Notre Dame's rattled off an impressive eight-game win streak and it's looking like they'll extend that to 10 in a row like they did in 2024. The offense rattling off big play after big play combined with an impressive, and much needed, defensive turnaround had fueled this team's win-streak and put them right back in the heart of the playoff discussion. Unfortunately, not all phases of this team are firing on all cylinders. The kicking operation in South Bend might be at an all-time low, and it's not like they were perfect last season.
The Irish haven't made a field goal in a game since October 11 when they hosted NC State. Kicker Noah Burnette went two for two on field goals. Since then, they've failed to put three points on the board and it hasn't been for a lack of trying. Field goals were attempted against USC, Boston College and Pitt. Burnette missed his only attempt against USC while freshman Erik Schmidt missed his only attempt against Boston College and this past week against Pitt on the road.
We all know how important a kicking operation is to a team's success in the post season. Last season, Mitch Jeter sent Notre Dame to the National Championship after hitting a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left on the clock in the Orange Bowl. Yesterday, special teams coordinator Marty Biagi spoke after practice about the kicking operation and the process to getting it back on track.
"We're really trying to give him a couple little things technique-wise that he can focus on, and then build off that," Biagi said about Schmidt. "It's just like anything, you give too much stuff and now you do you start worrying about trying to come with random ideas. But no, it's not anything mental. Our sports psychologist does a great job; Joey Ramaeker does a great job. We've monitored everything from his heart rate and everything and we feel really good."
At the end of the day, Schmidt is a true freshman and the coaching staff has been very transparent about their initial plan to redshirt him. But and injury to Noah Burnette forced their hand and Schmidt was thrust into the spotlight. He still has a ways to go, but Biagi is still confident in his freshman kicker moving forward.
"The variable still comes down to certain techniques that they're using," Biagi explained on the transition from high school to college. "Whether it's ball flight, whether it's operations time, you’re speeding up the process. I'd say the best comparison I could give is there's very few true freshmen at any position who can come in and just naturally play. How many Leonard Moore's were there last year across the country? There are some Justin Yoon's that can transition faster with the technique like kicking off a tee. But then there's a lot of others that, just like a lot of other corners, it’s still going to take a year or two."
After a field goal is missed, Biagi looks at the entire operation, and unfortunately, he's had to do that a lot over the last couple of games. Everything has to be under evaluation and that's what Notre Dame's special teams coordinator looks at.
"The very first thing I do is assess the whole situation," Biagi stated. "So many people with the way that the sport is, and I get it, blame the kicker. But now, having the iPad actually is helpful. I try to gather the information about how he felt, which I would with any player when there’s something significant. Then I go to the tablet to see if it was right on, and then try and confirm. Then, we actually go through and diagnose the play, just like anything else, and try and assess what part of the technique wasn’t able to be successful."
This isn't the end all, be all for the Notre Dame kicking game. It can get better and has to get better. With the post season looming right around the corner, there isn't as much time as one would like to get this kicking operation back on track, but one thing is certain, they will need one of Schmidt or Burnette ready to go in the post season. Biagi and the rest of the staff are working hard to get them there.
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