Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman always preaches complimentary football for the Irish, and we saw it against USC in an vintage way
Heading into this past weekend’s home matchup against the USC Trojans, the Notre Dame offense had seemingly gone under a bit of a transformation. It has been an offense dominated by the run game for the Fighting Irish, but times do seem to be changing a bit under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. For the first […]
Heading into this past weekend’s home matchup against the USC Trojans, the Notre Dame offense had seemingly gone under a bit of a transformation. It has been an offense dominated by the run game for the Fighting Irish, but times do seem to be changing a bit under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. For the first time in a very long time, the passing attack felt like the run game’s equal, or at least very close.
Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr had gotten better and better over the course of the season, and he was averaging over 270 passing yards per game. For the running game, the Irish attack was actually off to a pretty slow start compared to some past years. That group, although elite with the duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, was averaging just around 170 yards per game. There had clearly been an emphasis on the increased passing attack with Carr.
With a pretty underwhelming USC secondary in front of them, many believed that Carr would continue his strong play, even with rain in the forecast. As everyone learned, Saturday night in Notre Dame Stadium was not the night for Carr. The 6-3, 210-pound pocket passer had a struggling night, completing 16 of 26 passes for 136 yards, one touchdowns, and one interception. Carr also ran for -7 yards and a score on the ground.
Luckily for the young signal caller, the Notre Dame rushing attack made up for the underwhelming night through the air. Love and Price combined to rush for 315 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries, a healthy per carry of 8.5 yards. Price also took a kickoff back for a touchdown, while Love hauled in five receptions for 37 yards. It was a game to remember.
We have heard head coach Marcus Freeman talk about complimentary football countless times over the years. By definition, we saw exactly that on Saturday night. The Notre Dame passing attack wasn’t working, so the run game had to carry the day. They did just that, and despite the offense being expectantly one dimensional, the Fighting Irish managed to still score 34 offensive points.
Elite Irish running game
After that dominant performance from Love and Price this weekend, the team is now averaging over 191 rushing yards per game as a team. Love now has 758 yards rushing and nine touchdowns on the season, while Price has 509 yards and eight touchdowns. That rushing output is very impressive considering the team doesn’t have a rushing threat behind center, with Carr having just nine yards rushing in seven games.
There is going to be a game where Carr and the passing attack is going to need and make up for an absent rushing attack. This is the first time in a very long time that is the case. Notre Dame has always relied on the rushing attack, and just hoped that the passing game would be good enough. That complimentary aspect makes this Irish offense very unique.
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish finally settled a heated national debate during massive victory over the hated rival USC Trojans
A heated national debate was settled during the Notre Dame victory over USC.
