Key Takeaways From The Win Over Syracuse: Offense
Notre Dame finished the 2020 regular season with a perfect 10-0 record thanks to a 45-21 victory over Syracuse. The Irish offense played sloppy football but still managed to score 45 points and register a season high in yards.
There was plenty to learn and takeaway from the performance.
MCKINLEY CONTINUES DOMINANT TREND
Fifth-year senior receiver Javon McKinley earned a second straight offensive player of the game award from me after he racked up 111 receiving yards and set career bests with seven catches and three receiving touchdowns.
His overall numbers this season (37 catches, 660 yards) won't blow you away, but his play the last five game has been outstanding. Against Syracuse, McKinley surpassed the century mark in yards for the third time in four games and the fourth time this season. When you look at how that stacks up all time it shows his current run is as good of a stretch as any Fighting Irish receiver in the last decade.
McKinley's balance as a wideout is what made him so good against the Orange. Of course he blocked well, which he's done all year, and he made a number of chain-moving type of plays. McKinley twice scored on vertical plays on the outside, and the touchdown in between those two was an after-the-catch play for the veteran wideout.
The consistency we've seen from McKinley over the last five games has been outstanding, and he's a key reason for Notre Dame's success on that side of the ball.
RUNNING BACKS PUT THE GAME AWAY ... AGAIN
Notre Dame has an outstanding one-two punch at running back, at least when they use them both. Sophomore Kyren Williams has been steady all season, but the usage for freshman Chris Tyree has been spotty.
Both were true again against Syracuse. Williams struggled in the opening half, and his rushed reads were a factor in the run game struggling in the opening two quarters. Williams was much better in the second half, as he racked up 73 of his 110 yards. He was more patient and made better reads, which allowed Williams to hammer the Cuse into submission.
We didn't see much of Tyree until the fourth quarter. In fact, Tyree had just one carry in the first three quarters, and his second carry went for minus-7 yards. On the next carry, however, Tyree showed why he should get four to five more touches per game.
Against Syracuse, Williams racked up 110 yards on the ground and Tyree had 109. The duo also combined for four catches and 39 more yards. When both are used they complement each other quite nicely.
Tyree brings a home run element to the offense, and he complements the physical style of Williams quite well. The next two to three games for Notre Dame will be incredibly challenging, and the staff needs to figure out a way to use both Williams and Tyree for four quarters, as both part of a rotation and together.
OFFENSIVE LINE TURNOVER HURT COHESION
Notre Dame had a different starting offensive line for the third straight game, and the lack of cohesion showed against Syracuse.
Right guard Dillan Gibbons played quality football, but there were several instances where it was clear he and right tackle Robert Hainsey hadn't played a lot of snaps together. The timing of combo blocks up the middle and on the right side was inconsistent, which you'd expect from a new-look line.
Center Joshua Lugg struggled snapping and stepping with power, and he wasn't as effective up the middle as he has shown himself to be in the past while playing right tackle or guard.
Notre Dame eventually started to wear Syracuse down, which is why 224 of the 283 rushing yards came in the final two quarters. Even if you take out Tyree's 94-yard run, the second half numbers (130) were better than the first half rushing numbers (73), which were aided by a long Ian Book scramble for a score.
Figuring out the lineup for the rest of the year is a must, and the staff needs to figure out a way to get them on the same page prior to the ACC title game against Clemson. Tommy Kraemer should be back to full strength and back into his spot at right guard, but figuring out the center position is the final step.
Notre Dame also needs to figure out why both North Carolina and Syracuse had so much success timing up the snap counts and what they were seeing that gave the defense confidence to attack the outside runs, as if they knew they were coming. We saw that against UNC and we saw it quite a bit against Syracuse.
The Irish numbers have still been good, but that's because the last two defenses were below average. That won't be the case in upcoming games.
IAN BOOK HAS BECOME A PLAYMAKER
Quarterback Ian Book wasn't his sharpest against Syracuse, but he continued being a playmaker. I broke down what that means for the offense HERE.
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