Notre Dame Run Game Needs To Get Back On Track

Notre Dame's run game has been struggling lately and that must be corrected in a hurry

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has not been shy about the fact that his program, on offense, will be built around the offensive line and the ability to run the football. At times during his tenure this has certainly been a strength, including the first five games of the season. If Notre Dame is going to finish the 2023 season on a strong note, however, the run game needs to quickly get back on track.

Over the last three games the run game has been average to bad, both on film and statistically. It's a trend that can't continue down the stretch and would be problematic in a bowl game. Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and running backs coach Deland McCullough likely spent the bye week searching for answers, and hopefully they have found solutions.

Things looked good to start the season, as Notre Dame rushed for 191 yards in the opener against Navy and 221 yards in the win over Tennessee State. Through the first five games of the season, which included the matchup against Ohio State, Notre Dame was averaging an impressive 198.8 rushing yards per game and 5.6 yards per attempt. 

Coming out of that game, junior running back Audric Estime was leading the nation in rushing. The 176 yards against Ohio State is the best performance against Ohio State so far this season, with the next closest being just 123 yards. Penn State, with what is considered one of the best backfields in college football, rushed for just 49 yards against the Buckeyes last weekend.

Things have dropped off a cliff since that game. 

Notre Dame has struggled up front over the last month, and even the "bounce back" performance against USC was more about good pass blocking than it was opening up run lanes. That has combined with a shift in emphasis to more gap schemes to create major issues in the run game. 

Over the last three games Notre Dame has averaged just 109.3 rushing yards per game and just 3.7 yards per carry. Even if you take out sacks and kneel downs, the offense has averaged just 124.7 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry, and that includes scrambles. 

That's nowhere close to good enough for a program like Notre Dame, even with the context of playing quality defenses against Louisville and Duke.

Notre Dame's run game has lost its aggressiveness, both from a blocking standpoint, an urgency standpoint and a schematic standpoint. The early season saw this staff look for weaknesses on the defense and they would exploit it, but we also saw a unit that played physical even when they weren't playing sound. The results were a lot of big runs and impressive numbers.

The line has not been as physical in recent games, and that is partly due to a scheme that uses more pin-and-pull and movement concepts, which don't necessarily play to the strengths of the guards, who lack ideal foot quickness for the heavy volume of Power, Counter and Sweep runs Notre Dame has called. 

Notre Dame needs to use those concepts, of course, but they need to be complements of the Inside Zone and Duo schemes more than the base part of the offense. That was the case early, and those runs often resulted in big gains. As those concepts became more staples, the lack of quickness was used against them, as teams started attacking the line more when they would try the gap schemes, and the penetration has thrown the timing of the run game way off. Notre Dame has become too methodical with how it attacks downhill, and it has hurt the effectiveness.

The staff will need to find answers in the final four games, but it won't be easy. Notre Dame's stretch run is filled with opponents who simply aren't very good, with a struggling 4-3 Clemson team being the best team left on the schedule. But those opponents have quality defenses, and Pitt and Clemson over the next two weeks have very good run defenses that rank 22nd and 24th nationally in fewest yards allowed per carry.

Notre Dame needs to find answers, and do so quickly. 

Getting back to being more downhill with the run game is step one. That should make the slower developing runs more effective. Notre Dame also needs to continue finding ways to run the ball out of 11 personnel more effectively - or often - especially on early downs. Estime needs to continue being the lead back, but doing more to incorporate talented young backs like Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price with Estime could help spark the run game as well.

Execution up front also needs to get a lot better, and that unit needs to be more physical at the point of attack. 

If they can make the adjustments and play better the Irish should be able to run the ball on all four of their final four opponents, and then head into the postseason with some much needed run game momentum.

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