Notre Dame DC Al Golden Shoulders Blame, Readies For CFP
After studying Indiana’s offense in advance of Friday night’s College Football Playoff matchup with the Hoosiers, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden has a good understanding of why it’s been so successful this season.
“Just the efficiency of it,” Golden said on Monday. “The ball’s not on the ground a lot. The ball’s out quick, probably as quick as anybody we’ve seen. The quarterback’s a really good decision-maker. They have a number of receivers; guys that can beat you in the slot, guys that can beat you on the inside fade, guys that can beat you on the back-shoulder fade, double moves. Running backs that do a great job hitting the holes, and a really rugged offensive line that works together well.
“A very efficient team. They stay ahead of the sticks, and they convert. That’s the challenge.”
Golden hasn’t used the 20-day layoff to expand his game plan for the Hoosiers.
“I didn’t realize it was 20 days,” he said. “Keep it small and tight and don’t expand because you have extra time. Obviously, eliminate the things that you didn’t like in the last game and change a couple things.
“Whatever the game plan calls for. Keep it small. Do the fundamentals really well. Brilliance in the basics is always an underlying theme. Be really good at defeating blocks. Be really good at tackling. Be really good at ball disruption. Do all the little things well, and then be situationally aware. What are they doing in short yardage? What are they doing in the red zone? Those types of things.”
Golden doesn’t seem concerned by the fact that his unit had its worst outing of the season in its most recent outing, the regular season finale at USC.
Golden pointed the finger at himself for that performance.
“I needed to do a better job of getting the guys and putting them in better position,” he said. “I didn’t do that. They fought their ass off. They gave us everything they could. They made plays when they needed to at the end.
“Our guys are always attentive. I gotta make better calls. I gotta put the guys in better position than I did at SC. Obviously, we’re facing a different threat in Indiana. Some of the same things apply certainly but facing a different threat. Obviously, I gotta put the guys in better position.”
He isn’t overly concerned about what it means for Friday’s game against the Hoosiers.
“The things that apply, meaning the things that we’re gonna call in this game, we have to execute better,” he said. “Then the things that we’re throwing out, we’re not worried about it. We’re plotting a course for Indiana for the last two weeks now.”
He does expect Indiana to try to replicate some of what USC did, but that’s the challenge for every game.
“That’s number one every week,” he said. “That’s the first thing you have to fix after each game. USC’s no different than any opponent we faced. If they had an explosive play or something that gave us difficulty, we have to adapt and move forward.”
Asked what he can do to call a better game than he did against the Trojans, Golden made it sound simple.
“Play calling. I gotta do a better job. Preparation and play calling.”
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