Notre Dame Offense Needs To Get Right Against Wake Forest

Notre Dame's offense has been a strange unit in 2023, and it will need to find some answers in the final two games of the season. At times the unit has been dynamic and explosive, with the offense scoring at least 41 points in six of the team's games this season. But at other times the offense has failed to move the ball against better teams on the schedule.

Notre Dame is on pace for some of its best statistical performances in a very long time, but when it mattered most the unit simply wasn't good enough. What unit will show up in the final two games? That remains to be seen, but the Wake Forest defense provides it with an opportunity to get back on track.

Notre Dame's rush attack has been arguably the biggest disappointment this season. Running back Audric Estime has been good when given the opportunities, but overall the run game has not been nearly as good as it should have been. Notre Dame has not reached 190 rushing yards since a Sept. 16 victory over Central Michigan, and in all but two games during that stretch the offense failed to even get to 160 yards.

Wake Forest's run defense isn't dynamic and it's undersized, but it is a scrappy group. Only two opponents have gone over 200 yards, and only four opponents have gone for more than 141 yards in a game. Only one opponent - NC State - has averaged more than 4.94 yards per carry against the Deacon offense. Notre Dame has only gone for 5.0 yards or more per carry once in the last six games, and that was fueled by two Sam Hartman scrambles in the pass game.

Notre Dame's run game will certainly be tested by Wake Forest, who is going to attack first-time starters Billy Schrauth and Ashton Craig, assuming Craig fills in for the injured Zeke Correll. They'll need to be prepared to handle the pre-snap movement Wake Forest is going to show as well as the post-snap stunts they will likely utilize against the new-look Irish line.

If Notre Dame can get its ground attack rolling it will take some pressure off the pass game and give the offense a chance to establish the balance it needs to thrive.

This is an area where Notre Dame should thrive if you simply go by statistics. The Irish offense ranks in the Top 25 nationally in yards per attempt, yards per completion and pass efficiency. Of course, those numbers have been fueled by early season success against inferior opponents, and the pass game hasn't looked like that kind of dynamic group much in the last two months.

Injuries to tight end Mitchell Evans as well as to wide receiver Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie have sapped the receiving corps of much of its experience. The staff put the burden of carrying the pass game on freshmen Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores Jr., who have struggled as leading men.

Wake Forest's pass defense has struggled much of the season, and its current numbers are inflated by its last two games against Duke and NC State offenses that aren't doing much passing this time of the year. Wake Forest has given up over 300 yards through the air four times this season, including a three-game stretch against Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Florida State.

Notre Dame needs Hartman to get back to his early season form, and to being the aggressive player that allowed him to rewrite the Wake Forest record books. It will be up to the staff to find better and more creative ways to get the weapons that are still around more involved. Notre Dame has a chance to beat Wake Forest through the air, but it might not be as easy as it should be when you look at the numbers.

Wake Forest's defense is better than its numbers otherwise show, but it is not a unit that would stop a Notre Dame offense that is handling its business. Unfortunately, we don't know what version of the Notre Dame offense will show up. Will it be the group that struggled to score against Ohio State, Duke, Louisville and Clemson? Or will it be the unit that averaged over 50 points in back-to-back wins over USC and Pitt, and averaged 46 points per game in the first four games of the season?

We'll find out Saturday afternoon, but Notre Dame needs the latter group to show up if it is going to build some much-needed offensive momentum to end the season.

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