Silver Lining: New Wide Receivers Flash In 12-7 Win Over Louisville
Outside of the fact that Notre Dame is still undefeated, it's hard to glean many positives from the 12-7 victory over Louisville, especially when it comes to the Fighting Irish passing game.
In total, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book threw the ball just 19 times against Louisville, completing 11 passes for 106 yards and no touchdowns.
But on Blue and Gold's Live Postgame Show, former Fighting Irish captain and linebacker Mike Goolsby mentioned how it was a somewhat encouraging sign to see one of Notre Dame's explosive pass-catchers get involved in the offense for the first time this season.
"A silver lining? Kevin Austin got involved," Goolsby said. "Maybe that is something to feel good about."
In a game that was begging for a few explosive plays on offense, Notre Dame’s two longest receptions against Louisville came from a pair of players who, prior to Saturday, had not made a catch for the Fighting Irish this season.
Graduate senior Ben Skowronek and junior Kevin Austin are two bigger-bodied Notre Dame wideouts. During the offseason, the Fighting Irish coaching staff mentioned both as players they were counting on to step up this season.
But in the first three games of the season, neither were able to contribute to the Notre Dame passing attack due to injuries. Austin had been sidelined after having surgery on his left foot. Meanwhile, Skowronek came up lame with a pulled hamstring in week two in the first half against Duke.
“It was very frustrating,” Skowronek said, who transferred from Northwestern after missing all but four games in 2019. “Having a season-ending injury last year, and then the first game this year, pulling my hamstring, it was very frustrating. I wasn't really in a great place mentally, but I had a great support staff and my family.”
Austin was also limited last season. He was able to practice but, for an undisclosed reason, he did not suit up for the Irish in any one of the team’s 13 games.
But against Louisville, Notre Dame fans got a taste of what both players have to offer this offense. Skowronek came up with two big catches, which both resulted in conversions on third down. The first was a 16-yard reception in the middle of the field and the second went for 12 yards. He finished the game with two catches for 28 yards.
Austin, on the other hand, finished the game with just one catch, but it was the longest reception of the afternoon at 18 yards. It was the first time Austin had touched the ball for Notre Dame since a 38-yard snag against Navy in 2018.
“I feel great,” Austin said. “I'm 100 percent. I feel stronger and faster, so that's a great sign.”
However, outside of his 18-yard reception, the only other time the talented pass-catcher was targeted against Louisville came on a near-touchdown catch, where he just barley stepped out of bounds. According to Pro Football Focus, Austin was on the field for 22 offensive snaps and only eight of them were passing plays.
For Notre Dame's sake, it will be an encouraging sign going forward if he can be on the field for at least 35 to 40 snaps per game.
While the Notre Dame coaching staff was surely excited to see both players make a contribution against Louisville, they also know that, along with the other wide receivers on the team, Skowronek and Austin will need to produce even more against tougher defenses. In four games, the Notre Dame wide receivers have collectively caught 26 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly acknowledges that 30-mile-an-hour winds weren't conducive to big plays in the passing game but there's only so many excuses to make for a group that's averaging just 83.5 receiving yards per game.
"When you're dealing with a team that loads the box, you’ve got to make some plays on the perimeter," Kelly said. "Kevin Austin's got to make more plays for us. Ben Skowronek's got to make more plays for us on the outside. Javon McKinley, he's got to make more plays for us on the outside. Braden Lenzy was limited today with a soft tissue injury. He's got to make more plays.
“Those guys have to be involved. Today wasn't probably the best day for that, but those guys got to make more plays on the perimeter for us. We're running the ball effectively enough, and we're getting some good play from the tight ends. Those guys got to continue to grow.”
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