Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506910
24 SEPT. 9, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED QUARTERBACK SAM HARTMAN In two quarters of work, the Irish graduate student signal-caller finished 14-of-17 passing for 194 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions, plus had 1 rushing score. Perhaps Hartman's most impressive touchdown drive of the game came late in the second quarter. Already leading 28-3, Notre Dame took possession at its own 20-yard line with only 53 seconds remain- ing in the first half when Hartman surgically completed all six of his passes on the 80-yard drive, leading Notre Dame to a quick-strike touchdown march and a 35-3 with just 15 second left before halftime. Hartman led touchdown drives on all five of his first-half posses- sions. NOTRE DAME DEFENSE For the second straight week, the Irish defense played so collec- tively well it became difficult to single out one individual. Senior vyper Jordan Botelho was a menace in the Tennessee State backfield most of the day, finishing with 2 tackles, including 1 tackle for loss and 1 sack. Graduate student lineman Howard Cross III led the team with 6 tackles and added 1 pass broken up and 1 quarterback hurry. Senior cornerback Clarence Lewis chipped in with 1 tackle and an interception that he returned 33 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. NOTRE DAME RUSHERS Staying true to their promise to go deep down the depth chart of tailbacks each week, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and offensive coordinator Gerad Parker stuck to the plan and dominated on the ground. Led by junior Audric Estimé (13 carries for 116 yards and 1 touch- down), six Irish tailbacks finished with 29 carries for 207 yards — an impressive yards per carry average of 7.1 — and 2 rushing touchdowns. Freshman tailback Jeremiyah Love nicely comple- mented Estimé with 5 carries for 46 yards (9.2 yards per carry) and 1 touchdown. In all, four different Irish tailbacks scored a touchdown either on the ground or through the air. TURNING POINT Clinging to a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter against Tennessee State, Notre Dame turned the ball over on a fumbled kickoff return that set up the Tigers with a first down at its 12-yard line. The Irish defense responded to the special teams miscue — big time. The Tigers didn't gain a yard on its three offensive plays, setting up a 29-yard field goal attempt. The kick was blocked by Irish junior defensive lineman Jason Onye in what became the turning point of this game. Notre Dame survived the turnover unscathed and answered with an eight- play, 80-yard drive to push its lead to 14-3. From there, the rout was on. Through two games, Notre Dame has scored touchdowns on all nine of its first-half offensive possessions. STATS OF THE GAME For the second straight week, Notre Dame excelled in third-down conver- sions. The Irish converted 9 of 11 (81.8 percent) of their third-down tries against Tennessee State. A robust mark that helped Notre Dame score touch- downs on seven of its 10 offensive possessions against the Tigers. The Irish were equally impressive on their third-down defense, holding Tennessee State to only 4 of 14 (28.6 percent) on its third-down tries, leading to six punts by the Tigers. Through two games, Notre Dame held Navy and Tennessee State to a com- bined 8 of 28 (28.6 percent) on third-down conversion tries. Notre Dame's red zone defense — a problem area last season — was also sharp against Tennessee State. The Tigers managed three red zone posses- sions and came away with only one field goal. Navy also managed only one field goal on its two red zone trips. Last season, Notre Dame finished No. 129 out of 130 FBS teams in red zone defense, allowing a 94.1 percent conversion rate. Offensively, Notre Dame averaged 8.8 yards per play compared to only 2.7 yards per offensive snap for Tennessee State. DEPTH AND BALANCE To best illustrate this category, eight different Irish players scored a touch- down against Tennessee State, seven on offense and one on defense. Two lopsided wins does not an adequate sample make. But judging off of the early data, maybe this is the year that offensive depth and balance finally becomes a reality instead of only a promise. After six different wide receivers and nine total pass catchers recorded at least one reception against Navy, 13 different pass catchers recorded at least one catch against Tennessee State, albeit some of those coming in mop-up duty. And on the ground, three Irish tailbacks had at least five carries against the Tigers. This performance against Tennessee State came a week after five Irish tailbacks combined for 31 carries and 193 yards with 2 rushing touchdowns and a 6.2-yard per-carry average against Navy. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman led the Irish to touchdowns on all five first- half possessions, and had a hand in three of them (one rushing and two passing). PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER