Two days later, the shine is still on Notre Dame’s 38-3 victory. The Irish essentially put the college football world on notice that there’s good reason that people were pumping the preseason tires of a school that quite often gets a little too much fluff after a long offseason.
But behind Malik Zaire and a punishing Irish defense, Notre Dame sprinted out to an early lead, made it through a short bit of malaise, and then stepped on the gas to run away from the Longhorns. So with a quick turnaround on a lovely holiday weekend, let’s get to the weekend’s good, bad and ugly.
THE GOOD
Malik Zaire. He was wonderful. Zaire threw the football accurately, handled the big stage and seemed to fully grasp the role of offensive leader as he treated the postgame like some ambassador or elder statesman. But if you want a look at Zaire’s energy, this still has me laughing.
Zaire’s accuracy was a pleasant surprise. His fastball was impressive. And while he’ll learn that bouncing it outside against a fleet group of young Texas defenders might not be the best idea as a runner, he more than held his own in the ground game.
Now, it’s time to take coaching. Brian Kelly talked about some reads Zaire could’ve made better and he’ll constantly be challenged by defenses trying to catch the Irish in the wrong protection, which you can assume will happen with Jon Tenuta’s blitz parade on tap for next weekend.
But one week in, Zaire was among the best quarterbacks in the nation and looked like a three-year starter, not the guy playing in essentially his second game. And that’s good enough for now.
The Defense. Collectively, this group played like it had something to prove. And it did. After last season’s collapse, it was fair for most to take a wait-and-see approach on Brian VanGorder. The Irish started strong in 2014, but once injuries hit Notre Dame was unable to hang their hat on anything.
Well this group made up for lost time on Saturday night. The pass rush was swarming. The point of attack was dominant. And outside of one deep ball, the Irish were up to the coverage challenges all night long.
Texas didn’t make it inside the Irish red zone. Of all the defenses in the country that played a Power 5 opponent, Notre Dame was the best from a total defense perspective. So while we’ll still need to see how this group does against a talented team—and that’s coming in two weeks against Georgia Tech—this group looked swarming, nasty and nothing like the group that finished the year at USC.
Will Fuller. There’s no deadlier weapon in space than Fuller, who finds new ways to dominate football game. And he also made sure that he made every play, not allowing a drop or a mental mistake spoil a perfect evening at the office.
Fuller’s two touchdowns pushes him to 17 in his last 14 games. While he might not be the physically dominant player that Michael Floyd was, he’s quickly making a case to be considered the most dangerous receiver in Irish history, and has established a chemistry with Zaire that should have opposing coaches worrying.
The ground game. No, the final numbers didn’t come out overly impressive, with the Irish running for just over four yards a carry. But the Irish racked up 214 total yards against Texas with the team’s best running back sidelined after his third carry. Gotta tip your cap to Harry Hiestand and the boys there, especially when Texas expected to be very tough against the run.
This group will need to clean up some sloppy penalties, with Nick Martin called for a snap infraction on a critical 4th-and-1, and Ronnie Stanley and Steve Elmer also caught for false starts. But in the second half the Irish had Texas on the ropes and they buried them. That’s what you want from your offensive line and backs.
Josh Adams. A lot of people are claiming to have said nice things about Adams now that he’s run for two touchdowns and looks like the No. 2 back on the depth chart. (Check out the A-to-Z, I said nice things!) But after one week, Adams has solidified the coaching staff’s belief in him, and has quieted any skeptics who wondered about recruiting a three-star back coming off a major knee injury.
More important, Adams seems to have found a very big supporter in his head coach, and there’s no better ally to have than that. Adams will be giving all the work he can handle, and deserves it after his deadly efficiency with his chances on Saturday, scoring twice on his five carries.
Adams has a mix of size and speed that’s intriguing. He also seems to have grasped the mental objectives needed to reach the field. He’ll be up for a test next weekend when Tenuta sends seven different kinds of smoke. But so far, Adams has exceeded all expectations.
QUICK HITS.
Hey there DeShone Kizer. No, I’m not going to ride you about the missed throw. (You know you could make that one in your sleep.) But I am going to give you some credit for showing great leadership and not letting something bigger start when the young Longhorns tried to get scrappy at the end of the game. Gotta love a quarterback stepping in and standing up for his teammates. That didn’t go unnoticed.
Max Redfield may have only made three tackles in the box score, but I thought he was everywhere on Saturday night. When Redfield flies up into the box, that’s a very good thing.
Jaylon Smith looked like the guy who had everybody excited this offseason. He looks stronger at the point of attack, and it sure was fun to see him put a hand on the ground and come flying off the edge. I don’t think we saw even a fraction of what we can expect from him. And he’s going to have a very, very big year.
Front Four. Man, they looked good. (As they probably should against a young offensive line with two freshmen starters.) But Sheldon Day dominated just about every snap he took and it’s great reassurance to see Romeo Okwara, Day, and Jerry Tillery get sacks, with Andrew Trumbetti coming mighty close, too.
I like the sight of Nick Coleman blazing down the field on special teams. Running with veterans like Matthias Farley, Jarrett Grace and KeiVarae Russell, the Notre Dame coverage teams looked really good.
Garbage Time! Who doesn’t love letting the benches clear and getting the young guys on the field. Playing in an environment like Saturday night is crucial for young guys taking their first snaps, and it was great to give players like Te’von Coney, Jonathan Bonner, Dexter Williams and Equanimeous St. Brown their first looks.
THE BAD
Tarean Folston‘s injury. You can’t feel anything but terrible for Folston, who tore his ACL on his third carry of the season. In just about every way you can look at it, this stinks. For Folston, who was ready to carry the load for an Irish offense that looked poised to explode with him in the backfield. For Notre Dame’s depth chart, which has now lost Folston and Greg Bryant from the spring roster. And for the Irish offense in general, who’ll lose a veteran who understood the nuances of the game.
If there’s an upside, it’s that Folston’s injury comes early in the year. That means he’ll have at least seven months of rehab and rest before the Irish begin spring practice and a full calendar year to get back to 100 percent before the 2016 season.
Testing the depth chart. Brian Kelly said this was his deepest team. I just don’t think he wanted to have to prove that so quickly. The losses of Folston and Jarron Jones put stress on two positions that aren’t necessarily the best equipped to handle it. And while there was no noticing a drop in performance when the next men in got their chances, eventually you can’t help but wonder if this will catch up with Notre Dame.
(It’s worth pointing out, Notre Dame isn’t the only team to have bad luck. UCLA just lost star defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes for the season with a torn ACL. Pitt star James Connor is lost for the year with a knee injury. Virginia just lost two starters to season-ending injuries. Clemson’s leading returning receiver, Mike Williams, broke his neck in the season-opener against Wofford, with his recovery time still unknown.)
That’s football. And Kelly made it clear that he didn’t expect anybody to feel sorry for him. But the injuries certainly chip away at the team’s biggest strength.
THE UGLY
Staying empty. 38-3 keeps this one clear.
