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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat the USC Trojans, 30-27, at Notre Dame Stadium last Saturday. Here’s a closer look at that game and the Irish offense through its first six games.
THE USC GAME WAS OVER WHEN...
Ian Book snapped the ball on 3rd and 12, took a knee and let the last 13 seconds run off the clock. The Irish had a 78.8 percent chance to win the game as 10 1/2 point favorites, and that number never dipped before 50 percent during the game.
SUCCESS RATE
Ian Book was 17-for-32 for 165 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers. His success rate was 36.4 percent, the second worst of his career and the 101st best performance out of 126 instances in the Brian Kelly era when a quarterback attempted at least 10 passes.
What is success rate?
“The goal of success rate is to create an on-base percentage-style efficiency measure,” ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote last year. “Depending on a given down and distance, each play is deemed successful or non-successful:
- First downs: gaining at least 50 percent of necessary yardage (usually 5 yards) is successful.
- Second downs: gaining at least 70 percent of necessary yardage is successful.
- Third or fourth downs: gaining at least 100 percent of necessary yardage is successful.”
For quarterback performances, Connelly told me to consider only downs where a pass was attempted or a sack was recorded. (He’d also suggest adjusting for opponent, which I haven’t done.)
Book’s success rate in 2019 so far is 42.8 percent.
The Irish’s offense had a success rate of 46.3 percent against USC (37 successful, 43 unsuccessful). It was the 49th best performance of the Brian Kelly era (122 games) by this metric.
For the season, Notre Dame’s offense has a success rate of 47.7 percent.
BREAKING TACKLES/MISSED TACKLES
Breaking/missed tackles forced, 2019
Ball carrier | USC rushes | USC receptions | USC broke/missed tackles | Season broke/missed tackles |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ball carrier | USC rushes | USC receptions | USC broke/missed tackles | Season broke/missed tackles |
ARMSTRONG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
ASSAF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
BOOK | 12 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
CLARK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
CLAYPOOL | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
FINKE | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
FLEMISTER | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
J. SMITH | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
JONES JR. | 25 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
JURKOVEC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
KMET | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
LENZY | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
MCKINLEY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
TREMBLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
YOUNG | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 45 | 17 | 15 | 67 |
YARDS AFTER CONTACT
As I used to chart games for College Football Film Room, I use their guideline to calculate based on where the ball was when contact was made. It has to be substantial contact, when the runner is either slowed or in danger of being tackled.
Yards After Contact, 2019
Ball carrier | Navy rushes | Navy yards after contact | Season yards after contact | Season total yards | % of total yards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ball carrier | Navy rushes | Navy yards after contact | Season yards after contact | Season total yards | % of total yards |
ARMSTRONG | 7 | 6 | 48 | 70 | 69% |
ASSAF | 0 | 0 | 19 | 23 | 83% |
BOOK | 5 | 5 | 129 | 421 | 31% |
CLARK | 0 | 0 | 11 | 33 | 33% |
DAVIS | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 60% |
FINKE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0% |
FLEMISTER | 3 | 8 | 64 | 101 | 63% |
J. SMITH | 1 | 2 | 129 | 182 | 71% |
JONES JR. | 9 | 13 | 306 | 611 | 50% |
JURKOVEC | 2 | 2 | 80 | 88 | 91% |
KEYS | 1 | 0 | 10 | 45 | 22% |
LENZY | 1 | 2 | 12 | 79 | 15% |
WILLIAMS | 0 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 35% |
YOUNG | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
Total | 29 | 38 | 824 | 1,698 | 72.9% |
YARDS AFTER THE CATCH
Total yards minus air yards.
Yards After the Catch, 2019
Ball carrier | Receptions vs. Navy | Yards vs. Navy | YAC vs. Navy | YAC season | Season rec yds | YAC as % of season total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ball carrier | Receptions vs. Navy | Yards vs. Navy | YAC vs. Navy | YAC season | Season rec yds | YAC as % of season total |
ARMSTRONG | 2 | 12 | 4 | 89 | 89 | 100.0% |
CLAYPOOL | 7 | 117 | 53 | 285 | 768 | 37.1% |
DAVIS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 124 | 76.6% |
FINKE | 3 | 57 | 15 | 136 | 339 | 40.1% |
FLEMISTER | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 13 | 138.5% |
J. SMITH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 12 | 108.3% |
JONES JR. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 57 | 78.9% |
KEYS | 2 | 32 | 0 | 52 | 115 | 45.2% |
KMET | 0 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 327 | 40.1% |
LENZY | 2 | 87 | 24 | 68 | 199 | 34.2% |
MCKINLEY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 268 | 42.2% |
TAKACS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0% |
TREMBLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 145 | 46.2% |
WILLIAMS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 266.7% |
WRIGHT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 45 | 60.0% |
YOUNG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 21 | 114.3% |
Total | 16 | 305 | 96 | 1171 | 2527 | 46.3% |
BOOK PASSING CHART
Against USC, Ian Book was 16-for-31 for 166 yards and one touchdown when throwing from the shotgun. He was 1-for-1 for negative 1 yards when starting the play under center.
Ian Book Passing Chart, 2019
Pass thrown... | vs. Navy | Season Total |
---|---|---|
Pass thrown... | vs. Navy | Season Total |
At or behind LOS | 0-for-0, 0 yards | 46-for-60, 361 yards, 3 TDs |
Left, 0-9 yards | 0-for-0, 0 yards | 28-for-38, 287 yards, 5 TDs |
Middle, 0-9 yards | 2-for-3, 10 yards, 1 TD | 18-for-28, 194 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
Right, 0-9 yards | 6-for-6, 67 yards, 1 TD | 37-for-59, 260 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
Left, 10-19 yards | 1-for-1, 15 yards | 11-for-23, 233 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
Middle, 10-19 yards | 0-for-2, 0 yards | 6-for-11, 95 yards, 4 TDs |
Right, 10-19 yards | 0-for-2, 0 yards | 7-for-27, 138 yards, 1 INT |
Left, 20+ yards | 2-for-2, 97 yards, 1 TD | 11-for-23, 355 yards, 1 TD |
Mid, 20+ yards | 1-for-2, 47 yards, 1 TD | 4-for-12, 144 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
Right, 20+ yards | 2-for-2, 48 yards, 1 TD | 9-for-20, 226 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
Book was 12-for-21 for 114 yards and a touchdown when standing in the pocket against the Trojans and not facing pressure. The Irish quarterback was 1-1 for 2 yards when outside the pocket, but not under pressure. He was 4-for-10 for 49 yards when the Trojans got pressure on Book. The senior dropped back five times with the intention of throwing and ran instead. He gained 35 yards.
For the season, Book is:
- 93-for-131 (71 percent) for 1,226 yards, 12 touchdowns and 1 interception when he is not under pressure
- 15-for-40 (37.5 percent) for 191 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception when pressured
TARGET COUNT (SEASON)
Targets in the 2019 Season
Receiver | Virginia Tech | Duke | Navy | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Receiver | Virginia Tech | Duke | Navy | Total |
Chase Claypool | 14 | 7 | 9 | 83 |
Cole Kmet | 9 | 5 | 2 | 43 |
Chris Finke | 9 | 6 | 3 | 42 |
Javon McKinley | 2 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
Tommy Tremble | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
Thrown away | 7 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
Lawrence Keys III | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
Tony Jones Jr. | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
Michael Young | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Avery Davis | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
Braden Lenzy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
Jafar Armstrong | 5 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
Brock Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Jahmir Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Kyren Williams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
C'Bo Flemsiter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Joe Wilkins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
George Takacs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Batted pass | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 53 | 32 | 22 | 317 |
BOOK VERSUS HIS PREDECESSORS
The senior has now taken 1,200 snaps under center for the Irish. Here’s how his statistics match up to six of his predecessors who took that many snaps for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame QBs Through 1,247 Snaps, 2000-2019
Quarterback | HOLIDAY | QUINN | CLAUSEN | REES | GOLSON | KIZER | BOOK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterback | HOLIDAY | QUINN | CLAUSEN | REES | GOLSON | KIZER | BOOK |
Run plays | 853 | 673 | 625 | 625 | 652 | 657 | 662 |
Yds gained from run | 3248 | 2604 | 1770 | 2949 | 3014 | 3287 | 3119 |
Yards per run attempt | 3.8 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.7 |
Runs by QB (excluding sacks) | 243 | 55 | 57 | 29 | 138 | 183 | 154 |
Yds gained from run by QB (excluding sacks) | 1148 | 168 | 164 | 44 | 701 | 1057 | 866 |
Yards per QB run (excluding sacks) | 4.7 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 5.1 | 5.8 | 5.6 |
Pass plays | 394 | 574 | 622 | 622 | 595 | 590 | 585 |
Yds gained from pass | 2504 | 3695 | 3855 | 4347 | 4528 | 5035 | 4569 |
Completions | 199 | 288 | 366 | 397 | 361 | 362 | 376 |
Completion % | 50.5% | 50.2% | 58.8% | 63.8% | 60.7% | 61.4% | 64.3% |
Yards per comp | 12.6 | 12.8 | 10.5 | 10.9 | 12.5 | 13.9 | 12.2 |
Yards per attempt | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 8.5 | 7.8 |
Total yards gained (run & pass) | 5752 | 6299 | 5625 | 7296 | 7542 | 8322 | 7688 |
3rd Down conversions by pass | 42.5% | 38.7% | 42.9% | 39.4% | |||
Non-penalty first downs | 261 | 291 | 285 | 364 | 373 | 365 | 359 |
First downs by pass | 102 | 162 | 168 | 211 | 210 | 214 | 201 |
First downs by QB run | 52 | 23 | 16 | 8 | 43 | 49 | 43 |
% of 1Ds accounted for | 59.0% | 63.6% | 64.6% | 60.2% | 67.8% | 72.1% | 68.0% |
% of 1D runs accounted for by QB | 32.7% | 17.8% | 13.7% | 5.2% | 26.4% | 32.5% | 27.2% |
Touchdowns | 40 | 46 | 36 | 62 | 61 | 76 | 76 |
Touchdowns thrown | 13 | 19 | 25 | 34 | 33 | 39 | 38 |
Touchdowns thrown % of all TDs | 32.5% | 41.3% | 69.4% | 54.8% | 54.1% | 51.3% | 50.0% |
Touchdowns run | 27 | 27 | 11 | 28 | 28 | 37 | 38 |
Touchdowns run by QB | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 7 |
% of total TDs that were run by QB | 12.5% | 6.5% | 5.6% | 1.6% | 18.0% | 22.4% | 9.2% |
TDs by QB (arm or legs) | 18 | 22 | 27 | 35 | 44 | 56 | 45 |
TDs by QB as % of total TDs | 45.0% | 47.8% | 75.0% | 56.5% | 72.1% | 73.7% | 59.2% |
Interceptions | 12 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 12 | 17 | 13 |
Interceptions per attempt | 3.0% | 3.8% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 2.0% | 2.9% | 2.2% |
Fumbles | 37 | 21 | 29 | 16 | 24 | 25 | 15 |
Fumbles lost | 21 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 5 |
Fumbles by QB | 22 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 8 | 6 |
Fumbles lost by QB | 10 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
QB carries (including sacks) | 243 | 81 | 105 | 47 | 165 | 222 | 188 |
Fumbles lost per QB carry | 4.1% | 3.7% | 4.8% | 12.8% | 5.5% | 1.8% | 1.6% |
Sacks | 46 | 27 | 48 | 18 | 27 | 39 | 34 |
Sacked per pass attempt | 11.7% | 4.7% | 7.7% | 2.9% | 4.5% | 6.6% | 5.8% |
Negative yardage plays | 159 | 116 | 145 | 112 | 105 | 125 | 120 |
Negative yardage plays by QB | 81 | 35 | 53 | 24 | 41 | 55 | 43 |
Explosive pass plays (20+ yards) | 34 | 44 | 46 | 60 | 69 | 75 | 73 |
Explosive run plays (12+ yards) | 72 | 67 | 38 | 80 | 66 | 76 | 72 |
Explosive plays total | 106 | 111 | 84 | 140 | 135 | 151 | 145 |
Explosive plays by QB run | 34 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 22 | 17 |
Explosive plays by QB arms/legs | 68 | 49 | 46 | 61 | 86 | 97 | 90 |
Explosive % generated by QB | 64.2% | 44.1% | 54.8% | 43.6% | 63.7% | 64.2% | 62.1% |
First Down success rate | 38.3% | 54.4% | 50.8% | 48.4% | 48.6% | ||
Second Down success rate | 35.4% | 45.1% | 51.1% | 46.3% | 43.6% | ||
Third Down success rate | 29.5% | 42.4% | 40.0% | 40.8% | 39.3% | ||
Fourth Down success rate | 36.4% | 66.7% | 50.0% | 33.3% | 57.1% | ||
Overall success rate | 21.8% | 48.3% | 48.1% | 45.5% | 44.9% | ||
2019 success rate | 39.8% |