Notre Dame Must Make USC's Defense Pay For Aggressiveness

Transcript

00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]

00:03 Is, you've got to make USC pay.

00:05 Because it's very easy, we know what USC is going to do.

00:07 They're going to do what every other Notre Dame opponent has done this year.

00:11 And what USC did last year, it's the same defensive staff.

00:14 They're not gonna let you run the ball on us.

00:16 We're not gonna let you grind the clock out.

00:17 We're not gonna let you play keep away, which I really hope Notre Dame doesn't do.

00:21 You run the ball because that's who you are,

00:22 not because you're afraid to give them the ball, right?

00:26 And so you've got to make them pay.

00:28 Now, what does that mean, Ryan?

00:29 Does that mean you come out and throw the ball 15 straight times?

00:31 No, not necessarily.

00:33 What making them pay means, number one,

00:35 you've got to be physical at the line of scrimmage, right?

00:38 A couple of those linebacker run throughs,

00:39 you need to come off your double team and knock them out.

00:42 I mean, knock them to the ground, you know what I mean?

00:43 Be physical and punishing and all that.

00:45 But it means come off the line with intensity offensively, Ryan.

00:51 Get bodies on bodies, and you're gonna get movement.

00:55 Cuz there's plenty of times where I've seen USC run a stunt,

00:58 where they bring six, seven, eight guys on a run stunt.

01:01 And they just cut it out the backside and take it untouched for

01:04 six because there's just a lack of discipline in what they do, right?

01:08 So Notre Dame's gotta take advantage of those things.

01:11 It also means making sure that you've got your RPO game on point to where if

01:14 they're gonna bring all those guys, you can pull that sucker and

01:16 throw it outside four or five times.

01:17 Cuz it only takes one time for

01:19 them to miss a tackle and you're out the gate, right?

01:21 And it limits your need to be perfect.

01:25 That to me more than anything, Ryan, is the great advantage of RPOs.

01:30 It limits your need to be perfect with your play design and play calling.

01:34 And then of course your pass game and screen game have to be on point in this

01:37 game where hey, if you wanna come out and do this to us, we're gonna take it to you.

01:42 Thank you.

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