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The 8-0 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be looking to make a statement this week against the Big 10 West leading Northwestern Wildcats. The Irish will head to Evanston for the first time since 1976, and just as Notre Dame wants to make a statement — so too do the Wildcats.
Here are the depth charts that Notre Dame released for the game:
OFFENSE
Notre Dame *way too early* Depth Chart — Offense
| WR | TE | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | WR | WR | RB | QB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | TE | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | WR | WR | RB | QB |
| 25 Braden Lenzy | 89 Brock Wright | 74 Liam Eichenberg | 69 Aaron Banks | 55 Jarrett Patterson | 78 Tommy Kraemer | 72 Robert Hainsey | 13 Lawrence Keys | 4 Kevin Austin | 8 Jafar Armstrong | 12 Ian Book |
| Fr Jordan Johnson | OR 24 Tommy Tremble | 73 Andrew Kristofic | 76 Dillan Gibbons | 61 Colin Grunhard | 56 John Dirksen | 75 Josh Lugg | 18 Joe Wilkins | Tr Ben Skowronek | 34 Jahmir Smith | 7 Brendon Clark |
| - | Fr Michael Mayer | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 C'Bo Flemister | Fr Drew Pyne |
| - | OR George Takacs | - | - | - | - | - | - | OR Fr Chris Tyree | - | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | OR 23 Kyren Williams | - |
No movement here as the Irish settle into a second week with this lineup. The “or” between Trevor Ruhland and Tommy Kraemer seems to be disappearing more and more though as Ruhland is starting to cement his position with Aaron Banks doing a good job at left guard.
DEFENSE
Notre Dame *way too early* Depth Chart — Defense
| CB | FS | ROVER | DE | NG | DT | DE | BUCK | MIKE | SS | CB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | FS | ROVER | DE | NG | DT | DE | BUCK | MIKE | SS | CB |
| 20 Shaun Crawford | 14 Kyle Hamilton | 13 Paul Moala | 9 Daelin Hayes | 41 Kurt Hinish | 95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa | 91 Ade Ogundeji | 6 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | 40 Drew White | Tr Isaiah Pryor | 28 TaRiq Bracy |
| 16 KJ Wallace | 12 DJ Brown | 24 Jack Kiser | 29 Ovie Oghoufo | 54 Jacob Lacey | 57 Jayson Ademilola | 19 Justin Ademilola | 2 Jordan Genmark Heath | 52 Bo Bauer | 3 Houston Griffith | 15 Isaiah Rutherford |
| 9 Cam Hart | - | - | 94 Isaiah Foskey | 55 Ja'mion Franklin | 90 Hunter Spears | 18 NaNa Osafo-Mensah | - | - | - | 4 Avery Davis |
The defensive depth chart also stays intact. The big question is if Drue Tranquill will be able to play this week after suffering a game-ending ankle injury against Navy. Drew White came in for Tranquill in that game instead of Jordan Genmark Heath or Shayne Simon. The reasoning for White was that he was more of an option specialist. Against a pass-happy team like Northwestern, we will probably see less of the BUCK anyways and more NICKEL. How Notre Dame intends on putting that out there is still a bit of a question mark with Houston Griffith, Nick Coleman, or Julian Love with an insertion of Tariq Bracy at corner.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Notre Dame *way too early* Depth Chart — Special Teams
| KICKOFF | PLACEKICKER | PUNTER | LONG SNAPPER | HOLDER | PUNT RETURNER | KICK RETURNER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KICKOFF | PLACEKICKER | PUNTER | LONG SNAPPER | HOLDER | PUNT RETURNER | KICK RETURNER |
| 39 Jonathan Doerer | 39 Jonathan Doerer | 19 Jay Bramblett | Fr Alex Peitsch | 19 Jay Bramblett | 18 Joe Wilkins | 25 Braden Lenzy |
| 98 Harrison Leonard | 98 Harrison Leonard | 98 Harrison Leonard | 65 Michael Vinson | 14 J.D. Carney | 23 Kyren Williams | 20 C'Bo Flemister |
No changes here as well, but the “or” on kickoff with Jusyin Yoon and Jonathan Doerer should probably be gone. Yoon’s injury should still be treated with care, and hid field goal kicking is much more important.