Notre Dame Football vs. Vanderbilt: 3 Bold Predictions
By Chase Eyrich
Coney has Heisman level performance
Te’von Coney has started this season just how he ended last season. There wasn’t a more impressive step up in performance than Coney. After earning his starting position, there was no looking back.
Coney has dominated and might just be the best football player on the field for Notre Dame on either side of the ball.
Dating back to the Citrus Bowl — over the last three games — Coney has had 41 total tackles. He’s on pace for almost 150 tackles this season through two games. Obviously, that’s an absurd number.
At some point, his numbers will slow down. This weekend won’t be it.
The clear trend for Vanderbilt has been their success in running the ball. This sets up Coney well for a huge game.
Through two games, the Commodores have averaged 4.9 yards per carry. In their 41-10 victory over Nevada, Vanderbilt fell two yards short of eclipsing 200 on the ground. They rushed for 177 in their first game against Middle Tennessee State.
Three Commodores currently average over five yards per carry.
When it comes to Notre Dame’s defense, the unit has only allowed 2.8 yards per carry. On the front end of this, they held Michigan to only 58 yards on the ground.
This unit has been lead by Coney, who leads the team in tackles (24) and tackles for a loss (3.5).
Kelly has already noted that Vanderbilt finds ways to establish its run game. Not only is this the prime opportunity for Coney to prove he made the right decision by not going to the NFL, he has a great opportunity to show the Heisman committee why he belongs in the discussion as much as any other defensive player in the country.