First Half Analysis: Notre Dame Leads Boston College 37-0

First half thoughts and analysis of the Notre Dame vs Boston College game, which the Irish lead 37-0

First half thoughts and analysis of the Notre Dame vs Boston College game, which the Irish lead 37-0. Notre Dame out-gained Boston College 336-81.

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE

*** After a rough start on the opening drive, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees called a very good game in the first half. We saw Notre Dame mix up its personnel quite a bit. We saw 11 personnel, the base 12 personnel, 21 personnel and even 31 personnel (3 backs).

*** Rees also did a great job of getting all of the backs involved in the first half. We saw them running quite a bit, obviously, but we saw jet sweeps, quick throws and a wheel route to Logan Diggs out of 31 personnel that went for 28 yards and set up another score. The tight ends were also heavily involved in the game plan. Prior to the game we wrote that getting the backs and tight ends into the pass game more was a key, and Rees did that.

*** Notre Dame's run game also showed much-needed diversity. We saw a heavy dose of Duo, but we saw Counter, Jet Sweeps and finally saw a Toss play that went for 26 yards to Diggs. It was a well designed and well called first half for the most part.

*** There were still too many misses from Drew Pyne in the first half, but he made a good throw on the run to Deion Colzie to pick up a first down on 3rd-and-19, and he hit Michael Mayer on a well thrown corner route. The Irish ran a Flood concept on the play and Mayer beat his man to the outside, and Pyne hit him with a well-placed ball to move the chains. Pyne also showed good patience on the wheel route to Diggs. The misses need to get cleaned up, but he balanced them with quality throws as well.

*** Pyne's biggest issues are still that he creeps up way too much in the pocket, which is why he gets balls batted down. He also is still too late getting the ball out, as he still waited on wideouts to come open too often instead of anticipating. But again, he also balanced those mistakes with some really good, clutch 3rd-down throws.

*** The Irish backs were excellent in the opening half. Logan Diggs made very good decisions and ran with authority. He got downhill quickly and took advantage of the big holes that were there. He started the game off with a 51-yard gain, the team's longest rush of the season. Diggs racked up 113 rushing yards in the first alone, and he added the aforementioned 28-yard catch.

*** Audric Estime also ran with authority and made quick decisions, and he added 46 yards on 5 carries. Chris Tyree capped the half off with a 26-yard gain and then a 12-yard touchdown run. The line was opening up the holes and the backs did their thing and punished BC's defense.

*** Notre Dame racked up 214 rushing yards in the first half and also added 122 passing yards.

NOTRE DAME DEFENSE

*** The Irish defense had a couple of hiccups in the first half, including leaving Zay Flowers open one-on-one for a big pass play that went for 39 yards on a third-down, but outside of a couple of miscues this was a dominant half of football.

*** Al Golden was a bit more aggressive than I thought he would be against a bad BC offensive line, but it worked. He mixed up where the pressures came from, attacking up the middle and off the edge with both linebackers and secondary players (off the edge).

*** Boston College didn't have any answers for what Notre Dame was doing, and Golden did enough base defensive looks that BC called blitz beaters against a non-blitz call, and the defense was able to eat it up.

*** A key in this game was good open field tackling, especially on the perimeter. Cornerback Cam Hart had arguably his best half of football of the season. He was good in coverage, but it was his perimeter tackling that was game changing. Twice he hit BC star wideout Zay Flowers in space, bringing him down for a short gain on the first play and then forcing a fumble on the next.

*** Boston College made a strange decision in the game, and that was to try and pick on freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison. As expected, Morrison made them pay. He stepped in front of an Emmett Morehead pass for an interception on the first defensive series of the game, His second interception, however, was a thing of beauty. He perfectly played the underneath coverage on a go route, and the ball was just a shade short (it had to be against Cover 2) and Morrison found the ball, stayed on the receiver and out-played a 6-4 wideout for the football.

*** That interception negated the previous 39-yard gain from Morrison and ended the only good BC drive of the half.

*** Up front a number of defensive linemen shined, with Justin Ademilola, Jordan Botelho and Chris Smith all making big plays and shutting down the edge. Howard Cross III was extremely disruptive in the first half, and end Isaiah Foskey set the school's all-time sack record late in the first half with an easy win on the edge.

*** The sack numbers won't blow you away (two), but the pressure was constant, which is even more important. The pressure and the mixed up looks kept Morehead from getting into rhythm, and he missed open receivers on the limited times there were actually open receivers. He just wasn't willing to hold the ball and let guys come open because of the pressure.

*** The defense forced four turnovers in the first half, and they were impactful. Morrison's first pick set up a score, his second pick ended BC's only scoring drive, and both fumbles gave the Irish the ball in BC territory.

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