It’s a good day to be Irish. With Notre Dame creeping its way up the national polls and the defense among the best units in the country, there’s reason to believe in South Bend. With Stanford’s defense looking a little bit less dominant after giving up 617 yards and 48 points to Arizona, the Irish open as seven point favorites against the Cardinal.
Let’s close the book on Notre Dame’s impressive 41-3 victory over Miami, and run through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
THE GOOD
The offensive line play. It was a coming out party for Harry Hiestand’s guys. Against a defense that has struggled to stop anybody on the ground, Notre Dame absolutely broke the Hurricanes backs by running the ball at will in the second half.
Critics of Brian Kelly had to be smiling ear to ear when they saw the Irish game plan in the second half. After throwing the ball twice on Notre Dame’s six play, 81-yard scoring drive to open the half, the Irish didn’t attempt a forward pass for the rest of the game. (A quick pitch from Tommy Rees to George Atkinson counted as a pass that went for 21 yards.)
Notre Dame ran 19 times for 197 yards in the third quarter. They ran it 12 times for 73 more yards in the fourth and final quarter. With an extra week to prepare, the offensive line came to play and dominated the line of scrimmage as most fans hoped.
Cierre Wood. I’ve been wondering when Wood would take control of the running game and it looks like Saturday night might have been the start. The senior runner started the season off on the wrong foot, suspended two games for a violation of team rules, then struggled to get into a rhythm as he fought for reps with Theo Riddick and George Atkinson.
Wood seized control of the ground game on Saturday night, running 18 times of 118 yards and two touchdowns. With Theo Riddick held relatively in check and sitting out after a minor elbow injury, the ground game excelled with the team’s leading returning rusher.
George Atkinson. There’s nothing you can really say about Atkinson’s 55-yard touchdown burst other than WOW. That’s elite speed burning past a Miami secondary that you’d expect to have pretty good speed themselves.
It’s taken some time to figure out how to use Atkinson properly, but getting him to the edge of the defense is a good start. As Everett Golson gets more comfortable running the football and keeping the backside of opposing defenses honest, it can only help the Irish speedster as the season progresses. Next evolutionary step? Get him the ball on some wheel routes against a linebacker in coverage.
Cam McDaniel. I’m all for finding a way to get this kid more touches. Running behind the reserve offensive line, McDaniel looked smooth, explosive, and had great natural instincts. He’s Notre Dame’s version of Danny Woodhead.
Everett Golson. After watching the first three plays of the game after being late for a meeting, Golson steeped on the field and took charge of the Irish offense. He put up nice numbers passing and added an element to the offense when he kept the ball on the zone read. Golson’s 55 yards rushing helped open up the offense and will help against Stanford.
Kelly praised the work Golson did against the Hurricanes, particularly his ability to see pressure coming.
“He did some things in the second half that he had not done all year,” Kelly said. “He recognized pressure, did not run out of the pocket, stayed in there, delivered some balls on time. If that continues to show itself, he’s going to be very, very difficult to defend because he’s got that confidence level and a strong arm that he can deliver the ball.”
Golson only threw two balls in the second half, dropping one off to Cierre Wood and then making a great read on a vertical throw to Davaris Daniels. But he also finally found and targeted Tyler Eifert in one-on-one coverage and made good decisions with the football, mandatory job requirements for a quarterback that’s playing with the Irish defense.
The Irish defense. There were no particularly dominating performances by Bob Diaco’s unit. But as we’re beginning to realize, this defense is greater than the sum of its parts. Even with Stephon Tuitt kept in check and Prince Shembo kept away from Stephen Morris, led by Manti Te’o’s ten tackles, the defense played wonderfully.
The 7.8 points a game they are giving up is now second only to Alabama. In five games, Notre Dame has only allowed three touchdowns, a remarkable number, especially considering the youth in the secondary.
Brian Kelly. It’s time to give the head coach his due. He’s created a football team that’s playing precisely how he wants it to play. The defense is remarkably stingy. The offense is playing to win the football game, doing it by ground or air. After turning the ball over far too much in 2011, Kelly has refocused his offense on doing the little things right and the result is a 5-0 start, doing so against one of the toughest schedules in the country.
THE BAD
Early deep ball struggles. If you’re looking for the formula against Notre Dame’s defense, Miami supplied it. Moving at a quick pace, Miami nearly caught the Irish flat-footed from the start, challenging the Irish vertically and nearly succeeding if Phillip Dorsett held onto the football.
A week after Josh Nunes threw for 360 yards against Arizona, expect Stanford to challenge Notre Dame down the football field. You’ll likely see the same thing done at Oklahoma and especially with USC, who finally threw the ball down field against Utah, after working mostly horizontal for some befuddling reason to start the season.
THE UGLY
Other than the helmets? Not much to complain about. The Irish put a once-in-a-generation beating on Miami. They did their best to quiet any controversy at quarterback. They held an explosive offense to no touchdowns. And they’re the No. 7 team in the country.
Not too shabby.
