Notre Dame football: Reasonable expectations for the Irish against UNLV
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team takes on UNLV at home in Week 8, and here are some reasonable expectations for the Irish.
On Saturday, the Notre Dame football team will look to push their record back above .500, as they welcome the UNLV Rebels to Notre Dame Stadium. For the Irish, the loss to the Stanford Cardinal last weekend was devastating, as they appeared to have their season back on track with three straight victories.
Instead, it was another bad loss for Marcus Freeman and his staff, losses that are starting to pile up in his first season at the helm of the program. Now, they look to take on the UNLV Rebels at home, and here are some reasonable expectations for the Irish in this one.
Notre Dame football: Reasonable expectations for the Irish against UNLV
Drew Pyne returns to form
The loss to the Stanford Cardinal was not only shocking in terms of how the entire team played but shocking even more considering how Drew Pyne played. Going into that matchup, Pyne had been a bright spot for the Irish, leading them to three straight wins in his first three starts, but he took a major step backward against Stanford.
On Saturday, I like Pyne to look more like the quarterback who led this team to big wins over UNC and BYU, tossing a couple of touchdowns and running this offense to perfection.
Multiple sacks from the defense
The Notre Dame football team has the advantage in the trenches in this one, and that should lead to multiple sacks from this defense. While the defense has had issues forcing turnovers this season, they have had no problem getting to the quarterback, something that should happen early and often on Saturday.
Isaiah Foskey is a bonafide first-round prospect, and he is getting help up and down this defensive line. Look for him to add to his sack total on Saturday, as he inches closer to the program record.
Irish get back on track
Being such huge favorites in this matchup, you have to think that the Irish are going to get back on the winning track on Saturday inside Notre Dame Stadium. The UNLV Rebels are a bad football team, and their quarterback may not play, so this is a get-right game before big matchups against Syracuse and Clemson.
The Irish need this win in the worst way, as they cannot afford to fall under .500 before a tough slate to finish out the season. At this point, the Irish could have trouble even qualifying for a bowl game, which would be an incredible disappointment in Freeman’s first year as head coach.