Notre Dame Football: 7 Things That Need to Be Fixed Before 2012

Going into 2012, there are seven areas in which Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish must improve in order to build on this season’s 8-4 record.

Notre Dame was a pretty good football team during the 2011 regular season. The Fighting Irish outscored their opponents by an average of 10 points per game and outgained their opponents by an average of 75 yards per game. Yet, those advantages often didn’t translate into wins.

Notre Dame still has a date with Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl, but with 12 games in the books, we can start to draw some conclusions about where the Irish need to improve in 2011.

1. Turnovers

No single factor had a bigger impact on Notre Dame’s win/loss record than turnovers.

The Irish finished the regular season 116th in the nation in turnover margin, with a -13 differential on the season. Break that down into wins vs. losses, and it gets even worse.

In its eight wins, Notre Dame’s average turnover margin was -0.25.

In its four losses, Notre Dame’s average turnover margin was -2.75.

It’s tough to win when you turn the ball over three times more often than your opponent.

Unfortunately for Brian Kelly, there’s no easy fix for this problem. Quarterbacks must make the proper reads; ballcarriers must secure the football. Yes, these things can be coached, but in the end, it comes down to the players executing their responsibilities on the field.

The good news is that luck does play a major role in this area. One turnover-laden season doesn’t necessary portend more turnover struggles in the future. In 2010, the Irish had a positive turnover differential; expect that to return in 2012.

2. Running Back Depth

Brian Kelly’s scheme is generally known as a pass-heavy spread, but this season, the Notre Dame offense was driven by the ground game. The Irish rushing attack was the most consistent part of the attack.

Except when it wasn’t.

The Irish were held under 100 yards rushing just twice this year. Not coincidentally, Notre Dame lost both of those games. Also not coincidentally, Jonas Gray didn’t play in one of those games.

Gray teamed with Cierre Wood to form a formidable tandem in the Irish backfield. The duo combined for nearly 2,000 yards on the season and accounted for 92 percent of Notre Dame’s total rushing yards. It’s a fantastic stat for 2011, but moving into 2012, it’s a huge concern.

The Irish essentially didn’t have a third-string running back in 2011. George Atkinson III, the de facto third-stringer, received only nine carries all season.

Going into next season, Atkinson is going to have to step up. There have been rumors about Kelly moving Theo Riddick back to running back, but with Michael Floyd headed to the NFL, Riddick’s value as a wide receiver outweighs his value as a tailback. Atkinson has shown elusiveness and speed on kick returns, the Irish are counting on those skills to transition to a role in the backfield.

3. Pass Defense

Going just by the numbers, it seems like Notre Dame’s pass defense had a great season. The Irish allowed just a hair over 200 passing yards per game, ranking 34th among all FBS teams. However, that number doesn’t tell the whole story.

Against top 40 passing offenses (in terms of passing efficiency), Notre Dame was gashed.

Those elite air attacks carved up the Irish secondary to the tune of 265 yards per game, throwing 14 touchdowns against just six interceptions. Not coincidentally, all of Notre Dame’s four losses came against top 40 passing teams.

Moving into next season, this is a huge area of concern. The Irish secondary was already thin this season, and with Robert Blanton and Harrison Smith graduating, it doesn’t figure to get much deeper. Bob Diaco will have to focus on generating a better pass rush to help out his young defensive backs.

4. Punt Returns

In 12 games, Notre Dame gained a grand total of three yards on punt returns.

Not surprisingly, that mark ranks dead last in the nation. In the final seven games, the Irish effectively gave up; neither John Goodman nor Michael Floyd attempted to return a single punt.

For a team littered with four and five-star athletes, that is unacceptable. Against lesser teams like Navy, Air Force and Boston College, punt returns should be an advantage for Notre Dame. The Irish are plenty capable; they just need to execute.

There is absolutely no reason that Theo Riddick can’t be an outstanding punt returner. As a wide receiver, he’s shown solid hands, great speed and outstanding elusiveness. Two early fumbles this season imploded Riddick’s confidence and shattered Brian Kelly’s faith in him. Going into next season, Kelly needs to hand Riddick the keys and back away.

5. Deep Passing Game

The Irish excelled at producing medium-sized plays in the passing game, but struggled to turn them into big plays.

Notre Dame ranked 27th in the nation in passing plays of 10 yards or more, registering 132 such plays on the season. Yet the Irish rank 48th and 89th, respectively, in generating passing plays of 20-plus and 30-plus yards.

While play-calling would seem to be an easy fix, this issue has a lot more to do with personnel than scheme.

Tommy Rees doesn’t have the arm strength to push the ball deep down the field. This weakness kills the deep passing game in two ways. It prevents Rees from completing long passes through the air, but also allows the opposing safeties to play closer to the line of scrimmage, which can keep short passes from turning into big plays.

The solution for 2012 is Andrew Hendrix.

In the second half against Stanford, Hendrix completed 11 passes. Five of those completions went for more than 20 yards, with one covering 45 yards.

I understand that one half of football isn’t enough data to justify a sweeping conclusion, but if Notre Dame had delivered big plays at just half that rate all season, the Irish would have completed 64 passes of 20 yards or more. That would have ranked Notre Dame third in FBS.

6. Negative Plays on Defense

Notre Dame’s defense is at its best when it’s on the attack. Unfortunately, the Irish defenders spent far too much time back on their heels this season.

Notre Dame ranked 78th in the nation in tackles for loss, with just 63 on the season. Like most of the issues on this list, the Irish’s inability to make plays in the backfield tended to show up more in losses.

In wins, Notre Dame averaged 5.6 TFL per game. In losses, that rate dropped to just 4.5 per game.

Going into 2012, this issue will be exacerbated by personnel losses on defense. If Manti Te’o departs for the NFL, the Irish will lose the three defenders that generated the most negative plays in 2011.

The only returning player to deliver more than five tackles for loss is Aaron Lynch. Notre Dame will rely heavily on Lynch, as well as fellow youngsters Stephon Tuitt and Ishaq Williams, to set up camp in opposing backfields.

7. Punt Coverage

As much as I bemoaned his presence earlier in the season, Ben Turk actually had a really nice year for Notre Dame. For the season, Turk averaged just over 40 yards per punt, ranking 60th among all FBS punters. Yet, that doesn’t tell the whole story. In the final six games, Turk showed great improvement, boosting his average up to 42 yards per kick.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many positive things to be said about Turk’s compatriots on the punt coverage team.

The Irish ranked 97th in the nation in opponent’s punt return average, allowing 11 yards per punt return. Notre Dame was consistently bad in this area, but in losses, its average ballooned to nearly 17 yards per punt return.

Against South Florida, Michigan and USC, Notre Dame allowed a punt return of more than 20 yards. Those played flipped the field position in those games, with Irish opponents scoring a total of 17 points as a result of those returns.

Going into next year, Notre Dame’s coverage team has to rededicate itself to discipline. Much like the first point on this list, this problem can be solved in part by coaching; it ultimately just comes down to effort and execution from the players.