42 days until Notre Dame football: Can Irish bounce back in scoring offense?

BlueandGold.com will release a countdown article highlighting a significant Fighting Irish football statistic every day until the 2023 Notre Dame season opener against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 26. Today, there are 42 days until the Fighting Irish and Midshipmen kick off at Aviva Stadium.

Notre Dame ranked 42nd in the nation in points per game in 2022. The Irish scored 31.77 points per game, their fewest total since recording 31.38 points per game in 2018.

There are reasons to believe Notre Dame will improve upon last year’s mark in 2023. They start with Wake Forest quarterback transfer Sam Hartman. Last year, the Demon Deacons ranked 16th in the country at 36.08 points per game. In 2021, Wake placed 4th nationally in points per game at 41.0 points per game. Hartman was a major factor in getting the Deacs to those finishes.

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The question is, how much can a significant upgrade at quarterback help Notre Dame in putting points on the board? Hartman will work with a largely inexperienced wide receiver contingent. The running back room has much to prove behind junior Audric Estimé. The tight ends are even less experienced than the wide receivers. And the offensive line is not set in stone with both guard positions up for grabs just six Saturdays away from the Aug. 26 season-opener vs. Navy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

All of that, plus a change in scenery that will surely take some getting used to once the season starts, make it seem farfetched for Hartman to match what he did the last two seasons at Wake. That is, average 304.96 passing yards and 38.5 touchdowns per year.

Only two Notre Dame quarterbacks have ever averaged more than 300 passing yards per game in a single season; Brady Quinn with 326.6 in 2005 and Jimmy Clausen with 310.2 in 2009. As much as the odds are stacked against him, Hartman still has as good of a shot to become the third as anyone since Clausen became the second. Gunslingers sling the rock. Hartman is a gunslinger.

The better Hartman fares, the better the odds are Notre Dame will improve upon a national ranking of 42nd in scoring offense. It’s not rocket science. Notre Dame knew it had a quarterback problem, so the Irish went and secured a prized possession from the transfer portal. Just for this very reason — to score more points and win more games.

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