Football

Shafer scouts Notre Dame’s highly efficient red-zone offense

Notre Dame has come away with points every time it has advanced the ball inside an opponent’s 20-yard line this season.

The No. 8 Fighting Irish (3-0), who battle Syracuse (2-1) at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night, are 14-for-14 in red-zone scores — 10 of which have been touchdowns. So far this season, the Orange’s defense has yielded seven scores, including three touchdowns, on nine opportunities in the red zone.

“We try to play our best red-zone defense possible but they are a great offense,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said during the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ teleconference on Wednesday. “They’ve been spectacular in the red zone.”

Notre Dame has been in tempo with its plays, Shafer said, and has been consistent in finding the dead spots in the opposing defenses.

The keys for Syracuse’s defenders, the head coach added, will be to train and discipline their eyes well enough and then get their feet in the right spots. The need to understand that the field is compressed in the red zone is amplified by UND’s efficiency, he said, and the timing in the Irish’s passing game will be more precise.



“The job that Notre Dame has done is just unbelievable,” Shafer said. “We’ll have a tough task and a great challenge that we’re looking forward to, but (it’s) hard to be much better than they have been in the red zone.”





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