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Notre Dame Football: 5 Players who need to step up in the second half

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 07: Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly is interviewed by ESPN College Gameday hosts Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor during a live broadcast from Notre Dame Stadium before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Clemson Tigers on November 7, 2020 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 07: Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly is interviewed by ESPN College Gameday hosts Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor during a live broadcast from Notre Dame Stadium before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Clemson Tigers on November 7, 2020 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images) /
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BLACKSBURG, VA – OCTOBER 09: Notre Dame football Fighting Irish players celebrate after a touchdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the first half of the game at Lane Stadium on October 9, 2021, in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BLACKSBURG, VA – OCTOBER 09: Notre Dame football Fighting Irish players celebrate after a touchdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the first half of the game at Lane Stadium on October 9, 2021, in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

The Notre Dame football team kicks off the second half of their season next weekend, and here are five members of the Irish who must step up.

Notre Dame football has to be one of the most anxiety-inducing 5-1 teams in the country. They’ve struggled with some bad teams, had one of the strangest endings ever against Wisconsin, before losing to the now third-ranked team in the country at home.

The whole time, there has been question after question, including trying to deal with the big plays allowed by the defense and the quarterback slot.

Part of the issue is that this team doesn’t have an identity that we’re used to. They’re not built around a dominant offensive line and a downhill running game. They’re built around some great offensive weapons and distributing the ball to those weapons. On defense, they’re a chaos-based team and not a smothering defense.

The College Football Playoff is probably off the table, as Notre Dame needs to go unbeaten to make it unless true chaos ahead of the Irish occurs in the polls. Still, a New Year’s Six Bowl is certainly on the table. Winning one of those games would be a massive accomplishment.

First, you have to get there, though, and the Irish will need several players to step up to get there. Here are just a handful of the players who need to step up for Notre Dame to reach their goals in the second half of the season:

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