Photo by Mike Carter - USA Today Sports
Notre Dame Football
A (Slightly) Different Version of Sparty
Same old Michigan State. No matter what the year is, that always seems to be the thought on them since Mark Dantonio has ran their program.
They are physical, play an aggressive style of defense, and want to play man-ball on offense. I doubt that will ever change as long as Dantonio is there.
One thing that has forced them to be a slightly different version of what they have been in recent year is the heavy personnel losses they had in the off season. Several players who were slotted in to play prominent roles are no longer with the program for various reasons (most of them bad).
While those personnel losses haven't changed the overall philosophy of the offense too much, I believe it has forced them to tweak some of what they do on defense. It's more about a new player at quarterback that has made them a bit more diverse on offense even though the base of what they want to do remains the same.
It makes for an even more intriguing match-up than previous games between Notre Dame and Michigan State. Here's a closer look at what Michigan State does on both sides of the ball and how Notre Dame may choose to combat them.
Michigan State has had several great running backs tote the rock under Dantonio. That's why it's no surprise that they have always built the offense around the running game. They typically have a physical offensive line and they've had future pros like Le'Veon Bell and Jeremy Langford that preceded the trio of good runners they have now.
What makes this year's version of Michigan State a bit different on offense is the athlete they have at quarterback. MSU didn't have a quarterback rush for over 80 yards in a season under Dantonio since he took over in 2007. They've had plenty of good players that can win from the pocket, but the Irish have never had to worry about designed runs or scrambling for 1st downs from the quarterback position when they've played the team from East Lansing.
That's different this year with Brian Lewerke behind center. He's shown he can make the necessary throws from the pocket like many of those other quarterbacks, but he also can run the football. He's done it really well and is actually the leading rusher for them after two games.
If Notre Dame doesn't account for him on 3rd down as a runner or focus solely on the back on zone read plays, Lewerke can burn them. Western Michigan didn't account for him on this play and he made them pay with a 61 yard touchdown.
The safety ran right by him and was looking at the back the entire way.
They still do many of the same things they have done in the past. They'll try to challenge the Irish with iso and power. They'll mix in some reverses and jet sweeps to keep the defense honest as well. It's just that now they have the added element of the quarterback run game that Mike Elko's defense needs to worry about in addition to everything else.
In the passing game they are very young at wide receiver, but two have stood out from the rest early on for them. Felton Davis looks like their number one option. He wins with size (6'4") and he has shown terrific ball skills. Notre Dame's cornerbacks are going to have to be very physical with him at the catch point.
Darrell Stewart Jr. is more of there speed guy and he is the one to watch out for on reverses and sweeps. They can't let him get the corner or else he can break off big chunk yardage.
The most talented player on their offense is running back LJ Scott. He is also the most enigmatic. His skill set is not that different than what former Sparty star Bell had at MSU. He has great size, but abnormal athletic ability for how big he is.
He can do damage as an inside runner, but the threat is always there with him as a receiver. I expect they'll try to get him matched up with Notre Dame's linebackers in the passing game at least a few times on Saturday night.
He scored on a wheel route against Western Michigan last week.
He also had a couple of fumbles in the first game and averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry to start this season. If Scott doesn't have his A game, then they'll see quite a bit of senior Gerald Holmes. He was the one who hurt the Irish the most last season in that debacle of a 3rd quarter in Notre Dame Stadium.
If they can, they'll try to win the game with Scott, Holmes, and Madre London by pounding the ball at Notre Dame's defense. They'll have to be up for the challenge physically while still playing disciplined in regards to Lewerke.
In an ideal world for any defense, they'd be able to rush four defensive linemen in passing situations and be able to get pressure while dropping seven in coverage. Michigan State was one of those programs that always seemed to have the defensive line where they were able to do that the majority of the time.
I don't think they have the personnel for that this year. They lost a couple of players that projected to be big time pass rushers that are no longer on the team and also lost a dominant interior player in Malik McDowell.
They don't have a bad group of players on the line right now and are actually pretty stout on the interior. But they don't have a dominant pass rusher. They don't have someone they can consistently count on to win in a one on one situation. Without that, they've done a few different things in regards to using linebackers to rush off the edge at times and are also blitzing far more frequently than they have in the past.
They were coming from all directions on all downs versus Western Michigan. On this play they walked linebacker Chris Frey out to the edge and he slanted inside of the offensive tackle with the corner following up behind him with a blitz to the outside.
They are doing this out of necessity because of how poor they rushed the passer last season. They only finished with 11 sacks, a number that was actually worse than what Notre Dame put up. They already have five in two games this season, but four of them have came from players that aren't listed as defensive linemen.
Notre Dame not only has to protect when they bring extra people, but they need to take advantage of those holes that will open up with those blitzers coming. Some of that will have to be with Brandon Wimbush in the passing game and some of it may mean checking into the right run where Notre Dame can have numbers to a side that can help them create a big play.
They'll continue to run their Cross Dog blitz inside that has been a go-to on their defense as well. There is no doubt that Harry Hiestand and his group have been going against it all week in preparation.
It's tricky to know when it's coming because they run it from depth so often like they did here against Bowling Green.
The extra blitzing just adds to the already ultra-aggressive style they play on every down. Their linebackers are downhill almost all the time and that makes it difficult to run the ball on them. It also means that the Irish can take advantage on play-action.
The Bowling Green quarterback absolutely blew it when he missed the H-back wide open over the middle on this 3rd and short play. The linebackers didn't give him a second look until it was too late, but the poor throw bailed them out of a bad situation.
Wimbush needs to make this throw if it presents itself on Saturday. I have no doubt that Sparty will be selling out to stop the run and Notre Dame needs to make them pay for it.
They'll also need to make them pay for playing so much man coverage on the outside. While their corners are physical (many would say too physical), they aren't elite.
Several Bowling Green receivers got behind them in coverage. The quarterback just failed to deliver the football or the receiver failed to make the play like what happened here.
It's time for Wimbush and his receivers to connect on at least one or two of these. There will be opportunities. This wasn't scheme that was beating Michigan State. Receivers were simply running by their corners. Bowling Green could have won this game if they caught a few of these in the first half.
This also makes me think that if they ever plan on using CJ Sanders or Michael Young, this would be the week to do it. They need to test these corners with speed down the field.
If they're looking for a player to target specifically, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true freshman Josiah Scott. He came in as an early enrollee and he is starting for MSU right now. He even had a pick last week against Western Michigan. I think he is a heck of a competitor.
In saying all of that, he is a freshman. I've seen him get beat deep. And he is listed at 5'10" and 173 pounds. This should be a huge advantage for the 6'4" Equanimeous St. Brown or the 6'4" Chase Claypool all game long.
They need to test him in this game and it's a match-up that they should win more often than not.
They are physical, play an aggressive style of defense, and want to play man-ball on offense. I doubt that will ever change as long as Dantonio is there.
One thing that has forced them to be a slightly different version of what they have been in recent year is the heavy personnel losses they had in the off season. Several players who were slotted in to play prominent roles are no longer with the program for various reasons (most of them bad).
While those personnel losses haven't changed the overall philosophy of the offense too much, I believe it has forced them to tweak some of what they do on defense. It's more about a new player at quarterback that has made them a bit more diverse on offense even though the base of what they want to do remains the same.
It makes for an even more intriguing match-up than previous games between Notre Dame and Michigan State. Here's a closer look at what Michigan State does on both sides of the ball and how Notre Dame may choose to combat them.
Something new to prepare for on offense
Michigan State has had several great running backs tote the rock under Dantonio. That's why it's no surprise that they have always built the offense around the running game. They typically have a physical offensive line and they've had future pros like Le'Veon Bell and Jeremy Langford that preceded the trio of good runners they have now.
What makes this year's version of Michigan State a bit different on offense is the athlete they have at quarterback. MSU didn't have a quarterback rush for over 80 yards in a season under Dantonio since he took over in 2007. They've had plenty of good players that can win from the pocket, but the Irish have never had to worry about designed runs or scrambling for 1st downs from the quarterback position when they've played the team from East Lansing.
That's different this year with Brian Lewerke behind center. He's shown he can make the necessary throws from the pocket like many of those other quarterbacks, but he also can run the football. He's done it really well and is actually the leading rusher for them after two games.
If Notre Dame doesn't account for him on 3rd down as a runner or focus solely on the back on zone read plays, Lewerke can burn them. Western Michigan didn't account for him on this play and he made them pay with a 61 yard touchdown.
The safety ran right by him and was looking at the back the entire way.
They still do many of the same things they have done in the past. They'll try to challenge the Irish with iso and power. They'll mix in some reverses and jet sweeps to keep the defense honest as well. It's just that now they have the added element of the quarterback run game that Mike Elko's defense needs to worry about in addition to everything else.
In the passing game they are very young at wide receiver, but two have stood out from the rest early on for them. Felton Davis looks like their number one option. He wins with size (6'4") and he has shown terrific ball skills. Notre Dame's cornerbacks are going to have to be very physical with him at the catch point.
Darrell Stewart Jr. is more of there speed guy and he is the one to watch out for on reverses and sweeps. They can't let him get the corner or else he can break off big chunk yardage.
The most talented player on their offense is running back LJ Scott. He is also the most enigmatic. His skill set is not that different than what former Sparty star Bell had at MSU. He has great size, but abnormal athletic ability for how big he is.
He can do damage as an inside runner, but the threat is always there with him as a receiver. I expect they'll try to get him matched up with Notre Dame's linebackers in the passing game at least a few times on Saturday night.
He scored on a wheel route against Western Michigan last week.
He also had a couple of fumbles in the first game and averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry to start this season. If Scott doesn't have his A game, then they'll see quite a bit of senior Gerald Holmes. He was the one who hurt the Irish the most last season in that debacle of a 3rd quarter in Notre Dame Stadium.
If they can, they'll try to win the game with Scott, Holmes, and Madre London by pounding the ball at Notre Dame's defense. They'll have to be up for the challenge physically while still playing disciplined in regards to Lewerke.
Losses on the defensive line sparks some change on defense
In an ideal world for any defense, they'd be able to rush four defensive linemen in passing situations and be able to get pressure while dropping seven in coverage. Michigan State was one of those programs that always seemed to have the defensive line where they were able to do that the majority of the time.
I don't think they have the personnel for that this year. They lost a couple of players that projected to be big time pass rushers that are no longer on the team and also lost a dominant interior player in Malik McDowell.
They don't have a bad group of players on the line right now and are actually pretty stout on the interior. But they don't have a dominant pass rusher. They don't have someone they can consistently count on to win in a one on one situation. Without that, they've done a few different things in regards to using linebackers to rush off the edge at times and are also blitzing far more frequently than they have in the past.
They were coming from all directions on all downs versus Western Michigan. On this play they walked linebacker Chris Frey out to the edge and he slanted inside of the offensive tackle with the corner following up behind him with a blitz to the outside.
They are doing this out of necessity because of how poor they rushed the passer last season. They only finished with 11 sacks, a number that was actually worse than what Notre Dame put up. They already have five in two games this season, but four of them have came from players that aren't listed as defensive linemen.
Notre Dame not only has to protect when they bring extra people, but they need to take advantage of those holes that will open up with those blitzers coming. Some of that will have to be with Brandon Wimbush in the passing game and some of it may mean checking into the right run where Notre Dame can have numbers to a side that can help them create a big play.
They'll continue to run their Cross Dog blitz inside that has been a go-to on their defense as well. There is no doubt that Harry Hiestand and his group have been going against it all week in preparation.
It's tricky to know when it's coming because they run it from depth so often like they did here against Bowling Green.
The extra blitzing just adds to the already ultra-aggressive style they play on every down. Their linebackers are downhill almost all the time and that makes it difficult to run the ball on them. It also means that the Irish can take advantage on play-action.
The Bowling Green quarterback absolutely blew it when he missed the H-back wide open over the middle on this 3rd and short play. The linebackers didn't give him a second look until it was too late, but the poor throw bailed them out of a bad situation.
Wimbush needs to make this throw if it presents itself on Saturday. I have no doubt that Sparty will be selling out to stop the run and Notre Dame needs to make them pay for it.
They'll also need to make them pay for playing so much man coverage on the outside. While their corners are physical (many would say too physical), they aren't elite.
Several Bowling Green receivers got behind them in coverage. The quarterback just failed to deliver the football or the receiver failed to make the play like what happened here.
It's time for Wimbush and his receivers to connect on at least one or two of these. There will be opportunities. This wasn't scheme that was beating Michigan State. Receivers were simply running by their corners. Bowling Green could have won this game if they caught a few of these in the first half.
This also makes me think that if they ever plan on using CJ Sanders or Michael Young, this would be the week to do it. They need to test these corners with speed down the field.
If they're looking for a player to target specifically, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true freshman Josiah Scott. He came in as an early enrollee and he is starting for MSU right now. He even had a pick last week against Western Michigan. I think he is a heck of a competitor.
In saying all of that, he is a freshman. I've seen him get beat deep. And he is listed at 5'10" and 173 pounds. This should be a huge advantage for the 6'4" Equanimeous St. Brown or the 6'4" Chase Claypool all game long.
They need to test him in this game and it's a match-up that they should win more often than not.
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