Midweek Musings: Notre Dame Offense Has A Golden Opportunity

Thoughts about Notre Dame football, Irish recruiting and college football

Thoughts about Notre Dame football, Irish recruiting and college football

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE HAS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Notre Dame has gone 33-5 the last three seasons and has made the College Football Playoff two times during that stretch. In its two playoff games the Irish offense has scored a combined 17 points. If you throw in the ACC title game the Irish have scored just 27 points in three games with a championship on the line.

Notre Dame averaged just 33.4 points per game last season, which isn't in the same universe as the programs that are winning championships.

Simply put, if Notre Dame wants to take the next step the offense must make a big leap. There are a lot of things working in Notre Dame's favor. A smart, young coordinator that wants to open things up, a savvy, veteran quarterback (Jack Coan), a talented backfield (Kyren Williams, Chris Tyree, arguably the nation's best tight end (Michael Mayer) and a fast and athletic group of pass catchers.

Notre Dame has a chance to get off to a fast start on offense, which could give the unit some much-needed early season momentum. It also gives the somewhat unproven players (including the line) to get rolling.

Notre Dame needs to get receivers like Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys III rolling early, and the schedule sets up quite nicely for them and the offense as a whole.

Florida State gave up 36.0 points per game last season, ranking 105th nationally. The Seminoles also ranked 107th in total defense and 97th in rush defense, which should bode well for the new-look Irish offensive line.

Notre Dame's second opponent is Toledo, and while the Rockets made a big jump on that side of the ball under coordinator Vince Kehres, the Rockets aren't in the same league as the Irish from a talent standpoint.

Notre Dame faces Purdue in week three. The Boilermakers gave up 29.8 points per game last season, 30.6 points per game in 2019 and 30.0 points per game in 2018.

It is golden opportunity for Notre Dame's offense to get off to a fast start, and it needs to begin on Sunday night.

2023 RECRUITING ABOUT TO GET ROLLING

Midnight marked the moment Notre Dame and every other college football program could officially contact members of the 2023 class, and Notre Dame had a big social media push leading up to that moment.

@DraykBowen Yk what to do!! #THINKBIG #IrishRising23 https://t.co/65vN939Cxk

— Adon Shuler ✞ (@adon_shuler) September 1, 2021

Notre Dame's 2022 class is currently ranked No. 2 by most services, but the 2023 class has a chance to be even better. It will be very, very interesting to see what 2023 players start setting up unofficial visits to Notre Dame after the open contact period gets rolling.

Notre Dame already has commitments from a pair of Top 100 defensive ends in Keon Keeley and Brenan Vernon, and a talented safety in Adon Shuler.

HUGE WEEK ONE GAMES

This is one of the best opening weekends of college football games that I can remember for a very long time.

There are games that will have major implications on conference winners and even the College Football Playoff.

On Friday night #10 North Carolina travels to Virginia Tech in a game that could have major Coastal Division ramifications. North Carolina is a preseason Top 10 team and the favorite by most to win the division. Virginia Tech is a very talented team that has underachieved in recent seasons.

The Tar Heels are just 6-6 away from home the last two seasons. If they can go on the road and beat Virginia Tech to start the season it will be a sign they are turning things around.

#19 Penn State travels to #12 Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. This is big for Notre Dame, as a win by the Badgers could vault them into the Top 10. With Eastern Michigan being the only team they face before taking on Notre Dame it would certainly make that an even more marquee matchup. A loss by the Badgers knocks them down and takes a little steam out of that matchup.

I think Miami is slowly ascending, but the 14th-ranked Hurricanes are in a dangerous position to start the season. They face #1 Alabama in Atlanta, and how that game goes could have a big impact on their season. A competitive loss would give the Hurricanes much-needed confidence, but a blowout could crush that teams psyche after just one game. An upset .... well, I don't see that happening, but that would be momentous for sure.

In my preseason predictions I had the SEC getting shutout of the College Football Playoff, but that was predicated on #5 Georgia losing the opener to #3 Clemson. The game is being played in Charlotte, but if the Bulldogs win this neutral field game I will likely change my opinion and say a SEC team gets in. 

A loss to Georgia, combined with the poor perception of the ACC, could make it very hard for Clemson to get back into the playoff picture.

That's the kind of impact this game could have.

Anyone else think UCLA has a chance to upset #16 LSU this weekend, or is it just me?

TWEET OF THE WEEK

How can you not be fired up for the season after watching these tweets.

Here's the other ....

FILM TO WATCH

Here are our 2021 season predictions for Notre Dame.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Offense
Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Defense

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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