Notre Dame Football: The Key Player in Each 2012 Game

Finding only one key player for Notre Dame's 2012 season is a nearly impossible task. Every opponent is different in both style and talent level. The Irish will see the triple option, the spread and many varieties of the pro-style offense. Defensively, they'll see blitz-heavy teams (Oklahoma), as well as Tampa 2 teams (USC).

While it's easy (and logical) to say the quarterback is the key player in every game, especially after a mistake-filled 2011 season, we don't even know which quarterback(s) will play. Therefore, simply saying quarterback play will dictate the result of every game is not giving proper credit to the rest of the team.

I have identified a different player for each game on the 2012 schedule, who will have a significant impact on the game's outcome, based on the style of the opponent and the anticipated flow of the game.

Follow me on Twitter - @MattSmithCFB

Navy (Sept. 1): NT Louis Nix

Playing the Midshipmen requires a great amount of discipline. Notre Dame showed little in an embarrassing 35-17 loss in 2010, but completely shut down the Navy attack in a 56-14 win last season. The Mids averaged 296 yards on the ground last season, but could only manage 196 against the Irish.

Taking away the fullback is the major key in controlling the triple option, and that job starts in the middle of the line with Nix. The junior had a season-high six tackles last year against Navy. If he can match that performance in the season opener, Notre Dame should be able to dominate the line of scrimmage.

Purdue (Sept. 8): OG Chris Watt

The strength of the Boilermakers defense starts up front with defensive tackle Kawann Short. He'll play on both the right and left sides, but expect Watt to see plenty of the 305-pound Short come September. Outside of a blocked field goal, Short did very little in last year's 38-10 Notre Dame win in West Lafayette.

Playing for an NFL contract, expect a strong season from Short, especially early when he'll be fresh. Purdue returns both of its starting cornerbacks, so the Irish are best served trying to win the game on the ground as they did a year ago with a season-high 287 yards rushing. Keeping Short at bay again could allow them to do just that.

Michigan State (Sept. 15): OT Christian Lombard

Spartans defensive end William Gholston is the best defensive player the Irish will face all year. He can line up both inside and outside with a tremendous blend of speed and size. Lombard, the leader to start at right tackle, will be the least experienced member of the line and is the biggest concern of the linemen who will be going against Gholson.

Notre Dame did a nice job neutralizing Gholston a year ago in a 31-13 win in South Bend, but expect a much more competitive game this season at Spartan Stadium. Controlling the line of scrimmage is key against any Big Ten opponent. Keeping Gholston out of the backfield is the first step towards reaching that goal.

Michigan (Sept. 22): FS Zeke Motta

Even with a great player like Harrison Smith at the back of the defense last year, the Irish were burned far too often in the passing game against the Wolverines. Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is far from a pure passer. So much of successfully defending his throws comes in the form of ball skills and post-throw adjustments.

With Motta now taking over as the last line of defense, it will be vital for him to capitalize on mistakes that Robinson is susceptible to when trying to throw the ball downfield. With young cornerbacks on both sides of him, Motta will have to be all over the field for the Irish to finally conquer Robinson after two narrow losses.

Miami (FL) (Oct. 6): The Quarterbacks

On paper, Notre Dame is a far superior team to the rebuilding Hurricanes. That should mean playing mistake-free football will be good enough to defeat its former bitter rival for the second time in three years. Miami is inexperienced at almost every position other than the secondary, where Ray-Ray Armstrong and Vaughn Telemaque are both third-year starters at safety.

The Irish easily won the turnover battle in its 33-17 route of the Hurricanes in the 2010 Sun Bowl, but just keeping it even should be good enough when the teams get together at Soldier Field in Chicago. With a strong back end, the Hurricanes should be able to capitalize on misreads and poor throws—with which all of Notre Dame's quarterbacks have struggled.

Stanford (Oct. 13): LB Danny Spond

If there's any school that can match the production of Notre Dame's tight ends, it's the Cardinal, who return with two heads from their three-headed monster last season in Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo. With the size of Ertz and Toilolo, the Irish will need either Spond or Ben Councell to cover them from the Dog linebacker spot.

The now-departed Coby Fleener burned Notre Dame repeatedly last season in Stanford's 28-14 win in Palo Alto. While Ertz and Toilolo aren't quite the talents, they are still the biggest threats in the passing game of any tight ends the Irish will face this season.

BYU (Oct. 20): CB Bennett Jackson

The Cougars don't have the athletes to make many big plays against Notre Dame's defense, but they have a veteran quarterback in Riley Nelson and a trusty receiver in junior Cody Hoffman. After a breakout performance in the 2010 New Mexico Bowl, Hoffman topped 100 yards five times last season.

Both Jackson and Lo Wood will spend time covering Hoffman when BYU comes to South Bend, but the Irish would prefer Jackson to shadow him for most of the afternoon. Jackson's size will be a major plus against the 6'4" Hoffman.

Oklahoma (Oct. 27): TE Tyler Eifert

With the return of defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, expect the Sooners to bring frequent pressure this season. Oklahoma has some holes to fill up front, but it's very strong on the back end. Notre Dame will be able to exploit Eifert against most of the teams it faces, but it won't be easy in Norman.

With Eifert expected to line up farther outside this season, he'll likely be matched up against two of the Big 12's best defenders, cornerback Demontre Hurst and safety Tony Jefferson. While they're both aggressive defenders, capitalizing on Eifert's size advantage could go a long way towards a big upset for the Irish.

Pittsburgh (Nov. 3): LB Manti Te'o

After a one-year experiment with the spread under Todd Graham, the Panthers will return to their roots with a power running game under new coach Paul Chryst. If running back Ray Graham can return from a knee injury suffered last October, Chryst will have an ideal player with which to implement his system.

There is perhaps no better linebacker in the nation at stopping the run than Te'o. His instincts are unmatched, and once a runner is in his grasp, he's going down. The Panthers will want to control the clock against Notre Dame, but Te'o can make that an extremely difficult task.

Boston College (Nov. 10): LB Ishaq Williams

The Eagles suffered a significant blow last week when running back Montel Harris was dismissed from the team. With a lack of skill-position talent, it would seem that the Irish should be able to hold Boston College to under 20 points for a fifth consecutive season.

Notre Dame would like more production out of its Cat linebacker position, primarily in the form of sacks. Williams had a productive spring and is the team's best pass-rushing linebacker. Eagles quarterback Chase Retting is not very mobile, but the Irish need to manage more than just the one sack they registered in last year's meeting.

Wake Forest (Nov. 17): C Braxton Cave

Notre Dame's offense struggled last year in a 24-17 victory over the Deacons in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest doesn't have a ton of athleticism on its defense, but nose guard Nikita Whitlock is a bull in the middle of the defensive line.

Cave's season came to end against Wake Forest last year, forcing Mike Golic Jr. to finish the game at center. He'll have one of his toughest matchups all season against Whitlock when the teams meet again on Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium. Whitlock is one of the few game-changers on the Deacons roster.

USC (Nov. 24): RB Cierre Wood

USC has the most offensive weapons of any team in the country with three All-American candidates in quarterback Matt Barkley and wide receivers Marqise Lee and Robert Woods. The best defense for that trio? Keep them off the field as much as possible.

Doing that will require controlling the clock and having success running the football. That starts with Wood, who had a difficult night in last year's 31-17 loss to the Trojans. He'll be looking for a much better performance in the regular season finale in Los Angeles. Notre Dame had double the rushing yards of USC in their last meeting at the Coliseum.

They may need to match that this year to pull off the shocker.