Notre Dame football vs Toledo: Offensive Grades for 2021 Week 2

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Sep 11, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Kyren Williams (23) celebrates with wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. (4) after scoring on a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter against the Toledo Rockets at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame football vs Toledo: Offensive Grades for 2021 Week 2

Running Backs

The running game is not what it was a year ago, but you can only put so much of the blame on these Irish running backs. The edge is a mess. Running off tackle is almost impossible, and it’s forcing the backs to go east and west, losing yards oftentimes.

Really, there are only a couple of ways for this offense to gain yards on the ground right now. You can settle for three yards and a cloud of dust up the middle, or bring in Tyler Buchner and force the defense to respect the read-option game.

It’s not an ideal situation to be in.

A lot was asked of the running backs in pass protection, again because the offensive line couldn’t do its job in pass protection. Williams was, as usual, strong here. He wasn’t perfect, though. In the receiving game, the running backs played a key role.

Kyren Williams in the screen game was used to pick up key first downs, while Chris Tyree was explosive catching Tyler Buchner’s first touchdown pass at Notre Dame.

These are good, talented, and smart running backs. They’re capable of being better than they have through two weeks. The offensive line’s failures don’t help, but the Irish need to find a way to stay balanced in their offensive sets.

A late Kyren Williams fumble did put the defense in a bad spot, which ended in Toledo taking a late lead, but that was really the only issue that was solely the running backs’ fault.

Grade: C+

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