SOUTH BEND – At this point a year ago, Notre Dame was 2-5 heading into its bye and athletic director Jack Swarbrick was compelled to give coach Brian Kelly a vote of confidence.

What a difference a year makes.

The Fighting Irish enter their bye this week 5-1, ranked 19th and have started to display the kind of cultural shift Kelly wanted to see in his program after last season.

When Kelly looks at what needs to be accomplished at the midway point in the season, he can focus solely on his team. Notre Dame is facing the most challenging part of the season with a back-loaded schedule approaching. As it stands now, five of Notre Dame’s final six opponents are ranked in the top 25. It starts with No. 13 USC at home Oct. 21 and is quickly followed by No. 20 N.C. State.

With a big final push looming, what’s on Kelly’s to-do list this week?

1. Get Brandon Wimbush healthy

Notre Dame’s first-year starting quarterback did not play in last week’s 33-10 road win over North Carolina. Wimbush, who injured his right foot the previous week against Miami (Ohio), was fully dressed on the sideline (without the walking boot) and wore a headset to help out redshirt freshman backup Ian Book.

Book went 17-of-31 for 146 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two interceptions. He managed the game after taking the majority of practice reps during the week, but Notre Dame needs a healthy Wimbush for its remaining opponents.

Kelly said Sunday he expects Wimbush to be able to take first-team reps Wednesday. He will continuing rehab, lift and take mental reps Monday, and then players do not have practice Tuesday.

2. Get everyone else healthy, too

Kelly knocked on his wooden podium last week while talking about how minor — relatively speaking — his players’ injuries have been up to this point in the season. It’s mostly been bumps and bruises, he said.

Regardless, the Irish need all banged up players healed to begin this final stretch — especially the running backs. Josh Adams, Dexter Williams and Tony Jones Jr. have all been dealing with sprained ankles. Adams was able to rush for 100 yards before halftime against North Carolina and rested during the second half after gaining 118 on 13 carries. He leads the team with 776 yards and five touchdowns.

Williams and Jones, who have combined for 316 rushing yards and six touchdowns this season, didn’t play. But Deon McIntosh was able to come in behind them and rush for 124 yards and two touchdowns. In the last three games, he's become Notre Dame's third-leading rusher with 230 yards on 40 carries and four touchdowns.

True freshman C.J. Holmes made his first travel roster to provide some needed depth.

Kelly is hopeful the bye will allow his group of backs to rehab and rest, especially before facing the Wolfpack’s No. 8 rush defense Oct. 28.

Starting right tackle Alex Bars is also nursing a sprained ankle and freshman defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa has a chest contusion, but Kelly said he should be fine.

“All the other guys would be cleared in some fashion if we were to play this weekend,” Kelly said. “So, no concerns moving forward.”

3. Work on the passing game

Notre Dame has the sixth-ranked rushing offense in the country and Wimbush has rushed for the fifth most touchdowns in the country (eight). The passing game, however, is still very much a work in progress, ranking No. 115 among 130 Division I schools.

“I think some of the things from coordinating our passing game to working on some underneath coverage things that I think we need to get, you know, strengthened,” Kelly said when asked about things he wants to work on this week.

It’s no secret Wimbush has been frustrated with himself. In the five games he’s played, Wimbush has completed just more than 50 percent of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 114.0 Neither stat places him among the nation’s top 100 quarterbacks. He’s also thrown six touchdowns to two interceptions.

After the Miami (Ohio) game, Wimbush confidently stated that he has “another level of my game I haven’t hit yet” and said he believes the offense should be “clicking at a higher level.”

“I just feel like I have so much more (to give),” he said.

The issues here aren't just on Wimbush. Kelly has been challenging his receivers since the first game to step up and make more plays. It’s taken a few weeks, but Equanimeous St. Brown, Chase Claypool and tight end Alize Mack have gotten more involved the last three games.

“We’re going to see this through,” Kelly said. “(Wimbush is) going to get better each and every week in some fashion, and I just think that there’s going to be better days ahead for him.”

4. Limiting explosive plays

Notre Dame's defense has certainly been better than it was a year ago. Mike Elko's unit has already forced 14 turnovers — the total number the Irish defense had in 12 games in 2016 — has only allowed a nation's-best one rushing touchdown, and no opponent has scored more than 20 points.

But an area for the group to still improve is limiting explosive plays. The Irish have allowed 26 plays of 20 yards or more from scrimmage, ranking them No. 77 nationally. As it turns out, 14 of these plays have been part of drives that's ended in 61 total points.

For example, all 18 points Michigan State scored were a result of, or set up by, explosive plays. That includes a 52-yard rush by quarterback Brian Lewerke in the first quarter that set up the Spartans first touchdown. And 13 of Georgia's 20 points in its win over Notre Dame were caused by big gains, including a 40-yard rush by running back D'Andre Swift which led to a touchdown that put the Bulldogs up 17-16 late in the third quarter.

Follow IndyStar reporter Laken Litman on Twitter and Instagram: @LakenLitman.