A bunch of thoughts about Notre Dame football after the first 3 games of the season…

It’s hard not to be focused almost exclusively with some of the issues with the offense. I’ll start with the play-calling where the offense seems to be needlessly trying to ManBall their way out of running game problems–both in terms of the lack of creativity and the volume of running that has been called. Nolan James and Aneyas Williams are both on pace for around 150 carries apiece and that’s crazy right now.

The short-yardage woes do seem much better, so we’ve got that going for us! Still, the rushing explosiveness is not only poor it’s practically non-existent. Through 3 games, Notre Dame is one of only 7 teams (and Arkansas is the only other power program) to not record a run of 20+yards yet. The Irish had 26 such rushes all of last year. We knew this number would be going down with the loss of Love and Price, but come on.

Another crazy stat is that Notre Dame has allowed only 7 tackles for loss this season–only BYU, Miami, and Illinois have allowed fewer.

So, let’s maybe throw the ball more eh? I don’t know how anyone can watch Ole Miss, Miami, or Ohio State play and think Notre Dame is going to keep pace with CJ Carr throwing the ball 27 to 30 times.

I was really high on Aneyas Williams coming into the season and things look pretty bleak right now. Can he rebound and turn things around? Eventually, I think he’ll get there but for now it’s clear he has to take a backseat to James. Either way, the staff have clearly saw plenty of Williams in practice (even making him the kick returner, which I really don’t understand!) to believe he should be a priority within this offense. Everyone is coming downhill on this run game and it isn’t helping for the backs to have to pick these tiny creases in split second decisions and yet Williams’ vision this year has been terrible.

Back before he was playing, Freeman mentioned that Nolan James had excellent balance and now we’re seeing that more on the field. There’s something to work with here, although I’m not convinced yet we’re looking at a big time playmaker developing before our eyes. Take the long field goal drive in the 3rd quarter against Michigan State. James had carries of 1, 4, 5, 0, 5, 8, 3, 17 (longest of the season woo!), and 3 yards. It’s still such a slog overall.

Jaden Greathouse has played effectively 5.5 games against power conference opponents with CJ Carr as his quarterback. He has a grand total of 10 targets in those games. It seems like there’s a real hesitancy to throw the ball to Greathouse and/or he’s just not getting open enough. BUT, I think a sneaky important discussion within the offense is that Carr is hesitant himself and/or not comfortable throwing to any slot receivers or tight ends, especially over the shallow-to-medium part of the field. Only 6 receptions for the tight end group through 3 games is wild–if they aren’t going to be catching the ball I really would question this unit being on the field so much. Looking towards a possible playoff run, I truly think this offense has to spread out, use 4 receivers more, and let Carr develop more consistency throwing to all parts of the field.

Will it ever happen?

The offensive line looks pretty good to me so far, although I was expecting a few bumps in the road with all the changes made heading into the season. I mentioned the low amount of TFL’s already. Plus, only 2 sacks allowed so far and 9 out of 13 opportunities on 3rd & short have been converted via the ground game, too.

Micah Gilbert coming off an explosive career-game is great news! I’d like to see a little more wiggle and YAC ability (he seems kind of stiff to me) with the ball in his hands, but he’s quickly developing into a very good receiver. Being able to develop a consistent third and fourth receiver will be one of the top storylines to finish this season. Right now, Jerome Bettis Jr. leads all non-Faison/Gilbert receivers with 61 receiving yards.

I’m getting way ahead of myself but Gilbert’s emergence makes me wonder about the future of Quincy Porter whenever he comes back from injury. Reading between the lines in some places, it kind of seems like they don’t expect him to play this year. Gun to your head right now, would you bet Porter ever suits up for the Irish?

The defense has been so good, there are virtually no complaints from me. The 53-yard pass allowed on Saturday was a bit annoying, for sure. However, Notre Dame has only allowed 19 plays of 10+ yards through 3  games (5th best nationally) and no one else near the top of the rankings has played 2 power opponents so far. I genuinely believe there’s a world in which Notre Dame finishes the season allowing under 4 yards per play. Seems crazy to some, but it’s a possibility.

We don’t even miss Jason Onye and Tae Johnson right now. They’ll be back eventually, and still other reinforcements could come too. What about the development of Nick Reddish coming off injury? Rodney Dunham is going to start playing more and getting comfortable. Will we see any speed rushing from Ewetade?

Leonard Moore is on track to be targeted 24 times over the regular season while allowing EIGHT receptions for 64 yards.

It’s expected and predicted that Moore will be the first Irish player off the board in this upcoming 2027 NFL Draft (maaaaaybe pending on CJ Carr’s season) but I am super curious what will happen with linebacker KVA. Coming off his knee injury he has looked fantastically athletic, with incredible burst and violence. I’d be close to locking him in as a 2nd round pick right now.

No one has looked cooler out of pads on the sideline.

Notre Dame hasn’t turned the ball over yet this season. Penn State, Maryland, and Louisville are the only other power programs in that category, too. The Irish currently lead all power programs with a +8 turnover differential through 3 games.

We’re already two-thirds of the way through the ‘middle’ part of Notre Dame’s schedule strength. In terms of SP+ rankings, Wisconsin (56th) has jumped ahead of North Carolina (59th) while Michigan State dropped slightly to 65th nationally. I like Wisconsin the most from this bunch, by far. They visit Penn State this weekend and then host Michigan State in week 5 for a good comparison.

Marcus Freeman seems to prefer wearing white tops on the field throughout his Notre Dame tenure and he’s chosen that color for all 3 games so far this season. The last two shirts have been particularly sharp. I remain depressed that the school simply refuses to sell the metallic gold merchandise to the fans. At least sell the hats that the assistant coaches and other assorted personnel staff get to wear on the sideline!

I’ll pay $150 for the gold helmet sweatshirt, please. 

I bet red zone touchdown percentage becomes a talking point this season. I always think life gets real tough down there when you don’t have a running quarterback, although we are coming off a game where CJ Carr scored on a designed run anyway. The Irish have only scored touchdowns on 66% of their red zone attempts, roughly bang average nationally. If the run game doesn’t improve it’s hard to see how this aspect is going to get a lot better. Having a smart and accurate quarterback can overcome a lot of problems, though.

Out of the 12 teams I picked during the pre-season to make the playoffs, three have already suffered defeats: Ohio State, Oregon, and Boise State. Of course, Oregon has an ugly loss to Oklahoma State and their stock has taken a hard hit but the Ducks also handed Boise State their only loss, which further weakens the Broncos case. Still, it’s early days and the grand picture hasn’t changed much yet. Looking at the AP Poll, trailing Boise State among the G6 programs are Western Michigan, Tulsa, James Madison, and North Dakota State. It won’t happen but North Dakota State hosting a playoff game would be epic.

Overall, I’ve lowered my expectations for this season just a little bit. A reminder that I predicted a National Championship! Right now, I just don’t think the offense is or will be good enough to actually win it all. However, I discussed in the past that Notre Dame’s path was probably in a similar vein to 2022 Georgia and 2023 Michigan–teams with stifling defenses and just enough gas on offense to win (and sometimes not lose things). So, I guess things really aren’t that lowered in terms of my expectations–and the good news is that Notre Dame is poised to have a better quarterback situation than either 2022 Georgia or 2023 Michigan. No offense to Stetson Bennett still cashing NFL checks. Offense meant completely toward J.J. McCarthy.