Notre Dame Has Offensive Philosophy Switch Ahead Of Rematch

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish ran the ball 30 times and threw it only 18 times against the Ohio State Buckeyes last year, but that might change this season.

After the first two games of the season, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day mentioned that with the running clock rule, opponents have tried to limit their number of offensive possessions by handing it off more.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish tried that same tactic at Ohio Stadium in last year's season opener. Head coach Marcus Freeman admitted at his press conference Monday that that was the game plan all along.

“Part of the mindset going into that game was trying to control the ball as long as we could, limit their offensive possessions,” Freeman said. “It's still got to be complementary football as we go into this Saturday, but I don’t want to play not to lose. I don’t want to play that way. I want our guys to be aggressive and our guys to be attacking."

It was in the Fighting Irish's best interest to try and play keep-away from then-Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback C.J. Stroud, and the strategy worked in the first half as Notre Dame led 10-7 heading into the break.

Ohio State outscored the Fighting Irish 14-0 in the second half and escaped with a 21-10 victory in what was, at the time, a top-five win for the Buckeyes.

Notre Dame trotted out former quarterback Tyler Buchner for his first-career start and only had him throw 18 times. Former Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees tried to take advantage of the glaring deficiencies in the run defense that Ohio State exhibited in 2021, but defensive coordinator Jim Knowles sniffed that out to perfection in his first game at the helm.

Notre Dame ran 30 times for 76 yards with running back Audric Estime as the only Irishmen to find the end zone that day.

Estime is currently the No. 2 running back in the nation, averaging 130.25 yards per game with five touchdowns. However, the brunt of the offensive yardage total hasn't fallen squarely on his shoulders.

The Fighting Irish have a proven quarterback in Sam Hartman, whose 13-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio leads the country. Hartman is tied with Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed — whom the Buckeyes just held to 207 yards, one touchdown and a pick — averaging 265.3 passing yards per game.

Freeman has learned from Rees' offensive play-calling mistakes from last season, and the Fighting Irish don't plan on making the same ones Saturday in South Bend, Indiana.

“We will play complementary football, but our objective isn‘t just to hold the ball and huddle every single play, kind of what my mindset probably was last year.”