SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman accommodated the inevitable as Notre Dame returned from home its blowout of Navy, a 42-3 runaway that checked virtually every box. He’d been studying the impact of playing five time zones from home for months and how it would impact the Irish once they returned to their own zip code.
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Turns out, the heavy lifting may have already been done before this week as Notre Dame faces Tennessee State (3:30 p.m., NBC), the program’s first FCS opponent. By pulling back on preseason camp and monitoring workloads going into Ireland, Notre Dame’s preparations for the first weekend in September didn’t look all that different.
“I took maybe one or two periods off of the entire practice,” Freeman said. “I did not take away from those scout team periods that we need to be prepared for a game. I think we saved probably 10 minutes on Tuesday and maybe five minutes on Wednesday.
“I feel like our guys bounced back.”
Even if Notre Dame hasn’t, it may be difficult to tell.
Tennessee State isn’t just the first FCS and HBCU to visit Notre Dame, it’s a program a long way from thorny nonconference opponents like North Dakota State and Appalachian State that have pulled off head-turning wins against Power 5 opponents. Tennessee State’s last two games against FBS opponents ended with a 49-6 loss to Middle Tennessee last season and a 55-10 loss to Mississippi State two years ago.
Maybe the best way to move beyond an international game against a one-off opponent is to host a team overmatched in every department. Because that’s what’s coming in Notre Dame’s home opener. Still, that doesn’t mean the Irish can’t fine tune their operation with NC State (Sept. 9) and Ohio State (Sept. 23) just over the horizon.
Here are three keys and a prediction as Notre Dame looks to keep its stride.
Get multiple on offense
Notre Dame’s offense under Gerad Parker look a lot like Notre Dame’s offense under Tommy Rees last weekend. The Irish were a majority 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends, two receivers) team against the Midshipmen despite never targeting a tight end in the pass game. Notre Dame won’t maintain that trend, meaning tight ends will get used in the pass game and tight ends probably won’t dominate snap counts moving forward.
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Mitchell Evans (50 snaps) and Holden Staes (39 snaps) got more work than any of Notre Dame’s wide receivers. Parker, like Rees before him, essentially conceded that Notre Dame’s second tight end (Staes) would be more impactful than his starting slot receivers (Chris Tyree and Jaden Greathouse). As much as Staes might be Notre Dame’s next potential pro at the position, Tyree and Greathouse probably did enough to change minds.
“I think as these young wideouts continue to gain the trust of our coaching staff and of everybody, you can see more wideouts,” Freeman said. “Look at what happened with five running backs that all contributed last game. How do we make sure we utilize all these different skills that we have with different personnel?”
Greathouse logged just eight snaps against Navy. Deion Colzie got just seven. If Notre Dame starts to go more 11 (one back, one tight end, three receivers) or even 10 (one back, no tight ends, four receivers), those snap distributions will change and make the Irish harder to defend.
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Two targets, one drop, no catches.
That wasn’t how the season was supposed to kick off for Merriweather, the sophomore receiver with one career catch who was supposed to become a potential WR1 for Notre Dame this season. Instead, Merriweather looked short on confidence, both on the drop on the potential pass interference later in the first quarter. Notre Dame didn’t target him again in the pass game, but Merriweather’s snaps didn’t seem to suffer despite the lack of production.
“He’s been really good in practice. He’s been dying to have more of a role after last season. He’s done a great job in the preparation,” Freeman said. “I know he didn’t score a touchdown, but he did some really good things in the game. Sometimes the stat sheet doesn’t show that, but we were pleased with what he did in the game. We really look forward to him having another great opportunity to have a big game this week.”
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The more interesting question is how Merriweather’s production (or lack of it) will impact the opportunities he gets. If the sophomore breaks out against Tennessee State, regardless of the opponent’s quality, it could fortify his standing on the depth chart. If Merriweather doesn’t, it’s hard to imagine Sam Hartman not throwing other receivers open like he did last weekend.
Notre Dame doesn’t need to pull the plug on Merriweather. That would be a rush to judgment.
But, if the sophomore struggles this weekend it’s fair to wonder if snap counts will be adjusted heading into NC State when the competition level jumps up.
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The performance of a pass rush specialist against an option team won’t move the needle most weeks. But for Botelho, the point was to prove he’s not a pass rush specialist.
Against Navy, Botelho logged 24 snaps against the run. He logged 39 snaps of run defense all last season across nine games.
“You could argue that he’s made the most progress of anybody — maturity, unselfishness. buying into the system, coach Freeman’s way of doing things,” said defensive coordinator Al Golden. “The kid’s been amazing. His strength gains, his size. I couldn’t be more excited about him, and equally excited to see him back in our regular defense.”
Tennessee State probably won’t be a huge test for Botelho, but the biggest opponent for Notre Dame’s biggest hitter ‚ just ask any offensive player — has always been discipline more than blocking schemes. Maybe Botelho has it now, which might change how the defensive line is viewed. The interior is already strong, although it will be without tackle Gabriel Rubio for at least two games with a knee injury. If the Irish can get consistent edge pressure from the Vyper position, that could change the entire outlook for Notre Dame.
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“To me, the word I’m going to use is maturity,” Freeman said. “You can’t just go as hard as you can and play with velocity, but also not understand the details of the position. That’s where I’ve seen the most growth is his understanding of what exactly we need him to do in his position within the defense.
“What I really like about Jordan is he’s practicing with a sense of urgency and a maturity he hasn’t really practiced with in the past.”
Prediction
Even factoring Notre Dame’s extended recovery from the Navy game, both the hangover of the opponent and the travel, it’s hard to see the Irish being challenged by the first FCS opponent to hit Notre Dame Stadium. It’s also hard to see Marcus Freeman running it up on former Ohio State legend Eddie George. Notre Dame cruises, gets its second team extended work and heads toward NC State on a high.
Notre Dame 45, Tennessee State 10
(Photo: Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)
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