It wasn't pretty but Notre Dame got it done to win the game 24-17 over rival USC. My initial observations.
OFFENSE
* The offense was confusing to me tonight. Chip Long dialed up some nice plays but he was late responding to USC's early pressures and at times it seemed he went away from the run too quickly.
* QB Ian Book had a rough night against USC. His inability to hit plays downfield killed the offense tonight. His miss to a wide open Chris Finke after a slant and go was brutal because it would have made it a 21-10 game. Instead ND had to settle for a FG, which kept it a one-score game. He missed several reads and throws downfield. The USC pressures - and USC brought a lot of them - had Book off his game. He played tough but he just didn't play well enough tonight. Miles Boykin also had a step on a 2nd-down throw late in the game but Book under threw him and took away a big play opportunity.
* But in typical Ian Book fashion, I do like how he finished the game. He had a really tough run on the late TD drive and made a great read against the USC blitz and hit Tony Jones Jr. for the game-winning TD pass.
* RB Dexter Williams had two huge plays tonight but he also had some missed reads in the game that kept his overall yards down. He ran hard and I liked how he competed, but he didn't make good decisions in the run game. An example would be trying to slow down and cut vertically on a pair of outside runs where he should have just outran the defense to the sideline. He also bounced a run outside where if he stays inside he had a crease. His numbers were good b/c of the great TD run and b/c he ran really hard, but I'll knock him for his reads for sure.
* RB Tony Jones Jr. didn't run very hard tonight outside of one run, but he obviously made a HUGE play in the pass game and blocked well in the pass game.
* It wasn't the greatest night for the ND receivers when it came to winning the 50/50 balls, but they competed and part of the issue was the off-target throws. The WR's still made a lot of plays and the blocking downfield at times was really, really good. They competed hard tonight, and I liked that, even though it wasn't their best night in some ways.
* WR Chris Finke was ND's best receiver tonight. He was clutch in the first half and made some huge plays in the game. He finished with 7 catches for 86 yards and they would have been even better if Book hit him on the slant-and-go. he competed his tail off and really made plays when ND needed them. I thought Chase Claypool competed hard as well and made some plays as well. WR Miles Boykin didn't have a great night but it wasn't all his fault.
* The OL was up-and-down. There were some misses in protection but some of the pressure on Book was due to USC just bringing more players than ND could block and the offense/Book not being able to make USC pay enough for it. Overall I thought the pass protection was good and did a good job not getting downfield when Book scrambled. The run blocking was a bit more erratic. There were some good movement blocks, especially on the left side, but the USC numbers hurt them at times. It was a solid day for the OL from what i could tell, but I'll have to watch more film.
DEFENSE
* This was a disappointing night for the Notre Dame defense in many ways, but the unit also made some key plays that allowed them to keep the points down. USC moved the ball up and down the field at will against Notre Dame do to so much off coverage. It seemed to take Clark Lea a long time to adjust to USC's game plan, which was to go tempo and nickel-and-dime the Notre Dame defense. USC went with its 11 personnel (3 WR's, 1 TE, 1 RB) early and ND went with its base defense, and ND in that look couldn't handle the perimeter speed. When they did things to take away the perimeter plays they gave up a ton of room up the middle.
* In the second half ND made a few adjustments but I felt USC actually went away from what was working without having reason to do so. I didn't think ND made a ton of second half adjustments, but you could see them mixing up the coverage looks a bit and that seemed to give the QB some pre-snap issues. What the D did well was play opportunistic defense. It forced two fumbles in the first half which is why the points were kept down. ND was down 10-7 at halftime but it should have been far worse if not for the two turnovers in their own territory with USC marching.
* The D-Line was disappointing in this game. They stepped up late with ND up just 17-10, but overall the line didn't play well. It had trouble getting pressure on the QB, it had some issues with gap integrity up the middle vs. the run game and they just couldn't finish the way they needed to. I can't really point to one guy who I thought played well tonight. Will have to go back and watch the film.
* The linebackers played solid football tonight. They didn't get off blocks on a few runs up the middle but also had some good moments. They had a few pass breakups and even when the LB's got beat in coverage they were in good spots but Daniels made great throws and the USC WR's made great catches. I would have liked to see them play a bit more downhill at times vs. the run, but overall it was a solid night. LB Asmar Bilal had too many misses in coverage and in space, which was the one disappointing part of the LB performance.
* I thought the corners executed the game plan well but the game plan didn't put them in good position. They got beat a few times, but that's going to happen. They also made a ton of tackles and for the most part kept the YAC down in the game. This was key b/c it forced USC to go on longer drives, and the longer drives resulted in USC running more plays, which resulted in ND eventually being able to turn the ball over.
* The safeties played very well in this game from what I could tell. They did a great job in run support and they tackled well in space. S Alohi Gilman had a strip on a play that resulted in a turnover and he made some excellent open field tackles in the run game. He was impactful once again. I thought S Jalen Elliott also played good football, and S Nick Coleman handled himself well in the slot at times.
SPECIAL TEAMS
* I thought the special teams was outstanding tonight. The coverage was really good with one exception, they didn't have any bad plays and they got points when they needed to. The coverage units were especially impactful b/c USC had a good punt and kick returner in the game. Really, really good performance from the Irish special teams tonight.
OFFENSE
* The offense was confusing to me tonight. Chip Long dialed up some nice plays but he was late responding to USC's early pressures and at times it seemed he went away from the run too quickly.
* QB Ian Book had a rough night against USC. His inability to hit plays downfield killed the offense tonight. His miss to a wide open Chris Finke after a slant and go was brutal because it would have made it a 21-10 game. Instead ND had to settle for a FG, which kept it a one-score game. He missed several reads and throws downfield. The USC pressures - and USC brought a lot of them - had Book off his game. He played tough but he just didn't play well enough tonight. Miles Boykin also had a step on a 2nd-down throw late in the game but Book under threw him and took away a big play opportunity.
* But in typical Ian Book fashion, I do like how he finished the game. He had a really tough run on the late TD drive and made a great read against the USC blitz and hit Tony Jones Jr. for the game-winning TD pass.
* RB Dexter Williams had two huge plays tonight but he also had some missed reads in the game that kept his overall yards down. He ran hard and I liked how he competed, but he didn't make good decisions in the run game. An example would be trying to slow down and cut vertically on a pair of outside runs where he should have just outran the defense to the sideline. He also bounced a run outside where if he stays inside he had a crease. His numbers were good b/c of the great TD run and b/c he ran really hard, but I'll knock him for his reads for sure.
* RB Tony Jones Jr. didn't run very hard tonight outside of one run, but he obviously made a HUGE play in the pass game and blocked well in the pass game.
* It wasn't the greatest night for the ND receivers when it came to winning the 50/50 balls, but they competed and part of the issue was the off-target throws. The WR's still made a lot of plays and the blocking downfield at times was really, really good. They competed hard tonight, and I liked that, even though it wasn't their best night in some ways.
* WR Chris Finke was ND's best receiver tonight. He was clutch in the first half and made some huge plays in the game. He finished with 7 catches for 86 yards and they would have been even better if Book hit him on the slant-and-go. he competed his tail off and really made plays when ND needed them. I thought Chase Claypool competed hard as well and made some plays as well. WR Miles Boykin didn't have a great night but it wasn't all his fault.
* The OL was up-and-down. There were some misses in protection but some of the pressure on Book was due to USC just bringing more players than ND could block and the offense/Book not being able to make USC pay enough for it. Overall I thought the pass protection was good and did a good job not getting downfield when Book scrambled. The run blocking was a bit more erratic. There were some good movement blocks, especially on the left side, but the USC numbers hurt them at times. It was a solid day for the OL from what i could tell, but I'll have to watch more film.
DEFENSE
* This was a disappointing night for the Notre Dame defense in many ways, but the unit also made some key plays that allowed them to keep the points down. USC moved the ball up and down the field at will against Notre Dame do to so much off coverage. It seemed to take Clark Lea a long time to adjust to USC's game plan, which was to go tempo and nickel-and-dime the Notre Dame defense. USC went with its 11 personnel (3 WR's, 1 TE, 1 RB) early and ND went with its base defense, and ND in that look couldn't handle the perimeter speed. When they did things to take away the perimeter plays they gave up a ton of room up the middle.
* In the second half ND made a few adjustments but I felt USC actually went away from what was working without having reason to do so. I didn't think ND made a ton of second half adjustments, but you could see them mixing up the coverage looks a bit and that seemed to give the QB some pre-snap issues. What the D did well was play opportunistic defense. It forced two fumbles in the first half which is why the points were kept down. ND was down 10-7 at halftime but it should have been far worse if not for the two turnovers in their own territory with USC marching.
* The D-Line was disappointing in this game. They stepped up late with ND up just 17-10, but overall the line didn't play well. It had trouble getting pressure on the QB, it had some issues with gap integrity up the middle vs. the run game and they just couldn't finish the way they needed to. I can't really point to one guy who I thought played well tonight. Will have to go back and watch the film.
* The linebackers played solid football tonight. They didn't get off blocks on a few runs up the middle but also had some good moments. They had a few pass breakups and even when the LB's got beat in coverage they were in good spots but Daniels made great throws and the USC WR's made great catches. I would have liked to see them play a bit more downhill at times vs. the run, but overall it was a solid night. LB Asmar Bilal had too many misses in coverage and in space, which was the one disappointing part of the LB performance.
* I thought the corners executed the game plan well but the game plan didn't put them in good position. They got beat a few times, but that's going to happen. They also made a ton of tackles and for the most part kept the YAC down in the game. This was key b/c it forced USC to go on longer drives, and the longer drives resulted in USC running more plays, which resulted in ND eventually being able to turn the ball over.
* The safeties played very well in this game from what I could tell. They did a great job in run support and they tackled well in space. S Alohi Gilman had a strip on a play that resulted in a turnover and he made some excellent open field tackles in the run game. He was impactful once again. I thought S Jalen Elliott also played good football, and S Nick Coleman handled himself well in the slot at times.
SPECIAL TEAMS
* I thought the special teams was outstanding tonight. The coverage was really good with one exception, they didn't have any bad plays and they got points when they needed to. The coverage units were especially impactful b/c USC had a good punt and kick returner in the game. Really, really good performance from the Irish special teams tonight.
