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Game 3 Microscope: Notre Dame

GTJT622

GTJT622

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Mar 23, 2014
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Not much needs to be said about the Irish. Their program is the most historically acclaimed in the nation. Some might not know that Georgia Tech is the most frequently played team in the South for the Irish. The 2 schools have met 34 times on the gridiron which is 9th most for ND.

The Irish hold a 27-6-1 lead in the series. The 1 tie was monumental in Tech FB lore. I recall sitting with my back to President Pettit's box that November day. Current Tennessee Titans HC Ken Whisenhunt was moved into the QB role as a true freshman to manage the 3-3 tie over #1 ND. I say "over" because it truly was viewed as a win for a Tech team who wound up the season with a 1-9-1 record. Whisenhunt was an emergency QB that day and played the remainder of his career at TE for Tech and enjoyed a nice NFL career at that position.

Tech has won 2 of the last 3 in the series. The last game was the season opener of 2007 at South Bend where Tech dominated 33-3. A controversial unnecessary roughness call by Tech on ND QB Brady Quinn cost Tech a close loss 14-10 in the season opener the previous season in 2006. Joe Hamilton of course led the Jackets to a thrilling Gator Bowl win to cap off an outstanding 1998 season over the Irish 35-28. You can watch the game here...


The next most frequently played southern school by ND is the Miami Hurricanes who have faced the Irish 23 times and is 14th overall on ND's most frequently played list. If you want to have a little fun guessing the Irish's most frequently played opponents, give this game a try... http://www.sporcle.com/games/tbroman/NDopponents

There are great moments in this series. From the infamous Rudy play (YouTube video shows he actually was NOT offsides though Tech people like to joke that he was) to Tech winning on Grant Field in 1976 without throwing a single forward pass. Interestingly, in this great series, only once have the 2 teams met in South Bend both being ranked. That was in 1953 when #1 ND defeated #4 GT, 27-14. Surely, both teams will likely be 2-0 and ranked high when meeting in Game 3 this year.

I look forward to attending this game with my son. Go Jackets! ND fans are gracious hosts and it should be a wonderful event.
 
OK GTJT............
Enough about history. How does the GT team this year compare to the nations #1 rushing team of last year? And how about the defense? Will they be able to get after the ND QB? How does the secondary look as ND's coach Brian Kelly likes to pass first and then run if he has to. In clutch situations you had better be prepared for ND's roll out pass and pick play to the TE coming across the middle.

And give us your final score prediction puhleeeze!
 
Duo said:
OK GTJT............
Enough about history. How does the GT team this year compare to the nations #1 rushing team of last year? And how about the defense? Will they be able to get after the ND QB? How does the secondary look as ND's coach Brian Kelly likes to pass first and then run if he has to. In clutch situations you had better be prepared for ND's roll out pass and pick play to the TE coming across the middle.

And give us your final score prediction puhleeeze!
Click to expand...

Tech's offensive line returns almost everyone. The noticeable loss is 4th round draft pick, OG Shaq Mason. The unit is very good and experienced. Justin Thomas returns at QB and he's the best at the position Paul Johnson has had since arriving at Tech. The obvious areas of concern are the lack of experience at the running back and wide receiver positions. I have no worries there. There is ample talent and Johnson normally just reloads with new faces. The offense will again be very good.

Tech's defense should be the best since Johnson's first year (2008). As many as 7 seniors could be starting including all 4 of the DB's. Tech's defense was a completely different (read: better) unit after the debacle at Chapel Hell midway thru last season. Tech's first string defense gave up just 2 second half TD's over the final 7 games last year. The unit has at least 6, perhaps 7, defenders who will be drafted to the NFL over the next 2-3 years. Getting more 3 and outs and giving Johnson's offense the ball more regularly bodes well for Tech.

The defensive line most definitely should be able to generate a better pass rush in 2015. Jabari Hunt-Days should be a beast on the inside which alongside Adam Gotsis will garner lots of attention up the middle. This should open up opportunities for the 2 DE's - one being very talented KeShun Freeman, who was a freshman All-American last year. The secondary is about as talented and certainly experienced as it has been in a decade. DJ White and Jamal Golden are standouts. The unit has solid depth. And, it welcomes Georgia HS Player of the Year in AJ Gray as well.

I like Tech's chances in South Bend. The Vegas lines this past week opened with ND laying 2 pts. It quickly moved to the Irish laying 5 so the early money was against the Jackets. ND will have been tested much more strongly by playing Texas at home and UVa on the road while Tech should have it fairly easy with 2 home wins over Alcorn State and Tulane. I reserve the right to change this pick, but right now I am thinking the Jackets win what should be a great game for fans to view across the nation on NBC... 31-27.
 
Coach Johnson has a very good record against the spread. So given the current 5 points is within a touchdown, I say that points to a GT victory.
 
BornAJacket said:
Coach Johnson has a very good record against the spread. So given the current 5 points is within a touchdown, I say that points to a GT victory.
Click to expand...

To support your point, a look back at recent results when Tech was the underdog (line in parenthesis)...

2014: 5-2 straight up, 6-1 ATS
(+6) vs Mississippi State...Tech W 49-34
(+3.5) vs Florida State... Tech L 35-37 (but wins ATS)
(+10.5) at Georgia... Tech W 30-24
(+1.5) home vs Clemson... Tech W 28-6
(+3.5) at Pitt... Tech W 56-28
(+2.5) at UNC... Tech L 43-48
(+7.5) at Va Tech... Tech W 27-24

This is a reversal of the 2013 season which saw Tech (unusually under Paul Johnson) go 0-5 straight up and 0-5 ATS as an underdog.
 
A good QB makes close games much more winnable. 2013 just wasn't the year for the GT QB. He was a good athlete, but just did not have the offense under his control.
 
For any who are interested, single game tickets for the game at Notre Dame will go on sale online at Notre Dame's official athletics website on July 23rd, Thursday, at 6pmET... http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/070815aaa.html

I imagine the inventory will be limited and lots of singles, but hey as long as you are in the house that is all that should matter. Go Jackets!
 
For anyone going, feel free to swing by the Irish board and ask questions about lodging, experiences, sight seeing, etc. Always love to see the fans of visiting teams at S. Bend. Also here is the site for the Notre Dame Game Day experience. This should give you a good idea of some of the things to see and do around campus before and after the game.

Notre Dame free Posting Board

Notre Dame Game Day Site

Also below is a write up by a popular ND site about the ND / GTech game. Don't let any Domer fool you. This is a 'must win' game for ND if they plan on a 10 win season. Starting with the GTech game. ND has a pretty bad stretch of games with no BYE between them.

ND / GTech Preview
 
An interesting subplot in this matchup involves some bad blood between Paul Johnson and Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. When VanGorder was hired as Georgia Southern's head coach in 2006, he had some disparaging things to say about the triple-option offense. When asked why he was scrapping the option at GSU, VanGorder repeatedly said that you can't move the program up to the next level running that offense. He often cited the inability for an option based program to field the quality defense necessary to have success in division I (which is where he wanted to take the program).

Paul Johnson was at Navy when this occurred and he immediately got in touch with the GSU AD to get them put on Navy's schedule because he wanted "to beat the hell out of Brian VanGorder". Navy did show up on GSU's schedule a few years later but Paul Johnson never got his shot at VanGorder. Now CPJ has his shot.

Here's a link to an article with a few more details about the incident.
 
Great article and super insight into an insider slant to this game at South Bend. VanGorder's one year as HC at Ga Southern resulted in the worst season in school history (3-8 record). Maybe resigning to get back to being an assistant defensive coach was his best decision.

I think the only comparison we have to point to is Notre Dame's 49-39 win over Navy at Landover, MD, last year. The Mids were leading 31-28 entering the 4th quarter. Navy rolled up 454 yards of total offense (336 on the ground). Hopefully Tech's defense will be significantly better than Navy's that day.
 
VanGorder's defenses have typically not fared well against option attacks. His coaching tendency is to overload gaps to create disruption, and that is the opposite of what you must do against the option. Of course, he can game plan for precise gap integrity, but it's hard to exorcize a gap-attacking mindset in 18-21 year old kids when it's deeply woven in their coach's DNA.

VanGorder's best defense as coordinator at UGA gave up ~300 rushing yards and 28 points to a Mike Sewak coached Georgia Southern team. That happened to be the most rushing yards and points scored against that Georgia defense in all of 2004. In the interviews after that game, VanGorder sounded annoyed at having to prepare his supremely talented defense for the option…while simultaneously being dismissive of the offensive scheme! Later, when VanGorder took over as head coach at Southern that dismissiveness continued, rankling the fan base. It also infuriated Paul Johnson (not to mention Mike Sewak who was fired to make way for VanGorder's hire).

One would have to be naive to think Johnson and Sewak haven't spent a little extra time during this offseason preparing for what VanGorder is going to throw their way in South Bend. During his brief time in Statesboro, VanGorder's criticism of the option was concise and derisive. His narrative was that the option was fine for the minor leagues, but it has no place in big time D1 football. If there is a poster child for criticizing Paul Johnson's football philosophy within the coaching ranks, it is Brian VanGorder. I don't figure Paul Johnson to be the type to forgive and forget. My best guess is that he still wants to beat the hell out of this guy.

Couple that with the core group Ted Roof has coming back and I'm a proponent of GT on the money line in this contest.
 
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More great insights, Texwood. CPJ likely will run his base stuff in games 1 and 2 with no wrinkles shown. He may be able to do the same in South Bend. It won't surprise me though if he pulls something out for the Irish that hasn't been seen before...if even needed. Like always, I'm not worried about our offense. It will move the ball and put points on the board. The question is can or will our defense get themselves off the field in an effective manner.
 
Texwood said:
VanGorder's defenses have typically not fared well against option attacks. His coaching tendency is to overload gaps to create disruption, and that is the opposite of what you must do against the option. Of course, he can game plan for precise gap integrity, but it's hard to exorcize a gap-attacking mindset in 18-21 year old kids when it's deeply woven in their coach's DNA.

VanGorder's best defense as coordinator at UGA gave up ~300 rushing yards and 28 points to a Mike Sewak coached Georgia Southern team. That happened to be the most rushing yards and points scored against that Georgia defense in all of 2004. In the interviews after that game, VanGorder sounded annoyed at having to prepare his supremely talented defense for the option…while simultaneously being dismissive of the offensive scheme! Later, when VanGorder took over as head coach at Southern that dismissiveness continued, rankling the fan base. It also infuriated Paul Johnson (not to mention Mike Sewak who was fired to make way for VanGorder's hire).

One would have to be naive to think Johnson and Sewak haven't spent a little extra time during this offseason preparing for what VanGorder is going to throw their way in South Bend. During his brief time in Statesboro, VanGorder's criticism of the option was concise and derisive. His narrative was that the option was fine for the minor leagues, but it has no place in big time D1 football. If there is a poster child for criticizing Paul Johnson's football philosophy within the coaching ranks, it is Brian VanGorder. I don't figure Paul Johnson to be the type to forgive and forget. My best guess is that he still wants to beat the hell out of this guy.

Couple that with the core group Ted Roof has coming back and I'm a proponent of GT on the money line in this contest.
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The last team to try to guess sides and aggressively blitz gaps against GT was Kansas in 2011. That was the 66-24 game with 600 yards rushing and 12 yards per carry.

I worked at the 2004 GSU @ uga game. It was obvious uga did not prepare for that game. That won't be the case this year at ND.
 
GTJT622 said:
I think the only comparison we have to point to is Notre Dame's 49-39 win over Navy at Landover, MD, last year
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There is a bit more to it than just that score going into the 4th. And most of it was just bad assignment football. The single biggest thing was ND losing their starting MLB in Joe Schmidt. That was awful. Seeing as how the other LB (Grace) was out of the season. That put a true Freshmen (Morgan) in. And he was lost trying to guide the defense. He was just to raw. All he wanted to do was hit stuff hard. :) And of course that isn't how to defeat an option based attack.

A couple years ago Kelly said the blueprint he follows for the option attack is pretty basic. Score on every possible drive, because you don't know how long it will be until you get another chance. And let them run as much as they want between the 20 yard lines. But stop them there where you can play your secondary shallow and prevent scores.

Last year with the injuries, and the youth was the worst possible year to switch DC's and schemes. Hopefully this year will be better. But like any team. Everything looks great in July :)
 
Seems VanGorder has a history with Coach Johnson. I knew some of the history, but had never heard that Johnson took it so seriously. It may be conjecture.

I do know that Ga Southern did quite well in D1 last season with an option attack.
 
Would you agree that Ga Southern's option attack looked a lot more like Urban Meyer's spread than CPJ's triple option with what some would call wingbacks (A-Backs)...or as Bubba Bowden once called it... "that dadgum wishbone" 49 points yielded prior. :D
 
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I would, but that's not what VanGorder said was it. He was talking about a NFL pro-style offense. And none of the currently successful option styles being used across the country would fit that definition.
 
Understood and agreed. VanGorder is a moron. Marcus Mariota says hello. So does Demaryius Thomas. And the list goes on and on and on.

While I greatly appreciate IrishBlooded's inputs and viewpoint of an inexperienced middle linebacker being thrown to the wolves against Navy, there is no question that athletically Notre Dame is more talented than every Navy starter so I think Navy deserves ample credit and the system can be a real beyatch to defend even with NFL caliber players (as GT has proven time and again).
 
Playing an option team is always the same story. You have to play assignment football. And the only problem with having more athletic players if they are inexperienced they are useless.

By the end of the season last year. ND had 13 players injured. 11 lost for the season. And only 3 that started in the first game that started in the 12th game. Not to mention the 5 suspended players that included 3 starting defense player .

The ND defense was a MASH unit last year. ND was in a better position than that in the Navy game. But they were already injured. And playing Navy hurt. A lot.

I think GTECH will be a terrible problem for ND. And I don't know that ND wins. Will have a better answer after the Texas game.

Right now if I had to lay money I would say ND by 10. But that could easily go the other way.
 
GTJT622 said:
Would you agree that Ga Southern's option attack looked a lot more like Urban Meyer's spread than CPJ's triple option with what some would call wingbacks (A-Backs)...or as Bubba Bowden once called it... "that dadgum wishbone" 49 points yielded prior. :D
Click to expand...

That dadgum wishbone! I almost felt sorry for Bobby Bowden when he had Mickey Andrews trying to defend Paul Johnson. I have clear memories of Mickey inexplicably placing both of his DT's right on top of our center, both in tight shade zero alignments. Needless to say, that set those two up perfectly to be cut down like bowling pins leaving gaping running lanes for Dwyer to blast through unmolested to the 2nd level. Ah, the memories...
 
All defenses have to play assignment football. Assigning (pun intended) "assignment football" to option attacks is one of the most tired and overused analysis views whenever an option team is involved. Every defense has assignments against any type of offensive attack. Whenever I hear a game analyst on TV use the words "assignment football" regarding how to defend our offense, I just laugh aloud. It tells me the analyst did absolutely zero homework, likely has never played defense in his life, and doesn't really know much about defense in general. Georgia Tech's defense faces minimum 12 non-triple-option offenses every season and yet our defenders have assignments on every play and must execute those assignments or we are toast.
 
The main differences being in the coverage type. You don't often see zone packages against the option. Coverages like the Tampa 2, etc fair poorly against an option offense with an elite QB (such as Thomas). The Mike LB read and the 2 gap read will decide almost every running play. However it is just as easy to swing out to that A Back if the Mike flashes, or flush for the FB dive if the gap is read incorrectly.

Yes it is correct you always have an assignment on the defense. That is obvious. But against a well ran option such as a Navy or GTech if you lose any contain, or if you don't have the middle jammed (on the plays it has to be and not on the ones it don't) you will find yourself on the wrong end of a very short play clock and not scoring chances.

The problem is that by and large the average T shirt fan doesn't understand gap assignment and line procedure. And the commentators know better than to try to educate them.
 
Agreed. The commentators are often just lazy though. They just spout out the normal baloney and use the words "assignment football" because that's what they hear others say. Just once I wish someone with some nads would say "wait a minute, don't all defenses have assignments they must play against every offensive scheme on every play?" But, that won't happen. It just applies to our scheme (and Navy's and Army's, etc.). Lazy, that's all it is.
 
BornAJacket said:
I remember last year GT's defense having fits with a couple option style offenses.
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Yes. And, other styles of offense as well. The 2015 season IMO depends on the defense. If it steps up and plays to its potential, we certainly post double digit wins. If it looks like it did for much of 2014, then we'll struggle to get to 7.

What BC, NC State, UNC, Georgia Tech, and perhaps FSU now (we'll see) have in their athletic QB's is essentially another very skilled and effective running back. If JT5 gets a crease, he's gone. Very few defenders will catch him. Perhaps the endzone will stop him. :)
 
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Couldn't agree more that 2015 is all about the defense. The offense will do what it does every year. If the young skill position guys catch on fast it could be a special year on offense, but worst case is lots o' points, lots o' yards...

On defense, the secondary is talented and deep. There are a lot of guys who will play on Sundays in the two-deep of our back 5 (4-2-5 is our base by proxy). We don't have a true 1-technique on the defensive front, but we have a talented three man rotation at both the DT and DE positions this year. In my mind, the key is keeping all six of those guys healthy. Any injury in either DL rotation would be devastating IMO. Paul Davis is the perfect 4-2-5 backer and both Marcordes and Hankins are rock solid. Let's hope all three stay healthy this year.

If we are fortunate enough to sustain no serious injuries in our front six on D, this could be a special season.
 
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For those who will be watching the Jackets at South Bend on NBC's national TV coverage...

...NBC has announced that Doug Flutie will now be the game analyst (no longer Mike Mayock, which I think is a great move by NBC as I can't stand listening to Mayock personally) along with Dan Hicks returning as play-by-play guy and sideline reporter will be Kathryn Tappen.

http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2...e-dame-football-celebrate-25th-season-on-nbc/

Obligatory Kathryn Tappen eye candy image...
10176824.jpeg
 
Wanted to bump this thread to the top. As noted above, the early line (weeks ago) moved from GT+2 to GT+5. When the books re-opened the game yesterday, the line swiftly moved from GT+3 to GT-2. Money keeps coming in on Tech as the line now sits at -2.5 to -3. Seems to be a lot of buzz out there about us winning this one. Hope CPJ & staff are able to keep our guys grounded and focused during the week.
 
To update you on injuries on ND.

ND lost both their number 1 and 2 QB and their 1 and 2 RB. Each position had an injury and a transfer.

The starting QB now I'd redshirt sophomore D. Kizer. He is a 4* recruit out of Ohio. Taller than Malik. But not as big. Zaire as a QB was known for his power running. Kizer is supposed.to have a superior arm. Although I didn't really see many throws on the field that Zaire couldn't make.

At RB the starter is actually WR that was converted from the defense a couple of years ago. His name is CJ Prosise. And actually has been pretty dynamite through two games. I don't know if teams are over looking him or what. But he is getting some big yards at RB even though he had no formal training at it before this year.

Other injuries include the starting NT Jarron Jones. Number 2 freshman CB Crawford and 5th year grad transfer Avery Sebastian at Safety
 
Thanks, Irish Blooded. Appreciate the info. Looking forward to the game this week.
 
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