Notre Dame Will Have To Get Creative With Michael Mayer
Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer is a key cog for the offense, and Oklahoma State knows that.
That’s why the Fighting Irish (11-1) are going to have to get creative against Oklahoma State (11-2) when the teams play on Saturday at 1 PM EST in the Fiesta Bowl.
Oklahoma State has prepared for a top tight end already this season.
Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar, a finalist for the Mackey Award, had reasonable success against the Cowboys, catching six passes for 69 yards in a 24-21 victory for the Cyclones. Kolar caught 58 passes for 723 yards and five touchdowns this season.
“I think the biggest focus for them will be third down and how do we get a couple of people around him,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. “The kid at Iowa State, they literally put two guys on him and said, ‘We're going to take him away.”
The Cowboys have the second-best third-down defense in the country. Teams only covert 26.1% of their third downs against them.
Mayer caught 64 passes for 768 yards with five touchdowns during the regular season, and the Fighting Irish pass offense generally runs through Mayer.
With Notre Dame facing its stiffest pass rush of the season, Mayer figures to be a quick outlet for quarterback Jack Coan. Coan has played well the second half of the season but he did not perform well against Wisconsin and Cincinnati, which were teams that had similar shutdown defenses like OSU’s.
Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees figures that OSU will bring out some new looks on third down to try to stop Mayer.
Rees said the situation is even murkier to read because their defensive coordinator Jim Knowles left for Ohio State.
“There is a lot of unknowns with their coordinators,” Rees said. “Obviously, with the change in coordinators and extra time to prepare. We have to be multiple with how we use Michael and make sure we don't become stagnant on where we want to play him. We have to find ways to create opportunities for him. If they want to double him, it usually means we have a favorable matchup somewhere else. If we see that, we have to adjust to it.”
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