Game Observations: Notre Dame Offense Rolls In Win Over North Carolina

Analysis of the Notre Dame offense from the 44-34 victory over North Carolina

Notre Dame's offense finally showed up to the 2021 season, rolling to 44 points and a season-high 523 yards of offense. It was Notre Dame's most balanced game of the season, as the offense passed for 230 yards and rushed for 293 yards.

Here are my initial thoughts and analysis of the game by the offense.

*** Notre Dame's offense was a bit of a tale of two halves. Or better yet 28 minutes vs. the final 32 minutes. Early in the game the Irish did a good job pushing the tempo but the ball was constantly coming out quick and they took only one "deep shot," and it wasn't that deep. Notre Dame put some methodical drives together but also missed some opportunities.

*** Late in the first half the Irish finally got a bit more aggressive on offense. Quarterback Jack Coan hit tight end Michael Mayer up the seam for a 30-yard gain and finally attacked an outside one-on-one, hitting Kevin Austin for a 21-yard touchdown to put the Irish up at the half.

*** Notre Dame continued that in the second half. Notre Dame pushed the tempo early, which helped Lorenzo Styles turn a quick RPO into a 40-yard gain. A play later they sent the receivers on vertical routes, North Carolina bailed and Coan took off running for a 21-yard touchdown.

*** On Notre Dame's next series they went deep early to Styles by he dropped the ball. They went back to him on a very well designed crossing route that involved a motion to a wider bunch look and post-snap switches, which allowed Styles to get wide open over the middle. That is the kind of concept Notre Dame doesn't run nearly enough from a movement standpoint. 

*** Notre Dame's goal line play-calling was very questionable. The Irish simply do not have a line that moves people but they insisted on trying to pound the ball in, which it barely did once and failed to do on another drive that would have put them game away much earlier. Twice Notre Dame got the ball inside the 5-yard line but had to settle for field goals. 

*** QB Jack Coan had a very efficient game, and this was arguably his second best start of the season. He made quick decisions all night long, was accurate for the most part (one bad deep miss, one bad miss on a quick out throw in the third quarter) and he finally used his legs to make plays, including taking off for a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

*** Coan underthrew a post route to Lorenzo Styles and he locked in on Mayer on an early third-down, which were his two big mistakes in the game. Outside of that he made very good decisions, showed good poise in the pocket and his numbers would have been much better if not for two bad drops by his receivers, and a third drop that was a bit long but should have been caught.

*** Freshman QB Tyler Buchner had a disciplined and productive game. His decision making has been questionable all season, something you expect from a freshman who has played just one season of football the last three years. Tonight, however, his decision making was good. Outside of one pull near the goal line his zone read decisions were sound and he made a good read on both throws in the game.

*** His first throw was a bubble screen off a RPO. The offense was running a counter to the left and Buchner saw the the flat defender was out-leveraged by Avery Davis, so he pulled the ball and threw the bubble screen for a touchdown. His second throw was a bootleg and he was about to run but UNC came up quick and he quickly threw the ball over their head for a completion to Michael Mayer for 10 yards.

*** RB Kyren Williams was relatively silent in the first half but he bounced back with a huge second half. His patience in the final two quarters was excellent and his 91-yard touchdown run was brilliant. The line got blown up on the play and it looked like it would be a tackle for loss but he broke several tackles and sprinted to the end zone.

*** That was one of several runs on the night where Williams looked to be in position to be tackled for a loss, only to make a cut or break a tackle and turn a negative into a positive. 

*** This is the third straight game where I feel like Williams played the best game of his career. He is absolutely on fire and playing at a truly elite level. His production far, far surpassed the play of the line, which speaks volumes of how good he was in this game.

*** Freshman RB Logan Diggs had another quality performance. I want to see him run with a bit more authority near the goal line, but other than that Diggs showed good patience, made good reads and maximized yards effectively.

*** Wideouts Kevin Austin and Avery Davis both had bad drops in the game, but both also made big plays. Davis whipped the North Carolina defensive backs all night and his numbers could and should have been much better (5, catches, 51 yards, 1 TD). Austin caught just two passes but they were important, with the first ending in a score on a well-played back shoulder score and his second was a fourth quarter grab that moved the chains. Austin also drew a pass interference on the game clinching drive.

*** The drop by WR Lorenzo Styles was bad, but I love that he bounced back and made another play on that same series. Other than the drop Styles was very good, hauling in three passes for a career-high 74 yards. 

*** Tight end Michael Mayer had a solid performance in the pass game but he made huge plays in the game as a blocker. He had a great perimeter block on the touchdown catch by Davis and had a tremendous downfield block on the touchdown run by Williams, helping turn a potential 40-yard gain into a 91-yard score. A holding penalty was his only black mark on the night.

*** Notre Dame's offensive line gave Coan time to throw all game long. The only sack on the night was more of a coverage sack than anything else.

*** The run blocking for the first three and a half quarters was very average. The line as a whole failed to get good movement for much of the gain. It did a good job keeping a body on a body, which allowed the backs to make plays even when the line got beat off the ball.

*** What I liked about the play of the line is that when the game was on the line they finally started to get some movement, which was on the game-icing drive. it played hard for four quarters but it's just not a well-coached unit.

*** Right guard Cain Madden was really bad in the first half and had a really bad hold on a 14-yard run by Williams that should have been called but wasn't. The veteran finished well though, getting much better movement late in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter. His physicality late helped the offense get some quality runs late.

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