Midweek thoughts about the Notre Dame football program, its recruiting efforts and college football.
OFFENSIVE LINE IS THE FINALÂ KEY TO 2019 SUCCESS
Competing for and winning championships is never about one thing. It’s not just the defense, or the quarterback, or the coaching, or any other part of the team. Notre Dame found a quarterback that can lead the offense the way OC Chip Long likes, its defense played championship caliber ball last season and returns a lot of talent, and the Irish skill positions on offense are experienced, deep and talented.
There are question marks on the team, but that is true for all teams at this time of the year. But there was one key ingredient to a championship team that Notre Dame was mostly missing last fall, and that is top-level offensive line play.
The line appeared poised to be that kind of unit before the injury to then fifth-year senior captain Alex Bars. In the last three games Notre Dame played with Bars, the offense averaged 252.7 rushing yards and 38.7 points per game. That dropped to just 170.9 yards and 30.5 points per game in the final eight games without Bars.
Losing Bars was an obvious and crushing blow to an offensive line that lacked experience without him, but it should pay off for Notre Dame in 2019. Younger players were thrust into leadership roles, and it allowed Aaron Banks to earn six starts he otherwise would not have if Bars stayed healthy.
Notre Dame has talented skill players, but for the Irish to be a legitimate title contender it must be able to dominate in the trenches, and there are reasons for optimism.
