A Look Back: The Notre Dame Offense, Overreaction Or Not?

There are several take aways after a football team loses. Notre Dame dropped their season opener to Miami on Sunday night 27-24. The offense, while showing some flashes, failed to get off to a hot start in the first half which put them behind the eight ball to force, yet another, second half come back. There have been multiple reactions to this disappointing season opener for the Irish, some are understandable and some are slight overreactions.

As disappointing as the loss was, it's still week one, and if there's anything we learned about Notre Dame from last season, the story isn't over until it's over. Here's a look at what I believe are and aren't overreactions for Notre Dame's offense in their week one matchup against the Hurricanes.

Overreactions

The Loss Was On Mike Denbrock - Let's start off by saying, this was not the offensive coordinator's best night calling plays for the Irish. Personnel usage was a bit questionable at times, and the lack of downfield attempts was interesting, until you dove into the film. Let's start off with the obvious complaint from fans, overusing "screens". The quick hitters thrown to the outside weren't all designed screen passes called in from the sideline, they were RPO's (run-pass options). There were moments in the game, the interception in particular, where is would have behooved the starting quarterback to hand the ball off instead of pulling and throwing the screen.

With that being said, an adjustment should have been made much earlier to remove the 'RPO' tag from the play and just call a designed run. The play calling on the first drive was sound and was meant to get CJ Carr in a rhythm. Unfortunately, it took the offense until there was a 21-7 deficit to start involving one of the best players in college football, running back Jeremiyah Love. Again, the play calling wasn't ideal throughout the night, but being handicapped by an offensive line that struggled mightily in pass protection would put any offensive coordinator at a disadvantage.

Eli Raridon Isn't The Guy At Tight End - Ending the night with three drops isn't ideal for any player, let alone a guy with as lofty expectations as Notre Dame's No. 1 tight end. Raridon had an up and down night. On paper, he finished the night with five receptions on nine targets and had 97 receiving yards. Raridon also recorded three drops Sunday night which was three more than the next Fighting Irish pass catcher. That side of the performance was disappointing, but his 65-yard catch and run also set Notre Dame up in the red zone for Carr's game-tying touchdown run.

Raridon's performance will have to get cleaned up, no doubt about it. His final yardage total Sunday night was also the first time a Notre Dame tight end has ended with over 90 receiving yards since Mitchell Evans against Duke in 2023. The drops are inexcusable and the 6-7, 252-pound Iowa native will have to execute at a higher level over the course of the season. With that being said, it's an overreaction to say that he's overrated or 'not the guy we thought he would be' after game one where he finished with 97 receiving yards.

Not An Overreaction

Put Up Or Shut Up Time For The Offensive Line - Four of the five starting offensive lineman in week one of 2024 started in week one of 2025. Last season, they brought six career starts to the table; this season the offensive line returned 52 career starts ahead of their matchup against Miami. Here's the concern: pass protection regressed significantly against a defensive line with comparable talent to Texas A&M's when the offensive line had a year more of experience. The performance from both offensive tackles, one a redshirt junior captain and the other a former Freshman All-American was disappointing and subpar to say the least.

The interior of the offensive line's performance was nothing to write home about, and will also have to improve as the season progresses. The lack of protection around their redshirt freshman was concerning. Yes, it's week one and yes Notre Dame started against a Top 10 opponent, but these issues didn't just appear for Joe Rudolph's unit Sunday night. Pass protection had been a significant concern all throughout 2024, and 2025 has not gotten off to a hot start. This unit is in pure 'show me' mode until proven otherwise. They will have another opportunity to right the ship against the Aggies on September 13.

Notre Dame Has Their Quarterback Of The Future - One of the few bright spots from Sunday's performance was that of Carr, the redshirt freshman quarterback in his first collegiate start. There were some questions around his ability to handle the moment and the pressure. Well, the Michigan native found his team down 21-7 in the third quarter and, after throwing an interception, led two consecutive scoring drives to tie the game 24-24 late in the fourth quarter.

His abilities as a passer and play maker were on full display hitting Malachi Fields on a 26-yard back shoulder, Raridon for a 65-yard catch and run and a scramble play in the red zone where he hit redshirt freshman Micah Gilbert for the first touchdown of the 2025 season. Carr has a ways to go before he's a finished product, but the 6-3, 210-pound quarterback showcased and proved that he was 'as advertised' in the offseason. He will have to continue to build on this performance, but he's off to a hot start early in his career.

Questionable Usage Of The Running Backs - Notre Dame is home to one of the best backfields in the country. Love and redshirt junior Jadarian Price are two of college football's premier running backs and one of the best duos in the country. Love had five total touches in the first half and the offense was only able to put up seven points. Price, on the other hand, was the work horse on Notre Dame's first scoring drive of the game which lasted 11 plays and went for 68 yards. On that drive, Price had 45 of those yards then proceeded to not touch the football again the rest of the game.

Love got more involved as the game went on and had nine touches in the second half, all of them coming in the fourth quarter. The usage of the running backs was questionable, and somewhat of a head scratcher. Some of that was due to Carr pulling and throwing the RPO screen, but Denbrock will have to do a better job moving forward of getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers at running back.

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