Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1511802
22 NOV. 25, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Another Phenomenal Game For Notre Dame Defense Some of the numbers are just crazy. Wake Forest finished the first quarter with -4 total yards. Demon Deacons quarterback Michael Kern played the whole game and threw for only 81 yards. The visitors only crossed the Notre Dame 30- yard line three times the entire game. Three times. Credit to Wake Forest head coach Dave Claw- son, who knew his offense would be overmatched against the Irish. Clawson pulled out all the stops, calling two successful trick plays in the span of four snaps on the Demon Deacons only scoring drive. But aside from those and a little give in the run game, the Deacs had nothing. There were no holes in the Irish defense. Notre Dame's pass rush was particularly over- powering. The Irish sacked Kern 3 times, but even that didn't tell the full story. They collapsed the pocket and made him constantly uncomfortable. I actually thought Kern handled it well, but no quar- terback could have done anything with the way the Irish imposed their will up front. 2. Irish Had Special Pass Defense This Season The core of this defense, the two biggest reasons it's as good as it is, don't usually jump out on the stat sheet. But graduate student cornerback Cam Hart and sophomore cornerback Benjamin Mor- rison have just been that good in 2023. The odds of Morrison intercepting 6 passes again were small, but make no mistake about it: He's been exactly as good as he was as a freshman. Hart, who likely played his last game at Notre Dame Stadium, finally (knock on wood) stayed healthy and showed what he can do. "The back seven, I feel like we're just having fun," Morrison said. "We're out there the closest we've ever been." With near-flawless coverage working in tandem with a pass rush that is much improved from where it was early in the season and well above-average run defense, Notre Dame is an incredibly difficult team to score on. Defensive coordinator Al Golden's Broyles Award nomination is well deserved. 3. End Of First Half Provided A Spark Yes, the Irish looked like the 11 stooges (12 if you count a flabbergasted head coach Marcus Freeman on the sideline) when it burned a timeout after a spike and had to settle for a field goal. But Notre Dame's two-minute drive at the end of the first half was important. Remember when the storyline of this season was "Notre Dame is unstoppable in two-minute drills?" That was a long time ago. The Irish passing game got some much-needed confidence when graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman and company made plays through the air. "The majority of times I'm in that situation, again, I have the utmost confidence in our offense and Sam to march us down the field," Freeman said. Hartman completed 6 of 7 throws for 113 yards with 2 touchdowns in the second half. That drive mattered. 4. Yeah, Angeli Looked Pretty Good Every time sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli enters a game, he looks pretty good. He's accurate, first and foremost. Angeli hit freshman wideout Jordan Faison in stride with a beautiful ball for his touchdown pass. The numbers — 19 of 24 for 272 yards with 3 touchdowns this season — don't lie. "His career percentages right now are looking really good," Hartman said. "Probably an all-time stat leader. I think he should walk away from it all. Totally kidding." Not only will Angeli not retire, he should get a chance to start at quarterback for Notre Dame next season. I haven't seen one good argument that doesn't involve a recruiting ranking as to why he shouldn't. 5. Hartman's Legacy When you look back at Sam Hartman's season for Notre Dame, you'll remember Louisville and Clem- son. But that won't be the first thing you remember. Instead, you'll think about the seven 40-plus- point performances, including five at home. The early hype that brought College Gameday to South Bend. The way he embraced Notre Dame as his home and the fan base embraced him as the face of the program. You'll remember the standing ova- tion he received as he ran out of the tunnel during the Senior Day ceremony, and you'll think about why that happened. When Notre Dame Stadium put Hartman on the Jumbotron after his day was done and played Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," it wasn't lying. "Two more left, but thank you," Hartman said. "This is my message of thanks to everyone who has been a part of this, to you guys, to everybody. Thank you. Go Irish." FIVE THOUGHTS BY JACK SOBLE Defensive coordinator Al Golden's unit had another stellar game, limiting Wake Forest to just 7 points and 232 total yards. The Demon Deacons crossed the Notre Dame 30-yard line three times the entire game. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER