Notre Dame one win away from playoffs, but have a major kicking concern

While Notre Dame Football hasn’t needed to rely on field goals, they have their toughest opponent according to Marcus Freeman this week against USC. With the College Football Playoffs in sight, Notre Dame’s playoff run and how far they go could potentially rely heavily on their kicking game. Unfortunately for Irish fans, Mitch Jeter’s recent struggles on field goals have become a growing concern.

The Irish have been one of the worst teams in field goals this season since their placekicker, Mitch Jeter, suffered a hamstring injury in September. However, the Fighting Irish find themselves in an unusual position as they've won nine straight games with their offense firing on all cylinders, but major concerns loom around Jeter as he has been far from his usual self.  Jeter is a perfect 38/38 on extra points but is 6/11 on field goals which is 56% and is 1/4 in his two games since his injury.

“Mitch Jeter has always been our best option.” Freeman stated when asked about his kicker’s performance in his Monday press conference. “This week he hit the ball better than he has hit in a long time I have more confidence, even though it went right, but he hit that ball really well and that was from a yard line that we weren’t previously able to do. We didn’t feel comfortable with his injury to kick from that far but to see him hit that ball was a lot of encouragement for me. I have the upmost confidence in Mitch Jeter every opportunity we have to kick a field goal.”

Jeter went 0-for-2 against Army this past Saturday and the concern is when Irish play better teams and can’t just rely on their offense to dominate the more athletic teams in the playoffs.

Notre Dame Football's struggling kicker

Jeter was near perfect in 2023 and was perfect in 2022, but has struggled immensely this season following the hamstring injury that caused him to miss a few games. The senior kicker is struggling with longer kicks, as he only converted just 4 of 7 attempts from 40-49 yards and missed his only attempt from 50+ yards this year.  Jeter is perfect on extra points this year as he is 38-for-38 on the season.

In 2023, Jeter went 12 of 14 which is 86%, including being perfect from 20-49 yards and a solid 1 of 3 from 50+ yards. His 2022 season was even more impressive, as he went 11 of 11, including two 50+ bombs.

The Stakes Are High

If the Irish can take down the Trojans and secure a spot in the College Football Playoffs, their first- round matchup would be either Dec. 20 or the 21. which would be huge as it would give Jeter an extra three weeks to rest and hopefully regain his confidence and be his old self.

As Notre Dame Football continues its postseason push, the key to their postseason success may rest on the health and performance of Mitch Jeter. If Notre Dame secures a spot in the playoffs, fans must assume they will be put in a spot where they must rely on Jeter to make a kick. But for now, Notre Dame fans can only hope that Jeter's confidence, and his leg are restored before the postseason begins if the Irish get by USC.