We all know the offense has been—to be kind—mediocre this season. This is not a thread to rehash what they’ve done up to this point. I was unaware of the defensive standings of the teams they’ve played thus far, though, and who remains on the schedule suggests ND might be in line for greater offensive output the rest of the season.
4 of the 6 teams ND has faced—UC, Wisconsin, Toledo, Purdue—are top 20 in the country in yards per play allowed. They aren’t there because ND’s offense sucks. If you remove ND from their results, each team’s yards per play allowed would actually improve.
Conversely, the rest of the season presents the ND offense a slate of teams that defensively…aren’t that great.
USC: No. 106 in yards per play allowed at 6.18; No. 81 defense per SP+.
North Carolina: No. 72 in yards per play allowed at 5.58; No. 58 defense per SP+.
Navy: No. 103 in yards per play allowed at 6:08; No. 88 defense per SP+.
Virginia: No. 101 in yards per play allowed at 6.04; No. 62 defense per SP+.
Georgia Tech: No. 55 in yards per play allowed at 5.31; No. 44 defense per SP+.
Stanford: No. 92 in yards per play allowed at 5.80; No. 103 defense per SP+.
Combine the weaker defenses with what at least appears to be improved oline play the last few games, and I would expect to see ND’s second half PPG to improve, hopefully significantly so. Fingers crossed that shows up this Saturday and ND’s D continues to turn the ball over for the offense while Rees and company put some more points up on the board.
irish.nbcsports.com
4 of the 6 teams ND has faced—UC, Wisconsin, Toledo, Purdue—are top 20 in the country in yards per play allowed. They aren’t there because ND’s offense sucks. If you remove ND from their results, each team’s yards per play allowed would actually improve.
Conversely, the rest of the season presents the ND offense a slate of teams that defensively…aren’t that great.
USC: No. 106 in yards per play allowed at 6.18; No. 81 defense per SP+.
North Carolina: No. 72 in yards per play allowed at 5.58; No. 58 defense per SP+.
Navy: No. 103 in yards per play allowed at 6:08; No. 88 defense per SP+.
Virginia: No. 101 in yards per play allowed at 6.04; No. 62 defense per SP+.
Georgia Tech: No. 55 in yards per play allowed at 5.31; No. 44 defense per SP+.
Stanford: No. 92 in yards per play allowed at 5.80; No. 103 defense per SP+.
Combine the weaker defenses with what at least appears to be improved oline play the last few games, and I would expect to see ND’s second half PPG to improve, hopefully significantly so. Fingers crossed that shows up this Saturday and ND’s D continues to turn the ball over for the offense while Rees and company put some more points up on the board.
Notre Dame's Opponents: Much weaker defenses await the Irish, with USC's arguably the worst
Notre Dame's offense has been far from prolific or efficient this season, but more credit should be given to the opposing defenses than has been.
irish.nbcsports.com
