Notre Dame Defense Looks To Prove Its Every Bit As Good As Oklahoma State's
Statistically, Notre Dame’s defense isn’t as good as Oklahoma State’s.
The Fighting Irish are ranked 27th in team defense, giving up 339.3 yards per game while Oklahoma State is 3rd, giving up 278.4 yards per game. The Cowboys are fifth in rush defense, Notre Dame ranks 30th. OSU is 12th in passing yards allowed while Notre Dame ranks 42nd. Oklahoma State leads the nation in sacks per game while Notre Dame ranks 5th.
The good news for Notre Dame is that stats sometimes lie, or they don’t reflect the whole truth.
Throw out a couple of bad games against Florida State (442 total yards and 38 points) and North Carolina (523 yards and 34 points) and Notre Dame’s stats, which are good, get even better.
Every team has a game or two they’d like to do over.
But the November defense for ND was spectacular. It gave up just 20 points and they pitched a shutout against Georgia Tech.
Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston said it took some time for the player to grasp the ultra-aggressive system that Marcus Freeman implemented.
“There was a learning curve for the scheme,” Elston said. “I think we were a little bit more body on body. We played more man coverage. I think we got better as the season went on.”
The Irish players simply needed time .... and reps.
“We played better technique across the board from the front to the backend,” Elston explained. “We settled in. We understood what the calls were and how to execute those calls. It’s been a blend of things -technique, being more aggressive, and getting used to body coverage.”
The more confident the Irish players got in the defense the better they got at tackling, which made them better on third-down. Notre Dame finished the season ranked 16th on the money down.
“I think we got better as tacklers as the season went on,” he said. “Obviously, getting off the field on third down is a huge improvement.”
Jaylen Warren plan: Oklahoma State running back Jaylen Warren will be in the backfield after missing the Big 12 Championship game against Baylor with an injury.
For Notre Dame to have success against Oklahoma State it will need to contain running back Jaylen Waddle, who rushed for 1,134 yards and 11 touchdowns this season despite missing the Big 12 title game.
The good tackling Elston already mentioned is important against Warren.
"He's a powerful running back," Elston said. “He’s got great vision and he makes decisive cuts. He's bulky. He runs behind his pads. He's physical. He's got really good hands. They can get the ball to him in the backfield on screens and he makes big plays with the ball in his hands.
"You have to bring your feet to tackle him. You gave to club and wrap and get your helmet to the football with him running the ball.”
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