Irish Sports Daily

Notre Dame starts 4-0, and the number of reasons why can be listed based on the Michigan game.  Here are some points to ponder.

• Newsflash: The best defensive player in America, that’s Manti Te’o.

• Hitting Denard: The Irish defensive front seven penetrated time and again to harass and hit Denard Robinson during the first half. He threw high because of defenders in his face; he threw too early or too late because of pressure. It’s amazing how a game changes when the quarterback continually receives pressure in the pocket. That pressure led to four consecutive interceptions.

• Simply put, Michigan’s offensive line struggled to pass protect versus Notre Dame’s defensive linemen and occasional blitzing defenders. As long as Notre Dame creates a pass rush with three or four players attacking the line of scrimmage, Notre Dame’s pass defense, and defense overall, will be very hard to score against.

• If there’s a better all-around 1-2 punch at nose guard and defensive end than Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt, they most likely play in the NFL. Some teams might possess better run stuffers (‘Bama?), but the ability to rush the passer and stop the run, the tandem of Nix and Tuitt would be hard to top. Tuitt already recorded six sacks, good for second in the nation. Nix, despite double teams, still recorded 1.5 sacks of his own.

• Prince Shembo found his calling as a CAT linebacker. He speed rushes well, and his counter move to the inside led to his second sack of the season versus the Wolverines. He’s really come into his own this season.

• Do not forget about Kapron Lewis-Moore. The fifth-year senior defensive end made his presence known, especially against the run. He also collapsed the pocket more than once during passing downs. He’s the final piece to an incredibly impressive defensive front four.

• Michigan’s play calling changed during the third and fourth quarters, allowing Robinson to do what he does best – improvise – as the Wolverines’ rushing attack drastically improved from the first half, but Notre Dame’s defense still held Michigan to 161-yards rushing from 41 attempts despite allowing a 31-yard run and a 20-yard run.

• In case anyone did not know, Mattias Farley earned his stripes against Michigan. The big hit during the down the field pass from Robinson that dislodged the football from the receiver proved to be a good play, and Farley played solid in coverage throughout the game.

• Baratti, Day, & Russell: The three young freshmen made considerable impacts during the game. It’s great to see player development at such an early stage of the season. Fantastic coaching should be commended, and the effort from the freshmen should also be commended.

• Bob Diaco’s defensive plans includes forcing underneath passes. Michigan struggled because of this approach. Robinson and his teammates just could not make any noise inside the red zone after dinking and dunking down the field with short passes and read-option running plays. One could make the argument that the Notre Dame’s 2012 red zone defense played as well or better than any other team in college football thus far.

• Beyond Manti Te’o’s incredible big play performance, the casual fan might miss the star performer from the outside linebacker position. Danny Spond held the edge during running plays to the outside, made tackles in space, and played the pass well when he read his keys in zone coverage. Additionally, he caused Robinson to fumble and stood directly behind Te’o when he intercepted a Robinson pass, essentially meaning Spond would benefit with an interception if Te’o did not step in front of the throw. I’ll admit that I did not believe Spond could play to such a high level. Great performance!

• Tommy Rees deserves credit; he made critical plays. The rushing touchdown, the accurate throws to the running backs and wide receivers to keep the chains moving, and of course the pass to Eifert to convert a vital third down. To come off the bench, twice, to lead the Irish to victory, now that’s something to smile about. Congrats to Mr. Rees.

• Waiting their turn: The Irish wide receivers probably began to feel frustrated with the inconsistency from Golson. To their credit, none of them appeared to be pouting about not receiving enough touches. Further, DaVaris Daniels seems to be evolving into a prime target. He could be the player that opens up Eifert and the running game.

• Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick combined for 91-yards from 24 carries. Solid, but what would their combined production equate to if the quarterback play forced Michigan’s defense to back off the line of scrimmage? Notre Dame’s rushing attack will suffer substantially until the quarterback play becomes consistent.

• Give credit to the offensive line. While Michigan did not respect Notre Dame’s passing game and kept defenders close to the line, Notre Dame’s pass protection did well under pressure and the running game moved the chains at the end of the game when everyone knew the Irish would run the football. Finishing a football game with running plays when defenders crowd the line of scrimmage makes for a difficult task, a task the offensive line conquered.

• I like the idea of Chris Brown and George Atkinson III playing together as they did during the first play from scrimmage. Their speed will give defenders pause about attacking the line of scrimmage. Notre Dame just needs to line both players up at wide receiver more often so to not tip off the defense that a pass will be forthcoming.

• Tyler Eifert caught one pass, but goodness did it ever prove to be an important pass. Once Golson becomes comfortable again, Notre Dame should be able to involve Eifert in the passing game more often.

• Recruiting: Notre Dame did well with the recruits that took official and unofficial visits. Torri Hunter, Jr. made his commitment to Notre Dame, and several other recruits appear to be very interested in attending Notre Dame from the classes of 2013 and 2014. As an extension, Notre Dame’s dismantling of Michigan’s passing game undoubtedly caused trepidation for one of Michigan’s top recruits, Laquan Treadwell, a top wide receiver. After watching four consecutive passes be intercepted by Irish defenders, hard to envision Treadwell feeling good about Michigan’s pass attack moving forward.