Notre Dame Football: Regular Season Grades (Offense)

The Notre Dame football team finished the season ranked 22nd in the country in scoring offense. They scored an average of 35.3 points per contest. Pending the bowl game, this will eclipse the Brian Kelly’s high-water mark in South Bend. Previously, the Irish scored a high of 34.2 points per game in 2015.

So, why does it feel that the offense left points on the board? First, this is an extremely talented group. The starters likely feature seven or eight future NFL players. Second, the end of the season clouds our overall judgment.

Here are the final regular season grades for the Fighting Irish offense.

Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame’s starter for 11 of the 12 games, completed only 49.8% of his passes. That statistic alone is a great indication of how poorly Wimbush played.

However, this would not tell the entire story. Wimbush total a 16-6 touchdown to interception ration. Add his rushing touchdowns, this ratio expands to 30-6.

His ability to run the football was deadly for the majority of the season. In the 11 games, Wimbush ran for 765 yards. Again, this does not paint an entire picture. The fear of Wimbush running forced several opposing defensive coordinators to focus too much on No. 7. This allowed Josh Adams to break several big runs.

Wimbush will be remembered for his inability to throw the ball. This limited Notre Dame in big games. Against Miami (FL) and Stanford in particular, his poor play led to the quick demise of the Fighting Irish. In the future, Wimbush may overcome these deficients. As for now, his lack of accuracy will be what he is known for.