Notre Dame football 2024 opponent superlatives: Offense

Questions at quarterback are a hallmark of Notre Dame’s 2024 schedule.

In one corner, Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman has strong traits but little experience. In another, a career backup in USC’s Miller Moss must prove himself worthy of the Trojans’ faith in him. Florida State’s DJ Uiagalelei is coming off a strong year, but he has a fraught history against the Irish.

Can Notre Dame’s 2024 opponents produce some high-flying offenses? Absolutely. But many will depend on uneven or unproven signal-callers to reach their full potential.

Here’s a look at some of the top offensive units the Irish will face this season.

Related — Notre Dame football 2024 opponent superlatives: Defense

Best quarterback rooms on Notre Dame’s 2024 schedule

1. Texas A&M — Weigman, a junior, has only eight career starts under his belt. But his numbers and tape are impressive.

He’s thrown for 16 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in his career, and his 2023 pressure-to-sack percentage — one of the more important stats for evaluating signal-callers — was 7.3. That was sixth in the nation among quarterbacks with at least 130 drop-backs.

2. USC — The Trojans are confident in their starter, Moss (a redshirt junior), after his 372-yard, 6-touchdown performance against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl Dec. 27.

But their backup, redshirt sophomore UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava , is impressive as well. He was the 2023 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and he has high-end physical tools, so USC is in good shape even if Moss goes down or falters.

3. Florida State — Can head coach and quarterback guru Mike Norvell help Uiagalelei, a redshirt senior, figure it out in Year 5? The Seminoles believe so, which is why they took the ex-Clemson signal-caller after a bounce-back season at Oregon State.

Uiagalelei improved his yards per attempt from 6.6 with the Tigers to 8.4 with the Beavers.

Best offensive weapons

1. Louisville — Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm went absolutely ballistic in the transfer portal. Senior Caullin Lacy (South Alabama) is coming off a 1,316-yard season. Redshirt senior Ja’Corey Brooks (Alabama) dealt with injuries last season, but he caught 39 passes for 674 yards and 8 scores in 2022.

Graduate student tight end Mark Redman (San Diego State) is a reliable underneath target, redshirt junior running back Don Chaney Jr. (Miami) is coming off his most efficient season and Louisville even returned its No. 2 wideout from 2023, junior Chris Bell .

2. USC — It’s all about the sophomore wide receivers in Los Angeles. The Trojans believe their quartet of Duce Robinson , Makai Lemon , Ja’Kobi Lane and Zachariah Branch has a chance to be special. Together, they combined for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Holiday Bowl.

USC also returned dependable redshirt junior tight end Lake McRee and brought in productive redshirt senior running back Woody Marks from Mississippi State.

3. Florida State — There’s some uncertainty at wide receiver beyond senior Alabama transfer Malik Benson , but Benson looked like a bona fide No. 1 guy this spring. Fellow Crimson Tide senior transfer running back Roydell Williams is coming off a 560-yard, 5-touchdown season, and returning redshirt senior running back Lawrance Toafili rushed for 6.7 yards per carry last year.

The X-factor here: junior Indiana transfer running back Jaylin Lucas , whom the Seminoles plan to use all over the field as a dangerous “gadget” player.

Best offensive lines

1. Florida State — Three starters return from an FSU group that was a Joe Moore Award semifinalist last season. Redshirt senior left tackle Darius Washington was good in 2023 and has the traits to be better in 2024, along with fellow redshirt seniors Jeremiah Byers (right tackle) and Maurice Smith (center).

Redshirt junior TJ Ferguson (left guard) and senior Richie Leonard IV (right guard) will join them after transferring from Alabama and Florida, respectively.

2. Georgia Tech — The Yellow Jackets allowed only 15 sacks last year, but that’s a little misleading. Their pressure rate was more middle-of-the-road.

Still, they rushed for an ACC-leading 5.4 yards per carry this past season, returned four of their five starters and brought in junior Middle Tennessee State transfer Keylan Rutledge (75.6 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade) to play right guard.

3. Louisville — Most felt offensive tackle was a weak position in the portal this offseason, but Brohm still managed to get three of them. Junior Monroe Mills (Texas Tech) is the best of the bunch and should start on the blind side.

The Cardinals return an experienced guard tandem in senior Michael Gonzalez and redshirt senior Renato Brown , and redshirt junior center Pete Nygra (Northern Illinois) was a strong addition.

The post Notre Dame football 2024 opponent superlatives: Offense appeared first on On3 .