Notre Dame football: Week 4 offensive grades vs. Wisconsin
Notre Dame football: Week 4 offensive grades vs. Wisconsin
Offensive Line
At this point, it’s an F grade until further notice for the offensive line. They’re just that bad, and it can’t get emphasized enough. This hurts every other position group on the offense. It hurts the defense because they need to be close to perfect due to this group.
Take the left tackle injuries out of it. Those are a poor excuse for the entire offensive line being terrible. Cain Madden was an All-American last season and now he looks lost. Zeke Correll and Josh Lugg experience that he isn’t using. Jarrett Patterson might be the best center in college football coming into this season and he looks like he just started playing the position in August.
That’s before you even think about the left tackle position. Blake Fisher’s injury sucked, but he was a true freshman and hopefully, he is getting healthy quickly. Michael Carmody’s injury was terrible luck, but he wasn’t good before then. Now, we have Tosh Baker at left tackle and there is no reason he should be this bad.
Baker was a highly touted recruit, with NFL size, and experience in this program. He looks like a high schooler still, though. It’s a wide-open freeway past him, and leaving him out on the field is dangerous.
Notre Dame gave up seven sacks, one of which was admittedly just Jack Coan tripping over the offensive line’s feet after being pressured. One of those sacks hurt Coan, and another forced a turnover. It could have been worse. Irish running backs gained 39 yards all day long. Once you subtract sack yardage, Notre Dame had four yards rushing. Four. Awful and embarrassing.
Grade: F