Three observations of the New Mexico offense after breaking down film, two matchups to watch for the Irish defense against the Lobos offense and a key to victory for the Notre Dame defense.
New Mexico has a new offensive coordinator, and it's former Nebraska/North Carolina quarterback Joe Dailey, who came to Albuquerque from Liberty University.
There is just one game to break down, but combine that with Liberty film and interviews with a New Mexico reporter, I feel that Notre Dame should have a good idea of what they are going to see from the Lobos this weekend.
THREE OBSERVATIONS
1. Expect to see the Lobos spread things out and mix things up – There are two reasons to believe this to be true. One is that is what New Mexico did in its opener against Sam Houston State, and two is this is exactly what Louisville was able to do to Notre Dame.
The Lobos are a spread/gun offense and they’ll employ a three-receiver set for much of the game. Their tight end – junior Marcus Williams – is only 6-3, 215 and he can really run, so they are essentially in a four-wide style offense for much of the game. The goal will be to spread Notre Dame out in hopes of creating isolations on the perimeter and creases inside for the run game.
New Mexico’s top players on offense are also their pass catchers, so figuring out ways to get their skill players the ball in space will be a key part of the game plan. They aren’t good enough to just out-play Notre Dame’s defensive backs all game, so the Lobo coaches will use mis-direction, screens and a nice blend of horizontal and vertical stretch concepts to try and spring players free for on-the-run plays.
When the Lobos do get some one-on-one shots on the outside, expect them to try to take some shots, knowing they’ll need chunk plays to have any chance at scoring much on the Irish defense.
