Coming off Saturday’s 35-14 defeat of Virginia on Senior Day, Notre Dame football remains on the rise. With a 9-1 record and eight consecutive wins, the Irish currently sit at No. 6 in the AP Poll — their highest ranking since the first week of September. As a top-20 battle in the Bronx against Army awaits this weekend, here’s a look at where things stand for the blue and gold.
Stock up: the turnover margin
Head coach Marcus Freeman places a great deal of emphasis on his team winning the turnover battle, and he has good reason to do so. Notre Dame has turned the football over more than its opponent one time this season. It happened in the team’s only loss against Northern Illinois.
Since that game on Sept. 7, the Irish have played eight consecutive games without losing the turnover battle. They’ve found a new defensive gear in the last three weeks, combining for 13 takeaways against Navy, Florida State and Virginia. This past Saturday, the Irish forced four Cavalier turnovers – not including Chris Tyree’s muffed kickoff catch to start the game. All four turnovers happened in the second quarter, kickstarting a Notre Dame offense that dragged along in the first quarter but scored 21 points in the second. Graduate safety Xavier Watts and sophomore safety Adon Shuler have become quite the ball-hawking pair at seven combined interceptions, and both picked off a pass in Saturday’s win.
Stock up: Jeremiyah Love and Mitchell Evans
To make a deep run in the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame will likely need two or three offensive stars to lean on. Against Virginia, a couple of those potential candidates came back out of the woodwork to lead the Irish. Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love has been terrific all year, scoring in all 10 games. Yet he didn’t do a whole lot a week before Senior Day against Florida State, rushing for only 19 yards on nine carries. Love put that dud far behind him on Saturday, galloping for a career-high 137 yards and two scores on 16 handoffs.
Senior tight end Mitchell Evans also delivered his best game of the season with four catches for 34 yards and an athletic, leaping touchdown. Evans’ return from last year’s ACL tear hasn’t treated him well statistically, but it’s never too late to break through. With a touchdown catch in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, Evans might just be doing that.
Stock down: third-down offense
You don’t typically see teams go 1-for-12 on third down and get 35 points out of it, but that’s how Notre Dame rolled on Saturday. Generally speaking, the Irish have been just fine on third downs this year, ranking 85th in the nation for conversion rate. However, against Virginia, they put themselves behind the sticks far too often. On seven different occasions, Notre Dame faced a required distance of 10 yards or more on third down. That’s no way to find success on offense.
Whether it’s running the football more effectively, avoiding sacks or limiting early-series penalties, the Irish will need to remedy Saturday’s lackluster down management. Against an Army that recently put together a scoring drive longer than 13 minutes, Notre Dame cannot afford many three-and-outs at Yankee Stadium.
Stock down: kicking
It’s been more than a month now since Notre Dame wielded a fully functioning kicking game. Graduate kicker Mitch Jeter, who opened the season performing very well after transferring from South Carolina, went down with a hip injury against Stanford on Oct. 12. He returned two weeks ago but has not been able to kick farther than 42 yards out, according to Freeman.
Though Jeter made all four of his extra-point attempts against Virginia, Notre Dame left six points on the board with him unavailable for lengthier field goals. Sophomore Marcello Diomede tried a 54-yarder before halftime but didn’t come close to the target. Junior Zac Yoakam, who made one of two field goals against Georgia Tech and Navy, attempted a 36-yarder but also missed in the fourth quarter.
With matchups against a ranked Army team and a USC squad that always plays the Irish close in Los Angeles upcoming, Notre Dame needs a kicking answer before it runs into a close game.
