Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1158434
32 PRESEASON 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY BRYAN DRISKELL I t wasn't that long ago it seemed like we were nearing the end of head coach Brian Kelly's tenure at Notre Dame. After a disastrous 4‑8 campaign in 2016, there were many who believed it was time to move on and change regimes. However, Fighting Irish director of athletics Jack Swarbrick wasn't one of those dissenters. He showed support for Kelly's plan to get the program back on track, and has been rewarded for his patience. Since that dreadful finish three years ago, Notre Dame has gone 22‑4, earned its first‑ever College Football Playoff (CFP) berth and is a preseason top‑10 squad in 2019. Kelly's blueprint for redemption has worked through the first two sea‑ sons. The question now is, "Has the program peaked or can the Fighting Irish head coach build on the recent success?" In talks with sources on campus, there is a great deal of confidence in this football team, even more than we saw heading into the last two sea‑ sons, which ended with 10‑3 and 12‑1 records. Another double‑digit victory to‑ tal would show that Kelly's changes have resulted in sustained success. Another CFP run would demonstrate that Notre Dame has again emerged as one of the premier programs in the na‑ tion, not for its history or tradition, but because of what it is doing right now. There is a chance for that to happen, but Kelly's team will have to overcome some significant personnel losses and wade through a challenging schedule in order to get to that point. Here is a look at the primary ob‑ jectives that must be met for Notre Dame to make yet another CFP run: OFFENSE The Line Must Be As Good As Advertised Notre Dame has had four top‑10 caliber teams under Kelly, and a com‑ mon theme with all four was a for‑ midable offensive line. Some were better than others, but all four (2012, 2015, 2017 and 2018) were quite good. There is optimism in South Bend that the 2019 line could be even better than last season, which failed to live up to the billing of the 2015 or 2017 units but was tabbed as a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award (which is handed out to the nation's best offensive line). An injury to fifth‑year senior Alex Bars was the ultimate road block to the 2018 line reaching its zenith, but it should pay dividends in 2019. Bars going down allowed then sophomore Aaron Banks to step into the lineup and earn six starts, which means four starters return this season. If the Notre Dame offense is going to become the explosive unit it must be for the Irish to truly become a title contender, the front five will have to lead the way. Junior right tackle Rob‑ ert Hainsey anchors that squad, and he will need senior left tackle Liam Eichenberg and senior right guard Tommy Kraemer to play to their po‑ tential if the Irish are in fact going to field one of the nation's top lines. Ian Book Needs To Make More Plays In former Irish quarterback Bran‑ don Wimbush's first eight starts, the Irish offense averaged 42.4 points per game. He sustained a hand injury in the eighth game and never quite re‑ covered. Over his next seven starts — which included the first three games of the 2018 season — the offense av‑ eraged only 20.4 points per contest. Notre Dame's offense had stag‑ nated, so Kelly and offensive coor‑ dinator Chip Long made the switch and inserted Ian Book into the lineup, which provided the needed spark. In Book's eight regular‑season starts, the offense averaged 36.6 points per game. The offense sputtered in the Cot‑ ton Bowl, a theme for Notre Dame against top defenses. Strong line play coupled with improvements from Book are vital to the Irish get‑ ting over that hump and becoming a championship‑caliber offense. NEXT LEVEL Increased production from the offense and pass rush are integral to another College Football Playoff run Junior right tackle Robert Hainsey is expected to anchor one of the nation's best offensive lines in 2019. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER