How Notre Dame football plans to 'Win the 170' on Saturdays this fall

SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football has a new mantra with the season opener at Texas A&M just three weeks away: “Win the 170.”

This is a reference to the number of minutes in which the ball is not in play during a typical three-hour game window. Irish coach Marcus Freeman has reminded his players of this new focus at several points already in fall camp.

“Coach Free has introduced a new thing to us,” third-year quarterback Steve Angeli said after Saturday’s practice. “It’s about winning the 170. We talk about ‘winning the interval,’ but there’s a whole other 170 minutes on average in a football game that you have to win.

“When you’re not on the field, when you’re on the sideline, there’s new stuff like iPads that you can take advantage of. It’s winning those moments while the game’s still going on.”

Sixth-year linebacker Jack Kiser sees the wisdom in that approach.

“With only 10 minutes of actual game time, that’s 170 minutes that we have the chance to get an advantage and hopefully win the game,” Kiser said. “Everyone talks about ‘win the interval,’ the actual game time when the whistle is blown and we’re flying around the ball. (The 170) is the time when the play is not going.”

The challenge then is multifold, and players have received presentations from Loren Landow, first-year director of football performance, and Joey Ramaeker, director of Notre Dame’s sports psychology program, on advanced techniques, including breathing exercises, to improve focus.

Launching pad: Jeremiyah Love looks poised to break out for Notre Dame football

“How are you conducting yourself on the sideline?” Kiser said. “How are you getting that edge, especially with all the changes this year? We’re going to have iPads on the sideline. How can we utilize that to our advantage? How are you recovering (between series)?”

Backup quarterback Kenny Minchey, a redshirt freshman, sees the slogan from a broader perspective.

“Winning the 170 is winning all the plays in the middle,” he said. “Winning the interval is what we talk about as far as the five seconds every play. But in between, I feel like for me that’s in between each practice, what I can do to help better myself.

“For me that’s watching film, even if I’m not in the facility. It’s visualizing plays. If I’m just sitting there, I close my eyes and visualize things I can do, maybe defenses I’ll expect. Just being more aware of what I’m doing in my free time.”

Some estimates place the total action of an average NFL game somewhere around 18 minutes out of a typical running time of three hours and 12 minutes. For college games, which include longer halftimes, it takes an average of 3:24 to complete the contest.

When this potential discrepancy was pointed out to starting left guard Pat Coogan, the fourth-year junior shrugged and smiled.

“I think we rounded up,” he said.

The point is, Freeman’s mantra about using every second wisely, even when the game clock isn’t running, still applies.

“What Freeman’s really preaching right now is we’re going to win the 170,” Coogan said. “We’re going to win that in-between. We’re going to focus on that. That’s what we call the ‘reload.’ He’s really harped on it as camp has started.”

With nine practices in the books, Notre Dame’s game-day math is starting to add up.

“We’re just trying to gain that certain edge on other teams,” Coogan said, “and as we better that we’ll become a better overall team, outside of the physical nature of the game.”

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and the South Bend Tribune. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: How Notre Dame football plans to 'Win the 170' on Saturdays this fall