Notre Dame Game Notes: From The Press Box

Brian Smith shares his thoughts of the Notre Dame victory over Iowa State

Notre Dame displayed their talent across the board Saturday afternoon against a solid Iowa State team. When it was all said and done, however, it was obvious that the Irish talent was far superior to that of the Cyclones.

Sometimes talent simply wins out, and Notre Dame proved that theory to be true on Saturday. More speed, more size, more length and more overall athleticism. That’s what this game was truly about, Iowa State simply did not match up with Notre Dame.

Iowa State Run Game

The first running play for the Cyclones netted 23 yards. Freshman running back Breece Hall gashed the Irish interior defensive line and linebackers; it looked like a truck could run through the hole. What in the world just happened? Were the Iowa State offensive linemen better than anticipated? It was not a sign of things to come.

During the rest of the game, the talented Cyclone running back toted the football an additional 16 times. He only earned an additional 32 yards from those carries. That’s stout run defense, no question. There are a few other things at play here, and it’s not surprising.

Recruiting matters.

Point blank, Notre Dame’s defensive talent, and especially its speed, gave Iowa State fits all game long. Even when Iowa State out-flanked specific Notre Dame defenders, a backside player would chase down Hall or a wide receiver for a minimal gain. While the Irish defense stood out as a unit, three Irish secondary players deserve special mention.

Notre Dame Safeties Stand Out

Notre Dame all but dared Iowa State to throw deep. Why would the Irish do this? The Cyclones were undoubtedly a passing team. Again, recruiting matters. Iowa State had not faced a secondary with a freshman like Kyle Hamilton, or veterans Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott patrolling the back end of the defense. From the booth, I watched the Notre Dame secondary. It’s a view a person will not receive on television.

The Iowa State wide receivers simply could not out-run the Irish safeties, and it bogged down the Cyclones’ passing attack. Notre Dame played a variety of coverages, such as cover two, like most programs do, but when the Irish went man-to-man is when the talent disparity truly showed. Iowa State signal caller Brock Purdy did make throws under duress, but that’s only going to last so long.

Purdy continually needed to throw underneath or make risky passes. Much of the reasoning for Purdy needing to make those throws stemmed from the Notre Dame safeties playing good coverage. This is a major reason why Notre Dame’s defensive finished No. 3 in the nation for pass defense, and it showed against Iowa State.

Irish Pass Rush Comes Alive

For short spurts, Purdy would make a quick throw and make something happen. A talented passer that made several throws off his back foot, he was still challenged with the lack of a deep passing game and substandard rushing attack. That was the good news for Purdy, believe it or not. Here comes the pass rush.

First and foremost, the best player on the field for the Irish defense was redshirt sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. He was a human missile harassing the Iowa State passing attack.

Owusu-Koramoah totaled nine tackles, a fumble recovery, a quarterback pressure and three quarterback sacks. To be frank, Owusu-Koramoah dominated Iowa State’s offense. Look for the rising talent to be an even bigger factor for the 2020 Irish defense. The linebacker had plenty of talent in front of him along the defensive line to help out.

Irish senior defensive ends Khalid Kareem and Jamir Jones caused havoc by making Purdy move ‘off his spot’ for much of the afternoon and recorded one and two tackles respectively. Despite not recording a sack, both Irish defenders proved to be a nuisance during passing plays, and that’s where their worth truly took hold. The second line did quite well, too.

Redshirt junior defensive end Adetokunbo Ogundeji recorded one sack, with fellow reserve redshirt freshman defensive end Ovie Oghoufo being the final piece of the wave of Irish edge pressure by adding two tackles. The defensive tackles made their presence felt as well.

Power and Quickness

There have been glimpses of great play during the month of November. The Irish defense made more plays in the backfield, and that type of play transitioned into the Camping World Bowl game against the Cyclones.

The game versus Iowa State continued a great trend of holding down opponents’ rushing attacks, with a good deal of credit going to the Irish interior defensive line. The Cyclones garnered only 45 total rushing yards (sacks included), and Hall, as mentioned above, did not have a productive day with 55 yards from 17 attempts. Notre Dame’s athletic interior defensive line penetrated and made it happen when it needed it most. One player in particular made a game-changing play

During a key late second quarter fourth down, Redshirt sophomore Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa made a quick penetration through the A gap. His excellent effort and technique netted a one yard loss for Hall, and it resulted in a turnover on downs. That play really started the downhill slide for Iowa State. With the Cyclones’ offense struggling, Notre Dame’s most productive offensive weapon went to work.

Claypool a Man Amongst Boys

Iowa State’s defensive play called proved to be ultra conservative for much of the afternoon. It’s not a good sign when an opposing team plays cover three against a team running a two tight end power formation.

The Irish jammed the ball down Iowa State’s throat. Much of the reason for Iowa State playing conservatively derived from soon to be NFL player and current Irish wide receiver Chase Claypool dominating.

Claypool caught seven passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Believe it or not, his impact was probably more powerful when he did not touch the football. Those conservative defensive play calls not only allowed Claypool to catch several passes underneath for easy yardage and a 24-yard touchdown from redshirt junior Irish signal caller Ian Book, but also allowed the Irish rushing attack to thrive.

Tony Jones Jr. Leads Irish Rushing Attack

Nobody is going to call redshirt junior running back Tony Jones, Jr. a sprinter, but he sure did bull his way for an 84-yard touchdown run (longest in Camping World Bowl history) en route to an impressive 135 yards rushing for the day.

The Irish running game played off the passing attack, and Jones only needed 11 carries to reach his rushing total, for a whopping 12.3 yards per carry average. Redshirt freshman C’Bo Flemister chipped in 30 yards rushing from six carries, and redshirt sophomore Jafar Armstrong scored a touchdown during a one-yard run.

All of this would not be possible without Notre Dame’s offensive line. While the Irish did not completely overwhelm the Cyclones’ front seven, at times it was clear that Notre Dame’s talent was superior. During Jones’ touchdown run, the blocking was very good on the left edge of the offensive line, and it sprung Jones for the big play. The key block came from redshirt freshman tight end Tommy Tremble setting the edge and then moving forward to gain a second block on an Iowa State defensive back. Jones was in the clear for the next 60 yards before fending off a Cyclones’ defender near the goal line and scoring a touchdown.

Overall Thoughts

Notre Dame’s talent was simply superior to Iowa State. It was not all that close. The Irish were better, across the board, and it showed.

Could Notre Dame have played even better? Of course. Notre Dame kicked four field goals. That means the Irish did leave some points on the gridiron. That’s being picky, however. Notre Dame fans should enjoy the victory and an overall 11-2 record. This season combined with 2017 and 2018 makes Notre Dame 33-6 during the past three seasons.