Notre Dame Football: Irish can’t afford to overlook Ball State

2. The next man up after Josh Adams is still TBD

Wimbush leaned heavily on running back Josh Adams last season. His backfield mate ran for 1,430 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 6.9 yards per carry on the way. There weren’t many teams who were able to slow down Wimbush and Adams at the same time. Wimbush is back, but his partner in crime is noticeably absent.

Senior running back Dexter Williams did not play against Michigan. It’s assumed we’ll see him against Ball State, but that doesn’t guarantee what game-shape he’ll be in and whether or not he’ll be given a full complement of carries.

Tony Jones Jr. And Jafar Armstrong shared duties against Michigan. Neither was impressive. Together they carried the ball 24 times for 80 yards and neither exceeded a carry of 13 yards. Even adding Williams to the mix won’t make the hole left by Adams any less noticeable. Complete teams need to be able to run the football. Outside of Wimbush’s mobility, it hasn’t been proven that Notre Dame can move the ball on the ground.