Notre Dame addresses offense tipping passes, runs

Just think what Notre Dame's offense might have done last week against Texas A&M had it not apparently tipped its passing and running plays. 

The Fighting Irish lit up Mike Elko's Texas A&M Aggies defense to the tune of 33 points in a 40-point performance, including 23 first downs, 33 minutes of possession and 293 passing yards from redshirt-freshman CJ Carr in Carr's first-ever start inside Notre Dame Stadium.

That it wasn't enough stems far more from the Irish's porous passing defense and ineffective pass rush combining to undermine the offense by yielding 41 points to Texas A&M, 360 yards via the air and not recording a sack.

So, yeah, as first noted by veteran Notre Dame reporter Pete Sampson and former FWAA president Matt Fortuna, Carr slightly altered his stance on running plays versus passing plays for an Irish offense that had 71 snaps but needed a fine extra-point snap not to be dropped.

Tuesday evening, Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli confirmed that Carr had displayed tendencies in the game. 

“There were some tendencies," Guidugli, a former star quarterback at Cincinnati, said. "It's been addressed, and we'll move forward. 

"I don't think it really hurt us offensively.”

Hard to argue with Guidugli's deadpan assessment of the Irish offense, which better featured tailbacks Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in Game 2 after it veered away from the tandem or couldn't establish consistent rhythm in their opening loss at Miami.

Still, Notre Dame is 0-2 on the season and, before even the mid-point of September, confronted a stark reality that it must win out across its final 10 games and that might still not be enough to return to the College Football Playoff after last season advancing to the title game of the first-ever 12-team field.

What bothered Guidugli more than any hints Carr's stance might have afforded Aggies defenders? The fact he felt his offense left so many points on the field -- despite its best scoring output since last year's regular-season finale at USC.

“In the last game, we probably left 21 points on the board," Guidugli said. "If we just clean up some details and finish some drives instead of field goals, score touchdowns, we catch a couple balls, we convert on a couple third-and-shorts, a couple fourth-and-shorts, totally different game.”

Notre Dame junior safety Adon Shuler, a captain, said he didn't think Carr had tipped off runs or passes in preseason camp but noted the constant eyeballs on Irish football and leaned on a standing coaching adage when asked about the situation.

"Not really. I didn’t even know that was something," Shuler said. "We at the highest level, so I know people are watching. 

"Film doesn’t lie. Eye in the sky doesn’t lie."

After opening its season Labor Day weekend with a primetime Sunday night game at Miami and waiting 13 days for the home can-opener, also under the lights, Notre Dame doesn't have to wait long for its next chance to secure its first win. The Irish host Purdue Saturday afternoon and currently are 24.5-point favorites.