What To Look For: Notre Dame Offense vs. Florida State

Breaking down what to look for from the Notre Dame offense tonight when it takes on Florida State

Notre Dame kicks off the 2021 season tonight when it takes on the Florida State Seminoles. After a wild opening week of college football the Fighting Irish now get their chance to show the college football world what they are all about.

Notre Dame is also looking to make a statement in the opener. On offense the Irish are hoping to have a more explosive and high-scoring unit this season, something that is needed if the Irish are going to compete for a championship.

We won’t have all the answers tonight no matter how the game goes, but we’ll certainly get our first look at whether or not the Irish are taking strides.

With that in mind here are the things I’m looking for tonight to see if the Irish offense has indeed advanced, or if it’s going to be more of the same.

1. More aggressive approach - There has been much discussion this offseason about Notre Dame making changes on offense, with the biggest being a more aggressive approach. That means three things, at least I'll be looking for three things. 

One, I want to see the Irish attacking vertically. This doesn't mean just dropping back and throwing bombs. Pure deep shots are obviously part of that, but it's also about attacking up the seams and attacking on the deep levels with the pass game.

Two, I want to see the offense moving around and creating isolations that give the offense chances to make big plays.

Three, I want to see Notre Dame attack with a bit more tempo at times.

2. Is the line going to be physical - I can live with technical mistakes in week one and I expect there to be communication or cohesion issues for this unit. That's what tends to happen when you have four new starters up front.

What should not be accepted, no matter how early you are in the season, is a lack of physicality. Notre Dame wasn't an overly physical offensive line in 2018 or 2019, but it was in 2020. What will we see in 2021? The same physical style we saw last season or a return to the finesse, catching style we saw in 2018-19.

3. Will the offense spread the ball around more - This will manifest itself in two ways, and will tell me three separate stories. First, I want to see quarterback Jack Coan going through his progressions and aggressively attacking the Florida State defense instead of locking in on a player or two. 

Second, I want to see coordinator Tommy Rees design a game plan to get more and more of his players the football. Yes, Kyren Williams, Michael Mayer and Kevin Austin want and need touches, but what will he do to ensure that Chris Tyree, Braden Lenzy, Lawrence Keys III and Avery Davis also get touches? 

Third, I want to see a deeper rotation. Tyree can't be a guy who simply gives Williams a "breather," and we can see three or four receivers dominate the snaps. There are big picture implications of this, but in an opener being played in the very humid climate of Florida it's even more important.

4. How will the “new faces” perform - By new faces I'm talking about the newcomers (transfers, freshmen) but also the veterans who are new to the lineup. Yes, I'm very curious to see how Coan and Cain Madden play, but I'm also curious to see how Austin and Lenzy handle expanded roles? How will Tyree handle a more expanded role? How will new starters up front performHow will the "newcomers" to the spotlight handle the pressure of the game. It will tell us a lot about them, and the leadership of this team.

5. Please use RPOs - Big picture I'm truly hoping we see Notre Dame attacking Florida State with more RPOs. It will protect the run game, it will allow Coan to get into rhythm, it's a huge benefit towards an offense that wants/needs to attack the perimeter and they simply force defenses to prepare for more and defend the width of the field.

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