Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1511802
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 25, 2023 17 not yet 10 minutes into the third quar- ter, Notre Dame led by 24. The game was effectively over. The Irish ended up stomping the Demon Deacons, Hart- man's former program of five years, 45-7 on a day that will go down as the final game played at Notre Dame Sta- dium for quite a few blue-and-gold contributors — in the 500th game ever played at the venue, no less. "It's something special," head coach Marcus Freeman said. "It's something special. This place is special. The his- tory, the people, the ones that have come before us that give us this oppor- tunity to be here." The game was one minute away from going scoreless through one quarter, but on third-and-3 from the Wake Forest 12- yard line the Demon Deacons left gradu- ate student running back Devyn Ford completely unaccounted for on a wheel route and Hartman made them pay. Wake Forest had -4 yards in the first quarter but broke out of that funk with 71 yards on its first six plays of the sec- ond quarter to cap an efficient drive off with a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Tate Carney. From there, it was all Irish. Hartman laid the ball out in front of sophomore wideout Tobias Merri- weather for a 35-yard touchdown con- nection on a post to reclaim the lead for the Irish, 14-7. It was one of numerous well-thrown balls by Hartman after he started the day 2 of 7 for 18 yards. He looked a little uncomfortable early, but he rallied to show the other sideline why he was so good in a Wake Forest uniform for so long. "It's different," Freeman said. "He was with those guys for five years, with that coaching staff. So for him to be able to put that distraction away and per- form the way he did is a testament to who he is and the confidence and con- sistency that he provides." Hartman's final throw of the game was a well-delivered strike to freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse that al- lowed the speedy first-year pass catcher to get out and run into the end zone on a 48-yard score. Hartman finished 21-of- 29 passing for 277 yards with 4 touch- down tosses and 0 interceptions. Notre Dame Stadium speakers played "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston while showing Hartman on the video board in the fourth quarter. In typical Hartman fashion, he pointed at Steve Angeli, his sophomore backup, imploring the crowd to heap praise on his replacement instead. Angeli threw a beautiful touchdown pass. Praise deserved. But Hartman had four. And for one last time in South Bend, the world was his. "To say it was just another game would be lying," Hartman said. "It's an emotional game … a game I'll always remember." FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 7, WAKE FOREST 0 Top moment: Absolutely no one covered Ford out of the backfield, and Hartman took advantage. Hartman found Ford for a 12-yard touchdown to give the Irish a 7-0 lead. Feature performer: Graduate stu- dent defensive end Javontae Jean- Baptiste has been a great pickup for the Irish, and he dominated in the first quarter. He picked up a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a hit on Wake Forest red- shirt junior quarterback Michael Kern. Stats: Notre Dame outgained Wake Forest 110 to -4. The Irish went 3 of 5 on third downs. Items: Junior running back Audric Estimé became the 19th 1,000-rusher in program history, carrying 10 times for 53 yards … Wake Forest totaled exactly 1 passing yard. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 17, WAKE FOREST 7 Top moment: Hello, Tobias Merri- weather. The sophomore wide receiver beat his defender deep by a couple steps on a post route and Hartman put the ball right on the money. It was a 35-yard touchdown for Merriweather, which broke a 7-7 tie. Fea t u re p e r fo r m e r : Fre s h m a n wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. finished the quarter with 3 catches for 47 yards. Those catches included a drag route on fourth-and-3 that went for 22 yards and a 9-yard reception on third-and-4. Both his key grabs extended drives that resulted in Notre Dame points. Stats: Wake Forest averaged 7.9 yards per carry to Notre Dame's 3.8. The Irish passed for 112 yards to the Deacs' 55. Items: Wake Forest completed a re- verse-pass for 17 yards, which led to a 9-yard touchdown run for Carney … Jean-Baptiste blocked a field goal, Notre Dame's second of the season … Gradu- ate student kicker Spencer Shrader made a 37-yard field goal. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME 31, WAKE FOREST 7 Top moment: After 30 minutes in which Notre Dame will admit it could have played better, the Irish started the second half with a bang. On the sec- ond play, Bertrand strip-sacked Kern and senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills picked it up. One snap later, Hartman threw a dime to Raridon for the first touchdown of his career. Hartman threw for 277 yards and 4 touchdowns on Senior Day against Wake Forest, his former program of five years. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER