SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman wants Notre Dame to better handle success.
But after last weekend’s dismal loss to Northern Illinois that ended with head coach Thomas Hammock offering advice to Freeman on why the Huskies won as 28.5-point underdogs, it’s not clear when the Irish coach’s talking point will be applicable. Beating Purdue on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS), won’t say much about Notre Dame’s ability to process victory because winning at Ross-Ade Stadium would simply mean the Irish knocked off the first program ever to be predicted to finish 18th in the Big Ten.
“This is the first time in my three years as a head coach that we have won the big game early in the season,” Freeman said of the opening win at Texas A&M. “And everybody says, ‘Hey, you’re going to the playoffs. You got an easy schedule.’ We all hear it, and I think we started to believe that.”
Of course, it’s Freeman’s job to get in front of that chatter before it infects the program.
Put that on the list of wrongs that Notre Dame’s third-year coach needs to right to prevent this season from collapsing before September ends. Beating Purdue can only begin to solve Notre Dame’s problems that have left the Irish with one of the worst passing offenses in college football despite importing quarterback Riley Leonard, three transfer receivers and a big-money hire at offensive coordinator.
Simply throwing the first touchdown pass of the season or completing the first pass of more than 20 yards would be a step in the right direction. It wouldn’t mean Notre Dame crossed any sort of offensive finish line, however.
Handling success? Maybe Notre Dame gets a shot at that in November after running the table through this month and next. Until then, it’s more important the Irish handle failure, mainly not letting it sink the season.
“Our guys have been great this week,” Freeman said. “Hungry, extremely driven, competitive, want to improve, embarrassed. But they’re ready to roll.”
Here are three keys for Notre Dame on Saturday, plus a prediction:
Get right at quarterback, whomever it is
Freeman tripled down this week that Leonard is Notre Dame’s starter and he gave no thought last weekend to benching him for back-up Steve Angeli. Whatever pain Leonard played through against Northern Illinois doesn’t appear to be a limitation on the quarterback in the run game, at least according to the coaching staff.
“Nobody’s roles have changed,” Freeman said. “Riley’s had a really good week of practice. He’s made some really good throws and done a good job with his decision-making, taking care of the football.”
Leonard failed on both points last weekend, throwing two interceptions, including a crushing one in the fourth quarter that set up Northern Illinois for its game-winning drive. Leonard has yet to throw a touchdown pass through two games and doesn’t rank among the top 100 quarterbacks nationally in pass efficiency. He’s yet to complete a pass more than 20 yards downfield.
Leonard appeared to hurt his left shoulder during an awkward sack in the second quarter last week. Before the hit, he’d run nine times in the game (designed runs and scrambles). He didn’t run once after the hit, calling into question if he can be a dual threat at Purdue.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said Leonard won’t be limited, or at least denied having knowledge of any reason why the quarterback would be.
“I have no indication right now that he can’t be the runner we need him to be,” Denbrock said.
In his start against Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, Angeli went 15-of-19 for 232 yards and three touchdowns while also running eight times for 27 yards. According to Freeman, the junior won’t get a second shot on Saturday.
“Nobody’s been asked to do anything differently this week than previously,” Freeman said. “We have to have success, we have to move the ball, we have to score points, and so, if we’re not able to do that, then you’ve got to make changes. But there was no consideration of changing Riley that last game.”
Can the defensive line play to its own standard?
Notre Dame’s defensive line was supposed to rank among the best in college football.
Two games into the season, it’s produced 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack, which Howard Cross III logged at Texas A&M. Rylie Mills, Jordan Botelho, RJ Oben and Jason Onye have yet to make a TFL. Josh Burnham moved into the first team during the loss to NIU with 53 snaps played, second on the line to Mills. But Burnham turned an ankle late in the fourth quarter and is questionable this week. That means the Irish might go back to Oben, who’s been a non-factor after joining from Duke.
Considering Al Golden’s defensive approach is to bring pressure, the lack of it has been alarming. It’s not clear how he’ll try to kick-start the defense to play on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage, but Oben showing up in the box score would help. Notre Dame needs it.
“Just get better every day, improve your skills, improve your knowledge of the defense, play faster, give great effort and the rest will take care of itself,” Golden said. “It’s pretty simple. Don’t make it complicated.”
As a team, Notre Dame has just six TFLs, last among Power 4 programs.
Only Temple, Miami University, Massachusetts and Akron have done less work in the backfield.
Commit to Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price
Where would Notre Dame’s offense be without its two running backs?
Of the four touchdowns scored this season, Love and Price have produced three of them, with each requiring them to make something out of nothing. Price’s 47-yard touchdown at Texas A&M required him to break one tackle and run away from another. When Love won the game with his 21-yard score, he knifed through a small hole, then ran through two arm tackles. And when Love scored last weekend, his 34-yard score demanded he hurdle a defender en route to the end zone.
Love and Price combined for just 103 yards rushing against Northern Illinois, but they did it on 15 combined carries (6.8 ypc). Shouldn’t Notre Dame lean into those backs more? Love wasn’t in a position to answer that question.
“Shoot, whenever I’m in, if they give me the ball, I get the ball. If I don’t get the ball — I just do whatever I’m told,” Love said. “If I go out there, whatever play they call, that’s what I run. I don’t really know how to get more carries. I just go out there and play, do whatever I’m told and do it to the best of my ability.”
If Leonard has any kind of shoulder pain, the run game could lean on the running backs more out of necessity. But even if Leonard is fully healthy, Love and Price look like advantages that Notre Dame has yet to fully deploy. Maybe calling their number more at Purdue can restart the offense.
Prediction
As easy as it was to back Notre Dame last weekend after that strong opening night in College Station, picking the Irish to win on Saturday afternoon in West Lafayette feels like guesswork. There’s no telling how Notre Dame responds after going from national darling to punchline in barely a week. Freeman may struggle to handle success, but his teams typically bounce back from defeats just fine. If the offense can function, the Irish should be able handle the Boilers. But that feels like a substantial “if.”
Notre Dame 24, Purdue 16
(Photo of Riley Leonard and Jadarian Price: Matt Cashore / Imagn Images)
