Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/102697
by the numbers 678 Plays run against the Notre Dame defense this year before it allowed a touchdown that went for more than 25 yards. The 25-yard score was by Navy in the Sept. 1 opener, and it wasn't until Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron rifled a 34-yard score to Amari Cooper in the third quarter that Notre Dame yielded another score longer than 25 yards. By lou somogyi 80,120 Fans in attendance, the largest crowd ever in Miami's Sun Life Stadium and third most in Notre Dame's 32-game bowl history. The most was 85,161 in the 1973 Sugar Bowl victory over No. 1 Alabama (24‑23), followed by 81,191 in the 1991 Orange Bowl defeat of No. 1 Colorado (21-6) in Miami's former Orange Bowl. Taking A Closer Look What Worked • Never say die. Notre Dame quickly fell behind to a talented Alabama team and entered the locker room at halftime down 28-0, but the will to win never left the team. The Irish continued to play hard through the overwhelming deficit, notably junior nose guard Louis Nix III, who played through a leg injury suffered during the contest and returned to the field. • Quick bursts. Notre Dame was ranked as the No. 1 team in the country for a reason, including its ability to make big plays. The Irish had their moments with the "big chunk" plays that head coach Brian Kelly was looking for — wide receivers DaVaris Daniels and TJ Jones each had a 31-yard catch, and running back Theo Riddickrecorded a 20-yard rush — but the failure to put together any sustained scoring drives in the first half resulted in the Irish digging too deep a hole for themselves. • Catching on. The Irish receiving corps — notably sophomore wide receiver DaVaris Daniels, senior tight end Tyler Eifert and junior wide receiver TJ Jones — performed well against a tough Alabama defense. While Eifert played physical in his last game in a Notre Dame uniform, Jones and Daniels displayed the playmaking ability with release, route running and good hands. What Didn't Work • Battle in the trenches. Football is a game of inches, and if one of the teams is having trouble along the offensive or defensive front, it's in for a long day. Alabama outmuscled and just flat out outplayed Notre Dame from the first snap until the final whistle, and there just weren't many adjustments that could be made with the Crimson Tide fully controlling the line of scrimmage. • Getting played. The play-action pass was a weapon for Alabama's offense, and by the game's second play the Crimson Tide struck on a 29-yard completion between quarterback AJ McCarron and wide receiver Kevin Norwood — the first of many such connections. Alabama's ability to run the ball effectively from the start forced the Irish defense to bring a safety down into the box for run support and allowed McCarron to shine while looking for the corner routes. The Tide signal-caller had all day to throw and frequently had receivers running open in the Irish secondary, and he took advantage with 20-of-28 passing for 264 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. • Missed tackles. If there was an area of the game that stood out the most and caused a high level of damage it was the missed tackles. Notre Dame had multiple opportunities to tackle star running back Eddie Lacy in the backfield, but couldn't bring down the powerful runner. Notre Dame's inability to slow down Alabama's run game proved critical, and led to the Crimson Tide racking up 529 total yards with a balanced effort (265 rushing and 264 passing). — Jason Sapp