Since I wrote my last article, Notre Dame has experienced rarified highs, and endured by perilous lows. It's a team that is confident in who it is one moment, only to be seen scrambling for an identity the next. The gap between Texas A&M and Northern Illinois was so offensively large that one couldn't be blamed for mistaking Notre Dame for a different team altogether.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
From there, Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman, and the fans, have struggled to understand what they're in the midst of. On one hand, this is a team that could have very well reached it's ceiling in week 1. On the other hand, it could be a team that's understandably grappling with the same thing every other marquee team across the country are. This past weekend was perhaps the first concrete proof that Notre Dame isn't alone in it's struggles.
Tennessee fell to Arkansas. Michigan lost to Washington, effectively ending it's season. USC dropped their game to Minnesota, handing them 2 losses. Alabama got embarrassed by the perennial doormat of the SEC, Vanderbilt - in a game where Vanderbilt frankly looked like the better team. This just a week after putting on perhaps one of the most impressive performances of the season to date versus Georgia. Miami squeaked things out against Cal, but this is the second week in a row where the product isn't matching the hype that was once around the Canes just 2 weeks ago.
This is more than likely the product of NIL, transfer portal mayhem, and the ever-spinning coaching carousel that spins almost as fast as the transfer portal opens. Commitments mean nothing, contracts are useless words on a piece of paper, loyalty isn't valued, and money is. Greed is rewarded in the short term for players and coaches alike. To have a coach on the same campus for 3 years is now a rarity. Having a developmental player stick things out for four years is now considered a miracle. Just seven years ago, it was commonplace.
You are now living in the future of College Football. Your team this year, won't be the same team next year. The face of your program in 2025 may very well be playing for your rival. Your head coach is calling his agent to understand his options for next year. The only reason he's still around is because no one wants to pay his buy out.
And if all of these things aren't happening, one of them is. The result? Look no further than last weekend. How is a program expected to build a culture of meaning, or develop continuity under these conditions? Truth is, very few will be able to. While that isn't the lone factor that determines a National Championship, you can be sure that the team hoisting the trophy over their heads at the end of the season were successful in knowing exactly who they were.
For Notre Dame, the jury's still out on if they're going to get to the point in truly knowing who they are. The bye week offers a timely opportunity to take a big step in that direction. It's time to self-scout. These are the things Notre Dame needs to address ahead of it's match-up against Stanford.
This game has the potential to tie Marcus Freeman's longest win-streak as a head coach. Four games being the longest streak he's had. In his three years as Notre Dame's head coach, Marcus Freeman's teams have been plagued with inconsistency. It's probably the best way to define Freeman in his tenure thus far. This will be the next step in his maturity. Being able to string together wins on a consistent basis against teams you're more talented than is a must. This game, and every game that will follow it, qualifies as that scenario.
But let's dig deeper, specifically with the offense. In simple terms, this offense needs to be 3 drives better. That could result in anywhere between 9 and 21 points. If Notre Dame's offense can provide that, this team can be a legitimate problem.
These are the things needed to get there:
The Left Tackle Position has to be Better:
Namely in pass protection. Whether that's Anthonie Knapp continuing to improve as a pass blocker, or giving Guerby Lambert, Sullivan Absher, and/or Tosh Baker a second look. Knapp and Pendleton have been impressive on the left side as it relates to run blocking. Even dominant at times. The improvement has been incremental, but it's also been slow. As natural as Knapp looks in run blocking, the 280 pound true freshman looks ill-equipped to take on any form of pass rush.
This results in an already banged up Riley Leonard running for his life. It prohibits Leonard from going through his progressions with any type of consistency. It also causes Mike Denbrock to game plan away from what should be a strength at Notre Dame- the offensive line.
Against Louisville, Denbrock was forced to get conservative. Moving the pocket, QB counter until you can't run it anymore, quick passing concepts that haven't allowed for the once promising receiving corp. to catch it's stride. With a clean pocket, Leonard has shown he's more than capable of going through his progressions - especially since the Purdue game. At times, he even looks like he's in command of the offense. He needs to be given the gift of time more consistently if this offense is going to reach it's ceiling. The left tackle position is currently not one worthy of trust, however.
Joe Rudolph should be credited with the fact that his offensive line has battled each week. He should be granted the fact that three of his arguably best offensive linemen have been injured, with two of them being knocked out for the season. And again, his offensive line has been serviceable when Notre Dame chooses to runs the ball, regardless of the competition, regardless of how loaded the box may be. It's a young group that was always going to have it's struggles.
However, this bye week is a massive opportunity to address the concerning trend of Knapp being consistently abused, resulting in Leonard running scared. If it isn't personnel that gets changed, fine. But moving forward, the youth excuse won't have legs like it did before. The miscommunications, poor technique, and mental errors have to be minimized moving forward should the Irish staff stick with their current starting five. Currently, there are no indications that the staff will entertain any such changes. A massive gamble.
New QB2:
If you're reading this, would you put money on Riley Leonard making it to the end of the season? Possibly, but injury history and his usage in the run game make it hard to predict. That's a major problem, because Leonard continues to give this team the best chance to reach it's ceiling on offense.
The Fighting Irish staff must disagree with the premise that Leonard might get injured, because from the sounds of it, no changes are going to be made on who is taking snaps behind him. A development that continues to be odd, as all signs have been consistent in stating that Minchey and/or Carr are the future of the program. And yet they continue to stubbornly stand by Steve Angeli. I hope my next girlfriend is as loyal as this staff is towards Angeli.
If Leonard does go down, Notre Dame needs an insurance policy that offers more than veteran leadership and ball security. That could have come in the form of Kenny Minchey. You know, the QB who has the most arm talent on the team by multiple accounts? The guy who's surprisingly the fastest on the roster? The guy who we continue to hear buzz about. Maybe that's the guy the staff should push their chips towards.
By all accounts, the staff has decided to contradict itself yet again. Taking valuable reps away from the future of the program all in the name of what's safest. But if you ask me, this is a massive mistake in more ways than one. There's still time for this to change, but it's highly unlikely. This might be an error in judgement by Gino, Denbrock, and Freeman. It could be the difference in the season, as well as have a ripple effect into the next one.
Third Down Woes Must Improve:
Notre Dame's third down offense is horrendously bad. They rank 98th in the country, with a 34.5% conversion rate. The factors for it are many. Admittedly, it's concerning that it's not just one thing. It's multiple, but all potentially fixable.
For starters, Mitchell Evans has to get healthy. Any time people are having an open discussion about Evans and his effort, you know something's wrong. That doesn't add up, whatsoever.
There is an honest debate that needs to be had within the coaching office on if it would be best to sit the talented tight end, or continue to get him reps - risking further set backs. Freeman called this bye week "crucial" in his recovery, an encouraging sign. Evans coming into last season's form has the potential to be the most significant mid-season development the Irish will have all year. His ability to command attention when he's at 100% is obvious.
At the present, teams aren't paying attention to Evans like they were when he caught his stride last season. That's a major issue when your offensive success has been largely predicated on the impact of the tight end position. Flanagan needs to get healthy as well, absolutely. Eli Rairdon needs to find himself before the staff is forced to accept that he is what he is - bringing almost nothing to the table as far as in-line blocking. But if Evans gets to 100% as soon as next week, Leonard may find his new favorite target, and the third down woes may be mitigated as a result.
Furthermore, the running back rotation needs a major re-think. In some of the most important moments of the game, Jeremiyah Love isn't on the field. Nor is Jadarian Price. Rather, it's Aneyas Williams. The best playmakers on Notre Dame's offense aren't being utilized on third down. That's not an indictment of Aneyas Williams, it's just the reality. Jeremiyah Love is one of the best playmakers in the country, and yet, we rarely see him when it matters most. Jadarian Price has proven yet again to be explosive in his own right, and yet he isn't on the field on third down either.
Deland Mccullough's history in going deep into the depth chart is well documented. In some instances, the utilization has been almost perfect. In others, it's been detrimental. Notre Dame has played five games, and it's clear that defenses don't view Aneyas Williams as a significant threat. Nor do they respect Devyn Ford.
It's time to make defenses pay for their lack of respect by potentially having both Price and Love on the field at the same time in 21 personnel (2 RB's, 1 TE). We were sold this scenario as an inevitable development in fall camp. But rarely have we seen it on film. In fact, Notre Dame has run 21 personnel less than 1% of the total time they've been on offense.
If Notre Dame refuses to do that, then it would benefit them to at least look at Kedren Young in third and short situations. His ability to hit the hole, carry defenders, and fall forward was on full display in the limited time we saw him play versus Purdue's starting defensive unit. Sometimes on third down, that's all you need.
Aneyas Williams is a good player, and his utilization has it's time and place. But Notre Dame's offense needs to be less predictable in how they use him, and the other running backs if they want to find themselves being ranked higher than 98th in the country on third down.
Note: this article didn't even touch on the under-performing receiving corp headed by Mike Brown. That was by design. Notre Dame has never demanded the world from the WR position. Not since 2017. This season doesn't appear to be any different. If the aforementioned changes get made, specifically on third down, the WR room will naturally improve into what they need to be.
By other positions being utilized more appropriately, and being what they were expected to be, the receivers will have more opportunity to step into what they were expected to be. An asset. If that happens, this offense becomes exactly what the 2024 Notre Dame Fighting Irish need them to be.
Notre Dame's struggles aren't exclusive to just them this year. Everyone has their weaknesses, as was predicted going into what was sure to be a chaos ridden season. No one knows who they truly are right now, and seemingly everyone is scrambling to find answers.
If Notre Dame's offense makes some of the changes that were spelled out in this article, this team becomes much more dangerous than people seem to think. Imagine if Notre Dame scored just nine more points in their previous 5 contests. That's a death sentence when dealing with the prospect of Notre Dame's defense that is unanimously a top 10 unit, and could very well be the nation's best should they reach their ceiling.
The gap between where Notre Dame is now versus where they can potentially be is much smaller than people realize. Flawed as they may be, Notre Dame continues to show flashes of how good they're capable of being. The improvements have been incremental, albeit slow in nature. And of course, it's unknown if Notre Dame will be able to close said gap. Beginning with Stanford, we'll soon know if the current team's iteration is simply who they'll be for the duration of the season. If that's the case, Notre Dame could still find itself in the playoffs. But if the offense indeed takes the steps to being three drives better than they are now, Notre Dame could find itself fighting for much more than a playoff slot.
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