Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Game Grades, Analysis for Irish and Seminoles
True to historical form, Notre Dame and Florida State put on one heckuva show for the college football world on Saturday night. Despite being a double-digit underdog, Notre Dame came out swinging and took a seven-point lead into the locker room. Florida State, with a marvelous second half by superstar Jameis Winston, battled back and took a late lead before securing the 31-27 victory.
Both teams can clearly count themselves among the nation's elite programs, and we can only hope that we'll see more great games like this in the future. With Notre Dame's agreement to play five ACC programs each season, that's looking fairly likely moving forward.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
In the meantime, there's plenty to break down, so let's take a look at the report cards for the Fighting Irish and Seminoles.
| Pass Offense | B+ | B+ |
| Run Offense | B+ | B- |
| Pass Defense | A- | C |
| Run Defense | A+ | B |
| Special Teams | A- | A- |
| Coaching | A | A- |
Notre Dame Pass Offense
Everett Golson started the evening with a 15-of-26 mark in the first half, amassing 139 yards and two touchdowns (and a pick). Corey Robinson (eight catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns) and Will Fuller (eight catches for 79 yards and a score) emerged as favorite targets, and the Irish took a seven-point lead into halftime, thanks in large part to some timely passing.
Golson's completion ration held steady throughout the second half, and he finished 31-of-52 for 313 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The passing game did all it could to keep the Irish in the game, but as the game wore on, protecting Golson in the pocket became increasingly difficult.
Still, Golson avoided some of the head-scratching mistakes that has plagued him throughout 2014, so we're comfortable giving the Notre Dame passing game a "B+" across the board.
Notre Dame Run Offense
Notre Dame ran the ball 24 times in the first half, putting up 115 yards on the Seminoles defense. The runs were pretty successful, with Tarean Folston eclipsing the 100-yard mark fairly early.
After halftime, however, Notre Dame abandoned the run to an extent, and the team finished with only an additional 42 yards on the ground.
Overall, not a bad night, with Folston leading the way with 120 yards on 21 carries. Golson also added 33 yards on 11 credited carries. But we can't look past the lack of production in the second half, or the fact that Notre Dame failed to get into the end zone even once via the ground game in Tallahassee.
Notre Dame Pass Defense
Talk about a tale of two halves...
We were all set to laud Notre Dame's suffocating pass defense after the first half. The Irish had essentially shut down Jameis Winston as they continued to flummox the offensive line and get pressure up the middle, around the edge, and everywhere in between.
The Irish held Florida State to just 92 first-half passing yards, and Winston was forced into one of his trademark ill-advised pressured throws over the middle, which resulted in an interception for Notre Dame.
But then came the second half. After some great adjustments by FSU, Winston picked apart the Notre Dame secondary to tune of 273 yards. That put the Seminoles in a position to also add more of a running dimension to the attack, and the Irish couldn't contain Florida State for much longer.
We dropped a first-half "A-" to a final "C+" after the Irish's inability to adjust to the newfound (or, once-again-found) lethal nature of the Noles' passing game.
Notre Dame Run Defense
The true genius of Notre Dame's first-half defensive onslaught was the crushing run defense. Florida State's inability to penetrate the Irish front seven led to a pass-only option for much of the first two quarters. Like the pass defense, however, things changed after halftime.
It wasn't quite the sea-change we saw in the passing attack, but after halftime, the Seminoles were able to find more holes through the Irish run barrier to open up the passing game a little more. Despite being held to just 19 rushing yards in the first half, the Noles finished with 53 rushing yards.
But most importantly, Florida State added two ground scores in the second half—which clearly made the difference in the game.
Still, holding any team to under 55 rushing yards in an accomplishment. Holding the No. 2 team in the nation to such an anemic number is worthy of recognition.
Notre Dame Special Teams
As per the norm, we don't have any complaints about Notre Dame's special teams. Kyle Brindza was his usual, efficient self, converting both field-goal attempts and all three extra points.
He also averaged 43.7 yards on his three punts, two of which were downed inside the FSU 20.
The scant 16.8 yards per kick return (on four returns) keeps us from handing out a perfect report card for the special teams, but coaches would much rather have the kind of special teams Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher have than not.
Notre Dame Coaching
Brian Kelly wanted to come out aggressive against Florida State, and that was evident right from the start. Notre Dame won the opening toss, and instead of deferring the choice to the second half (as Kelly does, and most other coaches do), Notre Dame took the football to get things going early.
Kelly also opted for several fourth-down conversions (finishing 2-of-5 on the night, including the last meaningful play of the game), and it seemed to pay off early.
Notre Dame may not have been able to pull this one out, but it wasn't for lack of a winning formula put in place by the coaching staff. Sometimes the breaks don't go your way, and sometimes the plays aren't executed as well as coaches would like. Notre Dame was bitten by a little of both, but we're still satisfied with the job Kelly and his staff did to prepare the team for this game.
Had the second-half adjustments been better able to contain Florida State, Kelly and company would see a much higher grade. But as it stands, this performance really shouldn't keep them up nights.
| Pass Offense | C | B+ |
| Run Offense | D | C+ |
| Pass Defense | B- | B+ |
| Run Defense | B- | B+ |
| Special Teams | A | A |
| Coaching | B | A |
Florida State Pass Offense
We've said it before, and we'll say it again (last time, we promise). This is a tale of two halves.
To start, Winston looked as if he was going to be running for his life all evening long. After a first half that amounted to just 92 yards on an 8-of-15 performance form Winston (which included one touchdown and one interception), we were wondering if the Noles might suffer through their first failing grade of the season.
The midterm grade isn't great, but the second half more than made up for any shortcomings.
Winston finished 23-of-31 for 273 yards and two touchdowns, and his composure and accuracy in the second half were impressive to watch (he was perfect in the passing game through all of the third quarter and much of the fourth before finally tossing an incompletion).
We were also impressed with Travis Rudolph's breakout 80-yard performance which included a touchdown.
While we still have concerns about Winston's penchant for tossing errant balls over the middle when under duress, the recovery was enough to ensure the Florida State passing game finished nowhere near a failing mark in this victorious effort.
Florida State Run Offense
The Seminoles were abysmal in the first half running the ball, gaining just 19 yards on nine attempts. Things didn't get a ton better in the second half, but better, nonetheless.
As a team, FSU finished with 53 rushing yards on the night. Not exactly something of which one should be proud, but the two second-half touchdown runs were enough to not only bail out the run game as a whole, but also secure a Florida State victory (and possible berth in the College Football Playoff).
Karlos Williams led the way, if you can really call it leading, with 25 yards on eight carries. He also gets the top mention because of his two rushing touchdowns on the night—FSU's only two ground scores.
Dalvin Cook carried the ball a team-high 12 times but only netted 20 yards (a paltry 1.7 yards per rush).
Florida State Pass Defense
Notre Dame held a steady pass attack through both the first and second halves, but it was the big plays late in the game, including some crucial knock-downs late that secured the win for Florida State.
What might be most impressive about the pass defense, however, was the defensive line's ability to get hands into the passing lanes of Everett Golson. Would-be completions for big yardage and first downs were swatted down before ever allowing an Irish receiver to make a play for the ball, and Notre Dame wasn't able to adjust to the second half pressure Florida State was dialing up.
Golson looked uncomfortable and was under almost constant pressure in the fourth quarter, and that, as much as anything else, gave the Noles the opportunity to come back in the fourth quarter and win the football game.
Hats off to the big guys on the D-line for this performance.
Still, we're not going to go too nuts here. The Noles did give up more than 300 passing yards and a trio of touchdowns through the air.
Florida State Run Defense
The Seminoles "held" Notre Dame to 4.5 yards per carry on 35 attempts. Notre Dame's Tarean Folston had 120 yards. Not great.
The Seminoles held Notre Dame to zero rushing touchdowns on the evening. Yes, great.
Whether by design or through the circumstances of the game, Notre Dame began to abandon the run in the second half. Florida State had been giving up some decent yardage early on to the Irish's ground assault, but as the evening turned more towards the passing game, Florida State did what it had to in order to keep the Irish in check on the ground.
Unfortunately for those looking for an elevated grade in the run-defense category, the Seminoles didn't do anything more than that.
Florida State Special Teams
Like Notre Dame, Florida State has one of the most solid special teams units in the nation. Roberto Aguayo is second to none, and he was perfect (as usual) on the evening.
The Noles also did a nice job on both kick returns (21.3-yard average on three returns) and their lone punt return (17 yards). Is there any reason we wouldn't give the Seminoles an "A" here?
Florida State Coaching
If you ever wondered how a coach really affects the game, watch this game over again. Notre Dame seemed to have Florida State's number in the first half. The Irish were moving the ball almost at will and the Noles struggled under the most benign of circumstances during the first 30 minutes.
After halftime, Florida State looked like a team possessed. The play-calling changed, offensive line protections changed, defensive scheming changed, and it all resulted in Florida State outscoring Notre Dame 21-10 after halftime.
What's more, Jimbo Fisher had the presence of mind to seek out his oft-troubled quarterback after the game in order to give him some sage advice about how to not act in the wake of the victory.
If there's anyone left in the nation who doubts Fisher's status as one of the truly elite coaches in college football, they're simply not paying attention. It appears Nick Saban isn't the only Nick Saban in the college football world, after all.
Unless otherwise noted, quotes or references to quotes were obtained firsthand by the writer.
Follow Bleacher Report's National College Football Featured Columnist David Luther on Twitter!
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
