Five stars: The best and worst of Notre Dame’s win over Oregon State in the Sun Bowl

Notre Dame football finished its 2023 season in style, routing Oregon State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, 40-8.

Head coach Marcus Freeman had to deal with multiple players opting out of the game along with departures via the transfer portal. For the Irish to come out and finish the season with an empathic exclamation point says a lot about the culture of the program getting to win No. 10.

It was mostly roses because there wasn’t much to complain about after an impressive bowl win like this one. Let’s take a look at who played the best, five stars, and the worst, one star, in Notre Dame’s season-ending bowl victory against Oregon State.

5 ⭐️ - Notre Dame’s defense

Why

You could very well have looked at this game on paper and expected the Irish to dominate defensively, considering the Beavers lost so many regulars to the portal. That didn’t mean they’d just roll over for Notre Dame; the guys on the opposite sideline are also scholarship athletes. The Irish defense came to play, allowing 197 yards and allowing them to convert only one of nine third-down situations. That one came in the waning moments. The Irish defense scored points before it allowed any. Impressive all-around performance from this group today.

4 ⭐️ - Quarterback Steven Angeli

Why

The first-time starter performed extremely well. Angeli didn’t make any major mistakes, aside from a few delay of game penalties and a few coverage sacks. In the long run, those didn’t matter. He was efficient with his passing, 15 of 19 for 232 yards and 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran 8 times for 27 yards, giving the Irish a dual-threat option. If I’m Freeman, I wouldn’t just hand over the keys like they did this past offseason with Sam Hartman. Have Riley Leonard and Angeli battle during the spring. I feel like both are very good choices, and a great problem to have.

3 ⭐️ - Notre Dame’s offensive line

Why

Replacing Joe Alt and Blake Fisher was always going to be a tough task, and the Irish fared pretty well. It was a much better effort pass blocking. For the most part, Angeli had plenty of time to find his receivers. Run blocking was a much different story. The final line is a bit deceiving; a good chunk of yardage was gained after the game was out of hand. This will be something to monitor during the offseason, as this group will have more of a chance to build chemistry.

2 ⭐️ - Kicker Spencer Shrader

Why

We have come to expect that when we see Shrader on the field, the ball is going through the uprights. It didn’t happen today. While he made all of his extra points, he missed a 50-yard field goal attempt, which we hadn’t seen much of this year. He was still a major weapon for the Irish; it was just weird to see him miss a “chip shot.”

⭐️ - No one

Why

This was a team effort and it showed. Contributions from all three phases resulted in win No. 10 on the year, the first time in the Freeman tenure the Irish have hit that mark. With an impressive transfer and recruiting class, the program is on the upswing and should contend for College Football Playoff berths for the foreseeable future.

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Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire