SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In head coach Marcus Freeman’s messaging this week ahead of his first-ever home game as Notre Dame’s head football coach, his intent was simple and blunt.
The 21-10 season-opening loss to then-No. 2 Ohio State last Saturday night needed to represent the floor of what his team is capable of this season.
The climb toward what’s possible, as far as a ceiling goes, presumably starts Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium (2:30 p.m. EDT; NBC), when the eighth-ranked Irish (0-1) host Marshall (1-0), with a nation’s-best 42-game win streak against unranked teams on the line.
A notable addition to the starting lineup will be preseason All-America offensive guard Jarrett Patterson, a two-time captain making his season and positional debut.
The three-year starter at center, moved to left guard in August to accommodate senior Zeke Correll among the starting five, suffered a right foot sprain in practice on Aug. 15 and missed the Ohio State game as a gametime decision that didn’t feel right to push forward with.
“Jarrett has practiced every day (this week), and we are expecting him to play on Saturday unless something crazy happens in the next 48 hours,” Freeman said during his weekly Thursday Zoom with the media. But he’s had a good week of practice.”
The expectation from Freeman and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand is that Patterson’s presence will elevate those around him.
Without the 6-foot-5, 310-pound grad senior, the Irish offensive line struggled against Ohio State. Pro Football Focus gave Notre Dame a pass-blocking grade of 53.4, which ranked No. 100 out of 131 FBS teams, and a run-blocking grade of 50.1, which ranked No. 116.
Junior Andrew Kristofic, who replaced Patterson in the starting lineup at left guard, was given the worst pass-blocking (48.1) and run-blocking (51.7) grades among ND’s offensive linemen from PFF in the Ohio State game.
“With the offensive line at Notre Dame historically, you have people who carry the culture,” NBC host and former Irish wide receiver Corey Robinson said on this week’s Inside ND Sports podcast. “And Jarrett is that person for this team.
“So, (not having him) is like not having Mike McGlinchey or Ronnie Stanley or Quenton Nelson or Zack Martin to embody the culture. I don’t think you can put a grade on the offensive line without Jarrett Patterson. Week by week, the chemistry will develop more and more.”
Freeman said he saw plenty of signs of that happening this week in practice.
“They’re challenged. They were not happy with their overall performance from the Ohio State game, and it’s a group that has some older guys, with Josh Lugg and J-Patt and some guys that have played football, that take a lot of pride in their performance.
“They had a great week of practice. And I’m looking forward to seeing them play on Saturday.”
Many happier returns
Notre Dame amassed just 22 return yards against Ohio State between kickoffs and punts and finds itself near or at the bottom nationally this week in both statistical categories.
Junior Chris Tyree took back two of OSU’s four kickoffs for an 11-yard return average. He averaged 26.7 per return in 2021 on 13 opportunities with a TD. Senior Brandon Joseph either fair-caught or let bounce all five of the Buckeyes’ punts.
Freeman said the problem on kickoff returns was schematic. The problem on punt returns was not being aggressive enough.
“We have to improve our execution on kickoff return,” he said. “I think coach (Brian) Mason would be the first to admit that I think we overthought a little bit in terms of our plan versus Ohio State. Obviously, the execution of it wasn’t what you wanted to start two series inside the 20-yard line.
“You had a chance to return the ball, and it’s not up to our standard. And so, we worked on it. I think we have a really good plan in terms of what we want to do with our kickoff return game.
“As far as punt return, we’ll just encourage Brandon Joseph to continue to make good decisions, and be aggressive. “You’ve got to trust your instincts. If you think you’ve got a chance to return a punt, you have to do it. And so, we feel really confident in him as our punt returner.”
Opening up the offense
Freeman acknowledged the Ohio State keepaway gameplan to shorten the game and play conservatively on offense won’t be utilized this week, even with Marshall having rolled up 612 yards in total offense and 55 points in a route of FCS school Norfolk State last weekend.
That likely means more passing opportunities for sophomore QB Tyler Buchner, who attempted just 18 in his starting debut, completing 10 for 177 yards with no TDs or interceptions.
“I want to be able to take advantage of the different looks that the defense is going to give us this week,” Freeman said, “and have a plan and not be afraid to take shots and not be afraid to take advantage of those different opportunities that they're going to give us."
“Our identity is still, to me, it starts with the run game and the ability to run the football, but we will be aggressive on offense.”
Wide receiver depth
Just four of Notre Dame’s eight scholarship receivers saw action against Ohio State, combining for three catches. Of the four who did not play at wideout in the game — sophomore Deion Colzie, grad senior Joe Wilkins Jr., freshman Tobias Merriweather and junior two-way player Xavier Watts (who did rotate in at safety) — Wilkins (foot fracture) and Colzie (knee) are being eased back slowly from injuries.
“(It) would be ideal to be able to roll multiple different wideouts and keep them fresh,” Freeman said. “But we're only going to do it as long as we feel like it's what's best for our offense. And Joe is continuing to heal. He's ahead of schedule and he's continuing to gain confidence in his foot and heal.
“I hope that he goes out and he can perform at the level that he feels he can do and the coaching staff expects him to. And so, he's had a good week of practice. Again, his foot will continue to be a focal point for us to make sure that hey, we're continuing to heal this foot and that it can help him obviously perform at the level that he obviously truly aspires to do.
“Colzie is not truly 100% yet. He's not at the performance level that he aspires to be at. For him, it continues to be a gradual progression of getting him to the point where he's going to be a part of playing as much as some of the guys that are starting right now."
Noting Marshall
Marshall rushed for 380 yards in its 55-3 waxing of Norfolk State last Saturday, the second-most by an FBS team so far this season. And they did it without Rasheen Ali, a reigning freshman All-American who led the nation with 23 rushing touchdowns in 2021 to go along with 1,401 rushing yards, and 46 receptions for another 342 yards and a score.
And his only kickoff return of last season, Ali took it back 97 yards for a TD.
Marshall coach Charles Huff announced a couple of weeks ago that Ali is taking a leave of absence with no set timetable for his return. The 6–0, 211-pound redshirt sophomore from Cleveland is not listed on the Thundering Herd’s depth chart this week.
• The Herd is 1-9 all time against top 10 teams and has dropped 15 of its past 18 games against top 25 teams.
“Our players respect the team that’s coming in here on Saturday, because they’ve shown it on film,” Freeman said. “They’re a really good football team, a talented football team that’s going to be hungry. And I’m sure that they’re going to be fearless.
“So, we have to make sure that we are aggressive from the start and that this isn’t a game that we’re going to try to ease our way into.”
The Irish have won 10 consecutive home openers dating back to 2012. A victory on Saturday would set the record for consecutive home opener victories in Notre Dame Stadium at 11, breaking the existing mark set from 1964-1973.
“It's not difficult to motivate a team to prepare when you have the No. 2 team in the country coming up on Saturday” Freeman said. “Well, Marshall isn't the No. 2 team in the country, but the challenge for me and our coaching staff to our team was we have to enhance the way we prepare.
“I believe that it was intentional. I believe that our leadership flourished this week and we challenged each other to perform at practice at a higher level. And again that’s, to me, there's a standard.
“There's a standard in the way we do things in practice. There's a standard in the way we perform, and that's what I've just continued to challenge our football program with.
“Does it matter who we play? Or does it matter what the standards are that have been set?”
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