Hi guys. Looking forward to the bowl game and while I know that all of the ND sites will have breakdowns of the matchups, I wanted to go right to the source to see what ND is going to be facing.
What do Cyclone fans see as the strengths and weaknesses of your team? What position groups concern you?
For Notre Dame, the defense has played really well for most of the season. They have had slow starts here and there, but Clark Lea’s (DC) forte is making in-game adjustments and shutting down opposing offenses as the game progresses. ND had a good pass rush, which was great until the lost their backup WDE (Daelin Hayes) and then their starting WDE (Julian Okwara). The LBs are really good and the secondary is good as well, even though the CBs are generally on the small side and can be picked on.
On offense, NDs OL has a load of talent but underachieves. They really struggle to run the ball at times, and the RBs are very average, so ND resorts to some jet sweeps and designed QB runs to loosen things up. The RG and RT are both backups pressed into service because the starters are out with season ending injuries. The WRs are a solid group, with Chase Claypool being a bigger receiver and a beast. Braden Lenzy has elite speed and is generally the guy that the jet sweeps go to. Cole Kmet is their TE, and they go to him a ton. He’s in the discussion for best TE in the country.
I mentioned in another thread that Ian Book gets a lot of press, but don’t let that fool you. He pads his stats against weak opposition and has a tendency to disappear against good competition. He’s been getting better, but gets happy feet and will bolt from the pocket needlessly. If Iowa State can get any kind of pressure on him, ND’s offense may struggle in a big way.
