FILM STUDY: BREAKING DOWN THE NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME
Anchored by a stout offensive line, two talented running backs, and a dual-threat quarterback, the Notre Dame rushing offense must be bottled up for the Buckeye’s to emerge with a New Year’s Day victory.
After losing two games by a combined four points to College Football Playoff-bound Clemson and Rose Bowl-bound Stanford, the 10-2 Fighting Irish will likely present the Silver Bullets' run defense with their toughest challenge of the season.
A simple look in the mirror will provide the 2015 Buckeyes with a scouting report of the Irish run game, as both are built on spread-power principles, concepts, and plays. Both utilize a bell cow running back and designed quarterback runs to establish a strong run game early and often. While both teams eschew run-heavy personnel groupings, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly both want to win the line of scrimmage and run the ball down their opponent’s throat.
At last week’s Fiesta Bowl media day, Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said of the Irish offense, “I would say, for us, this is one of the more similar games to what our offense does.”
Put on the film and the OSU run-game staples are all there: Inside zone, split zone, power, power read, and the counter trey.
The Irish run game has excelled under first-year offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, who came into the program with previous coaching stints at Yale, Western Kentucky, Stanford, and Boise State. Sanford flirted with the idea of joining the Ohio State staff after the 2014 season before Kelly came calling with an offensive coordinator position (Sanford completed his first season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boise State in 2014). His name continues to be tied to vacant head coaching jobs this offseason.
The 33-year-old rising star oversaw a well-balanced Irish offense that averaged 214.8 rush yards per game, good for 25th in the nation. His work with backup redshirt freshman quarterback DeShone Kizer (2600 passing yards, 19 touchdown), who was thrust into the starting role due to Malik Zaire’s season-ending injury against Virginia, was particularly impressive. Sanford has achieved the near-impossible feat of convincing Brian Kelly to give up some of his play-calling duties (Kelly is well-known for calling his offense), a feat only achieved one other time in Kelly’s 24 years as a head coach.
Under Kelly and Sanford, Notre Dame’s running game starts in the trenches with the unit’s talented offensive line about which Meyer recently said “Offensively, I haven't studied them a lot yet but they have a very good offensive line. That's their strength.”
The line is anchored by 6-foot-6, 315-pound redshirt junior Ronnie Stanley, a likely first-round selection in the 2016 NFL draft. The left tackle demonstrates a tremendous understanding of blocking angles and excels at climbing to the second level to block linebackers.
Most offensive linemen that consistently create a push at the line of scrimmage have a great understanding of blocking angles. In response to the explosion of zone blocking schemes at the high school, college, and NFL level, defensive coordinators have integrated a variety of slants and stunts into their run defense, creating confusion in blocking assignments and stuffing the interior gaps.
Offensive linemen must adjust to these slants and stunts on the fly, a difficult task for even the most-talented player. Watch how Stanley (#78) responds to the slanting 4-technique (aligned heads up over the tackle) on the counter trey.
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