Notre Dame Debriefing: Week 1 TSU

Notre Dame’s strong start to the season continued Saturday afternoon after blowing out Tennessee State 56-3. Notre Dame treated their fans to an offensive explosion that saw the Irish take a 35-3 lead before halftime. It was such a blowout that Notre Dame took out starting QB Sam Hartman before the second half started.

Of course, as with the Navy game, this was a game Notre Dame was supposed to win. It would’ve been the number one story in the country had TSU found a way to beat Notre Dame. It’s a tune-up game, something every single college football team schedules. However, even though you can really only look at this game with a grain of salt, here are some of the main takeaways.

This Offense Feels Different

For the second straight week, the new-look Notre Dame offense went up and down the field. They looked unstoppable. Granted, it was against a team with a lot less talent than Notre Dame. However, watching this offense play, and watching Hartman under center you can tell something is different. Go back and watch the last offensive drive for Notre Dame before halftime. Sure Notre Dame was up by a lot at that point, but that drive was a perfectly executed two-minute drill. Watching that drive was nice seeing how those receivers were able to make plays. There wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind that they were going to score.

Not only is it good that the offense looks good, but the amount of people involved makes it way better. When the starters were out on the field, everyone was getting involved. The leading receiver on the team was a tie between Jayden Thomas and Mitchell Evans. Both had four receptions. However, in total 13 different receivers had a reception. It’s hard for a defense to make a game plan when you have so many different people involved in the offense. They can’t double-team a guy because you risk leaving someone uncovered. When any receiver can make an impact, a wide-open receiver can sink a team’s chances to win the game. When all of this is factored together, you begin to get this feeling that this Notre Dame offense is going to be able to take on whatever is thrown at them.

Defense Battled Out of Tough Situations

Yes on paper, the big story of this Notre Dame defense is they haven’t allowed a touchdown in either game. While this is a major accomplishment and something they should be proud of, we can’t judge the defense based on these two performances. The opponents they played were so inferior we still really don’t know what this team is. It would be like judging the intelligence of a grown adult, based on how they did on a first-grade spelling test. It’s too easy and makes them look better than they actually are.

However, what you can look at is how Notre Dame’s defense performed in certain situations. When TSU got the ball on Notre Dame’s 12-yard line, they look like they were destined to score. However, the defense held them to zero yards. Then blocked the field goal attempt, making TSU come up empty when they had the ball deep in Notre Dame’s territory. That was one of the most impressive performances by the defense all game. They essentially played perfect defense for three plays and prevented TSU from scoring. Those are the types of performances that give a fan confidence their defense is going to be great this season.

Notre Dame will be back in action on Saturday, September 9th on the road against NC State. Kick-off is set for noon EST.

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