Snap Judgments: Notre Dame 38, Wake Forest 0

The Gatorade bath sincerely surprised Brian Kelly, distracted by Robby Toma until a few chilly gallons of hydration poured down on the Irish head coach’s head in celebration of an undefeated home schedule. In Notre Dame’s 38-0 victory, a game that was all but decided by the game’s tenth minute, the Irish celebrated the team’s eleventh straight victory, and took care of business quick enough to spend the rest of the afternoon honoring a senior class that did a miraculous job turning around this program.

Let’s run through a few of the questions we had before getting to the five things we learned.

Can Notre Dame control their emotions?

The Irish sure did, even after a very emotional pregame ceremony that honored the team’s 29 seniors.

“It went very well for us. I think our seniors really understood the difference between enthusiasm and emotion,” Kelly said after the game to NBC’s Alex Flanagan. “They played with great enthusiasm. They had fun. This is the way you should play college football.”

It was a day long tribute to Manti Te’o and company, with Tyler Eifert also getting the chance to break Ken MacAfee’s career catch record for Irish touchdowns.

How dominant will Notre Dame’s defensive front be?

It was plenty dominant as the Irish shut out Wake Forest, holding the Demon Deacons to just 209 yards, with many coming after the starters were out of the game. Louis Nix tied for the team lead in tackles with seven, while Stephon Tuitt got his 12th sack of the season. Sheldon Day also had five tackles and Kapron Lewis-Moore played a strong game chipping in three tackles, one TFL, a pass break-up and a QB hurry. With just 55 rushing yards for Wake Forest, the Deacs were one dimensional from the start.

Will the Irish offense do more than just enough?

That’s an understatement. Everett Golson had a first half that almost etched itself in the school record books, throwing for 317 yards and three touchdowns before coming out of the game early. Notre Dame racked up 430 yards of total offense in the game’s first 30 minutes, making big plays from the start.

How will the Irish look without DaVaris Daniels at wide receiver?

The Irish didn’t miss a beat without Daniels, with TJ Jones playing one of his finest games in a Notre Dame uniform and John Goodman making a terrific play on a 50-yard touchdown catch. That’s Goodman’s third touchdown in five catches on the season, all three deep strikes from Golson rolling right. Daniel Smith chipped in a first down grab as well.

Can the Irish dominate on the ground?

Check that box as well, with Notre Dame running for 221 yards on 30 carries. Cierre Wood had his best game of the season, running for 150 yards on just 11 carries, including a 68-yard touchdown run on the game’s first drive. It set the tone for the afternoon and jump started the offense. No other Irish back averaged even five yards a carry outside of Wood’s 13.6, with Theo Riddick picking up just 20 yards on six carries, but doing damage in the pas game.

How will the Irish secondary handle Michael Campanaro?

The secondary did exactly what they’ve done all year. Make tackles after giving up the underneath routes. Campanaro led the Deacs with six catches, but his longest catch was 16 yards and he was held to just 47 yards total. Tanner Price completed 22 of 33 passes, but only gained 153 yards on them, playing right into the Irish secondary’s hands.

Can the Irish finally dominate at home?

Yes.