Notre Dame football: Offensive Grades vs. Syracuse
Notre Dame football: Offensive Grades vs. Syracuse
Offensive Line
The injuries showed up in a big way this week, and that’s a shame because they held it together well last week against North Carolina. It turns out that three centers, and because the third center was Josh Lugg it also meant three right guards in as many weeks.
This week, against a good and experienced defensive line, those injuries reared their ugly head.
The pocket was collapsing earlier than usual, but without the usual gaps for Book to squeeze out of to scramble. This led to him taking two sacks and Syracuse grabbing seven tackles for loss. This, mixed with wide receivers not getting open quick enough, led to the slow start for Notre Dame.
Perhaps the biggest concern was the botched center-quarterback exchange that led to a Syracuse fumble recovery. This type of mistake can’t happen against good teams, and will always be a concern as long as Jarrett Patterson is out.
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The Irish have an extra bye week to get this issue figured out, but it is concerning. By the end of the game, the running game got rolling behind the line, but after the early struggles it doesn’t make up for the rest of the game.
Grade= C+