New Look Notre Dame Offense Must Have Answers Against Oregon State
Notre Dame is set to take on the Oregon State Beavers on Friday in the Sun Bowl. On offense, the Irish have a new look with a sort of youth movement. Even with some inexperience, Notre Dame will have plenty of talent and big play ability.
The Beavers bring a good defense that will challenge the inexperienced Notre Dame group. There are several key matchups to keep a close eye on. Here are the areas that the Irish must win.
CHARLES JAGUSAH vs OREGON STATE PASS RUSHERS
BREAKING DOWN BOTH SIDES
The future of Notre Dame football is now. The Irish are set to offer opportunity to some younger players during the Sun Bowl, including Charles Jagusah who is slated to make his first career start at left tackle. At around 6-7 and 330 pounds, Jagusah had a great claim as arguably the top overall Notre Dame recruit in the 2023 class. He has an outstanding combination of size, length, power and foot quickness. Being a freshman starter at left tackle isn’t easy but Jagusah clearly has all the tools to excel, even in his first contest.
Oregon State has quietly one of the more productive and deeper fronts in the Pac 12 conference. They are led by a pair of talented outside pass rushers in Andrew Chatfield Jr. and John McGarten. Charfield, who was once a very high recruit, leads the team with nine sacks. He brings some good explosiveness and effort to the table. McGarten, on the other hand, is the Beavers’ versatile defender who can rush the passer, set the edge and play in coverage. They are an imposing duo to counteract.
WHY IT MATTERS
In this matchup, you also could have included Tosh Baker and Aamil Wagner with them holding down the right tackle position in the bowl game. All eyes will be on Jagusah, however, since he is filling in for the departed Joe Alt and manning the ultra important left tackle position. Jagusah is going to be thrown into the fire against a couple talented pass rushers. Him doing well could go a long way to solidifying the left tackle trajectory for next season.
With Chatfield and McGarten being veterans, they have some nuance to their game and should be able to present a big challenge for Jagusah. The freshman will need to match the mental side of the game, which could allow for his physical talent to take over. The Beavers will want to harass a first time starting quarterback for the Irish. It will be up to Jagusah and others to keep them clean.
DYNAMIC IRISH RUNNERS vs BEAVER FRONT SEVEN
BREAKING DOWN BOTH SIDES
With Audric Estime opting out of the bowl game, Notre Dame will now be relying heavily on Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to carry the load on the ground. While they will take a step back in terms of experience, both Love and Price bring home run ability to the table. They are different styles of athletes but they have that one thing in common, the dynamic ability to create big plays. Whether as traditional runners or in the passing game, the defense is one mistake away from letting the duo turn a small game into a big play.
Oregon State isn’t necessarily star studded in the front seven but they bring a hard nosed group that does a lot of the dirty work. While it isn’t a massive group, they play well above their weight class. If any team is able to run the ball consistently on them, it’ll be because there is a great plan in place. You aren’t going to consistently outwork that group.
WHY IT MATTERS
With a first time starting quarterback in Steve Angeli, as well as new bookends at offensive tackle and a thin wide receiver group, Notre Dame must be able to run the football to take some pressure off of the passing game. They are going to be a pretty big group up front and have a deep running back group. Running the football consistently will be the key to a victory for the Irish.
In order for Oregon State to win, they must keep this a lower scoring game. They are playing a new look offense themselves, and shouldn’t expect an offensive barrage. Stopping the Irish run game is key. If they are able to make Notre Dame one dimensional as a passing team, more than likely they will be in it at the end of the game.
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