First Half Analysis: Notre Dame and Louisville Tied 7-7

Notre Dame and Louisville are tied 7-7 at the half of a game that has been relatively sloppy for the Irish, especially on offense.

Here are my first half thoughts and analysis.

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE

*** Notre Dame came out of the gate well, completing three straight passes before Sam Hartman threw his first interception of the game. After that the offense was sluggish and didn't look on the same page, at multiple positions. They had issues moving the ball the last two series, but they finally got things going in the middle of the second quarter, for at least a series.

*** Notre Dame clearly felt they could throw the football on Louisville, whose game plan was clearly designed to stop the run. Even with the success throwing they had there were more opportunities to be had. Hartman had some missed reads and the protection in the first half was a major problem. The offense got going for a second quarter touchdown, and then again went back to mistakes, the inability to get movement and missed opportunities.

*** The game plan was odd in the first half, and the manner in which Notre Dame rotated seemed to make it very hard for anyone to get into rhythm. Notre Dame substituted skill personnel after almost every play, if not after every play. They even rotated offensive linemen from series to series, with Billy Schrauth playing both guard spots and Andrew Kristofic coming in for a series at center. A guy would make a play and then immediately run off the field and someone else would come in. Mixing up personnel is good, and Notre Dame has a lot of personnel that can help, but there comes a point of diminishing return, and Notre Dame seems to have hit that in the first half of this game.

*** Notre Dame just could not get into rhythm in this game, and even on series when they would get going, they just couldn't finish off drives. That and poor execution led to Notre Dame going just 1-6 on third down.

*** Notre Dame's early run game was geared towards running back Jeremiyah Love, who had a good start to the game. He went for 18 yards on his first two carries, the first two runs of the game.

*** The outside receivers struggled early in the game. They had a really tough time getting off the line, and on the go routes they were never really options for the quarterbacks. They had very little plan, with a slight stutter and then release outside, which the Louisville corners played with ease. They aren't ideal outside receivers, but the lack of a game plan to win vs. press makes it even more problematic. Almost all of the pass game production came from the tight ends, slot receivers and running backs.

*** Notre Dame did not play well up front in the game either. Notre Dame failed to get movement on downhill runs, and Louisville consistently beat them off the ball. The majority of Notre Dame's run game success - which was limited - came on the outside. The pass protection wasn't any better, with the Irish struggling to pick up pressures up the middle, and there was a clear blown assignment by a back on an early edge pressure that resulted in a sack. The attempt to score late in the first half was ruined when All-American left tackle Joe Alt was blown off the ball (partially tripped by the left guard), knocked down and his man sacked Hartman. This offense can't get play at a high level when the offensive line consistently gets beat at the point of attack.

*** It was puzzling that Audric Estime didn't get a touch until the second quarter. After Love's early start, he only carried it one more time, and that was on a jet sweep. This is what I mean, they aren't letting players get into rhythm. They are over-thinking this a bit.

NOTRE DAME DEFENSE

*** It was a rough start for the Irish defense, who were on their heels on the opening drive. Louisville ran speed option at the defense, they were getting pushed off the ball and there were multiple coverage mistakes, including All-American Benjamin Morrison getting beat off the line and then losing the receiver for a touchdown. Louisville didn't gash Notre Dame on that series, but they did enough in the run game inside to open up the outside, and Notre Dame had multiple missed fit/containments.

*** Missed tackles continue to plague this defense.

*** Notre Dame settled in after the first series and quickly adjusted. Well, at least after two plays of the second series they adjusted. A missed tackle and getting sealed outside on back-to-back plays from Junior Tuihalamaka allowed Louisville to get going on their second drive, but a sack by NaNa Osafo-Mensah stalled the drive. Nickel Clarence Lewis - who replaced the injured Thomas Harper - was in great position on a seam route to force an incompletion and a punt.

*** The defense forced back-to-back three-and-outs on the next three series as the interior of the defensive line started to take control. Louisville couldn't get much room to run, and the pressure started to make quarterback Jack Plummer uncomfortable. The strong play by the interior allowed the linebacker blitzes to get more of a push, including a sack by JD Bertrand that ended another drive. Defensive tackle Rylie Mills forced a late jet sweep off track and allowed Josh Burnham to blow it up, which helped stall the drive and helped force a Louisville fumble.

*** Speaking of Burnham, he's been disruptive in the first half but he has lost contain a couple of times and his missed sack attempt on the first drive allowed Plummer to get outside and throw the TD pass. He needs to finish those plays off.

*** Notre Dame's corners turned Louisville receivers loose early, but they settled in after that and performed quite well. Louisville tried to take some down the field shots but the Notre Dame corners (and nickel) settled in and were tight in coverage.

*** The linebackers were hit or miss in the first half, at least early. Some missed run fits and missed tackles were early problems, but they also settled in and made plays on the perimeter. Bertrand's sack was a big play, but it wasn't the only one. Marist Liufau and Jaylen Sneed combined to force another sack earlier that helped stall a drive.

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