Stacking Up The Notre Dame Offense Against Marshall
Notre Dame struggled on the offensive side of the ball in its season opening loss to Ohio State. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and the Irish offense will look to get back on track against Marshall.
Let's take a look at how the Fighting Irish offense stacks up against a Marshall defense that has good talent on the back end of the defense.
Notre Dame Rush Offense vs Marshall Rush Defense
Advantage: Notre Dame
As bad as Notre Dame was at running the football last season, the Marshall defense was even worse at stopping it. Notre Dame continued its run game woes in the opener against Ohio State, rushing for just 76 yards against the Buckeyes.
Marshall gave up at least 200 rushing yards in seven games last fall, including a season-high of 337 yards against Navy, 283 yards to Appalachian State and 277 yards to North Texas.
It was an uncharacteristically bad season for a run defense that held opponents to under 150 rushing yards four straight seasons prior to 2021. With so much experience returning to the front seven the Herd should be better at stopping the run this season, and the unit is also aided by going into year two of Lance Guidry's defensive system. Marshall held FCS opponent Norfolk State to just 30 yards on 31 carries, but Notre Dame will be its first true test.
For Notre Dame, the return of center Jarrett Patterson should provide a boost, but much more is needed from the rest of the group. Notre Dame's line struggled with getting a push in the opener, and the unit wasn't on the same page for much of the game. We'll need to see a more physical and disciplined ground game from Notre Dame if it's going to actually have the advantage when the game starts.
If the line can play better the talented backfield of Chris Tyree, Audric Estime and Logan Diggs should roll.
Notre Dame Pass Offense vs Marshall Pass Defense
Advantage: Even
Notre Dame might have the advantage on paper from last season, but this is even because Marshall returns a lot more from its pass defense than Notre Dame returned to its pass offense. Combined with the fact the on paper matchup was already close, an argument could be made that Marshall should get the advantage based on what I just wrote and also based on what the Irish showed in the opener.
Marshall has a long and rangy secondary, and they match up relatively well from an athleticism standpoint. The key for Marshall is being more consistent, as its overall numbers benefitted from playing teams that struggled to pass the ball last season, and in those contests they dominated. The Herd held Navy to 61 yards and also held Middle Tennessee (105 yards), Old Dominion (106 yards) and NC Central (106 yards) to under 110 yards.
East Carolina (395 yards), Western Kentucky (328 yards), Appalachian State (283 yards) and Louisiana-Lafayette (278 yards) all had far greater success against the Herd defense.
Notre Dame's pass offense was strong last season, but it lost quarterback Jack Coan, leading receiver Kevin Austin and it's new-look offensive line struggled to protect the quarterback in the opener. Notre Dame needs sophomore Tyler Buchner to continue improving, and he'll need his pass catchers to step up from their performance against Ohio State.
Notre Dame Scoring Offense vs Marshall Scoring Defense
Advantage: Notre Dame
Notre Dame had a better scoring offense than Marshall last season, and the enormous gap between their season opening opponents makes it hard to evaluate where they are this season.
Notre Dame clearly has the more talented team and it should be able to dominate this matchup. Execution has been the key theme since the Ohio State game ended, and that will be the key to dominating this contest.
This will be a confidence boosting game for Notre Dame, or it will be a game that ends with the Irish having even more questions about where the offense stands. How Notre Dame handles situational football will be part of that, and the Irish will need to show it can rip off big plays.
Breakout performances from Braden Lenzy and Lorenzo Styles would be very welcome sights, as would a splash of Tobias Merriweather.
Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge
Irish Breakdown Content
Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Offense
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Defense
Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Gettr: @IrishBreakdown
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
