Notre Dame HC Brian Kelly Doesn't See Many Good Answers To Slow Down 'Bama
Notre Dame fans are well aware that the task of facing Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game is a daunting one.
Brian Kelly did little to raise their confidence levels when discussing the challenge the Crimson Tide presents during the Notre Dame head coach’s press availability on Monday morning.
Alabama is so stacked with talent that the name of its Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterback never came up. Still, discussing the problems running back Najee Harris and receivers DeVonta Smith (pictured above) and John Metchie present filled plenty of time.
“It's the balance of Najee and his ability to run and catch the football coming out of the backfield,” Kelly said when asked the structural challenges Alabama’s offense presents. “Smith is just that good of a player that you know playing one-on-one against him is very difficult. So, when you're doubling him, you're losing one in the box and now you're putting Harris in a very favorable situation with a very good offensive line.
“So not a lot of good answers there.”
If the Heisman doesn’t end up in the hands of either Smith or quarterback Mac Jones, it’s probably only because they split the vote along with Harris, who finished fifth in the voting.
Kelly said the thing that stands out about Smith is how obvious it is that he pays attention to details.
“Extremely detailed in the route-running,” said Kelly. “I think everybody knows about his speed and hands, but just somebody that is that young that has the ability to run such precise routes and understands the game so well. His football intelligence, I would assume, must be off the charts in terms of the way he plays the game.
“He just reminds me of a veteran in everything that he does in terms of playing the position at such a high level.”
Oh, and the Crimson Tide could get Jaylen Waddle back for the game. In four games before going down with an ankle injury this season, Waddle caught 25 balls for 557 yards and four touchdowns and has returned three kicks for touchdowns in his career.
“Another electric player,” Kelly said. “Somebody that can change the game around quickly. Certainly, as a special teams player, he can certainly do that. But as a wide receiver, he takes a lot of answers off your sheet because you can't place all the emphasis on just those two receivers in Smith and Metchie.
“It makes it difficult, even more difficult of an offense to slow down.”
Nobody has slowed them down either. Since the opener against Missouri, when they scored 38, the Crimson Tide have scored more than 40 points in every game. They’re averaging just under 50 points and just under 550 total yards this season.
Kelly hasn’t been shy about the idea that the only way to keep Alabama’s offense at bay is it to keep it on the sidelines by controlling the football when the Irish have it.
But that won’t be easy to do either, not against Nick Saban’s defense.
“There's really only a couple teams that have been able to run the football against Alabama, and those are the teams that have been in the game,” said Kelly, who pointed to Georgia and Ole Miss while noting Florida was able to stay competitive through the air.
“We want to run the ball. We need to run the football. Based upon who we are and how we have operated this year, we will have to run the ball more effectively than we did the last time we played (against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game).”
Kelly pointed to Alabama being “big and physical up front” with “athleticism at the linebacker position. And probably the best corner that we've seen in (Pat) Surtain in all areas.
“Both corners are outstanding. Fundamentally sound in every area. They have all the answers in terms of what they want to do. And they do it very, very well. It's not an overstatement to say that they're well-coached. I know it sounds like coachspeak, but they're well-coached in all areas, and what they do they do extremely well with really good football players.”
Kelly said it “falls back on us to be much better at what we do.”
“We'll have to play up to our standard in the games that we've played well. That will be the kind of execution we'll need against an elite football team.”