Notre Dame Midweek Musings: Alabama Edition - Offense
Thoughts on the Notre Dame offense, its matchup against Alabama and its recruiting efforts.
MUST SEE MATCHUP - OFFENSE
Javon McKinley vs. Patrick Surtain II and Josh Jobe — The Notre Dame offensive line against the Alabama front seven is vitally important, and it's the matchup of the best part of the Irish squad against a big, physical Alabama front. That matchup, however, is easy to point to and is something I've already broken down.
A matchup that could be just as important is McKinley against the Alabama corners. This is without question the best cornerback tandem Notre Dame has faced this season, and McKinley has a chance to make himself some money should he have a big game. If Notre Dame is going to win this game it needs McKinley to be a big part of the game plan, and he needs to make plays when the opportunities come.
McKinley's had success against top corners at times in his career (Caleb Farley, Asante Samuel), and he'll need to do that again on Friday. McKinley's size, ball skills and underrated speed make him a difficult matchup, at least when he gets targeted. For some reason that hasn't always been the case, but he must be a key part of the offense against the Crimson Tide.
McKinley caught at least five passes in six games, and he went for 596 yards in those contests. In the other five games McKinley caught just seven passes for just 101 yards. In the six games where he caught at least five passes the Notre Dame offense averaged 39.0 points per game, but in the four games against Power 5 opponents where McKinley caught fewer than five passes the offense averaged just 21.8 points per game.
BIGGEST CONCERN - OFFENSE
My two biggest concerns against Alabama are the same as my two biggest fears heading into the ACC title game; will the offensive line dominate and will quarterback Ian Book play well.
Neither happened against the Tigers and the Irish got whipped. In the first matchup against Clemson both the line and Book played well, and the Irish offense scored 40 points and racked up 518 yards.
If the line and Book play well the Irish should move the ball and score on Alabama, which gives the team a shot to pull off the upset. If they don't play well this game won't be competitive, and it could be over very, very early.
STATS THAT MATTER - OFFENSE
Notre Dame must combine efficiency with explosiveness to pull off the upset over Alabama, and it must finish off drives with touchdowns.
There are five stats that I'll be paying attention to during the game to see if Notre Dame is thriving in these areas. The first is yards per rush, and Notre Dame needs to be around 5.0 yards per carry in the game. The second is yards per pass attempt, and Book needs to be over 8.0 yards per pass attempt. Get to those two areas and the odds are it will mean the offense is moving the ball and getting into the scoring zone.
Notre Dame must continue moving the chains at a high level, which means a third-down conversion rate of around 50%. Should the Irish get into Alabama territory it must finish those drives with touchdowns, which means Notre Dame needs to get into the end zone instead of settling for field goals. The Irish need to be perfect in the red zone when it comes to getting touchdowns and not field goals.
Notre Dame needs to rip off at least five plays of at least 20 yards in the game as well.
STEP UP TIME - OFFENSE
All the big names need to play well in this game - Book, McKinley, Kyren Williams, Michael Mayer, Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hainsey and Aaron Banks.
To pull off the upset there need to be others that step into the spotlight, and my thoughts immediately go to Tommy Tremble when I think of an under-utilized weapon with game changing skills. Alabama is vulnerable at linebacker and safety in the pass game, and Tremble's speed and ball skills present a unique and dangerous matchup.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees needs to make Mayer and Tremble key figures in the game plan, and when the opportunities come Tremble needs to go off. Two other players that have the skill to make big plays if given the chance are wideout Avery Davis and running back Chris Tyree. All three are weapons with the athleticism to do big things against the Tide, but will they get that chance? We'll see.
RECRUITING THOUGHTS
Notre Dame's 2022 offensive line class is off to a strong start, as the Irish landed Zionsville (Ind.) High School standout Joey Tanona and Groton (Mass.) Lawrence Academy athlete Ty Chan. Tanona played tackle as a sophomore but dominated at center as a junior. Chan is a raw but talented player that projects at tackle.
Tanona ranks as the nation's No. 87 overall player by ESPN and Chan ranks No. 153.
Moving forward the Irish staff needs to focus on the best of the best along the offensive line, which means landing a player that is already among the nation's best or a player with a very high ceiling, regardless of his ranking.
Three players that I'm keeping my eye on is Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman offensive tackle Jake Taylor, Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian offensive tackle Zach Rice and Fond du Lac (Wis.) St. Marys Springs guard Billy Schrauth.
Rice is the kind of elite level player that moves the needle for a recruiting class. He's ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 22 player in the country on the 247Sports composite list.
Taylor isn't ranked very high, but he's extremely talented with a very high ceiling. He won't move the needle a great deal from a recruiting rankings standpoint, but he certainly moves the needle when it comes to improving the depth chart.
Schrauth is more an interior player, but he's certainly one of the top guards in the country.
Should Notre Dame somehow land all five of these blockers, or players of comparable talent with these three uncommitted players, it would give the Irish a class that could compete with any the staff has landed during head coach Brian Kelly's tenure.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
FILM TO WATCH
Rice is the "big fish" of the group. Here's a look at his sophomore film:
Taylor doesn't get the recruiting love, but he's an athletic and talented blocker. Here is his film:
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