It’ll be an emotional afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium this afternoon, when 83,000 fans thank a senior class for its time in South Bend. But there’s also a football game to play, and that’s been quite the ignored subplot for a team that’s trying to exit Notre Dame Stadium at 11-0 for the first time ever. (In 1993, the Irish lost their only other home game at 10-0.)
With one of the most important games in recent memory on the horizon, here are a few questions that need answering this afternoon as the Irish take on Wake Forest.
Can Notre Dame control their emotions? Credit Brian Kelly for making that the point of emphasis this week. There’ll be plenty of time to memorialize this senior class, especially if they handle their business the next two weeks. But this football team needs to be ready to play from the opening kick, and after an emotional entrance for 29 seniors, that’s going to be a tricky proposition.
You get the feeling that this team understands how to put aside distractions and let the emotion of the moment work in their favor. But that’s easier said than done.
How dominant will Notre Dame’s defensive front be? This is a nightmare match-up for Wake Forest, with an inexperienced offensive line facing its toughest test of the season. Will the Irish get after quarterback Tanner Price all afternoon? Will Stephon Tuitt have a big enough day to pass Justin Tuck for the single-season sack record? How many sacks will Prince Shembo rack up after dominating Boston College?
After two weeks of watching offenses find success in the screen pass game, expect the Demon Deacons to try and use Notre Dame’s aggressiveness against them. Can Bob Diaco’s linebackers diagnose things early and not play too downhill?
Will the Irish offense do more than just enough? That seemed to be the game plan last Saturday in Boston, when the Irish went uber-vanilla to finish off Boston College, content to run the clock and the football to win an ugly 21-6 game. But Everett Golson was fully in control of the offense last week, converting third downs and throwing accurately, all but asking to keep pushing the football down the field.
Any style points Notre Dame needs will be taken care of if the Irish escape Los Angeles with a victory next week. But it’d be great to see this offense put their foot on the gas and try to score efficiently, if only to let some senior reserves into the game in their home finale.
How will the Irish look without DaVaris Daniels at wide receiver? Today is a great opportunity for John Goodman, with the fifth-year senior getting the start in his final home game. Without Davaris Daniels as a downfield threat, Goodman and junior Daniel Smith will need to step up and seize their opportunities on the outside, doing it against a secondary that has some talent in their personnel.
Can the Irish dominate on the ground? We might be seeing both Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood for the last time in Notre Dame Stadium. The senior duo has been effective on the ground all season, and they’ll get a chance to put up some numbers this afternoon. Of course, the Irish were expected to run all over Boston College last week and never broke anything substantial, so expect that to be a point of emphasis today. Expect both Riddick and Wood to break lose this afternoon, and George Atkinson to get his chance as well.
How will the Irish secondary handle Michael Campanaro? We can worry about Marqise Lee and Robert Woods next week. I’m interested to see how the Irish handle Michael Campanaro, one of the ACC’s best wide receivers. The Irish secondary doesn’t play a lot of man coverage, often giving teams the underneath throws, so Campanaro will likely hear his number called early and often on quick throws. With three double-digit catch games -- including a monster 16 catch, 123 yard, three touchdown game against Boston College two weeks ago -- Bennett Jackson and KeiVarae Russell will have their hands full this afternoon.
Can the Irish finally dominate at home? Notre Dame is expected to win by 24 points, according to Las Vegas. But the Irish have only won their home games by 23 points total this season, struggling their way through an undefeated home slate thus far. In their final home appearance, can Notre Dame simply take care of business?