Notre Dame Football: The Good and the Bad at the Bye Week
Notre Dame's 3-0 start has Irish fans feeling good about 2014. And it should.
Brian Kelly's second three-game winning streak to start the season is one more than Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis combined.
With the Irish taking the weekend off with their first bye of the season, there's no better time to take stock in what the Irish have accomplished at the season's quarter-turn. It might not all have been perfect, but in the wake of distractions and injuries, it's been a job well done.
Statistically, Kelly's fifth team has been his strongest to date. At +78, the scoring margin is Notre Dame's best three-game, undefeated start since Ara Parseghian's 1970 squad. After struggling in the red zone, the Irish have scored in all 14 of their attempts.
Brian VanGorder's young defense is also impressing. The Irish have the No. 4 scoring defense in the country, giving up just 10.3 points a game.
The Irish have forced nine turnovers, good for fifth-best in the country, and their clip of 2.67 turnovers a game is third-best in the country.
As the Irish break before preparing to take on Syracuse, let's take a look at the good and bad at the bye week.
*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of UND.com and CFBStats.com.
The Good: Everett Golson
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Any worry that Everett Golson might show some rust after 600 days away from playing in a game was quickly removed when the senior quarterback put on his cape and dazzled against Rice.
Running for three touchdowns and throwing for another two, Golson's season opener served as a nice reminder that the quarterback last seen running for his life—and playing surprisingly well—against Alabama was one of college football's best playmaking quarterbacks.
While his numbers weren't quite as prodigious against Michigan and Purdue, Golson's three-game run has been impressive.
He's completed 64.6 percent of his passes, throwing seven touchdowns and more importantly zero interceptions. He's also showcased arm strength that's capable of making any throw on the field.
Golson's also been Notre Dame's most effective rusher, with four of the Irish's six touchdown runs. After missing the entire 2013 season, the quarterback has been the engine of the offense, a unit averaging 36.3 points a game, the best in Brian Kelly's tenure in South Bend.
The Bad: The Offensive Line
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Replacing a first-rounder like Zack Martin and a three-year starter (and third-round pick) in Chris Watt isn't easy.
But right now, Notre Dame's collection of talent isn't playing to its potential. So while the starting five seems to be the right collection of personnel, perhaps a retooling of that group is what's needed.
Heading into the off week, Kelly acknowledged as much:
"We're falling off a block here. We miss a fit here," Kelly said last Sunday after reviewing the Purdue game tape. "And maybe it's just the continuity took us a little bit longer. It's nothing big, but it's everything. ... They've got to get cleaned up before we get to where we want offensively."
Rumors swirled over the past few days of some potential position changes. Steve Elmer could shift inside to guard, something Kelly mentioned. Christian Lombard could bounce back out to tackle, where he played in 2012.
Captain Nick Martin could also be on the move, shifting outside to guard, with Matt Hegarty moving back to center, where he filled in for Martin after he suffered a knee injury against BYU.
All options are on the table, as they should be. Because the Irish need to get a better performance from a talented offensive line that isn't playing up to its ability.
The Good: Cody Riggs
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There aren't free-agent pickups in college football, but if there were, Notre Dame's acquisition of Florida transfer Cody Riggs for his final season of eligibility would go down as one of the offseason's biggest moves.
After starting 26 games for the Gators in the secondary, Riggs earned his degree and enrolled in a graduate program at Notre Dame.
He also became one of the key veteran building blocks for the Irish secondary, the No. 1 cornerback at a position with a void after KeiVarae Russell has been held out of football activities while Notre Dame's academic investigation lingers on.
Riggs has done everything for the Irish. He's been an excellent cover man, notching a big interception of Devin Gardner. He's also been a dynamic punt returner, averaging 10.7 yards a return.
After missing out on Riggs during his initial recruitment out of high school, the fifth-year senior has been a critical piece to a resurgent defense.
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The Bad: Chris Brown
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After ascending to the top of the wide receiver depth chart in spring ball, junior Chris Brown hasn't made much of a mark through three games.
The South Carolina native is the team's most experienced wide receiver with DaVaris Daniels still awaiting his fate from the university's honor code committee, but that hasn't helped Brown break through.
Brown's made just four catches for 36 yards this season, with a long of 12 yards. For the former high school track star who served as Notre Dame's deep threat in 2012, that's disappointing production.
Of course, a lot of that has to do with the emergence of sophomores Will Fuller and Corey Robinson and the impressive play of slot receiver Amir Carlisle. But for the Irish passing game to hit on all cylinders, it needs something more out of Brown.
The Good: The Freshmen
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The production Notre Dame has gotten from its freshmen has been astounding. With the Irish only starting two players (Cody Riggs and Ben Koyack) last week who will exhaust their eligibility after 2014, the youth on the Notre Dame roster is taking hold much quicker than even the most optimistic Irish fan expected.
Against Michigan, Notre Dame played 19 first-year players. Through three games, unsung recruits like Kolin Hill and Drue Tranquill have played key roles on the defense.
Freshmen Andrew Trumbetti, Grant Blankenship and Daniel Cage have also helped take important snaps on a young defensive line.
Add to the mix redshirt freshman Greg Bryant—the Irish's leading rusher through three games—and the youth on Notre Dame's roster has been a driving force to the undefeated start.
The Bad: Injuries and Depth
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An already thin and inexperienced team was weakened before Notre Dame even took a snap with the suspensions of DaVaris Daniels, Eilar Hardy, Kendall Moore, KeiVarae Russell and Ishaq Williams.
But with injuries piling up the past few weeks, the Irish's bye week came at a perfect time.
Hit hardest was Notre Dame's depth in the secondary. With Russell and captain Austin Collinsworth already out, the Irish lost sophomore cornerback Cole Luke to a concussion against Purdue that forced fellow sophomore Devin Butler into action.
At safety, Max Redfield's targeting ejection brought junior Nicky Baratti into the game. But he lasted just one play before his surgically repaired shoulder gave way, ending his season.
Without Collinsworth and key reserve Hardy, Notre Dame was forced to flip Elijah Shumate to free safety and move Drue Tranquill into the starting lineup, with converted cornerback Matthias Farley the only player left on the roster with any experience at safety.
The reserves played solid football against the Boilermakers, helping put up a second-half shutout, with Butler making a key interception and Tranquill contributing four tackles.
Other injuries to keep an eye on are a high ankle sprain suffered by Christian Lombard that kept him out against Purdue and a knee injury to slot receiver Amir Carlisle, just a week after playing the best game of his career. Both are keys to the Irish offense.
The Good: Brian VanGorder
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Any questions about Notre Dame's new defensive coordinator were answered after the Irish's first-ever shutout of Michigan.
And while we'd happily walk through the great statistical start for Notre Dame's defense through three games, if a picture is worth a thousand words, a Vine's got to be at least worth double. Thanks to The Elkhart Truth's Rachel Terlep:
"Signing off for the night. Leaving you with this: https://t.co/O33xIgFVcK
— Rachel Terlep (@eTruth_Irish) September 7, 2014"The Bad: The Marooned Five
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There is still no word on Notre Dame's five suspended players. With Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins and athletic director Jack Swarbrick announcing their investigation in mid-August, over a month has gone by, and there's still radio silence from the university's administration.
Brian Kelly has been forced to move on without five veterans, three of whom were expected to be key starters for Notre Dame.
And while he's called the unresolved nature of the ongoing (and confidential) honor code process a "separation between church and state," the reality is that the NCAA investigation has been complete for almost two weeks, and the players are still waiting for the university's ruling.
The longer this goes on, the bigger sideshow it'll be. And while it isn't affecting the team, the rumblings from Notre Dame's boisterous fanbase will certainly make this an issue the longer it remains unresolved.
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