Greg McElroy identifies Notre Dame’s biggest problem on offense

Greg McElroy analyzed Notre Dame’s offensive problems in the latest episode of the podcast “Always College Football.”

While others – including Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman – have identified the mental side of the game as the Irish’s biggest failure in their loss to Northern Illinois, McElroy argued the problem lies more with the personnel on offense.

“I think the problem for Notre Dame is that Marcus Freeman has coached 29 games now and this is the seventh time they’ve scored 21 or fewer points,” McElroy said. “Their record in games where they’ve scored 21 or fewer is 1-6.”

McElroy went on to say that the problem is that Notre Dame lacks elite offensive players.

“If you want to win a national championship, you have to have top-notch weapons,” McElroy said after comparing Notre Dame’s offensive personnel to other teams in the top 10 such as Georgia, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Oregon.

It’s worth noting that Freeman parted ways with his former wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey after the 2023 regular season, so it’s possible this issue will continue to improve as his successor, Mike Brown, gets more time in the program.

After two games this year, Beaux Collins is Notre Dame’s best wide receiver with 107 yards and 0 touchdowns on 10 catches.

The wide receiver position was certainly Notre Dame’s weakest position in the three years under Freeman. Aside from tight ends like Michael Mayer, the Irish’s most successful receiver in a single season during the Freeman era was converted running back Chris Tyree, who totaled 484 yards last season.

This must change quickly if Notre Dame wants to compete for national titles again, McElroy argued.

“If you look at Notre Dame, their weapons, compared to the other teams competing for the championship, they can’t compete right now,” McElroy said.

Notre Dame will play Purdue on the road in Week 3.