Notre Dame offense thriving on depth and ‘leave no doubt’ mentality

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Notre Dame’s offense has not needed a massive number of snaps to light up the scoreboard. Through four games, the Fighting Irish rank 95th nationally in offensive plays but 17th in scoring, averaging 42.3 points per game.

As the Irish prepare for North Carolina, the message inside the offense remains simple: leave no doubt.

“Starts from the top with Coach Freeman kind of installing our motto for the year, leave no doubt, and it comes with, in offensive line terms, I believe we’ve put a much more high emphasis on finishing blocks this year and getting them sorted so our running backs have more confidence hitting holes,” offensive lineman Sullivan Absher said.

That emphasis has become increasingly important with a different look in Notre Dame’s backfield this season. Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr. have been competing for carries, but both have maintained that the battle is about making the entire running back room better rather than separating themselves from one another.

“His performance against Michigan State made me want to have a good one. It’s never about him and it’s never about me. We don’t want anything other than to see everybody in the room succeed,” Williams said.

For Notre Dame’s offensive line, the responsibility is straightforward: finish blocks, create cleaner running lanes and give the backs room to work. And offensive line coach Joe Rudolph believes the group has the pieces to continue doing exactly that.

“I really like that group of kids man, I think they are very much on par with the likes we’ve had here and I think they are doing a really good job in a lot of areas and the thing we got to do is stay focused on getting better, each guy understanding his role a little bit more, how he fits in the whole picture,” Rudolph said.

But Notre Dame’s offensive production has hardly been limited to the ground game. Wide receiver Micah Gilbert has caught 83.3 percent of his targets, and even with Quincy Porter sidelined for the season, quarterback CJ Carr has continued spreading the football around.

Against Purdue, Carr threw seven touchdown passes to seven different players, showcasing the depth Notre Dame believes it has throughout the offense.

“The talent that we have up and down this roster is showing with that stat. I didn’t even know that. Seven touchdowns, seven different guys, wow that’s pretty cool, the guys are going to be stoked about that,” Carr said.

Efficient. Explosive. And, as the Irish like to say, leaving no doubt.