Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 SEPT. 2, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Notre Dame let Navy hang around in last sea- son's matchup, to the point where the Midship- men were an onside kick away from having a chance to tie the game. The Irish left no such doubt in Dublin, Ireland. Here are five thoughts on Notre Dame's domi- nant 42-3 win over Navy. 1. Hartman Spreads The Wealth In Historic Day Two numbers that should have Notre Dame very encouraged about the upcoming season (aside from, you know, 42-3): four and nine. Graduate quarterback Sam Hartman completed passes to eight different receivers, and none of them caught more than junior receiver Jayden Thomas's four passes. Hartman truly spread the football around against the Midshipmen, and aside from one late throw to sophomore wide receiver Tobias Merriweather, he looked in sync with his target on every delivery. Hartman finished with a completion percentage of .826, which ranks 11th on Notre Dame's all-time single-game record list. The Irish couldn't have scripted a better debut for QB1. 2. The Defense Stopped The Dive Notre Dame graduate student safety DJ Brown said earlier this week that the Irish would be fine if they forced Navy to resort to the "pitch" option of its triple option. He and the rest of the defense believed that if Navy quarterbacks Tai Lavatai and Xavier Arline shied away from the dive and the quarterback keeper, Notre Dame could rally to the football against the pitch. When Navy first got the ball, junior fullback Daba Fofana took dives up the middle for 6 and 11 yards. He then got stuffed on first-and-10 from the Notre Dame 44 for no gain by senior vyper Jordan Botelho. Notre Dame's entire defensive line did their job and stuck to their assignments. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman told NBC sideline reporter Zora Stephenson that he thought Notre Dame's defen- sive adjustments were "tremendous." 3. The Graduate Linebackers Showed Out When Navy did pitch it, or the Midshipmen tried an inverted veer or some other type of outside run, Notre Dame graduate student linebackers Jack Kiser, Marist Liufau and JD Bertrand were often there to stop it. Kiser had 5 tackles, along with a quarterback hurry when Lavatai lofted a throw on a fourth- and-3 that wound up falling incomplete, in the first quarter alone. With the Irish mostly playing their base package against Navy, Kiser saw the field frequently and led the team in tackles with 8. Liufau looked like the fast, aggressive and hard- hitting Will linebacker the Irish need in their de- fense. He forced a fumble in the first quarter and picked up two run stuffs in the fourth. Kiser nearly recovered a fumble early in the third quarter be- fore Bertrand chased down Fofana to prevent a would-be first down on third-and-9. The three of them proved their coaching staff's faith in Week 0. 4. Estimé Sits, Then Comes Back Junior running back Audric Estimé started red hot, gaining 51 yards — 29 on the ground and 22 through the air on a third-and-12 check-down from Hartman against an all-out blitz — and scoring the first touchdown of the college football season on Notre Dame's first possession. To begin the next Irish drive, though, Estimé fumbled when Navy defensive back Rayuan Lane punched it out. Notre Dame kept the ball, though, when junior tight end Mitchell managed to knock it out of bounds before Navy could recover it. Estimé did not touch the ball for the rest of the first half. He fumbled three times in four games from Sept. 24 to Oct. 22 last year, but he thought the ball security issues were behind him. In the second half, the Irish went back to Estimé for 10 touches. Notre Dame's top tailback had a terrific third quarter, carrying 5 times for 42 yards and showing off his pass-catching improvement with a juggling 4-yard grab. Overall, it was a great day for Estimé and a phe- nomenal day for the Irish offensive line. But all involved hope the ball stays in his hands for the foreseeable future. 5. Enjoy This One Here are four words no Notre Dame fan should say this coming week: "It was just Navy." The Irish just obliterated an FBS opponent. Their new quarterback looks like both a star and a per- fect fit for the team. Their new offensive coordina- tor's performance was impossible to criticize. And they did all of it with the entire college football world watching. The opener will not define Notre Dame's 2023 season, but it was a heck of a start. ✦ FIVE THOUGHTS BY JACK SOBLE Graduate student linebackers Marist Liufau (making the hit) and Jack Kiser (in the background) were Notre Dame's two top tacklers, notching 7 and 8 stops, respectively. PHOTO BY JOHN CROTHERS