How we BEAT Clemson

[FaithInIrishForever]

ND's resources are in the running game, defense, and Book protecting the ball.

Clemson has the talent edge, the running game is statistically equal at least between Kyren and Travis(Travis has the clear big game experience edge and is A 1ST ROUNDER NOW). Clemson enjoys its biggest edge on the perimeter. Clemson's leading WR has double the Yards of ND's leading receiver.

So How does ND do it?

ND stops the run.. If ND doesn't stop the run DJ never feels uncomfortable. If DJ never feels uncomfortable, its unlikely he turns it over

ND forces turnovers.. Back-up QB has to make mistakes that are forced by ND. This is not a game where I'm against sending a blitz. Blitzes are rolling the dice, however, and do need to make sense. Blitzing with 80 yards of field to defend is my pet peeve, so that's the only blitz I'm Almost ALWAYS against. But if you can send someone to score points (blind side- sack/fumble), who am I to argue.

ND Possesses the ball.. I've never thought Brian Kelly would EVER, care about time of possession. All of the sudden he's become a run the ball/play defense coach. The only other Time I remember him doing that was 2012. Had a great defense and a ball control offense and actually Beat Oklahoma on the road.

Need to make some big plays.. Venables is going to blitz. Can Ian hit the 1 on one shot Golson did to Chris Brown? Can Kyren make that Cierre Wood Run? Can Tyree make an amazing catch, or take a return back? Can Ben go take a ball from an NFL corner. Big plays will be out there.

What was that Oklahoma score 30-13? Like all of you I wish Big Wins happened more, because I sound like a broken record. I don't know if its a favorite or you're tired of me, probably both I've recapped that game, diagrammed that run, re-watched Manti's interception, too much. Hopefully this is ND's moment. Go Irish!!!

[OKCIrish99]

Fantastic writeup Faith! Love your work here. Agree with all your points.

What's needed to win this one:

1) Win the turnover battle.
2) Minimize Clemson's big plays and play disciplined, smart football.
3) Win time of possession and establish the run/stop the run.
4) Contain Etienne.

#4 will be challenging. All time leading ACC back, but Dabo will be even more reliant on him for this one with a new frosh qb. He is a stud and should be the top priority to stop in this one.

Call me crazy, but I expect to win this game. I think many are underestimating ND's defense. We have a lot of playmakers on this d with a great coordinator. I like our oline also. Clemson has some injury issues on the d. No excuses.

Go Irish!!

[NYGoldenDomer]

Is it Saturday yet? Man its hard to believe that game was 8 YEARS AGO! How time flies. GO IRISH!

[coltssb]

Excellent points guys.
My keys
1) Establish the run of course. Will ND abandon it too early if it can get going? ND needs to be creative right away I think and figure out what Clemson is doing. If we aren’t winning the battle up front then I think they should go to draws and screens. Let there pass rush and front out run the play.
2) This leads me to my second point which I found shocking when BK said it finally. He doesn’t hold back plays week to week, season to season. So, throw the kitchen sink at them. We are a very smart team according to Dabo. He loved our o-line with its size and how smart they are. Let’s use this to our advantage. I would also like to see some heavy packages. Jumbo style runs at the beginning. Hat on hat with an extra thumper in front of Kyren. Remember, these guys are young and green. They should tire later on in the game.
3) STOP the qb draw/run! They know we will be loading up to stop Etienne. We should be fine doing that for the most part. But DJ and his size and strength will be hard to stop if we allow him to bust 3 or 4 qb runs. This opens up everything else. After watching many Clemson games. They run this play a lot! It’s also a safe play and guaranteed to get four yards.
4) Field position may be key in this game. So no punts that are allowed to bounce and then go 30 yards for inside the 10. I don’t think their will be a lot of 12 play sustained drives this game. So, Field position and 6 play drives may be key.
5) play the full game. Clemson is going to score. They are former champions that have that pedigree. They will play until the final whistle. ND will need to do the same. Don’t get down if they score. Don’t relax if we are up.
6) Book..... he doesn’t have to be great. He just has to know where to go and get it there. KEEP HIS HEAD UP. When he does backyard football he’s too busy worry about defenders who aren’t there and misses open guys. Where are the drills to side step defenders and stay in the pocket? He needs to be strong and take a hit. Be a warrior this game. Be smart but be like Phillip Rivers/Brett Farve in talking smack. He needs to tell these guys, “not today.” It sounds cheesy but he needs that “eye of the tiger.” Nothing to lose and the I’m not going down today attitude. We get that from him and he will be a new qb for the rest of the year and ND has a chance of winning a Natty.

[tneun89]

All great points. I'll add just one more - which is very obvious - get off to a FAST start. If the offense goes out first, score a TD on the first possession - not a FG - but a TD. If defense goes out first, how about a three-and-out. ND needs to get up 7-0, 10-3, 14-3, etc. to put some game pressure on Clemson and their QB. They had an unbelievable comeback against BC last week, but playing on the road against the #4 team in the country is a different animal.

If ND can get up one or two scores, then they can start controlling the clock with their run game. ND cannot afford to go down by multiple scores because it would force ND to get away from their best offense - ball control, rushing attack.

Getting off to a fast start is a major key for me on Saturday.

[irishrush]

Thoughts on taking the kick to start? I think I'd rather put our defense on the field first. Get some bright lights on the young QB right off the bat.

I worry that an egg on the offense (which I hope isn't three straight hand offs up the middle) would doom us for the rest of the game.

[OKCIrish99]

Originally Posted by tneun89

All great points. I'll add just one more - which is very obvious - get off to a FAST start.

Clemson gets off to very fast starts. Literally, this game may be determined by who gets off to the fastest start with momentum/ball control etc. Essential we get off to a great start. Start of game and 2nd half are super important.

[NYGoldenDomer]

Originally Posted by irishrush

Thoughts on taking the kick to start? I think I'd rather put our defense on the field first. Get some bright lights on the young QB right off the bat.

I worry that an egg on the offense (which I hope isn't three straight hand offs up the middle) would doom us for the rest of the game.

Being that I am more confident in the Irish defense than I am the Irish offense, I am ok with this. I would rather have the ball after halftime.

[Kid Gloves]

Faith, I agree completely with your assessment. I guess I am just not confident that we can execute it. We just haven’t been able to do all of these things in a big game yet.

Hopefully we will on Saturday and we will get it done.

[corysold]

The more I look, the more I like ND. If Book plays well, ND wins by 10. They are going to be able to get enough going in the run game that there will be plays to be made in the passing game. He has to make them.

But with Clemson having so many players out, I think ND has the best 2-3 guys on the field with their O vs. Clemson's D. Eichenburg and Banks are better than anyone Clemson has playing right now.

On ND D vs. Clemson's O, Etienne is clearly #1, but 2 and 3 are probably JOK and Hamilton and I think they can make a bigger impact given that Etienne needs his line to give him some room to run.

I can't remember the last time I thought ND had the best players on the field vs a team of Clemson's caliber. Who knows what it will mean, but it is a good spot to be in.

[OKCIrish99]

Originally Posted by corysold

The more I look, the more I like ND. If Book plays well, ND wins by 10. They are going to be able to get enough going in the run game that there will be plays to be made in the passing game. He has to make them.

But with Clemson having so many players out, I think ND has the best 2-3 guys on the field with their O vs. Clemson's D. Eichenburg and Banks are better than anyone Clemson has playing right now.

On ND D vs. Clemson's O, Etienne is clearly #1, but 2 and 3 are probably JOK and Hamilton and I think they can make a bigger impact given that Etienne needs his line to give him some room to run.

I can't remember the last time I thought ND had the best players on the field vs a team of Clemson's caliber. Who knows what it will mean, but it is a good spot to be in.

The injuries to Clemson's d are huge. This is the main reason why I favor us slightly in this game. Make no mistake, we must win this game for so many reasons. Agree with your points above. I could see Hamilton/JOK having huge games. Eager to see how often Foskey plays. Clemson passes a lot. We need to play Foskey a lot for pass rushing. Hayes more for the run. Should be great.

[FaithInIrishForever]

Originally Posted by FaithInIrishForever

ND's resources are in the running game, defense, and Book protecting the ball.

Clemson has the talent edge, the running game is statistically equal at least between Kyren and Travis(Travis has the clear big game experience edge and is A 1ST ROUNDER NOW). Clemson enjoys its biggest edge on the perimeter. Clemson's leading WR has double the Yards of ND's leading receiver.

So How does ND do it?

ND stops the run.. If ND doesn't stop the run DJ never feels uncomfortable. If DJ never feels uncomfortable, its unlikely he turns it over

ND forces turnovers.. Back-up QB has to make mistakes that are forced by ND. This is not a game where I'm against sending a blitz. Blitzes are rolling the dice, however, and do need to make sense. Blitzing with 80 yards of field to defend is my pet peeve, so that's the only blitz I'm Almost ALWAYS against. But if you can send someone to score points (blind side- sack/fumble), who am I to argue.

ND Possesses the ball.. I've never thought Brian Kelly would EVER, care about time of possession. All of the sudden he's become a run the ball/play defense coach. The only other Time I remember him doing that was 2012. Had a great defense and a ball control offense and actually Beat Oklahoma on the road.

Need to make some big plays.. Venables is going to blitz. Can Ian hit the 1 on one shot Golson did to Chris Brown? Can Kyren make that Cierre Wood Run? Can Tyree make an amazing catch, or take a return back? Can Ben go take a ball from an NFL corner. Big plays will be out there.

What was that Oklahoma score 30-13? Like all of you I wish Big Wins happened more, because I sound like a broken record. I don't know if its a favorite or you're tired of me, probably both I've recapped that game, diagrammed that run, re-watched Manti's interception, too much. Hopefully this is ND's moment. Go Irish!!!

Well now...

-stopped the run.
- forced turnovers 1 scored
- ND posesses the ball(need to look that up)-eh-not so much- waseven
Big plays

[coltssb]

Originally Posted by coltssb

excellent points guys.
My keys
1) establish the run of course. Will nd abandon it too early if it can get going? Nd needs to be creative right away i think and figure out what clemson is doing. If we aren’t winning the battle up front then i think they should go to draws and screens. Let there pass rush and front out run the play. check
2) this leads me to my second point which i found shocking when bk said it finally. He doesn’t hold back plays week to week, season to season. So, throw the kitchen sink at them. We are a very smart team according to dabo. He loved our o-line with its size and how smart they are. Let’s use this to our advantage. I would also like to see some heavy packages. Jumbo style runs at the beginning. Hat on hat with an extra thumper in front of kyren. Remember, these guys are young and green. They should tire later on in the game. not check. Didn't see any screens, throwbacks, draws etc. Strill great game.
3) stop the qb draw/run! They know we will be loading up to stop etienne. We should be fine doing that for the most part. But dj and his size and strength will be hard to stop if we allow him to bust 3 or 4 qb runs. This opens up everything else. After watching many clemson games. They run this play a lot! It’s also a safe play and guaranteed to get four yards. check! This is a staple of theres and was even mentioned on air that they had to go back to the watson's days and prepare for these plays. Excellent job on the coaching staff to realize this!
4) field position may be key in this game. So no punts that are allowed to bounce and then go 30 yards for inside the 10. I don’t think their will be a lot of 12 play sustained drives this game. So, field position and 6 play drives may be key. i was wrong on this. I thought it would be much more of a grind and a problem if we didn't have it closer. Well, we didn't score a touchdown for 59 mins, so i was sort of right.[/b]
5) play the full game. Clemson is going to score. They are former champions that have that pedigree. They will play until the final whistle. Nd will need to do the same. Don’t get down if they score. Don’t relax if we are up.well well well...ding ding ding
6) book..... He doesn’t have to be great. He just has to know where to go and get it there. Keep his head up. When he does backyard football he’s too busy worry about defenders who aren’t there and misses open guys. Where are the drills to side step defenders and stay in the pocket? He needs to be strong and take a hit. Be a warrior this game. Be smart but be like phillip rivers/brett farve in talking smack. He needs to tell these guys, “not today.” it sounds cheesy but he needs that “eye of the tiger.” nothing to lose and the i’m not going down today attitude. We get that from him and he will be a new qb for the rest of the year and nd has a chance of winning a natty.

this was obvious but the man did what the man did

[2lakes]

Hey, we won a huge game! Enjoy the moment, folks!

[FaithInIrishForever]

Originally Posted by 2lakes

Hey, we won a huge game! Enjoy the moment, folks!

What a great moment it was. I shall Enjoy it! You too!!

[ndomer4]

I feel like this offence finally has an identity. We don’t have the skill guys of a Bama or OSU, but we have a mammoth offensive line and the deepest tight end room in the country.

Bring your lunch pail when your playing this team, I believe the Irish can run on anyone.

[Rocketsan]

Originally Posted by 2lakes

Hey, we won a huge game! Enjoy the moment, folks!

Where have you been???