Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507383
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 16, 2023 23 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: A We're going to keep the "+" off of here this time because Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman was sacked four times, and that ultimately falls on the shoulders of the passing game as a whole. The Irish offensive line was not on its A+ game all day. But Hartman still ended up with 286 passing yards and 4 touchdowns without throwing any interceptions, and he completed 15 of 24 (62.5 percent) of his pass attempts. Those alone are A+ numbers against a pretty stingy defense. Eight different pass catchers reeled in recep- tions, led by sophomore tight end Holden Staes' 4 catches for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. He and Hartman were the stars of the Notre Dame passing attack. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: A Notre Dame ran for 213 yards on 33 carries if you take out the 4 sacks. That's 6.5 yards per rush. Take away junior running back Audric Estimé's 80-yard touchdown, though, and it was just 32 carries for 133 yards (4.2 yards per tote). The 80-yard touchdown cannot be taken away, though. It was very much a part of the game, and it came at a crucial time — the very first play from scrimmage following a 105-minute weather delay. Estimé became just the second running back since the start of the 2022 season to put up more than 100 rushing yards against the Wolfpack. He finished with 14 rushing attempts for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even in a running back room as stacked as Notre Dame's the Irish ground game goes as Estimé goes. And he was going versus the Wolfpack. NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: B+ NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong could have easily finished with more than 300 yards if he was on his A game. He wasn't. He missed some open targets over the middle and even an open re- ceiver in the end zone during a scramble where he ended up settling for a short gain on the ground. NC State missed a field goal on the next snap. So, allowing Wolfpack receivers to get open quite a bit was the bad for Notre Dame. The good was reeling in 3 interceptions and holding Armstrong to 22-of-47 passing (46.8 percent). With a split that favored the pass, NC State was going to have to beat the Irish with an aerial assault. Notre Dame did not let that happen. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: A NC State settled for 30 rushing attempts, 11 of which came from Armstrong when you take away the 1 sack Notre Dame had, and the Wolfpack only gained 91 yards rushing factoring out the 7 yards lost on the sack. Armstrong ran 11 times for 33 yards without the sack added in. NC State's lead back, Jordan Hous- ton, rushed 7 times for just 26 yards. The Wolfpack probably knew they couldn't beat Notre Dame in the trenches on that side of the ball, and the Irish stood their ground and didn't give them anything easy. The Wolfpack's longest run of the game went for 13 yards. Everything else was in single digits. That's solid, consistent play. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: A Notre Dame kicker Spencer Shrader has quite a leg on him. He set the program's all-time record for longest field goal with a 54-yarder, and he hit the upright way, way above the crossbar on a 56-yard attempt. Both kicks had the distance to be good from 60-plus. Notre Dame punter Bryce McFerson has a leg on him, too. He averaged 50.7 yards per punt on six boots, by far the most action he's seen all season. The Irish did not record a punt return and only returned two kickoffs for an average of 23 yards per return. The worst of Notre Dame's special teams was jumping offsides on fourth-and-4 with NC State lined up to punt, but the Wolfpack didn't score on the extended drive. NOTRE DAME COACHING: A As it's been all season, Notre Dame kept the main thing the main thing and did not succumb to anything out of the Irish's control. In Week 0, it was not getting too emotional about being in Ireland. In Week 1, it was staying even keel with the program playing an FCS opponent for the first time. In Week 2, it was playing a capable foe on the road — both of which were firsts in the early going this season. No problem for head coach Marcus Freeman's Fighting Irish. The beat went on. REPORT CARD BY TYLER HORKA Graduate student linebacker JD Bertrand and the Fighting Irish defense did a good job containing NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who completed only 46.8 percent of his passes while throwing 3 interceptions. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP