Keep an eye on these four when Notre Dame football hosts Miami (Ohio)
What in the world does Week Four of college football have in store for No. 18 Notre Dame?
Through the first three weeks of 2024, we’ve seen three separate/unique versions of these Irish – a team that could go on the road and win a grinder of a game (Texas A&M), a team that seemingly forgot how to handle success before it lost the home opener (Northern Illinois) and a team that went back out on the road and dismantled a Power Four opponent (Purdue) with painful precision.
What’s next for Notre Dame? Anything is possible.
Following are four players to watch as Notre Dame looks to win a second straight game Saturday when it returns home to face winless Miami (Ohio).
MIAMI REDHAWKS (0-2)
QB Brett Gabbert (5)
Gabbert hasn’t been in Oxford since the days when legendary Ara Parseghian cut his head coaching teeth so many decades ago. It just seems that way for the sixth-year senior from St. Louis who has made 41 career starts and has thrown for nearly 9,000 yards with 61 touchdowns.
Gabbert's good, but if Miami is to have any chance Saturday, he’ll have to take a page from Ethan Hampton and Northern Illinois (sorry, too soon) and be great. Be steady. He has that chance as a veteran who’s done a lot. Gabbert can throw it (the RedHawks are 29th nationally in passing offense), but struggle to do much else (109th in total offense, 133rd in rush offense).
A first team All-Mid-American Conference preseason pick, Gabbert has thrown for 566 yards and two TDs the first two games with (-26) rushing yards. Get him out of the pocket, get him on the move and get him going backward will be the game plan. Give him time to get comfortable, and he can do some damage.
Notre Dame cannot afford to venture down that MAC road again.
LB Ty Wise (10)
A senior from Carmel, Indiana, where he was a two-time all-state pick, Wise has found life after Power Four football to be quite rewarding. An Indiana transfer, Wise started all 14 games last season in Oxford and made 122 tackles with nine tackles for loss, eight sacks, one forced fumble and one interception. All of that was good enough only for second team all-league honors.
This summer, the 6-2, 249-pound Wise was a first-team All-MAC preseason pick.
Wise will find his way to the football and figure out what to do when he arrives. He ranks third on the team in tackles (13.0), first for tackles for loss (3.0) and in sacks (1.0) for a team that doesn’t get that much pressure on the quarterback (two sacks through two games).
Wise is coming off a seven-tackle, 1.5-TFL and one sack game Saturday against Cincinnati. The RedHawks are an OK defensive group. They’re tied for 22nd nationally in red zone defense (0.667), tied for 58th in scoring defense (20.0 ppg.) and 84th nationally in total defense (364.5).
Wise makes it all work from his LB spot.
No. 18 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
WR Kris Mitchell (10)
Three games into his sole season in South Bend, frustration to some degree has to fester for the speedy 6-foot, 184-pound Mitchell. This likely wasn’t he envisioned after arriving from Florida International, where he caught 64 passes for 1,118 yards and seven scores last season.
Mitchell has been a mystery. He’s made four catches for 44 yards with a long of 19 to date. He’s averaging a miniscule 14.3 yards per game. One of the fastest players on the team (4.3 second in the 40), Mitchell has rarely been able to take the proverbial top off opposing defenses.
He’s sixth on the squad in receptions, fourth among wide receivers. He was targeted eight times in the NIU game but made only three catches. The one time he was targeted deep, it was intercepted. Mitchell had no chance.
Time to give him one. Some.
A veteran was going to be odd one out in that WR room this season. It wasn’t expected to be Mitchell, who has a 200-yard-plus receiving game in his career bag. He’d settle for anything north of 50. Or 40. Or 30.
DE Boubacar Traore (5)
Even before veteran Jordan Botelho was lost for the season with a knee injury suffered last Saturday at Purdue, Traore was chasing down more playing time like he does opposing quarterbacks. With bad intentions, in an effective way.
The vyper defensive end spot looks to be Traore’s for the near future. Expect the 6-foot-4, 243-pounder (he looks bigger and longer) to take it and run with it. Even before he lines up, Traore looks that part of a difference-maker/game-wrecker.
He’s still so young but plays so old. Traore has done a little of everything three games in, one year after doing little (one tackle, one TFL, one sack). In fairness, he shut it down after four games (and the bowl game) to preserve a year of eligibility. He already has six tackles and is tied for the team in tackles for loss (three) and yards (13). He has a sack, an interception and a touchdown.
You hate it that Botelho is done for the year, but you’re happy for Traore. This might be the chance he needs for him to take it to another level.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on Twitter: @tnoieNDI
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Can Notre Dame football keep rolling against another Mid-American Conference school?
