Keys To Victory For The Notre Dame Offense vs. Florida State

Breaking down the keys to victory for the Notre Dame offense in its matchup against Florida State

It might not be fair, but there will be judgments made this weekend about the Notre Dame offense that go beyond your typical season opening game. The reason is its the offense that many - including myself - believe is the side of the ball that is most important to Notre Dame becoming a legitimate title contender.

The matchup against Florida State is a first step for the Fighting Irish offense, and the unit must play well if Notre Dame is going to come away with the kind of impressive victory it needs to kick off the season.

Here are the keys to Notre Dame having a dominant performance and fueling an Irish victory over Florida State.

1. Start Fast

This is going to be a loud crowd, there is no doubt about that. Florida State is also a young team that will have a confidence level that can be greatly manipulated by Notre Dame's early success. That means a fast start by Notre Dame would go a long way towards that young defense realizing it doesn't have a chance to stop the Irish. A slow start by Notre Dame, which means stops by the Florida State defense, would only increase the confidence level of the young Seminole defenders.

Jumping all over Florida State early also helps the Notre Dame defense by making the Seminoles one-dimensional, which diminishes its effective ground game. 

Part of the fast start is offensive coordinator Tommy Rees keeping Florida State on its heels with some tempo, showing different formational looks, spreading the ball around and putting quarterback Jack Coan in position to start fast.

2. Be Aggressive

Part of Rees' early game plan needs to be about attacking Florida State, which means being aggressive. That's not just about throwing the ball down the field, although I'd love to see some shots down the field, to see them attacking the seams and to see Rees design some schemes to try to get tight ends and receivers open on deep drags.

Notre Dame needs to set an early tone that it is going to push hard against defenses, and the message it would send to Florida State and future opponents is that you cannot load the box or focus on the Irish ground attack, not if you want to have any chance for success.

3. Get The Perimeter Players Going Early

I want to see Notre Dame spread the ball around early and often. That's partly on Rees and partly on Coan making quick reads, making good decisions and throwing the ball on time. Whether it's the screen game, taking shots, working the quick game, or anything in between, I want to see the ball going all over the place.

There's more than just a schematic advantage to making this happen. Notre Dame is going to need players like Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys III to become playmakers in this offense .... all of them. Getting them rolling early in this game would be beneficial to the offense playing well enough to beat Florida State, but it also benefits the team long term.

It does so by forcing opponents to focus more on them, which means not being able to key as much on Michael Mayer and Kyren Williams. It also gives those unproven pass catchers - and running back Chris Tyree - the confidence they need to be at their best. 

4. Offensive Line Must Be Physical

The unit I'm most curious to see perform this weekend is the offensive line. I don't mind there being assignment mistakes or plays where they give up pressures or tackles for loss. Obviously too many of those mistakes could prove very problematic in this game, but those are things that can be cleaned up in the game and moving forward.

What I'm most concerned about is the offensive line reverting back to its 2018, and especially its 2019 form. That was when we saw the line playing finesse football, for lack of a more harsh term. The line caught way too much, wasn't physical and just didn't move people around despite having an offensive line loaded with future professionals.

If we see this line playing physical football I'll feel good about its future even if there are technical or assignment mistakes. If the unit plays passive and does a lot of catching in the run game I'll be very concerned about this line when it has to face better opponents.

5. Red Zone Success Is A Must

Notre Dame ranked 84th in red zone touchdown percentage last season, and of all the areas where the offense must improve, that is the one above all others that must improve, and improve a lot.

When Notre Dame gets into the red zone against Florida State it needs touchdowns, not field goals. Do that early and you'll see the fast start we talked about, but it will also bode well for the future.

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