5 crazy stats that makes Notre Dame football unstoppable against Indiana

Notre Dame football has been one of the nations dominant teams as they are top ten in many unique stats that will give them the edge over Indiana

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Notre Dame football fans are anxiously waiting to host the Indiana Hoosiers and to earn their first ever College Football Playoff victory.

The Fighting Irish have had a dominant season after their embarrassing loss to Northern Illinois and has ended up being a reliable team that sticks to what they are good at. This Irish team is going to run the ball down your throat and rely on their defense to get the ball back to their offense whether it is by a turnover or forcing a punt.

The Irish learned their stars, Jeremiyah Love and Howard Cross, will both play this Friday night. Irish and the Hoosiers will face off at 7 p.m. local time at Notre Dame Stadium this Friday night on ESPN. The Irish and Hoosiers are both 11-1 and have won their 11 games pretty convincingly, but the stats below favor the Irish and should send this thrilling Irish team on to the next round to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Here are five stats that should convince Notre Dame fans to be confident in their Fighting Irish when Friday night comes around.

Notre Dame football has the second best turnover ratio

Notre Dame defense has been one of the best in the nation this year as they are gritty and violent. They are led by First-Team All-American, Xavier Watts, who has intercepted 12 passes since the 2023 season, the most among FBS Defensive Players. The Irish have forced a total of 29 turnovers this year and have only given up the ball 13 times. Leonard has made minor mistakes all year long and has only threw for five interceptions in this 2024 season.

Indiana lone turnover of the season comes against their only true defensive test this year in Ohio State. The Irish frontline will look to put Kurtis Rourke in uncomfortable positions and set Xavier Watts and this ball hawk secondary up for a turnover.

51% pass completion against leads the nation

The Irish is led by Xavier Watts, Leonard Moore and Christian Gray as each have eight pass deflections this 2024 season. Despite missing their All-American in Benjamin Morrison, the Irish secondary has stepped up big time for the most part and locked their opponents down.

The Irish are ranked third in the nation in passing yards against them with allowing just 157.9 yards through the air. Credit must be given to the Irish interior defensive line, as they have put a lot of pressure on the opponents causing 19 sacks which leads the nation. Notre Dame defensive front is led by Rylie Mills with 6.5 sacks and Howard Cross with 4 sacks. The Irish defensive front pressure on the opponent’s quarterback causes frustration and discomfort which leads to throwing bad balls or just out of play. The Irish D-backs are lead by Mike Mickens who is also a finalist for Defensive Back Coach of the Year.

Kurtis Rourke had an impressive season but his lone test he was only able to throw for 8/18. Notre Dame football leads the nation team passing efficiency on defense at 94.1% and look to continue their domination against this inexperience Indiana Hoosiers squad.

Jadarian Price's big runs

The Junior out of Texas, has been a tremendous spark plug for the Irish offense all season as he tends to break the gaps and goes for explosive runs and will find the end zone often on these long runs. Twenty of Price's 89 carries have gone for 10 or more yards, which is tied for 4th best among running backs. Price has 651 yards on the ground for the Irish and averages 7.3 yards per carry. Price ran for a 70 yard touchdown and a 65 yard touchdown this season as well.

Price also has found the endzone in their two toughest games at Texas A&M and at USC. In the Irish opening game at Texas A&M, Price broke loose for a 47 yard touchdown and put the Irish up 13-6 in the third quarter.

Irish star running back, Jeremiyah Love, went down against USC and Price went off for a career high with 111 rushing yards on 12 carries, including a 36 yard rushing touchdown to open the third quarter.

The Irish found out that Love will be good to go and play against the Hoosiers, which means Irish fans will expect Price to come in the game and wear and tear the Hoosiers Defensive front while Love gets some rest. This three headed monster of a run game is led by Love, Leonard and Price as they are top ten in the nation in rushing yards per game with 224.8 and have 40 touchdowns on the season that came from the ground. Look for this three headed monster to attack that Hoosiers defensive front.

Indiana abysmal record against top 20 since 2021

Indiana Hoosiers have struggled immensely since 2022 as they are just 4-10 on the road. The Hoosiers are winless against the top 20 since 2021 as they are 0-13  and have an average loss against the top 20 by 25. The Irish are notably 14-4 at Note Dame Stadium since Marcus Freeman was hired.  

Notre Dame will be supported by a sold out crowd with 77,622 supporting the blue and gold and look for a dominant win against the Hoosiers.

Tied for most block punts in FBS

The Irish offense and defense has been dominant all year, but something that has helped shift the momentum of the game or help them tally on more points is from their special teams. The Irish are tied with the most block punts in the nation with six and half of those come from Bryce Young.

Irish special teams is led by Marty Biagi, who is up for Special Teams Coordinator of the Year, and has helped the Irish succeed in all aspects of the game. In order for the Irish to get pass Indiana, the Irish must continue this pressure on the punts and set up their offense in great field position.

Other notable stats for the dominant Irish 2024 season

  • The Irish are third in total touchdowns with 65
  • Given up the fifth least amount of touchdown with 20
  • Top 8 in points against with 13.6
  • Top 3 in total points per game with 39.8
  • Notre Dame defense has given up the third least amount of passing yards with 157.9
  • Tied for 8 for least number of total yards with 296.8
  • Top 10 in rushing yards per game with 224.8
  • Irish defense is 8 in the nation on 3rd down conversion percentage as they allow just 30%
  • Notre Dame offense converts 76% on 4th down which ranks sixth
  • Notre Dame defense ranks six at allowing just 34% conversion on 4th down
  • Irish lead the nation team passing efficiency on defense at 94.1
  • Red zone defense ranks ninth in the nation as they give up points just 73% of the time.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has claimed his Hoosiers team isn't scared of Notre Dame football. Maybe they should be.

Schedule

Schedule