Notre Dame football: 5 bold predictions for the Irish in November

5. The Irish reach a new level in the pass game

While the Irish currently boast one of the nation’s most prolific backfields, a one-dimensional offense can only take this team so far. If Georgia was any indication, life gets tough for the Irish when their run game is held in check. While the Bulldogs have been the only ones to do so up to this point, there’s potential that the Irish will face suffocating defenses such as Alabama’s in the playoffs.

As long as this is the case, don’t be surprised to see Kelly working on Wimbush’s abilities as a passer. The junior has performed exceptionally well on the ground up to this point, but his 1,006 passing yards are good for only 99th in the nation. Alabama’s Jalen Hurts, a very similar player, has the luxury of one of the nation’s best defenses. While the Irish defense is good, it’s not Alabama’s.

That said, Wimbush will need to add a passing element in some capacity in order for the Irish to make a deep run. The third-year junior has shown encouraging progress in regard to passing touchdowns, but the yardage is still lacking. Much of this is due to the emergence of Notre Dame’s run game, but Kelly will need more out of Wimbush’s arm nevertheless.

The opportunities through which the Irish could achieve this lie in their upcoming schedule. Wimbush hasn’t been tested much through the air this season, with teams such as NC State being dominated on the ground despite their exceptional run defense. However, Notre Dame’s upcoming game against Miami could turn into a shootout, resulting in Wimbush getting more comfortable through the air.