Notre Dame football: Irish offensive line to be tested against Oklahoma State
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team has gotten great play from the offensive line since the bye week, but they will have their hands full against Oklahoma State.
The Notre Dame football team looked like it was going to be a lost season early on, as they struggled against the likes of Purdue and Toledo, and then lost at home to Cincinnati. It was clear there were major issues on the roster, especially along the offensive line, where the pressure was getting to Jack Coan nearly every time he dropped back.
It was the injury to Blake Fisher in the opener against Florida State that did the most damage, and the Irish would go on to have a revolving door at the left tackle position. Finally, they made the move to Joe Alt at left tackle and inserted Andrew Kristofic at left guard, two moves that completely changed the narrative upfront.
With this line in place, the Irish offense began to roll, and running back Kyren Williams went back to looking like he did in 2020. Coan was more comfortable in the pocket, and played extremely efficient quarterback down the stretch, as Notre Dame football went back to being one of the top-5 teams in the country.
Their play late in the year rocketed them up to No. 5 in the final College Football Playoff ranking and earned them a spot in a New Years Six Bowl Game against Oklahoma State. Against the Cowboys, this offensive line will be tested early and often, and hopefully, they will continue to excel.
Notre Dame football to face a tough pass rush against Oklahoma State
The Cowboys have two players who can come off the edge in Collin Oliver and Brock Martin, so it is not like the Irish have to worry about only one side of the line. Coan showed this season that he can be an elite quarterback with time, and we saw the emergence of some real deep threat weapons once he was able to push the ball downfield.
Oliver is only a freshman, and outside of him and Martin, the Cowboys also have Tyler Lacy, who was an honorable mention All-Big 12 last season.
One other piece to this puzzle is the return of Fisher, as he looks healthy, and could slide into the starting lineup for the bowl game. The plan should be to put him at right tackle, leaving Alt on the left side, as Coan is comfortable with him there, and he has proven to be more than capable of protecting his blindside since being inserted into the starting lineup.
No matter what the starting line looks like, this is going to be a huge test and could be the key to them winning or losing on New Years Day.