With Notre Dame in need of a rebound against an Arizona State team that looks a lot more dangerous than ever before, let’s run through ten Irish players that need to play well for Notre Dame to win in tonight’s primetime affair.
Tommy Rees. No need to sugarcoat it. (And after reading the comments on recent stories, nobody here has been.) Rees needs to play better to win. Against a Sun Devil defense that might spend 90 percent of its time in man-to-man coverage, the game’s going to be on Rees’s shoulders offensively, even with an emphasis in the running game.
After forgetting about underneath throws against Michigan State, the Irish did have some success on crossing routes against Oklahoma. But Rees will need to be able to connect on some downfield shots to loosen up a Sun Devils defense that isn’t exactly the stingiest group in the country.
Nick Martin. After practicing each week against Louis Nix, Martin will get his chance to face off with an All-American defensive tackle when it actually counts tonight. If Martin can hold up against Will Sutton, the Irish ground game can do some damage both inside and out.
Prince Shembo. Maybe it’s not entirely fair to call Shembo a part of the Witness Protection Program like I did earlier this week, but Shembo has got to start making his presence known in the pass rush department, an area where the Irish are in desperate need of production.
The senior linebacker has been called on to spend more time doing the little things right, like keeping leverage on the edge of the defense. But against a Sun Devil offense that can take big chunks of yardage in a hurry, a few plays made behind the line of scrimmage would do this unit some good.
Shembo is too good of a player to stay off the stat sheet for much longer. On the quick playing surface at Jerry World, I’m expecting the best game of the year for the cat linebacker.
Austin Collinsworth. Brian Kelly and Bob Diaco have a ton of faith in Collinsworth. But it’s time for the senior safety to reward the team with something more than being just consistent. After Harrison Smith and Zeke Motta played outstanding football anchoring the back end of the Irish defense, Collinsworth needs to provide more than just stability in the back end. Making sure the Irish aren’t caught in any broken coverages is mandatory, especially since those looks will surely be exploited by Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly.
The back end of the Irish defense will be under more pressure than they’ve been all season. And while Collinsworth will likely share leadership duties with Matthias Farley, it’s time for the senior to take charge.
George Atkinson. After playing his best game in an Irish uniform, it’s time for Atkinson to do it again, especially against a Sun Devils defense that’s mediocre against the run. After running through arm tackles and making big plays against Oklahoma, the Irish absolutely need Atkinson to do it again, even if there’s a bullseye on his back.
Period.
DaVaris Daniels. If you listened to Brian Kelly this week, you start to get the feeling that this coaching staff desperately wants more out of Daniels. That means more Saturdays like the ones against Temple and Purdue than what’s happened the past two weeks, when Daniels has been shut down in man coverage for a combined four catches for 19 yards.
Kelly and Chuck Martin believe that Daniels can be the big play downfield receiver that the Irish count on. But that means Daniels needs to win the one-on-one battles, something he hasn’t done the past two weeks. Cornerback Osahon Irabor is one of the Sun Devils most experienced players. Starting across from him is Robert Nelson, another fifth-year senior. That’s a lot of experience, but it’s time for Daniels to produce against top shelf opponents. He did so against Alabama in the BCS title game, so the talent is there. Now he’s got to show the consistency.
Jarrett Grace. The junior linebacker has made his move into the starting lineup. Now he needs to play better in the pass game, where he’ll be challenging this evening by a speedy fleet of Sun Devil receivers.
Kelly talked about the slant play that got inside Grace on a critical third down that went for 56-yards and a touchdown. That can’t happen tonight if the Irish want to win.
Stephon Tuitt. With Sheldon Day still likely limited, Tuitt’s going to play a lot of minutes tonight. And he’s going to need to play dominant up front in helping to limit the Sun Devil’s run game. Tuitt has slowly improved since a slow start from his hernia surgery recovery. And while his good snaps have been good, his bad snaps haven’t looked the part of a future first rounder.
With all five starters on the Sun Devil offensive line upperclassmen, it’s going to be a good battle up front. And Tuitt is going to have to carry the load, because the drop off after Day and Schwenke is sizable.
Bennett Jackson. It’s been an up and down season for the Irish captain. And he’ll be challenged again tonight, with Arizona State pushing the football down the field and the tempo between plays.
Someone needs to help this defense recapture the swagger and confidence it had last season. Jackson is the one wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey, and that duty ultimately falls on him. But until he can gets his game in order, it’s tough for that moxie to wear off on his teammates.
TJ Jones. The senior receiver has the opportunity to steal the spotlight from the Sun Devil offense with a breakout performance tonight. Whether it’s a big play in the return game, breaking a screen pass for a big gain, or connecting on a long throw down the field, Jones needs to be the best player on the field for the Irish offense.
After 15 catches in the season’s first two games, Jones has only had ten grabs in the last three for just 114 yards. Those are the type of numbers he should put up tonight, especially if the Irish run game gives Jones a chance to be a weapon in the playaction passing game.