How one play was emblematic of Notre Dame football offensive inconsistency
Even when Kevin Austin Jr. got his hands on the football, it ended poorly for Notre Dame. It was just that kind of day for the senior wide receiver against Purdue.
It was just that kind of day for the Fighting Irish offense in general, really.
Sure, No. 12 Notre Dame did enough to win. Graduate senior quarterback Jack Coan threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Kyren Williams rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown and caught a couple passes for 47 yards and another score.
But one blunder from Austin Jr. was representative of the inconsistency that could plague the Notre Dame offense this season despite it having shown an ability to strike quickly.
Coan couldn’t connect with Austin Jr. all day. He overshot him in the right corner of the end zone. Then the left corner. Then the right sideline. Austin Jr. was open numerous times. Coan just couldn’t put the ball on him.
Coan said he might have rushed a few throws because he did not want to take sacks with Notre Dame’s offensive line being as much of a question mark as it has proven to be early in the season. Coan has been sacked 10 times in the last two weeks and 14 total times through the first three games of the year.
“I think my timing was off on some passes,” Coan said. “I definitely need to be a lot more accurate.”
And when he was accurate to Austin Jr. for the first time, the latter let him down.
Coan lofted a pass into one-on-one coverage on third and 10 with Notre Dame leading 17-13 midway through the third quarter. Austin Jr. had positioning on the Purdue defensive back, and he made the most of it by high pointing the ball and bringing it to his body on his way down to the turf.
When Austin’s backside hit the ground, so did the ball. It squirted out of his hands, off his hip and onto the playing surface. Instead of a first down deep in Purdue territory, Notre Dame punted. The Purdue defender did his best to break up the play, but it was a catch Austin Jr. had to make given how the rest of the day had gone to that point.
The Irish had chances to build a sizable lead. Misfires like that prevented them from doing so. Head coach Brian Kelly did not sound worried, though.
“The inability to catch a couple balls here and there is something that is wholly correctable, right?” Kelly said. “You know, if we felt like we were deficit in our ability to find a running game or get guys open, then I’d probably be here going, ‘This is going to be a rough one, guys.’ I feel pretty good. We just have to be executing at a little bit better level, and we got great teaching opportunities now this week.”
About that running game.
Had Williams not broken free for a 51-yard touchdown and had true freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner not somehow shed a tackle from Purdue’s best defensive player, junior defensive end George Karlaftis, on his own goal line and scurried forward for a gain of 20, Notre Dame would have had 49 rushing yards on 32 carries. Nearly 60% of Notre Dame’s team rushing output came on two plays.
But yet again, the Irish aren't troubled.
"As an offense running the ball, it’s going to come," Williams said. "We’re not worried about it.”
The state of the Notre Dame ground game is still concerning from an outside perspective. There’s no sugarcoating it. Unless Kelly knows something the media and fans do not, the Irish are going to need a significant breakthrough with the offensive line to bring everything together. Better blocking up front would aid in Coan’s attempts to find receivers downfield and the running backs’ potential to do more with their touches.
Though Kelly approved of the offensive line's performance against Purdue, Pro Football Focus graded it as the worst game that unit has played so far this season. Austin Jr. was Notre Dame's worst rated player.
That combination won't work going into a game in which Notre Dame will face the nation’s No. 2 total defense through two weeks. Wisconsin (1-1) held its first two opponents to an average of 33 rushing yards, which ranks No. 1 nationally.
Kelly said Notre Dame’s offensive performance against Purdue was not a “beauty show.” It was simply a collective effort to end up on the right end of the scoreboard. Get ready for another slog if that was the case. The Badgers are a completely different beast than the Boilermakers.
“They’ve always been one of the best defenses in the country,” Coan said. “It’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”
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