The Notre Dame Fighting Irish under coach Marcus Freeman have had a mixed start to the season. They started with a thrilling win against Texas A&M in College Station before falling to Northern Illinois in South Bend and finally blowing out Purdue in week-three action.Apart from inconsistency, the Fighting Irish have had to fight a growing list of injuries, including starting tackle Charles Jagusah suffering a torn pectoral muscle before the season started, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.In the 66-7 blowout win against the Purdue Boilermakers, the Fighting Irish's offensive line was decimated further with the loss of starters Jordan Botelho and Ashton Craig to season-ending knee injuries.During his weekly news conference, Freeman expressed his sympathies to Botelho and reiterated that the team's other players would step up to fill the void left by the injured offensive linemen.“Huge impact,” Freeman said. “Jordan Botelho is a great player who was playing his best ball since I’ve been here. You feel awful for the kid; you feel awful for him. But you have to continue to move forward. That’s why you have depth.“You have guys that are prepared and ready to step up and get the job done,” Freeman said. “Credit to the depth and the job coach (Joe) Rudolph has done with that offensive line.”Botelho registered 12 tackles, two quarterback hurries and a sack during his three games played this season.Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame injury nightmareMarcus Freeman will have to dig deep into his depth chart to replace the host of players the team has lost to injuries. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will also be without the services of starting guard Billy Schrauth for a few weeks due to a right ankle injury sustained against the Boilermakers.Boubacar Traore will replace Jordan Botelho, Pat Coogan will become the starting center and Rocco Spindler will replace Billy Schrauth.During his weekly news conference, Freeman said:"We have a lot of confidence in Pat and Rocco."The only good news for Marcus Freeman is the imminent return of wide receiver Jordan Faison for the week-four game against the Miami Red Hawks.