Players to Watch: Marshall vs. Notre Dame

Notre Dame still has the opportunity to win its first game in the Marcus Freeman era. And that win could come in Freeman's first game with the Irish at home.

Saturday will be the first-ever matchup between Notre Dame and Marshall. According to Vegas Insider, the Irish enter this week's game as 20-point favorites. After last week's 21-10 loss to Ohio State, Notre Dame remained in the top 10 in both the AP (No. 8) and coaches poll (No. 9).

Marshall won last week's game against Norfolk State 55-3, to start the season 1-0 for the 10th consecutive season. Under second-year head coach Charles Huff, the Thundering Herd are 4-2 on the road and 0-1 against top 25 teams.

Here are the players to watch for Saturday's matchup.

Freeman emphasized that Notre Dame's run game would be the offense's focal point. Then, the Irish only rushed for 76 yards against Ohio State. Its starting running back, Audric Estime, only had 21 yards on nine carries (2.3 per carry).

However, it was not all Estime's fault. The Irish were without preseason All-America interior offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson, and the Notre Dame run game felt his absence. The offensive line received a 50.1 run block grade from Pro Football Focus, ranked 110th of 131 teams through Friday morning.

Editor's note: PFF does not provide weekly team rankings. Some teams have already played two games.

Freeman told reporters Patterson is expected back in the lineup this week. So, the Irish should see an upgrade in their performance this week with Patterson's talent and experience. The game plan won't change, either. Freeman said the team's offensive identity remains to run the football.

Notre Dame still lists Estime or Chris Tyree or Logan Diggs as the starting running back on the depth chart. But Estime leading the team in rushes week one is a sign of what is coming. Expect Estime to get a heavy dose of carries in week two.

While Freeman has consistently said the run game would be Notre Dame’s offensive identity, he also said they couldn’t be afraid to take shots. That will lead to an aggressive approach from the Notre Dame offense, which should feature more passes than Tyler Buchner’s 18 last week.

In the Marshall secondary, Gilmore is one of the best defenders the Herd have to offer, having been named to the Conference USA all-conference teams in the last two seasons. He’s also the team’s active leader in career interceptions with six.

Last week against Norfolk State, Gilmore was thrown at three times and did not allow a catch. He also recorded a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. He played 28 snaps as a wide corner in week one, which means Gilmore should see plenty of Lorenzo Styles this week. Styles lined up out wide 22 times against Ohio State.

Gilmore is the younger brother of Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the New England Patriots in 2019. Phil Steele ranks Steven as the No. 43 draft-eligible cornerback in his preview magazine.

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Notre Dame starting cornerbacks Cam Hart and Clarence Lewis had differing performances against the Buckeyes. And neither was exceptional. Hart allowed four receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. Lewis played better by only allowing four catches for 34 yards on six targets. He also broke up two passes.

Hart (left 19, right 21) and Lewis (23, 23) virtually split snaps as the wide cornerbacks in week one. They should see lots of Gammage, who lined up out wide 44 times (26,18) last week.

Gammage led the Herd in receptions and receiving yards each of the last two seasons. In 2021, he was named all-conference honorable mention after finishing fourth in receptions per game (6.0).

In the first game with new starting quarterback Henry Colombi, Gammage only caught two passes for 20 yards. Despite the limited production, he was just one of two players to catch a touchdown pass. But with game experience together, expect to see more of Gammage against Notre Dame.

Four days after calling Notre dame's defensive line "the toughest, strongest, most badass (expletive) in the country," Ademilola finished with one tackle in 42 defensive snaps against Ohio State. As of Friday, his 38.5 PFF grade was 707th of 722 defensive linemen.

Ademilola has a great opportunity to get back on track this week.

Entering this season, Marshall only had a combined 36 career starts on its offensive line. Among their departures were all-conference lineman Alex Mollette and Will Ulmer. This week, Ademilola is expected to face left guard Trent Holler, center Logan Osburn and right guard Dalton Tucker.

Holler is a transfer from East Carolina and will be Ademilola's toughest matchup after recording a 100% pass blocking efficiency (no sacks, hits, hurries or pressures allowed) last week. Osburn and Tucker each surrendered a pressure and a hurry last week. They have combined for only 11 career starts at Marshall.

Saturday will be Ademilola's 46th game for the Irish, and in at least 16 of those games, he recorded a tackle for loss. It's in Notre Dame's best interest for Ademilola to put last week's game in the rearview mirror and reach the backfield for the 17th time this week.

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