Notre Dame vs Temple, by the Numbers

[IrishBlooded]

LINK

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
14 QB DeShone Kizer ranks 14th in the nation with his 156.9 passing efficiency rating. The 156.9 presently ranks fourth-best for a single-season in school history with a minimum of 100 passes.

13 LB Joe Schmidt has started 15 games for the Irish. Notre Dame is 13-2 in those games, going 7-1 last fall and 6-1 thus far in 2015.

12 RB C.J. Prosise's 11 rushing touchdowns this year rank 12th nationally. They are the most by an Irish ball-carrier since Jonas Gray ran for 12 TDs in 2011.

11 Notre Dame is tied for 11th nationally with its 35-11 record since the start of the 2012 season.

10 C.J. Prosise ranks third nationally with his 41 offensive plays this year of at least 10 yards. Tied for fourth is Temple's Jahad Thomas, along with LSU's Leonard Fournette.

9 Notre Dame is ranked No. 9 in the AP poll this week. The Irish are playing their 417th game when ranked in the top 10 and the 20th under head coach Brian Kelly.

8 DL Sheldon Day has eight TFLs so far in 2015. The last defensive lineman to have more for a full season at Notre Dame was Stephon Tuitt who had nine in 2013.

7 Over the past 50 years, Notre Dame is 11-7-2 against teams with a record of 7-0 or better.

6 Showing his big-play ability, WR Will Fuller ranks sixth nationally averaging 21.94 yards per catch.

5 C.J. Prosise has five 100-yard rushing games this year - the most by a Notre Dame player since Darius Walker had six in 2006.

4 Lincoln Financial Field will be the fourth Philadelphia venue to play host to the Irish, joining Franklin Field, JFK Stadium and Veterans Stadium.

3 Notre Dame's special teams have generated three touchdowns in 2015, its most since creating four TDs in 2000.

2 The Irish are making their second appearance this year on ESPN's College GameDay and 27th all-time. Of the last 22 appearances, 18 have been at road or neutral sites.

1 Four Notre Dame players (Will Fuller, C Nick Martin, LB Jaylon Smith and LT Ronnie Stanley) were named first-team midseason All-Americans last week by prominent national newsoutlets.

0 Notre Dame is 15-0 all-time on Halloween. Oct. 31 is the best day in the history of Notre Dame football in terms of wins and losses.

 

[Bodizephax]

LINK

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
14 QB DeShone Kizer ranks 14th in the nation with his 156.9 passing efficiency rating. The 156.9 presently ranks fourth-best for a single-season in school history with a minimum of 100 passes.

13 LB Joe Schmidt has started 15 games for the Irish. Notre Dame is 13-2 in those games, going 7-1 last fall and 6-1 thus far in 2015.

12 RB C.J. Prosise's 11 rushing touchdowns this year rank 12th nationally. They are the most by an Irish ball-carrier since Jonas Gray ran for 12 TDs in 2011.

11 Notre Dame is tied for 11th nationally with its 35-11 record since the start of the 2012 season.

10 C.J. Prosise ranks third nationally with his 41 offensive plays this year of at least 10 yards. Tied for fourth is Temple's Jahad Thomas, along with LSU's Leonard Fournette.

9 Notre Dame is ranked No. 9 in the AP poll this week. The Irish are playing their 417th game when ranked in the top 10 and the 20th under head coach Brian Kelly.

8 DL Sheldon Day has eight TFLs so far in 2015. The last defensive lineman to have more for a full season at Notre Dame was Stephon Tuitt who had nine in 2013.

7 Over the past 50 years, Notre Dame is 11-7-2 against teams with a record of 7-0 or better.

6 Showing his big-play ability, WR Will Fuller ranks sixth nationally averaging 21.94 yards per catch.

5 C.J. Prosise has five 100-yard rushing games this year - the most by a Notre Dame player since Darius Walker had six in 2006.

4 Lincoln Financial Field will be the fourth Philadelphia venue to play host to the Irish, joining Franklin Field, JFK Stadium and Veterans Stadium.

3 Notre Dame's special teams have generated three touchdowns in 2015, its most since creating four TDs in 2000.

2 The Irish are making their second appearance this year on ESPN's College GameDay and 27th all-time. Of the last 22 appearances, 18 have been at road or neutral sites.

1 Four Notre Dame players (Will Fuller, C Nick Martin, LB Jaylon Smith and LT Ronnie Stanley) were named first-team midseason All-Americans last week by prominent national newsoutlets.

0 Notre Dame is 15-0 all-time on Halloween. Oct. 31 is the best day in the history of Notre Dame football in terms of wins and losses.

Wow, the Irish are 13 and 2 with Joe S. on the field. It is probably because he is a big lucky charm. I saw Sheldon Day rub Joe's head during the USC game. Now I know he did that for good luck !
*** All joking aside, those stats are impressive that IB listed. Very impressive.

 

[kellys heroes 35]

I find it hard to believe anyone watching last years defense collapse sans Joe S would have issues with him being on the field -- please note that Clemson and USC combined for 17 pts in the 2nd half v The Irish . If we don't shank a punt and give Clemson two 25 yds fields to play with they score 10-14 pts vs ND . Also if Hunter scores in 2nd qtr vs USC ND tees off on Kessler and beats him like Joe Schmidt's bitch .

 

[Bodizephax]

I find it hard to believe anyone watching last years defense collapse sans Joe S would have issues with him being on the field -- please note that Clemson and USC combined for 17 pts in the 2nd half v The Irish . If we don't shank a punt and give Clemson two 25 yds fields to play with they score 10-14 pts vs ND . Also if Hunter scores in 2nd qtr vs USC ND tees off on Kessler and beats him like Joe Schmidt's bitch .

Joe S. has lost a step since last years tough injury he had. He hasn't played very well this year.
I think Coach Kelly and BVG may start playing Nyles Morgan more. Last year the Irish had a ton of injuries on Defense besides Joe S,. A healthy Joe S. would have helped but he isn't superman. Now he is a shell of his former self. Love the guy but his play against athletic teams like USC and Clemson has been poor.

 

[kellys heroes 35]

Joe S. has lost a step since last years tough injury he had. He hasn't played very well this year.
I think Coach Kelly and BVG may start playing Nyles Morgan more. Last year the Irish had a ton of injuries on Defense besides Joe S,. A healthy Joe S. would have helped but he isn't superman. Now he is a shell of his former self. Love the guy but his play against athletic teams like USC and Clemson has been poor.

He gives the team a lot that we dont see - making defensive calls aligning guys in the right spots etc . Read or watch Kelly's presser today Joe is going nowhere

alright don't look up Kelly's comments

Staff still favors Schmidt over Morgan
Nyles Morgan is another player that has sparingly seen the field in 2015, but Kelly attributes that to the staff's desire to keep fifth-year senior Joe Schmidt on the field for every snap at Mike linebacker.

"Joe has been a clean-up hitter for us, if you will, and we don't want to take him out of the lineup," Kelly said. "We feel very confident, if Nyles was asked to go in the football game, and I know talking to Brian [VanGorder] about this, in particular, that he's just handled himself extremely well. He's been very impactful on special teams for us and he's ready to go in and play for us.

"I think we're just feeling very comfortable keeping Joe in the lineup, having not had him for so many games last year, we want to get every snap out of him that's possible. I think it's really less about Nyles and more about keeping Joe on the field." - See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1818636#sthash.zxwBbpug.dpuf

 

[iwish]

Kellys, first off - love the name (great movie). Second, agree with you 100%. Yes, Joe appears to be a little off from his peak form early last year but obviously it is understandable. I cringe every time I read someone taking a shot at him. If the coaching staff thought he wasn't the best man for the job, they'd pull him. They haven't been shy about pulling starters/players and certainly aren't going to sacrifice the opportunity to win over favoritism as some have hinted at.

 

[DieHard_Irish]

^this .... Thank you

 

[napy2121]

It's a message board so I don't have a problem questioning who starts if guys aren't being as effective. I know I'm not an expert but we all love football here. Coaches make mistakes and that doesn't mean they are bad either or that it's a slight. An entrenched starter goes down and the backup comes in and plays better. It happens all the time in cfb. Including at nd where both our qbs outplayed an fsu qb.

Schmidt hasn't been the same player this year- not bad by any means but he isn't the rock he was last year. I doubt nyles will play given bks comments today, called Schmidt a cleanup hitter. I just hope he stops swing and missing a lot less.

 

[Bodizephax]

I am not the only one who thinks Coach Kelly MIGHT be playing favorites when it comes to Joe.
His play has been subpar, too say the least. I am a huge fan of Coach Kelly but not blind. I hope we see more of either Nyles Morgan, Jarret Grace, Tevon Coney or some other linebacker.
If we don't that must mean that Nyles Morgan and the others suck or BVGs defense is too complex and needs to be dumbed down, Some of you must not rewatch the games and see how bad Joe has been playing.

 

[napy2121]

I think this is a good article on film breakdown on Schmidt. It's just v USC, but the conclusion of he's not playing as bad as people think but is missing some lateral movement and taken some poor angles as a result leading to increased missed tackles is spot on. Or put even more simply, he's not been the same player yet.

http://www.onefootdown.com/2015/10/...-bad-of-notre-dame-linebacker-joe-schmidt-usc

 

[Toby Smart]

BK is not going to replace Joe. He said so himself at today's presser when asked subtly by Eric Hansen. He also said that the players he has are the players he has. He can't cut them. He can't trade them. Those are his players, so, the staff will continue to work with the defense each and every week and hopefully they can improve. He knows there are problems. he knows the strong safety position has been weak. He gets it. They are practicing hard and trying to get better. That's all you can expect.

 

[Syd4ND]

I find it hard to believe anyone watching last years defense collapse sans Joe S would have issues with him being on the field -- please note that Clemson and USC combined for 17 pts in the 2nd half v The Irish . If we don't shank a punt and give Clemson two 25 yds fields to play with they score 10-14 pts vs ND . Also if Hunter scores in 2nd qtr vs USC ND tees off on Kessler and beats him like Joe Schmidt's bitch .

Not according to SC fans. They blew that game based on what they're spewing. That's why I always get bent at some of the fear/love for SC players. F$&k that team. SC has no respect for ND and never feels they were anything but unlucky when they lose. I was disappointed ND didn't run them off the field. Clearly superior.

 

[Irish Grandeur]

Not according to SC fans. They blew that game based on what they're spewing. That's why I always get bent at some of the fear/love for SC players. F$&k that team. SC has no respect for ND and never feels they were anything but unlucky when they lose. I was disappointed ND didn't run them off the field. Clearly superior.

I would love to see ND blow SC out. SC never seems to mind blowing ND out of the water when the Irish are down but ND never seems to take advantage of returning the favor when the roles are reversed. Just once in my life I would like to see a 55-0 trashing of SC by the Irish.

 

[Bodizephax]

I would love to see ND blow SC out. SC never seems to mind blowing ND out of the water when the Irish are down but ND never seems to take advantage of returning the favor when the roles are reversed. Just once in my life I would like to see a 55-0 trashing of SC by the Irish.

I saw one. In 1977 the Irish beat a higher ranked USC team 49 to 19.

 

[Bodizephax]

BK is not going to replace Joe. He said so himself at today's presser when asked subtly by Eric Hansen. He also said that the players he has are the players he has. He can't cut them. He can't trade them. Those are his players, so, the staff will continue to work with the defense each and every week and hopefully they can improve. He knows there are problems. he knows the strong safety position has been weak. He gets it. They are practicing hard and trying to get better. That's all you can expect.

Well we are not all blind Nd homers like yourself, Irish Jack. Why would coach Kelly say the players he has are the players he has and he can't trade or cut them? Maybe it is because everyone is asking why Joe S, is playing so poorly and that is the best answer he can give.

 

[Toby Smart]

I don't care who plays, as long as they get the job done. I have no favorites. I'm not at the practice sessions. All I can do is trust the staff because they are there. I'm frustrated as hell with the defense. So is BK and BVG. But, as BK said, the staff has to work with the players they recruited. Right now, this defense is not a Final Four defense. It wasn't supposed to be this way pre-season. They have flashes, then let downs. BK has a reason why Joe is playing and he is the one getting paid the big bucks for his decisions. There is not a damn thing any of us can do about it. And, as pointed out yesterday, Joe has to quit hitting his helmet every time he messes up because the opponents OC is picking up on it. BK definitely said that Joe is "In". So, that's that.

 

[stu4don]

Why has our defense been so bad in the first quarter/half? So bad out of the gate? Is it scheme? Is it prep? That has to change. We will not win all of our remaining games if we continue to play from behind.

 

[Irish Grandeur]

Why has our defense been so bad in the first quarter/half? So bad out of the gate? Is it scheme? Is it prep? That has to change. We will not win all of our remaining games if we continue to play from behind.

My guess has to do with injuries and not incurring more in practice. I am assuming ND is not going full speed/full hitting during practice and it takes the defense a Q or so to get adjusted. Honestly, I can't blame BK and co. for limiting hits during practice because there are some real head knockers on the Irish defense.

 

[FightingIrish44]

Why has our defense been so bad in the first quarter/half? So bad out of the gate? Is it scheme? Is it prep? That has to change. We will not win all of our remaining games if we continue to play from behind.

I'm not sure to be honest. I think scheme was an issue against Navy. Trick plays have hurt ND vs. USC and UMass. Blown assignments contributed to a first down and eventual TD vs USC. I believe that trick play vs. Virginia was in the first half too (althought ND "only" gave up 14 in that 1st half).

Its been the big play. A couple of small mistakes on one running play vs. UMass led to a long TD run too. I don't think its necessarily that they're getting beat up and down the field. Just need DB's to be more disciplined.

 

[Toby Smart]

It's missed assignments, missed tackles, and not doing your own job. Those are BKs words, not mine. Not all damage has been done in the first half. What happened in the GT game was inexcusable. I am no genius but I have been sending up a red flag about the defense since Virginia. Some came on board, others did not because the offense was producing and that made the defensive lapses less noticeable. But, I have been listening to ND media insiders, reading articles on the situation and listening to BKs pressers. All have talked about the defense. The ND Radio Sports Report or whatever it's called spent at least a half hour on the subject yesterday. Looking past Temple for a moment, the defense will face a big time Pitt WR in Tyler Boyd. With hardly any pass rush to speak of, what will this mean for our Secondary? The defense can work on their technique and scheme from now until Stanford because outside of Pitt's Tyler Boyd, Temple, BC, and WF all appear to be offense challenged. BK and BVG are both aware of the situation. They have addressed it in public a numerous occasions and they are working hard to fix it. At some point, either the players themselves can mentally and physically do their job or they can't. They hold responsibility in this also.

 

[Epictitus]

Nyles Morgan is the future, Joe Schmidt is the present. Without question Nyles has the talent to be a great player, but Joe holds the D together and that was clearly evident when he went down last year. Y s, he lacks the speed of a top notch CFB LB, but paralyzed makes up for it with his knowledge of the game and the passion with which he plays. I question whether many here dumping on any ND players have ever been anything more than "armchair quarterbacks" as your lack of competency regarding football is very minimal.

ND has the talent, even with the injuries to beat anyone they will play for the remainder of the year. Let's just sit back and watch as every win is critical and a loss would surely end any playoff hope.

 

[Toby Smart]

See, I don't think the lack of playing college football has any bearing on what we discuss. None of us have appeared in Hollywood movies but we still talk, debate, and critique them. We have no idea what really goes on with making a big time movie but we all still comment. As for myself, I read and listen listen to ND insiders and watch BKs pressers to get a better idea of what's going on. My eye is not trained to break down film and point out all the little positives and negatives of a play. Mainly I (we) don't know what the heck was even called at the LOS on offense or defense. Also, a missed tackle is a missed tackle. Everyone can see that. The average Irish fan knows that there have been big plays given up. Maybe they don't understand why, but they know there is a chronic problem there somewhere. Average Irish fans see no pass rush and can detect a blown assignment. They may not know why but they know it happened. One thing I don't do is pay too much attention to all the experts here. I give the average Irish fan a little more credit because I guess I am one of them.

 

[twalsh]

Kellys, first off - love the name (great movie). Second, agree with you 100%. Yes, Joe appears to be a little off from his peak form early last year but obviously it is understandable. I cringe every time I read someone taking a shot at him. If the coaching staff thought he wasn't the best man for the job, they'd pull him. They haven't been shy about pulling starters/players and certainly aren't going to sacrifice the opportunity to win over favoritism as some have hinted at.

Oddly enough, we have some fans who don't believe that. They believe they actually care more about ND winning than Brian Kelly does.

 

[twalsh]

Not according to SC fans. They blew that game based on what they're spewing. That's why I always get bent at some of the fear/love for SC players. F$&k that team. SC has no respect for ND and never feels they were anything but unlucky when they lose. I was disappointed ND didn't run them off the field. Clearly superior.

We beat them like 14 years in a row in the 80s and 90s. Obviously a string of dumb luck unprecedented in college football.