Tennessee State’s seventh-ever encounter with an FBS team Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium was a terrific showcase for its Grammy Award-winning, four-drum major-equipped marching band and an introduction of just how deep the 13th-ranked Notre Dame football team appears to be in 2023.

On a day when the backup kicker and long snapper got game action and scads of walk-on position players saw the field as well, the most valuable Plan B experience was sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli starting the second half and recording a 232 pass-efficiency rating while throwing for two TDS in a 56-3 Irish rout of their first-ever FCS/HBCU opponent.

He eventually gave way himself to freshman and third-stringer Kenny Minchey with 6:00 left in the game.

Collectively, starter Sam Hartman, Angeli and Minchey combined for 24-of-30 passes for 336 yards and four TDs. There have been a combined 10 incompletions thrown as ND has rolled up a collective 98-6 scoring advantage through its first two games.

Angeli’s part in that beyond the two TD tosses was 8-of-11 accuracy for 130 yards.

There were enough glitches overall — a fumbled kickoff return, a targeting foul against Antonio Carter II, and poor kickoff coverage on one of the Spencer Shrader boots that didn’t blast through the end zone — that Irish head coach Marcus Freeman will have something to legitimately carp about in Monday’s film sessions.

But the Irish (2-0) accomplished what they aimed for when declining to put a bye week after a season-opening trip five time zones away in Dublin, Ireland — a soft re-entry to non-triple-option football and life in the Eastern Time Zone.

► Five defining plays from Notre Dame football's win over Tennessee State

► Notebook: Onye, Notre Dame defense meet standard in second consecutive game

► Hansen: Finding big-picture context in another Notre Dame football mismatch

► Notre Dame football freshman LB Drayk Bowen unavailable for Tennessee State

► Game Balls: Howard Cross III, Notre Dame running backs fuel Irish victory

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Notre Dame needed to do what it needed to against overmatched opponents, something that's not always been automatic even with some of its better Brian Kelly Era teams and Marcus Freeman's first Irish squad last year. NC State will present a team that featured a top 20 defense nationally last season and one with a history of making Hartman labor for his numbers.

The biggest involves how Angeli would play with an extended opportunity and in the context of running the offense, not just handing off. The Irish also showed the maturity to not play down to a heavy underdog.

How do the first two weeks of superlatives translate to Power 5 opposition? The Irish are hitting the right benchmark so far that would suggest a lot of it will carry over.

Next up for the Irish, their first Power 5 opponent of the season and their first true road game — at NC State. The Wolfpack (1-0) opened their season Thursday night with a 24-14 victory at UConn. Former Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong is the Wolfpack's headliner. He threw for a modest 155 yards in his NC State debut, but was a force in the running game, rushing for a team-high 96 yards on 19 carries and two TDs. The Wolfpack did not have a single play of 20 yards or more.

NOTRE DAME 56, TENNESSEE STATE 3: Box Score

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