ASU Football: A Look at the Irish
By Mike Slifer
This Saturday afternoon, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame come to Tempe for a national Top Ten Showdown. Kickoff is at 1:30 local time. Here’s a First Look at the Irish:
Offense:
Scoring Average: 35 points per game
Rushing Average: 170 yards per game. Leading rusher is Tarean Folston (5’9″, 209), who runs for 67 yards per game, followed by quarterback Everett Golson at 34 yards per game.
Passing Average: 288 yards per game. Leading receiver is Will Fuller (6′, 180) who averages 13 catches for 75 yards per game, with 9 TD’s. Golson completes 62% of his passes.
Defense:
The Irish are allowing 21 points per game.
Takeaways: 16, including 12 interceptions and 4 fumble recoveries. Cornerback Cole Luke has 3 INT’s.
(note: the leading tackler for Notre Dame is middle linebacker Joe Schmidt, who is out for the season after an injury last week against Navy)
We’ll dispense with a true scouting report and prediction for this game until later in the week. But the reality is that Notre Dame doesn’t have any “big wins” this season. Most analysts will tell you that Notre Dame hasn’t beat anyone significant. In fact, it could be argued that the best game on their resume is their loss at Florida State a few weeks ago.
Statistically, Notre Dame doesn’t jump out, either. And losing their best defender is a huge blow.
However, the Notre Dame players and coaches are used to this. They are used to national exposure, high expectations and getting everybody’s best shot. And, except for the PI call in Tallahassee, they are winning. Quarterback Everett Golson may be the most gifted winner on their team. He seems to “find a way” when his team absolutely needs him to. He’s a dangerous dual threat quarterback that is a playmaker.
Couple that with the fact that ASU will be without junior defensive tackle Jaxon Hood and left guard Christian Westerman for this game, things could get interesting. Also, keep in mind that ASU historically self-implodes in games like this. Recently, they may be turning that corner, but there may still be some doubt in the player’s minds about how well they match up with a program like Notre Dame.
Time will tell. More to follow.