SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Twelve thoughts on Notre Dame’s 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois that leaves Marcus Freeman’s third year in charge in a perilous position just two games into the schedule.
1. When NBC’s Zora Stephenson asked Freeman in pregame about quarterback Riley Leonard’s debut in Notre Dame Stadium, it sounded an alarm that nobody heard.
“(Leonard) told us that last week he had a conservative approach against A&M, but today he wants to test the limits,” Stephenson said. “What do you want to see from him?”
“Just want to play within the offense,” Freeman responded. “I don’t, we don’t, need anything spectacular. Do exactly what your coaches tell you to do, play within the game plan and the rest will take care of itself. If we start trying to make plays and throw the ball down the field, then all of a sudden we’re playing out of character. Just do exactly what we want you to do, and the rest will take care of itself.”
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Hold up.
Just last week Freeman pushed back on the notion Leonard’s deep ball accuracy was a weakness. He said he believed in Leonard. Now the coach wants Leonard to paint by numbers in the passing game against a MAC opponent?
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard has yet to throw a touchdown pass in two games. (Matt Cashore / USA Today)
This isn’t about Freeman being right or Leonard being wrong or vice versa. It’s that Freeman and Leonard apparently didn’t see Saturday’s game plan through the same lens. And now Notre Dame has the worst loss of the college football season with a big-money quarterback yet to throw a touchdown pass.
2. Last year, Northern Illinois lost to Central Michigan, Southern Illinois, Toledo, Ball State, Tulsa and Nebraska.
3. There are two big questions with Leonard this week. Does Freeman think the transfer gives Notre Dame the best chance to win? And if Leonard doesn’t, does Freeman have the constitution to bench a captain who was a major acquisition in the transfer portal?
To pull the plug on Leonard after two games feels like a white flag. But to put Leonard back out there when he’s struggling to connect with Notre Dame’s receivers or read defenses … what would change in the season’s third week?
4. But the problems with Notre Dame’s offense are not all down to Leonard. The offensive line remains undercooked. The running backs are dynamic with the ball but a negative on the offensive without it. Receivers don’t get open. Other than Beaux Collins, they don’t help out the quarterback, either. If not for Mitchell Evans’ return, the tight end position was a production black hole last week. Notre Dame is one of five programs yet to throw a touchdown pass this season. Only two programs in the country have converted fewer third downs than Notre Dame.
Mike Denbrock and his staff have a ton to correct. A new quarterback wouldn’t help that.
5. And yet, Leonard was a shell of himself after being rag-dolled late in the second quarter when he was thrown to the ground, landing on his left shoulder. Before that snap, Leonard had logged 10 rushing attempts in the game. Notre Dame’s only first-half scoring drive was built on his legs, not his arm. After the hit? Leonard didn’t run again in the game. So if Leonard is a dual-threat quarterback who’s only a single threat, can Notre Dame win that way?
Leonard isn’t among the top 100 quarterbacks in college football in pass efficiency, and his 98.33 rating is almost 20 points short of cracking the top 100.
For the sake of comparison, Sam Hartman (159.5) and Drew Pyne (155.27) finished in the top 20, and Jack Coan (151.83) finished No. 31.
6. As good as Notre Dame’s young linebackers were in the opener, only Jaiden Ausberry earned his reps this past weekend. Drayk Bowen, Jaylen Sneed and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa were all a step slow against Northern Illinois because they couldn’t find the ball. Sneed’s woeful missed tackle in the second half put him on the bench. Ausberry had a bad miss in the first half but rebounded with a strong second half. Bowen got caught on a wheel route. Viliamu-Asa was in chase mode on Northern Illinois’s first touchdown, but he had good coverage.
There always were going to be moments like these for a group of young linebackers, but they shouldn’t come with such intensity against Northern Illinois. As well as Max Bullough and Al Golden had this group prepared for Texas A&M, the reverse was true on Saturday.
Per Pro Football Focus, Sneed’s 55.5 rating was the worst among the entire defense.
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7. Where would Notre Dame be without Jeremiyah Love? Probably 0-2.
This Irish have an elite athlete at running back, who can turn a 5-yard run into a 50-yard run with speed, power and explosion. As much as Audric Estime was the perfect fit for last year’s highly competent offensive line, Love is a must for this one. Notre Dame’s line doesn’t block consistently and is still grasping how to work together. That leaves the running on his own too often. It’s better to have a back who can make something out of nothing, but there’s “nothing” too often.
8. Notre Dame’s running backs are part of the problem when it comes to protecting Leonard. They’re not the biggest part of the problem, but they need to be part of the solution.
9. What a breakout performance for Jordan Clark, which got lost in Saturday’s carnage. PFF rated him as Notre Dame’s top defender, but he only played 16 snaps as the Irish went with a base 4-3 most of the game. Clark looked like a confident graduate student at the back of the defense after an iffy debut at Texas A&M. There’s no doubt that Clark gives Notre Dame’s defense the best chance to have success.
10. When RJ Oben had an anonymous debut at Texas A&M, it could be chalked to a new player in a new scheme in a new environment. But the coaching staff appeared to bench Oben against NIU, which was alarming. He logged just 11 snaps and was replaced in the rotation by Josh Burnham, who went down injured late in the fourth quarter. Oben has two tackles on the season, one more than Mitch Jeter.
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11. Speaking of kickers, it will be interesting to hear from Freeman on the plan to have a kicker with a career-long 53-yard field goal attempt one from 62 yards to win the game. The entire scenario felt panicked in a moment when Notre Dame inexplicably didn’t use its final timeout to think through its options. The field goal never had a chance.
12. So what now for Freeman?
Notre Dame’s third-year coach is now under pressure, unlike anything he has felt before. This isn’t an 0-3 start, a mismanaged coordinator search or recruiting adversity. It’s bigger.
How Freeman manages that stress during the next three months will determine whether he makes it as Notre Dame’s coach. And Freeman will have to coach the rest of the way without a safety net. After being given all the resources from staffing to recruiting to facilities, it’s on Freeman to tie it all together.
It’s College Football Playoff or bust.
(Top photo: Matt Cashore / USA Today)
