Notre Dame football sits at 2-0 under head coach Marcus Freeman after a 41-13 victory over Wisconsin and a 52-0 shutout of the Rice Owls.

With Michigan State next on the schedule, the Fighting Irish fan base is already buzzing with strong opinions about this roster. From the offensive line to the running back rotation to the defensive tackle depth, the overreactions are flying in every direction.

Some of them carry weight. Others need more time. Let’s break down the biggest ones and figure out which deserve a buy, a sell, or something in between.

The offensive line is bad: Sell

This is the overreaction I push back on the most. Pass protection for quarterback CJ Carr has been mostly very good through two games. Against Wisconsin, outside of a couple of plays where Sebastian Cheeks created some pressure, the offensive line held up well.

The run game has been a different story, and that’s where the pessimism is coming from, but the run game struggles don’t automatically make this a bad unit.

Breaking it down piece by piece, Anthonie Knapp has been fantastic at left guard.

Will Black has been very good at left tackle. His first game included a sack allowed to Cheeks, but he was mostly solid throughout the rest of that contest. Against Rice, he overset one time and gave up an inside pressure, but otherwise he was consistent, assignment-sound, and the athletic traits flashed on film.

Ashton Craig and Joe Otting as a tandem at center have been good. Guerby Lambert at right tackle has been solid, with some nice moments mixed in with a few blunders.

The right guard position is what’s weighing this unit down. Styles Prescod struggled in the first half of the opener, and Sullivan Absher was extremely up and down in the second game against Rice. That spot is anchoring the group, but when four out of five starting offensive linemen grade out as solid to good, this is not a bad offensive line.

Aneyas Williams should be benched: Sell, with a caveat

Williams has taken a lot of criticism through two games, but calling him “not good” is hyperbole. He rushed for 90 yards and a couple of touchdowns on 20 carries against Wisconsin. The yards-per-carry average wasn’t great, but he did some really good things in the second half. The Rice game was a different story: nine carries, 29 yards, and he simply was not an effective runner.

Williams should remain a very important part of the running back rotation, but he shouldn’t be getting 20 carries in a game the way he did in Week 1.

Jonaz Walton showed enough in his second-half performance against Rice to earn more opportunities against Michigan State. Nolan James Jr. was more efficient on the ground as well. This should be a legitimate committee approach, and the next few games represent an evaluation period.

How much does Williams get? How much does Walton get? How much does Nolan James Jr. or Keidron or Javian Osborne get?

The biggest criticism of the run game right now is that it’s very static. There is not a lot of pre-snap motion, not a lot of shifts. It’s very “line up, call the perfect play, and go” instead of manipulating second- and third-level defenders to create better blocking angles and get linebackers’ eyes looking the wrong direction.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock could be more creative than what we’ve seen through two weeks. Without a good, efficient run game, this team is not winning a national championship.

Notre Dame doesn’t have a wide receiver 2: Sell (sort of)

I went on a roller coaster with this evaluation.

In the first week, I was underwhelmed by everyone not named Jordan Faison. In the second week, Micah Gilbert showed a lot of growth, including that 39-yard touchdown catch from Carr. I liked what I saw athletically from Mylan Graham, even though he needs to be more consistent. And I loved that the staff got Jaden Greathouse the ball early.

There might not end up being a de facto wide receiver 2, but there are three to four guys who in any given week can affect this offense. This wide receiver room still carries a lot of upside for this Notre Dame team.

Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray are too overworked at defensive tackle: Buy

I agree with this one.

No good football team can have two defensive tackles playing 90% of the snaps while everyone else gets scraps. Armel Mukam needs to play a lot. Elijah Hughes needs to play a lot. Sean Sevillano needs to play a lot right now.

When Jason Onye returns from his foot injury, he needs significant playing time. When Christopher Burgess comes back from his lower body injury, he should get an opportunity as well. This defensive tackle room is deep, and the staff needs to utilize that depth.

Brewu and Gray are the two most impactful defensive tackles on this roster right now, and they should be treated as such. But if Mukam starts making plays over the next couple of games, you can always reconfigure. The depth is there to keep everyone fresh.

Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa needs to start at linebacker: Buy

This is the one I feel strongest about. Viliamu-Asa looked fantastic against Rice.

It was just Rice, but in his first game back from an ACL tear, I was very optimistic about what I saw. That one tackle for loss showcased his ability to read proactively, attack downhill, explode through the ball carrier, and close with a speed that is simply different from everyone else in that room.

Drayk Bowen is a good player. He’s a captain, a senior, and he’s going to play a lot.

Jaiden Ausberry has played quality football the first couple of games. But Viliamu-Asa is a different animal. He is a special football player, and from Game 3 against Michigan State through the rest of the season and beyond, he needs to play the highest percentage of snaps at linebacker. Get him on the field as much as possible.

Notre Dame has the talent to compete at the highest level this season. The next few weeks will tell us whether Freeman’s staff can unlock the run game, distribute carries properly, and deploy its defensive depth the right way. Michigan State is the next test, and there will be plenty more to evaluate from there.