NCAAF No. 13 Notre Dame routs Tennessee State: Instant takeaways
As expected, No. 13 Notre Dame had little trouble disposing of Tennessee State on Saturday, rolling to a 56-3 victory. The win moves the Irish to 2-0 on the young season, and they now go on the road to North Carolina State next weekend.
What do you take away from a lopsided win against a clearly inferior opponent?
That’s exactly what we’re here to do as there was some great, some good, and some things that clearly need cleaned up by Notre Dame as the schedule gets progressively more difficult.
Here are our instant takeaways from Notre Dame’s victory on Saturday afternoon.
Shaky Start was Predictable
Notre Dame scheduling this game for this weekend was incredibly logical considering the circumstances. The last time the Irish went to Ireland they needed a last-second drive to escape a poor Purdue team a week later in South Bend.
Notre Dame’s defense had moments of sloppiness early with breakdowns and missed tackles but it was overcome. Against a more significant foe that would have been more consequential. Instead, one of Notre Dame’s two bye weeks this year didn’t have to be used today to account for the travel back.
Targeting Troubles
Devyn Ford’s kickoff return in the first quarter that resulted in a fumble came as a direct result of what seemed like an obvious targeting offense by the Tennessee State special teams player. The play wasn’t reviewed and Tennessee State retained possession.
Late in the first half, Notre Dame defensive back Antonio Carter II was ejected for a targeting call that I thought was the right one. The rule is rather silly when you think about it though: Carter was ejected with 1:43 remaining in the first half and missed the remainder of the drive.
Because he was ejected when he was and not say, 30 seconds into the second half, he’ll be allowed to start next week at NC State.
First 12 Drives of 2023
Notre Dame’s first 12 real possessions of the 2023 season resulted in 11 touchdowns and one missed field goal. The competition wasn’t exactly the stiffest, but if it didn’t happen that way you know for certain there would be complaining being done. So let’s make sure to give the praise when its deserved like it has been to start the year.
Sammy Heisman ... er, Hartman
Sam Hartman was great again Saturday as he threw for — more touchdown passes and ran for another. He’s been better than advertised early for Notre Dame, but the difficulty now takes a step up at NC State, a team Hartman had issues with during his time at Wake Forest.
As for Hartman’s touchdown run where he flipped onto his head. It was incredibly entertaining and the kind of play that shows why a team buys into their quarterback. I also hope to never see the starting quarterback scare me like that again.
Two-Minute Drill Success
One of the best takeaways from the game was what happened late in the first half. Sam Hartman was given 80 yards and 53 seconds to get something done. He found tight end Mitchell Evans on three straight passes to set up a Holden Staes’ touchdown reception just before halftime.
Hartman has done that twice in two tries for the Irish and the narrative that the Irish offense no longer includes tight ends can go away.
Angeli Time
Props to Sam Hartman and the Notre Dame coaching staff for not forcing the issue. It was a day Notre Dame could have picked the number it wanted to score on Tennessee State. Instead backup quarterback Steve Angeli received significant playing time, much of it with the first-team offense.
His numbers were solid, going 8-11 passing for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It came at an inconsequential part of the game but getting him reps and developed is key to Notre Dame attracting quarterbacks to campus differently than during the Brian Kelly years.
Defensive Dominance
We can sit and say “it was just Navy” or “it was just Tennessee State” but that’s all we have to judge. Notre Dame has allowed six points in eight quarters this year.
They’re yet to allow a touchdown and should get credit for bending but not breaking and allowing one despite facing a little adversity early in this one.
2-0 the easy way
I will not say we can’t take anything from the results of these two games and I will not pretend to say the games mean Notre Dame is headed to the College Football Playoff. However, we’ve seen Notre Dame play with its food against lesser foes far too often, so its nice to be able to sit back and see a game play out the way it was supposed to.
Obviously bigger fish to fry await, starting with a solid road test next week at North Carolina State.
