After one week of play, there is a concerning trend that some analysts have taken when looking at Notre Dame. The Irish are on the verge of losing their grip as Clemson’s main challenger for the ACC crown.
Check out my power rankings going into week 2! 😅😳 what do y’all think??? #ACC pic.twitter.com/sgnch4KNbH
— Eric Mac Lain (@EricMacLain) September 14, 2020
Eric Mac Lain, an analyst at the ACC Network, has the Irish behind North Carolina. Both teams won, both teams needed big second half’s to secure those wins.
Over at 247Sports, they looked at week two overreactions and the Irish showed up. Brandon Marcello stated the obvious that the passing game needed to be better, but his assessment after was concerning. Marcello noted “North Carolina, meanwhile, looks like more of a challenger than Notre Dame in the ACC.”
Yes, this was a look at overreactions, but it’s still a reaction. One that doesn’t have the Irish trending in the right direction. The good news is that after Kelly’s meeting with the media yesterday, he shed some light on the offense. A new zone blocking scheme held the offense back a bit, without live reps in preseason camp, there were kinks to be worked out.
Could that have been why quarterback Ian Book struggled? There were other reasons, his receiver with the most reps in camp, Bennett Skowronek, got injured and didn’t return. All new skill position players needed to be broken in.
North Carolina returned a 1,000 yard rusher, two 1,000 yard receivers and quarterback Sam Howell. They have the chemistry but still struggled.
Yes, some have “dropped” the Irish a notch in there rankings but it doesn’t matter much. Notre Dame’s schedule is set up for them to be able to break in a new offense, while still being able to win. Louisville and Pittsburgh are ranked opponents, but would they be in a normal season? Doubtful.
The defense looks like it won’t skip a beat from last years very good group. They will give the offense a cushion to get comfortable. Brian Kelly’s group should be fine going forward as they compete for the ACC title.