How Good Are the Irish? A Year-End Offensive Statistical Review

Notre Dame has concluded its regular season, and a reflection on the Irish offense’s progress (or lack thereof) is warranted. The mid-year numbers are here, and this analysis was performed in similar fashion by benchmarking against the competition.

Facing the 73rd toughest AV Ranking strength of schedule, the Irish only managed to go 6-6. But more troubling than winning only half their games against a pedestrian schedule is a 1-4 away record, with the lone road win coming against a winless Washington team.

A seemingly strong start to the 2008 campaign marked by improved protection of quarterback Jimmy Clausen, a dynamic vertical passing game, and several wins, faded with underwhelming performances against North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Syracuse, and USC.

In reality, the first half of the 2008 season was only a mirage. The Irish managed wins against subpar competition using their only weapon, throwing the ball down the field against one-on-one coverage. It wasn’t clever or well-crafted, but it was often effective as the Irish had a clear talent advantage against nearly every team they faced.

Defenses adjusted as the recipe for stopping the Irish offense was revealed: get pressure on Clausen with three or four, drop seven or eight, and force the Irish to move the ball on the ground or with consistent execution in the short and intermediate passing game.

Notre Dame lacks the ability to do the former and the patience to accomplish the latter.

The result was a reduction in third-down conversion rate and red-zone efficiency (if that was even possible) coupled with an increase in turnover margin. The preferred and most successful weapon in the first six games was no longer an option.

The degree to which opposing defenses took away the big play is painfully obvious when comparing the Irish offense to others around the country (see below).

Thus follows a statistical review of Notre Dame’s offense for the 2008 season. All statistics have been taken from the official Notre Dame football website and/or the official NCAA statistics website . All numbers are current as of Dec. 9, 2008.

Due to problems embedding the tables, the rest of the article can be seen here.