Notre Dame-BYU: The Negatives
By Nick Combs
Oct. 20, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly talks with quarterback Tommy Rees (11) in the first quarter against the BYU Cougars at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE
Coming Out Flat
As the game started I think everyone noticed that Notre Dame looked very flat against BYU. I didn’t see the emotion I usually see on the defensive side of the ball. Stanford was an emotionally and physically draining game, and with Oklahoma coming up the week after most people called BYU a trap game. Coach Kelly wasn’t going to let his team fall into the trap. He even insisted that his team didn’t come out flat in the first half, but I disagree. Besides the touchdown Eifert caught and the interception Te’o made there aren’t many positives you can take from the first half. Notre Dame showed that the second half belonged to them dominating BYU on offense and defense not allowing a point after halftime.
Quarterback and The Offense
Well I guess resting Golson for Oklahoma turned out to be the correct move, but BYU wasn’t easy to watch especially from the quarterback position. Tommy Rees got the start and ended up going 7 for 16 117 yards a touchdown and an interception (which was tipped). Rees played a decent game managing the offense fairly well like he usually does, but he had some very bad throws to the outside and wasn’t very accurate. As I have said before I am not a Tommy Rees fan, but surprisingly he is growing on me, simply because he has accepted a role on the team that isn’t easily accepted once you have started multiple games (the backup). As the veteran backup Rees must keep encouraging Golson and making him better every practice and every game. Also, to always be ready to get the call, because as a backup your only one play away from being on the field. I will give Rees credit for doing what he has done all season, but everyone knows that Golson is the future.
Once Again The Secondary
After the first 6 games I thought the secondary was steadily improving every game, but they took a huge step backward on Saturday against BYU. It started with some very bad reads by the safeties Matthias Farley and Zeke Motta. Motta bit on a post route a couple of times during the game. Farley confused coverage and gave up the 1st BYU touchdown on a pass. BYU attacked KeiVarae Russell all night long. Not only throwing the football, but also running it his way as well. Russell is a good player, but hasn’t been consistent and he is very young. I think most of the teams Notre Dame plays the rest of the season will attack Russell’s side of the field, especially Oklahoma.
Poor Tackling
Notre Dame defenders didn’t have a complete game against BYU especially in the first half. Poor tackling and execution played into this. Notre Dame missed tackles in the backfield and open field multiple times. Many members of the defense were leaving their feet and were tackling with bad form, which doesn’t work. This is an easy fix and will be resolved by the Oklahoma game.
Field Goal Kicking
Kyle Brindza missed two field goals on Saturday, one from 40 yards and the other from 28. After he has been solid all year he has the worst game so far. Hopefully he gets it out of his system, because we will need him for Oklahoma.