Advertisement
football Edit

Notre Dame knows itself well — and sees its 2021 ceiling continue to grow

SOUTH BEND — An edgy Michael Mayer stood in front of a podium inside the Notre Dame Stadium media room Oct. 2.

Mayer and his Notre Dame teammates were cooling off from a loss to Cincinnati in which they were shut out at halftime and exposed as a team in transition. In a way, it felt inevitable. The Irish won their first four games despite some leaks on defense and worrisome bumps on offense.

Yes, Mayer admitted, Notre Dame was still looking for an offensive identity. Asked if he thought they were close, he offered a terse response.

Sign up for Blue & Gold’s FREE alerts and newsletter

Advertisement

“We’re working toward it every day,” the sophomore tight end said.

Seven weeks later, he occupied the same spot after a 55-0 pantsing of Georgia Tech in a patently different mood — jovial, upbeat and laid back. Even he acknowledged the contrast in disposition and in the games that preceded the two press conferences.

“I think we’ve definitely found our identity,” Mayer said.

Mayer was talking about the offense. He may as well have been discussing Notre Dame as a whole.

Just like the 2021 Irish have found their best offensive path, they’ve discovered how to make the most of a bridge season and take it to point higher than most outside observers expected. Head coach Brian Kelly even admitted it’s close to his best-case outlook.

“You're always looking to see growth and improvement, but you never really know what that arc looks like,” Kelly said. “Sometimes it's measured in much smaller increments. This has been a little bit larger in those increments. I think we all wanted to see the growth. It's just been to the point where this is a really good football team.”

Perhaps even a College Football Playoff team, or at least a team in the playoff mix until selection day. The No. 8 Irish (10-1) are staring at a two-spot jump in the CFP top 25 thanks to blowout losses by No. 3 Oregon and No. 7 Michigan State, which have two defeats each.

Thanks to Notre Dame’s light end-of-season schedule, its playoff hopes still hinge on losses by higher-ranked teams. In terms of the “eye test” and peaking at the right time, though, the Irish are offering quite the impression there too.

Notre Dame ripped off five straight touchdown drives after a field goal on the opening possession and a 43-yard pick-six from junior rover Jack Kiser. The Irish could essentially pick how they wanted to march down the field. Georgia Tech couldn’t tackle running back Kyren Williams. It couldn’t cover Mayer or senior receiver Kevin Austin Jr. After the opening drive, it couldn’t get quarterback Jack Coan on the ground.

In accordance, the Irish won by a final score normally reserved for games against Mid-American Conference opponents. They scored 45 points before the half for the first time since a 2017 blowout of MAC team Miami Ohio.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football tight end Michael Mayer
Michael Mayer and Notre Dame have won six straight games after beating Georgia Tech 55-0. (Darron Cummings/AP)

Notre Dame averaged 8.7 yards per play while holding Georgia Tech to 3.6. Coan completed 10 straight passes and ended 15-for-20 for 285 yards and two touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, had one play of 10-plus yards in the first half.

This was the damage Notre Dame was expected to inflict on MAC foe Toledo in the first home game. Instead, the Irish escaped 32-29 in what’s now a distant memory.

“I'm watching this football team out there that looks nothing like it did back when we played Toledo,” Kelly said. “That's growth. That's coaching. That's players understanding how they needed to grow as well.”

The schematic and personnel tweaks between now and then are well-chronicled. The softer second half of the schedule is worth noting too. But so is a cultural aspect and evident self-awareness that turned a transition year into a high-ceiling one.

“This entire team has been about young players merging with veteran players and how that has really made this a special season, because that doesn't normally happen,” Kelly said. “Sometimes it's not easy when younger players are put into the mix with veteran players.

“We have a younger group of players in our locker room that are selfless, that model what our upperclassmen do. They're not resistant to the standards that we have in our program. They follow. But they are confident in their own abilities as well. They don't just walk around and follow blindly.”

Take Mayer as one example. Notre Dame’s leading receiver understood his 2021 responsibilities go beyond breaking tackles and catching touchdowns. The Irish turning this year’s circumstances into playoff contention required them to onboard less-experienced players and fresh faces in short order. Mayer was one of many who raised his hand to help.

“Coming into this season, I knew my role as a leader had to become a little bigger,” Mayer said. “I feel like I have a personal connection with the freshmen who just got here this summer. When you get that personal connection with someone on the team, it’s way easier to lead someone than not talking to them off the field and then trying to tell them what to do.”

As Mayer found his identity, his team found its own — on the field and in this season that evokes grander visions by the week.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON THE LOU SOMOGYI BOARD

----

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.

Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.

• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka, @GregLadky, and @ToddBurlage.

• Like us on Facebook.

Advertisement