Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 JANUARY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T he inevitable compari‑ sons sprouted during the late night hours Saturday, Oct. 6, shortly after Notre Dame aced a difficult road test at Virginia Tech to finish the first half of the 2018 regular season 6‑0. Plenty of travel and work re‑ mained, but with the Fighting Irish offense dramatically im‑ proved under junior quarter‑ back Ian Book, and a remain‑ ing schedule that appeared more manageable with mar‑ quee opponents Florida State and USC muddling through miserable seasons, maybe this 2018 team could run the table and stand alongside the 12‑0 Irish from 2012 that played for a national championship. It did. And as the season played out and the winning streak grew, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was increasingly asked to compare his two pre‑ mier Irish teams. He did, in no uncertain terms. "This is a better‑prepared football team," Kelly said on Dec. 2, minutes after securing a spot in the College Football Playoff and a date with Clemson in the Cotton Bowl Dec. 29. "Coaching, the head coach, every‑ body associated with it." Comparing teams from different eras and seasons is equally as entertaining as it is inexact. Quantifying leadership, injuries, the unexpected and other in‑ tangibles is guesswork at best. In terms of more concrete compari‑ sons within position groups, the 2012 team would hold an advantage at tight end with Mackey Award win‑ ner Tyler Eifert, along the interior de‑ fensive line anchored by All‑Amer‑ ican Stephon Tuitt, and at running back with the one‑two punch of Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood. Meanwhile, the 2018 group holds clear advantages at wide receiver with big targets Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool, and at cornerback with All‑American Julian Love and budding star Troy Pride Jr. Offensively, the difference between these teams reads like a Book. While Everett Golson often strug‑ gled in 2012 and was frequently re‑ lieved — and at times bailed out — by backup Tommy Rees, Ian Book led the 2018 offense to 33.8 points per game in his eight starts. The 2012 Irish scor‑ ing offense finished just 78th nation‑ ally with 25.8 points per game. Additionally, even with Manti Te'o finishing second to Johnny Manziel in the 2012 Heisman Trophy voting, this 2018 team still holds the advantage at linebacker with seniors Te'von Coney and Drue Tranquill forming one of the best tandems in the country. Call the offensive line and safety positions a wash — these units from both teams were and are loaded with present and future NFL talent. "Our [2018] football team is much more balanced," said Kelly, explain‑ ing that the 2012 group was dispro‑ portionately reliant on its defense and rushing game. "… I just think it's better prepared all around." Statistically speaking, the 2012 defense holds the advantage after it finished seventh nationally in fewest yards allowed and second in scoring defense (and first through the regu‑ lar season at 10.1 points per game). The 2018 Irish are 21st in total defense and have allowed 17.3 points per game, which ranks ninth in the country. Personnel and statistical comparisons aside, the 2018 team better passes the eye test. This year's group led wire‑ to‑wire in nine of its 12 games and trailed only once in the fourth quarter, when Pitts‑ burgh led 14‑12. Worries of an impending upset this season were essentially non‑existent. Meanwhile, the 2012 team played on the edge, often need‑ ing late‑game heroics and even some fortuitous bounces and breaks to survive. The 20‑17 victory over Purdue in the home opener that season came on a game‑winning field goal drive in the closing seconds. A goal‑line stand in overtime against Stanford in game six preserved a 20‑13 Irish win, and a week later another rally was needed to beat BYU, 17‑14. Against Pitt in game nine, Notre Dame trailed by 14 points, then bene‑ fitted from a missed 33‑yard field goal by the Panthers — in which the offici‑ ating crew missed two Irish wearing the same number on the play — to steal a 29‑26 triple‑overtime win. The 2012 team won six games by fewer than 10 points. This 2018 team won five such games, but three came in the first three contests when senior Brandon Wimbush was the starting quarterback. Both teams are loaded with front‑ line talent. Fourteen of the best play‑ ers from 2012 were selected in the 2013 and 2014 NFL Drafts. But this year 's team is different and better. Time will someday show that the 2018 star power is equal to if not greater than that of 2012. More importantly, the youth, depth and talent in 2018 will someday dem‑ onstrate that success doesn't have to be fleeting at Notre Dame anymore. It can instead be sustained, finally. ✦ 2012 Or 2018? Who's Better? UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com Junior quarterback Ian Book has been a difference-maker in 2018, help- ing the Fighting Irish offense average 33.8 points per game in his eight starts. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA