Irish notebook: Notre Dame coach Kelly says Golson is his QB
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is towing the company line this week, saying Everett Golson remains the Irish’s starting quarterback going forward.
Who Notre Dame’s starting quarterback will be going forward was a topic of discussion immediately following the 13-6 win over Michigan Saturday, and it continues to be a few days later.
Kelly didn’t have much patience for Golson as he was yanked from the game against the Wolverines after five offensive series that resulted in two interceptions.
It was the second time this season the Irish boss went to his backup signal caller in a game following a Golson turnover.
After Golson fumbled against Purdue, Kelly turned to Tommy Rees late and saw last year’s starting quarterback lead Notre Dame on a game-winning drive that resulted in a field goal.
The leash was even shorter for Golson against the 18th-ranked Wolverines as he was benched in the first half.
Rees came on in that one and managed the game quite well, not turning the ball over and being more efficient in the passing game despite the fact that the game plan wasn’t overly conducive to Rees’ strengths.
Even though Kelly has had to turn to Rees in half the games this season, he says he hasn’t lost faith in Golson.
The Notre Dame coach has continually said that Golson possesses all the tools necessary to be a start quarterback in the college game. He’s got good arm strength, his passes are accurate and have good velocity, plus he has that elusive ability to avoid pressure when he’s rushed due to his tremendous athleticism. Perhaps the only thing holding Golson back is the mental aspect of the game.
Although he wasn’t fundamentally sound either in his last outing.
Against Michigan he seemed to be rattled for the first time this season and made a few poor decisions with the two balls he intercepted and he overthrew some open receivers.
The inconsistency and shall we say somewhat instability at the quarterback position is one of the reasons why Notre Dame’s offense ranks among the worst in college football, averaging 351 yards of total offense per game.
Kelly expects that number to improve when his quarterback play does.
Everett is going to continue to work hard and get better, he said.
And don’t think Kelly is a big fan of quarterback by committee because he’s not. Ideally Kelly would love to stick with one quarterback. His reason for turning to Rees against Michigan was for the best interest of our team in winning that game.
You want to go with one quarterback, Kelly said. But we have a freshman quarterback who’s experiencing being a young quarterback. So any time I can prop him up with a veteran to win a football game, because we’re in this to win it, then we’ll do that.
Offense seeks consistency
Notre Dame’s offense is a work in progress that has looked very good the last three weeks.
As a result, the Irish’s offensive statistics are headed in the wrong direction.
The passing game currently ranks 84th nationally out of 120 FBS teams, averaging 211 yards per game.
Golson is completing just 56.2 percent of his passes (50-of-89) for 641 yards and has as many interceptions (three) as he does touchdown passes.
Rees is hit on 11-of-17 pass attempts for 150 yards and has yet to throw a pick or an interception.
Irish offensive coordinator Chuck Martin says his unit’s struggles have to do with consistency more than anything else.
I don’t think we’re searching for an identity, he said. We’re searching for consistent execution.
There are more plays to be made out there than we’ve been making to this point.
Part of the passing woes can be attributed to not getting the ball to All-American tight end Tyler Eifert enough.
Eifert has just nine receptions on the season for 158 yards and a touchdown. However, in the last two games Eifert had just two catches.
Kelly and Martin want to see more balls thrown Eifert’s way.
We’re a better team if the ball gets in 80’s direction more, Martin said.
Kelly added, We’ve missed some opportunities quite frankly in terms of having an opportunity to get him the football.
I think you saw early in the first quarter we had him running down the middle of the field (against Michigan), we overthrew him. We had him on a six cut that we didn’t get the ball to him. I think there’s been a number of opportunities where he’s part of the route package, and we’re not getting him the ball. We’ve got to find him. We’ve also got to get him more touches.
It all starts with D
As good as Notre Dame’s defense has been in its first four games, Irish defensive coordinator Bob Diaco says there’s plenty of room for improvement on that side of the ball.
He pointed out there were 16 plays in the Michigan game that could cause losing.
We’ve got a lot of work to do, said Diaco, who met with the media Wednesday for the first time since the start of the 2012 season. We’re in no way, anywhere close, to where we need to be.
Still, Diaco’s defense is playing outstanding football. It has given up just 36 points in the first four games. Consider this a Notre Dame defense hasn’t started off a season like this one since the 1975 unit surrendered 20 points through four contests.
Only TCU, Alabama and Cincinnati have given up fewer points this season than the Irish.
We’re a stingy defense and we’re a defense that can take the football away, Kelly said. That’s the next level of championship defense.
Kelly’s Irish are fifth in the nation in turnover margin (13 takeaways, four giveaways).
Terrific Te’o
Despite the fabulous senior season he’s having, Notre Dame will not launch a Heisman Trophy campaign for All-American middle linebacker Manti Te’o.
Te’o is among the top 31 tacklers in the nation, averaging 9.5 per game. He leads the Irish with 38 tackles, has three interceptions, five passes defended, three quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries.
You don’t have to tell Diaco how good No. 5 is either.
I would say that Manti is the finest football player in America, Diaco said. All positions. All teams.
Te’o is on the cover of this week’s regional issue of Sports Illustrated.
In case you’re wondering, the only true defensive player to ever win the Heisman Trophy was Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997. Of course Woodson’s cause was helped, too, since he was a punt returner.
More ND nuggets
– NBC’s primetime telecast of Michigan at Notre Dame drew an audience of 6.4 million viewers, the most-watched Fighting Irish primetime game ever on NBC. Viewership was up 100 percent over the 2011 primetime broadcast of USC at Notre Dame, and pushed the two-game Notre Dame on NBC average up 28 percent versus 2011.
– Safety Jamoris Slaughter, injured in the Michigan State game, underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. He’s expected to be out six months.
– We know Notre Dame has opted out of its series with Michigan following the 2014 season, but what about Michigan State and Purdue?
The Spartans and Boilermakers have been staples on the Irish schedule for years. But with Notre Dame now committed to playing five games annually with the ACC, along with USC, Stanford and Navy on an annual basis, whether games against Michigan State and Purdue will continue to dot Notre Dame’s future schedules remains to be seen.
