After a ton of anticipation and an offseason of hype, head coach Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame football got off to a rough start against the Miami Hurricanes with a 27-24 loss on the road. It was a game of frustration for Fighting Irish fans, seeing their previously elite defense get gashed in the worst possible moments. For the offense, there might be an even bigger problem.

It was the first start of the career for redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, and he did a lot of nice things in a tough environment. He finished the night 19 of 30 for 221 passing yards and two touchdowns, while also adding another rushing score. Carr did have one big blemish, throwing an interception on top of being harassed constantly by the Hurricane defensive line.

Can Notre Dame’s offensive line protect quarterback CJ Carr enough this season?

While it wasn’t perfect, Carr showed enough to be optimistic about what the talented, young signal caller can become. The main question is, do they have the support in place needed to put more on his plate? Is it possible that this team is flawed from an identity perspective? There are certainly some concerns that Notre Dame should have following this defeat.

There is no questioning what Coach Freeman wants this Irish offense to be. While offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will design the attack, the ideology is set: be a physical running team built through the offensive line. The problem is that your identity was cloudy on Sunday night, especially when you fell behind.

The offensive line is a strong unit when it comes to run blocking, but Anthonie Knapp and Aamil Wagner had some unbelievable struggles in pass protection. We even saw Knapp out of the game at the end, with Styles Prescod getting some opportunities. Knapp also struggled to counteract the talented pass-rush duo of Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. Carr barely had a chance on the final drive, even while Miami was just rushing four.

Some of the better defenses they will play are going to take away Jeremiyah Love and this Notre Dame running game. The Hurricanes did that for the most part, and they forced the Irish offense to be out of its comfort zone. We saw those moments as well in 2024, particularly during the playoffs. For this offense to be good enough to win a championship, it needs to find a better balance.

That starts, first and foremost, with an identity shift. You chose Carr, supposedly, to open up this passing attack and be more aggressive. Yet, you relegated him to a screen merchant and played it safe until you couldn’t be safe anymore. It’s Carr’s first game, so there shouldn’t be a full-blown trashing of the conservative offensive approach. I am sure that as Carr gains experience, more will be put on his plate, or at least you would think.

However, when that day of balance comes, do they have the offensive line in place to consistently protect Carr? Everyone knows the struggles that Knapp has had as a pass protector, and his main backup didn’t look much better when thrown in there. Even Wagner, who was your most consistent offensive lineman a year ago, struggled mightily. The next series of questions that will be asked is whether Charles Jagusah will shift back outside when he returns from injury, or if five-star true freshman Will Black should be ready to play.

The lack of development up front under offensive line coach Joe Rudolph was the main takeaway offensively from tonight. Perhaps the dependency on the run game has sacrificed needed reps as pass protectors. Or maybe that will never be their strength.

Whatever the reason for those struggles to protect Carr, they will have to be fixed. You aren’t just going to run your way to a championship, and these types of games will happen in the biggest moments. Answers need to be found in the passing game, particularly in their ability to protect their starting quarterback at the most critical points of the game.

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Ryan Roberts