Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508769
26 OCT. 7, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Notre Dame Rescues Playoff Hopes From Jaws Of Death Do you remember that feeling? It was the feeling that started to creep in when Duke took a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The feeling that got worse when Notre Dame went three-and-out on its ensuing possession. The feel- ing that reached its peak when the Blue Devils forced two incompletions to set up fourth-and-16 with the game on the line. You felt like Notre Dame's 2023 College Football Playoff hopes were about to die. And you were right. No two-loss team has ever made the playoff, and the 12-team version isn't coming until next year. When graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman launched himself into a crowd of Duke defenders to pick up the first down, the Irish's season was on the line. The team itself definitely wasn't thinking about late December and/or early January as it fought its way to a 21-14 victory, but the Irish gave the rest of their season much more juice than it would have had if Duke pulled off the upset. It's impossible to overstate the magnitude of what happened. 2. Hartman Has Guts Hartman spent much of his evening running for his life. The Notre Dame pass protection played well, but his wide receivers didn't create enough separation for him to get them the ball. But the Wake Forest transfer — who is not known for his running ability but can move better than most think — was only sacked twice and scrambled to convert two fourth downs, including the game- saver at the end. And when I write that Hartman launched him- self into a crowd of Duke defenders, that's not hyperbole. He might have been able to slide safely for a first down, but sliding close to the change is tricky. The ball is marked where the slide starts. To eliminate any doubt, Hartman threw himself over the line. Hartman is a gamer in every sense of the word. He showed it in Durham, N.C. 3. Attacking Defense It really looked like the Notre Dame defense came out firing more than it had past games. The Irish played faster, seemed to hit harder and defi- nitely rushed the passer more effectively than they did against Ohio State and Central Michigan. This was especially true in the first quarter. That's a great sign for Notre Dame, as everyone wondered all week how the Irish would respond early after a devastating loss to Ohio State. They attacked the Blue Devils from the opening kickoff. 4. Defense Keeps Notre Dame In Every Game Hartman had an expensive "thank you" gift in mind for defensive coordinator Al Golden during his postgame press conference. "Coach Golden, I just want to buy him a Ferrari," Hartman said. "He kept us in this game." Notre Dame's defense looks like it's good enough to keep the Irish in any game. That starts with the secondary. How many times have you seen Notre Dame get beat over the top this season? When the Irish stop deep passes as well as they do, it's incredibly difficult to score on them quickly and efficiently. Even when the offense struggles like it did against Duke, the defense has its back. "That's how great defenses are made," graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III said. "When the chips are down and you don't really know what's gonna happen, what are you gonna do with the hand you have? So we went out, we played our hearts out and then when it mattered, we made the stop." 5. Let's Talk About The Offense Until they wake up Sunday morning, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and offensive coordi- nator Gerad Parker won't worry about the first 59 minutes of Saturday's game. Winning cures all, and the Irish picked up a massive win. However, they have some issues to fix, as Freeman acknowledged after the game. False starts were a big one. The inability to get open was a problem, too. In- juries to junior wideout Jayden Thomas and fresh- man receiver Jaden Greathouse didn't help, but sophomore Tobias Merriweather dropped multiple passes and committed a blatant offensive pass interference penalty on the final drive. Notre Dame's final yards per carry total of 5.0 was inflated by an early fake punt and Estimé's score. The Irish couldn't get much going on the ground all night. Fortunately for the Irish, none of that cost them a win. This time. FIVE THOUGHTS BY JACK SOBLE Graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman orchestrated Notre Dame's game-winning drive and made the biggest play of the night with his 17-yard scramble. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP