Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1017623
32 PRESEASON 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY BRYAN DRISKELL N otre Dame enters the 2018 season with far greater expec‑ tations than a year ago. Head coach Brian Kelly's squad is a consensus top‑16 team. Athlon Sports ranked the Irish No. 15 in its preseason magazine, while Phil Steele's College Football Pre- view had them No. 8 nationally. Notre Dame checked in at No. 11 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll and No. 12 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll. ESPN recently tweeted out predic‑ tions for the College Football Play‑ off, and it had the Irish as the fourth team to make it in. Notre Dame has entered Novem‑ ber with a chance to play for the title or to make the College Football Play‑ off four times in the last six seasons, but only once (2012) has it fulfilled that goal. Entering the season ranked as a borderline top‑10 team has Kel‑ ly's squad in position to make a legit playoff run should it be able to han‑ dle what is a challenging schedule. Avoiding crushing injuries will play a role, as will finishing better in November, but Notre Dame has the pieces in place to be considered a legitimate playoff contender if pieces fall into place. Here is a look at the primary as‑ pects that must happen for the Irish to reach their full potential and crash the College Football Playoff party. OFFENSE Brandon Wimbush Must Be At His Best With all due respect to junior Ian Book, who did some wonder‑ ful things in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame's Citrus Bowl victory over LSU, Notre Dame's best chance to make a run to the College Football Playoff is for senior Brandon Wim‑ bush to be the man for the Irish. Wimbush will never be confused for Jimmy Clausen, the most accurate quarterback in Notre Dame history. He will make throws that leave fans scratching their heads, but we also saw last year that when Wimbush was on his game he could put the entire offense on his back. Whether it was turning a broken up shovel pass into a 65‑yard touch‑ down run (Boston College) or throw‑ ing the ball over the top of the de‑ fense (Michigan State, USC, North Carolina State and Wake Forest), Wimbush is a dynamic playmaker. Pivotal to Notre Dame in 2018 is building around his skill set and making him the focal point of the offense. That means the Irish coaches must make sure the offense tailors his skill set, and it means Wimbush must continue improving upon the areas he struggled last season. If he improves his accuracy and becomes a better decision‑maker, Wimbush has the ability to carry the offense to great heights. We saw that last season when Notre Dame aver‑ aged 41.3 points per game through the first nine contests of the season. The Offensive Line Must Jell Quickly No one should expect the Notre Dame offensive line to be as good as it was last season, or at least it shouldn't be as dominant as it was a year ago when it had a pair of first‑ team All‑Americans and eventual first‑round NFL Draft picks in Quen‑ ton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey. The question is whether or not the line can still be effective, and remain one of the top five to 10 assemblies of blockers in the country. There is still plenty of talent returning, but how quickly that skill level can flourish will dictate the success for the unit. Fifth‑year senior left guard Alex Bars (27 career starts) and fifth‑year senior center Sam Mustipher (25) were both named second‑team pre‑ season AP All‑Americans (joining ju‑ nior cornerback Julian Love). Notre Dame needs those two vet‑ erans to become the anchors of the offense, and it needs talented juniors Liam Eichenberg (left tackle) and Falling into Place Notre Dame has a chance to make a playoff run in 2018, but only if some important elements go right Sophomore Jafar Armstrong, who arrived in South Bend as a wide receiver and redshirted in 2017, has moved to running back and will be counted on to provide big plays for the Irish this fall. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA