3-2-1: Numbers, questions & prediction after Notre Dame’s win over GT
Saturday marked Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium, and with it came the recognition of the Irish seniors who recorded their 43rd career victory in a 55-0 rout of Georgia Tech, the most wins for a four-year Notre Dame class in program history.
The victory for the Irish (10-1) — up a spot to No. 5 in this week’s AP poll — was their sixth straight, with the last five coming by double digits.
“For those that are interested in style points, I covered that one too,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said after the shutout rout, “… I think we all want to see the growth. It’s just been to the point where this is a really good football team.”
3 Numbers/Observations
9 — Notre Dame stopped Georgia Tech on nine consecutive third-down conversion attempts on its way to the 55-0 lead. Additionally, the Irish scored on all six of their red zone trips while the Yellow Jackets moved inside the Irish 20-yard line only once in the game.
35 — The total number of points that Notre Dame had tallied in the first quarter through its first 10 games, before it hit Georgia Tech with 24 in the opening stanza. In fact, before Saturday, the Irish had outscored its first 10 opponents only 35-29 in the first quarter.
6 — The number of sacks the Irish tallied against Georgia Tech, bringing the Irish season total to 38. With potentially three games remaining, expect this defense to break the single-season sack record of 41.5 set in 1996 during the final season with Lou Holtz as head coach. Notre Dame averages 3.45 sacks per game, the fourth best mark in the nation.
2 Questions
1. Is next year’s team going to be significantly better than this year’s?
After what we’ve seen this month, absolutely.
Notre Dame’s 24-0 lead Saturday after one quarter and 45-0 halftime lead allowed Kelly to empty his bench, showcase the deepest team he’s ever fielded, and get his talented young players starter’s reps in the second half.
Freshman running back Audric Estime was asked to finish off the fourth quarter, and he responded with six carries for 61 yards, all on a drive that burned the final 5:48 off the clock.
Estime was outrushed only by another freshman, quarterback Tyler Buchner, who tallied 67 yards on five carries.
Freshman defensive lineman Alexander Ehrensberger recorded his second career sack with his first coming against USF last season.
Sophomore Ramon Henderson started at free safety for injured All-American Kyle Hamilton and recorded three tackles and more valuable game experience.
So while many of the veteran Irish players were enjoying a short work day and savoring their final game at Notre Dame Stadium, the young guys handled most of the heavy lifting in the second half against Georgia Tech, which put Coach Kelly in a jovial mood afterward.
“This entire team has been about young players merging with veteran players, and how that has really made this a special season, because that normally doesn’t happen,” Kelly explained. “Sometimes it’s not easy when younger players are put into the mix with veteran players.”
2. How long can Brian Kelly keep the good times rolling?
The superlatives and streaks are many when outlining this magical run of success Kelly and Notre Dame have put together since 2017, and there is nothing to suggest that the good times won’t continue for years to come.
This team has talented and youthful reinforcements at every position — most of which are getting significant and valuable reps this season — and at least for now, its 23-man recruiting class for 2022 ranks third in the nation, per Rivals.
Add to this deep well of talented players and recruits an increased willingness by Kelly to play his young guys now instead of later — a move that he was reluctant to make in previous seasons — and the program’s roster rhythm should remain strong for years to come.
“The atmosphere of this football team is what it is because of young players that have allowed themselves to be led by our veteran players in a manner that has allowed it to grow as a football team,” Kelly explained. “That’s the real story here.”
When the Irish play at Stanford (3-8) Saturday (8 p.m. EST), the players will take the field riding a streak of 15 consecutive wins in the month of November, and the nation’s longest streak of 41 straight victories against unranked opponents.
1 Prediction
This Saturday’s game at Stanford — which has lost six in a row — will look remarkably similar to last Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech.
The Cardinal is bad, real bad.
Out of 130 FBS teams, Stanford rates in the bottom 25 of the country in nearly every pertinent statistical category, including rushing offense (126), total offense (121), scoring offense (112), rushing defense (127) and total defense (109).
The Notre Dame defense has not allowed a touchdown in 12 straight quarters and the Irish have won its last five games all by double digits, its last three by an average of 36 points.
Expect another heavy dose of Irish freshmen, another easy win, and another building block for a team that will be among the favorites next season to win a national championship.
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