The Notre Dame football team is 7-2 after winning two straight over USC and Pittsburgh. The two losses have come against Ohio State and Louisville, so Marcus Freeman is still hopeful and they face Dabo Swinney and the reeling Clemson Tigers next. However, the Fighting Irish got bad news on the injury front as leading pass-catcher and starting tight end Mitchell Evans is out for the year with a torn ACL, per Drew Mentock of Irish Sports Daily.

‘Marcus Freeman says Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. He'll have surgery in the next week or so. It’s a big loss as Evans leads the Irish in receiving with 29 catches for 422 yards and a touchdown.'

The loss of Evans is a huge blow for the Notre Dame football team, and he was the only player with more than 20 receptions on the year. He had five catches for 66 yards against Pitt, and his best game of the season came against Duke, where he caught six passes for 134 yards.

In Evans' absence, Holden Staes appears to be the next man up, and he has just 12 catches for 163 yards on the year, although he has four touchdowns and had four catches for 115 yards and a score against NC State. Freshman tight end Cooper Flanagan caught one pass for 19 yards and a score against Pitt, so he could be in line for more work, also.

The Notre Dame football team will try to overcome the loss of Mitchell Evans, but the silver lining is they have a plethora of quality tight end options.