Irish Defense by the Numbers

[BermudaSooner]

We've all heard how wonderful the Irish defense is (despite playing Big Ten teams and the likes of Navy), so I looked at the rushing and passing stats for these games versus how much their opponents rush or pass for in their other games. Here is the result:

Navy - Avg Rush X-ND: 250, vs ND: 149. Avg Pass X-ND: 104, vs ND: 192. Total Yards avg x-ND: 353, vs ND 341

Purdue - Avg Rush X-ND: 170, vs ND: 90. Avg Pass X-ND: 227, vs ND: 198. Total Yards avg x-ND: 396, vs ND 288

MSU - Avg Rush X-ND: 153, vs ND: 50. Avg Pass X-ND: 237, vs ND: 187. Total Yards avg x-ND: 390, vs ND 237

Meat Chicken - Avg Rush X-ND: 233, vs ND: 161. Avg Pass X-ND: 190, vs ND: 138. Total Yards avg x-ND: 423, vs ND 299

Miami - Avg Rush X-ND: 133, vs ND: 84. Avg Pass X-ND: 301, vs ND: 201. Total Yards avg x-ND: 434, vs ND 285

Stanford - Avg Rush X-ND: 171, vs ND: 147. Avg Pass X-ND: 229, vs ND: 125. Total Yards avg x-ND: 400, vs ND 272

BYU - Avg Rush X-ND: 174, vs ND: 66. Avg Pass X-ND: 223, vs ND: 177. Total Yards avg x-ND: 397, vs ND 243

On average, ND holds their opponents to 76 fewer rushing yards and 42 less passing yards, and 118 yards in total.

Only good passing team they have faced is Miami, and they held then to 100 fewer pass yards.

BYU was their best performance holding BYU to 154 fewer yards (although BYU's schedule suspect) and their worst performance was Navy only holding them to 12 fewer yards (due to an above average passing game from Navy).

So can OU gain 400 yards on ND?

[goingoneight]

We'll see which OU team shows up. The pass-happy team that's as hot-and-cold as a shower valve or the complete team that's destroyed three teams in a row. I would think a fired up 2012 OU team can play with anybody. But we'll see.

[PrideMom]

OU will CRUSH ND!! Stanford does not know how to play in OT, and the other teams are nobodies.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

This game comes down to which Landry Jones shows up. Everything else will take care of itself.

[BoulderSooner79]

Run enough to keep them honest and they'll be watching our receivers heels cruising down field.

[sooneron]

I don't see one offense on there that is nearly as good as OUrs. Hell, I'd wager we'd hold half of them to 7 pts or less. Their defense is good, but they haven't played a Klein or even a Doeghe (sp?).

[KantoSooner]

In essence, they've played Stanford and, eh, BYU as their signature games. They won both, but didn't dominate either.

We've played KSU and TT so far, and split, dominating TT.

I'd say our team has faced a better class of opponent so far, but ND will be in the TT and probably more fundamentally sound.

If Landry plays like he did at Texas and if our ball carriers don't fumble, OU's team speed could, repeat could, make this thing ugly in the second half. Damian Williams and perhaps our TE's on O and Tony Jefferson on D are likely to be very important.

[olevetonahill]

In essence, they've played Stanford and, eh, BYU as their signature games. They won both, but didn't dominate either.

We've played KSU and TT so far, and split, dominating TT.

I'd say our team has faced a better class of opponent so far, but ND will be in the TT and probably more fundamentally sound.

If Landry plays like he did at Texas and if our ball carriers don't fumble, OU's team speed could, repeat could, make this thing ugly in the second half. Damian Williams and perhaps our TE's on O and Tony Jefferson on D are likely to be very important.


Our D is gonna have this lookin Ugly fer the Domers in the 2nd quarter.

[VA Sooner]

Sooners in Norman... we'll dominate Notre Dame.

Start with a good run game and mix in a few short passes to keep their defense honest and then go hog-wild with the long pass plays. They have a great middle linebacker so may have to invent a new position... LB-spy.

Otherwise..... BOOMER SOONER all day long.

[BoulderSooner79]

...
If Landry plays like he did at Texas and if our ball carriers don't fumble, OU's team speed could, repeat could, make this thing ugly in the second half. Damian Williams and perhaps our TE's on O and Tony Jefferson on D are likely to be very important.

I don't see our running game putting up numbers early, but will be important to stem their pass rush. I think they will be very hesitant to blitz and hope their front 7 can stuff the run and get enough pass rush without taking chances. They want a low scoring, field position game and fear the kind of big plays that a failed blitz can leave open. You see us using TE's ? We haven't done that much so far and we've been using Millard instead of TEs and I would think we would continue that trend. I see lots of short passes early so that there is little chance of getting pressure on LJ. Once their big guys look a little gassed from trying to pass rush and are having problems getting off blocks, we start throwing farther down field.

[FirstandGoal]

And lets not forget that Williams is pretty lethal catching and going with those short passes rather than just running the ball.

[BoulderSooner79]

And lets not forget that Williams is pretty lethal catching and going with those short passes rather than just running the ball.

Agreed! Even more stress on their coverage - keep 'em running sideline to sideline.

[BermudaSooner]

The addition of Millard in the pass game has been a huge success. Except for the one drop, he has been outstanding--good for 10+ on almost every attempt.

[FirstandGoal]

Things like this are why stats are only as good as the paper they're written on.

3 weeks ago Taco Tech was the #1 D in the country.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

This game comes down to which Landry Jones shows up. Everything else will take care of itself.seems that way to me, too. Gotta hope there is no more "Bad Landry"

[BoulderSooner79]

seems that way to me, too. Gotta hope there is no more "Bad Landry"

Play calling goes a long way avoiding that issue. I know it is easy to call plays when everything works, but the play calling against the horns was outstanding early. Everytime they brought pressure we had a screen called or we had a run to the opposite side of the line called. Maybe it was luck or maybe the horns are predictable with their tendencies. ND will be different because I don't see them gambling much - just playing base D and being disciplined. We need plays called early that have LJ releasing the ball quickly before there is likely to be pressure. Once the feeling out period is over, we'll get our chances down field.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

Things like this are why stats are only as good as the paper they're written on.

3 weeks ago Taco Tech was the #1 D in the country.

They are at #8 now. Still very good, but it probably keeps climbing in the wrong direction from here on out. Here's hoping they play that way this Saturday.

[KantoSooner]

I don't see our running game putting up numbers early, but will be important to stem their pass rush. I think they will be very hesitant to blitz and hope their front 7 can stuff the run and get enough pass rush without taking chances. They want a low scoring, field position game and fear the kind of big plays that a failed blitz can leave open. You see us using TE's ? We haven't done that much so far and we've been using Millard instead of TEs and I would think we would continue that trend. I see lots of short passes early so that there is little chance of getting pressure on LJ. Once their big guys look a little gassed from trying to pass rush and are having problems getting off blocks, we start throwing farther down field.

I can see us using our TE's in the sense that it's something that no one has seen this year and probably is something that ND hasn't spent anytime on. Might be an interesting wrinkle to bring out.

[FirstandGoal]

seems that way to me, too. Gotta hope there is no more "Bad Landry"

Honestly, this seems to be what the majority of Domer fans are hoping for and it seems as if it might be their only option.

[yermom]

keep Landry's uniform clean, and we should be fine

[Widescreen]

I can see us using our TE's in the sense that it's something that no one has seen this year and probably is something that ND hasn't spent anytime on. Might be an interesting wrinkle to bring out.

So you're predicting a 3 TD performance for McNamara? I like it.

[SoonerMarkVA]

This game comes down to which Landry Jones shows up. Everything else will take care of itself.

And which Landry Jones shows up depends (mostly) on whether he gets harassed or not. So, as is usually the case with the offense, it's all up to the line. If they can give Landry some protection, I expect him to eat their lunch.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

And which Landry Jones shows up depends (mostly) on whether he gets harassed or not. So, as is usually the case with the offense, it's all up to the line. If they can give Landry some protection, I expect him to eat their lunch.

Landry has made some great throws under pressure over the years. He's made great throws under pressure and horrible throws when not under pressure and vice versa, which is what makes him one of the most frustrating QBs in Oklahoma football history to watch. :tears_of_joy:

His Jeckyll and Hyde nature has never directly been associated to the level of protection the offensive line has afforded him (sans the 2009 Nebraska game for obvious reasons). He had an average of 2.3 seconds to throw against UTEP to start this season and was quite unremarkable in that game. He also had plenty of time in the KSU game more times than not. He's like a box of chocolates....blah blah blah.

[KantoSooner]

So you're predicting a 3 TD performance for McNamara? I like it.

I wouldn't turn that away if it happened, but more like a couple of decent gains and one TD type of thing.

Maybe our usual two WRs drifting to the back corner of the EZ and a TE coming underneath at the 2 or so so that he can turn, take a step and be in.

[BoulderSooner79]

Maybe we'll find out if Saunders really has SEC speed*



*okay, near-SEC speed. SEC speed doesn't exist outside the SEC.

[FaninAma]

My Uncle is a big Domer. He said that on the ND coaches' shows they have all addressed the need to pressure Landry in order to force mistakes on defense and establish a power running game on offense.

[BermudaSooner]

Things like this are why stats are only as good as the paper they're written on.

3 weeks ago Taco Tech was the #1 D in the country.

I agree, which is why I compared them to how those teams have done against other competition. On average the "other competition" of ND isn't all that strong, so I would expect, even if ND only has a pretty good defense, to have better numbers. Just saying ND is #4 in defense (or whatever they are) doesn't tell me much--to your point about Tech. Seeing how much better they do that what the team averages tells me a little something.

We won't march down the field on every possession on these guys like we did against Texas or Kansas, but they are not Alabama either. I like our chances of getting at least 400 yards on them, which I think will be at least 100 more than they get against us, and so absent a bunch of turnovers, I think we win.

[PalmBeachSooner]

I don't see one offense on there that is nearly as good as OUrs. Hell, I'd wager we'd hold half of them to 7 pts or less. Their defense is good, but they haven't played a Klein or even a Doeghe (sp?).

I'm still trying to figure out how you pronounce Doege - 'daje'?

[BoulderSooner79]

I'm still trying to figure out how you pronounce Doege - 'daje'?

Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Keep them Doeges rollin'
RAWHIDE!

[Breadburner]

No turn-overs....Win in the trenches....!!!

[Breadburner]

I'm still trying to figure out how you pronounce Doege - 'daje'?


Day--geee...

[Widescreen]

Day--geee...

Yes, with a soft g.

[StoopTroup]

What about calling him that guy they pulled so he could play next week? :D

[VA Sooner]

What about calling him that guy they pulled so he could play next week? :D

That works for me...

[SoonerLB]

ND beat Stanford on a bad call, and their Irish luck allowed them to squeak out a win against BYU, but their luck has run out, and they are going down! OU 31, ND 13.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Landry has made some great throws under pressure over the years. He's made great throws under pressure and horrible throws when not under pressure and vice versa, which is what makes him one of the most frustrating QBs in Oklahoma football history to watch. :tears_of_joy:

His Jeckyll and Hyde nature has never directly been associated to the level of protection the offensive line has afforded him (sans the 2009 Nebraska game for obvious reasons). He had an average of 2.3 seconds to throw against UTEP to start this season and was quite unremarkable in that game. He also had plenty of time in the KSU game more times than not. He's like a box of chocolates....blah blah blah.

I could not disagree more with your assessment.

[PalmBeachSooner]

ND beat Stanford on a bad call, and their Irish luck allowed them to squeak out a win against BYU, but their luck has run out, and they are going down! OU 31, ND 13.

In the words of the legendary Yul Brenner, "so let it be said, so let it be done".

[KantoSooner]

In the words of Jean-Luc Picard, "Make it so."

[EatLeadCommie]

I don't think ND is going to do much on offense, which gives LJ some wiggle room to make mistakes with the ball. Even assuming LJ plays mediocre, which he probably will, the O is light years ahead of where it was against KSU. Millard is deeply involved in the offense, Shepard has seen some playing time, Stills is playing as good as ever, and the little midget from Fresno has really screwed up defensive gameplans as well because the kid can flat out fly. God help the opposition if Metoyer ever comes back and starts tearing it up.

So in other words, LJ can play KSU-quality ball, and we probably still win 24-14. If he plays well, we will tear them up. Like 40-50 points bad. I'm sorry, ND fans, but your wins are against the Big 10, which is somewhere on par with the Sun Belt this year, and the ACC, which is even worse. None of the teams beaten by ND has a single quality win, and all of them have bad losses. They simply are not very good. Better than in past seasons, for sure, but that isn't saying much.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

The only difference between "bad" Landry and "good" Landry is whether he has to double clutch the ball. Once he starts that he becomes tentative and starts sailing it. If you watched Bradford last year, you would have seen the exact same thing at St. Louis. The tweak that the coaches have done to keep him from the above scenario has been to max protect on the line (keep the TEs in) and flood the field with a TE and RB. This puts more talent in space and defenses have struggled to cover it because it is essentially a form of play action.

[BoulderSooner79]

...None of the teams beaten by ND has a single quality win, and all of them have bad losses. They simply are not very good. Better than in past seasons, for sure, but that isn't saying much.

Stanford beat USC and Stanford is the best team that ND has played.