Rakes Report #173: Healing doesn't happen in a straight line (The Purdue Review)
If you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive future editions, you can do so here.
~optional musical accompaniment~
1) When the first snap of the game resulted in Jack Coan being sacked on a blitz up the middle, it felt like it could be one of those days, and for long stretches of the afternoon that was the case. The line was giving up pressure while Coan was slow to respond it, missing on some protection checks, hanging in the pocket too long at times and misfiring when receivers did break open. But eventually he found his footing, Tommy Rees got into a nice groove of play calling and the offensive line was able to get a little bit of push in the run game, the Irish getting out with a two-score win and relatively low-drama fourth quarter.
I continue to repeat myself on this but it’s very important as we evaluate the 2021 Irish: College football teams, both as a whole and within the individual units which comprise them, aren’t static. They get better and worse over the course of the year, ebbing and flowing with player health, player development and scheme adjustments. We’ve seen situations where productive campaigns fall apart come November (2014, 2017) and where some wobbles early cohere into more dominant units when the regular season chills (the last three years, to varying degrees). This team has to continue getting better.
Last year it was the passing game we spent the opening weeks cajoling and prodding, with lamentations in early October that the team should stop trying to force the ball to Javon McKinley because it just wasn’t going to happen. But it did, and McKinley made big play after big play to close the season while Ian Book found a rhythm with Bennett Skowronek, Michael Mayer emerged and Avery Davis became more and more comfortable in the slot. The 2020 Irish passing attack would never get confused with their Rose Bowl opponent’s quiver of options, but it got the job done against nearly everyone else.
It’s much easier to scheme around weakness at receiver than it is at offensive line, which is so central to everything a team tries to do, but there’s reason to hope they could continue to progress. Players could improve individually, and in their chemistry with one another. Coan can adjust the clock in his head and scope out blitzers better, getting rid of the ball more quickly. Rees can help him with that by adjusting his calls and making sure there are safety valves and hot routes readily available, and maximum protection — enjoyed freshman Joe Alt being added to the fray — like we saw on Saturday when feasible. The staff can also help the line by adding in dashes of the more mobile back-up, something to keep the defense a little off-balance. Everyone could become more familiar with the scheme, which contains so many new elements, a big departure from last year revolving around a veteran offensive line and mobile quarterback.
If you told me coming into this game that Mayer and Kevin Austin would combine for one catch while the Irish averaged 3.5 yards per carry I would have assumed disaster, but they were able to gut out enough plays to secure the win even if it was downright ugly for stretches. They must continue to get better, but the season is a quarter over and the Irish are still undefeated, which is much prettier than any kind of record with a loss.
2) Let’s start by focusing on a good effort from the defense, which gave their offensive counterparts plenty of opportunities to put some distance on the scoreboard that were not capitalized upon until later in the game. Unfortunately, the one time the offense did hit a big play to make it 17-6, the defense immediately gave up their lone touchdown of the game, but they locked down for a shutout fourth quarter, aided by two interceptions. One thing I loved is that Notre Dame came into this game ranked 91st in the nation in opponent third-down conversion rate and dominated in that situation after the break, the Boilers going 0-for-6 on third-down tries in the second half. If you combine pressure from the defensive line with big plays from the secondary and timely playmaking we’ll really be cooking.
It will be interesting to see how this Purdue offense looks the rest of the way, as it really didn’t seem to have a ton of overwhelming talent outside of David Bell and a solid tight end. Jeff Brohm didn’t go too deep into his bag of tricks and was downright conservative at times, the one trickeration attempt sniffed out by Nana Osafo-Mensah as the back end of the defense stayed disciplined. J.D. Bertrand was really good again, as were the Ademilola Brothers and Kurt Hinish. MTA is a rock and Cam Hart, despite getting got once by Bell, continued to justify the offseason hype.
I don’t think anyone who roots for Notre Dame takes Kyle Hamilton for granted but I just want to make sure we take some time and highlight him. He ended a pair of Purdue drives (one with a gorgeous fourth down stop and another with an interception), had ten tackles, two pass break-ups and downed a pretty Jay Bramblett punt at the one. This is in addition to all of the plays he influences in coverage, forcing quarterbacks to a lesser option or inspiring just enough pause they fall victim to a pass rusher. There are many, many reasons I want Notre Dame to win many, many games this season but near the top of the list is “Do not waste Kyle Hamilton’s junior year” because that would feel tragic in real time but look even worse in retrospect.
3) While we are celebrating junior stars let us turn our attention to Kyren Williams, who drove the offense against Purdue. Gutsy 39-yard touchdown catch on fourth down? Yes. A rumbling 51-yard touchdown run that would gain a nod of approval from Marshawn Lynch to stretch it to a two-score lead in the fourth? Yup. How about a couple big punt returns, just for fun? You bet. This offense has so many incredible pieces that it’s imperative the offensive line and quarterback situation remain consistent enough to let them shine.
It was fits and starts with that goal on Saturday. The line did enough to let Williams and Chris Tyree make a couple plays, playing better over the course of the game. Coan took a step back in his accuracy early, missing throws and being hurt by a rough day at the office by Kevin Austin. Once Coan calibrated and started consistently putting the ball in catchable areas, he was hurt by drops, a key one from Austin down the sideline and another where the sun bested Braden Lenzy on an absolute dime. All of these disparate parts of the offense are swirling and if they can just align you can envision a good unit, but time for that synchronization might be running out with the Badger and Bearcat defenses next up.
Not much from Tyler Buchner on Saturday other than an exceptional third and long conversion. For those wondering about the freshman’s potential limitations with the playbook and reads, he handed the ball off on a play where two receivers were covered to his left by just one defensive back, something he will learn to identify as he continues to progress but also a reminder that for all the opportunities he creates there are also some perhaps taken off the board by inexperience. Brian Kelly said after the game Buchner was suffering some hamstring tightness which led to his second half absence. Hopefully they can get him right for Soldier Field, as I suspect this offense might need a jolt or two.
Congrats to Avery Davis on his first 100-yard receiving game. After not even being targeted in the opener, Davis has put together a pair of productive games and came through with a huge touchdown catch that echoed his memorable grab against Clemson. I echo Kelly’s sentiments that everyone needs to rise to Davis’ “fucking level.”
I am loving how Coan and Rees continue to search for big plays on third and fourth down attempts like the one to Davis. Through three games Coan already has the following touchdown throws:
* 41 yards to Michael Mayer on 4th and 1.
* 23 yards to Joe Wilkins on 3rd and 4.
* 37 yards to Kevin Austin on 3rd and 1.
* 39 yards to Kyren Williams on 4th and 3.
* 62 yards to Avery Davis on 3rd and 7.
Five different guys! The potential and the playmakers are there in flashes, just need some protection and consistency.
4) After a sterling first two games, Jonathan Doerer was shaky in his placekicking, missing badly on one field goal attempt and making badly (is that a thing?) on another. Already mentioned Bramblett pinning the Boilers at the one, in addition to uncorking a 52-yarder. No problems as far as coverage busts, and Kyren as punt returner has been fun so far although I wonder if perhaps it should be used judiciously considering how important he is to the overall operation.
5) My only request for announcing booths is to not be annoying or clearly wrong and if you can throw in some actual good analysis that’s a huge bonus. I think Drew Brees easily cleared that bar in my first opportunity to hear him work. A tough situation for a first-time announcer with his alma mater in town but Brees performed well, with all the Boilermaker flourishes coming from the production side (it is pretty wild that Purdue is one of the schools with three Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks). Mike Tirico remains the best. The Drum situation was very funny and please listen to the Report’s Senior Drum Correspondent at the end of the Purdue Instant Reaction podcast.
6) Winning Is Hard/Schadenfreude Round-Up: It felt like this was going to be a “Maybe Alabama is the only good team?” year, but even the Crimson Tide showed weakness this time out, their offense sputtering in The Swamp while the Gators ran all over them, barely escaping with a two-point win. Considering the quality of opponent, that was a downright impressive showing from the sport’s elite. Oklahoma beat Nebraska at home by all of a touchdown, managing just 23 points. Ohio State made their final score look better but Tulsa had the ball inside Buckeye territory down just seven with eight minutes to go. Clemson was a four-touchdown home favorite and beat Georgia Tech 14-8, their offense remaining a complete mess.
(To put the Clemson offense in perspective, do you remember last year’s Louisville game in a wind tunnel after which some Irish fans wanted to send Book to a nice farm upstate? He averaged 5.6 yards per passing attempting that day. Against the Yellow Jackets, D.J. Uiagalelei went for 5.0 yards per throw. I should mention that in the opener Geoff Collins’ crew gave up eight yards per attempt to Northern Illinois’ Rocky Lombardi.)
Speaking of Rocky Lombardi, No. 24 Miami lost at home to Sparty, and if it wasn’t for some Appalachian State drops they would be 0-3. Florida State actually is 0-3, as Mike Norvell continues to mishandle his quarterbacks and everything else. No. 15 Virginia Tech was a road favorite in Morgantown but trailed 24-7 at the half, a deficit they were unable to overcome against the Mountaineers, failing to convert a late goal-to-go situation. Cincinnati almost lost to Indiana, but they didn’t and now the Hoosiers (a preseason Top 20 team) will have to scrape to make a bowl. While on the topic of scraping just to make it to a bowl, Northwestern was a slight road favorite at Duke and lost.
Pitt was 2-0 and started to get some praise so of course they immediately lost at home to Western Michigan, Pat Narduzzi giving up 44 points. 2-0 Kentucky struggled with Chattanooga and 2-0 Mississippi State lost at Memphis. 2-0 Virginia gave up 59 on the road to Sam Howell and the Tar Heels. No. 22 Auburn had a chance to tie late in Happy Valley but threw a misbegotten fade on fourth and goal. Louisiana Tech lost to SMU on a walkoff touchdown pass. Our old friends the Toledo Rockets might have had the single worst loss of the day, falling to a woeful Colorado State team at home.
Would you like an entire section on the Pac-12? No. 13 UCLA rallied late against Fresno State in the Rose Bowl but couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs’ final drive, suffering their first loss of the season. No. 19 Arizona State melted down in Provo for their first defeat. Utah, a trendy preseason conference title pick, lost in triple overtime at San Diego State and is now 1-2 before league play even begins so I guess technically that doesn’t affect their Pac-12 South chances if you’re looking for upside. Arizona, a trendy pick to be the worst team in the league, affirmed that with a 21-19 home loss to Northern Arizona. Colorado, a week after taking Texas A&M to the limit, accrued (this is not a typo) 63 (sixty-three) yards of offense at home against Minnesota.
(Speaking of the Pac-12, our USC insider stopped by the pod last week to talk about the Trojans. It’s a lot of Remembering Some Coaching Candidates, but I think it’s a fun conversation.)
A reminder for any new readers or old ones who forgot: Winning Is Hard isn’t whataboutism, it’s just a check against saying “How could Notre Dame do this dumb thing!? Only the Irish” when college football teams do incredibly stupid things every single week of the season. You chose to care about this nonsense sport.
7) Quick women’s basketball corner: Jewell Loyd scored 22 points in a dang quarter on Friday night, tying a WNBA record. Arike and Marina have an awesome new shirt together. Good luck to all the Fighting Irish in the WNBA playoffs, which kick off Thursday night with Marike and the Wings trying to advance at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2 followed immediately by SkyDigg, Brianna Turner and the Mercury attempting to move on as well. Loyd’s Storm, Jackie Young’s Aces and the Lynx (Kayla McBride, Natalie Achonwa and Jess Shepherd) all have byes.
8) The latest win against the Boilermakers, who have not defeated Notre Dame since the Golden Tate Fly Route Exhibition of 2007, continues an underrated aspect of Brian Kelly’s tenure: Avoiding losses in Nuisance Games, which I have designated as contests against Purdue, Boston College and Pittsburgh. No one has ever thrown a party for winning against those teams but many a program has seen seasons tripped up by losing to them. Kelly is now 19-1 against the trio, the only loss coming at Heinz Field in 2013.
Notre Dame is 3-0, and there’s no reason to apologize for that, nor for being 37-5 since the calendar flipped to 2018. However, if Kelly would like that gaudy record to continue to grow over the next month-plus they will have to keep getting better. No team remaining on the schedule is indomitable, but Wisconsin has perhaps the nastiest defense we’ll see and will be going against an Irish offense that has been, politely, inconsistent. Rees is going to have to call a helluva game – the Badgers had coverage busts against Penn State in their opener and are perhaps susceptible there, but only if Coan has time to find open receivers before he’s planted. Is this the kind of match up the Irish can win with defense and three or four huge offensive plays on an otherwise inefficient day? It might have to be.
Both of the major pregame shows will be in Chicago and all eyes will be on the Irish. If they win, they’ll create more space between their program and that of a perennial Big Ten contender while likely setting up a clash of Top 10 teams in South Bend the following week. If they look good in the process, Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt will talk them up for the rest of the season any time Notre Dame is mentioned on the featured Fox broadcast. This is a big opportunity to kick off a month-plus of big opportunities, and I hope Chicago’s College Football Team is ready to take advantage of it. The oddsmakers have installed Wisconsin as a favorite, but you do have to actually play the games.
Go Irish, Beat Badgers. 3-0 is cool, but 4-0 would be better.
If you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive future editions, you can do so here.