Notre Dame Football 2017: Midseason position grades

Notre Dame football rounded out the midway point of the 2017 season with a win over North Carolina, putting them at 5-1 on the year. The Irish have clearly gelled as a team, but how has each unit done individually?

If head coach Brian Kelly’s seat wasn’t warm to begin with last season, it definitely was following a 45-27 loss to USC in a game that eliminated the Irish from bowl game contention. The Irish would round out the season at 4-8, their worst finish since a Charlie Weis led Irish squad went 3-9 in 2007. At this point, Kelly’s seat wasn’t only warm, it was scorching hot.

Kelly, took note of this, scheduling meetings with each and every member of last season’s team. While the contents of these meetings were never disclosed, Kelly highlighted the genuine and brutal honesty from many of his players. Fast forward to this year and Kelly is coaching one of his most complete teams since 2012.

The Irish have come a long way since last season’s disaster, displaying more resiliency than ever. It seems as if every unit has completely bought in, but just how well have they performed? Here are grades for each position heading into the second half of Notre Dame’s season.

Notre Dame’s offensive line has been the team’s strong-suit for quite a while, with six former linemen currently on NFL rosters. From John Sullivan to Ronnie Stanley, the Irish have had significant success preparing their starters for NFL success. If the first half of this season is any indication, the Irish will likely see a few more linemen enter the NFL over the next couple of years.

To highlight their success up to this point, one must only look to the strength of their run-game. As good as running back Josh Adams is, a backfield can only do so much with poor blocking. This has been far from the case for the Irish, with Notre Dame’s rushing attack exceeding an average of 305 yards per game.

In comparison to last year, a struggling Irish team averaged just over 163 yards per game, good for 80th in the nation. The Irish as a whole have rebounded strongly, but none more so than an offensive line that now holds all the confidence in the world. In terms of pass blocking, the Irish are a run-first offense, thus skewing some of their sacks totals and so-forth.

Worst Game:

This group’s worst game came against a Georgia team that completely dominated the line of scrimmage. The Bulldogs took advantage of a weaker and less experienced right side of the line, limiting the Irish to under 100 yards for the only time this season. The line’s performance was summed up by a last-minute strip-sack allowed by the all-American Mike McGlinchey.

Best Game:

The line’s best performance came against Boston College in a game that saw the Irish finish with 515 yards and seven scores on the ground. Also, it was the only game this season in which they had not allowed a sack. The Irish offensive line deserves much credit for the success of the run game up to this point, solidifying them as one of the team’s strongest units.