SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the second time in three weeks, Notre Dame will host a MAC opponent as a four-touchdown favorite. And there’s a good chance the experience against Northern Illinois will inform how Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., NBC) unfolds against Miami (Ohio).
It’s a lesson Notre Dame didn’t want to have to learn so publicly, but it’s one Marcus Freeman won’t waste as the Irish further rebuild the credibility lost during that shock afternoon earlier this month.
“It can’t take a loss to have the mentality that we have to mentally and physically prepare the right way for an opponent,” Freeman said. “As I said last week, we can be a really good football team. We have work to do.”
Miami will bring plenty of familiarity to Notre Dame Stadium, starting with head coach Chuck Martin, now in his 11th season in Oxford after four seasons in South Bend. Offensive coordinator Pat Welsh and defensive coordinator Bill Brechin were on Notre Dame’s staff with Martin. Safeties coach Robert Blanton played for Notre Dame during Martin’s tenure, which included time as offensive coordinator and defensive coach. Quarterbacks coach Gus Ragland not only started against Notre Dame during Miami’s last trip here seven years ago, but he was also on staff at Notre Dame (2019-22), which included Freeman’s first as head coach.
It’s best for Notre Dame if those connections carry more of the narrative Saturday than the result itself as the Irish look to take the second step in what Freeman hopes will be a winning streak that runs through November.
Here’s what else is worth tracking this weekend, plus a prediction.
Does the new-look offensive line click?
When Charles Jagusah suffered a season-ending chest/shoulder injury during the first week of camp, it meant Notre Dame would never start its first-choice offensive line this season. When center Ashton Craig (knee) was lost for the year at Purdue and guard Billy Schrauth (ankle) went down for a few weeks, it meant the Irish were suddenly makeshift upfront before the end of September.
Fortunately for Notre Dame, the line got more experienced with the returns of center Pat Coogan and guard Rocco Spindler. A front that returned just six career starts heading into Texas A&M will have 32 career starts this weekend. Coogan logged 13 and Spindler had 10 last season.
“They’ve never wavered, never complained, never stomped their feet,” said offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. “They just worked, and I’m happy to see them get rewarded. At the same time, sad that happened the way it happened.”
Just how much Notre Dame lost up front without Craig and Schrauth might become more obvious next weekend when Louisville visits. Miami ranks in the triple digits in tackles for loss per game (3.5) and sacks per game (1.0). That means Saturday can be an on-ramp for Coogan and Spindler into the lineup, even after logging most of the Purdue game. The Irish will need both the veterans to improve.
“There’s a reason that you go through the process of determining who the starters are and who the backups are,” Denbrock said. “We never lost any sort of faith or commitment or love for Rocco or for Pat in any way, and we made sure we communicated that clearly with them and let them know that: Listen, you saw in preseason camp how quickly a projected starter could need to be replaced by another member.”
Will the pass rush produce despite getting younger?
Notre Dame knows Jordan Botelho is done for the season following his knee injury at Purdue. It’s not clear if Joshua Burnham will be back after sitting out last week with an ankle sprain suffered in the final minutes against Northern Illinois. He’s listed as questionable in Notre Dame’s game notes and Freeman declined to clarify his status Thursday.
That could open the door for Notre Dame to go younger against Miami. Assuming Burnham can’t go, the starting defensive ends will likely be Boubacar Traore and RJ Oben, but the Irish could also work freshmen Loghan Thomas and Bryce Young into the defensive end rotation with Jason Onye also getting some work there the past two weeks.
Junior Tuihalamaka also got work at defensive end against Purdue after floating between linebacker and defensive line the past two seasons.
“Loghan will be available and has a chance to play on Saturday,” Freeman said. “He’s had a good week of practice. Boubacar has done a really good job stepping up into the starting role. Junior (Tuihalamaka) had probably one of his best weeks of practice.”
As long as Burnham is available for Louisville in two weeks, the shorter rotation at defensive end doesn’t need to matter much this weekend. But it could let Young and Thomas make a case for future reps, similar to how Traore has flashed the past two weeks. The sophomore from Boston has star potential.
“I think there was a learning curve there,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said of Traore. “I see maturity now, I see purpose now. I see him trying to be a total defensive end now. As a freshman, we asked him to pass rush and he did that for us, but I see a different person now.”
Can Notre Dame keep its explosive run game going?
The Irish have already posted nine 20-yard run plays this season. It just seems like more.
Among Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Riley Leonard, Notre Dame has turned its offense into a home run waiting to happen on any carry, even when it’s trying to run out the half at Purdue. That’s when Price went 70 yards for a touchdown, throwing dirt on Purdue even after the Boilermakers had already been buried. It’s not like a dominant run game is new around Notre Dame, it’s just that this one feels different.
“In the back of my mind, every play I could hit a home run,” Price said. “The reality is that doesn’t happen every time. These are D-I football players, too. They’re good players. With what I do in practice and my mentality going into the game, I feel like there isn’t one play I can’t do that.”
Only three programs have more 20-yard runs than Notre Dame this season, and it’s hard to imagine the Irish won’t stay near the top of those rankings. Leonard, Love and Price are averaging a combined 6.9 yards per carry, with Love leading that group at 8.0. As much as Notre Dame needs its pass game to find a new level with Leonard, that run game should help make the Irish quarterback effective in the play-action game eventually.
Until then, Leonard can hand off to Love and Price with belief they’ll break one. Or Leonard could just take it himself. Even with a reworked offensive line, Notre Dame’s running backs (and its quarterback) can make up for a missed block with a big play.
Prediction
Much like the last time Notre Dame hosted a MAC program, the Irish shouldn’t be pushed to the limit. It didn’t work out that way against Northern Illinois, which might make life harder for Miami. The mutual respect between staffs should prevent a replay of Purdue, which ended with the biggest blowout in that series’ history. It’s hard to see Miami finding much (or any) offensive success against Notre Dame. But it’s hard to see the Irish running roughshod over the RedHawks, either. Notre Dame wins going away as the Irish defense again stars.
Notre Dame 37, Miami 13
(Top photo: Alex Martin / Journal and Courier / USA Today via Imagn Images)
