Notre Dame Football: 3 Bold Predictions for the Michigan Game
By Chase Eyrich
Notre Dame will rush for over 250 yards.
Last season Notre Dame dominated the run game. It’s where the Irish found most of their success.
That was with Josh Adams trucking through everything thanks to Quentin Nelson and Mike McGlinchey opening up holes you could drive a truck through.
With all three players now in the NFL, none of that matters.
It also doesn’t matter that the Irish lost all three either because the ground game will still dominate.
Yes, Notre Dame’s offensive line is inexperienced in ways. Losing Nelson and McGlinchey is hard. They are irreplaceable talent. Yet, there are three starters returning. On top of that, there will be all but one upperclassman on the line regardless of if Tommy Kraemer bounces between spots.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
As far as the ball handler, Tony Jones Jr. is going to be ready. Last season he averaged over five yards a carry and with more reps, he will be able to shock some people. Jafar Armstrong, the receiver turned running back is very athletic and displayed that in the Blue and Gold game.
Outside of the running back committee, we cannot forget about the running ability of Brandon Wimbush. Last season Wimbush averaged 5.7 yards per rush as well as a team-high 14 rushing TD’s.
The Irish will have a balanced offensive attack thankfully for the talented receiving core. This opens up the Irish for a solid rushing performance.
The stats may say Michigan has a top tier defense. And they will be solid – but not deserving of all this hype just yet. The Wolverines defense failed to prove themselves against the quality teams they played last season.
South Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State all had their way with Michigan one way or another. Michigan lost every game.
Yes – Michigan has a respectable defense. But we must also remember that last season Notre Dame put up more than 350 yards in 10 games. The Irish even posted over 600 yards of total offense three times and 700 in one.
Notre Dame has ways to frustrate Michigan’s defense and the run game will be a huge part of that.