3 Notre Dame football MVPs on offense at halfway point of 2021 season

Notre Dame's 2021 season has been an offensive exhibition.

Offensive in the sense of "causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry", that is. Not offensive as it relates to the other Oxford Dictionary definition of the word: "actively aggressive; attacking."

The Fighting Irish rank No. 89 in total offense through the first six weeks of the season. If the season ended today, that would be the worst national ranking in that statistic during the 12-year Brian Kelly era. That'd be enough to make many fans deeply hurt, upset or angry.

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The following three players have been impressive enough for Notre Dame fans to feel optimistic heading into the second half of the season, though. These are the Irish's offensive (second definition here, folks) MVPs of the first half of the season.

Where would Notre Dame be without its sophomore tight end? Probably not 5-1 and ranked No. 14 in the most recent Associated Press Poll, that's for sure.

Mayer leads the team in receptions (32) and receiving yards (360) and is tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns (three) despite sitting out Notre Dame's most recent game at Virginia Tech with a hip injury.

Mayer also leads Irish offensive skill position players in total snaps despite not logging a single one against the Hokies. Yes, Notre Dame has a couple wide receivers keeping pace with Mayer in receiving yards. Seniors Kevin Austin Jr. and Avery Davis have 317 and 307, respectively. But defenses taking extra measures to account for Mayer has certainly helped that duo break out.

There's an argument to be had that maybe the Notre Dame offense is too reliant on Mayer, but there's no such thing as being too reliant on an all-time talent. There are hardly any instances in which the ball being in Mayer's hands is a bad thing. It'll be critical for him to get healthy and continue producing in the second half of the season.

He's not in the Heisman Trophy conversation. Heck, he's not even on pace to reach 1,000 rushing yards. But junior running back Kyren Williams has still been one of Notre Dame's three best players on offense.

Forget the 363 rushing yards on 3.8 yards per carry. Williams has four rushing touchdowns, and two of them tell the tale of what it's been like for him coming out of the Notre Dame backfield this season.

The first of those was a 51-yard score against Toledo that could have easily been a four-yard gain at best. From a TV broadcast perspective, Williams was lost in a sea of humanity three yards from the line of scrimmage.

Then he emerged on the other side with defensive backs draped all over him trying to punch the ball out. But they didn't stop him. Nobody did. Williams was still breaking tackles at the one-yard line. At the time, it was still a one-possession game. Williams' touchdown effectively iced the game. That's MVP-type stuff.

Somehow, Williams might have outdone himself on a 10-yard touchdown rush against Virginia Tech. The call was a counter to the right with backfield mate Logan Diggs and quarterback Tyler Buchner running left as decoys.

Williams made it four yards up field before he was contacted by two Hokies. He shed both of them, including one who held onto his left leg for a bit. Williams hopped on his right two times and broke free. He was a freight train with a destination of the end zone.

So again, don't get caught up in the insufficient yards per carry figure. That's largely a product of a porous offensive line. Imagine if Notre Dame didn't have Williams running behind it, too. That's make things even more offensive (first definition).

None of the three quarterbacks who have played this season are worthy of a midseason MVP award. If you can't hang onto the job outright (in graduate senior Coan's case) or definitively take the job from the starter (in sophomore Drew Pyne and true freshman Tyler Buchner's case) then that's not MVP worthy.

Nobody from the Notre Dame offensive line is taking one of these home, either. Anyone who has watched a mere half of Notre Dame football this season knows why that's the case. So who does that leave? More skill position players. Davis has been a pretty darn good one.

He wasn't targeted once against Florida State, but that turned out to be a complete anomaly. He has more catches than any Irish player not named Michael Mayer since then. Notre Dame would not have beaten Purdue without his five catches for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Davis is the highest graded Notre Dame wide receiver according to Pro Football Focus. He has also played more snaps than any other Irish wideout. He's as versatile as any Notre Dame pass catcher too. He has lined up in the slot 235 times, out wide 96 times and in the backfield seven times.

Davis has at least three catches in each of the last five games. He has become a safe option for whichever quarterback is in the game. Who did Coan find in the end zone with Notre Dame trying to tie the game late against Virginia Tech? Davis.

He's been steady. And he might only be just getting started this season.

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