Notre Dame vs. Central Michigan Analytics Preview
One more tune-up before the first exam
Notre Dame finishes its preseason schedule (kidding) this week as they welcome the mighty Chippewas of Central Michigan to South Bend. This looks to be another easy Saturday for the Irish but here are some things to keep an eye on with Ohio State coming to town in one week.
Offensively, Notre Dame has been hyper efficient to begin the year through the air and on the ground. They averaged positive EPA/play in both facets against a good NC State defense last week and shouldn’t have much trouble facing an inferior opponent.
They’ve been much more pass-forward than Tommy Rees was as offensive coordinator. Part of that is Sam Hartman but it’s also encouraging to see given the rushing game seems to have improved substantially so far.
https://x.com/JBudDavis/status/1702371246229393637?s=20
The play action rate has also ticked up, with the Irish now utilizing it on 29% of dropbacks which is also an increase from the Rees era. The efficiency should continue this week but the continued progress in the underlying metrics will be something to monitor.
As for Central Michigan, woof. They run more than almost every team, struggle to do so, and also can’t throw the ball efficiently. There aren’t many bright spots on this team and with how the Notre Dame defense shut down Navy and Tennessee State, we should see a similar dominant performance tomorrow.
Short preview this week, not much to talk about. But next week we’ll have a much more in-depth write-up breaking down the most pivotal matchup of the season so far.