Notre Dame’s sixth game, and last before a bye week, is against the Air Force Falcons on Saturday at 3:30. The Falcons (3-1) bring in one of the statistically best offenses in the country. Led by their do-it-all quarterback, Tim Jefferson, the Falcons have amassed 513 (364 of those are rushing) yards per game which is the 12th best in America. Jefferson leads an offense that can change on the fly from option to precision passing.
Keys to Victory
Stop the run- I’ve listed this for the Irish defense for a couple of weeks now. In the first five games this season, the Irish have only given up 91 yards on the ground. That is incredible. It’s not like Notre Dame has been playing cupcakes teams either, 91 yards against five quality teams is really something to be proud of. If Notre Dame can shut down Air Force on the ground then they will shut down their whole offense.
Special Teams- Notre Dame field-goal kicker David Ruffer is really struggling this year. In the two seasons before, Ruffer has made 23 of his 24 field goals, but this year he’s only 3 for 7. Considering Notre Dame’s only losses were by three points in each game, those missed field goals are magnified more so than any other season. Air Force has already blocked three field goals this season, including one against Navy last week. This is important because of how bad Ruffer has been, and because the holder for field goals, Jordan Cowart, has a broken hand. The Falcons also have a kick returner who has big play potential, and has taken two kick-offs back for touchdowns in his career.
Run the ball- Air Force is ranked 24th in stopping the pass, probably because everybody just runs the ball against them. Irish backs Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray appear to be unstoppable so it’s time to let them run wild. Keep handing them the ball and let them pound the Falcons defense. If the Falcons come and stop the run, then let Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees pass to Michael Floyd and company. There isn’t a lot the Air Force defense can do to slow down Notre Dame’s offense.
The Irish need to handle the game like they did last week against the inferior Purdue Boilermakers. They came out on defense, forced a turnover, and immediately scored a touchdown on offense. They took the crowd out of the game and any pride the Boilermakers had. There were also no turnovers for the first time this season. For some reason, everybody believes that the Air Force Falcons have an unstoppable offense because they’re putting up ridiculous numbers. Look at who they have played: South Dakota, TCU, Tennessee State, and Navy. Yeah, a real impressive resume.
Predicted score: Notre Dame-35, Air Force-20
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