Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 SEPT. 11, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BRANDON WIMBUSH SHINES It had been a long time since Notre Dame junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush had taken a meaningful snap. In fact, it hadn't happened since he led Jersey City (N.J.) St. Pe- ter's Prep to a state championship in December 2014. Wimbush played just a handful of inconsequential snaps in mop- up duty versus UMass and Pitt as a freshman in 2015, and last fall he did not see the field for the Irish. Now the Irish starter, Wimbush quickly made his presence felt by hitting junior wideout Equanimeous St. Brown for a 33-yard gain off play action on the game's first snap. Ju- nior running back Josh Adams raced into the end zone from 37 yards out on the next play to give the Irish an early 7-0 lead. That hot start helped Wimbush quickly settle into the game. "That was great, actually," Wimbush said of hitting a downfield pass on the first play. "Just to get my nerves, and then [St. Brown] made it easy, ran a great route for me. … That first play was huge for my confidence." Wimbush led an offense that racked up an outstanding 606 yards against a Temple defense that ranked third nationally in yards allowed per game (282.5) a season ago. In the win, he completed 17 of 30 passes for 184 yards with a pair of scores, while adding another 106 yards and one touchdown on the ground. "I thought for a guy starting for the first time, he provided some ex- citement and energy to the offense," head coach Brian Kelly said. Temple head coach Geoff Collins made a name for himself as a defensive coordinator at both Florida (2015-16) and Mississippi State (2011-14), where his complex defenses were not easy for opposing quarterbacks to handle. His 2016 Florida defense led the nation in pass efficiency defense (92.87 rating), and the Temple defense he inherited ranked 13th (111.06 rating). Wimbush, though, felt prepared for what the Owls threw at him in the opener. "I don't think anything surprised me," Wimbush said. "I think it was definitely what I expected. Coming away 1-0, that's the only thing you can ask for, especially week one." The junior signal-caller made his share of plays in the game, but hardly flawless. Wimbush threw a third-quarter interception that Tem- ple ran back to the Notre Dame 14- yard line, and two more of his passes were dropped by an Owl defender. Kelly noted after the game he felt he learned something about his quarterback from how he handled his mistakes. "There will be things that we've got to clean up there, certainly, " Kelly noted. "The interception, he's got to key the corner … but he's tell- ing me on the way back, 'I've got to keep my eyes on the corner.' "He ends the conversation pretty quickly with me, I love that about him. Very coachable, and we'll get better and he'll get better next week." According to Wimbush, the Irish offense is just scratching the surface. "The country has seen what we can do," he explained. "I think there's so much left in our pocket — they have seen only maybe a third of what we are capable of. "I'm excited to see this offense really flourish over the rest of the season." DEFENSIVE ROTATION PROVES BENEFICIAL Notre Dame played 21 different defensive players against Temple, showing the kind of rotation the staff talked about the last three seasons, but one that never came to fruition. It was part of the plan for Notre Dame heading into the game, and the defensive coaches stuck to it. TEMPLE GAME NOTES BY BRYAN DRISKELL In his first career start, junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush compiled 290 yards of total offense and accounted for three touchdowns. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Junior Brandon Wimbush became the first Notre Dame quarterback responsible for three or more touchdowns in his first career start since Tommy Rees against Utah in 2010. Since 1985, only Wimbush, Rees, Matt LoVecchio (2000) and Ron Powlus (1994) have achieved that feat. • Junior running back Dexter Williams (124 yards) and Wimbush (106 yards) both topped the 100- yard mark for the first time in their careers. • Senior tight end Nic Weishar's 12-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter marked the first score of his career. • Notre Dame's 606 yards of offense marked just the third time under head coach Brian Kelly that the Irish surpassed the 600-yard mark. The offense had 681 yards in a 62-27 win over Massachusetts on Sept. 26, 2015, and 654 yards in a 50-33 victory over Syracuse on Oct. 1, 2016. • Sophomore drop ends Daelin Hayes and Julian Okwara, and junior linebacker Te'von Coney all recorded sacks in the game. It marked the first career sack for each player.