The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are preparing to take on the Florida State Seminoles in the hopes of winning their third straight bowl game. If the Irish want to beat the Noles, they're going to have to endure one of the nation's best pass rushes, but that's nothing new to the Irish according to Eric Murtaugh of SB Nation's Notre Dame blog One Foot Down:
Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Irish Hope To Win Third Straight Bowl Game
Florida State is very aggressive on defense, finishing the regular season 9th nationally with 37 sacks.
However, half of Notre Dame’s schedule this year featured teams in the top 30 in sacks nationally---Michigan State 4th (41 sacks), Pitt 5th (39), Stanford 6th (38), USF (38), USC 23rd (30), and Michigan (28)---so the Irish have a lot of experience and success against potent attacks being ranked 17th nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss surrendered.
Quarterback Tommy Rees has been successful under duress, so while they Notre Dame offensive line will have it's hands full, it's going to be tough for the Noles defense to rattle Notre Dame's starting quarterback.
For more on Notre Dame, visit Fighting Irish blog One Foot Down. For more on Florida State, visit Seminoles blog Tomahawk Nation.
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