To stem Tide, Notre Dame must slow Alabama's run
There's Mac Jones celebrating again, fists above shoulders, pumping the air and punctuating another long-distance connection to wideout DeVonta Smith, the first-ever wideout to win Associated Press Player of the Year.
It's a familiar scene to opponents of No. 1 Alabama (11-0), which faces No. 4 Notre Dame (10-1) Friday in the Rose Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in the opening game of the College Football Playoffs semifinals.
It's also quite likely not the component paramount to the Irish's chances of staging a three-touchdown upset of the heavily favored Crimson Tide.
Rather, slowing down Alabama's ground game is where Notre Dame's defensive prep originates this week.
“Alabama has a good blend of passing offense and a run offense. So that's something we're dialed in. And the first thing we'll have to do is stop the run,” said Irish linebacker Drew White. “So looking at it from Clemson (the rematch), I think it was more of just not being disciplined and being gap-sound. So that's kind of what we've been preaching.
“This week is to not make the game bigger than what it is. We've been able to stop the run for most of the season. So, nothing has changed. It's being disciplined, being gap sound and trusting the other ten guys on the field that they'll be in the right position as well. Just do your job, and that's what we're going to have to do in the Rose Bowl.”
Specifically the Tide's offense seemingly operates at peak efficiency when tailback Najee Harris, a Heisman Trophy contender much of the season who finished just outside finalist teammates Jones and Smith but among the top five, is incorporated as a focal point for Alabama.
Harris presents problems both running out of the backfield and lining up, typically in the slot, as a pass-catcher.
“For us as an offense, I think the idea that these guys bought into the run game helps the passing game, the passing game helps the run game,” Alabama offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We're not one dimensional. We don't recruit one-dimensional offensive linemen. We ask them to run block, we ask them to pass protect.
“We don't recruit one-dimensional backs. Clearly Najee with his versatility of running the ball, catching the ball out of the backfield. And Brian Robinson kind of in the same mold.”
Yet Notre Dame's biggest success this season – really, the reason it is a CFP participant – stems from the Irish's ability to make Clemson one-dimensional in the two teams' regular-season meeting November 7.
It's the same formula required if the Irish hope to slow down an Alabama offense this season that scores an offensive touchdown on average once inside of every five minutes of possession.
Thirty-seven percent of the rushing yards allowed this season by Notre Dame have come in past eight quarters – as first Syracuse and then Clemson in the rematch amassed a combined 448 yards. The Irish allowed just 1,216 yards all season and had not surrendered more than 153 on the ground until both Syracuse and Clemson topped 215 yards.
'I think the first thing that we would look at is, say, where we deviated from our personality just in the execution of our defense and our defensive structure,” said Irish defensive coordinator and newly appointed Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea. “And I think that came into play in the Syracuse game.
“And then I think a little bit in the Clemson game might have been guys pressing to make plays and not just singularly focused on doing their job. And I know that sounds a little cliché, but I think what I want to point out is just when guys function as 1 of 11, it streamlines their processing in snap. And when you streamline processing within a snap, you're able to play at your physical best, because you're just exerting your strength and power through your technique.”
That component has been an area of focus for Notre Dame since it returned to practice last week after it was blown out by Clemson in the two teams' rematch for the ACC Championship. The Tide rushed for more than 2,000 yards as an offense, averaged 5 yards per carry and scored more touchdowns on the ground (35) than via their high-powered passing attack (33).
“I think it's just we had a couple of games where we weren't filling gaps correctly or were slow to our fits or didn't necessarily fit where we needed to,” Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, a third-team All-America selection, said. “And I think we've gotten it fixed. It was a problem but that problem has been addressed.
“Coach Lea and everybody on the staff has addressed it. And we've gotten it fixed and the game plan is pretty sound right now. And we all know our jobs. And just to emphasize the point of just doing your job. If everybody does their job, then the run game shouldn't be an issue.”
