Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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20 SEPT. 9, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE AND TYLER HORKA S am Hartman and the Notre Dame offense had 53 seconds to go 80 yards at the end of the first half against Tennessee State in South Bend. They only needed 38. The graduate student quarterback completed passes of 3, 18, 18, 13, 24 and 4 yards to get the Irish into the end zone and stretch their lead to 35-3. Even tak- ing the opponent into account, Hart- man was surgical and efficient. The rest of the Irish — most of the time — were, too. Notre Dame beat Ten- nessee State 56-3 and improved to 2-0. "As I say this to you guys, I say to my- self, you have to enjoy these moments," Freeman said. "They're hard, and we only get 12 guaranteed opportunities, so you have to enjoy them." Tennessee State was the first His- torically Black College or University (HBCU) Notre Dame has faced in pro- gram history, and Freeman made sure to address what that meant for him, the team and the school in his opening statement after the game. The Notre Dame crowd recognized the milestone's importance as well. They cheered as loudly, almost as loud as they had all game, for TSU's renowned marching band. Nicknamed "The Aris- tocrat of Bands," it performed at halftime for an excited, green-clad audience. "It's really important and it's hum- bling, especially being an African-Amer- ican head coach," Freeman said. "This is what you want for college football." A game most assumed would be a blowout from the opening kickoff got off to a rocky start. With the Irish lead- ing 7-3 after freshman running back Jeremiyah Love's first career touch- down and a Tennessee State field goal, disaster struck for Notre Dame. Gradu- ate student running back Devyn Ford took a shot to the head on a kickoff return —which sidelined him for the remainder of the game — and fumbled. Tennessee State took possession in the red zone, but the Irish righted the ship shortly after. Notre Dame forced a three-and-out and TSU kicker James Lowery lined up for a 29-yard field goal. Junior defensive tackle Jason Onye got his hand up and blocked it, and Notre Dame went right back to boat-racing TSU. For his part, Hartman threw a 24-yard score to senior slot receiver Chris Tyree. He also rushed for his first score on the ground in a Notre Dame uniform, a few plays after a 50-yard run by junior run- ning back Audric Estimé, by leaping over a Tennessee State defender and somer- saulting into the north end zone. He hit the student section with a celebration that signaled, "Are you not entertained?!" Hartman capped off the 38-second touchdown drive with a 4-yard strike to sophomore tight end Holden Staes, and that concluded his first start at Notre Dame Stadium. "It was surreal," Hartman said. "I mean, from the get-go. Doing mass, coming out to — a lot of the guys were saying this is one of the biggest crowd they've seen, just on the walk." Hartman finished the first half 14-of-17 passing for 194 yards with 2 touchdowns, before giving way to sophomore Steve Angeli and freshman Kenny Minchey for the second half. The Irish shut down the Tigers after their first field goal drive and got a pick- six by senior cornerback Clarence Lewis in the third quarter. A Gi'Bran Payne catch- and-run in the fourth quarter, thrown by Angeli completed the 50-burger. After two blowout wins against a rival from the American Athletic Conference (Navy) and its first ever FCS opponent (TSU), Notre Dame faces its first big test next week. The Irish travel to Raleigh, N.C., to face North Carolina State at 12 p.m. on Sept. 9. "Obviously, we got a lot of ball left to play," Hartman said. "And a lot of mo- ments and memories still to make." FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 7, TENNESSEE STATE 3 Top moment: Freshman running back Jeremiyah Love found a hole off tackle and cut inside of a Tennessee State defensive back to ease into the end zone for his first career touchdown from 36 yards out. Feature performer: Graduate stu- dent quarterback Sam Hartman set the tone with a 3-of-3 start. The completions only went for 22 yards, but Hartman laid the foundation for a 7-of-7 spurt out of the gates, the seventh of which was his first touchdown pass of the day. Stats: Notre Dame outgained Tennes- see State 86-55 in total yards. The Irish av- eraged 6.6 yards per play to the Tigers' 3.2. Items: Hartman scrambled for a first down on third-and-5, gaining 9 yards … A pass interference penalty on an incom- plete pass on third-and-8 allowed a Ten- nessee State drive to stay alive; the Ti- gers scored on a 38-yard field goal several plays later … Graduate student running back Devyn Ford was injured on a kick return on which he also lost a fumble; he was hit in the head and did not return to the game … Junior defensive tackle Jason Onye blocked a 29-yard field goal. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 35, TENNESSEE STATE 3 Top moment: Hartman somersault- ing into the end zone and then saluting the crowd with a Gladiator-like "Are you not entertained" arm sprawl was quite a sight. The score extended Notre Dame's lead to 14-3. Feature performer: Hartman ac- counted for three of Notre Dame's four touchdowns in the quarter. He was 11- of-14 passing in the frame with touch- down tosses of 24 yards to senior wide HOME COOKING Sam Hartman leads Fighting Irish to resounding victory over Tennessee State in his Notre Dame Stadium debut Hartman completed 14 of 17 throws for 194 yards with 2 touchdowns, plus added his first rushing score for the Irish, in one half of work versus Tennessee State. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER