Fiesta Bowl Will Show How Much Notre Dame Has Improved On Offense

Notre Dame finished the regular season ranked 20th in scoring offense, and it was the program's second highest scoring average to end a regular season with since former coach Brian Kelly arrived in South Bend.

That success was fueled by a defense that accounted for four touchdowns itself and a second half surge that saw the offense average 37.2 points per game in the final six contests of the season .... all wins.

Notre Dame was clearly an improved offense during the final six games, but just how much it improved will be put to the test in the Fiesta Bowl. The reason is Notre Dame's second half schedule was filled with bad defenses.

The final six opponents on Notre Dame's schedule ranked between 82nd (Navy) and 110th (Georgia Tech). North Carolina (101st), USC (102nd), Virginia (102nd), Stanford (105th) and Georgia Tech (110th) were among the worst scoring defenses in the country.

Beginning with its matchup against Toledo on September 11th, Notre Dame played five straight opponents that ranked in the Top 40 in scoring defense. It was the only five opponents all season it played that ranked higher than 70th in scoring defense.

During that stretch the Irish offense scored just 24.8 points per game.

During its other seven games the offense scored 37.7 points per game.

In fact, the only game during the first six contests where Notre Dame played a defense outside of the Top 50 was the opener against Florida State. The Irish scored 41 points and had 431 yards of offense, numbers that look similar to what the offense did down the stretch against similarly bad, often worse defenses.

Oklahoma State is arguably the best defense Notre Dame has faced all season, which means Tommy Rees and the offense get a chance to show the second half surge was more about its changes and improvements than it was playing a softer schedule.

The Cowboys enter this contest ranked 7th in scoring defense, giving up just 16.8 points per game. That's even more impressive when you consider they play in the Big 12, a conference known more for scoring than making stops.

Notre Dame hasn't played a defense that ranked in the Top 25 in scoring defense since its Oct. 2 loss to Cincinnati. That was part of a two-game stretch against Top 10 scoring defenses (Wisconsin being the other). In those two games the Irish offense scored just 16.5 points.

That likely won't get it done against the Cowboys, unless the Irish defense can score two touchdowns and Chris Tyree can take another kick back to the house, which fueled the 41 points against Wisconsin. In fact, the Notre Dame defense and special teams scored more points against the Badgers (21) than did the Notre Dame offense (20).

This game will be a test of whether or not the offensive line has improved. Notre Dame's front struggled to protect the quarterback during the first half of the season, and the Cowboys registered more sacks than any team in the country.

It will be a test for quarterback Jack Coan, who completed 73.7% of his passes in the final six games, averaged 9.2 yards per attempt during that stretch and had a blistering quarterback rating of 168.19.

Oklahoma State will also field arguably the best cornerback tandem since Notre Dame faced Cincinnati, so wideouts Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy and the talented freshmen (Deion Colzie, Lorenzo Styles) will be tested.

It will tell us if Rees can put together a game plan and call a game that can do damage against an elite offense, which will do a bit of foreshadowing into the 2022 season.

Oh, and Notre Dame will have to do all this without All-American running back Kyren Williams, who chose not to play one final game with his teammates so that he could prepare for the NFL Draft.

If the Notre Dame offense can handle the talented Oklahoma State front, move the football and put points on the board against this defense it will show the improvements were real, and will create a great deal of excitement about what it can be in 2022.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter