Irish head into bye week with momentum
Notre Dame notched win number five for the season, surpassing last year’s total, by running over an undermanned team in North Carolina. The final tally was an impressive 33-10 win. Impressive in that the Irish had to play without starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush, who was out due to a ankle sprain, and replaced by Ian Book.
Book was up to the challenged. After a slow start, the redshirt sophomore settled in and was in control of the offense. Book did a very commendable job in running the offense, despite the fact that the ND passing game is still not up to where it should be at this time of the year.
The Irish running attack took control of the game and the Tar Heels couldn’t keep up. ND’s defense also forced some more turnovers in the romp.
Head coach Brian Kelly announced about 45 minutes before the start of the game that Wimbush would not be able to play, despite being dressed and on the sidelines. After a shaky start, the Irish settled in with Book’s leading them.
The first quarter was more an exchange of punts between the two schools. Then at the start of the second quarter Book rolled to his right and connected with Cam Smith for a six-yard TD and the momentum began to shift to the Irish. The Irish stumbled a bit in the late going of the second quarter allowing North Carolina to score a TD. As in prior games for the 1-5 Tar Heels, they stayed in the game going into the third quarter but the punishing run game of the Irish eventually took it toll on the NC defense.
The Irish took control in the third when sophomore defensive end Julian Okwara batted down a Chazz Surratt pass and caught it for an interception. Although the Irish ended up only getting a field goal, the building momentum took control for the Irish.
ND’s defense had 11 quarterback hurries, five tackles for a loss and two sacks to help in the domination.
The Irish are off today and prepare for arch-rival Southern California next week in primetime. It was fall semester examine week this past week and no classes next week as the students get a week off after exams.
We’ll have are USC preview next week.
With this week off the Irish injured players have plenty of time to heal and be ready for next week’s very, very important game.
IRISH NOTES ... The Irish had three turnovers in the game. Here is some ND stats from the game. Book finished with 17 completions on 31 attempts for 146 yards and a TD, plus two interceptions. With Book throwing the ball that much, it shows that Kelly had confidence in him. Josh Adams had 118 yards on 13 carries including a 73-yard TD run. He left the game in the second half due to dehydration. Book ran 12 times for 45 yards; C.J. Holmes 32 on eight and Tony Jones Jr., had 31 on nine. Receiving had Alize Mack six catches for 38 yards; Chase Claypool, three for 36, and Durham Smythe two for 22. Leading-receiver Equanimeous St. Brown had one catch for nine but with a reason. He had to leave the game due to left leg cramps. The warm and muggy weather conditions were to blame ... Justin Yoon had one field goal for 29 yards ... Defensively, Drue Tranquill had seven tackles with Te’von Coney and Julian Love getting six each. Daelin Hayes had one tackle for an 11 yard loss ... Last year ND finished 0-3 on the road and this year. So far this year they are 3-0 ... ND’s red zone perfection ended last week. The ND streak of 24-straight scores in the red zone ended in the second half with a Book interception ... In other injuries, right guard Alex Bars had a ankle problem which forced Hunter Bivin. Bivin was eventually replaced as well with Tommy Kramer sliding inside to the right guard position and Robert Hainsey playing right tackle. Kramer and Hainsey had alternated at the tackle position most of the season. Nyles Morgan went down in the second half with a stinger and defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa suffered a chest contusion. It appears everyone who went down last week will be ready for next week’s USC game ... According to the South Bend Tribune ND running backs coach, Autry Denson, spent last Friday night watching Irish running back commit Jahmir Smith in action for Sanford, N.C., Lee County High School. Smith scored three TDs in a 50-0 win. He rushed 11 times for 88 yards and caught two passes for 42 yards ... ND entered the NC game ranked seventh in the nation in rushing yards per game at 301.4 and third in yards per carry (7.14). The Irish finished with 341 rushing yards with an average of 6.0 per carry ... The eight carries by C.J. Holmes were his first-ever collegiate action ... ND moved up to No. 16 in the AP poll this week ... With the injuries to Adams and Williams, ND got a pleasant surprise with the running of Deon McIntosh, who is fourth of the depth chart. His performance in filling in for Adams and Williams has been a real plus for the offense ... ND’s final six games will be a true test for the Irish. Next week is USC. The Trojans are followed by a very good NC State team. They also have Miami, Navy and Stanford, all top-rated clubs with a struggling Wake Forest thrown into the mix on Nov. 4. A sweep in these six game is very unlikely for the Irish. But winning four of the six could put them into a top tier bowl game.
