Wake Forest vs. Notre Dame game balls
In a 45-7 blowout win for Notre Dame Saturday over Wake Forest on Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish struggled some early and were tied 7-7 midway through the second quarter until they went on a 38-0 scoring spurt to turn this into a rout and improve to 8-3 on the season.
Several Irish played well enough to be game-ball worthy.
Here are the three who were most deserving.
Defensive lineman Javontae Jean-Baptiste
The Ohio State transfer made an immediate and impressive impact on the game, recording 4 tackles, 3 solo stops, 1 tackle for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 quarterback hurry, and a blocked field goal in the first half.
Jean-Baptiste added another solo stop in the second half when Notre Dame began to clear its bench.
The 5 tackles tied for the second most this season for Jean-Baptiste. His half a sack brought his season total to 2.0 and his blocked kick was the second for the Irish this season, and it helped flip momentum in a game that at the time Notre Dame held only a 14-7 lead.
Wide receiver Rico Flores Jr.
The Fighting Irish freshman enjoyed the best game of his young career against Wake Forest.
Flores emerged early as the favorite target for Notre Dame graduate quarterback Sam Hartman and finished with 8 catches on 9 targets for 102 yards for an 89-percent catch percentage.
Flores’ day included a clutch 22-yard catch on a 4th-and-3 play in the second quarter which set up a Notre Dame touchdown that gave it a 14-7 lead and set the tone for the rest of the game.
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Flores not only showed his sure hands but he recorded 30 after the catch yards.
Quarterback Sam Hartman
The Irish graduate returned to his early-season form and enjoyed arguably the best game of his season against his former team when he completed 21 of 29 passes for 277 yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.
After failing to score on his first two offensive drives against the Demon Deacons, Hartman led scoring drives on six of his next seven possessions (5 touchdowns, 1 field goal) as Notre Dame turned a first-half tussle into a second-half blowout.
It marked the third time this season that Hartman threw for 4 touchdowns in a game and only the second time in the previous five games that he did not throw an interception.
