Notre Dame Football: 3 keys to victory vs. New Mexico in Week 3

3. The pass rush needs to be on

Saying that any aspect of this team needs to be on is probably a stretch. Realistically, the Irish could probably come out and look two times worse than they did against Louisville and still pull this one off. However, there are a few things that are essentially requirements for the Irish if they want to solidify the confidence of their fans.

First, the Irish pass-rush has to be effective. The defensive line recorded only three sacks against Louisville despite the Cardinals passing four more times than the Irish. While the majority of these passes were designed to get the ball out quick, it would’ve been nice to see the Julian Okwara/Khalid Kareem duo come away with more than one sack.

With that said, this is a position group that is among the most explosive on the team, and there really shouldn’t be much concern as it relates to Okwara and Kareem’s performance. Nevertheless, it would be encouraging to see this group establish themselves against a New Mexico offensive line that didn’t allow a sack in their matchup against Sam Houston State.

While the Irish could survive another so-so outing from their defensive front, it would be extremely discouraging heading into a matchup with Georgia, a game in which their performance will be absolutely critical.