Five thoughts: Over-reliance on Mitchell Evans hurts Notre Dame pass game
On third-and-13, late in the third quarter, Notre Dame graduate quarterback Sam Hartman delivered a strike to junior tight end Mitchell Evans for 24 yards. It was a dart. A laser. And it was a first down the Irish desperately needed.
But after the play, fellow Blue & Gold Illustrated beat writer Tyler Horka and I looked at each other and said the same thing: Hartman stared down Evans to a concerning extent. His eyes never left Evans throughout the entire route, half-pump faking multiple times before the suddenly elite tight end finally flashed open.
When Hartman has needed a throw recently, either in the fourth quarter, on third down or both, he’s only been looking for Evans. Louisville caught on late in the game, which is why Hartman’s throws on third and fourth-and-11 on Notre Dame’s most pivotal possession fell incomplete.
It’s also at least part of why 2 of Evans’ 6 targets in the fourth quarter were intercepted (one was a poor throw by Hartman). The all-Evans passing offense is unsustainable, but it’s happening because he’s the only pass-catcher with Hartman’s trust.
2. Play calling wasn’t good, but far from the root of the problem
In the first half, Notre Dame fans ripped offensive coordinator Gerad Parker for being too cute on third-and-short, resulting in a botched handoff to senior receiver Chris Tyree. In the second half, they ripped him for running up the middle on third-and-short, which got stuffed.
By itself, criticizing Parker for either is justified. And for sure, he did not call a great game. Some of the third-down calls did not make sense. But Parker didn’t fail to block anyone on those third downs. He did not drop a touchdown pass in the third quarter (Tyree did). He did not commit a disastrous facemask penalty that wiped out a chunk play (junior right tackle Blake Fisher did). He did not throw 3 interceptions.
Play calling is an easy scapegoat because it seems like an easy fix. Call better plays and everything will be fine. That’s not the case here. The offense is broken, and that, of course, falls at least in part on Parker as well.
3. Offensive line rotation made no sense
Notre Dame worked sophomore guard Billy Schrauth and graduate interior offensive lineman Andrew Kristofic into the game at left and right guard (Schrauth) and center (Kristofic) in the second quarter. Irish coach Marcus Freeman explained why after the game.
“We have to get better at the guard position,” Freeman said. “That was something that was evident last game, and we said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna roll some guys at the guard position.’”
I disagree with Freeman’s logic for two reasons. No. 1, that is an extreme overreaction to the Duke game. Juniors Rocco Spindler and Pat Coogan played very well against Ohio State and had been improving every week. If you play first-year starters, you have to let them have the occasional rough game.
And second, if you’re going to replace an offensive lineman, replace an offensive lineman. O-line play depends heavily on cohesion and five players working as one unit. Rotating the guards is a half-measure that messes with that cohesion and does more harm than good.
4. Concerning signs for run defense were real
They were there in the first half against Central Michigan, and they showed up in spots against Ohio State and Duke. Notre Dame’s run defense, when it isn’t 100 percent assignment-sound, can be gashed by a running back with good vision and great top speed. It can miss key tackles and its linebackers’ lack of elite speed can show up at the worst times.
That’s what happened on Louisville’s first drive and on redshirt junior running back Jawhar Jordan’s two long touchdown runs. Notre Dame actually did well enough to hold Jordan down for a good portion of the game, but those lapses that the Irish are prone to were lethal against such an explosive back.
The lack of discipline — a needless facemask on graduate linebacker Marist Liufau — that Irish fans saw against Duke was costly, too.
“We can’t have that, man,” Freeman said. “You finally get them off the field, we get a facemask, … We missed the tackle in the hole and again, he scored again. So we got to clean up every aspect of it, not just the touchdown, but the plays that led to the touchdown.”
5. What does Notre Dame have to play for?
A lot. Just not the College Football Playoff.
USC is not unbeatable. It is if Notre Dame plays offense like it did the past three games, but the Trojans almost lost to Arizona at home Saturday night. The rivalry means something. Finishing 10-2 or 9-3, winning a bowl game, entering Year 3 under Freeman with positivity — all of that would mean something.
None of that will happen if the Irish don’t fix the issues they had tonight and, frankly, have had for three weeks. Notre Dame has five more games to turn it around.
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