Notre Dame Football Surges in National Efficiency Rankings

The Irish turned up the heat through the middle part of the schedule, and it's showing on a big winning streak.

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) catches the ball during the first half against the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Notre Dame enjoying a 6 game winning streak heading into final month

After the disappointing result of Notre Dame's Week 2 affair against Northern Illinois, the Irish have not lost a game. They have continued to show improvement week after week even a mid an awful run of injuries.

At 7-1 and with 6 wins in a row, Notre Dame now sports its best record by a Freeman-coached team by this point in any season and will be favored in each of the remaining four games on the schedule. Notre Dame is exactly where it wanted to be entering November football. In playoff position and in control of its own destiny.

ESPN OVERALL EFFICIENCY
1 Ohio State 89.1
2 Ole Miss 87.9
3 Indiana 87.7
4 Georgia 87.1
5 Texas 87.0
6 Oregon 86.9
7 Notre Dame 85.1
8 Alabama 84.9
9 Tennessee 84.4
10 Miami Fla 82.4

Team efficiencies are based on the point contributions of each unit to the team's scoring… pic.twitter.com/hsGd95pwto

— CFB Focus 🏈 (@cffmwachsman) November 3, 2024

Notre Dame has been more consistent than it feels like at times

Notre Dame's defense has been rock solid all season, just as expected. This unit allows just over 12 PPG and plays winning football weekly regardless of the injury list.

And while it doesn't always feel like it, Notre Dame's offense has come on strong throughout the middle portion of the schedule under an increasingly more confident and comfortable Riley Leonard and the continued development of the reconfigured offensive line.

The blend of the tenacious Irish defense and an offense that is gaining momentum and confidence has resulted in Notre Dame being the 7th most efficient team in the country when considering all statistical unit outputs according to ESPN.

Well-balanced football teams win in the postseason. Should Notre Dame navigate the remaining 4 games victoriously, it could be a dangerous team to match up with in post-season play.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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