Notre Dame Score Predictions, Keys To Victory Against California
Notre Dame (0-2) will look to get on track today when it hosts the undefeated California Golden Bears (2-0). This is a game Notre Dame should win, but the Irish are struggling, and if they play the way they did a week ago this could be another rough day for the Irish.
Of course, Notre Dame will look to get back on track and pick up its first win of the season. In the videos below we break down the keys to victory for the Irish on offense and defense, and then give our prediction for this matchup.
Let's begin with the Notre Dame offense.
KEYS TO VICTORY - NOTRE DAME OFFENSE
Notre Dame's primary struggle this season has been on offense, and the Irish enter this game averaging just 15.5 points per game, 302.0 yards per game and just 4.91 yards per play. The Irish will need to break out of this funk without starting quarterback Tyler Buchner. There is a path to success for the Irish, which we explain in the video. Here's a quick look at some of those keys.
1. Adjust Personnel - I'm not sure it's going to happen, but if Notre Dame's offense is going to get fully on track it needs to put its best players on the field, and that means making running back Chris Tyree more of a focal point of the offense, and then getting freshman receiver Tobias Merriweather more involved in the offense along with Lorenzo Styles and Braden Lenzy.
We didn't discuss it in the video, but sophomore tight end Cane Berrong, as well as freshmen tight ends Eli Raridon and Holden Staes, also need to be more involved in the offensive game plan.
2. Spread Cal Out - Cal if a big, physical, well coached football team that is designed to shut down the run game, especially the box run game. Notre Dame can't just abandon the run because of its struggles and Cal's success, but there are ways to open things one. One is to spread Cal out formationally, matchup the wideouts and tight ends against Cal's smaller corners, and then force Cal out from the box.
You can't just do this with formations, so Notre Dame will also need a plan of attack with the run, pass and screen game that attacks the perimeter on all three levels. It's essentially a reverse engineering of how Notre Dame normally likes to attack, but it would be effective against the Bears and could soften things up for the run game.
3. Get Pyne Into An Early Rhythm - Junior quarterback Drew Pyne has a lot of pressure heading into this game. He struggled in the spring, struggled during fall camp and struggled when he came off the bench last week. Pyne didn't lose his ability to throw, he's just not been in a good rhythm physically or mentally for awhile. It's imperative that offensive coordinator Tommy Rees do things early on to get Pyne into a good rhythm. As his confidence builds the confidence of his teammates in him will grow, and the offense should get rolling.
KEYS TO VICTORY - NOTRE DAME DEFENSE
California's offense has shown improvement in 2022 and it has some talented young players. Still, the Bears are far from a juggernaut, and Notre Dame should be able to have some success keeping them in check. Of course, assuming the Irish make adjustments from last week and execute. Oh, and that they perform well in the following keys to the game.
1. Dominate Up Front - California has a talented running back, very good athleticism at wide receiver and quarterback Jack Plummer has a very live arm. The issue for Cal, more than anything, is its below average offensive line. It's a line with impressive size, but the Bear blockers aren't overly athletic. It's a matchup that Notre Dame can and should dominate.
Standouts Isaiah Foskey and Jayson Ademilola need to use their athleticism to make plays, and they need to be allowed to do so schematically. This is the perfect game for both to break out of their two-game funks. The line dominating means they are shutting down the ground attack and not letting Plummer get into rhythm. When he's comfortable he's quite good, when he gets consistently pressured he struggles in a big way.
2. Protect The Deep Ball - Cal has good speed on the outside and Plummer is inaccurate deep, but he's got a very strong arm. Notre Dame needs to limit the big plays in the pass game, which can be a bit of an equalizer against the Irish defense.
We also talked a little special teams in the above video.
NOTRE DAME vs. CAL SCORE PREDICTIONS
After breaking down the keys to the game we provided our score predictions. We both predicted the Irish to win, but our scores were quite different .... sort of.
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