Game Observations: Notre Dame Offense From The Loss To Cincinnati
Notre Dame's offense continued to struggle during the team's 24-13 loss at the hands of Cincinnati. Overall it was another disappointing - at times downright poor performance from the offense.
*** There are certainly things I could pick apart, but I felt like OC Tommy Rees at least tried to mix things up in this game. When the line actually gave the quarterbacks time there were things open. Early in the game we saw Rees call more crossing routes with a release by the back that opened up some room to throw the ball.
*** On the first touchdown drive of the game I thought Rees had one of his best series of the season. On first down he finally called a reverse (it went to Avery Davis) which went for 8 yards. On the next play he went 12 personnel (2 tight ends) and broke a heavy tendency out of that alignment by putting Michael Mayer out wide to the field side and got his standout tight end isolated. Mayer was wide open on the short route and did damage after the catch. On the next play he did did a free release (all eligible receivers in a route) and he had Kyren Williams open for a backshoulder throw but the quarterback scrambled. The read wasn't ideal but the fact he did a free release gave the QB room to move around and scramble.
*** I did not like his fourth down call late in the third quarter, a play in which Notre Dame basically ran a four verticals plays instead of doing something that had more of a chain moving presence.
*** The issue is that Notre Dame spent way too much time trying to force the run game and two tight end alignments instead of putting more athletes on the field.
*** The offensive line played a poor game and didn't give Jack Coan much fo a chance in the game, but in the few instances that Coan did have time he simply made too many mistakes and misses. He made some money throws (converted a 3rd-and-long and a 4th-and-10), but he missed a crucial third-down curl route that would have moved the chains. Coan also made some presnap mistakes that proved costly, including going to a swing screen to his left instead of the tunnel screen to his right. The numbers and leverage presnap should have told him to throw the boundary tunnel.
*** A veteran quarterback simply cannot make the mistakes that Coan made the last couple of games. Yes, the offensive line let him down time and time again, but at the end of the day it will be the misses he had when he did have time that stalled the offense in the last two games.
*** It took awhile but sophomore quarterback Drew Pyne was able to give the offense a spark. His poise in the pocket proved impactful for the second game in a row. Pyne's ball placement wasn't always ideal, but he's a gunslinger who is willing to take changes and give him receivers chances to make plays. Whether it was the long touchdown to Braden Lenzy, the tight window hitch throw on a third-and-long to Lorenzo Styles, Pyne got the ball out.
*** What helps Pyne is his willingness to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of his playmakers, and he's also able to keep his eyes downfield when he's moving around the pocket. That allowed him to make plays with his legs but also allowed him to find open receivers, although his wideouts didn't always help him at times.
*** Wide receiver Kevin Austin lost his battle against All-American corner Ahmad Gardner, but when he was wide open with a chance for a big play in the fourth quarter he dropped a throw that could have had a huge impact on the game. A player with his ability dropping throws like that is tremendously disappointing.
*** Wide receiver Braden Lenzy made a huge play in the game and did well in the quick game as well. His impressive grab against tight coverage against a bigger receiver gave Notre Dame a chance in this game.
*** Tight end Michael Mayer had an outstanding performance as a pass catcher, but blocking continues to be a bit of an issue. But he was a legit playmaker in the pass game today. He converted a 4th-and-10 with a great vertical release and a break outside. This was overall his best route running game, and it played a huge role in him making 8 catches for 93 yards.
*** The line played "better" in the second half and at times gave Pyne time to throw, but overall this was another poor performance. Notre Dame's line consistently got knocked off the ball and the inability of this unit to handle simple line stunts and twists - five games into the season - is a clear example of just awful coaching.
*** Right tackle Josh Lugg struggled mightily on the edge, especially in the first half. He was knocked off the line too often, even getting driven into the backfield in the run game, and he had issues containing the edge in the pass game. Left tackle Michael Carmody had his own struggles on the left side, struggling with speed rushes and he struggled with line games. Freshman Joe Alt gave up a big pressure late but he was the most sound and effective tackle ... as a true freshman. That's been true all season, Notre Dame's most fundamentally sound tackles through five games have been a pair of true freshman (Alt and Blake Fisher). That says a lot about the preparation we are seeing with this line.
*** Right guard Cain Madden's season long struggles continued, and his failure to move his feet cost him in the run game and pass game. Left guard Zeke Correll battled at times but in too many instances he also got driven into the backfield.
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