Notre Dame Notebook: Cain Madden Talks O-Line, Irish Not Focused On Being An Underdog

Another week and more questions about the state of Notre Dame’s offensive line were part of the agenda during Tuesday’s player media availability, but it wasn't the only intriguing topic.

Cain Madden was the spokesman for the line this week

Sixth-year senior Cain Madden said small improvements from individual players will lead to big improvements from the line. The Irish gave up six sacks against Wisconsin. Five of them came with Jack Coan in at quarterback and Drew Pyne fumbled when he was sacked, which led to a Badger field goal.

“It’s not like we’re way off,” Madden said. “It’s little things. We have to conform to detail to the small things. I think we have to stop overthinking it. We’re putting too much pressure on ourselves. We just need to go out there and play ball.”

The offensive game plan will be different against Cincinnati. The Bearcats are giving up 138 yards rushing and 161 yards passing per game. Wisconsin had the No.1 defense against the rush in the country.

The Irish knew they were going to have to pass, and the Badgers knew they would pass.

That’s why it wasn’t surprising that Notre Dame gave up six sacks. The line has been a weak spot all year. Wisconsin was ready to tee off. Notre Dame threw the ball 37 times against the Badgers and ran it 32 times. Those numbers were similar to what it did against Purdue when it ran it 34 times and passed it 32 times. Coan was sacked four times in that game. Against Toledo, there were 75 offensive plays and 39 of them were passing. Coan was sacked six times. Coan was sacked four times against Florida State. There were 35 pass attempts in that game.

Between four and six sacks seems to be the number for the Irish (4-0) - at least when Coan is playing quarterback.

Cincinnati (3-0) has four sacks and 19 tackles for losses in three games. This appears to be a game that could be more of an offensive shootout. That could mean that statistical improvement will show up in the box score in the line. 

Another factor could be who plays quarterback for the Irish. Pyne is available and Coan was listed as the No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart. He sprained his ankle against the Badgers so his status is currently uncertain. Freshman Tyler Buchner was out for the Cincinnati game and most of the Purdue game with a hamstring injury. His status is up in the air. Also, the Irish will likely have backup left tackle Michael Carmody available after he missed the last two games.

Clarence Lewis on Cam Hart

Nobody was happier for Cam Hart after he intercepted two passes against Wisconsin than position-mate Clarence Lewis. Lewis and Hart both play cornerback. Notre Dame intercepted four passes against the Badgers. They outscored them 21-3 in the fourth quarter in their 41-13 victory. The Irish have intercepted nine passes this year. Hart’s interception in the first half led to Notre Dame’s first touchdown.

“I was really happy for him,” Lewis, who has one interception, said. “I knew he was going to get one. It was just crazy how it happened. It was fun to me just to watch a brother succeed.”

Underdog Mentality

It’s a good place to be. Notre Dame opened as a 2.5 underdog at home to Cincinnati, according to PointsBet. It was down to two points by Wednesday afternoon. The Irish are ranked No. 9 by the Associated Press and Cincinnati is ranked No. 7. Notre Dame was a 6-point underdog to Wisconsin. It beat the spread by 34 points. The Irish have won 25 straight at home.

Wide receiver Braden Lenzy said he’s not paying attention to the line.

“We just focus on ourselves,” he said. “We’re aware that Cincinnati is a good team. There is a reason they are ranked high. At this point, we are just focused on ourselves. That is all we can control.”

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