NASHVILLE Tenn. While Brian Kelly has remained steadfast that Notre Dame football s quarterback situation in the Music City Bowl matchup with LSU was about 2014 not 2015 the future implications are now impossible to overlook.
Sure Notre Dame s 31 28 victory over the No. 23 Tigers on Tuesday shatters a four game winning streak and helps soothe some of the pains of a 59 day stretch in which the Irish didn t win a game. But the unknown future at quarterback sits squarely and solely at the forefront of the discussion surrounding the 2015 Irish and possibly even the college football season at large.
USA TODAY SportsIt s an oversimplified breakdown of the 2014 season but consider this Notre Dame ascended to No. 5 in the country with a healthy defense and Everett Golson playing at a high rate. The Irish struggled when Golson struggled and when injuries ravaged the youthful defense. So how good can the Irish be next season
We want to be national champions Irish sophomore linebacker Jaylon Smith said. When we come back from break starting in the weight room. We need our leaders to step up and we need to continue to get better.
Of Notre Dame s 22 starters against LSU 20 have eligibility remaining. The Irish will lose senior running back Cam McDaniel and senior tight end Ben Koyack. Defensively graduate student cornerback Cody Riggs is out of eligibility.
This team can be great next season Irish sophomore wide receiver Will Fuller said. As a team we re only losing a couple people. We re going to be a force to be reckoned with.
In actuality so much of that of course depends upon Notre Dame s quarterback play. In his first career start redshirt freshman Malik Zaire completed 12 of 15 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. He added 96 rushing yards and a score on 22 carries. He didn t commit a turnover.
Golson played as well going 6 of 11 for 90 yards and tallying a six yard rush.
This really was just about this game Kelly said afterward. Playing both of them my focus was about winning this game and we ll figure out the quarterback situation in January. This was just utilizing both of their skills to get a win today.
Mark Humphrey/Associated PressBefore even addressing a quarterback competition it s worth asking if a two quarterback system is a viable possibility for the Irish moving forward.
I m not really sure Irish junior slot receiver C.J. Prosise said. I guess we re gonna have to see. It definitely worked out today.
Kelly is on the record as saying in a perfect world he d prefer to use one quarterback. But with two quarterbacks with different skill sets could Notre Dame survive using both Zaire and Golson in 2015
Part of playing Malik and starting him was trying to figure out how we were going to utilize him in the game and how to construct playing two quarterbacks Kelly said. So part of the making the decision to start him was to find out how we are going to move forward and effectively craft and put together a game plan for both of them.
Prosise said there aren t many drawbacks of deploying both quarterbacks even though Kelly admitted Golson profiled more as the passer and Zaire as the runner down the stretch against LSU.
Not really because Malik can still throw. Everett can still run said Prosise when asked about defenses adjusting to their roles.
An alternative is utilizing Zaire as the starting quarterback and calling on Golson in certain situations.
If Golson returns in 2015 he should be in Rees role from 2012. Reliever only in on certain passing situations. Probably best for him to go
George Dohrmann ( georgedohrmann) December 30 2014Agree MT georgedohrmann If Golson returns he should be in Rees role from 2012. Relief in on certain passing situations. Probably best to go
Matt Fortuna ( Matt_Fortuna) December 30 2014It s total speculation of course but that doesn t sound too appealing for Golson. It s only December but those decisions surrounding Notre Dame s quarterback quandary will be a major storyline of college football next season. Whatever happens the freshman and sophomore littered (and healthier) Irish are in a position to be vastly improved in 2015 especially if the quarterback position becomes a net positive not a net negative.
Against LSU Zaire did his job. Spearheading a run heavy offense (Notre Dame called 51 rushes against 26 passes) Zaire and the Irish piled up 263 rushing yards.
We had to have a game plan for today said Kelly when asked if Notre Dame could turn to a run based identity. We know what we have with both quarterbacks. We re going to continue to utilize Zaire s strength he s a very good runner of the football. I think it s fair to say that both of them can give us some balance in both of those areas.
Zaire said he was simply focused on being a facilitator commanding the offense and protecting the football. And in turn Notre Dame won.
NotreDame is now 16 0 under Brian Kelly when it doesn t commit a TO. Will Fuller If we re not turning the ball over no one can beat us.
Mike Monaco ( MikeMonaco_) December 31 2014ND won because Kelly stopped trying to run HIS offense and instead ran offense ND needed to win games. Hopefully he's learned.
George Dohrmann ( georgedohrmann) December 30 2014The fates of Zaire and Golson and Notre Dame s offensive identity are still uncertain. Is Notre Dame ready to turn to Zaire based on less than two full games of work Is Notre Dame ready to relegate Golson to backup duty Could both quarterbacks be used Will Notre Dame shift toward a run first attack Those answers could shape the college football landscape.
They re both great quarterbacks Fuller said. As long as they don t get in over their head stick with the plan and don t turn the ball over we ll be unstoppable I think.
The stakes are high.
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.
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