Notre Dame Football: A Look at Every Tommy Rees Pass Against Wake Forest

In a less-than-perfect effort, Notre Dame passed a few important milestones Saturday night at Wake Forest.

The Irish achieved bowl eligibility.

They cemented the notion that a serious tandem of running resides in South Bend, as the best backfield tandem since Bettis and Brooks carried 33 times for 179 yards and a score.

Brian Kelly is now ahead of Lou Holtz's win pace.

The secondary held a legitimate wideout in check, limiting Chris Givens (whose stats make Michael Floyd look downright pedestrian) to 57 yards on six receptions without a score.

Notre Dame erased a halftime deficit to come back and win, but left enough doubt to remain outside the rankings. The Irish lost the turnover battle 2-1, committed two more drive-sustaining personal-foul penalties and once again managed to make the game closer than it should have been.

Once again, the focus of that doubt is the quarterback position.

And rightly it should be.

Of Notre Dame's 22 turnovers on the year, sophomore Tommy Rees owns 13, 10 by way of interception and three due to fumbles.

Because of his habit of offering the opposition the football at nearly a twice-per-game pace, Rees is drawing more than his share of the criticism.

Rees is undersized, and relatively immobile. He throws a nice ball, but his arm will never be referred to as "a gun" or "strong."

He has proven to be more than a game manager; however, with athletic specimens like Dayne Crist and Andrew Hendrix seemingly ready to play, there are many who wonder why Rees gets so many chances.

The answer to that question is much more complex than any sound bite that coach Brian Kelly could ever deliver. To begin to understand it is prudent to use the DVR the way that God intended it to be used, not for "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" but to better understand the game of football.

In reviewing the game, a couple of things were immediately apparent.

First, the Notre Dame offensive front simply owned the Wake Forest defense, as there were wide-open running lanes all night and there was simply never any kind of pressure on the passer.

Second, Wake played a ton of cover two and cover three running a bunch of nickel backs out to try to better cover Tyler Eifert (as opposed to an outside linebacker).

It was also well-known that the Deacons were much more potent on offense than defense, and that if Notre Dame could run on them, it would be hard for Wake to win.

Nonetheless, let's look closely at the throws that Tommy Rees made in as much context as the ESPN telecast will allow.

Notre Dame first possession, Wake Forest 7, Notre Dame 0

1. 3rd and 5 at ND 45 - formation Ace set, Trips Right, TE left. Pass complete to T.J. Jones for 8 yards and a first down. Identified double on Floyd in the slot and a safety over Eifert on the other side, made quick read and on-target throw for first down.

2. 3rd and 5 at Wake 40 - formation Tight Flex ace back two WR left, one Right. Pass complete to Tyler Eifert short left out for 6 yards and a first down. Quick throw to soft zone for easy pick up.

3. 3rd and 10 at Wake 27 - formation Base Spread, shotgun with single back, two WR right, two left. Pass incomplete, thrown away out of bounds. TV doesn't show coverage, but at least it was not forced.

Possession: 2-3 14 yards

Notre Dame second possession, Wake Forest 10, Notre Dame 3

4. 1st and 10 at Wake 38 - formation Base Spread, single back, two receivers each side. Pass complete to Tyler Eifert deep right for 38 yards and a touchdown. Good recognition of man coverage from the corner and safety that was going to leave Eifert open. Coverage allowed an easy throw and catch for the score.

Possession: 1-1 38 yards, touchdown. Game: 3-4 52 yards, touchdown.

Notre Dame third possession, Wake Forest 10, Notre Dame 10

5. 2nd and 7 at ND 43 - formation Ace back, two WR right, TE left, one WR left. Screen pass complete to Cierre Wood for 18 yards and a first down. Called screen, well executed, was without a doubt a forward pass this time!

6. 2nd and 10 at Wake 38 - formation 21 personnel (two TE, one back, one WR each side). Pass incomplete intended for Eifert mid left. Overthrown wide to sideline. Eifert tangled a little with coverage, but ball was too high.

7. 3rd and 10 at Wake 38 - formation base spread. Pass incomplete intended for Michael Floyd deep left. Good coverage all over, ball was to the outside shoulder, and was caught but a step out of bounds. This one was a better defensive play than a bad offensive play.

Possession: 1-3 18 yards. Game: 4-7 70 yards, touchdown.

Notre Dame fourth possession, Wake Forest 10, Notre Dame 10

8. 3rd and 7 at ND 42 - formation Ace back, trips right, one WR left. Pass complete to Michael Floyd short left curl for 6 yards. Good timing to an open receiver, however Floyd could not pick up the first down. In this case, it is the receiver's job to make his break past the marker to ensure the yardage is gained.

Possession: 1-1 6 yards. Game: 5-8 76 yards, touchdown.

Notre Dame fifth possession, Wake Forest 17, Notre Dame 10

9. 1st and 10 at ND 40 - formation trips left, twin right, empty backfield. Pass incomplete deep left for Theo Riddick. Ball was thrown to the high outside shoulder and should have been caught. Pass hit Riddick in the shoulder pad.

10. 2nd and 10 at ND 40- formation base spread. Pass intercepted deep middle by cover three safety. Intended for Jones on a post, the ball was overthrown directly to coverage. Poor recognition and inaccurate throw. The only benefit is that it comes with only :08 left in the half.

Possession: 0-2, interception. Game: 5-10 76 yards, touchdown, interception.

Notre Dame sixth possession, Wake Forest 17, Notre Dame 10

11. 1st and 10 at ND 38 - formation base spread. Pass complete to Tyler Eifert for 16 yards and a first down. Good read to tight end coming off the first two reads.

12. 1st and 10 at Wake 44 - formation base spread. Pass complete to T. J. Jones short right for 3 yards. QB bootleg with Rees on the move forced high throw that left Jones open to big hit that sent him out of the game. Missed Riddick open on the next level out for bigger gain.

Possession: 2-2 19 yards. Game: 7-12 95 yards, touchdown, interception.

Notre Dame seventh possession, Wake Forest 17, Notre Dame 17

13. 1st and 10 at ND 35- formation base spread. Complete WR screen to Michael Floyd for 7 yards. One read throw, basically a long hand off.

14. 2nd and 4 at ND 41 - formation trips right, one WR left, ace back. Pass incomplete intended for John Goodman short right. Throw was wide of an open Goodman. Good read, bad throw.

15. 3rd and 4 at ND 41 - formation three backs in a triangle around Rees, one receiver to each side. Pass complete to Theo Riddick on a mid out for 12 yards and a first down. Odd backfield formation forced single coverage on the edges, with a safety helping on Floyd. Good read and throw.

16. 1st and 10 at Wake 16 - formation tight spread with twin receivers bunched on either side, single back. Pass complete to Michael Floyd for 16 yards and a touchdown. Prettiest ball Rees has thrown all night. Perfect ball placement to the pylon beats man-zone double coverage.

Possession: 3-4 35 yards, touchdown. Game: 10-16 130 yards, 2 touchdowns, interception.

Notre Dame eighth possession, Notre Dame 24, Wake Forest 17

17. 2nd and 5 at midfield - formation base spread. WR screen is dropped by Floyd. Hit him in the face mask.

18. 3rd and 5 at midfield- formation base spread. Pass complete to Michael Floyd for 7 yards and a first down. Good read and throw to Floyd on a come-back.

19. 1st and 10 at Wake 43 - formation base spread. Flea-flicker pass is intercepted in near carbon-copy play of the end of the first half. Rees overthrows Floyd deep and the pass is picked off by the deep middle cover three safety. Just a stupid throw that gives life to a team that Notre Dame is about to put away.

Possession: 1-3 7 yards, interception. Game: 11-19 137 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.

Notre Dame ninth possession, Notre Dame 24, Wake Forest 17

(next pass attempt is negated by pass interference penalty)

20. 1st and 20 at ND 17 - formation base spread. Pass complete to T. J. Jones for 2 yards on a well defensed WR screen.

21. 2nd and 18 at ND 19 - formation base spread. Pass incomplete intended for Jones deep left. Batted away as late lobbed pass allows defense to recover.

22. 3rd and 18 at ND 19 - formation base spread. Pass complete to John Goodman mid left for 18 yards. Questionable spot keeps chains from moving. Good throw in a tight window, connected to outside shoulder on a hook.

Possession: 2-3 20 yards. Game: 13-22 157 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.

Notre Dame tenth possession, Notre Dame 24, Wake Forest 17

23. 2nd and 8 at ND 5 - formation base spread. Pass complete to Michael Floyd on a quick out for 9 yards and a first down. Coverage preventing the deep ball, easy pitch and catch.

Possession: 1-1 9 yards. Game: 14-23 166 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.

Notre Dame ran out the clock and secured the win on the backs of tandem runners Cierre Wood and Jonas "Where have you been for three years" Gray.

Rees' up-and-down day has been indicative of his year as a starting quarterback at Notre Dame.

In a word, he is inconsistent.

However, he does many things very well. He understands the offense, and twice audibles into plays that resulted in big gains. One check into a Cierre Wood run led to the go-ahead touchdown pass.

He is forced to throw a lot on third down, and on third and long. He has a completion percentage over 80 percent on third and less than seven, and more than 50 percent when faced with a third and seven to ten.

He doesn't have the strongest arm, but he does possess enough arm strength to put good velocity on the ball and over throw speedy receivers.

He will make big down and distance plays look routine, settling into the pocket and taking a hit while delivering an 18-yard cross, showing that he isn't in a hurry to get rid of the ball.

Still, he has only been sacked four times and has a fast release that makes it hard for a pass rush to reach him.

For those reasons and his eagerness to be coached, Kelly has stuck with Rees.

What almost certainly has nearly given Kelly a heart attack has been the dark side to the young quarterback.

He will have one series of throws where he looks like the second coming of Joe Montana, and will immediately follow it up by stretches where he looks more like Evan Sharpley or Matt LoVecchio.

And there are the turnovers.

A couple are legitimately excusable. Blind side hits have twice caused fumbles, which are as much on the left tackle as they are on the quarterback.

There was also a memorable interception that bounced off of the gilded helmet of T.J. Jones that earned the "purple faced' coaching moment that has become Brian Kelly's hallmark moment.

But more often than not, Rees simply loses his head. He stares down Floyd and makes a terrible throw into coverage. He has a terrible tendency to miss deep safeties in cover two, or like this week, cover three.

More biting is the fact that even after a full season worth of starts, the same mistakes keep happening. Either the maturation process isn't happening as fast as it should, or it isn't happening at all.

Rees isn't a physically gifted athlete. To excel, and in turn for Notre Dame to excel, he has to play smarter and cleaner than Crist or Hendrix would have to. 

If Rees can't eliminate the turnovers, his tenure will not continue into next season.

It would be hard to single out Rees as the problem with Notre Dame, but it is getting easier to see that he is also not the solution.