Notre Dame Football: Position report cards for the Irish after Week 6 win
By Jacob Wilson
Notre Dame football didn’t miss a beat despite a significant quarterback change, easily dismantling an injury-depleted North Carolina squad. Here is a report card from their 33-10 victory over the Tar Heels.
The Fighting Irish continued their success in a 23 point thrashing of North Carolina, bringing their overall record to 5-1. Head coach Brian Kelly and his team have found a way to distance themselves from competition early, something the Irish struggled with for the majority of last year.
Lacking in both the capability to run the score and the ability to capitalize in clutch moments, the Irish finished with a 4-8 record in what was considered a management implosion last season. This year has been far removed from last, with Notre Dame’s sole loss coming to on of the nation’s top teams in Georgia.
With Saturday’s game revealing many different aspects of this Notre Dame team, here are position grades for each Irish unit.
Notre Dame’s offensive line has performed exceptionally well this season, paving the way for one of the nation’s most explosive backfields. The Irish finished with 355 rushing yards, many of them coming by way of solid blocking from Notre Dame’s offensive line. This unit was once again one of the most stable for the Irish in their fourth straight win.
If there was a knock against this line Saturday, it would be their struggle to open up holes for the Irish run game over Notre Dame’s first few possessions. With quarterback Ian Book recording his first career start against the Tar Heels, the Irish offensive line was tasked with providing plenty of room in the run game in order to take some pressure off of him.
The offense as a whole sputtered on a few early drives, much to the concern of many Irish fans. However, the offense settled in as they often do, finishing with 487 total yards. Saturday wasn’t the first time that Notre Dame has started slow either, with games against both Georgia and Boston College close heading into halftime.
This line continues to impress, not allowing early struggles to dictate the remainder of the game. With right guard Alex Bars leaving the game due to an ankle sprain, graduate student Hunter Bivin entered the game early. While he struggled a bit, Bars’ injury isn’t expected to keep him out too long. The Irish offensive front will look to keep things going out of the bye week against USC.