CFB: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Week 8 Preview
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
After a dominant victory over Stanford last weekend, Notre Dame certainly looks the part of a playoff team. They must continue that good form and take it all the way to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as they take on Georgia Tech in Week 8. Stiofán Mac Fhilib takes a look back at the Cardinal victory and a preview of this week’s tilt in our weekly Irish column.
Looking Back at Last Week
Notre Dame continued their fine form after bye weeks under Marcus Freeman with a comprehensive 49-7 demolition of an over-matched Stanford Cardinal. The manner of the offensive performance and the continued improvement on that side of the ball highlighted why Irish fans can harbour some realistic optimism about their hopes of making the playoffs. However, coming out of the game, the season-ending injury to All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison, to add to the already obscenely long list of such injuries in 2024, only served to demonstrate the likely cap on any ND playoff involvement.
After a mistake-ridden first drive for the Irish and a well-scripted one for the Cardinal, Stanford took a 7-0 lead. The rest of the game witnessed Notre Dame execute a pretty perfect game plan for what they needed right now. After being benched for a costly fumble against Louisville, Jadarian Price started the game at RB. Jeremiyah Love also got his share of carries, meaning Riley Leonard only saw his number called for designed runs on a handful of occasions.
Instead, he was able to focus on his passing game, and he produced his best afternoon yet in a Notre Dame shirt. He was 16 of 22 for 229 yards and 3 TDs, and that was just three quarters’ worth of work before he was relieved by Steve Angeli. Seven different Irish players scored on an afternoon when ND ran for more yards than Stanford could manage and passed for more, too.
The mobile Ashton Daniels returned at QB for Stanford but was held to just 74-yard passing and 42 on the ground. Twenty-seven of those came on one scramble on their first drive. He had only 15 on his other 13 rushes. Their biggest skill position threat, WR Elic Ayomanor, had just 16 yards on three receptions, as he joined some very illustrious company in the WRs locked down by Morrison.
The Week Ahead
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA); 3.30pm EST; 8.30pm IST/BST
Since 2016, Notre Dame has led college football in the number of different NFL stadiums they’ll have played in, 12 by Thanksgiving. This Saturday will see their first trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and if you’re a very, VERY optimistic Irish fan, not their last this season! ND is 30-6-1 all-time against the Yellow Jackets and 13-2-1 on the road against them.
This is Georgia Tech’s home game, though the decision to play it at the larger venue in the city may assist the visitors. A large travelling Irish support is expected for ND’s biggest road trip in the eastern half of the United States this regular season.
Tech comes into the game 5-2 on the back of a last-minute 41-34 victory at North Carolina but with two defeats in their previous three games, at a Syracuse team that lost to Stanford and Louisville. And the win over the Tar Heels came at a potentially heavy price. QB Haynes King was injured on Tech’s first drive but played through the pain until he had to come out of the game.
Listed as ‘day to day’ during the week, his absence or inability to play at full fitness would significantly hamper a Yellow Jacket offense that may need to score at will to keep up with a resurgent Irish attack.
They have excelled at keeping ahead of the chains on offense, thanks to their effective run game, which limits long third-down plays and successfully converts on fourth down 10 times out of 13. King has thrown only one INT this season and been sacked only once, with an emphasis on getting the ball out of his hands quickly.
Notre Dame DC Al Golden can thus be expected to bring his trademark pressure from multiple angles, as ND will need to get the hosts into as many third-and-long situations as possible. For a team that has been very effective in stopping opponents on fourth down, they will likely have to face several more on Saturday.
Mike Denbrock may simply need to copy and paste his Stanford game plan, as for the second consecutive week, the Irish will face a team much better at defending the run than the pass. ‘Pass to set up the run’ ought to be the motto again, and there’s now a lot more confidence in Leonard’s ability to do just that.
Special teams may not be a strength for either side as ND’s kicker, Mitch Jeter, had to leave the Stanford game injured after the opening kickoff, with Zac Yoakam taking over his place-kicking duties. PATs were straightforward, but the Irish didn’t need to kick a FG. A close game this week could get much more interesting in that regard. The Yellow Jackets DO have a healthy kicker; he’s just not been that good this season, and he’s 1 for six from 40+ yards.
And for fans from Ireland and Irish fans generally, here’s hoping Tech’s punter, David Shanahan, from Co. Kerry in Ireland, gets lots and lots of practice this week. Ideally, on every Yellow Jackets drive, in fact!
Game Prediction
Notre Dame 35-21 Georgia Tech
Leonard and the Irish offense should be able to exploit the Tech pass defense in a manner not dissimilar to the Stanford game. The hosts will find life much more difficult on offense against the best defense they’ll have seen so far. They may break a big play or two, but not enough to stop the Irish from covering and winning.
Where to Watch
No coverage in the UK (Sky are showing the Alabama @ Tennessee game instead)
ABC/ESPN (in the USA)
Playoff Picture
A week after the upset-apalooza of week 6, last weekend saw most ranked favourites (eventually) take care of business, though Alabama and Tennessee looked less than impressive. And one of them will shortly have two losses after they meet in Knoxville this Saturday.
Ole Miss’s second loss means they’re unlikely to make it now, but LSU’s win in that game makes the tantalising prospect of Brian Kelly returning to ND in the first round of the playoffs just a little more likely, which would be ratings gold.
Georgia travels to Texas for the big game this coming week. A second Bulldog loss could make things interesting and a little uncomfortable for them come December. They have yet to beat an SEC opponent with a winning record and still have Ole Miss and Tennessee to come.
In the ACC, unbeaten Miami heads to Louisville in a game that Irish fans should be glued to. A Cardinals victory would provide a major boost to ND’s resumé and reduce the ranks of the unbeaten teams.
STIOFÁN MAC FHILIB
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A VERY LONG-DISTANCE SUBWAY ALUMNUS OF NOTRE DAME, COUNTY ANTRIM-BASED STIOFÁN HAS BEEN A FAN OF THE FIGHTING IRISH SINCE 2000. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SMACFHILIB.