Notre Dame QB's: Going into this
season, Notre Dame's quarterback situation was a non-factor with
starter Everett Golson returning after a 12 win season, and having
backups who have had playing time in Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix.
However, in late May, Everett Golson was suspended for the season and
Tommy Rees would be named starter. Tommy Rees has started 18 games
over 3 years with a majority of the starts being in the 2011 season.
Rees appeared in every game in 2012 with the exceptions of Navy (due
to suspension) and Alabama, with notable amounts of playing time
against Michigan, BYU, and the final drive against Purdue. Rees
completed 34 out of 59 passes for 436 yards with 2 passing touchdowns
and 2 interceptions. Backing Rees up will be Andrew Hendrix, who only
completed 5 of 7 passes for 55 yards. Hendrix is also capable of
running the ball as well. True freshman Malik Zaire enrolled early
and had significant playing time in the spring game with a touchdown
pass. Zaire and Hendrix both could see a lot of playing time this
season depending on how things go, regardless it is important for
both to get playing time and game-time experience.
Notre Dame QB's vs. Temple Pass
Defense: The Temple Owls had one of the worst secondaries in college
football last season with a unit that only had 4 interceptions all
season and allowed 237 passing yards a game. The Owls graduated both
starting safeties from last season and are expected to have a true
freshman starting at one of the safety spots going into the season
opener. Considering that the Temple pass defense is one of the worst
units on the team it would be ideal for Notre Dame to pass early on
in the game and allow the backup quarterbacks to get playing time.
Edge: Notre Dame
Temple QB's: Temple quarterback Connor
Reilly will be making his first career start against the Irish,
Reilly has been the holder on extra points. The starter from the
previous season, Chris Coyer moved to H-Back and is actually the
teams returning leading rusher as well and had 444 yards and 2
touchdowns on the ground. Backing up Connor Reilly will be Juice
Granger who passed for 370 yards and also completed 31 passes out of
55 attempts with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Granger is the
teams second returning leading rusher with 206 yards and 1 touchdown.
Temple QB's vs. Notre Dame Pass
Defense: Connor Reilly has the task in his first career start of
going against a veteran Notre Dame secondary that returns 3 starters.
Notre Dame's pass defense was a surprise last season and allowed only
a few opposing teams to pass for 200 or more yards all season. Even
with the loss of Zeke Motta to the NFL, look for the Irish to keep
improving in the pass defense and keep Temple below 200 passing yards
all game.
Edge: Notre Dame
Notre Dame RB's: Although the Irish
lost Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick, who both had significant stats
last season, there is still plenty of depth at the running back
position. George Atkinson III is the top returning player with 51
carries for 361 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns and had a few 50+ yard
runs and a team-high 7.1 yards a carry. Cam McDaniel had 23 carries
for 125 yards and 1 touchdown last season. Amir Carlisle and Will
Mahone will both see playing time as well along with true freshmen
Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston. Will Mahone had an injury and will be
out against the Owls.
Notre Dame RB's vs. Temple Rush
Defense: The run defense for Temple isn't any better than their pass
defense. The Owls allowed 199 rushing yards a game which was the
teams worst since 2006 (allowed 244 yards per game on the ground) and
lost most of their starters on the defensive line and return only 1
starter this season. Rotating in running backs will be important to
wear out their defense and also get in playing time as well. Look for
a strong effort by the Notre Dame running game and for most to
potentially all available running backs getting in playing time.
Edge: Notre Dame
Temple RB's: Temple lost nearly half of
their returning rushing yards in Montel Harris, a Boston College
transfer who had 1,054 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
His backup last season, Matt Brown also graduated and had 372 rushing
yards and 4 touchdowns. The starter, Kenny Harper had only 65 rushing
yards and 2 touchdowns last season. Also, his backup Jamie Gilmore
only had 94 rushing yards last season.
Temple RB's vs. Notre Dame Rush
Defense: Notre Dame has what may be the best defensive line in
college football that is headlined by juniors Louis Nix III and
Stephon Tuitt. With Temple being heavily inexperienced at running
back, look for the Irish to have a strong showing on defense against
the run and keep Temple well below 100 rushing yards for the game.
Edge: Notre Dame
Notre Dame WR's and TE's: The Irish
lost their top guy in tight end Tyler Eifert who set numerous records
for a Notre Dame tight end and is now in the NFL with the Cincinnati
Bengals. The Irish do return TJ Jones and DaVaris Daniels, TJ Jones
was named one of the team captain and had 50 receptions for 649 yards
and 4 touchdowns. Daniels had 31 catches for 490 yards and missed 2
games late in the season due to injury. Also returning of note are
Chris Brown and Daniel Smith. CJ Prosise moved over from the
secondary and the Irish have quite a few incoming freshmen. Corey
Robinson in particular has done well in preseason practice and was an
early enrollee as well. Troy Niklas is the new starter at tight end
with the loss of Tyler Eifert and is expected to carry on the legacy
of Notre Dame producing great tight ends recently and historically.
Also, the backups at tight end will be Alex Welch and Ben Koyack.
Notre Dame WR's and TE's vs. Temple
DB's: The Temple secondary is one of the weakest units on the team
and is breaking in new starters at both safety spots as well. Tommy
Rees will need to get the ball to his receivers and spread it out as
well. While TJ Jones, DaVaris Daniels, and Troy Niklas will be
targeted, look for others to see playing time as well. The Notre Dame
receivers should have a great game and look for backups to get
meaningful minutes in as well.
Edge: Notre Dame
Temple WR's and TE's: The top returnee
at receiver for Temple is Jalen Fitzpatrick who had 30 receptions for
363 yards and 2 touchdowns. The only other players who return with 10
or more receptions are Cody Booth (who has moved to the offensive
line) and Kenny Harper (a running back), as Temple was more of a run
based team in 2012 (201 rushing yards per game and 121 passing yards
per game).
Temple WR's and TE's vs. Notre Dame
DB's: Jalen Fitzpatrick is the only player the Irish have to worry
about significantly with Temple being more of a run based team, which
will help with the defense as it may mean that the Irish don't have
to drop as many players into coverage and still be able to commit to
both the pass and the run.
Edge: Notre Dame
Notre Dame OL: The Notre Dame offensive
line is headlined by Zach Martin and Chris Watt on the left side.
Martin was named captain for the second season in a row and the unit
will feature a couple new starters with Braxston Cave and Mike Golic
Jr. having graduated. Early enrollee Steve Elmer has been drawn quite
a bit of praise from Brian Kelly and also is capable of playing
multiple spots on the offensive line as well.
Notre Dame OL vs. Temple DL: The Temple
Owls only return one starter in senior Levi Brown for their defensive
line. Even with Notre Dame having a couple new starters, this
shouldn't be an issue as the Irish should be able to open lanes up
for the running game and keep opposing defenders out of the
backfield.
Edge: Notre Dame
Temple OL: The Temple OL returns quite
a few starters including 6th year player Sean Boyle. The
line did a solid job in run blocking as Temple had 1000 yard rusher
last season. The Owls offensive line is easily the strength of Temple
offense this season with the Owls having new starters at QB and RB
most notably.
Temple OL vs. Notre Dame DL: While the
Temple offensive line is their best offensive unit, they face one of
the very best defensive lines in Notre Dame's. While Notre Dame has a
little bit of the depth issue due to injuries, they should be able to
play backups as needed against Temple.
Edge: Notre Dame
Notre Dame DL: The defensive line for
Notre Dame is the strength of a really great Notre Dame defense. Even
with the loss of Kapron Lewis-Moore, the Irish have Stephon Tuitt,
Louis Nix III and Sheldon Day starting. Day has earned a lot of
praise after playing a solid amount as a true freshman while Tuitt
and Nix are All-American candidates. Tuitt had a strong season in
2012 with 12 sacks and a defensive touchdown, and Nix is a force in
the middle. Sheldon Day is a rising star and could a strong presence
in opposing backfields with the main focus on Nix and Tuitt.
Notre Dame DL vs. Temple OL: While
Temple returns the core of its offensive line, the Irish have two
players in Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix that will attract double
coverage and give more opportunities for Sheldon Day and other
defenders. The Irish will need to stay healthy and avoid injuries
with Tony Springmann and Chase Hounshell out for the season.
Edge: Notre Dame
Temple DL: Levi Brown is the only
starter returning from the Temple defensive line from last season and
he had 27 tackles and 3 tackles for loss last season. The unit
allowed 200 or more rushing yards in 5 games in the 2012 season.
Temple DL vs. Notre Dame OL: With
Temple having only 1 returning starter from last season, the new
starters will be put to a test right away with an experienced Notre
Dame offensive line that features a strong left side. Temple's
defense also had trouble getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks
with the most out of a single player being 2 quarterback hurries.
Look for Notre Dame to contain the inexperienced Temple defensive
line.
Notre Dame LB's: The loss of Manti Te'o
will be felt, but the linebacker unit is still deep even with Danny
Spond having to retire early. Jaylon Smith will start at outside
linebacker opposite multi-year starter Prince Shembo. The inside has
veterans with Carlo Calabrese and Dan Fox, but is deep with Jarrett
Grace and Kendall Moore as well. Shembo could build upon his strong
junior season with a potential of a double-digit sack season as well.
Notre Dame LB's vs. Temple: For the
Notre Dame linebackers, the biggest focus for them will be supporting
the defensive line. Look for Prince Shembo to make his presence known
in the backfield and put pressure on Temple. Jaylon Smith will need
to be able to make an impact as well with it being his first career
start.
Edge: Notre Dame
Temple LB's: The linebacker unit is the
strongest unit of Temple's defense that returns to tackler in Tyler
Matakevich who had 101 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 3 pass
deflections last season. He also was the Big East Defensive Freshman
Player of the Year last season. Another returning starter is Blaze
Caponegro who had 30 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass
deflection last season. Nate D. Smith returns with 75 tackles, 3.5
sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 2 pass deflections and 1 quarterback
hurry.
Temple LB's vs. Notre Dame: Containing
Temple's linebackers will be the most important thing to do for the
Irish, especially Tyler Matakevich. This could mean more double tight
end sets on offense for the Irish. If Notre Dame keeps the linebacker
unit contained and out of the backfield, then that will make things
significantly easier on offense for Notre Dame.
Edge: Even
Notre Dame DB's: What was a big
question mark going into last season wound up significantly exceeding
expectations and helped keep numerous teams below 200 passing yards
last season. The unit returns nearly intact with the only notable
losses being Zeke Motta and Jamoris Slaughter (both in the NFL now).
The unit welcomes back Austin Collinsworth and Lo Wood who missed
last season due to injury. Bennett Jackson was named captain and is
the teams top returning tackler and interception leader with 65
tackles and 4 interceptions. KeiVarae Russell was a big surprise
after being put into the other starting cornerback spot and and had 2
interceptions and was first team freshman All-American as well.
Matthias Farley stepped in when Jamoris Slaughter and had a solid
season as a redshirt freshman.
Notre Dame DB's vs. Temple WR's: The
only receiver Notre Dame must really worry about is Jalen Fitzpatrick
as he is the only returning receiver to have made an impact last
season. Fitzpatrick had 363 receiving yards last season which was 226
more yards than the no. 2 receiver last season. Considering all of
this, Notre Dame won't have to have as many players playing in
coverage and should be able to focus on the run.
Edge: Notre Dame
Temple DB's: Temple is starting new
safeties this season but returns both starting corners in Zamel
Johnson and Anthony Robey. The pass defense was horrible last season
with Temple allowing 237 yards per game and only allowed below 200
yards 3 times (and one of those was a run-based team that only
attempted 9 passes in the entire game). The unit only had 4
interceptions all season which was one of the lowest among Division
1-A teams last season.
Temple DB's vs. Notre Dame WR's: The
Irish have experienced receivers in TJ Jones and DaVaris Daniels and
can pose problems for the Owls secondary. If Tommy Rees is able to
get the ball to the receivers and spread it around, it will make
committing to the pass harder for Temple, especially with a unit that
was weak against the pass last season and having a couple of new
starters.
Edge: Notre Dame
Notre Dame Kicking Game: Kyle Brindza
made 23 out of 31 field goals with the most notable being the game
winner against Purdue last season and also was the kickoff specialist
last season with 26 touchbacks. Wake Forest transfer Alex Wulfeck is
expected to take over on punts with Ben Turk having graduated, but it
is possible that Brindza could handle punting duty as well in
addition to being the kicker and kickoff specialist.
Temple Kicking Game: The unit is
getting a big drop off with the kicker and punter from last season
being gone. Albany transfer Paul Layton will be handing the kicking
and punting duties and was 2-time All-NEC while at Albany.
Stronger Unit: Notre Dame
Notre Dame Return Game: George Atkinson
III didn't have as great of a season as he did in 2011 when he
returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns. In 2012, he had just a 20 yard
average and only a long of 39 yards. Punt returns were a non-factor
as most needed to be fair caught.
Temple Return Game: The return game
also suffered a huge hit with the loss of Matt Brown who averaged
25.5 yards per return and had a kickoff return for a touchdown. He
also also averaged 14.2 yards per punt return with a long of 45. Jaen
Fitzpatrick also returned kickoffs and had a 24 yard average and a
long of 43.
Stronger Unit: Even
Everything Else: The offseason for
Notre Dame was an interesting turn of events with the suspension of
Everett Golson and injury issues as well. However, the team has it's
depth and experience, and returns most of the starters on defense
while having a strong left side on the offensive line. New starters
and first year players will need to establish themselves. Tommy Rees
has the experience and needs to cut down on turnovers that were an
issue most notably in 2011. The running back unit will need to be
consistent with the losses of Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood. While
George Atkinson III is the starter, the backups need to establish
themselves to prevent reliance on Atkinson. Troy Niklas will need to
be able to make plays and help make up for the loss of Eifert. The
defensive line must stay healthy and get in backups as needed for
experience. Temple is playing under a first year head coach, a new
starter at quarterback who was buried on the depth chart the last
couple of seasons. Temple had major losses in the running game and on
the defensive front. Look for a strong balanced effort on offense to
open the season for the Irish.
Prediction: Notre Dame 45, Temple 0
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