Notre Dame vs. Texas: Complete Game Preview
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football dives into a season loaded with expectations with a prime-time matchup against Texas on Saturday.
The marquee meeting pits the Irish, the second-most successful FBS program with 882 wins, against the Longhorns, the No. 3 school with 881 wins, under the lights at Notre Dame Stadium. It’s such a high-profile clash that Texas head coach Charlie Strong has been showing his Longhorns video clips of both programs, not shying away from the game’s magnitude.
“I just wanted to take them back so they could go back and just realize what they're stepping into and just how big this game is,” Strong told reporters Monday.
For Notre Dame, Saturday marks the opening act in a season with high hopes. A veteran team with a slew of returning starters has its sights set on a run to the College Football Playoff.
Texas, meanwhile, is in the second year of Strong’s regime, as the former Louisville head coach and Notre Dame assistant aims to vault the Longhorns back among the nation’s elite. In his first season in Austin, Texas limped to a 6-7 campaign.
“A year ago, I was really just still trying to figure out my team and not knowing how we were going to take the field,” Strong said. “Now that you're a year into it, you feel like you have a better feel for it. Even just the whole preparation, how they come about it.”
Date: Saturday, September 5
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Place: Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana
TV: NBC
Radio: IMG College Sports, SiriusXM Channel 129
Spread: -9 Notre Dame, according to Odds Shark
Notre Dame Keys to Victory
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Take Care of the Football
It’s pretty obvious, right?
Notre Dame’s offense had moments of brilliance and efficiency in 2014, and once upon a time, Everett Golson was touted as a true Heisman Trophy candidate. But turnovers, more than any one other thing offensively, sapped Notre Dame’s potency and, while we’re on the topic, ramped up the pressure on the Irish defense.
So in the season opener, which is quarterback Malik Zaire’s second career start (his first at Notre Dame Stadium), the Irish don’t need to rip off a 70-yard scoring drive to start the evening. But Notre Dame does need to protect the football and maintain a sense of normalcy amid all the emotion that comes with this sort of season opener.
“These are the kind of openers that really test you in everything that you do,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday. “You have to be fundamentally sound. You've got to take care of the football. And you're playing against quality, quality athletes that are well-coached. So this will be one heck of an opener for us that we'll be challenged (sic).”
Asked specifically how Zaire compares mentally and emotionally to where he was for his lone collegiate start—the win over LSU in the Music City Bowl—Kelly said, “It’s a totally different Malik Zaire.”
Pressure the Quarterbacks
Texas plans to use two quarterbacks on Saturday, according to Strong: junior and starter Tyrone Swoopes and redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard. Swoopes started Texas’ final 12 games in 2014 after starter David Ash was injured in the season opener. Swoopes completed 58 percent of his passes and threw 11 interceptions.
The Irish, of course, will be well-served by pressuring Swoopes and the raw Heard and force miscues. But just how much of a rush can the Irish generate?
Notre Dame lacks a premier pass-rusher, so it’ll be a bit-by-bit approach from a variety of contributors. How much extra heat must defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder send in order to force Swoopes and Heard into poor decisions? The answer lies in the pass-rushing ability of defensive linemen Sheldon Day, Isaac Rochell, Andrew Trumbetti and Romeo Okwara.
Texas Keys to Victory
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Run the Football
Strong made it clear Monday that Texas must run the football successfully and control the clock against the Irish.
Though the Longhorns lost standout back Malcolm Brown, who racked up 2,678 rushing yards during his career at Texas, they do have senior Johnathan Gray, who already boasts 2,118 career rushing yards of his own. Gray battled an Achilles injury in 2014, and Kelly said it’s evident that Gray—whom he called “an outstanding running back”—came into his own as the regular season progressed.
“As long as we can get the running game going, I think Tyrone (Swoopes) will have an easier game going in passing-wise,” Gray told reporters Monday. “For us, we just have to get the running game started.”
Stop the Run
Facing a first-year starting quarterback with a dual-threat mentality like Zaire, the recipe seems fairly simple for Strong’s defense: defend the run and force Zaire to beat it with his arm.
That’s not to knock Zaire as a passer, but until opponents consistently watch Zaire pick them apart with short and intermediate throws, the inclination will likely be to load the box and force him to go to the air.
Kelly said that he's presented Zaire with those challenges in practice.
“But those are just quizzes,” Kelly said. “The test is when it happens in real time. I don't know that you really know for sure until you get the test. We think we have given him many opportunities to react, and he's reacted very well to all of those kinds of scenarios that you mentioned. But I don't think you really feel confident until you get those opportunities.”
Notre Dame Players to Watch
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Malik Zaire
Tough choice, huh?
The spotlight is always on the quarterback at Notre Dame, and Saturday will be no different for Zaire in his second career start.
Zaire whetted the appetites of Irish fans with his performance against LSU, when he completed 12 of 15 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 96 more yards and a score on the ground on 22 attempts.
“His development has been so much more since that game through the spring, through the summer and now in pregame,” Kelly said of Zaire. “He's much more developed in all phases of the game, a lot more confident and certainly a lot more in tune with all of the receivers and the offensive line and just much more comfortable.”
Still, as Kelly mentioned, Zaire still has only taken quizzes, not tests. Strong’s defense gets the first crack at Notre Dame’s new starter.
“You look at Zaire, (and he's) just a big, physical runner, and he's a guy that can beat you with the feet,” Strong said. “You watch when he releases the ball, the deep throw is amazing where he gets the ball and he hangs it out there and he can throw it a long way.”
Max Redfield
Ravaged by injuries down the stretch in 2014, Notre Dame’s defense stumbled to the finish line. The safety play didn’t help, as both Max Redfield and Elijah Shumate were replaced at certain points.
But by all accounts, Redfield improved and grew more vocal and confident over the offseason. Could he be primed for a breakout junior season?
“He's had a really good camp,” Kelly said. “He's a different player than last year, a much more mature player. He's much more mature in everything that he does on a day-to-day basis. That just has carried on to what he does on the football field.”
Still, the development needs to be seen to be fully believed. After all, it was just last week that Kelly walked out of practice and told reporters that it felt like the Irish lined up defensively with nine players and two orange cones at safety.
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Texas Players to Watch
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Connor Williams and Patrick Vahe
The Longhorns lost 11 starters from last year’s squad and are predictably young entering 2015. How young?
Texas features a pair of freshmen, left tackle Connor Williams and right guard Patrick Vahe, on the offensive line. They’ll be immediately tasked with slowing the likes of Day and Rochell.
“When you go on the road and you're playing in an environment that we're playing in, those two freshmen linemen, it's a concern, because you just don't know how quickly it's going to tick for them,” Strong said. “If I see two freshman linemen, I'm going to blitz you every snap and see if they can block you.”
Can those two hold up in pass protection and allow Swoopes enough time in the pocket? Welcome to Texas, guys.
Malik Jefferson
Freshman Malik Jefferson will start at middle linebacker for the Longhorns. The 6’3”, 232-pounder was the No. 10 overall recruit in the country according to 247Sports.
Jefferson enrolled early in Austin and had an extra semester to learn under defensive Vance Bedford.
"Texas DC Vance Bedford on freshman Malik Jefferson: "If he just gets lined up right, we just won a battle. After that, I can't tell you."
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) September 2, 2015"
Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Desmond Jackson described Jefferson as “very humble” despite his lofty status as a recruit.
“He tries to understand the game,” Jackson told reporters Monday. “He tries to be a student of the game. That’s the one thing I can say about him. He wants to learn as much as he possibly can.”
What They're Saying
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“Swoopes is going to start the game, and then Heard is going to play. He’s going to get enough snaps in and get him the opportunity.” — Strong on Texas’ two quarterbacks, junior Tyrone Swoopes and freshman Jerrod Heard
“They’ve earned that right. They’ve worked hard, so we feel like we’ve coached them well enough. So it’s just play and go compete and go play hard.” — Strong on Texas’ freshman starters, including left tackle Connor Williams and right guard Patrick Vahe
“I’ve tried to prepare them, because we’re such a young team that last week I took a segment each and every day where we had a meeting, and I showed them Notre Dame. We just took clips where you just showed the big games. ... So they have seen the stadium. They have seen us coming down the tunnel.” — Strong on Texas opening at Notre Dame Stadium in prime time
“Just getting in the film room, kind of working on some small footwork things that have helped me improve accuracy and things like that.” — Swoopes on where he had to improve the most heading into this season
“They keep the points down. They did that last year. You have to earn everything you get against Texas. They are not going to give you anything defensively.” Kelly on Texas’ defense
“We are going to collaborate.” — Kelly on who will call the plays for Notre Dame among associate head coach Mike Denbrock, offensive coordinator Mike Sanford and himself. Kelly has the final veto
“We have the spring game, but that’s about it. Unless we miss our mark, we are going to certainly see some things that we haven’t seen before.” — Kelly on preparing for Texas’ offense
“I think you're going to see them all play. I think they will all get an opportunity to contribute in some fashion and some may play a little bit more than others but they are all going to get a chance to be in the rotation and play, and I think Saturdays will largely determine how that is dolled out relative to the reps.” — Kelly on Notre Dame’s five tight ends: Durham Smythe, Nic Weishar, Tyler Luatua, Alize Jones and Chase Hounshell
“He's in much better condition. He's so much more mature, understands our defense so much better. He was always off the charts in terms of his strength and foot quickness. Now he's bringing a lot of that for much more of the game in terms of number of plays.” — Kelly on sophomore defensive tackle Daniel Cage, who’s listed as the starter at nose guard ahead of freshman Jerry Tillery (both will play in the spot vacated by injured lineman Jarron Jones)
Prediction
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Finally, football returns in three short days. And while Notre Dame-Texas is an appealing matchup on name alone, the Irish are clearly a few cuts above the Longhorns, at least on paper.
Playing in front of a raucous environment primed for the season opener, expect Notre Dame to handle Texas. The Irish should be able to control the line of scrimmage, and Zaire and running backs Tarean Folston and C.J. Prosise should move the sticks.
Defensively, Swoopes will have his hands full with the likes of Day and Rochell against an inexperienced offensive line, not to mention a talented linebacking corps headed by Jaylon Smith and Joe Schmidt.
Notre Dame 28, Texas 17
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.
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