Notre Dame's Young Roster Faces Tough Challenges Ahead

Notre Dame's depth will be tested the rest of 2024

Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (27) tackles Purdue Boilermakers running back Devin Mockobee (45) Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 66-7. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The injury bug has hit the Irish program hard

The timing for Notre Dame's early fall off week couldn't have been better. The Irish are beaten up physically and could definitely use the extra recovery time until getting back into action against Stanford next weekend.

How banged up is the Irish roster? While playing against Louisville, an undefeated top-15 team Notre Dame must beat to keep its season's dreams and confidence in the Freeman era alive,

Six true freshmen contributed meaningful snaps. These players were Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Loghan Thomas, Leonard Moore, and Bryce Young on defense, and Aneyas Williams and Anthonie Knapp on offense.

Notre Dame defensive lineman Bryce Young, right, celebrates after winning a NCAA college football game 31-24 between Notre Dame and Louisville at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Some short term pain for long-term gain

To ensure an invite to the CFP, Notre Dame must win each of its remaining regular season games. This would not be an easy task under any scenario, doing so with nearly a dozen injuries to key contributors will only make running the table more challenging.

There is a massive bright side though. While there will be many "rookie mistakes" made by this group as they play out of necessity for the rest of the season, these players will develop quickly and grow together as teammates way ahead of schedule.

This experience will pay dividends for the Notre Dame program down the road for certain, there will just be some natural growing pains along the way.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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