USC came to play tonight. To win this game ND had to make plays and win, they had to beat USC. They had to earn it. ND earned it tonight. It wasn't always pretty, but have to love how they responded to a diversity and finished.
OFFENSE
* It was not a great night for Kizer. Taking away his youth, just looking at it for judging a QB's play, he had an off night for much of the night. He missed some reads, he was a bit hesitant to pull the trigger on some throws over the middle, he took a couple unnecessary sacks and had a missed read on a read/zone run. Having said that, what I loved is what I've loved about his play all season. When he needed to make a play he did. His throw to Fuller on the 75-yard TD and the 45-yard gain in the 4th quarter were perfect. He made a couple clutch early 3rd down throws and did a very good job in the first half on the read zone. His meshes were good and his decision were good early. In the second half he stepped up and made clutch plays. With ND down 31-24 and facing a 3rd-5 at its own 15-yard line, Kizer avoided a sack, stepped up and ripped off a 23-yard gain. He made two good throws to Fuller that drew back-to-back PI's and then picked up 12 yards on a run. When it mattered, Kizer stepped up and made plays.
* I also like that Kelly took a bit of the pressure off him in the 2nd half, relying more on the ground game and giving him some easier one-on-one downfield reads.
* The early game plan was awesome. It was aggressive, ND threw a lot of different looks at USC and it was a balanced approach. USC made some adjustments and ND missed on some opportunities that were open, which resulted in a stalled offense. ND countered with its own adjustments which helped ND score the final 17 points.
* The OL had a great night. You'll have some losses when you play a team like USC, but overall the performance was very good. I'll go back and regrade it tomorrow, but my initial reaction was that it was a very good night. Steve Elmer had two great blocks on kickouts off the counter action. He and Nick Martin had a great combo block on an inside zone run that opened up a huge lane for C.J. Prosise. The protection for the most part was very good. When ND needed to get the momentum back in the second half they went to the line and rode it.
* Prosise had probably the best game of his career tonight, at least as a runner. I'll have to go back and regrade the whole picture and he was far from perfect (still missed a few reads, was tentative on a couple of runs), but he was much better. He was more decisive between the tackles, he did a much better job keeping the ball in his outside arm (protects it and frees up the stiff arm) and he was able to grind out some yards better than he had in recent games. He made two excellent cut backs on zones that he hadn't been making, at least not in tight quarters. That was really encouraging to see. It wasn't his best night terms of yards, but considering the competition and the moment, it was big. But it was his best night as a running back and not just as an athlete that can rip off big gains.
* Will Fuller showed himself well tonight. He torched Adoree Jackson for a 75-yard TD on a post route. He flat out-ran Jackson. He did the same on back-to-back post routes in the third quarter, beating Jackson and Kevon Seymour and drawing two PI's. His final catch was a 45-yard gain on a slant-and-go where he beat Jackson and made a good play on the ball. His blocking was solid - he a couple of misses - and he had some moments where he wasn't a factor in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but he showed himself to be a big play machine. Kizer could have gone to him more and gotten some shorter gains, but Kizer couldn't find him.
* Chris Brown had another really solid gain. He isn't flashy but he's doing a lot of dirty work. Kizer had Torii Hunter Jr. open a couple times over the middle but missed him. Hunter Jr. made a nice catch and run in the 2nd quarter but his fumble was brutal. Just never secured the ball. Lesson learned. It was great to see Corey Robinson make a play. Kid needed that confidence booster. If ND can get him going along with Fuller and Brown the Irish pass game could be really tough to stop.
* Aliz'e Jones didn't do a good job going up for the football on the corner route in the 2nd quarter. I loved that Kelly went right back to him on a screen the next time ND had the ball. They also went to him on the trick play in the fourth quarter. That was good to build his confidence back up. That was good coaching in my opinion.
* Josh Adams showed a second gear on his long run. He saw the outside and was able to but no the burners and make a big gain. He's going to be good.
DEFENSE
* I loved VanGorder's early game plan. He was mixing up the looks, showing USC some different stuff and bringing a lot of different pressures. ND was able to get to Kessler a lot early and get him to have to move around in the pocket. The players missed some chances to make plays which led to USC getting points, but the early plan was good and allowed ND to get a 24-10 lead and the offense a chance to really put USC away. USC made some adjustments and started to thrash the ND defense. It took BVG some time to adjust, but he did adjust.
* The best adjustment was putting Max Redfield in the game. Matthias Farley really struggled, big time. I'm not going to get into whether or not Redfield should have been in the game early. It is what it is. But the fact is early in the game ND simply didn't have enough speed on the field. Redifled missed a tackle early when he went in, but other than that he played very well. He laid a couple of big hits and obviously came away with the pick. He played pissed off and with attitude, I liked it.
* Notre Dame's tackling was atrocious. I had them down for 12 missed tackles and it could have been more. That's been an issue for two years now. My concern is that ND spends too much time installing a ton of looks and schemes and checks, etc and during the season they don't spend enough time on fundamentals. I think the complexity of the scheme also makes the players think too much, which leads to missed tackles as well. Again, I'm not saying they should run a simple scheme, but there needs to be a happy medium b/c they cannot get to the playoffs giving up 590 yards of offense. If they tackled better they probably take at least 75-100 yards off that tally.
* I think this also factors into the fact they continue to give up big gains on trick plays. What's that, three trick plays for TD's/long gains this year? Am I right on that - UVA, USC and UMass, right?
* It was big to get KeiVarae Russell back on track. He got beat on the first drive but really settled down after that. He tackled well in space, he covered well and when ND needed someone to make a play on defense he stepped up and made plays. His INT was the best INT I've seen from an ND DB since Harrison Smith's pick against Utah back in 2010. He then stepped perfectly in front of Smith-Schuster and tipped the ball, allowing Max Redfield to make the pick.
* Jaylon Smith had a strong game, the other linebackers did not. Joe Schmidt struggled against and James Onwualu was a bit up-and-down. I was surprised ND kept him in the game so much and we saw no Nickel. It gave USC some matchups that it took advantage of.
* The DL wore down a bit b/c it was on the field so much, but by and large it played well. Isaac Rochell really played hard. He was a playmaker tonight. 6 tackles, 1.5 TFL's, a sack and 3 QB hurries. He also really handled the edge well. I thought this was the best game of his career. He was great against Stanford last year in defending the edge and doing his job getting movement, but the difference tonight was he not only set the edge and dominated the edge from a movement standpoint, he also made a bunch of plays.
* Daniel Cage has gotten better and better and better this season. He had 3 tackles and a TFL. He was strong at the POA and really hustled. He had to play more snaps - at least that is how it seemed - with Tillery nursing the elbow issue.
SPECIAL TEAMS
* I loved how aggressive they were tonight. Fakes on kick returns, going after a block, taking Adoree out of the punt return game. Very good night by the coaching staff in that regards. Need to shore up the coverage unit still. It was strong the first four games, has been bad the last three.
OFFENSE
* It was not a great night for Kizer. Taking away his youth, just looking at it for judging a QB's play, he had an off night for much of the night. He missed some reads, he was a bit hesitant to pull the trigger on some throws over the middle, he took a couple unnecessary sacks and had a missed read on a read/zone run. Having said that, what I loved is what I've loved about his play all season. When he needed to make a play he did. His throw to Fuller on the 75-yard TD and the 45-yard gain in the 4th quarter were perfect. He made a couple clutch early 3rd down throws and did a very good job in the first half on the read zone. His meshes were good and his decision were good early. In the second half he stepped up and made clutch plays. With ND down 31-24 and facing a 3rd-5 at its own 15-yard line, Kizer avoided a sack, stepped up and ripped off a 23-yard gain. He made two good throws to Fuller that drew back-to-back PI's and then picked up 12 yards on a run. When it mattered, Kizer stepped up and made plays.
* I also like that Kelly took a bit of the pressure off him in the 2nd half, relying more on the ground game and giving him some easier one-on-one downfield reads.
* The early game plan was awesome. It was aggressive, ND threw a lot of different looks at USC and it was a balanced approach. USC made some adjustments and ND missed on some opportunities that were open, which resulted in a stalled offense. ND countered with its own adjustments which helped ND score the final 17 points.
* The OL had a great night. You'll have some losses when you play a team like USC, but overall the performance was very good. I'll go back and regrade it tomorrow, but my initial reaction was that it was a very good night. Steve Elmer had two great blocks on kickouts off the counter action. He and Nick Martin had a great combo block on an inside zone run that opened up a huge lane for C.J. Prosise. The protection for the most part was very good. When ND needed to get the momentum back in the second half they went to the line and rode it.
* Prosise had probably the best game of his career tonight, at least as a runner. I'll have to go back and regrade the whole picture and he was far from perfect (still missed a few reads, was tentative on a couple of runs), but he was much better. He was more decisive between the tackles, he did a much better job keeping the ball in his outside arm (protects it and frees up the stiff arm) and he was able to grind out some yards better than he had in recent games. He made two excellent cut backs on zones that he hadn't been making, at least not in tight quarters. That was really encouraging to see. It wasn't his best night terms of yards, but considering the competition and the moment, it was big. But it was his best night as a running back and not just as an athlete that can rip off big gains.
* Will Fuller showed himself well tonight. He torched Adoree Jackson for a 75-yard TD on a post route. He flat out-ran Jackson. He did the same on back-to-back post routes in the third quarter, beating Jackson and Kevon Seymour and drawing two PI's. His final catch was a 45-yard gain on a slant-and-go where he beat Jackson and made a good play on the ball. His blocking was solid - he a couple of misses - and he had some moments where he wasn't a factor in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but he showed himself to be a big play machine. Kizer could have gone to him more and gotten some shorter gains, but Kizer couldn't find him.
* Chris Brown had another really solid gain. He isn't flashy but he's doing a lot of dirty work. Kizer had Torii Hunter Jr. open a couple times over the middle but missed him. Hunter Jr. made a nice catch and run in the 2nd quarter but his fumble was brutal. Just never secured the ball. Lesson learned. It was great to see Corey Robinson make a play. Kid needed that confidence booster. If ND can get him going along with Fuller and Brown the Irish pass game could be really tough to stop.
* Aliz'e Jones didn't do a good job going up for the football on the corner route in the 2nd quarter. I loved that Kelly went right back to him on a screen the next time ND had the ball. They also went to him on the trick play in the fourth quarter. That was good to build his confidence back up. That was good coaching in my opinion.
* Josh Adams showed a second gear on his long run. He saw the outside and was able to but no the burners and make a big gain. He's going to be good.
DEFENSE
* I loved VanGorder's early game plan. He was mixing up the looks, showing USC some different stuff and bringing a lot of different pressures. ND was able to get to Kessler a lot early and get him to have to move around in the pocket. The players missed some chances to make plays which led to USC getting points, but the early plan was good and allowed ND to get a 24-10 lead and the offense a chance to really put USC away. USC made some adjustments and started to thrash the ND defense. It took BVG some time to adjust, but he did adjust.
* The best adjustment was putting Max Redfield in the game. Matthias Farley really struggled, big time. I'm not going to get into whether or not Redfield should have been in the game early. It is what it is. But the fact is early in the game ND simply didn't have enough speed on the field. Redifled missed a tackle early when he went in, but other than that he played very well. He laid a couple of big hits and obviously came away with the pick. He played pissed off and with attitude, I liked it.
* Notre Dame's tackling was atrocious. I had them down for 12 missed tackles and it could have been more. That's been an issue for two years now. My concern is that ND spends too much time installing a ton of looks and schemes and checks, etc and during the season they don't spend enough time on fundamentals. I think the complexity of the scheme also makes the players think too much, which leads to missed tackles as well. Again, I'm not saying they should run a simple scheme, but there needs to be a happy medium b/c they cannot get to the playoffs giving up 590 yards of offense. If they tackled better they probably take at least 75-100 yards off that tally.
* I think this also factors into the fact they continue to give up big gains on trick plays. What's that, three trick plays for TD's/long gains this year? Am I right on that - UVA, USC and UMass, right?
* It was big to get KeiVarae Russell back on track. He got beat on the first drive but really settled down after that. He tackled well in space, he covered well and when ND needed someone to make a play on defense he stepped up and made plays. His INT was the best INT I've seen from an ND DB since Harrison Smith's pick against Utah back in 2010. He then stepped perfectly in front of Smith-Schuster and tipped the ball, allowing Max Redfield to make the pick.
* Jaylon Smith had a strong game, the other linebackers did not. Joe Schmidt struggled against and James Onwualu was a bit up-and-down. I was surprised ND kept him in the game so much and we saw no Nickel. It gave USC some matchups that it took advantage of.
* The DL wore down a bit b/c it was on the field so much, but by and large it played well. Isaac Rochell really played hard. He was a playmaker tonight. 6 tackles, 1.5 TFL's, a sack and 3 QB hurries. He also really handled the edge well. I thought this was the best game of his career. He was great against Stanford last year in defending the edge and doing his job getting movement, but the difference tonight was he not only set the edge and dominated the edge from a movement standpoint, he also made a bunch of plays.
* Daniel Cage has gotten better and better and better this season. He had 3 tackles and a TFL. He was strong at the POA and really hustled. He had to play more snaps - at least that is how it seemed - with Tillery nursing the elbow issue.
SPECIAL TEAMS
* I loved how aggressive they were tonight. Fakes on kick returns, going after a block, taking Adoree out of the punt return game. Very good night by the coaching staff in that regards. Need to shore up the coverage unit still. It was strong the first four games, has been bad the last three.
