SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 17 Notre Dame already lost one home game to a Mid-American Conference opponent.
The 17th-ranked Fighting Irish (2-1) are doing everything possible to avoid a repeat Saturday when they host Miami (Ohio) — and a coach who understands the Notre Dame mystique better than most.
“They are insanely talented,” said Chuck Martin, who spent four seasons on Notre Dame’s coaching staff before taking his current job following the 2013 season. “They’ve done a great job recruiting. They play really hard. They know what they’re doing. They’ve got a great secondary.”
At least that’s what Martin saw on tape when Notre Dame (2-1) rushed for 362 yards and six touchdowns in last week’s 66-7 rout at Purdue.
That’s not what Notre Dame fans watched the previous week when Northern Illinois ruined the Irish home opener with a shocking 16-14 upset.
It’s not supposed to be like this in South Bend. The Irish opened this season with a perfect 10-0 mark against MAC foes.
But this won’t be easy.
The RedHawks are led by Brett Gabbert, the younger brother of two-time Super Bowl champ Blaine Gabbert, and they were a heavy preseason favorite to win their second straight MAC title. Plus, they’re hungry after losing their first two games — at Northwestern and last week to rival Cincinnati.
Notre Dame also has another problem — plugging holes along an already inexperienced offensive line that lost one projected starter last month and will be without center Ashton Craig (left knee) and right guard Billy Schrauth (right ankle) on Saturday. Guard Pat Coogan will fill in at center and Rocco Spinder will take over at right guard, as they did last week at Purdue.
“We can be a really good football team,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “We’ve got work to do. Let’s evaluate the film the right way, let’s come up with a plan to attack and fix the issues that we have and continue to prepare and respect your opponent.”
Notre Dame also must find a replacement for starting defensive end Jordan Botelho, who also suffered a season-ending knee injury last week. His backup, Boubacar Traore, returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown.
And yet Martin still got a glimpse into what the Irish are capable of.
“By the end of the first half, I felt bad for the Purdue quarterback,” he said. “I don’t even know the kid. This can’t be any fun. He’s out there competing, he was just fending for his life the whole time.”
But Freeman also has seen the other side of the Irish fence.
“You can beat any team you play, and you can lose to any team you play,” Freeman said. “That’s the beauty of college football. So we have to prepare and understand that.”
Homecoming
Martin served as Notre Dame’s defensive backs and recruiting coordinator in 2010 and 2011 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2012 before taking the Miami job. He even grew up as a Notre Dame fan.
“It’s an awesome opportunity for us, and a really cool experience to go to any type of venue like that,” he said. “My personal opinion is we’re going to the greatest venue on the planet.”
On board
Coogan could have left Notre Dame after losing his starting job last year. Instead, he never considered it — not even after failing to win the job back in August.
“It was pretty simple for me,” Coogan said. “My love for the University of Notre Dame is so much stronger than any individual honor, goal, accolade I could have imagined. Sure, it sucked, and there were some dark moments, but the pride of this university and the pride of this program, especially the offensive line unit, I knew I had to be ready at any moment.”
‘Lamar’ Leonard
When Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price spoke about Notre Dame’s explosive ground game, he included quarterback Riley Leonard in what he described as a home run-hitting group.
Everyone saw why at Purdue.
Leonard only played two quarters and still finished with 100 yards and three TDs rushing and 112 yards passing, becoming the first FBS player to top 100 yards in both categories and score three times in a first half since Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson did it at Syracuse in his Heisman Trophy-winning season of 2016.
“He surprised me with those broken tackles,” Price said, referring to Leonard. “There was one where he was going in the end zone, he stiff-armed guys. He looks like a running back. And we were joking on the bus. He’s like, ‘Lamar Leonard,’ or whatever. He’s just an athletic guy.”