7 percent for 329 yards and two touchdowns

However, when Clausen's runs are removed, that percentage edges up to nearly 60. The first downs follow a similar trend as only seven of Notre Dame's 22 first downs came on the ground.Only 27.7 percent of the offense came from big gains as five plays amassed 125 yards (25 yards per play). Without these five gains the offense averaged 4.4 yards per snap, the middle of their output for the year.The Irish were a tale of two halves on third down. Notre Dame converted five of eight third down conversions (62.5 percent) in the first half but only two of eight in the second (25 percent). For the game the offense notched a 43.8 percent efficiency on third down.In the red zone, the Irish continue to struggle. Points were scored on all six red zone appearances, but only half resulted in touchdowns, one of which came in overtime.RushingThe Irish ran the ball 35 times for 123 yards, good for 3.5 yards per carry.

Subtracting Clausen's two sacks brings this average up to 4.2 yards per carry. Excluding Clausen's carries altogether, the Irish averaged about the same amount.There were two explosive runs that went for 42 yards (21 yards per attempt). Without these two runs and excluding sacks the Irish averaged 3.1 yards per carry.The front five were particularly dominant in their short yardage run blocking The offense faced short yardage five times in this game. A run was called all five times and each went for a first down.Armando Allen led the way with 106 yards on 24 carries (4.4 yards per carry).PassingClausen was his usual, extremely efficient self. The junior signal caller completed 30 of 45 pass attempts (66.7 percent) for 329 yards and two touchdowns. This equates to 7.3 yards per attempt and 11 yards per completion.Three passes went for big gains and accounted for 83 yards (27.7 per pass) and 25.2 percent of the passing yardage. Without these big plays Clausen averaged 5.9 yards per attempt and 9.1 yards per completion, the latter being one of the highest values this season.For the ninth-straight game the Irish surrendered at least one sack.

The front five allowed two in this game (one per 22.5 attempts), but have allowed 23 over the last nine, good for one sack per 15.4 pass attempts. The former caught nine balls for 123 yards (13.7 yards per reception) and a touchdown, while the latter hauled in eight passes for 104 yards (13 yards per catch) and a touchdown.DefenseIt was a mixed bag for the Irish defense. Most of the game the front seven played well stopping the run, particularly on first down. The defense also played well in the red zone and on third down, surrendering only 13 points in regulation. But big plays and regressed production against the run were very costly down the stretch.The Huskies attempted 48 rushes to only 25 passes, running the ball on 65.7 percent run of their snaps.

Accordingly, the ground game accounted for over 62 percent of the total yardage and 13 of 21 first downs.Connecticut ran 73 plays for 372 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per snap-one of the lower values of the year for the Irish defense. It was largely the big play that was Notre Dame's undoing.Seven plays gained 167 yards (23.9 yards per play) and accounted for nearly 45 percent of the total offense. Without these plays the per-snap average dips from 5.1 to 3.1 yards per snap, one of the lowest outings of the year.Notre Dame's defense was strong on third down throughout the game as Connecticut managed only three of eight third down conversions in the first half and only one of five in the second. The Huskies converted only 30.8 percent of their third down tries for the day.The defense also played well in the red zone, allowing scores on only three of five appearances and only allowing a red zone touchdown in the overtime periods.First down defense was also good for the majority of the day. The Irish defense held 16 of 33 first down plays (48.5 percent) to two or fewer yards and allowed only 2.7 yards per first down play through two quarters of football.When fatigue became a problem in the second half, however, this average jumped to 6.8 yards per snap. Even worse, on the final 14 first down snaps Notre Dame allowed a gaudy 8.5 yards per play.