What more could you ask than a 55-0 beating of an overmatched foe on Senior Day to clinch Notre Dame’s 5th straight 10-win season?
The Irish completely took over the game on Jack Kiser’s pick-six to make it 10-0, and from there the only drama was how much action the senior reserves would get. Georgia Tech was completely helpless to slow down the Irish offense in the first half, and equally helpless to slow down the pass rush the whole game.
Some more thoughts as you consider your CFP rooting interests:
Not giving up TDs is fun
For the 3rd straight game, the Irish did not surrender a touchdown. Today it was a full-blown shutout, as even Georgia Tech’s surrender field goal was blocked by Myron Tagavailoa-Amosa. MTA would later get an even bigger standout moment by taking a fumble to the house, completing the touchdown he wasn’t quite able to get 2 seasons ago against Virginia.
Even though the backup quarterback caveats apply to this string of defensive success, it’s safe to say the Irish have found their groove in the new defensive system. DC Marcus Freeman brought pressure from various angles throughout the game, and they all succeeded. The Jackets had 224 total offensive yards and not a single one of them mattered. Mike Tirico had a running joke throughout the game that he was going to run out of factoids about Tech punter Daniel Shanahan, and sure enough, he did.
As I’ve marveled at before, what was really cool was even the reserves were getting in on the fun. The days of ND only being one-deep with quality players at most positions are long gone. What this unit has done without its best player, Kyle Hamilton, has been a treat to watch.
Playing bad defenses is cool
It turns out the cure to what ailed Notre Dame’s offense was at least as much just playing worse competition as anything else. Since a few-week run of very good defenses ended with the Cincinnati game, the Irish offense has been a much different group, and it helps that they’re now playing the worse half of the country on the other side. With the starters in the game, there was rarely a hiccup as the Irish scored every single time they had the ball in the first half, as Jack Coan effortlessly distributed the ball to playmakers all over the field.
*GT Defensive Gameplan*
Step 1: Don’t leave 87 open.
GT: Come again?
— 18 Stripes (@18stripes) November 20, 2021
It was less inspiring in the second half when the backup linemen came in to block for Tyler Buchner. I’m sure ND was hoping to get Buchner some time running a more complete offensive playbook, but because he was running for his life the whole time, that didn’t happen. I guess not everything could go perfectly.
The 2022 RB room is going to be fun
So, this was, as mentioned on the broadcast, likely Kyren Williams’ swan song at Notre Dame Stadium. I mentioned next season’s running backs last week too, but that was before we got a good look at Audric Estime today. Good lord. He’s a slightly smaller Derrick Henry. Tackling him looks like tackling a tank.
So, go ahead and put him in alongside Logan Diggs, who had another awesome TD run, and Chris Tyree, who’s a great Swiss army knife for the offense if nothing else, and that’s a terrific position group. Oh, and at receiver, you’ve got Lorenzo Styles, who we already know is really good, and up-and-coming Deion Colzie. And maybe Kevin Austin and/or Avery Davis coming back. Tyler Buchner won’t want for weapons.
What a position we’re in
This is probably the worst Notre Dame team since 2016, and it’s going to go 11-1 (presuming no Stanford devil magic next week) and finish just out of the College Football Playoff. Take any five-year stretch of the two decades prior to that and pick out the least talented and least experienced team of that group. It’s somewhere between a nightmare and oh God make it stop.
In this five-year stretch, you’ve got this – an occasionally frustrating but eminently likeable team that has ground its way to yet another double-digit win season and probably a New Year’s 6 bowl. And, by the way, we have two of the game’s most exciting up-and-comers coordinating the two sides of the ball and increasingly intriguing recruiting classes coming in because of it.
Perhaps I’m just getting a head start on Thanksgiving, but for a kid who turned 10 the year Lou Holtz left and saw very little fun for the next two decades, this is just awesome. This isn’t where Notre Dame wants to ultimately be, but I can’t shake the feeling the Irish are on their way. Ho-hum 11-1 seasons certainly feel, at least, like a major sign of a healthy program.
See you next week, Stanford.
Notre Dame scored many football points. Georgia Tech did not score any football points.
#Analysis
thank you comrade for superior analysis
These are the hard-hitting takes you pay the 18 Stripes premium subscription for.
But seriously, what a wonderful senior day. This is awesome. We have come a very long way, my friends.
Thanks for the great and prompt write up. I doubt you hear that enough.
With this season coming to a fun close, all I can think about is Columbus in 2022. For all of you who dwell in the buckeye state-of which there are many-this game is so important. We can’t effing lose. I can’t relive 05 or 15 or what i remember from 96 as a young lad. just cant.
I’d brace yourself because it’s not going to be pretty. They will have too much skill position talent on offense and a returning QB against what will be for all intents and purposes a rookie QB for us. We will be lucky to keep it close and will need our offense putting up a lot of points (I’m not confident in that).
I don’t know why this was downvoted. This is a very reasonable take.
Some don’t like hard truths. But no team should feel very confident against a Heisman type QB who has some of the most explosive WRs in college football. We need 2 Kyle Hamilton’s to play against that offense and then I’d feel like it was a relatively fair fight. We won’t even have one.
Garret Wilson will be the first wr off the board this year. Olave willl go in the 2nd round. So we won’t have to worry about those guys….
I think they’ll be just fine with 3(!), not a typo, 5 stars at WR next year (not including whatever freshmen class they bring in).
Smith-Njigba – who will be a junior and has been very good for them this year
Fleming who will also be a junior
Egbuka – who will be a soph
And that doesn’t include high 4 star Marvin Harrison Jr.
We may get “lucky” that a couple of those guys will be inexperienced in the first game – but I’d be surprised if there’s much of a drop off with that kind of talent on the roster.
Not to mention a potential frontrunner for Heisman at RB.
And not to mention they might be returning the 2021 Heisman at QB. Loaded team all the way around.
Pretty crazy they had a kid transfer out to Bama and I believe he is their leading receiver. The amount of talent they have stockpiled there is almost hard to even think about when they have someone buried deep on the depth chart that can go to a little progrum like Bama and be their best WR.
Yeah, Notre Dame will be a big under-dog in that game. tOSU is as good as it gets when they are on their game, but sometimes they don’t always show up consistently. Guessing “getting up” for this matchup won’t be difficult for them, not like playing Purdue or Illinois or something on a random noon start.
That said, hey at least ND probably won’t do any worse against tOSU than Michigan State did this weekend, or like Harbaugh does every time he plays them…
Yeah I can’t wait to hear the backup QB narrative. But, guess who didn’t care about backup QB’s in 2015….ESPN and the CFP committee. That year Oklahoma finished out the year against #6 Baylor, # 18 TCU and # 11 Oklahoma St. They won by 10, 1, and 25 points and not a single time did anyone mention the backup qbs. The love for OU those last three weeks was unbearable.
I was about to praise Estime for being the closest thing we’ll probably ever see to a fullback again and then he went and tried to hurdle someone ina very non-FB move.
Great game, obviously GT stinks but the Freeman defense and ideology has thrived lately. Backup QBs but with the stunts and cross LB blitzes and bringing safeties and corners from different levels and angles it has OL’s really confused and overmatched.
And was it just me or was MTA actually kinda fast? Would love to hear his GPS tracked speed on that. Big boy was covering some ground. Well deserved final moment at ND stadium for a leader of a quietly really strong senior class that won a ton of games.
MTA looked VERY athletic on that play. It was not a struggle for him to run (the way it often looks for DL running).
With the MSU & Oregon losses today, ND will (probably) move up to #6. There’s a guaranteed loss ahead of them (OSU v Mich). That’ll move them up to #5 if they win @ Stanford. A Wisconsin victory in the B1G CG or possibly even a UGA SEC CG puts ND in the Top 4 come playoff selection ( or a 1-loss B12 champ)
1-loss Big 12 champ will almost certainly get in ahead of us.
So we need them to beat each other the next two weeks to get in. Or a crazy OSU less or perhaps a less crazy Cinci loss. And of course Georgia must beat Bama too.
Big XII is our biggest problem right now. A 1-loss OU or OkSt will be in over us. I’m rooting hard for a Cincy loss, as it seems more likely than finding a way for a 2-loss XII champ. And much more likely than Wiscy beating OSU
I believe we would need to see 3 of the following things happen for Notre Dame to make it:
1) tOSU beat Michigan like a drum
2) tOSU to lose Big10 championship
3) Georgia beats Alabama at least fairly convincingly
4) Cincinnati to lose one game
5) Big12 champ to emerge with 2 losses (which basically means Ok State and Oklahoma go 1-1 with each other)
Might be more likely for Big10 elimination ig Michigan could beat tOSU only to lose the conference championship, just is unlikely. Plus it’s more fun to think of them getting demolished.
Oregon bowing out at this point does really seem to make ND’s potential path a lot more attainable and realistic. Only need a few more zany things to happen in what’s been a zany season
Right, #1 seems like a foregone conclusion though and #2 seems it would take a miracle to happen.
Hence, I’m thinking we need 2 of the last three (#3-#5) to happen for us to get in. #3 I’m fairly confident in (or at least most confident of those 3 things). I don’t think it has to be a fairly convincing win – 7 points would be sufficient I think.
Will Cinci play Houston in their championship game? If so, that seems like a toss up.
Though I also get the sense that Okl and Okie st are pretty equal. And it is hard to beat a team twice in a row.
I follow those two pretty closely because my dad went to OU and my brother to OSU. OU has been about like us this year – lucky/gritty (depending on who you ask) wins against some not great teams, rarely putting together a solid performance on both sides of the ball. OSU has one of the top defenses in the country, and in spite of their loss in Ames, I think this is their year to win Bedlam, win the Big XII, and make it to the playoff. With wins against two top 10 teams to close out the season, they’d deserve it, even if it means we get left out.
Cincinnati does play Houston in the AAC title game – it will be at Cincinnati unless the Bearcats somehow lose to ECU, in which case we obviously wouldn’t need to worry about it anyway.
Regarding Bedlam, remember that it might not be a twice-in-a-row situation. If Okie State wins Bedlam, then they play Baylor in the title game. Only if OU wins will there be a rematch. I feel like our odds are better if OU wins Bedlam as I’m not crazy high on Baylor – or OU.
Yea, that’s right about the Big 12 champ. game.
I was thinking Baylor was pretty close to both of these teams – though baylor did beat Okl and lost to Okie st. So I’m not sure if Baylor beating Oklahoma again is a more likely or Okie st beating Okl. after losing to them is more likely. I think I’m with you that it’s the 2nd scenario.