Notre Dame Offense Has Shown Growth, More Work Is Needed

The Notre Dame offense still needs work down the stretch but the unit has certainly shown improvement

Notre Dame has been an up-and-down offense in 2023, and there is no doubt the unit needs a strong finish. There is still plenty of room for growth and improvement on that side of the ball, and we'll see if they can make that growth in the final four games.

Even before we see how Notre Dame finishes, there is no doubt about two things. One is that Notre Dame has already been through the toughest part of its schedule, and two is that for all the complaints - some justified - the Notre Dame offense has shown improvement from where it was a season ago.

Notre Dame began the season on a very strong note, scoring at least 41 points in each of the first four games. Notre Dame's pass game was dominating, the run game was rolling and the Irish were blowing teams out.

Things took a turn for the worse against Ohio State, as the offense scored just 55 points in the next three games combined. The unit bounced back a bit against USC, converting several short fields into touchdowns as the Irish steamrolled the Trojans 48-20.

The Irish have played an extremely challenging schedule so far this season. Notre Dame's 2022 opponents had a combined winning percentage of .557, while the eight opponents the team has faced so far in 2023 has a combined win percentage of .731.

Notre Dame has played three defenses that rank in the Top 25 in efficiency (Ohio State, Duke, NC State) and another that ranks in the Top 40 (Louisville). That's the same number of Top 25 and Top 40 defenses the Irish played all of last season. Despite the challenging schedule the offense has improved in almost every category.

Here's a look at the numbers.

Offense 1

The asterisk on the points per game ranking refers to the ranking on total points per game while the raw number for each season (33.3 in 2023, 30.2 in 2022) refers to the points for the offense only. 

Notre Dame has seen its biggest jump in the numbers above in yards per play. The Irish are a more efficient offense in 2023, it is a more explosive offense in 2023, and it has limited the number of negatives on a per game basis. 

Here are more numbers.

Offense 2

As you can see, Notre Dame is averaging fewer rushing yards per game, but its yard per attempt number is improved quite a bit. There is an even bigger jump in yards per pass attempt.

Keep in mind the new clock rules have impacted the total numbers. The Irish offense averaged 66.9 plays per game in 2022 and 69.5 in 2021. The 2023 offense is averaging just 61 plays per game. 

If you project the 2023 total yards per game numbers to the same number of plays from 2022 and 2021 you see how much better the offense is at moving the ball on a per game/per play basis.

The 2023 offense, with the same number of plays per game as the 2022 offense, would be averaging 454.7 yards per game.

The 2023 offense, with the same number of plays per game as the 2021 offense, would be averaging 472.0 yards per game.

Should Notre Dame maintain its current 6.8 yards per play average it would go down as the second best in school history, trailing only the 7.0 from the 2015 season. The previous mark was 6.72, set back in 1921.

Consistency is an area where this offense must continue to get better, and we'll need to see that down the stretch. The offense also needs to make big improvement on third down. If it can do those two things then the offense will take off.

What we have seen this season reminds me a lot of what we saw under Al Golden last season on defense. In many ways the defense was quite improved and was a stout unit, but the lack of consistency created frustration. In year two Golden has turned the defense into one of the nation's best. We'll find out if Gerad Parker can do that with the offense in the final four games and bowl game, and in 2024.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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Bryan Driskell
BRYAN DRISKELL

Bryan Driskell is the publisher of Irish Breakdown and has been covering Notre Dame football for over a decade. A former college football player and coach, Bryan and Irish Breakdown bring a level of expertise and analysis that is unmatched. From providing in depth looks at the Fighting Irish, breaking news stories and honest recruiting analysis, Irish Breakdown has everything Notre Dame football fans want and need. Bryan was previous a football analyst for Blue & Gold Illustrated before launching Irish Breakdown. He coached college football at Duquesne University, Muhlenberg College, Christopher Newport University, Wittenberg University and Defiance College. During his coaching career he was a pass game coordinator, recruiting coordinator, quarterbacks coach, running backs coach and wide receivers coach. Bryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Salisbury University, where he played quarterback for the Sea Gulls. You can email Bryan at bryan@irishbreakdown.com. 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. BECOME A MEMBER Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time! Follow Bryan on Twitter: @CoachD178Like and follow Irish Breakdown on FacebookSubscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channelSubscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter