The final game for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is here. The Irish take on the Florida State Seminoles in the Champs Sports Bowl Thursday evening. Both teams come into this game after deflating seasons that ended with 8-4 records. Florida State began the season ranked #6 and had hopes of winning the ACC Championship. Notre Dame began the season ranked #16 with aspirations of playing in a BCS Bowl Game.
The Seminoles’ strength comes from its defense. The unit ranks 6th in total defense and points allowed. They lost their four games by an average of 5 points, and all losses were to good teams. On the flip side, they have wins against Miami, North Carolina State, and Florida.
Notre Dame’s best unit is the offense, which ranks 51st in total offense, 33rd in passing yards, and 51st in rushing yards. The Irish lost their four games by average of 8.5 points, and all were to good teams (except South Florida). They boast victories against Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Air Force, and Wake Forest.
Keys to an Irish victory
Defensive line- These guys have been solid all season for Notre Dame. Defensive ends Aaron Lynch and Stephen Tuitt landed on the Freshman All-American team. Lynch has been a disruptive force in every game. He has 28 tackles, four sacks, and 13 quarterback hurries. Tuitt had 27 tackles and one sack while only playing in eight games. Nose guard Louis Nix III has 42 tackles on the season. So why is this unit vital to an Irish victory? Florida State’s offensive line has had trouble protecting the quarterback all year, as they rank 111th in sacks allowed. They are also starting four freshmen offensive linemen tonight. There is no question that they are going to struggle to stop Lynch, Tuitt, and Nix.
Quarterback play- In the last game against Stanford, starter Tommy Rees was replaced by freshman Andrew Hendrix at halftime. Rees will be the starter for this game, but Hendrix is expected to get some playing time. Rees has struggled at times, especially when facing a great defense, like Stanford’s. He also had a hard time against Boston College and Pittsburgh, two paltry defenses. Rees’s biggest flaws are not protecting the football and locking on to receivers. He needs to start strong against the Seminoles’ stingy defense and spread the ball around to all his playmakers. If Floyd’s double-covered, look for Eifert in the middle or T.J. Jones on the other side of the field.
No turnovers/score quickly- I put these two together because they kind of go hand-in-hand. The Irish have struggled all year to not turn the ball over. They committed 15 turnovers in the first four games. That number dropped as the season went on, but who knows when the turnover monster could come back. Notre Dame also needs to get points on the board quickly and force Florida State’s offense to move the ball.
Nobody seems to be giving the Irish any love, and I’m not sure why. Even if Florida State does win, it’ll be close.
Predicted score: Notre Dame wins 23-17
No comments:
Post a Comment