



Jaylon Smith

14; tackles for Jaylon Smith

21; Wins at Notre Dame Stadium for the Irish Senior Class (matching a record)

0; losses at home for Notre Dame this season

7; wins for the Irish this season (0 losses) when scoring first

8; More first downs for Wake Forest than Notre Dame



Andrew Trumbetti

6; points for Andrew Trumbetti for his interception return

58; More yards offensively for Wake Forest tan Notre Dame

2; Touchdowns on 2 Red Zone chances for the Irish

98; yard touchdown run for Josh Adams (longest play from scrimmage in Notre Dame history)

Chase Hounshell

2; rushing touchdowns for DeShone Kizer

6; yards on his first reception by 5th year senior Chase Hounshell

3; Sacks given up by the Irish

2; fumbles forced by the Notre Dame defense

8; tackles for a loss for the Irish defense

3; sacks for Romeo Okwara

Sheldon Day & Romeo Okwara

 

Notable Numbers - Pittsburgh

5; Touchdown passes thrown by DeShone Kizer

DeShone Kizer

3; Receiving touchdowns for William Fuller to go along with his 152 yards

6; PAT's on six attempts for Justin Yoon

8; Wins, making it at least 8 wins in each of Brian Kelly's first six years.

68,400, Attendance Saturday which set a record for a Pitt game at Heinz Field

147; Rushing yards for true freshman Josh Adams

Josh Adams

Matthias Farley

2; Sides of the ball Torii Hunter Jr. played against Pitt, WR and nickelback

2, Sacks for Romeo Okwara

4; Times in the Red Zone and 4 Touchdowns

12:46; Time of possession in the 4th quarter (most this season)

1; Interception by Matthias Farley

Notable Numbers - Temple



DeShone Kizer

2; interceptions thrown by Kizer in the Red Zone, NOT good

4; made kicks by Justin Yoon, 3 PAT's and a field goal

143; rushing yards for Deshone Kizer (8.4 yards per rush) and 2 TD's



Chris Brown

1.8; yards per rush on 14 carries for C.J. Porsise

6; receptions for 72 yards for Chris Brown to lead the Irish in receiving

10; tackles for Jaylon Smith to lead the Notre Dame defense

3; tackles for a loss, including a sack by Romeo Okwara

1; Forced fumble and pass break-up for Sheldon Day

Romeo Okwara

Notable Numbers - USC

KeiVarae Russell

10 - tackles by KeiVarae Russell to go with an inception and pass break up that lead to Max Redfield's interception

2 - interceptions by the Irish defense

4 - scores out of 5 chances in the red zone (2 touchdowns & 2 field goals)

7.5 -  yards per carry for C.J. Prosise who ended up 143 with yards and 2 touchdowns

4 - times Deshone Kizer was sacked



Isaac Rochell

3 - quarterback hurries by Isaac Rochell to go along with his 6 tackles, 1 pass break up and 1 sack

43.6 - yards per catch for Will Fuller (313 yards & 1 touchdown)

5 - catches for C.J. Prosise to lead the Irish in receptions

32 - yards of each made field goal by Justin Yoon

2 - tackles for a loss by Romeo Okwara along with 1 sack a 2 quarterback hurries

14 - tackles by Jaylon Smith

Jaylon Smith

1 - Bye week before facing Temple on October 31st.

 

Notable Numbers - Navy

0; Touchdowns by Navy's Keenan Reynolds, impressive to stop the guy who will end his career holding the record for most rushing touchdowns in FBS history.


Justin Yoon

7; Kicks made by Justin Yoon (2-2 field goals and 5-5 PAT's).

13; Passing touchdowns for the Irish compared to 0 for Navy (27 ND - 16 Navy total).

7; Out of 12 third down conversions for Notre Dame, compared to 2 - 11 for the Midshipmen.

 4; For 4 on fourth down conversions for Navy.

C.J. Prosise

3; Touchdowns for C.J. Prosise who had 129 yards rushing.

4; Out of 4 scores on Red-Zone chances for the Irish (3 touchdowns and 1 filed goal).



14; Points off of turnovers for the Irish.

2; Tackles for a loss for Sheldon Day (total 9 tackles).

Sheldon Day

Notable Numbers - Clemson

Coach Brian Kelly

1; Loss on the year.  Could have won at the end but did not deserve to.

35; Yards lost rushing by Notre Dame.

Irish lost fumble

6; Fumbles by the Irish, losing 3.

3.3; Yards per carry by C.J. Prosise, not good enough.  To be fair he did have 100 yards receiving on four catches.

1; nicely made 46 yard field goal by Justin Yoon

14; Tackles by Max Redfield (11 solo & 3 assisted).  Unfortunately most made deep into the Irish secondary.

Nic Weishar

Too Many; Dropped or uncaught balls.

24; hours to complain and mourn

1; week to prepare for undefeated 4-0 Navy

Notable Numbers - UMass

457; Net rushing yards for Notre Dame

9; Average yards per rush for the Irish

Josh Adams

6; Rushing touchdowns

21; Notre Dame's average yards per punt return (3 returns)

23.8; Yards per kickoff return for the Irish (4 returns)

4; Notre Dame was 4 for 4 in the Red Zone chances with 4 touchdown

10.2; Average yards per rush for true freshman Josh Adams (13 carries for 133 yards)

Brandon Wimbush

1; Rushing touchdowns each for freshmen Josh Adams, Dexter Williams and Brandon Wimbush

1; Tackle credited to punter Tyler Newsome

1; hit upright and extra point miss for Justin Yoon

A Quick Look - UMass

UMass QB Blake Frohnapfel

UMass quarterback Blake Frohnapfel threw for 393 yards, three TDs and one interception in the 25-23 home loss to Temple.

UMass is 117th nationally in total defense, allowing 508 yards per game. 

This is the first meeting between Notre Dame and Massachusetts.

Defensively they play both three down and four down.

 

 

UMass gave up close to 400 yards rushing against Colorado.

UMass just transitioned to playing Division 1-A football in 2012.

The 0-2 Minutemen did not lose the game with the Owls until the final seven seconds. Temple has beaten Penn St and Cincinnati.

UMass is 5-33 in its last 38 games.

All five starters are back from last year’s UMass O-Line.

UMass averaged only 1.9 yards per carry and last week against Temple.

Notable Numbers - Georgia Tech

Freshman Kicker Justin Yoon

3; Missed Kicks, 1 missed extra point by ND's Justin Yoon and 2 field goals by GT kicker.

4; Penalties by offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.

32:52; Time of possession for the Yellow Jackets.  why is this notable?  Georgia Tech's offense is designed to stay on the field grind it out keeping their oppositions defense on the field wearing them down while keeping their opponents offense on the sidelines.  32:52 isn't (and didn't) going to get it done.

27; Percentage of third down conversions made (3-15 for GT and 4-11 for ND).

198; Yards rushing from C.J. Prosise on 22 carries with 3 touchdowns.



DeShone Kizer

242; Passing yards for Deshone Kizer with a touchdown.

131; Receiving yards for Will Fuller on 6 receptions and a touchdown.

10; Tackles for Joe Schmidt (8 solo & 2 assisted) with two for a loss and a sack.

3; forced fumbles for the Irish defense (recovered one).

Fumble Recovery by Jaylon Smith

 

A look into our new starting quarterback

From Ohio; Toledo Central Catholic, whose mascot is also the Fighting Irish.

Redshirt Freshman

6' 4.5" & 230lbs

Missed out on reps during spring practice because Golson was still in the mix.

High School

A three-year starter, with a 34-6 overall record

Held offers from top programs including; Alabama, Penn State, LSU, Michigan State and Tennessee.

Was an Elite 11 Finalist.

4 Star rating from 247Sports, Scout.com, and Rivals.com

Ranked Nationally 161st from 247Sports, 232rd from Scout.com and 9th duel-threat QB natiionally by Rivals.com

Ranked 263 best player by Scout.com with a 4-Star ranking

His senior year he threw for 2,847 yards and 30 TDs (six interceptions) and rushed for 539 yards and six TDs

Career Totals; career totals included 345 of 584 passing for 5,684 yards and 56 TDs to go with 151 rushing attempts for 1,211 yards and 17 TDs

Led Irish to 16-12 victory over defending state champion Trotwood-Madison in state title game as a junior.

Ranked as 40th best player nationally by Tom Lemming/CBS Sports

Also played basketball and baseball.

Click HERE to watch his high school highlights.

Notable Numbers - Virginia

DeShone Kizer

 

2; Touchdown passes for redshirt freshman DeShone Kizer.

0; 3rd down conversions out of 10 chances  for the Notre Dame Offense, however 2 for 3 on 4th down conversions.

11:33; Time of possession form the Irish in the first quarter, not a big deal until you compare 5:57, 3:37 & 5:30 for the following quarters.

155; yards on 17 carries by C.J. Prosise for a 9.1 yards per rush average.

124; receiving yards for William Fuller to go along with his 2 touchdowns.

30; yards on a punt return by C.J. Sanders giving hope for the future of the return game.

2.5; tackles for a loss by Jaylon Smith to go along with his 11 tackles (6 solo and 5 assists).

Questions raised from Texas

Although many questions began to be answered from the Texas game several more have developed.

Josh Adams

Running Backs.  Losing Folston is a huge it to the Irish offense.  The original question was how will C.J. Prosise serve and develop as the #2 option coming out of the backfield and will any of the freshmen work into the equation.   Now it's how will Prosise do as our #1 and can Josh Adams and Dexter Williams step up?

Offensive Line.  The O-line began to answer any questions about their abilities in a positive way against Texas.  However with multiple procedure penalties (off sides) including one early on 4th down that totally killed the opening drive and one in the red zone on first and ten, now leads to the question of their liability to drives losing 5 yards as a time come into play.

DeShone Kizer

Defensive Line.  It looked like the Irish defense had the cheat code for Madden Football.  The question is where the Irish the good or was Texas that bad (Note: they did start 2 freshmen on the offensive line)?

Could DeShone Kizer really step in if needed for any significant period of time at quarterback?

Notable Numbers - Texas

Zaire uses the Jedi Mind Trick on a Texas defender.

30; First Downs (14 rushing and 14 passing) for Notre Dame compared to 8 for Texas.

527; Total offensive yards for the Irish (313 passing and 214) versus 163 for Texas.

39:10; Time of possession (2/3 of the entire game) for Brian Kelly's team, a stat Kelly has no interest in.

0; Turnovers, this is big for the Irish Offense.

4; scores out of 5 Red Zone chances for Notre Dame, 3 touchdowns & 1 field goal.

258; total rushing yards lead by C.J. Prosise with 111.

9.8; yards per carry for true freshman running back Josh Adams.

12; carries for true freshmen, Josh Adams with 5 and Dexter Williams had 7.

142; receiving yards on 7 catches for Will Fuller.

7; number of different receivers to catch a pass.

4; sacks for the Irish defense (Romeo, Day, Tillery and Smith)

4; quarterback hurries by Sheldon Day.

7; tackles for Jaylon Smith to lead the Irish.

On the verge of greatness

On the eve of another season, the 127 to be exact we all have expectations and hope not only for the team as a whole but for individual players.  Will the expected stars going to deliver and is there a diamond in the ruff that will step up this year?  The next great Irish player may be in our midst but for not let’s look back and have a little fun and look at some of the best players in Irish history (listed alphabetically).  Not only do I want to pick one to be the best I am not sure I even want to rank them.

Tim Brown; finished career as ND’s all-time leader in pass reception yards (2493), returned 6 kicks for touchdowns (3 punts, 3 kickoffs), Heisman Trophy winner, ranked 3^rd nationally in all-purpose yardage as a Jr. (176.5 per game) and 6th as a Sr. (167.9)

George Gipp; our-year member of the varsity, led the Irish in rushing and passing each of his last three seasons (1918, 1919 and 1920, the outstanding college player in America in 1920 by Walter Camp, sis career mark of 2,341 rushing yards lasted more than 50 years During Gipp's career the Irish went 27-2-3 record outscoring opponents 506-97.

Bob Crable; All American ’80 & ’81, holds record for most tackles at Notre Dame (521), holds Irish record for most tackles in a season with 187 in ’79, holds record for most tackles in a game with 26 against Clemson in 1979 (tying an NCAA record).

Leon Hart; one of only two linemen ever to win the Heisman Trophy (Larry Kelley of Yale ’36), four-time letter winner, 3 National Championships, never lost a game playing for Notre Dame (36-0-2), 3-time All American (2 Consensus All-American Selections), 1949 Associated Press male athlete of the year, also played fullback his senior season.

Paul Hornung;  played quarterback, left halfback, fullback and safety, only player from a losing team (2-8 in '56) to win the Heisman, finished 4^thnationally in total offense as a Jr. (1,215 yards), ranked 2^nd nationally in total offense his Sr. year (1,337 yards), combining his Jr. & Sr. years he accounted for more than half of Notre Dame’s scoring,

John Lattner; Heisman Trophy winner, 2-time Maxwell Award as the top collegiate player (Jr.  & Sr. seasons),  consensus All-American as both a Jr. & Sr. on offense and defense, established a record for all-purpose yards from rushing, receiving and runbacks (stood for over 25 years), 321 kickoff return yards on only 8 returns (2for TD’s) as a Sr.

Johnny Lujack; 3 National Championships (only college QB to do so), 2-time Consensus All-America honors as a junior and senior, member of 2 undefeated teams (’46 & ’47), Associated Press male athlete of the year as a Senior, Heisman Trophy winner,  also punted.

Questions to be answered.

With just days to go before the start of the 2015 season Irish fans are geared up to finally see how some of our questions about this team will be answered.

Offensive line.  Last season the offensive line could not quite get into a rhythm.  A few players shifted around and players sub in and out along the line.  It looks like offensive line coach  Harry Hiestand defiantly has depth with some experience along with talent and potential.  Last year the O-line did not live up to his preseason rating of being a strength of this team.  Hopefully this season will be better.

Malik Zaire.  At the end of last season and heading through the spring the question was how much playing time would Zaire be able to get away from Everett Golson, well now we know, all of it.  Malik has shown from his Music City Bowl performance and well and his snaps in the Blue & Gold Game he can play but the question is now can he be The Man.

Joe Schmidt & Jaylon Smith

Linebacker Lineup.  There are five legitimate players that could start at linebacker; Jaylon Smith, James Onwualu, Joe Schmidt, Nyles Morgan and Jarrett Grace.  There is a ton of talent and some experience.  The one thing I know for sure is Jaylon Smith will be on the field for every defensive snap, and it does not matter what position he is at, he will be in on the play.

Nose Tackle.  Until Jarron Jones went out for the season it was pretty clear, Jones would take the lion share of the snaps with Tillery continuing to impress for the future, Daniel Cage working in the rotation with Matuska and Mokwuah cleaning up.  Now it looks like all hands on deck with Tillery and Cage leading the way.  I guess will see how good Jerry Tillery really is.

Justin Yoon

No Fly Zone.  Did KeiVarae Russell loss a step from his year off?  Physically, probably not, it may take a few series to shake off the game rust but I think he'll be good to go.  Are Luke, Shumate and Redfield ready to be prime time fulltime?  If they are the Irish are going to be tough to score against.  It will also be interesting to see how Farley, Sebastian and Watkins will fit in.

Will Special Teams be Special?  The future, and the present for that matter hangs on the leg of true freshman Justin Yoon.  He has shown he can make the kicks in practice, Saturday we will see if he deliver in a game.  It seems forever that we have been questioning the kick return game and this season will be no different especially with the absence of Greg Bryant. 

Lookng forward to camp

With Camp starting soon there will be a million (and one) questions, speculations and conversations  surrounding players, positions and everything else.  Here are a few things that will be worth paying attention to.

Ronnie Stanley

Offensive Line.  Most of the starting line is pretty well predicted; Stanley, Martin, Elmer, McGlinchey, and Nelson (possibly Bars) there is a ton of talent and potential waiting to solidify themselves as a #2  or even work in a regular rotation; Bivin, Mustipher and Montelus just to name a few.

Joe Schmidt

Linebackers.  Jaylon Smith will start and play often, at possibly more than one linebacker position, let's face it smith can player where, when and how he wants and will do well.  At middle line backer there is depth and I mean a lot; walk-on to hero Schmidt, freshman All-American Morgan, Grace the player who was supposed to replace Manti Te'o  and Five-Star freshman Barajas.

Receivers.  Fuller may be seen as the number one by many, there is a full stable of players looking for their share of catches.  It will be interesting to see how the ball will be distributed to; Fuller, Brown, Robinson, Carlisle, Hunter, Homes, and Brent.

Corey Robinson

Injuries.  Hopefully there will be no injuries during camp however the more immediate questions surround those players who have recovered injuries from last season (and longer); Schmidt, Jones, Grace, Tranquill

Prosise.  After Zaire the most interesting player is C.J. Prosise and how he will work as the #2 running back.

C.J. Prosise

Answer to Question #12

On January 16th UND.com posted an article "20 Questions for Notre Dame Football for 2015".  This is question 12.

12. Sophomore linebacker Jaylon Smith was the most decorated Irish player in 2014 as a second-team Associated Press All-American, and he’s arguably the most talented all-around athlete on the roster. Originally an outside linebacker, Smith was moved inside in 2014 after the graduation loss of Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese combined with the Jarrett Grace injury issues. Wherever he plays in 2015, can Smith become the dominant defensive player on the field every Saturday?

Answer; Yes.

It's really that simple of an answer.  I believe that Smith would be best at an outside linebacker position but he could easily have the position of "football player" next to his name in the program.  He has a great nose for the ball, he always seems to end up around at the end of the play.  The truly scary thing about Jaylon is that he still has two more years of eligibility although we will most likely only see him in South Bend for one more.