Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman seems to know the offense needs to find its running game.
Through two games, Notre Dame ranks No. 116 nationally in rushing at 114.5 yards per game and is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry.
The good news is the Irish were in a similar spot a year ago after their first two games, when they averaged 3.4 yards per carry.
Yes, Miami and Texas A&M made the College Football Playoff while Wisconsin and Rice will not. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are also long gone, but there is still plenty of time for Notre Dame to find answers.
Freeman and the offensive staff know the run game hasn't been good enough and they went to work on Sunday looking for ways to improve it.
“We spent a good amount of time on Sunday as an offensive staff, just kind of talking through different schematical things like maybe some aiming points, what our key is on certain runs that might've been different last year because Jeremiyah Love and JD Price would naturally do some things,” explained Freeman. “We kind of talked about should we change their eyes or their keys? Should we change the combinations a little bit in what we’re ID’ing?”
Freeman also made it clear he believes Notre Dame has been efficient running the ball through two games.
But efficiency isn't enough. The Irish need to create more explosive plays.
“We're doing a good job running ball, we want to be more explosive,” Freeman stated. “We want to find ways to create some big plays out of our run game, which we've done in the past. There's some really good things that they're doing, and I want to make sure we say it, there's some really, really good things.
“Sometimes it kind of takes going through, seeing a different opponent, two different opponents saying, ‘OK, hey, how can we enhance this?’ That's going to be the objective for our run game and we'll be intentional about trying to find ways to continue to make those big explosive games.”
Junior Aneyas Williams leads the Irish with 119 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore Nolan James Jr. has 48 yards and two scores.
Freshman running back Jonaz Walton also got his first action Saturday, carrying the ball eight times for 48 yards. His performance didn't come as a surprise to those inside Shields Family Hall.
“Jonaz played really well on Saturday with his opportunities and he's done a really good job in practice,” said Freeman. “I believe he'll continue to get more if the opportunity presents itself.”
Could there be more opportunities ahead for Walton?
That remains to be seen, but Freeman believes Notre Dame has a player who can eventually make a significant impact.
“He doesn't speak too much, but he's confident. He's confident in his abilities. He's a 10.6 100-meter guy. He can fly. He's got a different speed and pace to him. He's learning how to actually play the running back position at the college level. You get away in high school just being the best athlete. Now he's learning reads and how to set up blocks and how to be patient and when to go. The one thing about Jonaz, he's always like, ‘Coach, I want to learn and make me better. What do I need to learn and how do I improve?’”
Freeman said one of Walton's biggest challenges has been learning how hard he needs to practice at the college level.
“I think one of the big challenges for Jonaz was we were on him hard,” explained Freeman. “You've got to practice at a pace and a speed that reflects the game. This isn't high school. You can't jog around here. You've got to go full speed, and you're seeing that habit develop. He's a truly ascending player.”
Freeman has also been pleased with what he's seen from James.
In the Wisconsin game, James used his ability as a receiver to score a touchdown and help break open what had been a close game. Against Rice, he showed he can also provide the tough yards, scoring twice on one-yard touchdown runs.
“He’s got great balance,” Freeman stated. “He runs hard. He is really doing a good job in the run and the pass game. You saw it with a couple of those balls that popped on Saturday. He's going to get more. He's building confidence in not only his coaches but his teammates. The room is doing a good job. He's been able to make some plays that people remember and they see. He's just putting in the work. He's a great football player. He's talented, but he works his tail off and he's going to continue to do really good things.”
Of course, the running backs aren't the only part of the equation. When it comes to the offensive line, there is no doubt Notre Dame has to clean up areas in the run game.
The season is still young and the Irish are taking every opportunity possible to improve. That even included keeping starting offensive linemen Will Black and Anthonie Knapp on the field late into Saturday's blowout win.
“It was intentional,” said Freeman. “Me and Coach Rudy (Joe Rudolph) talked about it. They need it. They don't have a whole bunch of reps at their position. Anthonie Knapp has played a lot of ball, but at that left guard position, there are some certain things that he hasn't seen yet.
“It was a great opportunity to get him some reps at seeing different types of tells from a defense, different types of looks. We're intentional about making sure those two in their positions get a little bit more work.”
Notre Dame has dominated its first two opponents, but the run game remains one of the biggest areas the Irish need to improve.
Freeman and his staff aren't waiting for the problem to fix itself. They're already looking for answers.
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