Notre Dame Football: 5 bold predictions for October 2018

3. Justin Yoon has a perfect month

Since Justin Yoon has been such a steady source of consistency for the Irish (especially within 40 yards), this prediction isn’t a slight to his performance as a kicker. Rather, it’s more of a prediction pertaining to the sheer amount of field goals Yoon may be in line to kick during Notre Dame’s next stretch of games.

In his fourth year with the Irish, Yoon has only recorded one perfect month when attempting at least one field goal per game. Yoon’s lone perfect month came in October of 2015, a stretch during which Yoon went 6/6 on field goals with a career-long 52 yarder. Yoon will now go into a month featuring a couple of defenses that could stall out the Notre Dame offense on a possession or two.

Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Navy are statistically similar in terms of opponent field goal attempts per game, with none of these three teams allowing an average greater than 1.5. However, neither Virginia Tech nor Navy have faced an offense as explosive as Notre Dame’s. This could result in a few more field goals per game, particularly if opposing defenses tighten up in the red zone.

Through nearly three and a half years, Yoon has missed only five kicks from 30-39 yards, going a perfect 16/16 within 20 yards. Naturally, Yoon’s accuracy decreases as the distance increases, made evident through his eight missed kicks from 40 yards out. Yoon is an extremely reliable option for the Irish, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a second career perfect month from him.