Notre Dame Football: First Bye Week To-Do List

Notre Dame football was less than perfect in their opening game against Louisville on Monday night. The Irish now head into the first of two bye weeks this season before they play their home opener against New Mexico.

Despite leaving with a 18-point victory, the Notre Dame football trip to Louisville left us with a few more questions and concerns than we were anticipating. Fortunately for the Irish, they had an extra week off before playing New Mexico in Notre Dame Stadium on September 14th.

The biggest benefit of a bye week is usually rest. Since we are only one game into the 2019 college football season, though, the Irish are not in need of much rest. They do have plenty of things to work on. Here are a few things Notre Dame players and staff should be working on before their next game.

1. Continue to fine-tune the linebacker rotation.

Heading into the 2019 season, no position group had more questions and concerns surrounding it than the linebackers. After Monday night, there are still plenty of questions and concerns.

Clark Lea and his staff need to continue to work to find the ideal rotation for the linebackers. This is not something that can be solved in a week. It is safe to assume that rotation will be changed multiple times before the end of the season.

There were some positives from the linebackers in the Louisville game. Drew White and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the starters at the Mike and Rover positions, played well and likely solidified their spots at the top of the depth chart. Jack Lamb also played well in limited snaps and probably earned himself some more playing time moving forward.

2. Find ways to keep Kyle Hamilton on the field as much as possible.

True freshman safety Kyle Hamilton lived up to the hype that was built up during the summer. Fans and the Irish coaching staff were excited to see Hamilton play his first collegiate game, and he did not disappoint. One could say he was young, scrappy, and hungry, and he was not throwing away his shot.

Hamilton needs to play significant snaps for the Notre Dame defense in 2019. The problem is that the Irish already have two great safeties on the roster who just so happen to be team captains.

Hamilton rotates in when the starters need a quick break, but we also saw him on the field with Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott against Louisville. This was likely in a nickel or dime package.

I expect Clark Lea to continue to find ways to utilize Hamilton in his offense, and I expect he freshman to continue to improve with each game he plays.

3. Try to get a spark out of the kickoff and punt return units.

The return teams did not make any major mistakes, which is exactly what you want from them in the first game of the season. However, they did not make a positive impact on the game either.

Notre Dame’s kickoff and punt return teams have been pretty average during Brian Kelly’s tenure. Their performance against Louisville did not give us reason to believe that will change.

The Irish do not need those units to make impact plays every game, but they could definitely use a spark from the return teams when the offense is going through a lull.

Chris Finke is one of the most reliable punt returners in the country. I do not anticipate any change there.

Michael Young was set to start on the kick return team before his injury. He was replaced by true freshman running back Kyren Williams. I could see special teams coordinator Brian Polian trying a couple of other players at kick returner.

4. Work with Ian Book on returning to the level he was playing at last season.

Ian Book had a very underwhelming performance in week one. He finished the game with a decent stat line –193 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 81 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown. However, he looked uncomfortable in the pocket for most of the game, missed some relatively easy throws, did not stretch the field, and took some hits.

Book played well enough to beat Louisville, but that performance will not cut it against the better opponents on Notre Dame’s schedule.

The Irish need Book to settle down and return to the level of play he was at last season. His greatest strength is his accuracy throwing the ball. He cannot miss easy throws that could extend offensive drives.

If he settles down in the pocket, he should naturally be more accurate throwing the ball. If Notre Dame is going to have a successful season, they need Book to trust his protection and his instincts.