Notre Dame faces long-time rival Michigan Saturday, the second of three consecutive Big Ten opponents. Even as the game looms, last year’s frustrating loss is still fresh in the mind of many Irish fans. Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez enters his third year at the helm having presided over arguably the worst stretch of Wolverine […]

The Pythagorean expectation—brought into the sports vernacular by baseball statistician Bill James—in its most simplest form is a tool used to describe how “lucky” a baseball team was in a given season. By comparing runs scored versus runs allowed, James was able to derive a relationship between winning and scoring margin, and thus could show […]

While the defense may be a bigger problem, one of the primary concerns for many Irish fans is the spread passing offense of new head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly makes no secret of his offensive goal, he wants to be aggressive and vertical, scoring on every possession. As such, he favors the pass over the […]

With few exceptions, the 2009 Irish offense had a very productive year. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate turned in brilliant performances and led an explosive unit that generated over 30 points per outing. But if there was an Achilles’ heel—and there was—it was red zone point production. The Irish struggled inside the […]