Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506910
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 9, 2023 23 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: A+ We're two games into the 2023 season and you can nearly count on one hand how many incom- plete passes graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman has thrown. The total is seven. Hartman connected on 14 of 17 throws for 194 yards with 2 touchdowns in one half of work versus Tennessee State to improve to 33-of-40 passing for 445 yards with 6 touchdowns and no interceptions in just over five quarters of action. His touchdown tosses versus the Tigers were things of beauty; a long strike to senior wide receiver Chris Tyree and a shorter dart to sophomore tight end Holden Staes. Hartman has full command of the Notre Dame offense in the early going. Thirteen different Irish players caught passes, too. All three scholarship quarterbacks completed at least 2 passes. It was a clinical effort for the Notre Dame passing offense. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: A+ Notre Dame averaged 6.7 yards per rush. What more can you ask for? That number was aided by a 50-yard scoot from junior Audric Estimé and a 36-yard touchdown from freshman Jeremiyah Love. Those two led the way with 162 of the team's 221 yards on the ground. Estimé was the top dog with 116 yards on just 13 carries. He scored a touchdown for the second game in a row to start the season. The Notre Dame offensive line is opening up holes for the Irish tailbacks, and they're hitting them with authority. NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: A+ Tennessee State averaged 3.04 yards per attempt between its two quarterbacks. Deveon Bryant threw 2 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by senior cornerback Clarence Lewis. The Tigers had eight different players catch a pass, yes, but nobody caught more than one. The Irish had them on lockdown. In all, Tennessee State only completed 8 of 22 passes for 67 yards. Notre Dame did not hold any teams below 100 passing yards in 2022. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: A Tennessee State ran 36 times for 89 yards. The longest rush the Tigers had was a 13-yard keeper from Bryant, who was credited for 29 yards on six attempts. Lead back Jalen Rouse, a junior, ran 11 times for 28 yards. Tennessee State's offensive line wasn't much of a match against Notre Dame's defensive line, and the Irish's tackling across the board was quite stout. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: B We don't want to fault a player on a play he was injured on, but graduate student running back Devyn Ford did lose a fumble on a kick return at the Notre Dame 12-yard line. That was offset by a stout defensive effort capped by a blocked field goal from junior defensive tackle Jason Onye. Sophomore Bryce McFerson punted for the first time this season in the third quarter. His first boot of the season went a booming 54 yards. His second punt only went 32 yards to the Tennessee State 22-yard line, though. Notre Dame did not have much of a punt re- turn game. Graduate student wide receiver Matt Salerno was credited with two returns for an av- erage of 11 yards per return. Tyree's lone return went for 6 yards. Graduate student kicker Spencer Shrader made 7 extra points and sophomore walk-on Zac Yoakam made 1. Shrader has touchbacks on 6 of 8 kicks. Yoakam had a touchback on his only kickoff. Notre Dame did not attempt a field goal. NOTRE DAME COACHING: A The Fighting Irish were overwhelming favorites in this game. A late release of a betting line by Fan- Duel Sports Book had Notre Dame has a 48.5-point favorite on the morning of kickoff. The Irish cov- ered that spread, and then some. Head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff de- serve credit for getting these guys back from Ire- land on Sunday and setting them up for a 53-point win on the following Saturday. Everything looked good for the Irish once again, from the offense to the defense to just the general operational aptitude that goes into both of those units running so smoothly. Now the fun begins with a true road game at North Carolina State. ✦ REPORT CARD BY TYLER HORKA Senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills and his teammates made life miserable for Tennessee State's quarterbacks, limiting them to 8-of-22 passing for 67 yards with 2 interceptions. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER