Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 SEPT. 21, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. A Working Theory About Notre Dame Foot- ball We've seen two different Notre Dame teams in the first three weeks of this season. There's the one that outlasted Texas A&M on the road through superior conditioning, execution and resolve. That version made another appearance at Purdue in Week 3 when it floored the gas pedal at opening kickoff and didn't let up until the clock hit zero in a 66-7 win over a Boilermakers team it should dominate every time. And then, there's the one that lost the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and made criti- cal mistakes in all three phases in a 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois. My working theory is the version that showed up in Weeks 1 and 3 is the real Fighting Irish. This is a team, like we thought before the season, with the talent and experience to make the College Football Playoff and do some damage when it gets there. Those Irish simply lost their minds in Week 2 when they thought they could stroll into Notre Dame Stadium and come out with a win by virtue of showing up. If you listen to them, they believe they learned their lesson. "Shoot, if your opponent is projected to be not better than you, that should give you more moti- vation to just dominate even more," sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love said. However, based on Notre Dame head coach Mar- cus Freeman's history, another letdown is always possible. It's difficult to trust the Jekyll side of the Irish to show up every week. Freeman's comments after the game didn't inspire confidence that he can keep the Hyde side locked away forever. "I don't know if it's something I can see," Free- man said. "If I saw it the week before, I would have done something about it. I think it's a choice we all have to make as individuals. It's my job to make sure we have a culture that doesn't accept anything less." 2. If Worst Fears Confirmed, Losing Botelho Is Devastating Football can be cruel sometimes. Graduate student defensive end Jordan Botelho was hitting his stride. He produced 5 quarterback pressures against Texas A&M. He had picked up a sack and drew a key holding penalty against Pur- due. And later in the second quarter, he beat his blocker and made a beeline toward Boilermakers quarterback Hudson Card. As he bent the edge, his right knee appeared to give out. "Definitely heartbreaking," sophomore defen- sive end Boubacar Traore said. "Definitely in my prayers, too. But I told him, I'm gonna do it for him. Everything I do is for you, from here on out." It's a brutal injury for Botelho, who wore a large brace on said knee after the game. And it's equally brutal for Notre Dame, despite its excitement about Traore, who will start if Botelho is done. The Irish had a great thing going, with Botelho starting and Traore rotating in. They believe Traore is a future star, but they want him to add more weight before jumping into a full-time role. He'll likely be thrust into that role earlier than anticipated. 3. Schrauth And Craig Injuries Hurt, Too, But Credit To Coogan And Spindler You can tell when Freeman is particularly proud of one of his players. And he was particularly proud of senior offensive linemen Pat Coogan and Rocco Spindler. After an apparent lower-leg injury sidelined ju- nior right guard Billy Schrauth (he was carted off and came back on crutches) and an apparent knee injury to junior center Ashton Craig, Spindler and Coogan stepped in and the offense didn't miss a beat. For those two to do that after starting for a sea- son and losing their jobs in fall camp said a great deal about their character. "It's a respect to the preparation," Freeman said. "It's respect to their unselfishness, to their love of the team. Those two guys deserve a lot of credit." 4. Freeman Pressed The Right Buttons In Gar- bage Time Notre Dame didn't let up when its backups came in, outscoring Purdue 14-0 in the fourth quarter. Beyond that, though, I liked a few of the decisions Freeman made once the game got out of hand. He left the young linebackers in, because they need all the reps they can get. Freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa in particular built up some confidence with his 3 tackles, interception and half-sack in the fourth quarter. He gave some reps to freshmen who had impressed behind the scenes, such as Kennedy Urlacher, who had 2 tackles and looked quite good. And at quarterback, Freeman gave junior backup Steve Angeli much-needed in-game action throughout the second half. 5. Jack Kiser Set The Tone For Defense Graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser's stat line was nothing to write home about. He had 3 tackles and a quarterback hit. But he was all over the field on Purdue's first few drives, sticking his nose in the backfield any chance he got. When Kiser started the game like that, the rest of the defense followed. I suspect Notre Dame's film review will be kind to No. 24, who grew up in Royal Center, Ind., about 50 miles away from West Lafayette. FIVE THOUGHTS BY JACK SOBLE Losing graduate student defensive end Jordan Botelho to a serious-looking injury was a rare blot on an otherwise excellent day for the Fighting Irish. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER