Notre Dame Football Compliments, Criticisms & Conclusions vs Virginia

Conclusions

The Irish Pass Rush Is Elite

Concern regarding the legitimacy of the Notre Dame pass rush was growing as the season progressed and the defense failed to record many sacks, especially from their two highly touted defensive ends, Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara. Those two put any concerns to bed with a dominant performance against Virginia, tallying five and a half sacks, five quarterback pressures and a forced fumble between them.

While they led the charge, it wasn’t just Okwara and Kareem getting pressure. The Irish received a sack from Jamir Jones, one from Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and half sacks from Ovie Oghoufo, Jacob Lacey and Kurt Hinish, bringing their sack total to a whopping eight on the day.

In addition, they were able to produce three forced fumbles on strip sacks of Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins. The Notre Dame pass rush showed that it is legitimate and that the Irish are deep with pass rushing playmakers across their depth chart. Look for Clark Lea’s defense to continue to dominate the pass rush going forward, setting the tone for the Irish defense.

Injuries Sustained Against Virginia Could Have Major Implications

Despite a victory against Virginia, Notre Dame suffered some potentially major losses due to injury. The most critical and gruesome injury was sustained by cornerback Shaun Crawford. NBC did not show a replay of the injury, as they deemed to be too grotesque in nature. That said, photos can be found on the internet and it is in fact a very disturbing image, that is not for those with weak stomachs.

The injury to Crawford is extremely unfortunate for a plethora of reasons.  First and foremost, it is extremely upsetting to see another major injury occur to Crawford. He has sustained two season ending ACL injuries and a season ending achilles tear already in his collegiate career and managed to work his way back to a starting role, as a graduate student, with the Irish this year.  While no official word has been released regarding the nature and severity of the injury, the photo of it seems like it is likely a season ending injury, as arms do not naturally bend and remain in the position that Crawford’s did.

(Update: Crawford will only miss 3-4 weeks)

This is a difficult blow to the Irish defense, as Crawford is their top cornerback and has shown lockdown coverage and playmaking ability this year upon his return from injury. Tariq Bracy did step up in Crawford’s absence and filled in admirably, but he lacks the experience of Crawford.

In addition to Crawford’s injury, Daelin Hayes sustained a shoulder injury in the first quarter that kept him from returning to the game. Also, Irish top wide receiver Chase Claypool suffered an ankle injury on a catch in the second quarter. While he was able to return and contribute, he was clearly unable to make cuts on the injured ankle, as he fell down trying to cut on one passing target and did not look like his usual self post injury.

Again, no official word has come out regarding either of these injuries, but it would seem to be prudent to sit both against Bowling Green in an effort to have them healthy for upcoming games against USC and Michigan.

The Irish Need To Find Consistency On Offense Moving Forward

While Notre Dame was able to come away with a major victory against the 18th ranked Cavaliers of Virginia, there are still a lot of questions and concerns swirling around their offensive capabilities. The Irish have seemed incapable of getting their entire offense to operate effectively and efficiently against any quality opponent this year.

While the running game was surprisingly effective against Virginia, the passing game was pathetic. Against Georgia, the offense was extremely stagnant until the fourth quarter. If the Irish hope to contend for a national championship, they cannot hope to only rely on their defense coming up big in every game. Notre Dame has to have its offense produce scoring against good teams. That has not happened in back to back weeks against ranked teams.

Hopefully, the Irish can work out some of the kinks in their offense against Bowling Green and use the performance to springboard into consecutive tough matchups against ranked opponents in USC and Michigan. If they aren’t able to get their offense working efficiently and effectively, it is not hard to imagine a game where the Irish lose because their defense has an off day and the offense continues to underperform.

While the matchup against Bowling Green is not expected to have major implications, perhaps utilizing the weaker matchup to fix a struggling offense may hold the biggest implications for the aspirations of the Irish