Notre Dame Will Need To Make Some Offensive Changes For The Gator Bowl

Personnel losses - and additions - have Notre Dame poised to look a bit different on offense in the Gator Bowl, at least they should

Notre Dame will certainly look a lot different on offense when it takes on South Carolina in the Gator Bowl, it will have no choice. The Irish will be without star tight end Michael Mayer, who as expected is headed to the NFL after a brilliant college career. Notre Dame will also be without quarterback Drew Pyne, who jumped in the transfer portal after starting the final 10 games of the season.

There are other departures, and of course the offense returns quarterback Tyler Buchner, who began the season as the starter before going down with a shoulder injury during the loss to Marshall. Notre Dame also gets back freshman wideout Tobias Merriweather, who missed the last three games of the regular season with a concussion.

Personnel changes alone will force Notre Dame to look much different offensively in the bowl game, but those changes need to go far beyond personnel. In our latest show we break down the different areas we want to see Notre Dame make changes in the bowl game in hopes of building around its talent and also sending it into the offseason with some much-needed momentum.

Here is a look at the topics we discussed in the show:

1. Personnel Groupings - Notre Dame was a very heavy 12 and 13 personnel team in the fall, which meant the tight end position was a major focal point. With Mayer gone, Cane Berrong in the portal and both Eli Raridon and Kevin Bauman out with injuries the Irish can't afford to be so 12-13 personnel driven.

That means we need to see more 11 personnel (1 back, 1 tight end, 3 receivers) as the wide receiver group gets back to full strength. That means we need to see more 21 personnel (2 backs, 1 tight end, 2 receivers), which at times this season was Notre Dame's most dynamic personnel grouping. There can and should still be some 12 personnel in the game, but getting more speed on the field and more back and receivers better suits the current strengths of the roster.

2. Mix Up The Run Game - This is something we've discussed all season, but it's especially needed if the offense isn't able to be so multiple tight end dominant. Being in 12 personnel so much allowed the Irish to run their Duo concept over and over in different ways. It's hard to justify that being such a focal point if the offense has to use more 11 and 21 personnel. Duo can and will remain a key aspect of the ground attack, but mixing it up more with zones, counters and some outside runs is a must in the bowl game.

3. Attack The Width Of The Field - Notre Dame's heavy use of tight ends made them a team that was heavily focused on the box area and playing inside the numbers. That shrunk the space defenses had to cover and consistently allowed defenses to get more and more numbers near the box, which mean more numbers to stop the run game. 

Notre Dame needs to change that in a hurry, and it doesn't just come with more wideouts and backs on the field. Schematically, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees needs to implement more RPOs, screens, quicks and drop backs concepts that allow the offense to attack the perimeter of the field with far greater frequency.

Consider that Notre Dame's quarterbacks attempted just 100 passes outside of the numbers all season (Pro Football Focus). Jack Coan attempted 89 passes outside the numbers to the right side of the field by himself last season, and the Irish quarterbacks all combined for 99 throws outside the numbers to the right side alone. I'll have more on this in a stand alone feature later, but needless to say the Irish need to get the ball outside with far greater frequency.

The personnel that I expect to see, and that Notre Dame needs to employ, suits this much better. That includes the quarterback.

This not only allows playmakers like Tobias Merriweather, Deion Colzie, Lorenzo Styles and Chris Tyree to get more touches in space, it gives the running game, and inside pass concepts to the tight ends and Jayden Thomas, a lot more room to work.

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