Notre Dame Football Depth Being Tested Early in 2024

With all of the injuries, Irish going with the "next man up" philosophy out of necessity

Nov 18, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Jordan Faison (80) celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Key Irish players go down with injury early in 2024

Notre Dame has had a very interesting start to the 2024 season on the field. They have played 3 games that have all varied wildly in terms of look, feel and most importantly, result. In the midst of all of the surface-level drama that surrounds each game, it's easy to forget the amount of injuries that have begun to stack up on the Irish roster.

Whether it be losing three starting offensive lineman, Jordan Faison a key cog to the receiving corps, or losing Jordan Botelho and Gabriel Rubio from the defense, the injuries are piling up on Notre Dame and the calendar hasn't even reached October yet.

Sep 14, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Jordan Botelho (12) is carted off the field with an apparent injury during the second quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Depth will be a key to modern expanded CFP success

Notre Dame prides itself on offensive line depth, development, and play. They will need to lean on this to have a successful rest of the 2024 season.

For many teams, losing 3/5ths of the line to injury before October would be a death knell, can the Irish overcome this with quality depth and backup players with experience that can hold their own?

Their playoff dreams hinge on it.

Navigating the regular season is challenging enough with multiple major injuries, making a CFP run is a different animal altogether. For the Irish to claim their next title sometime in the near future, they will have to win four playoff games in a row.

To accomplish this you must be a very well-rounded team with depth. Any weaknesses can and will be exposed. Notre Dame is well aware of this and is doing a good job of stacking the roster with players who can contribute when their number is called.

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