Rakes Report #129: Can't start a fire sitting 'round crying over a broken heart (The Virginia Review)
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1) The cool thing about college football is you can win games in a bunch of ways and they all go in the standings the same. Escaping because your quarterback got hot even though you can’t stop anybody on defense? Sure. Putting It all on a running back the other team simply can’t tackle even though the rest of your team is floundering? Yeah, still counts. Saturday's game was scary for a while and then really fun as the Irish tried a new path to victory: Just pummel the hell out of the opposition to the tune of eight sacks, five turnovers and four yards of rushing allowed even though you’re coming off an emotionally and physically draining loss and trailing at the half against a Top 20 team. It was shaky deep into the third, but eventually the Irish suffocated the Cavaliers and notched their 13th straight home win. When people look back at this game in the record books, it'll make no mention of third quarter special teams miscues or offensive woes and just count as yet another W.
2) Against the Cavaliers we saw the Defensive Line That Was Promised, as Julian Okwara awoke from his early-season slumber to stalk poor Bryce Perkins for four quarters. 13 total tackles for loss — an absolutely silly number — coming from Okwara (three sacks, two forced fumbles), Khalid Kareem (2.5 sacks and living up to his postgame threat/promise/declaration last week), Drew White, Alohi Gilman, Kurt Hinish, Jamir Jones, Ovie Oghoufo and Ade Ogundeji. The Cavaliers had negative yards rushing in the first half and they were outscored 7-3 by the Irish defense in the second half (and it was a few giant MTA steps away from 14-3). It was a masterful performance when the team needed one and a testament to Clark Lea’s halftime adjustments and motivational abilities.
When we were trying to figure out how this team might be successful, “Opposing offense harried by defensive line rushes throws into ballhawking secondary” was high on the list and we saw that as well, as Alohi Gilman and Kyle Hamilton both came down with interceptions. The Hamilton pick was just lovely and you really can’t say enough about how high the hype was and how he’s also lived up to that and then some. Credit to Perkins and his receivers for absolutely balling out for a half, but they couldn’t keep it up for a second thirty minutes. Also, that’s two straight games of quality play from the linebackers against two different types of offenses. Not bad!
3) On the less positive end of the spectrum, Shaun Crawford went down with a dislocated elbow set to keep him out 3-4 weeks, which means he’ll miss the Southern Cal game and probably the Michigan game. If karma is real, I hope Crawford reaps some extreme benefits down the road for the toll he’s taken during his time in South Bend. Notre Dame was going to need TaRiq Bracy, K.J. Wallace and Houston Griffith to step up in the coming seasons and that future is now, although Brian Kelly said JOK would be getting more snaps in the nickel to help manage the Crawford absence. We have also lost Daelin Hayes for the season with a torn labrum, a tough one because he had been so splendid in the first few games. This likely ends the Jamir Jones, Senior Redshirt Project and perhaps substitutes it with a Daelin Hayes, Senior Redshirt Project should he be willing to stick around. Crawford and Hayes had perhaps been the best players at their respective position groups so this is not ideal, but Jones had one of the forced fumbles on Saturday and looked good.
Before we get into the offense, I’m going to give you a blind item of two 2019 stat lines from FBS quarterbacks. Results shortly:
PLAYER A: 61.8% completion rate, 8.3 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, rating of 143.68
PLAYER B: 63% completion rate, 8.3 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, rating of 151.96
4) The running game finally got going a little bit, particularly in the fourth quarter as Tony Jones salted the afternoon away with a 131-yard, three-touchdown effort. For the crowd that thinks offenses should be focused on the ground, you should be pleased with some of the play selection on Saturday. On the first drive, the Irish faced 2nd and 4 on the Virginia eight, ran twice and scored. C’Borius Flemister had a great touchdown run on 1st and 10 from the 11, after a 13-yard reception to get the Irish into the red zone. After MTA’s fumble return, the Irish ran twice and scored. After Gilman’s interception, the Irish ran the ball four out of five plays and scored to go up 35-17 on a 30-yard run from Jones that featured a great block from Tommy Tremble, who’s coming along nicely. After Hamilton's interception, the Irish took over with 3:49 remaining in the game and ran out the clock with seven rushes. In all, Notre Dame ran for 5.1 yards per rush, or exactly 5.0 more yards per carry than their guests.
Not a great day for Ian Book, who continued to miss open targets while struggling with pocket presence, although there were a few busts in protection that didn’t help things combined with Chase Claypool tweaking his ankle and taking a favorite target off the board. One nice thing is Cole Kmet was great for a second straight game and as long as he stays healthy the Irish have an A-number one weapon to turn to in all sorts of situations in addition to getting another quality blocker in the running game. Michael Young was back and had a light day save for an early third down conversion, but good to have him in the rotation particularly as Chris Finke continues to struggle. The screen game is abysmal right now, between offensive linemen missing blocks, receivers dropping balls and poor passes. Please get better at this, it could be useful down the line.
Counter to much of the doom and gloom around Book, on Saturday he completed 68 percent of his passes, didn’t turn the ball over and guided the offense to four touchdowns in four red zone possessions. If Claypool’s ankle doesn’t give out late in the second quarter and Notre Dame has first down near midfield on a drive to go up 21-10, how do we view the offense that had just come off 13 plays for 75 yards, 4 for 54 and 13 of 55 on its first three drives of the game? (Also, Notre Dame should install a hot tub for Claypool to hang out in during the Bowling Green game. Can you have champagne on the sidelines during college football games? Let’s find out!) I would also note that Book was pretty good on balls down the field for the second straight game when he actually throws it, but whether it’s Chip Long’s calls or Book missing open guys, there haven’t been enough shots.
If the offensive line can run block like it did on Saturday while the skill positions get healthier it will make Book’s life much easier. He has to be better, yes, because it is extremely frustrating to watch him bail out of clean pockets as his internal clock is amiss but let’s not start talking quarterback changes just yet. If the line is run blocking better and Jafar Armstrong is back for the final seven games, you’re talking about a scheme that could maybe turn into more of a power rush attack with Book taking shots to big bodies and fast guys. I didn’t think the offense would be the work in progress that it is at the moment, but there’s some reason for hope to help balance out the wobbliness that could absolutely cost the Irish a game down the line.
The answer to the blind item? Player A is Trevor Lawrence and Player B is Ian Book. I don’t really know if I have a broader point but that’s interesting, right? If you were curious, Jalen Hurts is sitting at 77.6%, 15.2 yards per attempt, 12 touchdowns, one pick and a rating of 249.86
5) Roughest special teams game of the season thus far, but the specialists were still far short of disaster. Jay Bramblett failed to pin teams inside the 20 as he had previously, but still avoided any shanks or blocks. Jonathan Doerer missed a 47-yarder but remained solid on kickoffs and extra points, including one that was moved back on a penalty. The Wahoos pulled off a nifty onside kick that you could pin on Brian Polian but I’ll choose to tip the hat to Bronco Mendenhall for a gutsy call and his team for perfect execution. (Although it ended up not mattering because the defense immediately forced a punt.) I also don’t think you can blame Polian for a senior captain who’s received dozens of punts at this point muffing one. (And that ended up not mattering because the defense got a fourth down stop on a bizarre play call from the Cavaliers. Recurring theme of this review: Thank you, defense.)
6) If you were at the game, congrats on making a great life choice because that was a miserable television experience. Between the drone camera where you literally couldn’t see where the ball was going and incessant interruptions from the officiating consultant, it felt like The Bad Place of football broadcasts. Those in attendance did get to experience the yakety sax of officiating, which at one point included bungling a Jones conversion spot (his hip landed on the line to gain!), bringing the chains out to measure it and THEN doing a review. I listened to the first couple drives of the game on the radio (shoutout to the Sirius XM Catholic channel) because I was running late and that was a far more enjoyable experience, which should concern all executives at NBC Sports.
7) I hope Virginia has figured out their protections by the trip to Miami because I would really like them to win that game and get an early jump on the Coastal Division. It’s fun to lock in a victory over a team that might win a bunch of games but whose success won’t bum you out (see: the opening night victory last season). Considering Perkins’ talents, those two great wide receivers and Mendenhall’s consistently good defenses, I think this could be a really nice win come December, but they have to keep their quarterback alive. The 'Hoos have a bye week before the Hurricanes to work on it.
8) Winning Is Hard/Schadenfreude Round Up: A special weekend for this section because the first time “Winning is Hard” was ever written in a Report was after the 2015 Virginia game, Section 3 of Edition #17. If you’re a recent subscriber, this portion is not whataboutism or excuse making for the Irish, but a reminder that college football is a phenomenally stupid game in which upsets and errors happen each and every weekend across the country. If you only watch Notre Dame play and then compare them to some halcyon standard from back in the day that probably never existed you’ll be miserable. Misfortune befalls most if not all over the course of the season, not just Notre Dame.
Honestly, kind of light this week. No. 1 Clemson defeated Mack Brown’s Tar Heels by a single point in Chapel Hill after UNC went for two late and didn’t get it. (Imagine needing a two-point conversion against Clemson and just running your quarterback.) No. 2 Alabama was losing after one quarter against Ole Miss at home but ended up doing just fine. Cal was undefeated and up to No. 15 in the country but they lost at home to Herm Edwards, who is kind of decent at this college coaching thing. No. 23 Texas A&M was a three-touchdown favorite against woeful Arkansas and needed a fourth quarter rally. No. 25 Michigan State needed a late field goal to beat Indiana at home. USC couldn’t get anything going against Washington and lost in Seattle, putting the Clay Helton Era back on tilt with a trip to South Bend upcoming after the bye.
Maryland was so excited to host Penn State on Friday night they canceled classes and added seating to their stadium. They lost 59-0. Nebraska got to host both “College GameDay” and Ohio State, a primetime showcase for Year Two of the Scott Frost Era after almost winning in Columbus last year. They lost 48-7. Undefeated Minnesota won in West Lafayette and now the Boilers are 1-3 and heading to State College this weekend.
Pitt almost followed up their win over Central Florida by losing to Delaware but rallied. Baylor blew a 20-0 fourth quarter lead against Iowa State but then recovered for a 23-21 victory, another close loss for Matt Campbell and another nice win for Matt Rhule. Stanford barely escaped Corvallis and the Beavers. Dave Doeren and NC State got crushed at Florida State, who are looking pretty frisky. South Florida got crushed at home by SMU (who’s undefeated?!) and Charlie Strong is probably going to get fired. Virginia Tech got smoked at home by Duke and prayers up for Justin Fuente at this point for a collapse I don’t think anybody saw coming.
9) I feel like this season is sort of trending in the direction I feared, which is Notre Dame sitting at a hard-luck 3-1 after a tough loss in Athens and three perfectly acceptable wins (by 18 on the road in primetime, by 52 over a tomato can, by 15 over a top twenty team that was 4-0 entering the game) and everyone still kind of being down about things. The offense isn’t where we want it but there’s still room for growth while the defense has put together two really fun weeks in a row. Everyone was worried about the kicker and punter submarining things and they’re doing a-okay through the first third of the season. (Got my fractions right this week.) Things are pretty good even if Michigan and Southern Cal aren't going to be walkovers but this isn't supposed to be easy.
Considering Notre Dame has opened as a six-touchdown favorite against Bowling Green in their ByeVG, the main goals should be to keep everybody healthy and get Phil Jurkovec enough quality reps that people are calling for him to start in Ann Arbor if there are any struggles by Book in the USC game. (I kid but this seems like a thing that could and maybe will happen.) It’s been a tense couple of weeks so enjoy this breather and the chance to see some young guys play because there is still a lot to accomplish this season once we get to the other side of the Falcons. If this one is close? Well, then we can all panic.
10) If you want an audio supplement to this, Jess Smetana of Sports Illustrated joined Matt and I to talk about the Virginia game. You can listen to that here. Talk to you all next Monday.
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