Notre Dame Football: Quick Review of First Half 2017 Stats vs. 2016
By Andrew Hall
The Notre Dame football team is compiling some impressive numbers through the first six games of 2017 season.
The Notre Dame has been impressive on their way to a 5-1 record. This team is putting up some absurd numbers. Here is a quick review of the important stats that show how the Irish turned the tide in the first six games of 2017.
Points Per Game Allowed: 27.8 points (2016) vs. 16.8 points (2017)
Mike Elko’s impact is clearly shown in a few different statistics but the most important is the points allowed per game. Last year, the Irish allowed 27.8 points per game. This total was actually an improvement over the disastrous games of former Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator Brian VanGorder. In the first four games of the season, the Irish defense yielded 33.5 points per contest. Under Elko, the Irish are allowing half that.
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Rushing Yards Per Game: 163.33 yards (2016) vs. 308 yards (2017)
The Fighting Irish currently rank 6th in the country with 308 yards rushing per game. This is nearly double their output from last season. What is more impressive is that they have gained many of these yards when every one knows whats coming. This is the imprint of Chip Long’s hand on the Notre Dame offense. What is even crazier is that the Irish nearly eclipsed their rushing total for the 2016 season in the first six games of 2017. In the entire 2016 season, the Irish rushed for 1960 yards. Through six games, Notre Dame has amassed 1848 yards.
Red Zone Conversions: 83.33% (2016) vs. 92.31 (2017)
Notre Dame’s efficiency in the red zone has been extremely impressive. The Irish offense has scored 92.31% of their red zone trips. More importantly, Notre Dame is scoring a lot of touchdown in those red zone trips. The Irish currently rank 11th in the nation, scoring 80.77% of their trips. This total destroys any previous best under Brian Kelly. Believe it or not, the 2011 Notre Dame football team scored touchdown more frequently than any other Kelly team. However, they only scored touchdowns 66.67% of the time. For perspective, this total tied for 28th in the country.