3-2-1: Irish Observations, Questions, Prediction Against Bowling Green

Bowling Green may not be Notre Dame's most enticing 2019 matchup, but fans can still learn a lot from this team by tuning into NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

This is weekend also gives the Irish a chance to keep developing young players and their starters before a tough stretch of games. After this weekend, Notre Dame hosts USC, is idle, then has a trip to Michigan before heading back home for Virginia Tech.

There is a lot of value in this game for the Irish, even if it's unlikely that the Falcons keep it competitive.

Get a FREE 60-day trial and four FREE copies of the BGI digital magazine using promo code Irish60

THREE OBSERVATIONS

1. Serious Bowling Green Quarterback Issue — Heading into the offseason, the Falcons were expected to have senior quarterback Jarret Doege at the helm. Even on a 3-9 team in 2019, he put up quality numbers, throwing for 2,660 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 62.2 completion percentage.

Over the summer, Doege decided to transfer to West Virginia. The favorite to win the starting job became Matt McDonald, who transferred from Boston College, but he was never cleared to play.

That leaves the Falcons with just two scholarship quarterbacks on its roster: Darius Wade, another Boston College Transfer, and redshirt freshman Grant Loy.

Wade started the first four games of the season for Bowling Green, but he’s struggled. He joined the team just before fall camp and even new head coach Scot Loeffler, who coached both transfers at Boston College as the offensive coordinator from 2016-18, said that previous injuries are holding Wade back from being the player he could be.

So far this year, he has thrown for 664 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions with a 57.9 completion percentage.

After speaking the Brandon Shrider, who covers the team as the sports editor for the Sentinel-Tribune, there’s a possibility that the redshirt freshman Loy gets significant playing time. He is a much more accomplished runner than Wade and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry on 12 attempts this season.

As fans saw earlier this season, a mobile quarterback can create issues for this Notre Dame defense.