Top players from Notre Dame's victory over New Mexico.
The Fighting Irish earned a convincing victory in their home opener, beating the Lobos of New Mexico by a 66-14 score. There were standouts on both sides of the ball, but with the offense and defense, two stood above the rest.
OFFENSE
QB Ian Book - 14-25, 360 pass yards, 5 TD's - 46 rush yards, 1 TD
Things didn’t start well for quarterback Ian Book, but when you pass for a career-high 360 yards, lead the offense in rushing (46 yards) and account for six touchdowns its hard to give the player of the game to anyone but Book.
Book completed 11 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, but only three of his completions traveled more than five yards past the line of scrimmage, with two of those throws coming late in the first half. Book got over his shaky start and made better decisions, stayed poised in the pocket and got the ball where it needed to go.
Late in the first half he hit Chase Claypool for a 37-yard post route touchdown, and in the third quarter hit a deep corner throw to Tommy Tremble and hit Javon McKinley on a downfield back-shoulder. Once Book got going, there was no stopping the Irish offense.
Runners Up: WR Chase Claypool, WR Javon McKinley
DEFENSE
DE Daelin Hayes - 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
There were a number of standouts on the defense, which racked up eight tackles for loss, five pass break ups and three interceptions in the game. Hayes got things started off well for the Irish, tipping a third-down pass on New Mexico’s second drive of the game. The fluttering pass ended up in the hands of freshman safety Kyle Hamilton, who returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the game Hayes chased down a New Mexico runner behind the line of scrimmage despite the fact the Lobos were trying to run away from Hayes. On Notre Dame’s next series he had a huge second-down tackle for loss that forced a third-and-13 pass that ended with a Jalen Elliott interception.
Through two games, the senior end has been Notre Dame's most impactful and dominant defensive lineman.
Runners Up: S Jalen Elliott, DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, LB Asmar Bilal
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Coverage Unit
Notre Dame kicker Jonathan Doerer booted his fourth kickoff of the game out of bounds, giving New Mexico the ball at its own 35-yard line. Other than that, Doerer, freshman Harrison Leonard and the Irish coverage units were outstanding.
Seven of Doerer and Leonard’s ten kickoffs were fair caught or went for touchbacks, and the two that were returned resulted in New Mexico starting at its own 17 and own 16-yard line.
Runner Up: P Jay Bramblett
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