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Notre Dame football: Offensive line short-handed against UNC

By Brad Weiss

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 28: Tommy Kraemer #78 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish blocks against Bradley Chubb #9 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium on October 28, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 28: Tommy Kraemer #78 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish blocks against Bradley Chubb #9 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium on October 28, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame football team will be without two stars along the offensive line, as Tommy Kraemer joined Jarrett Patterson are out against North Carolina.

The Notre Dame football team was already going to be without Jarrett Patterson moving forward, and now it looks like his fellow interior lineman, Tommy Kraemer, will be out as well. Kraemer had an appendectomy after the Boston College win, as first reported by Irish Illustrated, and will miss the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday night.

Kraemer, who is one of the better offensive guards in the ACC, has no timetable as to when he will return, and without him, the Irish are going to be thin on the interior.

What will the starting lineup look like?

Playing against a high-powered offense like the one North Carolina has, the Irish are going to have to put points on the board in bunches. Going into the matchup without two of their starters is not ideal, especially when they are players as talented as Kraemer and Patterson.

Still, there is depth along the offensive line, and the Irish should be able to score against a porous North Carolina even with those guys out. Looking ahead, this is what the starting offensive line against the Tar Heels could look:

  • LT Liam Eichenberg
  • LG Aaron Banks
  • C Zeke Correll
  • RG Josh Lugg
  • RT Robert Hainsey

The Irish still have their dominant bookends in Eichenberg and Hainsey, two guys likely ticketed for the 2021 NFL Draft. The issue is in the middle of the offensive line, so holes for the likes of Kyren Williams and C’Bo Flemister could be hard to come by on Friday.

Next. Notre Dame football: 3 things to avoid against North Carolina. dark

With three unranked teams on the schedule to close out the season, Notre Dame needs to just take care of business before a likely rematch against Clemson in the ACC title game. As of now, they are a shoe-in for the College Football Playoff, but we will see where they land when the first rankings are announced on Tuesday, November 24.

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