Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden named Broyles Award finalist
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden is officially one of the five best assistant coaches in college football. Golden was named one of five finalists for the Broyles Award on Wednesday. The award is given annually to the top assistant coach in the country.
Here is the full list of finalists…
-Arizona State offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo
-Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks
-Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines
-Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski
-Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden
All five finalists coach for a team that qualified for the 2024 College Football Playoff. Notre Dame will face off against one of the finalists in Indiana’s Haines in the first round on Dec. 20.
Golden definitely has a solid case for winning the award. The only Notre Dame winner since the inception of the honor in 1996 was defensive coordinator Bob Diaco in 2012. The Irish, of course, went undefeated in the regular season that year and lost in the national championship game to Alabama. The Irish had the No. 2 scoring defense in the country at 12.8 points per game behind only the Crimson Tide’s 10.9.
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It’s much of the same for the blue and gold this year under Golden’s command. Notre Dame is No. 3 nationally in scoring defense at 13.6 points per game. The list of accolades and top-10 national rankings is lengthy. Of note, Notre Dame has the No. 1 pass efficiency defense in all of college football, holding opposing quarterbacks to a rating of 94.10. The only other team in the country with a figure below 100 in that category is Texas (95.20).
Notre Dame ranks tied for first with Texas in total turnovers gained (28), third in passing yards allowed per game (157.9), fourth in opponent plays of 10-plus yards from scrimmage (122), sixth in opponent fourth down percentage (34.29), seventh in opponent third down percentage (30.59), eighth in passes defended (69), ninth in total yards allowed per game (296.8), tied for ninth in opponent red zone scoring percentage (16.67).
The only area the Notre Dame defense could stand to be better in is allowing opponents to score on their opening drives and rushing defense, which the Irish rank 51st in the country in when it comes to opponent yards gained on the ground. Those two areas are a little nod to bending, not breaking, though. Golden’s defense gets better as games go on, and it has Notre Dame in the playoff and himself up for a major ward.
