Is Notre Dame’s Rushing Attack to Blame for Disappointing 2009 Season?
November 17, 2009
With Notre Dame’s season in ruins, many people want to pin the blame on defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta. They say there’s nothing wrong with an offense that puts up 30 points a game—an offense that has only lost the total yards battle twice this season(USC & Pitt). They say it’s the defense that’s been responsible for the demise in 2009.
It may be true. The defense hasn’t been exactly overwhelming. It’s allowed too many big plays and has given up about as many points as the offense has scored—a sure-fire way to produce a 6-3 record.
But when distributing blame, it’s simply not all about the porous defense of the Irish. Have you seen the running game this year? I’m guessing you haven’t, because it’s been hard to find—it’s been almost non-existent.
However, maybe Notre Dame doesn’t need a running game. Only twice this year has Notre Dame gotten fewer total yards than their opponent. In a loss to USC, Notre Dame had 30 fewer total yards and last Saturday, in the loss at Pitt, the Panthers had close to 100 more total yards of offense.
A lot of Notre Dame’s passing totals can be attributed to the many comeback wins they’ve had this year, as well as to the comebacks that fell short. Having to always play catch-up can greatly inflate passing statistics.
While good teams can kill the clock with the running game, Notre Dame doen’t have that luxury. Not only do they have a weak running game, but they’ve hardly been in the position to kill the clock at the end of games this year.
Nothing against the great Dan Marino, but a lot of his 50,000 passing yards came as a result of the Dolphins never having a strong running game during his tenure—very similar to Jimmy Clausen’s career in South Bend. I’m sure Clausen would gladly give up some of his passing totals to be able to control the game with a better running attack.
Last year the Irish knew things were bad when they rushed for only 1,426 total yards. They knew the ground game needed fixing and they were pinning their hopes on four returning running backs, all of whom saw playing time in 2008.
While there has been a slight improvement this season in total yards, the impact has been minimal. After ten games, they’ve rushed for 1,309 total yards. With two remaining regular season games and a bowl game, they’ll most likely exceed last year’s total.
Despite the improvement, the run game has continued to be weak compared to the rushing attack of Notre Dame’s opponents. Of the 12 teams on Notre Dame’s 2009 schedule, only Washington and Washington State have fewer total rushing yards.
Nevada (3,531 yards) and Navy (3,108 yards) are two of the best running teams in the country. It is unfair to both of those teams to even speak of the Irish running attack in the same sentence.
Team such as Stanford (2,224 yards), UConn (2,169 yards), and Michigan (2,154 yards) are running the ball the way Charlie Weis and company have always wanted.
The ground games of Pitt (1,876 yards) and USC (1,812 yards) are also nothing to sneeze at.
It’s not just that these teams are running the ball, they have complimentary passing attacks as well. It’s plain and simple, these teams have what Notre Dame lacks. The teams are balanced, while keeping their opponents off balance—the key to winning football games.
What’s more remarkable than the shortage in rushing yards for Notre Dame, is the lack of big plays the the running game has seen. Robert Hughes has the longest run this year for a whopping 37 yards. Armando Allen also broke a long one—for 24 yards.
Every team on the schedule, including Washington State, has had at least one running play longer than Hughes’ 37 yard run.
The numbers are staggering!
Nevada has three runners with runs of 75 yards or more, Michigan has three with 55 yards or more, and Michigan State has two with 71 yards or more.
Purdue has two runners with 58 yard runs or more, UConn has three with 50 yard runs or more, and Pitt’s Deon Lewis broke one for 85 yards.
Meanwhile, Navy, Washington, USC, and Stanford have all had at least one running play for over 50 yards.
And here come the Irish, with a run of 37 yards.
Most defenses that the Irish have played against have been so focused on Jimmy Clausen and the passing game, it’s unbelievable that the Irish haven’t been able to do more on the ground.
This is something that’s been going on far too long. Notre Dame hasn’t had a running back break one for over 40 yards since Julius Jones had a run of 61 yards in 2003—six years ago!
Lack of production like this is inexcusable With an outstanding quarterback and two great receivers, Charlie Weis has geared his offense around the passing game. That’s fine, but balance is still what’s so important to most good football teams— and in South Bend, it’s just not there.
Having served as an assistant in the NFL to Bill Parcells, Weis must have learned how important it is to have a strong running game.
What’s Notre Dame without a ” smash mouth, in your face” running game? It’s just not Notre Dame football!
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