Notre Dame v. Temple: A Running Commentary

Michigan’s on the horizon, so before I go any farther, let me just say:  Michigan sucks.  I already feel better, even if I am just railing on a non-rival….errr….a historic rival…well, whatever they are, they suck.  I’ll have more time to discuss those guys later, but let’s return to the Temple game.  The Tuesday installment each week will take a look at the rushing attack. 

The 5-horsemen all made an impact, and it was exciting to see Folston and Bryant get into the game in the fourth.  Having now seen Greg Bryant’s arms, I think he could give Brady Quinn a run for most discussed guns in Irish history.  But we’re at least weeks away from needing to begin that countdown.  In general, I was pleased with the Irish running attack.  Yes, I do believe the game plan was “dumbed down” and even more so after the Irish took a 21-6 lead into the half.

People seem to think that Brian Kelly is a run and gun guy, but this Temple game looked a lot like offensive performances from last year.  While we as the fans are anxious to see the Irish run up the score, Kelly is more than content to tighten things up and try to control the clock and the ball.  He didn’t apologize at Cincinnati for speeding things up when he thought it benefited his team, and I don’t expect him to apologize for slowing things down so long as it continues to be effective.

It’s tough to glean too much from this game.  Having watched the game again, it seemed very clear that Kelly and Martin fully intended to just exploit the athletic mismatches they had on the line.  Not many plays used unexpected motion, and by the second half the team was more than content to just run it up the middle if at all possible.  That, in part, explains why we saw so much of run CMC in the second half.  Neither Carlisle nor Atkinson had a rushing attempt in the fourth quarter. 

I was impressed with the returns the team saw utilizing the pistol formation.  The Irish lined up in the 3WR/1RB/1TE pistol formation more than any other, and all and all, it appeared to be effective.  As the weeks go along I expect to see them add additional nuances to this set, but both Carlisle and McDaniel were quite effective running the ball out of this formation.

Here are the numbers and then a few takeaways:

Rushes by Player:

Player:	Carries:	Yards:	Yds/Car.:	TD:
Carlisle	7	68	9.71	0
McDaniel	12	65	5.42	0
Atkinson	8	34	4.25	1
Folston	5	14	2.8	0
Bryant	2	12	6	0
Rees*	1	-5	-5	0
TOTAL:	35	188	5.37	1

* Sack

Rushes by Quarter:

Quarter:	Carries:	Yards:	Yds/Car.:	TD:
1	8	77	9.63	0
2	5	28	5.6	0
3	10	49	4.9	1
4	12	34	2.83	0

Rushes by Rushing Direction:

Run Direction:	Carries:	Yards:	Yds./Car.	TD:
Left	9	65	7.22	0
Middle	22	88	4	1
Right	3	40	13.33	0

Amir Carlisle is the new Theo Riddick:  Carlisle got the majority of the looks in the “Theo Riddick” role.  By that, I mean that he was the one the Irish would line-up in a “no back” set.  Frequently, Carlisle would then motion to the back field and set up in a more traditional 4 wide shotgun .  He got 2 carries on such motion plays and was also targeted as a receiver out of this formation.  Given Rees’ lack of mobility, it’s doubtful that Martin and Kelly would utilize a true “no back” set as much as they did with Golson last year.  Carlisle effectively filling this role will be pivotal going forward to the “no back” look being a weapon, but don’t rule out Tarean Folston getting some longer run in that role as well as the season goes along. 

Running out of the 2 WR/2TE Set:  The Irish ran 7 times out of the 2 WR/TE set.  They went 7/26 (3.71 yds./car.) and scored their only rushing touchdown out of this formation.  Daniel Smith is the WR enforcer, and was used to motion into the backfield as the de facto lead blocker near the goal line.  Smith was also used on the outside for his blocking abilities.  All 7 rushes out of the 2 WR/2TE set came in the second half.

Conservative Game Plan:  At least 60% of the Irish’s rushing attempts in each quarter came up the middle…and yes, that percentage was at its highest in the 4^th quarter when 8/12 rushes came up the gut.  It seemed pretty clear that by the second half Martin and the crew were more than content to conserve energy and creativity and attempt to wear down the Temple defense.  How effective this was is debatable.  As the chart above shows, the Irish’s yards per carry diminished as the game went along and the playbook became increasingly transparent.  Yes, the “trend” is aided by Carlisle’s long run in the first.  If we were to take out that run, the first quarter would have been nearly as bad as the fourth, but I don’t think it’s fair to “get rid of the big ones.”  Rees’ first TD pass to Daniels was a play action, and the long run to open the game certainly helped set that up.

Tomorrow I’ll give an overview of the Irish “Team” attack, and take a look forward to this coming weekend.

- Moons