Two Major Improvements Notre Dame Needs To Make In Final 5 Games

Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr has been a sensation halfway through his first season as a starter, but he needs to get his groove back.

Throughout the middle part of the first half of the season, the Notre Dame offense was on fire. The passing offense with CJ Carr at the controls looked fairly dynamic, something not often said in reference to this unit in recent years. Notre Dame was scoring boatloads of points, and punting was rarely a consideration.

Notre Dame has continued to win games, no doubt, but Carr and the offense haven't been as "locked in" as they would like to be in regard to the passing game. Things just haven't felt as easy or in rhythm as they did back during the hot stretch of mid-September. Carr has missed some throws and reads that can be frustrating at times. This is simply the journey of a first-time starting quarterback. Development isn't perfectly linear.

Carr set his own bar high with some terrific early performances, but even when not playing at his best, he's still playing winning football. He will get better with experience. We know he's a mega talent, and I think the week break will be good for his mind and body heading into this final push.

If Notre Dame has any hope of making a deep playoff run, Carr must trend up the rest of the way and hit his rythm again. If he can, combined with Jeremiyah Love and JD Price on the ground, the Irish offense will be hard to stop.