With Notre Dame’s 2024 regular season nearing the halfway point, the bye week allows some time to assess how this campaign has unfolded. As in past years, the Irish weren’t able to escape this early stretch without a loss, though this year’s defeat was especially painful. The Sept. 7 home loss to four-touchdown underdog Northern Illinois was jarring and put added pressure on Notre Damee and Marcus Freeman the rest of the way.
However, there have been surprises along the way, with these five standing out:
Just Running Along
The state of the running game was cause for offseason questions after the departure of Audric Estime, who departed for the NFL. He rushed for over 2,200 yards and scored 29 touchdowns in the previous two seasons. Filling that hole was a challenge that’s largely been met by the running back tandem of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.
Last year, Love and Price supplemented the work of Estime but in 2024 have more than doubled their numbers in the first five games. Last season, Love had gained just 176 yards and scored one touchdown while Price managed just 98 yards and one score. This season, Love’s currently at 373 yards and five touchdowns and Price has gained 211 while scoring twice.
Of course, an even bigger reason why the running game continues to thrive is the addition of Riley Leonard at quarterback. The mobile Leonard was a change from the recent Irish signal-callers like Ian Book, Drew Pyne and Sam Hartman. With another big game against Louisville, Leonard inched into the rushing lead with 374 yards, one ahead of Love.
That production hasn’t gone without some criticism of his lack of passing numbers, yet Notre Dame’s 4-1 record equals the 2023 mark at this point. Hartman wasn’t expected to supply a running component and was actually at negative nine yards after the first five games, largely the byproduct of pass protection issues during the win at North Carolina State. He finished with 123 on the season.
Love, Price and Leonard have the opportunity to boost their numbers against some of the upcoming teams on the schedule. There may be a greater attempt during this break to make the passing game more of a priority but for now, the running game is still in good condition.
Running on the Other Side
While the Notre Dame defense has largely delivered this season, there have been occasional hiccups when it comes to stopping the run. However, despite multiple extended runs by opponents in the first five games, an overall numbers comparison doesn’t show a drastic difference from last season.
In 2023, the Irish opened up with three straight wins and held opponents to less than three yards per carry. Central Michigan had some success, gaining 3.9 yards on each touch while Ohio State’s powerhouse backfield averaged 4.7 yards on each carry. That makes for a total of 556 yards and a 3.18 average on 175 carries.
This season, Irish defenders have given up 615 yards at a clip of 3.6 yards per carry on just four fewer carries. That per-game average uptick is a testament to the aforementioned glitches, with the Northern Illinois debacle having the highest average carry at 4.2. The opponent’s method of scoring has made a complete reversal from last season’s first five clashes. In 2023, five scores came off a run while two were through the air. This season, the lone score from the run is dwarfed by five passing touchdowns.
Searching for Mitchell
When Notre Dame added Kris Mitchell through the transfer portal, the expectation was that he’d play a key role in rebuilding a receiving corps that saw a major exodus after last year. Yet, after five games, Mitchell has caught just six passes, with all but one of those coming in the two MAC matchups.
Last season at Florida International, Mitchell had a breakout campaign with 64 grabs for 1,118 yards and six touchdowns. So his potential to put up big numbers during a campaign was already evident.
Thus far, Leonard has favored another transfer, Beaux Collins, who leads the team with 17 catches. In truth, the passing numbers are down across the board, with just four players in double figures for catches. Yet, the mystery as to why Mitchell, who was a training camp standout, has largely been absent from a more prominent spot on the stat sheet remains.
Mitchell first gave Irish fans a glimpse of his potential at the Blue-Gold game in the spring and was included on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award. That potential accolade has faded fast, despite no evidence of any injury issues. This break may afford Mike Denbrock a chance to make more room for Mitchell in the weeks ahead.
And Deuce is gone. Thankfully. Was a waste of time and he likely would never have appreciated Our Lady’s University.
It’s a great QB room and will be great with Angeli, Carr, and Minchey.
Noah Grubbs in 2026.
ND is going nowhere fast without an O line whose production seems offensive right now against decent competition.
Yes, the injuries, but we’re wasting the speed of our running backs, while holes collapse or are non-existent.
And yes, the injuries on D as well but appear to be overrated – or under coached.
How tall is Carr? A taller QB is going to see downfield better.
And while we’re at it, can we forget about Deuce Knight. It’s obvious he’s not a Notre Dame guy. He’s for Deuce.
Let’s see what Carr or maybe Minchey can do. And then Noah Grubbs will be in thenQB room
Bye Bye Deuce. No tears here.
Leonard won’t get there if it hasn’t happened in five game.
If Leonard can be a more consistent, accurate passer, I think NotreDame’s offense can be really good. The thing I noticed in these first 5 games is NotreDame has some serious speed in their receiver core. Collins, Harrison, Mitchell, Faison Greathouse are really fast and have been getting open. Leonard is just not seeing them or throwing accurately to them or the tight ends.