by Leprechaun Express & Steve Welsh
UND.com reports:
The NotreDame-Syracuse football game to be played Oct. 1 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey will kick off at Noon ET. The game will air on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The specific network designation will be finalized following the games of Sept. 24.
… Michigan State … gashed the Irish for 260 rushing yards and 501 yards in total offense. … The statistical snapshot, one fourth of the way into the regular season, features a high-water mark of 89th nationally out of 128 in any significant defensive category. … 103rd in pass-efficiency defense, 102nd in total defense, 94th in scoring defense, 100th in tackles for loss, 89th in third-down defense, 104th in fourth-down defense, 93rd in red zone defense, 89th in turnovers gained, and — most alarming — 99th in rush defense (198.7 yards allowed per game). … Nevada, ND’s Sept. 10 opponent, and the Irish share the statistical bottom in the team sacks category. Neither one of them has recorded a single one yet.
Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator Brian VanGorder has some stats that are weaker than defensive stats under former DC Bob Diaco, as well as Charlie Weis and Ty Willingham:
… Saturday night marked the sixth time in the VanGorder Era than an opponent surpassed 500 yards in total offense and the 12th time it blew past the 200-yard rushing mark. … that’s 41.4 percent of the games VanGorder has presided over [with] 200 or more rushing yards recorded by the opponent, and 20.7 percent in which 500 total yards were reached.
Under Bob Diaco, VanGorder’s predecessor … those percentages were 23.1 and 5.8, respectively. In former head coach Charlie Weis’ five seasons, they were 25.8 and 6.5 percent, respectively, 10.8 and 8.1 in Tyrone Willingham’s three seasons and 18.3 and 1.7 in Bob Davie’s five-year run.
Beaver Falls (Pa.) high school four-star defensive end Donovan Jeter has committed to Notre Dame.
Four-star DE Donovan Jeter was a big-time target for the Irish this cycle. (Photo: Tom Loy, 247Sports)
The 6-4, 250-pounder chose the Fighting Irish following an official visit to Notre Dame this past weekend.
Jeter, one of the most talented defensive linemen in the nation, chose the Irish over offers from Pittsburgh, Michigan, Alabama, Penn State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Stanford and many others across the country.
As for whether he is confident in VanGorder, whose unit ranks 104th in total defense through three games — after finishing 37th and 69th in 2015 and 2014, respectively — Kelly is standing behind his [Defensive Coordinator]. …
‘Oh, absolutely. Yeah, without question. That’s not even part of the conversation’ …. ‘It’s really about the fundamentals of defense. … I mean, this is not rocket science what we’re talking about here. These are plays that we’ve got to continue to work on and fundamentally get better at. There’s not a question about scheme. There’s not a question about who’s leading it with Brian. This is about coaching, communicating and teaching the fundamentals and getting our young players, those that don’t have a lot of experience, better at execution.’
Top plays from Notre Dame’s 2016 game vs. Michigan State.