Notre Dame Football: Holiday Wish List for the Irish

Christmas is around the corner, and Notre Dame football’s Fiesta Bowl matchup with Ohio State isn’t far behind.

The Irish players and coaches will receive some time off from bowl preparations to celebrate the holiday. When they reconvene, what’s on their wish list heading into the Top 10 showdown with the Buckeyes?

Red-Zone Offense

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How ‘bout a few touchdowns?

Notre Dame’s 80 percent red-zone scoring rate is tied for 90th in the country with, among others, Ohio State and one spot behind Alabama’s 80.4 percent mark. But the Irish only turn red-zone trips into touchdowns 56 percent of the time—91st in nation—compared to Ohio State’s 66 percent touchdown conversion rate (37th in the FBS).

The Irish turned their four red-zone visits into four touchdowns against Pitt in early November—after which Irish head coach Brian Kelly stressed the importance of the offense focusing on the big picture in the red zone in the week leading up to the game. Notre Dame then went 2-for-2 the following week against Wake Forest.

Since then, however, Notre Dame has left the red zone with touchdowns on just three of its 11 appearances against Boston College and Stanford.

Against an Ohio State offense that averages 35 points per game, the Irish can’t afford to trade too many touchdowns for field goals.

Good Health

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Notre Dame’s unfortunate dance with the football injury gods has been well-documented this season.

Before the season started, the Irish were down a defensive tackle and a nickelback. Before they even grabbed two wins, they’d lost their running back, quarterback and tight end, too. Most recently, Notre Dame starting cornerback KeiVarae Russell (fractured tibia) was lost for the rest of the season.

But some of those season-ending injuries are, well, not entirely season-ending. The Irish expect to get contributions from tight end Durham Smythe—who suffered a shoulder injury early and a knee injury on the penultimate play of the Week 2 matchup with Virginia and had surgery to correct both issues days later—and defensive tackle Jarron Jones (knee), who was injured in fall camp.

Just how much Smythe and Jones can help the Irish against the Buckeyes remains to be seen. Smythe said Monday he feels physically fit, perhaps even stronger than before his injuries. Jones also said he doesn’t feel limited.

Could Smythe offer an answer to Notre Dame’s red-zone issues? And can Jones provide production at the heart of the Irish defense, generating a push into the backfield and disrupting Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett and running back Ezekiel Elliott? 

A Reliable Secondary

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Kelly has stood by his front seven throughout the season, and rightly so.

Senior defensive tackle Sheldon Day has been a disruptive force, while junior Isaac Rochell is reliable on the edge. Senior defensive end Romeo Okwara has emerged as a pass-rushing threat and leads the squad with eight sacks.

Junior linebacker Jaylon Smith headlines the linebacking corps and piled up 113 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five passes broken up and five passes defended en route to earning consensus All-American honors. Fifth-year senior Joe Schmidt quarterbacks the unit, and Greer Martini and James Onwualu have been steady at the “Sam” spot.

But what about that secondary?

Notre Dame’s safety play has been inconsistent—at best. And without Russell, junior cornerbacks Devin Butler and Cole Luke will be tasked with slowing Ohio State’s aerial attack.

All quotes were obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.