Notre Dame will face a tough test going up the Florida State defense in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 29 and the Fighting Irish coaching staff knows it as Justin Kenny of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinal reports.
"They don't stay blocked," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said about Florida State's defensive line. "You may catch them for a second, but they keep their feet moving. It's a very athletic group."
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"They are well-coached up front," Kelly said. "They have a very good scheme in the sense that they don't ask them to do too much, they ask them to get after the football."
The Seminoles are ranked No. 4 nationally in points allowed per game at 15.2. They also gave up the fewest total yards, passing yards and rushing yards in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2011 while picking off 13 passes. Making matters even worse for Notre Dame, Florida State was tops in its conference in punting average at 47.0 yards per punt this season, meaning opponents frequently started in a big field position hole before even trying to navigate the Seminoles' defense.
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