Blue and Gold Illustrated

January 2019

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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10 JANUARY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME O-Line Needs To Hold Own Against Vaunted Front By Lou Somogyi Try to envision what the Notre Dame offensive line might have been this season if both Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey could have come back, and Alex Bars would not have been injured. In essence, that's what you have with Clemson's 2018 defensive line — plus one. The veteran Fab Four comprised of graduate student Christian Wilkins, who could have been a first-round selection last year, seniors Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, plus junior Dexter Lawrence is a mini NFL franchise up front that has combined for 48.5 tackles for loss, 23 sacks and 49 quarterback pressures this year. That's not even including five-star freshman Xavier Thomas in a reserve role adding 9.5 tackles for loss (three of them sacks). The presence of a dominant front has enabled esteemed coordinator Brent Venables to not have to blitz as much while trusting the front to control the line of scrimmage. The Tigers rank third nationally against the run (93.0 yards per game) and are tied for second-fewest points allowed (13.7 per game). Notre Dame is one of two Football Bowl Subdivision teams not to allow more than 27 points in a game this season, and we believe the same can be done versus a freshman quarterback. The Irish offensive line won't dominate Clemson's front, but if it can continue to be strong in its pass pro sets and be effective enough to pick up around 140-150 rushing yards at about 4.5 yards per clip, then it will have a chance to pull off the upset and play for the national title. Defensive Line Must Contain Prolific Offense By Bryan Driskell Notre Dame is going to have a hard time beating Clemson if it doesn't get good play from both lines, but the defensive front will be even more pivotal in the Cotton Bowl. Clemson will trot out the most explosive offense Notre Dame has faced all season, with the Tigers aver- aging 47.4 points and 541.0 yards per game in the nine starts since true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence took over. Lawrence was brilliant, throwing for 26 touch- downs and just four interceptions while com- pleting 65.0 percent of his passes. The ground game has been even better, racking up 259.8 yards per game. It is led by dynamic sophomore Travis Etienne, who rushed for 1,463 yards and 21 touchdowns. The Fighting Irish defense must slow down the Clemson offense and that cannot happen if the defensive line doesn't bring its "A" game. Clemson has a veteran offensive line that plays well together, evidenced by the fact it allowed just two sacks in the final six games of the regular season. Its ability to open up run lanes for Etienne and to protect Lawrence make that offense go. Job number one for the front will be getting consistent penetration and slowing down the ground game. In Clemson's two lowest-scoring games of the season — 28 points versus Texas A&M and 27 points against Boston Col- lege — the Tigers rushed for an average of 122 yards. If Notre Dame can have a similar performance and pressure Lawrence throughout the game, the Irish will have a chance to pull out the win. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH NOTRE DAME LINE WILL NEED TO HAVE THE BIGGER GAME VERSUS CLEMSON? Notre Dame 2019 defensive end commit Howard Cross exited his high school career as a champion after helping Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional defeat Oradell (N.J.) Ber- gen Catholic 13-0 for the New Jersey Non- Public Group Four title. Per The North Jersey Record, it was the first time in three decades Bergen Catholic had been held scoreless. Cross finished his senior campaign with 76 stops, 22 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. His efforts on the field led him to being named Gatorade's New Jersey Football Player of the Year. BGI: What was going through your mind when the clock hit zero and you all had of- ficially won the state title? Cross: "It's something that every senior that plays football wants, to end their career on a high note. "That's what we did as a team, and I'm very happy about that." BGI: Were you sensing it a bit before it was over? Or did that not cross your mind before the game ended? Cross: "I'm not trying to be full of myself or anything, but about three minutes left or so we kind of knew we were there. But when the clock hit zero the full realization set in. "It was unreal. We did it." BGI: What were the keys for you and your de- fensive teammates to shut out Bergen Catholic, which hadn't been done in three decades? Cross: "When we started the season, no matter how big the stage is, a game is a game. We have to go out and play, do what we are taught and do what we are good at. We handled that really, re- ally well and we shut them out. It's crazy honestly. "Our first key was 'this is it.' It's our last game and final time putting on the uniform. We have to put everything into it. The other was to finish. The last time we faced them we were up by like 10 points and then lost. They got ahead of us late, so our keys were to finish and put everything we have into it." BGI: Outside of winning the state title, how did your senior season go? Cross: "It went how I hoped it would. We had an out-of-state game and being 10-2, it obviously ended well with being No. 1 in the state. "I was captain this year, so I lead by ex- ample. That's my thing. There were three captains on our team, so the other two work hard, too, and are vocal. I'm not all that vo- cal. I just lead by example." BGI: Before you arrive at Notre Dame next sum- mer, what are you hoping to improve in your game? Cross: "Just the normal things, but mostly my speed and strength. I'm definitely going to have to improve upon those. "It's good, but I want it to be better. I want to be faster and strong." — Corey Bodden Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME 2019 DEFENSIVE LINE COMMIT HOWARD CROSS Cross committed to Notre Dame in April a few weeks after ini- tially being offered by the Irish staff. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM C SAM MUSTIPHER DE JULIAN OKWARA

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