The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team has to prove they can build off last year’s performance in 2024.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans hope that the 2024 football season will be better than 2023 was for them. With a 10-3 record in 2023, the Fighting Irish have a schedule that favors them this season. With the addition of Mike Denbrock as offensive coordinator to Marcus Freeman’s coaching staff and a defense that can be titled elite, fans should be ready and eager for college football to kick off.
Mike Denbrock
Denbrock comes to Notre Dame with an impressive resume following right behind him. He spent the past two seasons with the LSU Tigers as their offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
LSU finished 2023 with a record of 10-3 (6-2 conference record) and averaged 45.5 points per game, leading the nation. To top off the season, Denbrock helped Jayden Daniels have a successful season. Daniels won the Heisman after throwing for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and four interceptions while rushing for 1,134 yards with 10 rushing touchdowns.
Denbrock must answer some questions about the offensive line, however, including past injuries and new additions. Adjustments and decisions will be made quickly by the opening week so that the offense can match the defense’s output.
The Fighting Irish have helped Denbrock get a head start with this offense as they landed Riley Leonard, Duke’s former quarterback. Giving this offense a run-throw option under center and giving Leonard some of the best weapons he has been surrounded by.
Notre Dame 2024 Season Preview – The Offense
The offense went through a major overhaul and that started with Denbrock and Leonard. The offensive line will be the main focus as they had to replace three starters. They also lost their star running back, Audric Estime, to the NFL.
Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price will help pick up where Estime left off. The Irish also can’t forget about Mitchell Evans, who will be one of Leonard’s favorite targets and should continue being one of the top tight ends in the nation.
As long as Leonard can keep his ankle healthy and the offensive line shows up week in and week out, Notre Dame will be able to push for another dominating season. The weapons are there with Love, Price, Evans, as well as wide receiver transfers Kris Mitchell and Beaux Collins. The pieces are aligned for this offense but they need to prove they can match their defense’s energy.
Notre Dame 2024 Season Preview – The Defense
Coming off of a huge 2023 season as one of the top 10 defenses, defensive coordinator Al Golden is ready to prove it was no fluke. The Fighting Irish defense ranked seventh in scoring, fifth in total defense, and fifth in yards allowed per play. They will have five starters return this season including All-Americans Xavier Watts and Howard Cross III.
There is no question that Watts and cornerback Benjamin Morrison are at the top of their position. On top of that, Cross and Rylie Mills have proven that they can go down in Notre Dame history as one of the best interior duos the college has ever seen.
There are some questions for this defense to answer though.
Notre Dame will have to replace the opposite corner of Morrison which may take some time. In comes two transfers who could be the answer in Rod Heard II and Jordan Clark. Will these two be able to help make this defense even more dangerous? Will it take time for them to fill in the gaps? There will be criticism right out of the gate if the defense can’t pick up where they left off last season.
Conclusion
Notre Dame has all of the pieces lined up for themselves to have another successful season. Can they go undefeated? With Leonard under center and the weapons surrounding him, there is a very high chance they can.
The defense has five returning stars that helped get their defense ranked in the top 10 of many categories. Denbrock will be able to work alongside Leonard and create a potential Heisman-pushing season like he did with Daniels at LSU. Mixing one of the nation’s top tight ends in Evans with Denbrock can only be a bigger recipe for success.
If things do start rough for the Fighting Irish though, expect this season to be one rollercoaster ride with a lot of bumps.
