Report Card: Grading Notre Dame football in Irish loss to Ohio State
For the first time in 2023, we have a Notre Dame loss to dissect in the Blue & Gold report card. This is how we graded the No. 9 Fighting Irish (4-1) in all phases of a 17-14 loss to the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0.)
Notre Dame Passing Offense: C+
There just wasn’t enough of a dynamic element to the Notre Dame passing game. Quarterback Sam Hartman only averaged 7.0 yards per attempt after going into the game with a top-five national ranking of 11.8. He finished the day 17-of-25 for 175 yards with 1 touchdown.
Hartman didn’t throw any interceptions, so he still has a clean sheet for the entire season, but he only got a season-low seven pass-catchers involved. Tight end Mitchell Evans was by far his favorite target with 7 snags for 75 yards, and freshman wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. caught the lone score.
Fall camp starters Chris Tyree, Jayden Thomas and Tobias Merriweather combined for 3 catches for 38 yards. That won’t get it done. The only running back who caught a pass was sophomore Gi’Bran Payne; he had 2 receptions for 6 yards.
The best part of the Notre Dame aerial attack was the pass protection. The offensive line did its job. Hartman and the wideouts struggled against a better secondary than they’d seen all year.
Notre Dame Rushing Offense: B-
The Irish get dinged for inconsistency here.
Audric Estimé averaged a respectable five yards per carry, but 22 of his 70 yards came on one play. He also had a 16-yard rush. Take those two away, and Estimé ran 12 times for 32 yards, an average of 2.7 yards per tote. That checked out; he was very hesitant in the Notre Dame backfield at times. He gained two or fewer yards on seven of his 14 carries.
Sophomore Jadarian Price averaged 7.1 yards per carry on three rushing attempts, and freshman Jeremiyah Love turned heads with 57 yards on eight attempts for an average of 7.1 yards per rush. Those two are the future of the Notre Dame backfield, and they looked good. But Estimé’s most pedestrian game of the season came at an inopportune time.
Notre Dame Rushing Defense: B-
It was interesting to see Ohio State go with nearly a 60/40 split on passing attempts/rushing attempts. Like Estimé, lead back TreVeyon Henderson only had 14 carries. His went for 104 yards, 61 of which came on a major touchdown that gave Ohio State a 10-0 lead in the third quarter.
Of course, then there’s the game-winner. Chip Trayanum beat an undermanned Notre Dame defensive front to the goal line before his knee went down. It could have been a lot worse for the Notre Dame rushing defense, but it could have been better. Graduate student linebacker Marist Liufau cannot lose contain on the Henderson touchdown. The Irish need to be at full strength in the final moments of the game. A little bit of self-inflicted wounding going on there.
Notre Dame Passing Defense: C
Up until the final drive of the game, maybe this would have been closer to an A. But it drops to a C because Notre Dame allowed Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord and his pass-catchers to convert on fourth and seven and third and 19 to set up the Trayanum touchdown. McCord finished 21-of-37 for 240 yards.
The Irish were also very inconsistent with their pass rush. Sustained pressure on the last drive could have salvaged a Notre Dame victory. That’s not entirely the fault of the players, though. We’ll get to coaching in a moment.
Notre Dame Special Teams: C
Notre Dame lost the game by three. Placekicker Spencer Shrader missed his only field goal attempt of the game from 47 yards out. He’s now 3-of-7 on the season.
Sophomore punter Bryce McFerson had another nice punting average of 46 yards per boot. He punted two times. Notre Dame did not record a kick or punt return. Shrader was a touchback machine again, but he needs to be more accurate in placekicking.
Notre Dame Coaching: D
Well, the 10-men on the field for the game-winning touchdown thing just can’t happen. That’s an utter failure. Notre Dame’s two fourth-down tries were utter failures too. The ball stayed in the hands of Hartman both times, and while he can run a bit, yes, he’s not the strongest, biggest or fastest signal-caller. In a one-possession game, two turnovers on downs are crushing blows.
Notre Dame went into turtle mode defensively on the final drive and only rushed three any time Ohio State had a must-get down of considerable distance. McCord diced the defense up and made Notre Dame pay for not sending more pressure his way. That’s a sequence Freeman and defensive coordinator Al Golden might want back.
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