Blue and Gold Illustrated

Sept. 21, 2024

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 21, 2024 17 He was asked about that, about why it's been so difficult for the Irish to get in an offensive rhythm early in the year, and he was rendered speechless — much like most of the people who put on a brave face and watch him play with die- hard emotion every Saturday. "I don't really know," Love said. "We run the ball, pass the ball. I don't know. That's a good question. I don't know how to answer that. I don't have any answer for that." The answers have to come from the combination of Denbrock and whoev- er's playing quarterback, a position that somehow looked foreign to starter Riley Leonard in his Notre Dame Stadium de- but despite it being the 23rd start of the Duke transfer's career. You can't blame Love and you can't blame Price, so it's got to fall on the shoulders of the overall oligarch of the offensive operation and the most im- portant player he employs on the field. No greater example of that than when Denbrock dialed up a deep shot on sec- ond-and-1 at midfield with a one-point lead and roughly six minutes remaining against NIU. Leonard's pass was inter- cepted. The optimism is in the river. The rest is history. "We could have run the football again and got a first down and continued the drive," Denbrock said. "I've got to analyze all that stuff and make sure I'm making good decisions where he's concerned and not putting him in jeopardy if it could lead to a bad decision. "There were opportunities there to make a big play, and we didn't get it done, and that's on me. We've got to do a bit better job there." ✦ "There were opportunities there to make a big play, and we didn't get it done, and that's on me. We've got to do a bit better job there." OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MIKE DENBROCK ON THE LOSS TO NORTHERN ILLINOIS

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