Time To Shine: Notre Dame Offense Needs Several Standouts vs. Virginia Tech
Notre Dame suffered a disappointing loss to Cincinnati this past weekend and the poor play of the Irish offense was the primary factor. If the Fighting Irish are going to get their season back on track this weekend at Virginia Tech the Notre Dame offense must reverse course.
In reality the entire unit must play better, and outside of the running backs there hasn't been much consistency anywhere on this side of the ball. Everyone has to play better, but there are three players and one coach who must absolutely be on top of their game in Blacksburg on Saturday night.
TOMMY REES, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Let's be honest, the Notre Dame offensive line isn't going to all of a sudden turn into a great group. It isn't going to all of a sudden start moving people off the ball for 60 minutes and all of a sudden turn into the world's most fundamentally sound group of blockers. Rees must accept this and design a game plan that looks to protect the line while also getting the ball to his best playmakers in the most creative manner possible.
If tight end Michael Mayer is healthy he obviously needs to be part of the game plan, as does Kyren Williams. Rees has also spent a lot of time looking to get Kevin Austin in the mix. Against Virginia Tech those players obviously are important, but Rees also has to figure out more creative ways to get Chris Tyree and Braden Lenzy more touches, which would help take the pressure off the rest of the line.
Rees needs to get away from force feeding 12 personnel and the run game, and start focusing on building his offense more around his athletes. That means attacking the perimeter more effectively and doing more to keep Virginia Tech off balance with the pass game in hopes of creating room for the run game.
He also needs to make sure the game plan does a better job protecting the quarterback, and not wasting Williams and Tyree to make that happen. We need to see the RPO game be in full effect (and be more creative with it, really commit to it), we need to see more quick perimeter throws and continued use of the screen game, we need to see Rees use motions and shifts to create more isolations and he must move the pocket around. The days of just having the quarterback consistently dropping back right behind the center snap after snap after snap has to change.
JACK COAN - DREW PYNE, QUARTERBACK
Notre Dame has yet to announce its starting quarterback for this weekend. You can find the latest intel I have received on the Irish Breakdown private forum, but whoever starts the game the objective is the same. The reality is Coan and Pyne are similar in skill set in most regards, especially throwing the football. There are certainly differences (Pyne is more athletic, Coan throws a better deep ball), but the point is the system will look similar no matter who starts.
The Notre Dame quarterbacks both need to make much, much better presnap decisions than we've seen in recent games. Both made huge presnap mistakes against Cincinnati, and that must be eliminated against the Hokies. The Irish quarterback needs to be decisive post-snap, they have to get the ball out quickly and they absolutely must be more accurate. Coan and Pyne both had bouts of inaccuracy against the Bearcats.
Notre Dame's deep ball was quite effective in the first three games, but it has become less effective and consistent the deeper we get into the season. That needs to reverse course against Virginia Tech, and that requires the quarterbacks to be willing to let it rip and be accurate down the field.
KEVIN AUSTIN, WIDE RECEIVER
Austin has been wildly erratic so far this season. He was excellent in the win over Florida State, made some big grabs in the win over Toledo and had the best game of his career in the win over Wisconsin. Of course, Austin was completely shut out against Purdue and was held to just one catch against Cincinnati, and his drops in those games were troubling.
The wild roller coaster ride isn't surprising when you consider his lack of experience and the lack of proper coaching he has received at Notre Dame. Regardless, Notre Dame needs Austin to be back on top of his game against the Hokies. He'll be matched up quite a bit with Jermaine Waller, the top cover man for Virginia Tech. Noter Dame needs him to be more physical, do a better job getting off the line and catch the ball.
Austin has proven himself capable of being a game-changer, but we don't yet know what we are going to get from week to week. Against the Hokies he needs to be on his game, which will make it much harder for the Virginia Tech defense from inserting its safeties against the run, and it should also open up his teammates by giving them more one-on-one matchups.
JARRETT PATTRSON, CENTER
Patterson obviously needs to play well this weekend, but he needs to step up in other ways. In 2018 and 2019 the Irish line struggled early in the season, and in each instance we saw veteran players step up from a leadership standpoint to rally the unit and get it rolling. That burden now falls on Patterson, who needs to figure out a way during the week of practice and in the game to make sure everyone understands the Notre Dame offensive line standard, to make sure everyone is playing at full speed and to make sure he does his role in getting the Irish offensive line going in the right direction.
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