First Half Analysis: Notre Dame Leads Oregon State 14-0
Notre Dame has controlled the action in the first half of the Sun Bowl, with the Irish leading Oregon State 14-0. Notre Dame has out-gained Oregon State 200-103 in the first two quarters, but a big chunk of Oregon State's yards came on the final drive that ended with an interception.
NOTRE DAME OFFENSE
*** Overall I have been pleased with the play-calling from Gino Guidguli. He has kept the focus on the ground game, with Inside Zone being the primary focus. The throwing game has been about quick reads - like the Snag concept on the first touchdown, screens and he's moved the pocket effectively. All of that limits the reads for first-time starter Steve Angeli. There were some missed reads that could/should have led to more points, and Notre Dame missed a field goal, which would have made the score even more lopsided.
*** The best part of the first half so far has been the play of the Irish offensive line. Outside of one breakdown in pass protection, the line has been mostly clean. Oregon State has one of the better run defenses the Irish have faced this season, but Notre Dame is moving them off the ball and getting a very good push. It hasn't resulted in a lot of chunk plays, but they have consistently grinded out good yards and on multiple occasions have been one player away from a bigger gain. Don't be surprised if a couple runs get ripped off in the second half.
*** Notre Dame's running backs have all been solid, but Jadarian Price had a strong finish to the half. He made defenders miss and his best run was a 13-yard gain where he had to make two defenders miss behind the line of scrimmage. Freshman Jeremiyah Love had a strong first series, getting downhill with purpose as the Irish took the first five 96 yards for a score.
*** Getting Jayden Thomas back to good health has been a big plus for the offense. Thomas is doing exactly what he did in last year's bowl game, which is work the middle of the field to get open. He showed his experience on the touchdown grab, hauling in the Snag throw and then breaking to the middle, cutting inside of the pursuing coverage.
*** It was an up-and-down half for sophomore Steve Angeli. He did well early and took what the defense was giving. That includes immediately seeing a blown coverage on his first attempt of the game and he accurately hit Jordan Faison for a 55-yard gain. He perfectly read the first touchdown pass and did a good job finding Thomas on bootleg throws. He also showed his inexperience, taking two bad sacks in the game. On the first, Angeli needs to do a better job getting a pre-snap look, which would have alerted him to the pressure and had him read slide to cross. If he does that he has his choice of who to throw to, as both players were open. He also missed Eli Raridon on a corner route that either goes for a touchdown or gets Notre Dame inside the 5-yard line. He did a great job getting free on a late second-quarter draw, but he then fumbled the ball. He ended the half with a quick read and accurate ball to Faison that converted a 3rd-and-3 and gave the Irish a goal-to-go situation that allowed the Irish to punt it into the end zone for a 14-0 lead instead of having to settle for a field goal.
NOTRE DAME DEFENSE
*** The Irish defense has been dominant so far in the game. A big key is they are handling all of the games that Oregon State is trying to play. They aren't being negatively impacted by all the pre-snap movements, reverse fakes, screens, and bootlegs. Outside of two plays they have been assignment correct and played the play-action and screen game effectively. The first mistake was actually on the first play of the game, and then on a bubble Clarence Lewis got sucked inside. It's been clean outside of that.
*** Notre Dame's defensive line has been dominant so far, which was expected. Defensive tackle Rylie Mills spent a lot of the first half in the backfield, against the run or pass. End Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Mills have had multiple snaps where they both got pressures on the quarterback. Oregon State has just 17 yards on 7 carries so far, and a big part of that is the dominant play of the line. That includes Josh Burnham blowing up a fake punt late in the second quarter, which set up the second touchdown for the Irish. Jordan Botelho has also been solid against the run game so far.
*** Al Golden has brought his linebackers a lot, but it's been mostly one backer at a time on first and second down. That is allowing the defense to eat up all the gaps, but they aren't overcommitting and opening up second level run lanes. JD Bertrand had a strong third-down pressure that forced the quarterback to miss an open player on a crossing route. Bertrand also batted down a 2nd-and-14 pass on another pressure, which all but eliminated another OSU drive. Jack Kiser has read the screen game quite well so far and has been active in the run game as well.
*** Notre Dame's corners have blanketed the Oregon State receivers so far outside of a couple of plays. The Beavers have tried hitting some downfield shots and some deep overs, but there is just no one getting open so far. The one play where the Irish could have gotten beat for a big play was handled by the aforementioned pressure from Bertrand. The safeties have been active getting downhill and supporting the run, but so far the front seven has really cleaned that part up. Christian Gray has been especially good in coverage so far, and outside of getting beat on a slant late in the quarterback, Benjamin Morrison has also been quite sticky in coverage so far.
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