Notre Dame Rolls Tennessee State in Home Opener
Notre Dame played their first game of the season in South Bend, Indiana, and they did not disappoint. In their home opener, the Irish faced off against The Tennessee State Tigers. Most betting lines had Notre Dame as a 50+ favorite, and rightfully so, as they easily won 56-3. While the score was quite predictable, there were several notable player performances in the game for the Irish, and several players stepped up when needed.
The game started a little slow for the Golden Domers, as the first quarter ended with them holding just a 4-point lead. One of the major components of this close game was a missed targeting call against Tennessee State that led to Irish return man Devyn Ford fumbling a kick return deep in Irish territory, which Tennessee State recovered. Notre Dame also blocked a Tiger’s field goal attempt shortly after. Once this barrage of football oddities calmed down, Notre Dame took control of the game and did not let go of the reigns for the remainder of the match, as Tennessee State would not score another point after the first quarter.
Quarterback Sam Hartman put on a good performance in what little playing time he actually saw. Despite Sam only playing the first half, he totaled 194 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air on a very efficient 14/17 passing. He added four carries for 14 yards, which included an impressive endzone flip.
After halftime, Sam came out of the locker room without a helmet, but he was sporting a set of headphones, signaling that his work on the field for the day was finished. Other stars for the Irish balled out as well. Power back Audric Estime easily notched another 100-yard game for the Irish. Estime did so on just a mere 13 carries, totaling 116 yards, averaging an eye-popping 8.9 yards per carry.
Notre Dame RB Audric Estime (7) – Michael Caterina/AP Photo
Mitchell Evans, who is now Notre Dame’s top tight end, didn’t have a particularly good game against Navy to open the season. Evans finished the game without a catch, and he also had a penalty against him. This Saturday against Tennessee State was different. Mitchell caught four of Hartman’s passes for 61 yards.
The four catches Evans made would have been his career high for a season before this year. It was a great experience all around for Evans, considering he hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time in his career sitting behind former All-American Michael Meyer. It was also an invaluable experience to connect with Hartman on the field since Hartman typically makes outside reads first, putting his primary targets on the X and Z receivers. This is a crucial relationship that will prove its value against teams later this season like Ohio State and USC with strong secondaries but weak linebacking corps.
In the end, the match with Tennessee State went pretty much as anticipated. If anything, the Tigers seemed thrilled to be at Notre Dame. This was truly a case of a team just having fun. There were celebrations from the players when down big, and even head coach Eddie George (who also played football at Ohio State, like Marcus Freeman) was caught cracking smiles on the sideline all game. Lots of backups, like quarterback Steve Angeli and running back Gi’Bran Payne, got a good amount of playing time during the game.
Even the backup kicker, Zac Yoakam, got some playing time, drilling his lone extra-point try. The Irish have now, on the season, only allowed points to be scored in 2 of the eight quarters they have played in and have given up a total of 6 points on the year. Notre Dame easily won, no major injuries were had, and on to the next game, the Irish march.
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