Keys To Victory For The Notre Dame Offense vs Clemson

Breaking down the keys to victory for the Notre Dame offense when it takes on Clemson

Notre Dame (5-3) gets a huge opportunity tonight to pull off a huge victory that could put the season back on track. Beating 4th-ranked Clemson (8-0) won't be easy, but Notre Dame is capable of getting the job done. The Irish offense will have to play well if that is going to happen, and the unit will have to play better than it has for much of the season.

There are a number of keys to victory for Notre Dame, and if the Irish can thrive in these areas there is no doubt they have the ability to pull off the upset. 

Here are the four keys to victory:

1. Start Fast - Notre Dame is an offense that has lacked any kind of rhythm and hasn't played with much confidence all season. A key to success against a Clemson defense that is one of the nation's best is getting off to a fast start. This has been the number key for the offense for weeks, and it continues this week because it would give the unit a much-needed boost in confidence, allow them to get into an early rhythm and also put the Clemson defense on its heels.

This is especially true for quarterback Drew Pyne, whose confidence has been rocked in recent games. Notre Dame will have a very, very hard time beating Clemson if Pyne doesn't play better. On the flip side, if Pyne does play like he did against North Carolina and BYU the Irish have matchups they can exploit on their way to victory.

2. Offensive Line Must Play Great - The battle between the Notre Dame offensive line and the Clemson defensive line is a battle of the strength for both teams. Notre Dame's line has played outstanding football the last month, and Clemson has arguably the best front seven in the country. This matchup, plus the struggles the offense has had throwing the football, puts a great deal of pressure on the offensive line.

I don't expect Notre Dame's line to dominate Clemson, but they must be on top of their game. That means opening up room to run for the talented Irish backs, and it means giving Pyne time to throw the football. Clemson's front seven will make their fair share of plays, but the Irish blockers need to limit those plays and make big plays/blocks of their own. If they play well the Irish will have a chance to win this game.

3. Protect The Run Game - Notre Dame's run game has been quite good in recent games, with the Irish averaging 228 rushing yards per game in its last five contests. It has done this while not running an overly complex or diverse ground attack. The lack of complexity is something I support, the lack of diversity is more troubling. Notre Dame has been able to out-talent its opponents over the last month, but that won't be the case against Clemson.

That means offensive coordinator Tommy Rees needs to mix up his run game a bit more and not be so A-Gap oriented. That means using some wrinkles that get the ball outside, with both outside runs (Outside Zone, Stretch, Buck Sweep, Jet Sweeps, etc.) and the quick passing game. Implementing a healthy dose of RPOs and perimeter screens against condensed boxes is part of this.

Better mixing up personnel, motions and shifts should also help protect the run game. If Rees is at his creative best in the run game, if he can get the ball outside enough to keep Clemson honest, and if the offensive line plays well the Irish should be able to churn out yards against the Tigers.

4. Attack The Secondary - This last key could get challenging depending on the weather, but no matter what the Irish must find ways to attack the Clemson secondary. Notre Dame's pass game hasn't been good, but make no mistake, it has weapons that can hurt teams, especially Clemson. Freshman Tobias Merriweather and sophomore Deion Colzie have the size/speed/ball skill talent to hurt the corners on the perimeter, if given the chance. Michael Mayer and Lorenzo Styles have the skills to make big plays in the pass game. It's about whether or not Rees can get creative with how to get them the ball, if he's willing to be aggressive throwing the ball, and if Pyne can get the ball where it needs to go.

I would also love to see Rees get back to using his talented running backs more in the pass game.

Going after the safeties is especially important. According to Pro Football Focus, Clemson's safeties have given up 695 passing yards this season, which is more than double what the Notre Dame safeties have given up. Using formations to get isolations against the safeties is important for Notre Dame, and Rees making sure he has the right personnel on the field in those situations is also very important.

Opportunities will be there, Notre Dame must be able to create them, take them and hit them.

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