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Notre Dame Football: Examining Irish Road Struggles

With 2023 in the rearview mirror we have a lot of time to look ahead to Notre Dame football in 2024.

Staff changes have been made while a new recruiting class has been officially assembled and the transfer portal has been used often.

But what about actually tangible play?  Where does Notre Dame have issues that need addressed in 2024?

Seeing as they start 2024 with perhaps their toughest test, a road game at Texas A&M, fixing the road woes seems like a good place to start.

Let’s spend a couple minutes examining how Marcus Freeman and the Irish started games in the friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium compared to those played away from South Bend and see just how much of an issue it is.

Home Game Data

Quinn Harris/Getty Images

Notre Dame played six true home games in 2023, going 5-1.  In those six games the Irish outscored their opponents 42-20 in the first quarter and by halftime had a combined lead of 114-27 on the opposition.

However, a few things must be noted of these numbers which include quite the outlier as well.

The Ohio State Outlier (and more)

USA TODAY SPORTS

Notre Dame wound up playing just one home game against a team that finished the 2023 season ranked, that of course being Ohio State.  In that game the Irish and Buckeyes played to a scoreless tie through one period and Ohio State held a 3-0 halftime lead.

Furtermore, Notre Dame is never going to be a team that goes and plays a true road game in a place like Tennessee State or Central Michigan.  In the first quarter of those two games the Irish outscored the Tigers and Chippewas 21-10 and for the first half held a combined 56-17 advantage.

Neutral Site Domination – The Data

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame played two games in neutral site venues, although both saw favorable crowds for the Fighting Irish.  In both, Notre Dame dominated their way to…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-football-examining-irish-165129605.html

Author : Fighting Irish Wire

Publish date : 2024-01-14 16:51:29

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

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