Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Bowling Green in Week 6

2. Julian Okwara breaks single-game sack record

It was a pretty quiet start to the season for the duo of Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem, but a lot of that had to do with the fact that opposing teams made it a point to run the ball against a somewhat inexperienced Notre Dame front. However, the pass-rush has been awarded more opportunity with the run defense beginning to shore things up.

This was on full display last weekend against Virginia as the Cavalier offensive line allowed eight total sacks. It appeared as if the Irish defense was in for a similar outing early on against Virginia, but the pass-rush really began to come alive as the game progressed. Okwara and Kareem would combine for 5.5 sacks in that game, a performance they should be able to build upon in the future.

What did help was the fact that the Cavaliers ran a fast-paced offense, particularly into the later stages of the game. We may not see that same game-script out of a Bowling Green offense that may be looking to wind down the clock late in the game, but Virginia’s offensive line likely posed a greater challenge than the one that stands before the Irish pass-rush at this point in time.

All things considered, the Irish are in the position for a repeat performance this weekend. Notre Dame’s single game sack record (four) is currently shared by Justin Tuck, Victor Abiamiri, and Jerry Tillery, a record that has stood since Tuck’s stellar performance against Pitt in 2002. Both Okwara and Kareem may have a chance to break the record, but the former’s consistency makes him the probable favorite to do so.