Sure the Irish were supposed to win the first games, but the two blowout wins were not phone it in kind of efforts. The Irish have performed superbly. In fact, so far, it has been a grade of “A” effort. The two game combined numbers tell an impressive story of a football team hitting on all cylinders.
Total yards gained 1001, total yards given up 325
53 first downs converted, 24 given up.
98 points scored, 6 given up
14 TDs scored, none given up.
6 visits to the red zone by opponents, 2 field goals, zero TDs.
10 different players have gotten into the endzone for ND and 28 have recorded tackles.
Sam Hartman has led 12 drives, 11 of them ended in touchdowns, he has completed 82.5% of his passes.
Two games, two blowouts. Through two games the Fighting Irish have done everything that it was hoped they could do.
Week one in Dublin it was dealing with the always tricky Navy option and legendary Midshipmen effort, The Irish passed that test with disciplined and physical defense and the unveiling of a whole host of offensive weapons at the direction of maestro himself: Sam Hartman.
Last week the Irish faced a Tennessee St. program on the rise and with nothing to lose in a historic matchup at Notre Dame Stadium.
The Irish knocked test #2 out the park by showing relentless defensive pressure and near perfect first half play by Sam Hartman and company. Exhibit #1 would be his perfect 6-6 passing capped off by a Holden Staes TD catch as Hartman drove the Irish 80 yards in 38 seconds to end the first half. Overall, Audric Estimae led the charge on the ground with 116 yards on 13 carries, and 13 different receivers caught passes. Back-up quarterback Steve Angeli gained valuable experience, by taking the controls in the second half and he made some plays, including his first two ever touchdown passes.
And now the road figures to get quite a bit bumpier. Coming up, six of the best teams in the ACC and three top ten opponents in Ohio State, USC and Clemson.
Through two weeks the Irish have looked about as good as could have been hoped for. This week the competition definitely ramps up, but the Collège football world no doubt has taken notice, the Irish are loaded, and on a roll.
