Denbrock Doing His Part: But What the Irish Offense Is Missing?

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock needs to lean more on the dynamic running back tandem of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.

Photo by The Irish Tribune

"I know going into this game that everyone was going to be on their stuff,"

said Jeremiyah Love last week after Notre Dame's bounce-back victory against Purdue.

Love has done his part three games into the season, leading all Notre Dame rushers with 279 yards and adding three touchdowns. Love is currently averaging 8.0 yards per carry, and his success, partnered with fellow running back Jadarian Price, has the offense trending upwards after a disappointing performance at home against Northern Illinois.

While much of the attention for the Notre Dame offense lays on the shoulders of Riley Leonard and his inability to jumpstart a Fighting Irish aerial attack, Love and Price have been the motor behind Notre Dame's explosive offense. Already, Love and Price have recorded touchdown runs of 70 yards, 47 yards, and 34 yards.

While offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock could've leaned more on this running back duo in their embarrassing home loss, Denbrock has improved his play calling as the year has progressed.

His gameplan against Purdue was simple and easy to attain; dominate the line of scrimmage with the run, spread out the box with quick passes, and integrate the tight ends in easy RPOs.

With a simplified offensive strategy, Notre Dame excelled. While Purdue looked terrible defensively, with a plethora of missed tackles and lapses in coverage, Notre Dame was tactical in their attack and capitalized on Purdue's mistakes.

Even in Notre Dame's 66-point thumping, the key takeaway from the game was still Riley Leonard's poor downfield passing performance. While Leonard was able to get it done with his legs, that same performance cannot be replicated against elite teams with superior athletes.

While Denbrock tried to get Leonard more comfortable throwing the ball with easy reads and high percentage throws, he still lacked the skill of keeping his eyes downfield when evading the pocket.

On the throws that weren't quick hitters, Leonard always loves to roll out to his right side. It appears as though the coaching staff told him if his primary read isn't there: takeoff. Leonard's lack of field vision will cost Notre Dame in the long run, but I don't necessarily think it's a matter of Leonard not seeing the open receiver, but rather him being scared to make a mistake.

On a scramble last week early in the second quarter, Leonard held onto the ball on third and six, instead of risking an uncomfortable throw to an open receiver. I simply think Northern Illinois gave Leonard the yips, and he is afraid of throwing the ball downfield.

This philosophy of "not messing up" instead of "making the play to win the game" is something that Marcus Freeman adopted in early losses in his career. I thought that book was flipped after Texas A&M and his aggressive nature on fourth down, yet behind closed doors, the message could still be resonating.

Going into the future, it should be interesting to see how Mike Denbrock chooses to build off this performance from Leonard. Can he elevate Leonard's performance? Can Leonard graduate from tight end dump offs behind the line of scrimmage to 15 yard ins across the middle of the field?

If Notre Dame can elevate Leonard's confidence and open up the running lanes for the talented stable of running backs, this Notre Dame offense can reach unparalleled heights.

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