Notre Dame Football: Everything Irish Fans Need to Know About Arizona State

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football stayed put at No. 10 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, but the Irish have a juicy opportunity to nab an impressive victory Saturday against No. 9 Arizona State.

The Sun Devils surged five spots up the rankings and leapfrogged the Irish. So what do Notre Dame fans need to know about the team in Tempe, Arizona?

Aside from their “Desert Fuel” uniforms, here’s what Irish fans should know about the Sun Devils.

Jaelen Strong

USA TODAY Sports

Arizona State redshirt junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong will pose a major threat to the Irish secondary. Strong has hauled in 57 receptions for 821 yards and eight touchdowns this season. As part of his breakout campaign last season, Strong made eight grabs for 136 yards and a score.

“[He] is as good as any wide receiver in the country,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of Strong on Tuesday. “Big, athletic, fast, reminds me of [former Irish great and current Arizona Cardinals receiver] Michael Floyd. Just big, athletic, strong, hands, goes up and gets the football.”

Slowing Strong figures to be one of the primary focuses for defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. After Strong exploded for 10 receptions, 202 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-34 win over USC, the 6’3”, 215-pounder has been somewhat neutralized in the last three games.

He still had a touchdown in wins over Stanford, Washington and Utah, but Strong averaged just 5.3 catches and 69 yards in those victories, well off his season averages. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Sun Devils have only averaged 23 points per game during that span.

Irish cornerbacks Cody Riggs and Cole Luke must be on their game to stymie Strong. They’ve already shown the ability to do so against elite wide receivers this season, holding Michigan’s Devin Funchess without a score and totally limiting Stanford’s Ty Montgomery.

“We certainly have had players of [Strong’s] caliber, but he's a unique blend of speed and size that I don't know that we've quite seen, but clearly we know what we need to do,” Kelly said.

Taylor Kelly

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

After missing three games (UCLA, USC and Stanford) with a broken foot, redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly returned for wins in the last two games against Washington and Utah. Kelly’s numbers have been modest in the two contests, completing 56.1 percent of his passes and averaging just 192.5 yards per game.

“Taylor Kelly back in the lineup really changes things, I think, in terms of his ability to run the football, as well,” Brian Kelly said.

But which Kelly shows up Saturday afternoon? The one who entered the season with 45 career passing touchdowns, more than 5,000 yards passing and a 65.3 career completion percentage? The one who threw for 362 yards and three scores against the Irish last season and is also a rushing threat? Or the one who has struggled since the injury?

Either way, Kelly’s recent performance favors the Irish. But without Joe Schmidt in the center of the Notre Dame defense, the Irish figure to not be as primed to slow the Sun Devil attack.

Improving Defense

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As the offense has stagnated for Arizona State, the defense has stiffened. The Sun Devils have allowed an average of 13.3 points per game over the last three games—against Utah, Washington and Stanford—since a mid-October bye week.

The young Arizona State defense has found its stride.

“I think that there's a better recognition and understanding of the scheme,” Brian Kelly said. “There's eight new players on that defense, so you could see that they're understanding what they're doing a lot better and what [head coach Todd] Graham wants them to do.”

But Arizona State hasn’t seen an offense like Notre Dame’s and a quarterback like Everett Golson during the improved three-game stretch. The best reference points for the Sun Devils are UCLA, with quarterback Brett Hundley, and USC, with quarterback Cody Kessler. The Bruins posted 62 points against Arizona State, and the Trojans tallied 38.

We’ll see Saturday just how far the Arizona State defense has come since those games. But with a young group on that side of the ball, the balance has to be tilted in favor of Golson, who keeps on rolling with 22 touchdowns through the air and seven on the ground.

Advantage, Irish offense.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.