Instant Analysis: Notre Dame plays to a standard vs. Navy and exceeds it
Bottom Line
The three most intriguing storylines for 13th-ranked Notre Dame heading into its season opener with Navy turned out to be lacking in suspense.
But certainly not lacking in substance.
Quarterback Sam Hartman’s Notre Dame debut, first-year offensive coordinator Gerad Parker’s play-calling unveiling and the first peek at Al Golden 2.0 all came into play prominently as the Irish dominated Navy, 42-3, Saturday at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
For ND second-year head coach Marcus Freeman, it was more about playing to a standard, but Hartman certainly exceeded that in career start No. 46, the first 45 coming in a Wake Forest uniform. He finished with a stellar 231.7 pass-efficiency rating, throwing for 251 yards on 19-of-23 accuracy with four TD passes before giving way to sophomore Steve Angeli with 3:27 left in the 96th-ever meeting between the two schools and third staged in Ireland.
Parker, elevated from tight ends coach, was sharp in his play-calling, while second-year defensive coordinator Al Golden adjusted well early to Navy first-year offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut’s schematic wrinkles and kept the Mids off the scoreboard until Evan Warren connected on a 31-yard field goal with 3:33 left.
The Irish, 35-32 escapees in this matchup last November in Baltimore, outgained Navy 459-169 in total yards, 191-126 in rushing yards and 6-of-9 to 4-of-14 in third-down conversions in Mids coach Brian Newberry’s head coaching debut.
Notre Dame got sacks from Josh Burnham and Rylie Mills and didn’t give up any itself after the Irish were gashed for five in the second half by the Mids last season.
Big Picture
The efficiency to which the Irish played and their in-game adjustments are the elements that will carry over to the rest of the schedule in the one-off kind of matchup. The Irish defense, especially, will have a different look as Notre Dame starts to face more conventional offenses.
Questions Answered
Notre Dame was able to dominate the lines of scrimmage, a good sign and a good start to two areas where the Irish needed to show improvement. Hartman’s command in changing plays at the line of scrimmage and the diversity of the offense made strong first impressions.
Questions Lingering
Some won’t be answered until the Irish play on the road at NC State, but the irish certainly didn’t add to the list.
The Road Ahead
Notre Dame returns home and will test its jetlag resilience against the first FCS opponent to ever appear on an Irish schedule, Tennessee State, Sept. 2 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The Tigers, coached by former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, went 4-7 last season.
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