It feels like a giant weight has been lifted off the back of the Notre Dame football program. Last Saturday, the Irish earned arguably their biggest win in the Marcus Freeman era, traveling to College Station and emerging with a gritty, 23-13 victory over Texas A&M. It wasn’t always pretty, as Notre Dame never led in the first half and needed nearly 40 minutes to reach the end zone for the first time before finally scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes. But behind a masterful defensive performance, a young offensive line that (as expected) made some mistakes in one of the nation’s toughest road environments but steadily improved throughout the game and a gutsy outing from senior quarterback Riley Leonard in his first Irish start, Notre Dame delivered in all the key moments to start the season with a huge road win.
On Saturday afternoon, the No. 5 Irish will look to build on that momentum in their home opener at Notre Dame Stadium as they play host to Northern Illinois. In the aftermath of the dramatic primetime thriller against the Aggies, it might seem easy to overlook the matchup with the Huskies. But as Notre Dame fans learned two years ago against Marshall, no game should be taken for granted. And while last Saturday was a nearly ideal start to the season for the Irish, their performance certainly left room for improvement over the remainder of their schedule as they look to continue their push toward the College Football Playoff.
As football returns to South Bend for the first time in 2024, here are three ways Notre Dame can ensure that it’ll send Irish fans home happy on Saturday.
Unlock the downfield passing game
Against Texas A&M, it didn’t take long for Notre Dame’s vaunted rushing attack to start firing on all cylinders. Running behind an inexperienced but talented offensive line, the three-headed Irish backfield monster of the dual-threat Leonard, sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love and junior running back Jadarian Price torched the Aggies front seven to the tune of 198 yards on 34 carries. Love and Price were responsible for Notre Dame’s two biggest offensive plays of the night in the form of a pair of long touchdown runs, and Leonard picked up 20 crucial yards on the ground in what would ultimately be the game-winning drive.
The passing game, however, was a different story. It’s worth noting that the Irish were handicapped by the limited availability of senior tight end Mitchell Evans, who played just 10 snaps and had no receptions against the Aggies in recovery from an ACL injury suffered last season (he’s expected to see more action on Saturday), but the real issue was the ineffectiveness of the wide receiver unit.
The receiving corps was a clear weak point of last year’s team but was widely expected to be much improved this fall behind key additions in the transfer portal and the further development of highly-touted underclassmen. On Saturday, Clemson graduate transfer Beaux Collins gave the Aggies defense headaches all night, compiling 62 yards on five receptions and making a crucial 20-yard grab to help spark Notre Dame”s winning touchdown drive. Apart from Collins, though, Irish wide receivers combined for just 68 total yards.
With a new quarterback and offensive scheme — and opening against a high-level defense like Texas A&M’s — it makes sense that Notre Dame needed some time to work out the kinks in its passing game. But to be competitive against top-ranked opponents, the Irish offense will need to be more explosive through the air and far less one-dimensional. With the threat of the run game drawing defenders toward the line of scrimmage, look for offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to find more opportunities for Leonard to take shots down the field. Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison will miss Saturday’s game with an ankle sprain, but the Irish will look for more production from sophomore Jaden Greathouse, senior Jayden Thomas and FIU graduate transfer Kris Mitchell.
Take control early defensively
With Notre Dame entering Saturday’s game as nearly 30-point favorites, it seems to be flying a bit under the radar that Northern Illinois posted arguably one of the nation’s most impressive offensive performances during last weekend’s season-opening 54-15 demolition of Western Illinois. With the obvious caveat of that effort coming against FCS competition compared to an Irish defense that is among college football’s best, the Huskies offense was absolutely dominant in all facets from start to finish.
Quarterback Ethan Hampton was nearly perfect, finishing 18 of 20 with 328 passing yards and five touchdowns, and Northern Illinois added 312 yards on the ground at a clip of 7.6 yards per carry to post a video game-esque 706 yards of total offense. A similar output shouldn’t be expected on Saturday, as Notre Dame stifled Texas A&M, limiting the Aggies to just 100 passing yards and 246 total yards. The Irish have the personnel in both their secondary and front seven to shut Northern Illinois down, but the Huskies are likely to come to South Bend full of confidence, and for good reason. An early scoring drive would only add to that energy and could lead to continued offensive success throughout the game.
Conversely, if Notre Dame, backed by a rocking Notre Dame Stadium, can start the game with a few three-and-outs or force an early turnover, it would effectively set the tone for the matchup and show the Huskies that they’re in for a long afternoon. If the Notre Dame defense can come out of the gates with the same aggressiveness and intensity that they played with against the Aggies, they should be able to prevent Northern Illinois from ever finding a rhythm on offense.
Capitalize on third-down opportunities
If there was one key area in which the Irish struggled against Texas A&M, it was converting on third downs. Notre Dame was a dismal 2 of 12 on third-down conversions, and it was that ineffectiveness that forced them to punt five times and settle for field goals on three other occasions. The good news for the Irish is that they came through on the most important third down of the night. With under five minutes remaining and the score knotted at 13-13, Notre Dame faced a third and five at its own 20-yard line, staring down a punt situation that would put the Aggies in prime position to drain the remaining time off the clock before kicking a game-winning field goal. Instead, Leonard connected with Greathouse for a nine-yard gain and a first down. Five plays later, Love ran for a 21-yard touchdown to give the Irish an advantage they would never relinquish.
That’s the type of scenario in which Notre Dame needs to find more success on Saturday and throughout the season. Personnel-wise, the Irish have all the pieces needed to be a strong third-down team. Love and Price can be counted on to move the chains in short-yardage situations, Leonard is extremely dangerous with his legs on both designed runs and scrambles and shifty receivers like Greathouse can make plays on quick passes just beyond the line to gain. Furthermore, Notre Dame will be even more difficult to stop as Evans and the other tight ends continue to be integrated into the passing game.
If the Irish can convert on third downs at a high rate and do a better job of capping off drives with sevens instead of threes, they should be able to put points on the board in bunches on Saturday and fans should be able to enjoy a much less stressful fourth quarter in the home opener.
