What To Look For: Notre Dame Offense vs North Carolina

Notre Dame needs to be on top of its game on offense tonight against North Carolina. We've broken down the important matchups, the statistical matchup and the keys to victory. There are some things I'll be looking for early tonight to know whether or not the Irish offense is ready to roll.

1. The offensive line's growth continues - Notre Dame's offense is very average when the offensive line plays like it has for much of the 2021 season. When it plays the way it did for much of the Virginia Tech and USC games the offense is far more dangerous. If it can play against North Carolina like it did the last two games, while also cleaning up the penalties, the Irish offense should roll.

Notre Dame needs balance in this game, and the line is key to making that happen. That means giving quarterback Jack Coan time to throw early, getting a body on a body in the run game and avoiding the big mistakes that have resulted in negatives. If the line plays like that the Irish offense will move the ball with ease in the early going.

2. Tommy Rees is aggressive - There are two ways offensive coordinator Tommy Rees can approach this game. One is he can be afraid of the North Carolina offense and convince himself, or be convinced that the key is controlling the clock. That's not the way I hope he goes, as I believe that plays right into North Carolina's hands, and the Irish don't have the team to really get that done this year.

The other way to do is to realize you have the better team, you have better players than your opponent and go on the attack. Go tempo, put athletes on the field and use them all, mix up your looks, take your shots, move the pocket and try and get North Carolina on its heels early.

If Coach Rees goes with the latter approach, the line plays solid football and Coan executes the offense is going to have arguably its best night of the season.

3. The playmakers are making plays - In games like this your playmakers need to make plays. We saw that last season when the Irish went on the road and beat a better version of North Carolina. Wideout Javon McKinley had a big night (6 catches, 135 yards), tight end Michael Mayer played well (4 catches, 54 yards), running back Kyren Williams was excellent (124 rush yards, 20 receiving yards, 3 TD) and quarterback Ian Book (327 total yards) made money plays.

The same story needs to be true in this game. A receiver or two (I'm looking at you Avery Davis, Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy) needs to step up and make plays, Mayer needs to continue playing like the nation's best tight end and Williams needs a big night.

I listed the veterans and starters for obvious reasons, but it doesn't have to be them. If it's Chris Tyree, Logan Diggs, Lorenzo Styles or Deion Colzie - all talented players - it accomplishes the same objective. Notre Dame has way more offensive skill than it shows, and tonight that skill needs to show up.

If the "playmakers" step up and make plays early the Irish will be hard to defend early and will move up and down the field with ease.

4. Playing clean - This is easy. No drive killing penalties, no drops, no turnovers.

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Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Offense
Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Defense

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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