I think they protected him pretty well, it’s always tough to say without knowing exactly what the game plan is. Gillman got exposed in pass and tackling, probably because the plan was to give him more one on one than a guy like Vaughn. Hamilton also played great but faded a bit after that big hit he had on st-brown it looked like he hurt his shoulder and wasn’t the same after that play
Kelly bailing polian out on the onside kick because Nd was still unprepared and then again saving his ass in the press conference is amazing. Either it’s kelly’s fault all the way or he really saved him. I think if kelly saw it and reacted (running on the field directing players) like he did, polian probably did not do a great job
Tale of the tape offense Spoiler LAUNCHING THE RUN GAME While Notre Dame had its own plan for how to defend the Trojans’ Air Raid offense, USC made up its mind early that they were not going to allow Chase Claypool to riddle the Trojans’ young cornerbacks. Once Claypool beat sophomore cornerback Olaijah Griffin up the sideline for 19 yards on Notre Dame’s third snap, the Trojans backed off with their young corners and chose to defend the Irish passing game with a two-deep safety alignment. The end result for USC was just another way of getting hammered. Occasionally, the Trojans would move strong safety Talanoa Hufanga on the edge, which generally meant he was going to try to pressure Ian Book. But the two-deep safeties alerted Notre Dame to run the football and it led to a 48-carry, 308-yard rushing performance, led by Tony Jones Jr., who set career highs for attempts (25) and yards (176), including a 43-yard run and multiple double-digit rushing gains. The Irish got off to a slow start on the ground, due in part to a holding penalty against right guard Tommy Kraemer that negated an eight-yard Jones run. When Book threw short to a crossing Chris Finke on 3rd-and-13, the Irish had to punt. When Book had a pass batted down by Hufanga at the line of scrimmage and then was flushed from the pocket on third down, the Irish had just 27 yards total offense when their third drive of the game began. But Chip Long was patient with the rushing attack, occasionally employing a two-tight end set with Cole Kmet and Tommy Tremble. It all began to pay dividends when the Irish went from 40 yards rushing in the first quarter to 156 on 11 attempts in the second quarter, which launched a 17-point barrage and a 17-3 halftime lead. OFFENSIVE LINE EXCELS We’re often asked for a deeper dive on the performance of the offensive line. It’s difficult to see the play of the offensive line while tracking everything else. But for this game, we evaluated the more successful runs by Tony Jones Jr. and which offensive linemen led the way. Brian Kelly backed up Irish Illustrated’s analysis Sunday with this observation. “What we really liked was inside, physically, the job Kraemer and Banks were doing on their interior (defensive) tackles. Those two (Jay Tufele and Marlon Tuipolotu) have been very difficult with offensive lines. The physicality and size of Banks and Kraemer really paid off. We got some combinations because they held the point. “I thought the tackles were okay,” Kelly added. We were able to reach, to pull and we missed some. The best things started inside-out with the guards and the center. The tackles did a really good job in pass protection.” Irish Illustrated pinpointed the effectiveness of Tufele (No. 78) and Tuipolotu (No. 51) during its mid-week film review. But Kraemer, Banks and Patterson handled them after the first quarter while tight end Cole Kmet played a significant role. Here’s a quick recap of who stood out on many of Jones’ runs…Kraemer on Tufele on a nine-yard run…Banks on Tufele on a 3rd-and-1 conversion…Kmet helps launch Jones’ 43-yard run…Kraemer roots out the interior defensive line on an 11-yard run…It was the whole interior line, particularly Patterson, on a 17-yard run that put Jones over 100 yards… Banks and Patterson on a five-yard run…Patterson dominated back-up nose tackle Brandon Pili on a 3rd-and-1 conversion…On a seven-yard gain, Kraemer led the way with Chris Finke throwing the kick-out block…Banks, Eichenberg and Kmet on a nine-yard run… Banks and Kraemer create an I-95 highway for a 10-yard Jones run…Patterson, Hainsey and Kraemer on another 10-yard run…Banks and Patterson on a five-yard gain. As for Jahmir Smith’s clutch running in the game-clinching drive, it was Patterson, Eichenberg, Banks and Kmet on an eight-yard run, and the whole offensive line on a 13-yard run. Notre Dame’s interior offensive line destroyed USC’s interior defensive line, which is a tremendous effort by the Irish and a significant boost for offensive line coach Jeff Quinn. One can’t help but say shame on USC and its program. For an improving but not prolific rushing attack to do that to the USC defensive front with talent is an embarrassment to a great football program. But the plaudits belong to Quinn and his budding offensive line. THE GAME-CLINCHING DRIVE The Irish were reeling in the second half as the Trojans made a run of their own by out-scoring Notre Dame 17-6 to make it a 23-20 Irish lead. When Tyler Vaughns scored on a five-yard reception with 10:27 remaining, Notre Dame desperately needed a drive. It wasn’t like the Irish didn’t have their opportunities prior to the game-clinching drive. They ran nine plays on the field goal drive to start the third quarter. It was another 10 plays when the Irish turned the ball over on downs. There were 10 more plays on Jonathon Doerer’s third field goal. But despite running 38 plays and possessing the football for 9:25 of the third quarter, the Irish had just six points to show for it. That’s when the Ian Book-led drive of 75 yards on 14 plays essentially clinched the victory for the Irish. It was a much-needed statement drive after it had started to look grim. Notre Dame hadn’t scored a touchdown since the 4:38 mark of the second quarter. More than 31 minutes later, Book’s eight-yard scamper into the end zone gave the Irish the cushion they needed to absorb a third touchdown by the Trojans in the second half. There were numerous key plays that led to the game-clinching drive, beginning with a Book-to-Cole Kmet nine-yarder on 3rd-and-7 from the Irish 28. On a nine-yard run by Jones, Kmet, left guard Aaron Banks and left tackle Liam Eichenberg led the way. Jahmir (pronounced JAH-meer) Smith carried three straight times for 23 crucial yards, including a 13-yarder and an eight-yarder with the entire offensive line getting push on the former and Banks and center Jarrett Patterson carving out space on the latter to the USC 30. From there, it was mostly Book with a 12-yard touch pass to Kmet on 1st-and-21 to help offset a hold by right tackle Robert Hainsey and a block below the waist by Kraemer on the same play that would have netted the Irish 14 yards on a Book run. Grimacing after that run and obviously hurting, Book was decisive when he took off on 3rd-and-10 from the USC 30 for a 17-yard gain as he ran past linebacker John Houston. It was Notre Dame’s second third-down conversion of the drive. After a five-yard run by Jones, Book took off for the eight-yard score to take a 10-point lead with 3:33 remaining. Once again, it was Patterson leading the way for Book. If you read Irish Illustrated’s mid-week In The Film Room on USC, it was noted that the Trojans’ defensive line seemed to run out of gas in the fourth quarter against BYU, which prompted analyst Brock Huard to wonder if USC would have the stamina to pull off the victory over the Cougars. Not to take anything away from the effort of Notre Dame’s line, but the Trojans are soft and their 8-10 record in the last 18 games is the proof. BOOK HELPS LEAD IRISH TO VICTORY You could already hear the murmuring in the crowd when Talanoa Hufanga batted Ian Book’s second-series pass down at the line of scrimmage. Then he absorbed a delay of game penalty. There was the inaccurate throw to a sliding Chris Finke across the middle of the field. But Book weathered the storm and came up clutch when the Irish needed a touchdown drive to secure the victory. Were it not for a great play by Chris Steele on a deep ball to Chase Claypool, the Irish would have been in position to score a touchdown instead of a field goal at the end of the first half which would have made it 21-3 as opposed to 17-3. I don’t think we appreciate enough how Book sacrifices himself physically. I never quite understood the relatively insignificant reaction to the fact that after breaking a couple of ribs against Northwestern, he wanted to play the next week against Florida State. Notre Dame wouldn’t let him. He obviously wasn’t completely healed for Syracuse and USC, yet he led the Irish to victory in both games while playing hurt and putting himself at further risk. He took some shots in this game, especially late. He, Tony Jones Jr. and Jahmir Smith ran Notre Dame to their final touchdown of the game, which proved to be the game-winner. He came out of that game knocked around. He needed this bye week. Then it’s back to a six-week grind. Book made a great zone-read decision on 3rd-and-1 for a first down on the Michael Young fumbled kick return drive that led to a field goal. He rifled throws to Finke for 18- and 19-yard gains. At times, Book’s decision-making is perplexing, like not throwing the football away when he’s on the sideline and behind the line of scrimmage. It makes absolutely no sense both in terms of down-and-distance and subjecting himself physically to another hit for a one-yard gain on 1st-and-10. RUNNING BACKS Tony Jones: The performance speaks for itself. Make no mistake, he had great blocking in front of him (see above). But Jones consistently ran through tackle attempts, which says much about Jones but also the soft USC front that the Irish hammered. Jones’ yards after contact stat was off the chart. He ran through guys like Christian Rector and Talanoa Hufanga, who are considered two of USC’s top defenders. It’s interesting with Jones because there seems to be a different level of burst from week to week. Whether that’s because he’s nicked up some weeks and doesn’t have the same level of explosion on a game to game basis, or it’s just how he’s wired, the Irish don’t always get the same Tony Jones Jr. Against USC, he was brilliant. Jahmir Smith: I see Smith as comparable to Markese Stepp without quite as much power. Smith’s forward lean is so exaggerated sometimes that he’s falling down before anyone is near him to make contact. He needs to consistently keep his lower body underneath his pad level. He chipped enough on a pass rush to allow Book to step up and complete a pass for 19 yards. He’s not just physical, but his first step is very quick and he has a burst that Jones generally doesn’t show. There appears to be a ton of productivity from Smith on the horizon. WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS Braden Lenzy: Great misdirection action on his 51-yard touchdown run, not unlike what eventually broke USC’s back in 2018. You get the action of faking a pitch to Jones to the right with Book giving him a quick little pitch left, which created the exact misdirection necessary to deceive the set-the-edge unconscious Trojans. What I really loved about the play, in addition to Lenzy’s explosive speed, was his go-for-it approach. There was no hesitation on his part. He trusted his speed and what got him here. With the help of some Chris Finke interference at the five-yard line, Lenzy saw the direct path to the end zone and never hesitated. Chase Claypool: By Claypool standards, he didn’t do much. But he’s such a warrior. He still finished with three catches for 47 yards, including a 26-yarder. He made a great diving grab to convert a 3rd-and-7 that launched a 97-yard drive. Tommy Tremble: That’s the first game that Tremble has really struggled both blocking and catching the football. A good learning experience for the fast-rising tight end. Michael Young: Even excluding the fumbled kick return, Young looked better against Virginia than Bowling Green and USC. SPECIAL TEAMS Jonathan Doerer: He’s been a godsend with the departure of Justin Yoon. He’s now converted 6-of-7 field goals and 27-of-27 extra points. The 45-yard field with 15 seconds left in the second quarter was done so calmly and efficiently. The 52-yarder featured a beautiful, uncomplicated, unrushed leg swing. The third one from 43 yards was critical because it made it a 23-13 game. Just a nice easy swing. The ball comes off his foot and spins consistently and stays on its line. There’s no slice or curve to be played. He’s just driving it in the direction it’s originally directed. I’ve always said you’d be surprised at how big Doerer is. He’s listed at 6-foot-3, 203 and he is every bit of the 6-foot-3. He strikes a powerfully athletic pose in a football uniform. That 52-yarder exemplified all of that athleticism, power and length. Michael Young: After nearly getting tackled at the 16, Young bounced off. Already by the 20-yard line, the path to glory was pretty clear. Just after crossing the 30, he dislodged the football from his right arm with his left hand. The football looked awfully slick, which NBC’s Doug Flutie pointed out. The steady winds blowing through South Bend over the weekend made for some blustery conditions and dryness in the air after rain most of Friday. It was just an unfortunate break for the Irish/Young that would have changed the complexion of the third quarter and probably the entire second half. By the way, and it was surprising that NBC’s Mike Tirico never pointed it out. But the only Trojan ahead of Young was kicker Alex Stadthaus, who was not going to catch Young. In addition to the inexplicable fumbled kickoff, Young also slipped and fell down on his first return. Another sign of the poor coaching at USC. Three of punter Ben Griffiths’ five punts went into the end zone. The Trojans had a shot at downing all three of them within the five-yard line and found a way to bumble each one…A rare mistake from Mike Tirico saying that Jafar Armstrong was returning from a collarbone injury like Cole Kmet. That, of course, was Michael Young. Armstrong had the lower abdomen injury/surgery…I said it before and it needs to be said again. Why Clancy Pendergast continues as USC’s defensive coordinator is a complete and utter mystery. How can you allow 300 yards rushing with talented personnel to a Notre Dame rushing attack which is becoming very good but is not a dominant ground attack? The Trojans are now 102nd in the country against the run, allowing 197.1 yards rushing per game and 4.89 yards per attempt. Pendergast is the Brian VanGorder of USC football…When Book delivered a low pass across the middle to a sliding Chris Finke, the angle never did show how far off the throw was or if Finke should have caught it. It’s incumbent upon NBC to provide the definitive angle…Other than a play or two, I think NBC has done an excellent job of fine-tuning its camera angles since the New Mexico game… 1COMMENTS Interesting to see Kelly look at a card with the officials’ names on it so he could personalize his verbal abuse…The Notre Dame screen game is just bad… “He has done a tremendous job of keeping this team focused and playing good football,” said Doug Flutie of USC head coach Clay Helton. That’s just not true. The good football that the Trojans play is a result of talent and a precocious freshman quarterback, not coaching…USC nickel Greg Johnson blasted the crap out of Chris Finke on a seven-yard jet sweep…It appeared that Brian Kelly called Liam Eichenberg something not very nice when he jumped on a 3rd-and-1…NBC didn’t show Kelly’s reaction on a late first-half run by Jones. Defensive tackle Brandon Pili took a swipe at Robert Hainsey after the play with Hainsey’s back to him. Kelly was incensed during the ensuing timeout that no call was made and repeatedly arm gestured to show what Pili had done. It came on the play when Jones lost his shoe and had to come to the sideline. On the very next play, Pili punched Eichenberg in the chest. Pili had no business being on the football field. He should have been flagged at the least and ejected for two egregious personal fouls… You can always tell what generation a former player is from by whether he identifies last Saturday night’s opponent as Southern Cal or USC. I remember when the Trojans were regularly referred to and written as Southern California…It’s tough to call a facemask penalty based on a slow motion replay. Showing it in slow motion is a distortion of the truth…USC-DE Drake Jackson is going to be really good. He already is…I didn’t think the roughing the passer penalty on Palaie Gaoteote IV was a good call…Now Chris Simms is calling Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t suspect that it is. But I’ll tell you this, as the saying goes, you’d like him in the foxhole with you because you know he’s got your back and is committed to the cause. His personality and dedication to the game/his players is outstanding.
gold standard Spoiler The Latest On Ohio State Safety Transfer Isaiah Pryor *** Bright and early on Monday morning, I got to meet with Richard Pryor, the father of Ohio State graduate safety transfer Isaiah Pryor . They officially visited Notre Dame over the weekend, and I'll get straight to the point. I love where Notre Dame stands with landing Pryor. No, he hasn't given the staff a "silent" commitment or anything to that extent to my knowledge, but the Irish are the heavy favorites in Pryor's recruitment as a grad transfer who has two years of eligibility remaining. *** The fit at Notre Dame makes sense on so many levels for Pryor. He already knows Tony Jones Jr., Houston Griffith, and Robert Hainsey as he played with them at IMG, and he was roommates with Jones Jr.. Griffith moved over to safety, and Pryor loves the idea of getting to play next to him and with fellow Atlanta native Kyle Hamilton. The staff expressed to Pryor the need for him at safety and that there is opportunity to compete for playing time right away. *** The academic side of things is huge for Pryor. "We've always looked at academics," the elder Pryor told me. "It's not all about their football record and all of that." Associate Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes Adam Sargent had a well-organized plan for Pryor in terms of his graduate degree options, and the Pryor family is going to be considering those options this week. Pryor is graduating with a bachelor's from Ohio State in just 2.5 years, and he had a very high ACT score as a high school freshman. Again, academics are big here, and getting a master's degree from Notre Dame is very enticing for Pryor and his folks. Ohio State safety transfer Isaiah Pryor with Irish head coach Brian Kelly *** Pryor's mother was not able to make the official visit, and the Pryor family is looking to get back to South Bend as soon as possible. Isaiah told his parents that he wants to get back for the next home game, which is Nov. 2 against Virginia Tech. For that trip, they're looking to get up possible on that Thursday so they can get a different feel of what it's like at Notre Dame and consider various living options for Isaiah. *** As far as what position Pryor will play, he is a safety who prides himself on being a hard hitter and plays the box. Think of Alohi Gillman's role as a safety who is all over the field and makes a lot of tackles. "They want him everywhere," Pryor's father said. "He can play multiple spots. His first time playing safety was at IMG." *** Don't expect Pryor to drag his transfer recruiting process out. He and his family understand that the schools recruiting him need to figure out their plans with Signing Day just a couple of months away. I could see a scenario where Pryor announces to Notre Dame before his visit for the Virginia Tech game, but it may be during or right after that trip. *** Pryor is hearing from a handful of other schools and may take other official visits, but I'll actually be mildly surprised if he does take other trips. I'm not expecting him to take an official visit this weekend, but he might take a trip Oct. 25-27. Pryor's father played at Iowa in the mid-1980s and the Hawkeyes could be an option for a visit. Visitor Reaction From Notre Dame's Victory Against USC *** The highlight for Clarkston (Mich.) 2021 offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger 's Notre Dame visit was getting to hang out with other Irish prospects before the game. In particular, he really bonded with 2020 offensive line commits Michael Carmody and Tosh Baker as well as 2021 pledge Blake Fisher . Let me be clear: Dellinger had a good visit. But it didn't create any movement in his recruitment, and Dellinger wants to take his time with the process. I've been told that Dellinger is a tough prospect to read. He's maintained to me that Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Michigan are his top three schools, but he's going to visit Penn State and LSU this fall. *** I got to catch up with Notre Dame's two class of 2020 tight end commits on Sunday. Both Kevin Bauman and Michael Mayer had great visits to Notre Dame, and the highlight for both was getting to know their future teammates. Mayer mentioned how much he enjoyed getting to meet Tosh Baker , while also strengthening his close bond with Bauman, Drew Pyne , and Chris Tyree . For my story on Bauman, click here. *** Indianapolis Ben Davis 2021 defensive back Daylan Carnell had a "smooth" visit. He enjoyed chatting with defensive backs coaches Todd Lyght and Terry Joseph, who told him to continue to work hard on the field and in the classroom. I've said this many times and I will say it again: if Notre Dame pushes for Carnell, I believe they will land him. The Irish are in contact with him about once a week and are looking him as a cornerback. 231 NATIONAL 5 STATE 0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 19 POSITION DAYLAN CARNELL RANK 5.8 6'1" | 185 LBS | ATH BEN DAVIS INDIANAPOLIS, IN CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Notre Dame has offered just two prospects in the 2022 class, and one of them was on campus Saturday. Lagrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth wide receiver Tyler Morris had a great experience at Notre Dame for the USC game. Because he's just a sophomore, he's not allowed too much contact with college coaches, so his visit was a good opportunity to connect with receivers coach Del Alexander. Morris told me that he really likes Notre Dame and that they're probably one of his top choices at this point. *** 2022 quarterback Brady Allen got his first look at a game inside Notre Dame Stadium, and it was obviously a heck of a game to see. He enjoyed the new indoor facility, which the recruits spent time in before the game, and really enjoyed hearing from former Irish players currently in the NFL. Allen was pleased with the time he spent with quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees during the visit, especially considering 2020 and 2021 QB commits Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner were there. The Southern Indiana standout continues to be a name to keep an eye on. He's thrown 25 touchdowns and five interceptions with 2,053 passing yards through eight games as a sophomore. - NATIONAL 0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 21 STATE 30 POSITION JACK HOLLIFIELD RANK 5.6 6'3" | 225 LBS | SDE SHELBY SHELBY, NC CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Shelby (N.C.) class of 2021 defensive end Jack Hollifield called his Notre Dame "amazing" and loved seeing USC and Notre Dame head-to-head. Hollifield communicated with Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea for a bit before and after the game. I don't get the sense that the Irish are close to offering Hollifield at this point. Hollifield's position at the next level as very much up in the air as he could play multiple spots in the defensive front seven or could be an H-back on offense. This was Hollifield's third time at Notre Dame, as he visited for the Florida State game last year and saw the Irish beat Navy a couple years ago when his brother, Dax Hollifield , was considering Notre Dame in his recruitment before signing with Virginia Tech. Notre Dame Coaches On The Road *** The Notre Dame staff will be on the road this week, and I've gathered some intel on where a few of the coaches will be. I haven't been able to track down the expected whereabouts of all of the Irish coaching staff but I'll have more on that throughout the week. Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees will be out in California and will see 2021 quarterback commit Tyler Buchner at La Jolla (Calif.) The Bishop's School. Notre Dame is also looking at Buchner's receiver, 2021 wide receiver Clay Petry , who visited South Bend in September. *** Irish running backs coach Lance Taylor will be busy on the road. I'm told that he will see priority 2021 running back target Will Shipley (click here to read Shipley's visit recap) and will stop in Richmond to see 2020 playmaker Chris Tyree , an Irish commit. A guy I've been saying for months to keep an eye on is Cody Brown , the nation's No. 2 running back in the 2021 class, from Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview. I wouldn't be surprised if Brown becomes Notre Dame's fifth running back offer in the '21 class. Taylor is expected to visit Brown's high school this week. 53 NATIONAL 0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 2 STATE 1 POSITION WILL SHIPLEY RANK 5.9 5'11" | 200 LBS | APB WEDDINGTON MATTHEWS, NC CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Offensive coordinator Chip Long will be out in Georgia to see a pair of Notre Dame commits. He will see Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County 2021 tight end pledge Cane Berrong and Athens (Ga.) Academy 2021 wide receiver Deion Colzie , who committed to the Irish on Saturday during a visit to Notre Dame. *** I've also heard that Notre Dame will be out in California to see defensive back Ramon Henderson from Bakersfield, Calif. Special teams coordinator Brian Polian will be making the trip, and I wouldn't be surprised if safeties coach Terry Joseph makes it out as well. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound three-star recruit remains a very important target for the Irish. I won't be surprised to see Notre Dame close the deal this week, even if it doesn't become public until December. Coach's Take: Notre Dame Getting Special Player In Lorenzo Styles *** Back on August 30, I got to see Pickerington (Ohio) Central class of 2021 wide receiver Lorenzo Styles in action when his team came down to Atlanta to play against a team from Florida. Although he wasn't used to stretch the field, Styles played several different positions on offense and defense. The only time he came off the field was when the Pick Central offense went to a heavy package ... "I think he had 112 snaps tonight," Pickerington Central head coach Jay Sharrett told me. Sharrett added that he believed that Styles was on his 90th play when he broke a 37 yard jet sweep for a touchdown that was called back due to a holding call. 28 NATIONAL 2 STATE 0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 4 POSITION LORENZO STYLES JR. RANK 6.0 6'1" | 170 LBS | WR PICKERINGTON CENTRAL PICKERINGTON, OH CLASS OF 2021 VERBAL COMMIT 10/13/2019 NOTRE DAME *** Added Sharrett: "He has that other little gear that people don't expect because he doesn't use it every time. He was fair catching punts for us because that's what we needed at that point. He's not selfish. He's the complete football player. You couldn't ask for anything more. He can go zero-to-90 pretty quickly with the ball in his hands. Guys who think they have tackling angles on him, they're late on tackling him. He's going to play both sides of the ball for us; I can tell you that." *** According to Sharrett, Styles is a hard-working kid in the classroom and reiterated just how unselfish his star player is. "He's a 4.0 kid," said Sharrett. "You'd have to talk to him for 10 minutes before you knew he was a top recruit. When you watch him, he works just as hard blocking for others as he does when he's running the ball. He's unselfish. He'll go downfield at the last second for a chip block and get the running back an extra 15 yards. He's a complete player. Defensively, we play him as a cover corner, free safety, we'll walk him up in the box. You can use any words you want to describe him."
ND is killing 2021 recruiting right now....my goodness that offensive class is going to be absurd, especially if they can land Shipley I would actually move Styles to CB (says he's perfectly fine moving to DB) and push really hard for Cristian Dixon
I think one of Watts or Styles will need to go to CB I thought I read the staff cooled on Dixon, but maybe I’m thinking of someone else
Defense Spoiler DEFENDING USC With the Trojans employing their Air Raid offense, it requires the opposing defense to get outside of its comfort zone. For Notre Dame, that was playing with at times three down linemen (Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa at the nose) with three linebackers and five defensive backs – two corners and three safeties. It’s a 3-3-5 look, which was once a controversial alignment against Texas in 2016. USC also had big backs that made a 3-3-5 alignment problematic. But Clark Lea had a better plan, one necessitated by those Trojan receivers, particularly Michael Pittman. Notre Dame was most effective with a 4-2-5 look with Kurt Hinish inside with Tagovailoa-Amosa, linebackers Asmar Bilal and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, three safeties (Alohi Gilman, Jalen Elliott and Kyle Hamilton) and cornerbacks Troy Pride Jr. and Donte Vaughn or TaRiq Bracy. (Note: This all would have been made easier with a healthy Shaun Crawford.) On certain passing downs, the Irish would go back to what they’ve used frequently this season – Jack Lamb and Gilman pressing the line of scrimmage with the four-man front with safeties Elliott and Hamilton in a two-deep look. Gilman would creep up in the box, depending upon the defensive play call, with Asmar Bilal and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah used to compensate for the linebacker missing from the equation. In the opening series, the Irish sent Owusu-Koramoah off the left edge and he sacked Slovis. Like many, I didn’t think the three-man front was as effective. But you needed Drew White involved (five tackles, a tackle for loss) while giving a freshman quarterback a varied look. You couldn’t use him in the 4-2-5. You didn’t want one of your most productive tacklers this year standing on the sideline the whole game. You needed White’s tackling ability on the field at least some of the time. The goal was to not allow USC’s leading receiver – Michael Pittman – to beat the Irish deep. By manning up against Pittman and using Hamilton as Pittman’s “spy” over the top, anything thrown deep to Pittman would require getting the football past Hamilton, who is a condor swooping down on the football in zone pass coverage. The only thing Pittman could catch was stuff right off the line of scrimmage. An eight-yarder early in the second quarter. A six-yarder, a four-yarder… Pittman’s one “big play” was an 11-yard gain in the touchdown drive that cut it to 23-20. Pittman was diffused. “He will be irrelevant if they keep him outside all game long with all these two-safety looks,” NBC’s Chris Simms said. “They’ve got to move him to the slot. In the two-deep man under, the middle of the field is the weakness.” Pittman was limited, but the Irish then yielded space in the ground game. There’s a tradeoff. That’s why defending the Air Raid offense is so difficult. You’re put in a position where you have to play “left-handed,” which means you have to be effective using the unconventional. “We were playing a team that was presenting an offensive structure that we hadn’t seen all year and (USC) was coming off a bye week,” Brian Kelly said. “We knew there were going to be some things we were going to have to adjust to. “We were excited as a staff to play the game because obviously it was USC. But we were going to have to make adjustments during the game. After the game, when you get a chance to debrief about it, you feel really good that what you put in was going to be effective. We put our kids in good position to succeed and took USC’s best shot.” While fans go crazy because the opponent is having some success running the football or, in the case of last year’s game, USC is throwing the ball underneath and possessing it for long periods of time, the idea is to come up with a plan that does not allow your opponent to score more than your offense. Notre Dame successfully achieved that goal. So how was Washington able to hold USC to 14 points while the Irish allowed 24 points in the second half? The big difference was that the Trojans had Kedon Slovis at quarterback against the Irish while Matt Fink had to take on the Huskies as Slovis recovered from a concussion. Slovis is good. He started using tight end Erik Krommenhoek in the second half with Pittman bottled up. He went from 10-of-17 for 74 yards and no touchdowns in the first half to 14-of-18 for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. At some point, the USC receivers are going to get theirs. “We accomplished what we wanted to,” Kelly said. “No. 1 was to take Pittman out of the game, which we did. In the first half, we executed exactly the way I wanted to defensively. “In the second half, we gave up the touchdown to (Amon-Ra) St. Brown. The second (touchdown) drive, we got caught in some situations where you have to make a play in some man. And the third drive, we were trying to take time off the clock. We were in a prevent kind of situation. Then it’s get the onside kick to end the game.” DEFENSIVE LINE Jamir Jones: I said it last week and it bore itself out against better competition in USC. There is not a drop-off from Daelin Hayes to Jones. In fact, Jones is more instinctive and proactive. I think he has a more natural feel for the game despite limited playing time. Jones pressured Slovis on 3rd-and-13 that led to a field goal and 3-0 deficit. He stopped Stephen Carr on 2nd-and-10 from the Irish 14. On the very next play, Jones was off the edge in a three-defensive end front wall. The situation dictated that he follow running back Stephen Carr -- who had leaked out of the backfield and taken his pass route to the end zone -- which is a great read and a great understanding of his responsibilities by Jones. Carr probably should have caught it, but Jones had the presence of mind to defend the play and cause enough of a distraction to prompt Carr to fail to come up with it. Jones is an intelligent, instinctive, around-the-football defensive end. Enjoy his last seven games in a Notre Dame uniform. The kid has been bottled up behind two great edge rushers. Kurt Hinish: One of the things pointed out in Irish Illustrated’s In The Film Room...USC Trojans story mid-week was that if there was a weak link on USC’s offensive line, it was center Brett Neilon. BYU’s nose guard, for one, abused him. While USC’s between-the-tackles running game seemed to dispel that notion, there were numerous instances when Neilon was overwhelmed by Notre Dame’s interior defensive line. Kurt Hinish had Neilon in backpedal mode on several occasions. Hinish has now strung together four games in a row in which he has become a real handful. Khalid Kareem: Kareem continues his recent ascent with seven tackles, a 12-yard sack and three quarterback hurries. He might have had another sack if right guard Jalen McKenzie hadn’t grabbed Kareem and thrown him to the ground on an incomplete pass to Stephen Carr in the end zone. Julian Okwara: A very, very quiet day for Okwara, although he did have three tackles and a quarterback pressure. LINEBACKERS Asmar Bilal: When Bilal doesn’t have to over-think everything, his natural instincts – and four-star ability – take over. He continues to build upon what is shaping up to being a real crescendo to his career. Clark Lea has brought out the best in him. Bilal had a career-high 11 tackles, including two for lost yardage. He showed great backside pursuit to dump Markese Stepp for a three-yard loss in first quarter field-goal drive. He made a great open-field tackle on Vavae Malapei. He’s now galloping around the line of scrimmage and making plays on a regular basis. Kelly said they counted on Bilal to use his range to help keep the running game in check. Sometimes it didn’t work, but you have to give something up and the Irish chose that as opposed to letting Michael Pittman run around against a single man. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah helped Bilal patrol the second level when the Irish were in their 4-2-5 look. He had seven tackles and an early sack. Drew White was part of the 3-3-5 package and had five tackles. DEFENSIVE BACKS Kyle Hamilton: The Irish freshman never really came off the field. He was the centerfielder who would provide the second man on Michael Pittman. The physicality by which he tackles is brutality at its best. When Hamilton comes flying up from his safety position, he hits players like a tidal wave. Troy Pride Jr.: Did someone on the Irish Illustrated message board actually suggest that Pride should be benched during the USC game? Don’t be daft. But there’s no doubt that Pride just has not lived up to all the promise he flashed earlier in his career. He was involved on a nice pass breakup on Pittman along the sideline. He prevented Vaughns from scoring a touchdown at the start of the third quarter in the end zone. (It could have been called interference.) Pride looked so natural playing man coverage in the spring and August of 2018. He just hasn’t capitalized on it. He just cannot get his body under control when it’s time to make a play on the ball. He’s in position to make a play, but he can’t find the dexterity to position himself to make a play. That said, Pride also did a lot of good things against a real quality receiver corps. THE HALFTIME FIGHT You can just start to see the gathering at the middle of the field as NBC pans away from the stadium. It appears it was Notre Dame’s Khalid Kareem and former Notre Dame verbal commitment Markese Stepp that ignited the dance. Jamir Jones and Jay Tufele go after each other. I saw Kurt Hinish and Alohi Gilman in the midst of it. Not sure the TV version showed it, but through binoculars, I saw Chase Claypool get all worked up. To the players’ credit, punches were limited to pushes. The officials did the right thing – as they did in pre-game at Oklahoma-Texas – by flagging both rosters and preventing further skirmishes with the threat of expulsion. KELLY ON THE FIELD Kelly said Sunday that he was trying to get a timeout when he saw that Lawrence Keys III was misaligned and needed to shift to the Notre Dame sideline side of the field. But the video showed no evidence of Kelly asking for a timeout, but rather, trying to get Keys to shift. (Note: Notre Dame already had called a timeout when they first saw USC’s onside kick alignment.) Kelly was well onto the playing surface when the onside kick was put into motion. Brock Wright pounced on the kick and the officials kept their flags in their pockets. USC head coach Clay Helton clearly was imploring an official to review the play because Kelly was on the field. Irish Illustrated’s rules expert texted us late Saturday night to say that the flag should have been thrown and the kickoff reset at the 50-yard line. Even Kelly admitted Sunday, “Generally speaking, if you’re on the field, they’re going to give you a timeout or a penalty and they didn’t do either. The play went on and subsequently ended up the way it did.” Chided about what he would have done had the football ended up near him, Kelly said, “We teach our guys if it’s clean, you advance it and score. If it’s not, you fall on it. So I would always take my own advice.” AROUND THE GRIDIRON (DEFENSE) I do not understand why you have a kick return man like Velus Jones – second in the nation in kick return average with a 100-yarder earlier this year -- not returning kickoffs a couple yards deep when you’re chasing 14-to-17 points. Jones’ effectiveness is wasted if you don’t take a chance or two when you’re in catch-up mode…J.T. Daniels obviously has the pedigree to return to his starting spot at quarterback next year when he returns from a torn ACL. But Kedon Slovis cannot be underestimated…Amon-Ra St. Brown is an incredibly strong 6-foot-1, 195 pounds. One ball he didn’t handle came in the first quarter when he was matched up on Jalen Elliott, who got turned around. The throw was low and Khalid Kareem was in Slovis’ face. But if St. Brown comes up with that, it’s probably going to be 7-0 USC as opposed to 3-0. He should have cupped it instead of using his left hand over the top. Uncharacteristic mistake…Punts that land in the end zone on the fly make me want to scream…Notre Dame’s punt coverage has slipped the last three games. Nothing major, but a couple of line drives by Jay Bramblett and some late-arriving coverage has raised the opponents’ return average to 4.0… When Chase Claypool is on Notre Dame’s coverage units, he always shows up. Always. Three more tackles…Markese Stepp is an absolute beast. Man, would he help Notre Dame this year…What was USC president Dr. Carol Folt looking at when the referee walked by her?...I’m going to stereotype in a good way, which even in today’s politically correct world is okay. I’ve found the Notre Dame players of Polynesian descent to be some of the most God-fearing, engaging, likeable young men I’ve dealt with in my 38 years of covering Notre Dame football. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa – featured at halftime by NBC -- totally fits into the category…OMG, I never for a second would have thought about changing from Kedon Slovis to Matt Fink, as Chris Simms suggested at halftime. Slovis made me look good in the second half. I can’t believe Simms suggested that. Has he seen Matt Fink play?…I did not know that in 2020, the officials on the field and in the replay booth will come from the same conference, as opposed to split now…I’ll never understand a cornerback like Troy Pride Jr. going through an exaggerated “incomplete sign” celebration. You’re in the frying pan on the very next snap!...Avery Davis narrowly missed blocking Chase McGrath’s 27-yard field goal to make it 20-6.
If Polian keeps recruiting going the way it’s going, I’m cool keeping him as ST coach. Because unlike with Weis, you have a competent head coach that can fix his mistakes now.
Yeah and supposedly concerns about the other WRs Ohio State has coming in. Not sure if they were actually telling him corner but I know they thought that was his best long-term spot. Styles is a good get. Pryor on the other hand...
exactly, we all know the guy isn’t very good but Nd needs bodies badly. He can play in like half the game and only be a box safety and it would still be a good take. Heck just make him perfect for the triple option and let hamilton sit the navy game next year
What about that chase young dude, would he be available next year if he decides to transfer to notre dame?
Loy and Matt Freeman put in CB predictions for Will Shipley to ND The future on offense looks incredibly bright right now
my general thoughts from the game: It's clear ND knew what it wanted to do on defense and they just kept to it. Someone earlier compared it to what we did with Diaco and I would agree with that. It's very frustrating to watch and I did feel they didn't react to the adjustments USC made fast enough but they were leading by 3 scores in the second half and I think BK knew they weren't going to lose unless we had a turnover on offense so they must kept at it. I would have been curious what defense they would have come out with had Book not scored that last TD to make it a 2 possession game (I am thankful this scenario did not happen). USC played a very similar defense to what ND did (keeping the safeties back and daring ND to run) but ND did a better job of running the ball and scoring than USC's offense did. The Oline played at elite level I thought - both in the run game and the pass game. Those guys are really coming together and there is still room to improve. Doerer has been absolutely amazing - We bag on Polian and the ST's all the team but he gets credit for getting Doerer's head and mechanics straightened out I will be curious to see if we can push around Mich's D the way we did against USC's D. I'd like to see Jafar get a little more burn too but I understood why they didn't utilize him much in the USC game I know most everyone is complaining about "barely" beating USC but that's 3 in a row we've beaten them and I never truly felt like ND was going to lose, even when USC scored to make it a 3 pt game The program is in the best shape I've seen it since the early 90's and it is a great great feeling. We are beating everyone we should, we are crushing inferior opponents, we are beating our rivals, and we are recruiting at what I believe is an elite level outside of DB and I still think there is hope there. We still haven't beaten an elite level team and that to me is truly the last hurdle for BK and ND
I am always critical of the oline, they are starting to roll. Can’t complain about them after this game.
I think Jafar was still banged up the ii guys heard he wouldn’t be used much pre-game. I don’t know what to think about this team - offense is ok to good and defense is good to great
I would agree that the offense can range from good to very good depending on how Book plays. They will never be elite with him because of the way he plays. I think Kmet and Claypool gives ND 2 truly elite level players which will make it very tough for teams to stop both (which proved to be true again versus USC) I think Defense can be good to elite level if the guys keep improving
It’s a tough team to evaluate, especially on offense. Oline is huge and can be the best in the country but they have add. Every game one player on offense screw up at a high school level...young had a goddam td on a kick return but he fumbled.....not because anybody hit him, he just fumbled. That is incredible.
one more comment on the oline - Eichenberg in particular he reminds me a bit of McGlinchey in 2016 with all the false start penalties. BK mentioned McGlinchey was a little too wound up that year and that was the cause of the penalties. In 2017, he relaxed a we didn't see that problem anymore and he took his game to the next level and was drafted as a top 10 player. I could see a similar trajectory for Eichenberg although maybe not top 10 but first round worthy in 2021 draft.
that was game changing play right there - 3 TD lead and a hyped up crowd to a disappointing FG instead. That was a little deflating and gave USC hope to keep playing
Yeah, that can not happen. Nd still won and that is great but losing these opportunities is why Nd can’t close the deal on Georgia, Clemson etc...
everytime I watched Markese Stepp on Sat, i wanted to punch something he is EXACTLY what we wanted in a big back and the coaches knew it too. Physical, tough, and very very hard to bring down and he seems like a good kid it's a shame he didn't get his academics in order
He would’ve gone for 200 yards in a Nd uniform. I love tony jones but the difference was apparent. Maybe I underestimate jones since he blocks and catch pretty well, not sure stepp can do that.
Given the recruiting push over the last few months and the possible influx of Ohio State rejects, I’m feeling pretty good about our roster going forward. Also, is Styles 100% a WR or could he get a look at corner?
Kmet and Kevin Austin are the keys to next year's offense, need both of them to come back and play at a high level
Loy was asked if we had any more silents Loy's response - Well... I have a little mixed info on one. Before I go full ninja, I’ll let it play out a bit. But I’m close to two at the moment.
People asking Loy about recruiting is like my gf asking me about that new dress she just bought...the answer will always be « it’s perfect baby »
That was a bit of comedy but I appreciate you sharing the info a1ND , you are the hero we do not deserve. Recruiting is fun again
Stupid to even talk about mid season in a not lost season but next year's offense can be scary good. Nobody of any consequence is scheduled to leave outside of Claypool. Also Book could leave but you have Jurk with plenty of exp in offense. Finke gone and Keys/Lenzy in is a huge upgrade. Austin hopefully can step in for Claypool. The TEs are beastly. OL all back possibly...wow. Every RB is back plus possibly adding Tyrees speed.
All depends on Jurk who is a huge unknown. Let’s hope Austin lives up to the hype to replace Claypool and Kmet stays. All 5 ol coming back. Jamir should replace the production of jones. I am a little worried Book comes back and jurk leaves then you have three noodle arm game mangers on the roster.
Kronk has all the tools an NFL talent needs to have. Physical. Can block. Moves well. Catches the ball with his hands. This year's TE class is weak. He gone.