Sam Hartman, Notre Dame down Central Michigan to set up much-ballyhooed Ohio State rematch

Notre Dame knocked off Central Michigan 41-17 in a relatively competitive contest through the first half or so, but quarterback Sam Hartman proved the difference once again.

Hartman was electric, throwing for 330 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in the contest. He also ran for a score.

“I think, again, the experience he has, man, he’s unshakeable, man,” coach Marcus Freeman said after the game. “He took a couple hits, maybe threw a couple balls that weren’t where we want them to be, but he is just an experienced football player and just says in the moment. I’m proud of him.”

Notre Dame struggled to pull away from Central Michigan in the early going, mostly due to self-inflicted mistakes.

The second half was significantly cleaner.

“I think they did a pretty good job. It wasn’t perfect,” Freeman said. “And as I told them, we can’t keep beating Notre Dame in a lot of those self-inflicted wounds. It wasn’t perfect in the second half and what you saw is when we had some of those penalties the results weren’t what we wanted. But the majority of the second half was much cleaner and I’m proud of the way they finished.”

Along with Sam Hartman, stud running back Audric Estime helped put away the Chippewas. He ran 20 times for 176 yards and a touchdown, pacing things on the ground.

“He’s a bruiser, man. He is a bruiser,” Freeman said. “You know, shoot, the one long run he had that got called back, you see he’s got some speed to him. He claims to be one of the fastest on the team. I don’t know, man, but it’s pretty good to see him.”

With the win in the books, Notre Dame moved to 3-0 and will remain a top-10 team ahead of its rematch with Ohio State. The Buckeyes will also be a top-10 team next weekend.

The two programs met last year when Ohio State was ranked second nationally and Notre Dame was fifth. The Buckeyes won 21-10, so you can bet Freeman and the Irish have been itching to get back to this one on the schedule.

First, though, they had to take care of Central Michigan.

“It’s a great reminder that when you start thinking about things in the future or things in the past, it doesn’t help you have success now,” Freeman said. “That was every time my mind was somewhere else or a player’s mind was somewhere else, we came back into the moment. That was to prepare for this team. This was a good football team.

“It’s officially Ohio State week, and we’re going to celebrate this, because this was a good win. You have to appreciate it, but it’s time to turn the page.”