Notre Dame Debriefing: Week 0 Navy

After 239 long days, the Fighting Irish were finally back in action against rivals Navy. This game had a twist to it, however, as it was played across the Atlantic in Dublin Ireland. And with the way the Irish played today, it was well worth the wait. Notre Dame dominated Navy 42-3. Sure, this might be the season’s first game, and Navy isn’t near the same level as Notre Dame. However, there are a lot of positives that can be taken away. Plus a lot of reasons for Notre Dame fans to be excited about the rest of the season.

The Running Game Will Carry This Offense

All we heard about this offseason was this Notre Dame running attack. How it was going to help carry this offense. It was one of the main reasons Notre Dame has playoff asperations this season. And in game one, they definitely lived up to the hype. In total, they had 191 rushing yards on 32 attempts. That’s an average of six yards per attempt. They also scored two touchdowns on the ground, which is just the icing on the cake of how this running attack did. This should be a common theme for this Irish offense throughout the season.

However, the running back that stood out the most was Audric Estime. In 16 attempts, Estime had 95 yards and a touchdown. He also had two catches for 26 yards. Right from the start, you can see the impact Estime was going to have. The entire first drive revolved around him running the ball down Navy’s throat. Notre Dame doesn’t score on the first drive if Estime isn’t out there. He also clawed for every single yard possible. There were a few times throughout the game where it looked like Estime would be tackled for a loss. Then the next thing you knew, he was picking up a first down. This is exactly the type of performance Notre Dame was hoping for. His fumbling problem did rear its ugly head again, but it’s not something fans should be too worried about.

Sam Hartman is the QB Notre Dame Been Missing

If there has been one thing Notre Dame has been sorely missing, it is elite play from the quarterback. Sure, a good running attack and elite defense is great to have. However, if you expect to beat a team like Georgia or Ohio State, you need a quarterback to make big-impact plays. The Irish have finally seemed to find their guy in Sam Hartman.

Hartman had one of the best debuts we have ever seen from a Notre Dame quarterback. He threw 19 completions on 23 attempts for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Those four touchdowns tie the school records for most touchdowns thrown in a debut. Now, there were high hopes for Hartman ever since he announced he was transferring to Notre Dame. However, nobody expected him to be this good, this fast. In a completely new and different style of offense, Hartman looked extremely comfortable. It’s like he had been in this system for years. Sure it is only Navy, but this performance should give fans a lot of confidence that Hartman is going to continue this level of performance. He gives Notre Dame a legitimate shot at an undefeated season and a playoff birth.

The Defense Made The Necessary Adjustments

Whenever you play a team like Navy, there are going to be some struggles to figure out their offense. Navy runs the triple option, a style of offense barely used in college football today. In fact, there are only three schools that still implement this style of offense. So, there’s a good chance you’ll only face it once a year, giving you little to no experience on how to stop it.

This seemed to be the case early on in the game, as Navy ran circles around the Irish defense. Sure Navy wasn’t able to capitalize, but they were getting deep into Irish territories. If things broke their way, it was very possible Navy could’ve made it a competitive game. Or, at least made the final score look a little better. They just couldn’t figure out how to stop the triple option.

That was however until the second half started. Whatever adjustments Al Golden and the entire defensive staff made worked wonders. Notre Dame’s defense dominated Navy in the second half, holding them to multiple threes and outs. Plus, they also only gave up 55 yards in the second half., most of which came on a garbage time 15-play drive that ended in a field goal. However, the game was so out of reach at that point that it really doesn’t take anything away from what the defense did.

Notre Dame will be back in action on September 2nd at 3:30 p.m. They will be playing Tennessee State in South Bend.

Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Charles McQuillan. You can find more college football content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.