Previewing Notre Dame With A Fighting Irish Insider

Lou Somogyi of Blue & Gold Illustrated was kind enough to swing by this week and break down Notre Dame's squad prior to its showdown with the Michigan Wolverines' football team this weekend.

The Fighting Irish are 5-1 on the year with their lone loss occurring by six points at Georgia in late September, and Somogyi broke down the team's strengths and weaknesses, and also provided his final score prediction at the end.

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• Senior QB Ian Book — He has connected on 63.2 percent of his passes, thrown for 1,419 yards and compiled an impressive 14-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Book is actually the Irish's second-leading rusher as well with 188 yards and three scores on the ground.

• Senior RB Tony Jones — He has taken over as the team's primary running back this year, compiling 557 yards, four rushing touchdowns and an outstanding 7.0 yards per carry. Jones has been at his best as of late, averaging 136.3 yards over the Irish's last three outings, including a season-best 176 against USC Oct. 12.

• Senior WR Chase Claypool — The 6-4, 229-pounder leads Notre Dame in catches (27), receiving yards (394) and touchdown grabs (four). Claypool has also been very consistent for the Irish in 2019, reeling in at least 61 yards in four of the team's six contests.

• Fifth-year senior WR Chris Finke — His 15 receptions are the third most on the team and his 182 receiving yards check in at fourth. Michigan fans likely remember Finke best from last year's matchup in South Bend, when he ripped a 43-yard touchdown reception away from then-sophomore safety Brad Hawkins in the end zone during the first quarter.

• Junior WR Michael Young — He has been limited to three games due to injury, and has only accumulated six grabs for 21 yards as a result. Young reeled in 19 yards in his season debut against Virginia Sept. 28, but has not had more than four yards in the two appearances since.

• Junior TE Cole Kmet — His 21 grabs and 265 yards are both second on the roster to Claypool, while his three TD receptions are tied for second. The 6-5, 250-pounder's best game of the season actually occurred in the 23-17 loss at Georgia Sept. 21, when he logged nine catches for 108 yards and a score.

• Senior LT Liam Eichenberg — Pro Football Focus (PFF) has tagged him with an overall grade of 70.2 on the year, which is third among Notre Dame's five projected starting offensive linemen (64 is considered average). PFF has been especially high on Eichenberg as a pass blocker, awarding him with a 78.3 mark (second best along ND's starting front five).

• Junior LG Aaron Banks — His 359 snaps on the season are tied for the most of any of the Irish's offensive players, and his 68.3 PFF grade is fourth among the Irish's starting linemen. At 325 pounds, Banks is the heaviest player on Notre Dame's roster and is actually only one of four athletes north of 305 pounds.

• Sophomore C Jarrett Patterson — The California native has excelled in his first season as a starter, grading out phenomenally as both a run blocker (71.9) and pass blocker (75.2). Patterson has also helped anchor an Irish rushing attack that has averaged 5.3 yards per carry on the year (19th in the country).

• Senior RG Tommy Kraemer — PFF has rated him the lowest of Notre Dame's five projected starting linemen, though he still checks in with an above-average mark of 66.2. Kraemer's splits as a run blocker and pass blocker are substantially different, clocking in with a 63.6 grade in the former and a 76.6 tally in the latter.

• Junior RT Robert Hainsey — His 78.2 overall mark is the best of the Irish's 11 projected offensive starters this weekend. Hainsey has excelled especially in pass protection with an 81.7 grade from PFF, though his 73.2 run blocking mark is significantly above average as well.

• Senior DE Khalid Kareem — PFF has graded the Farmington Hills, Mich., native as the third-best pass rusher on Notre Dame's team, awarding him with a 79 grade in that department. Kareem's five tackles for loss are tied for the third most on the roster and his 3.5 sacks rank second.

• Junior DT Kurt Hinish — He has only compiled eight tackles, 3.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and two sacks on the year, and his 63.3 PFF grade ranks 24th out of the 41 Irish defenders who have seen the field in 2019. The outlet has pegged Hinish as an outstanding tackler, however, awarding him with a 75.8 mark.

• Junior DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa — He is rated as the top player on Notre Dame's entire defense, with his 82.6 tally standing 4.5 points higher than any other Irish defender. With that being said, Tagovailoa-Amosa has only registered 14 tackles, two stops behind the line of scrimmage and half a sack on the year.

• Senior DE Julian Okwara — PFF has tagged Okwara as the team's second-best defender, giving him a 78.1 mark overall and a team-best 90.8 grade as a pass rusher. The senior's four sacks, meanwhile, lead the team and his five tackles for loss are tied for third on the club.

• Fifth-year senior LB Asmar Bilal — He is the squad's third-leading tackler with 35 stops on the year, to go along with five tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Bilal has excelled against the run in 2019, with his 72.6 grade in that area slotting in as the third best on the defense.

• Junior LB Drew White — His seven tackles for loss lead the team, and his 29 total tackles are the fourth most on the squad. White's 81.2 PFF tally as a pass rusher, meanwhile, is the second-highest mark on the defense.

• Junior LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — His 37 tackles and his 5.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage both check in second on the team. Despite those gaudy statistics, Owusu-Koramoah's 62.6 PFF grade ranks 25th out of the 41 Irish defenders who have seen game action.

• Sophomore CB TaRiq Bracy — The California native's five passes broken up are two more than any other Notre Dame player, and he has also forced and recovered a fumble this year. PFF is very high on Bracy as well, labeling him as the squad's best tackler (88.9) and the third-best overall defender (75.5).

• Senior CB Troy Pride — He has started the last 22 games he has appeared in dating back to 2017, and his three passes broken up this year trail only Bracy's five. Pride's 369 snaps are the most on the Irish's defense, but he has actually been tabbed with a 66 grade or lower in PFF's five major defensive categories — overall (64.2), against the run (61.9), as a tackler (66), as a pass rusher (58.3) and in coverage (64.3).

• Senior S Alohi Gilman — His 38 tackles pace the team and his 360 snaps check in second to Pride's 369. At 5-10, Gilman is tied as the shortest player on the Irish's entire roster.

• Senior S Jalen Elliott — His 26 tackles rank fifth among Irish defenders, though his 64 PFF tally pegs him 20th out of 41 Notre Dame defensive players. Elliott has actually started 32 consecutive contests dating back to the first tilt of the 2017 season, and finished last year with 67 tackles, seven passes broken up and four interceptions.

• Junior K Jonathan Doerer — He has connected on all 27 of his extra points, and has been successful on 6 of 7 field goal attempts. Doerer is 3 of 4 on the year from beyond 40 yards, including a long of 52 he nailed in the win over USC Oct. 12.

• Freshman P Jay Bramblett — He is averaging a subpar 41.4 yards per punt on the season, though he has dropped eight of his 25 attempts inside the opposing 20-yard line. Bramblett also has just one 50-plus yard punt in 2019, a 58-yarder he boomed in the loss at Georgia Sept. 21.

"Notre Dame’s strengths on offense are ball security and efficiency," Somogyi explained. "They are No. 1 in the country in both turnover margin (plus-1.67) and red-zone scoring. They are one of only three teams who have scored on every red-zone possession — and 19 of those 22 are touchdowns, which is even more remarkable.

"The Irish have committed only four turnovers all year [two interceptions, two fumbles, with one coming on a punt return] yet are still averaging 39.2 points per game to rank among the top 15 in that category."

Notre Dame has only given the ball away in three of its six games this season, with its loss at Georgia standing as the lone multiple-turnover outing (it committed two).

Somogyi also noted how efficient the club's offense has been, with the Irish having averaged at least 5.3 yards per play in every contest this season.

Notre Dame's 6.8 yards per snap, meanwhile, is the 13th best mark in all of college football.

"Ian Book is often criticized for either leaving the pocket too soon or not 'pushing the offense' more with deep passes to test defenses more and not have them crowd the front," Somogyi noted. "However, that is what also helps Notre Dame be so good with ball security."

Long passing plays haven't exactly been prevalent for the Irish in 2019, with their five throws of 40 yards or more checking in 58th nationally.

On a similar note, however, ND is also averaging 8.7 yards per passing attempt, which slots in at 17th in the country.

On the flip side, U-M's secondary has been outstanding at limiting explosive plays through the air, giving up only seven of 30 yards or more (29th) and two of 40 yards or more (13th).

"Their prime strength on defense is they keep points down even though the opposition might rack up yardage," Somogyi explained. "Notre Dame has played 20 straight games without allowing more than 30 points in a game — the longest streak in the nation.

"The defensive end tandem of Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem are both projected as high-round picks who provide great edge presence, and both excelled against Michigan last year, with Kareem recording a crucial sack among his eight tackles and Okwara even intercepting a pass."

Notre Dame's scoring defense is actually the 15th-best unit in the nation this year, surrendering an average of 16.8 points per game.

USC's 27 points against the Irish Oct. 12 were the most any opponent had posted on ND in 2019, while three other foes were held to 17 or fewer (Louisville scored 17, New Mexico posted 14 and Bowling Green was shut out).

"If there is a concern, it didn’t end the USC game well Oct. 12 while allowing the Trojans to score on all four possessions in the second half [three touchdowns and a field goal] before escaping with a 30-27 win," Somogyi noted. "ND employed mainly a three-man front in the game to try to slow down USC’s potent receivers, and it worked great the first 42 minutes."

The showdown with the Trojans was undoubtedly Notre Dame's worst defensive showing of the year, yielding season highs in points (27) and yards (426).

USC found success both through the air (255 yards) and on the ground (171 yards) in South Bend, en route to averaging 6.1 yards per play (the highest total ND had given up in 2019).

"This is a coin-flip on which I’ve gone back-and-forth on," Somogyi said. "I think Michigan is 'due' for a win over a top-10 team, especially at home.

"Since renewing the series in 1978, ND has a 16-15-1 edge, so it would seem fitting that this evenly matched series end 16-16-1 (though not for me or any ND follower). Either way, I expect it to come down to the final series, and it’s about whoever can make that last play.

"Because I’m for Notre Dame, I will for now pick it 24-23 Irish."

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