What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 41-17 win over Central Michigan
While it wasn’t the prettiest of victories, Notre Dame got to 4-0 on the season with a 41-17 triumph over Central Michigan on Saturday to set up a top-10 matchup in South Bend against Ohio State Sept. 23.
In this article, we’ll take a look around at what the media is saying about Notre Dame’s victory over the Chippewas, including Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and Tim Hyde giving their instant reaction in a postgame YouTube live show. You can watch the replay of the show in the video player below.
Make sure to subscribe to the Blue & Gold YouTube channel here and tune in to The Mike Goolsby Show, which will be live on the page Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold: How the Notre Dame defense rebounded to have solid day vs. Central Michigan
Notre Dame forced Central Michigan into a three-and-out on the Chippewas’ first offensive possession. It seemed like it was going to be another business as usual type of day for the Irish defense, even playing without JD Bertrand at linebacker and DJ Brown at safety. That’s 11 years of experience on the sideline.
Turns out, those 11 years would have been helpful on Central Michigan’s second drive of the day.
The Chips started at the 35 because Notre Dame’s Spencer Shrader kicked the ball out of bounds, and two plays later sophomore defensive end Joshua Burnham was flagged for a needless roughing the passer penalty on an incompletion on second and five.
From there, CMU rattled off gains of 16, 9, 8, 6 and 6 yards to get into the end zone and tie the game at a touchdown apiece. It was not a very shut-down, elite defense type of drive for Notre Dame, especially considering the penalty and multiple missed tackles.
“We did not tackle well in those first couple series,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. “We can’t miss tackles.”
Notre Dame missed less of them in the second half. How?
Jack Soble, Blue & Gold: Five thoughts—Why the Notre Dame offense can score on anyone
How many quarterback/running back duos would you take over Notre Dame graduate student Sam Hartman and junior Audric Estimé right now? Maybe five? And even those, you could probably argue either way.
Regardless, Notre Dame is in the enviable position of being able to score in multiple ways. Load the box, and Hartman’s deep-ball accuracy will have a chance to shine. Five completions of 39 yards or more Saturday revealed just how good Hartman can be. Play coverage, and defenses should expect a healthy dose of Estimé. He’s running out of his mind, hurdling defenders and might be the early favorite for the Doak Walker Award.
Notre Dame can tailor its offensive game plan however it wants, and that makes the Irish incredibly difficult to defend. Head coach Marcus Freeman loves using the run to set up the pass, but the Irish showed Saturday they can just as easily do the opposite.
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“We’re an offense that can do it all,” Estimé said. “We can run the ball and pass the ball. And having Sam Hartman, I feel, the best quarterback in the nation on my team and right next to me literally is a very big help for me. And I’m very blessed and honored for that.”
Here are four more thoughts on Notre Dame’s 41-17 win over Central Michigan.
Mike Berardino, NDInsider: How did Notre Dame football grade out against Central Michigan?
SOUTH BEND — Favored by nearly five touchdowns over a Central Michigan program coming off a four-win season, ninth-ranked Notre Dame football had to work harder than expected for Saturday’s 41-17 win at Notre Dame Stadium.
“Fighting the drift” was Irish coach Marcus Freeman’s message during the week, and it proved prophetic with a visit from No. 6 Ohio State coming up on Sept. 23.
OFFENSE B-minus
Sam Hartman had his first 300-yard passing game since transferring from Wake Forest. Hartman went deep to Tobias Merriweather (75 yards) and Chris Tyree (76) for first-half touchdowns that moved Hartman past former Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer (BYU) and ex-Georgia QB Aaron Murray for eighth all-time at the FBS level.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman’s postgame comments
On the sideline conversation when quarterback Sam Hartman was slow to get up after being sacked:
“You protect your player, you care about your player. And the first thing I say is, ‘Hey, what happened? Are you okay? First, Are you okay?’ He said, ‘Yeah, man.’ He kind of turned my knee, kind of rolled my leg. I just kind of mentioned to the refs, ‘Hey, protect our quarterback a little bit.’
“I care about Sam, but I also want to make sure we protect him too. He’s a trooper. I asked him over the headset, ‘Hey, how’s Sam?’ He said he’s fine. You want to protect every member of your team and you don’t like to see anybody limping off the field.”
