Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 SEPT. 16, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: CENTRAL MICHIGAN BY JACK SOBLE CENTRAL MICHIGAN RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Central Michigan, at least through one game in 2023, is a quarterback-driven run game. The Irish are used to hearing that by now, given that in three weeks they've dealt with Navy's triple option and athletic NC State graduate student quarterback Brennan Armstrong, but they should also be well equipped to defend it. Redshirt freshman quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. paced the Chippewas in a 31-7 loss to Michigan State Sept. 1 with 58 yards on 13 attempts, good for just less than 4.5 yards per carry. When redshirt sophomore backup signal-caller Jase Bauer came into the game late, he carried twice for 27 yards. In total, according to Sports Info Solutions, CMU ranked 51st in the country in points earned per run play at 0.114, which is in the top half of the country. Nevertheless, the Chippewas could use more from junior running backs Myles Bailey and Marion Lukes. That duo averaged just 2.9 yards on their 10 combined carries. CMU's offensive line got off to a rough start, totaling a 48.1 run blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus. The Chippewas' highest-graded run blocker was redshirt sophomore Keegan Smith at 57.3. Michigan State had its way with Central Michigan's offensive line, compiling 10 tackles for loss, and Notre Dame should fare about the same. The Irish have allowed 2.6 yards per carry against Navy and Tennessee State, despite some early game hiccups. In particular, look for graduate stu- dent defensive ends Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Nana Osafo-Mensah to pick up a tackle for loss or two. Advantage: Notre Dame CENTRAL MICHIGAN PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Central Michigan offensive tackles Davis Heinzen (a redshirt sophomore) and Brayden Swartout (a junior) are back, which might not be good news for the Chippewas. There were 296 offensive tackles that played more than 350 pass-blocking snaps last season. Swartout and Heinzen ranked 273rd and 278th, respectively. The Chippewas' pass protection was similarly suspect against Michigan State, allowing 19 pres- sures and 3 sacks in 25 drop-backs. Jean-Baptiste, senior vyper Jordan Botelho, sophomore vyper Joshua Burnham and sophomore linebacker Jaylen Sneed should outmatch the CMU tackles. At least in part due to poor protection, Eman- uel and Bauer combined to complete 13 of 25 passes for 96 yards (3.84 yards per attempt) with 1 touchdown and 1 interception (both by Emanuel). Their leading receiver, redshirt sophomore tight end Mitchell Collier, caught 3 passes for 30 yards. Emanuel has an alarmingly slow release, which contributed to a deflection at the line of scrim- mage that caused his lone interception. Notre Dame's pass defense gave up only 55 yards per game through the air to Navy and Tennessee State. Central Michigan is better than those two teams, but not to an extent that will make a dif- ference against graduate student cornerback Cam Hart plus sophomore cornerbacks Benjamin Mor- rison and Jaden Mickey. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN RUN DEFENSE The Chippewas were quite good against the run in 2022, allowing only 3.8 yards per carry. Through one game in 2023, they saved 0.626 points per play, according to SIS, which ranked first in the Mid-American Conference and 12th in the country. CMU brought back much of its defensive front, including senior defensive lineman Jacques Bristol, a 6-foot-1, 295-pound bowling ball of a defensive tackle who came up huge on two fourth-and-1 stops against Michigan State. Also back is junior linebacker Kyle Moretti, who led the team with 95 tackles in 2022 and notched a team-high 14 stops in this year's season opener versus the Spartans. In general, the Chippewas contained the Spar- On PaPer Junior running back Marion Lukes averaged 5.7 yards per carry (417 yards on 63 attempts) over his first two seasons but managed only 10 yards on 5 carries in this year's season opener at Michigan State. PHOTO BY JACK REEBER/COURTESY CENTRAL MICHIGAN