Notre Dame Football Mailbag: CJ Carr and the RPO game, a Pat Coogan leadership presence, and even more offensive line talk
Recent Notre Dame Football Mailbag heading into the Texas A&M Aggies home opening matchup
Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are looking to get back on track after a bye week of recovery against the Texas A&M Aggies. The Irish, unfortunately, started the season off with a loss a couple of weekends ago against the Miami Hurricanes. It was a disappointing start to the season, but they have a chance to recover with a big win in South Bend on Saturday night. That could get the vibes heading back in the right direction.
On this week’s Notre Dame football mailbag, some of the questions that were submitted centered around quarterback CJ Carr and the RPO game, a lot of offensive line talk, and an early preview for the Boise State game. As always, thank you to everyone who submitted questions. There is some uneasiness about the Fighting Irish right now, but this weekend could remedy that.
RPO game for CJ Carr
There are a couple of possible realities that we need to live with this RPO game right now. It is going to be a part of the Notre Dame offense, and it should be. CJ Carr is a talented quarterback and very smart. When the game begins to slow down, I think the RPO could be a huge weapon. I am just not sure that we should be seeing much of it right now. I would much rather see Notre Dame try to establish the run and work the play action passing game off of it. There aren’t many indications of how much to expect from those RPO game changes.
Leadership on the offensive line
Will Notre Dame find a leader on the offensive line like Pat Coogan? From a pure leadership perspective, they will need it. You have two captains up front in right tackle Aamil Wagner and left guard Billy Schrauth, and you need one or both of them to step up. That is an offensive line unit that desperately needs any sort of added presence they can get. If either of them does step up, I still don’t think it will be like Coogan. I don’t imagine a bunch of F bombs being dropped in pregame, but I hope I am wrong! You need that type of energy out of the big boys up front.
There was one more question about the Irish offensive line, but I couldn’t find it. That question centered around my confidence in the unit, and to be honest, I don’t have much right now. The odds say that Aamil Wagner, Anthonie Knapp, and the right guard position play better, but just how much against a team like Texas A&M? I am buying low right now with the hope that I am wrong. There just wasn’t much during the game against the Hurricanes that inspired much confidence.
Early Boise State preview
I know this question was posed in jest, but let’s talk about Boise State for a second. The Broncos are set to travel to South Bend on Saturday, October 4th for a big matchup. Most people believed that Boise State would take a step back without star running back Ashton Jeanty, and they were correct. While the offense still has potential, the defense has taken a substantial step back from where it was last season. There are going to be some people who will label Boise State as a bit of a trap game of sorts, but I am not buying it. I think Notre Dame wins this game, barring a long string of injuries, and by a substantial margin.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
The outstanding, the ugly, and the uncertain for Notre Dame heading into their primetime matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies
Trying to figure out what we do and don’t know about Notre Dame football heading into the Texas A&M matchup
