Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 SEPT. 16, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Freeman's Aggressiveness, Trust In Sam Hartman Was A Coaching Masterclass Many coaches would not have done what Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman did with 1:25 left in the first half of the game between the Irish and Wolfpack. On first-and-goal from the Notre Dame 6-yard line, NC State got tackled inbounds. Freeman, rais- ing the ABC broadcast crew's eyebrows, called timeout. After Armstrong fell on a fumbled ex- change on the next play, Freeman called timeout again. Freeman wanted to give his offense time to score once it got the ball back, which it did after Arm- strong threw a touchdown to eighth-year receiver Bradley Rozner on third down, making the score 10-7. He did it despite the way Notre Dame's three prior drives had gone: punt, punt, missed field goal. Many coaches would have let the clock wind down, not taken any chances and regrouped in the locker room. Freeman did not. He trusted graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman, and Hartman drove 78 yards in 3 plays, culminating with a 13-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse. Freeman gave his quar- terback — and his offense as a whole — a shot, and it paid off. 2. Defense Executes Plan Vs. Armstrong To Near-Perfection Notre Dame's plan on defense was clear from the start: pressure NC State graduate student quarter- back Brennan Armstrong, but don't let him leave the pocket and make plays with his legs. The Irish also employed a linebacker as a quarterback spy on several plays. They were almost 100 percent successful, with the exception being Armstrong's touchdown pass. Other than that, Notre Dame clamped Armstrong, holding him to 12 carries for 26 yards (including a 7-yard sack by sophomore defensive tackle Dono- van Hinish). The best example of this: Up 24-17 late in the third quarter, Notre Dame rushed three on third- and-15 and the rushers were clearly only there to keep Armstrong in the pocket. He ran around for a while, but the Irish didn't get greedy, stayed in their gaps and tackled him for a harmless gain of 6 yards. It was a job well done for defensive coordinator Al Golden and company. 3. The Jury Is Still Out On Notre Dame's Offensive Line It's important to give the NC State defense credit, because it attacked Hartman with everything it had and it worked several times. But Notre Dame's offensive line has to protect him better going forward than it did against the Wolfpack, which sacked Hartman four times. For one example, junior guard Rocco Spindler missed a block on third down during Notre Dame's first drive, causing a sack-fumble by Wolfpack ju- nior defensive lineman Davin Vann. For another, graduate student center Zeke Correll whiffed on a blitz pickup on third down in the second quarter, forcing Hartman to get the ball out sooner than he would've liked. Still, Notre Dame rushed for 6.5 yards per carry (not including sacks) and the pass protection was stronger in the second half. The big test for this group is coming Sept. 23, when Ohio State visits South Bend. 4. If Thomas Harper Plays Like This Every Week, Notre Dame Will Be Difficult To Score On Harper made a massive play early in the game, breaking up a pass on third-and-6 from Armstrong to junior wide receiver Porter Rooks. Armstrong made an accurate pass, but Harper just got a hand in the passing lane to knock the ball away. The Oklahoma State transfer led the Irish with 7 tack- les and was credited with another pass broken up later in the game. The Irish will gladly live with the occasional penalty if Harper is this disruptive. He looks like a weapon on Notre Dame's defense. Given the strength of sophomore cornerback Benjamin Mor- rison and graduate student cornerback Cam Hart on either side of Harper, good luck passing against the Irish. 5. Good Teams Find A Way To Win, But Great Teams Win Like This If the first three quarters were the same but Notre Dame won 31-24, that would have been a "good teams find a way to win" kind of game. Sev- eral things had gone wrong for the Irish — penal- ties, NC State fumbling four times and losing zero, etc. — but they stayed the course and picked up a solid road win. That, of course, is not what happened. Notre Dame kept its foot on the gas, going up 45-17 before a garbage-time Wolfpack touchdown. The Irish made enough self-inflicted mistakes to lose this game against a Power Five team on the road and they still won in a blowout. That's what a Col- lege Football Playoff contender does. ✦ FIVE THOUGHTS BY JACK SOBLE The Irish defense — senior tackle Rylie Mills and graduate student end Javontae Jean-Baptiste pictured here — sacked NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong only once, but still limited him to just 26 yards rushing. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP