Inside The Numbers: Notre Dame Defense vs. Bowling Green Offense

Notre Dame (3-1) will look to build on its 3-1 start to the season when the Bowling Green Falcons (1-3) visit South Bend. The Notre Dame defense has played strong football the last two games while the Falcons are scuffling on offense.

When comparing statistics in this matchup the clear advantage is in favor of the Irish.

Notre Dame Scoring Defense vs. Bowling Green Scoring Offense

Advantage: Notre Dame

Keeping teams out of the end zone was a strength for Notre Dame in 2018 and remains a strength in 2019. The Irish are giving up just 18.5 points per game and are on a regular season streak of 12 games where it has held its opponent to 23 or fewer points.

Notre Dame has given up yards this season, ranking 53rd in total defense and 43rd in yards allowed per play. Both Louisville and Georgia went for over 5.0 yards per play against the Irish, and the Bulldogs averaged 5.75 yards a play. Where Notre Dame has thrived is keeping opponents from getting into the end zone.

A positive for the Irish this season has been its improvement on third-down. Notre Dame ranked 65th in the country while allowing opponents to convert 38.9 percent of their third-downs a season ago. Notre Dame’s 2019 opponents are moving the chains at just a 31-percent clip, which ranks the defense 26th.

Notre Dame ranked 11th in the country in red zone defense a season ago, but the Irish rank just 108th through four games in 2019.

Bowling Green is struggling to put points on the board this season. The Falcons rank 120th in the country in scoring offense, going for just 18.3 points per game. Bowling Green scored 46 points in its season-opening win over Morgan State, but in three games against FBS opponents the Falcons are averaging just 9.0 points per game.

The offense went for 620 yards against Morgan State, but in the three games that followed it racked up just 263.3 yards per game and averaged 3.9 yards per play. Bowling Green had just 140 yards of offense and 3.2 yards per play against its only Power 5 opponent, Kansas State, who crushed Bowling Green by a 52-0 score.

Notre Dame Rush Defense vs. Bowling Green Rush Offense

Advantage: Notre Dame

Notre Dame gave up an abysmal 230.5 rushing yards per game and 5.0 yards per rush in the first two games. Quarterbacks were especially problematic for the Irish, who allowed the first two quarterbacks they faced to accumulate over 100 combined rushing yards.

The Irish have buckled down in recent games, holding Georgia over 100 yards below its season average (152 yards, 4.6 YPC) and shutting down the Virginia ground attack. Virginia had just four rushing yards thanks to sacks, but the Cavaliers went for just 59 rushing yards if you remove those pass plays.

Notre Dame has gotten much-improved play from its linebackers, who have been assignment sound and aggressive over the last two games.

A key to success in recent games has been the strong play of the interior defensive linemen. Junior nose tackle Kurt Hinish and junior defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa are off to strong starts this season, especially Tagovailoa-Amosa.

Backups Jayson Ademilola and Jacob Lacey have actually been more disruptive according to Pro Football Focus, giving the Irish a potent rotation up the middle.

Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler was the offensive coordinator for a Boston College offense that averaged 205.4 rushing yards per game the last two seasons. Things started off well for Loeffler at Bowling Green, as the Falcons went for 326 yards in the season-opening victory over Morgan State.

It was a struggle in the three games that followed, with Bowling Green averaging just 111.3 yards per game and 3.1 yards per rush.

Bowling Green junior running back Andrew Clair is a talented player that rushed for 1,427 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per attempt in the two previous seasons. Bowling Green has shifted from a spread offense to a pro-style attack, and Clair has not been able to get going.

Quarterback Darius Wade has not been able to get going yet, but he’s an athletic quarterback and the Irish have struggled with that kind of signal caller this season.

Notre Dame Pass Defense vs. Bowling Green Pass Offense

Advantage: Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s pass defense performed well in the first three games, but the Cavaliers were able to hurt the Irish defense through the air, at least for the first half.

Notre Dame’s first three opponents passed for just 157.3 yards per game, but Virginia racked up 334 yards through the air. Georgia and Virginia’s quarterbacks combined to complete 72.5 percent of their passes against the Irish, a number that must improve dramatically.

The Irish will be without starting cornerback Shaun Crawford, who is out at least 3-4 weeks after dislocating his elbow against Virginia. He will likely be replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore TaRiq Bracy, who was excellent against Georgia but who struggled against Virginia.

Notre Dame’s safety play has been strong against the pass, with the Irish back end combining for four interceptions and five break ups through the first four contests.

Wade played for Loeffler at Boston College, so he knows the offense. He was excellent in the opener against Morgan State, passing for 253 yards while completing 68.8 percent of his passes. Wade was under 50 percent in the next two games and passed for a combined 250 yards in those losses. In fact, Wade has not thrown a touchdown pass since the Morgan State victory while throwing three interceptions.

Bowling Green ranks between 110th to 125th in passing offense, yards per pass attempt, yards per pass completion, touchdown passes and pass efficiency. Junior wideout Quintin Morris (16 receptions, 218 yards, 2 TD’s) is a player to watch. Morris has excellent size (6-4, 228) and has scored nine touchdowns on just 58 catches the last two seasons.

A positive is the fact the Falcons have given up just four sacks in four games. That will make their matchup against the Irish pass rush one to watch. Notre Dame had four sacks in the opener against New Mexico but were held without a sack in the next two games. The Irish pass rush broke out this past weekend, registering eight sacks against the Cavalier offense.

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