Notre Dame eyes a national title. Unpacking the offensive weaknesses—receiver consistency and trench dominance—hindering their championship aspirations.
We talk a lot on the Irish Breakdown Podcast about Notre Dame working towards 'closing the gap' and with every passing recruiting class, that gap continues to grow thinner and thinner with some of the other premier programs currently in college football. As strong of results as the recruiting classes yield, the true measure of closing the gap is found on the field. Last season was the closest the Irish had come to officially closing that gap after beating Indiana in the first round of the playoffs, the SEC Champions in the Sugar Bowl and the Big Ten runners up in the Orange Bowl.
Unfortunately, they fell short in the National Championship game and were snubbed from the opportunity to make a return trip to Miami Gardens in 2025. There are still three key areas on offense that Notre Dame will have to continue closing the gap. These are areas of their game where teams who have taken home to coveted national title the last few seasons have shown. Let's take a look at the three key areas on offense where the Irish have to improve to close the gap and bring home its 12th National Championship.
Elevated Wide Receiver Play
I'll say this, the gap isn't as wide here as what some Irish fans may believe that it is. Just because you don't have a Ja'Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson or Jeremiah Smith on your roster doesn't mean you can't have championship caliber play at the receiver position. With that being said, there's still another level this unit can get to. We saw glimpses of what it can be in the 2024 post season. Jordan Faison ended the Indiana game with seven receptions for 89 yards and was also the team's leading receiver in the Sugar Bowl against the Bulldogs. Jaden Greathouse put together back to back stellar performances against Penn State and Ohio State combining for 13 receptions, 233 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Unfortunately, due to injuries and blatant misuse when he was healthy, Greathouse ended the 2025 season with four receptions for 73 yards and only recorded receptions in two games. With a returning starting quarterback in CJ Carr and a host of young, talented wide receivers, I'd expect the receiver play to elevate even more in 2026. The Georgia Bulldogs in their back to back title run in 2021 and 2022 might not have had Chase, Jefferson or Smith but they did have Ladd McConkey, A.D. Mitchell and one of the best tight ends in college football.
Consistency In The Trenches
For a team that's been coined as 'O-Line U', the level of consistency along the offense line hasn't lived up to the standard. This past season they put together stellar performances against teams like Arkansas and USC but would struggle to stack performances and would end up struggling in the run game or pass protection the following week. Over the last several years, the team to walk away with the national title was also the team with the most consistent offensive line in the biggest moments. Look at Indiana's performance from Friday night. They went against a stout Oregon defensive front and their offensive line only allowed three total pressures and zero hits plus sacks on the quarterback all night.
In the National Championship game in 2024, Ohio State went against a Notre Dame defensive line that wrecked havoc on Indiana and Georgia earlier in the playoffs. The Buckeyes allowed a grand total of five pressures and zero hits plus sacks on the quarterback. In turn, quarterback Will Howard completed 17 of his 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 57 yards. Michigan in 2023 lived and died by the performance in the trenches and they didn't disappoint on their way to a 15-0 season. If Notre Dame wants to get over the hump and win the national title, the offensive line will have to be the driver of success, especially in the post season.
Post Season Run Game Efficiency
It was a tale of two different stories for Notre Dame in the post season in 2024. They rushed for 193 yards against Indiana out gaining them on the ground by 130 yards. In the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, the Irish rushed for 154 yards outgaining the Dogs on the ground 92 yards. Their performances against Penn State and Ohio State were extremely lopsided, and not in the favor of the team from South Bend. There was one overarching theme, the run game for Notre Dame was not efficient in the post season last year. They rushed for 193 yards against the Hoosiers, 98 of that came on one run from Jeremiyah Love. Outside of that one electric touchdown run, the Irish rushed for 95 yards on 34 carries.
They rushed for 154 yards against Georgia; 80 of those yards came from quarterback Riley Leonard who had a skillset no one on the current roster currently possesses. The running back room against Georgia combined for 18 carries and 60 yards averaging 3.3 yards per carry. They averaged 2.8 yards per rush as a team against Penn State in the Orange Bowl and averaged 2.0 yards per carry against Ohio State in the national title game. Teams who have had the most success in the post season had the ability to maintain a balanced offense. Ohio State rushed for 214 yards against the Irish and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
Are there things this team has to work on to become a champion? Absolutely. Are these things this team is fully capable of achieving? Absolutely. The pieces are in place for 2026 to be a special season, but the work will have to be put in. Notre Dame has a Top 5 returning roster in college football and I don't think they're 5th. This is the first season since 2020 where they've had a returning starter at quarterback, the talent in the offensive line room is amongst the best in the country and the receiving corps is vastly underrated. If Marcus Freeman and his staff can hone in on these three things, their chances of going from contender to champion increase greatly.
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