Notre Dame Opponent Preview | Central Michigan
Notre Dame fans are worried about another Marshall.
It’s tough to blame them. No one saw that game coming even though the circumstances set up for the possibility for a letdown after a tough opening game on the road against Ohio State.
Marcus Freeman had his version of Ball State. Unfortunately for him his team ended up losing and 2022 Marshall was better than 2018 Ball State.
Central Michigan is probably going to use that Marshall game as inspiration. Their head coach Jim McElwain, the former head coach at Florida and offensive coordinator at Alabama, isn’t a stranger when it comes to big game atmospheres either.
McElwain doesn’t have the same defense that Marshall had last year, though. They also have plenty of questions about their roster heading into the season and we should have some answers before they travel to South Bend with them facing Michigan State on the road in week one.
This is an opponent that Notre Dame shouldn’t have many problems beating soundly and last year’s Marshall game should provide every reason to to take a Group of 5 opponent seriously.
Post-Spring SP+ Ranking
They are 109th in Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings after the spring. They’re 120th on offense and 83rd on defense. They’re the lowest ranked FBS opponent Notre Dame will face in 2023.
Key losses
The big one offense is starting running back Lew Nicholls, who was taken in the seventh round of the most recent NFL Draft.
Their leading receiver, Carlos Carriere, is also gone as well as tight end Joel Wilson. Combined with Nichols, that’s 110 catches to replace and with other losses via graduation and the portal, they are returning only one receiver with more than nine catches.
Up front, they lose second team All-MAC Jamezz Kimbrough as their center. He’s out of eligibility.
After the season they lost their starting quarterback, Daniel Richardson, who transferred to FAU. They also lost a starting guard in the portal to Georgia State and their punter to Oklahoma. After the spring they lost their projected starting tight end plus a right guard and a receiver who were in their two-deep as well.
Defensive end Thomas Incoom was their best defensive player and he and his 11.5 sacks have to be replaced.
Key additions
It’s not a long list of instant impact additions.
WR Stephan Bracy transferred from Wisconsin. He’ll get an opportunity to play immediately because of who they lost there, but he only had one career catch and his main contributions came as a kick returner. He did take one back to the house against Nebraska.
The other portal addition was a punter.
This team isn’t adding a former 5-star running back who was driving an Uber last year.
Top returners and returning production
They are 52nd in returning production, 110th on offense and 8th on defense, which is a bit misleading because they finished 98th in DF+ (combined FEI and SP+) last season. This isn’t them bringing back the ‘85 Bears.
QB Bert Emanuel Jr. rushed for 293 in an upset of Buffalo and scored seven touchdowns overall. He’s certainly a threat as a runner, but only attempted eight passes last season.
The top returning receiver is Jalen McGaugy. He’s a big body (6’4” 225) and averaged 15.7 yards per reception on 20 catches.
RB Marion Lukes is the top returning back and he flashed some potential last season with 6.3 yards per carry and he went for 160 as the lead back against Akron.
LB Kyle Moretti led them in tackles and had 10 Havoc plays.
CB Donte Kent was first team All-MAC and had 15 pass breakups and blocked a kick.
One big question
Can they develop a passing game with Emanuel Jr?
The whole point of having a dangerous running threat at quarterback is the dual-threat part of the equation. If they can’t develop a passing game, it’s hard to see them having a shot at an upset being so one-dimensional on offense.
CMU went 4-8 last year when they were expected to be near the top of the conference. On paper they look worse than last year so this isn’t the same as Marshall (67th in pre-season SP+) or 2021 Toledo (66th). Those teams had more talent and also were bolstered by Power 5 transfers. This 2023 CMU squad is closer to the lower tier of talent in the MAC.
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