Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 22, 2025 53 D efenses have a difficult choice to make when lining up against Notre Dame's offense. Should a defensive coor- dinator try to load the box in an effort to slow down the rushing attack of junior run- ning back Jeremiyah Love and redshirt junior running back Jadarian Price? Or does a de- fensive coordinator have to respect the proven passing ability of redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr and the explosive plays he can gener- ate with the Irish receivers? Opposing coaches have an- swered in recent weeks with an attempt to limit Notre Dame's running game. In some ways, Boston College and Navy dared Carr to beat them with his decision-making and arm talent. Both defenses watched Carr hit deep strikes in losing efforts. He completed 6 of 11 attempts thrown at least 20 yards down the field for 246 yards with 3 touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus. Carr's deep-ball proficiency still might not change the approach of opposing defenses. If a defense has a lot of confidence in its secondary or its pass rush, it may still want to load the box. There's still more things that could go wrong for Notre Dame when throwing the ball — an interception, a sack or an incomplete pass — rather than running it. That's why it's important for Notre Dame's offensive line to not be com- placent about its run-blocking efforts against stacked boxes. Sophomore left tackle Anthonie Knapp spoke for the unit last week and agreed with that sentiment. "To be completely honest, I think our pass pro was fine against Boston College," Knapp said. "But we did not establish a run as good as we wanted at all." Notre Dame rushed 29 times for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 25-10 win over BC Nov. 1. But a lot of that pro- duction came on a 94-yard touchdown run by Love in the fourth quarter. Knapp said the offensive line used that frustration to focus on run block- ing against Navy. The Irish racked up 249 rushing yards and 4 rushing touch- downs on 38 carries in the 49-10 blow- out of Navy. "I don't know what the story was, but we were kind of mad," Knapp said. "We took that to our heart. These running backs working their tail off, and then we're just not making these holes for them. We all took it as a whole O-line to really try to establish that this week and play more aggressive and not play fear- ful or trying to mess up, but just trying to put yourself out there." Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph credited Boston College for playing safeties tight to the box to make it harder to account for every defender in blocking schemes. With so many defenders in a tight space, one missed block or unblocked defender can shut a run down quickly. But if everything is executed perfectly by the offense, someone like Love or Price can break loose for a long run. "That's your battle," Rudolph said. "I don't ever want them to be satisfied. Like when we have a meeting, we never come out of there feeling overly jolly and excited. But we also know we respect the game and we respect our op- ponents. And every game's a battle. Every challenge." First-time starters Joe Ot- ting, a redshirt sophomore center, and Sullivan Absher, a redshirt sophomore left guard, are gaining experi- ence by the week. Otting took over for redshirt junior Ashton Craig following the latter's season-ending knee injury in the North Carolina State game. Absher replaced redshirt junior Billy Schrauth following a knee injury in the Southern Cal game. " Yo u 're p ro u d o f t h ose guys," Rudolph said. "But it takes a minute to get used to the guy next to you. And they're getting there with that." No matter the challenge, the Irish of- fensive line needs to keep answering the bell. If the Irish want to make a deep playoff run, they can't allow the offense to become one-dimensional with Carr and the passing game doing the bulk of the work. The offensive line plays a big role in the passing game as well. The Irish allowed just 10 sacks through the first nine games of the season. When the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the best offensive line in col- lege football, excluded Notre Dame, it indirectly expressed doubt in what the Irish offensive line has accomplished this season. There's no better way to prove the Joe Moore Award voting committee wrong than by continuing to pave paths for a running game even against stacked boxes. "We're just going to keep the thumb on it and keep pushing and keep press- ing," Rudolph said. "And we're always going to be critical on ourselves. We're never coming out of there feeling like we solved everything." ✦ Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph won't let his unit be satisfied with running game struggles. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Offensive Line Keeps Pushing For Run-Game Dominance Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES