Notre Dame Football: Grading the Irish offense against New Mexico

It took awhile for the Notre Dame football team to get rolling against New Mexico, but the Irish erupted for 66 points against the Lobos.

Notre Dame football finally came home to South Bend on Saturday, looking to answer some significant questions ahead of its game with Georgia next week. The Irish offense had its struggles, but eventually relied upon big plays to get going en route to beating the Lobos. Here is how each position group fared:

Quarterback

Ian Book still looked like he had a case of happy feet early against New Mexico. Early, Book struggled with what he saw against New Mexico, often looking uncomfortable against the Lobo pass rush.

That changed quickly, however.

When the Irish were able to hit on big plays, Book seemed to settle in. His two final throws–a touch pass in the face of pressure to Tommy Tremble and a back-shoulder fade to Javon McKinley–had the Irish quarterback looking like his old self.

Book played well. For this one, he gets a B+, but his stock is rising at the right time.

Running Backs

With the running back position very thin amid injuries to Jafar Armstrong and Jahmir Smith, the Irish looked to the passing game in this one. No Irish back carried the ball more than 7 times.

Avery Davis made his return to the running back position, took a touch pass after jet sweep motion and went 59 yards to the house, which was the bright spot for the running back position.

The Irish likely wanted to preserve the health of their running backs ahead of next week’s matchup. The Irish ball carriers get a B in this one, but will have many more opportunities next week.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

While it’s next to impossible to get a perfect score, the Irish receivers came pretty close in this one. Surely there were a couple plays left on the field, but overall, the receivers carried the load of the offense on this day.

Chase Claypool looked like a number one receiver, Chris Finke proved he still is slippery, and Javon McKinley’s emergence as a playmaker was a welcome sight for Irish fans. They get an A for their performance on Saturday. 

Offensive Line

It wasn’t a clean report card by any means, but the Irish were good enough to get the job done against a New Mexico defense that was clearly out-manned up front. Still, the Irish left a little bit to be desired. Notre Dame struggled in short-yardage situations trying to run the ball.

The offensive line wasn’t really able to fire off the ball and be aggressive in asserting their will on Saturday. They’ll have to be better next week. They get a B- for their performance on Saturday.