What can the Irish improve on during the off-week heading into home stretch?

As Notre Dame enjoys its last off week before entering the final four-game stretch of the season, getting as healthy as possible is the Irish’s top priority, but not its only one. The Irish are also looking to play their best ball in November and continue to evolve.

Offensively, after a rocky start at times earlier in the season, Riley Leonard is now hitting his stride and is looking more comfortable running the Irish offense by the week, and with numbers to back it up.

The offensive line is beginning to play much better as a unit and were able to get Billy Shrauth back in the lineup last week as well.

If Denbrock’s trust in Riley Leonard is growing along with his increasingly impressive stat line, perhaps he will try to open the offense up a bit more for the remaining four games. Stretch the field more. Find more creative ways to get the talented group of backs the ball that haven’t been shown yet.

This offense deserves to explore whatever the “next step” in a Denbrock offense is. It has earned that right by its play.

The Irish defense also has more to prove

Notre Dame’s defense has been the backbone of the program for many years. This is a credit to Notre Dame culture and most recently a credit to Al Golden whose unit is only giving up a stingy 12.1 PPG to the opposition. Even when battling a handful of serious injuries to key players at key positions, this group has never let up.

Perhaps this extended break will allow Christian Gray to further adjust to being the lead corner on the field due to Ben Morrison’s injury and for Leonard Moore and Karson Hobbs to further ingratiate themselves into key secondary roles. I expect other young players like KVA and Bryce Young, 2 of the most gifted athletes on the team to shine down the stretch.

As the weather gets cold, the Notre Dame defense gets more bold. This group is relentless and holds itself to a high standard each week. One set by itself. This unit will lead the Irish to and through whatever becomes of the rest of this season.

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