Notre Dame Football: 3 biggest questions for Irish on offense in 2021
By Andrew Hall
Will Notre Dame football change its offensive identity?
Last year, the Fighting Irish rode their offensive line and tight ends to the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame rushed for 211.08 yards per contest while playing 12, or sometimes 13 personnel for the majority of the year.
This was the right and obvious course of action. The offensive line collectively possessed over 100 college starts, and the trio of Tommy Tremble, Brock Wright, and Michael Mayer was better than any other group of tight ends in the nation.
Running and possessing the ball was exactly what the 2020 Notre Dame football team needed to do, but, what does the 2021 team need? Does the Irish coaching staff shift to better utilize their strengths, or try to continue with a physical rushing attack?
The strengths of the 2021 offense are less obvious. Notre Dame’s offense features a veteran quarterback, a proven running back, and an extremely talented sophomore tight end. Beyond those stalwarts, there are many unproven players at wide receiver and offensive line.
However, the wide receiver corps could be a huge strength for the team (stop me if you’ve read that before).
In other words, will the Irish be more aggressive in 2021? The offensive line will begin the season – regardless of who starts – with at best the second-most starts during the Brian Kelly era. The strength of the offense is clearly not in trying to dominate the line of scrimmage, and Notre Dame could utilize more 11-personnel and play an uptempo style with the available talent.