A look at what the media is saying after Notre Dame's 42-26 victory against Florida State on Saturday.
Lou Somogyi, BlueandGold.com: RAPID REVIEW: Notre Dame 42, Florida State 26
TOP 3 STORYLINES
• Williams lost a fumble on the second play of the game that set up a Florida State field goal, but it appeared the rout would be on that first quarter when the Irish quickly scored on 75- and 74-yard marches to make it 14-3. Williams' next carry after his fumble was a 65-yard run into the red zone.
The wild first quarter then took another turn when junior Lawrence Keys III fumbled a punt that led to a Seminoles touchdown, followed by a 48-yard scoring pass from quarterback Jordan Travis to Tammorion Terry off a double move put FSU up 17-14 with 38 seconds left in the initial quarter.
• Making his first career start, Travis accounted for 300 yards total offense, 204 passing on 13 of 24 through the air and 96 yards rushing on 19 carries to keep the Seminoles in striking distance most of the game.
• After FSU went ahead 17-14, Notre Dame responded with touchdown drives on four of its next five drives. A particularly crucial one came right before halftime (see Turning Point) to make it 35-20, and then another on its first series of the second half after Florida State cut the deficit to 35-26, with Book doing the honors on a four-yard run.
The Seminoles had a chance to make it a one-possession game when they had third-and-goal at Notre Dame's four-yard line and the score 42-26, but sixth-year senior Shaun Crawford, who started this game at corner instead of safety, intercepted an out pass near the pylon and returned it 23 yards with 8:21 left in the contest.
Patrick Engel, BlueandGold.com: Ten Initial Thoughts: Notre Dame Runs Past Florida State
1. Offensive Line Shines
Florida State’s defensive front has future NFL players, but it hadn’t been disruptive or stout this year. Notre Dame’s offensive line pushed it around and allowed one tackle behind the line of scrimmage. The Irish continued to establish their outside zone running identity and leaned on the counters and stretch plays that are staples.
Running backs Chris Tyree and Kyren Williams had a combined three touchdowns in the first half and were not touched on any of them. There were freighter-sized holes available. All told, the Irish ran for 353 yards on 8.4 yards per carry.
2. Florida State’s Options And Leaky Defense
Jordan Travis gives Florida State a rushing element its first two quarterback starters didn’t. And the Seminoles leaned on it as a way to keep Notre Dame off-balance all game. They called a heavy dose of read-options and tags off them, and Notre Dame defenders weren’t disciplined on the edge frequently enough to stop it.
Florida State was going to struggle to run if it tried to block Notre Dame straight up, so it got creative and carved out yardage on the ground. That was aided by some leaky tackling by Notre Dame and falling for fakes and misdirection too often.
Notre Dame allowed 4.9 yards per rush, excluding sacks. The Irish’s defense looked like a unit that hadn’t played in three weeks whose first task was stopping an intricate scheme. That won’t be an excuse next week against a Louisville offense that’s similarly option heavy and had its way with Notre Dame in the first half of last year’s meeting.
3. Offensive Line Has Depth Too
Left tackle Liam Eichenberg departed the game in the first half with an apparent eye injury before returning on Notre Dame’s first possession of the second half. Notre Dame replaced him by moving Aaron Banks from left guard to left tackle and inserting redshirt junior Dillan Gibbons into the lineup at left guard.
Notre Dame barely felt a difference. Gibbons performed admirably and had key blocks on Tyree’s 45-yard touchdown run and quarterback Ian Book’s 3-yard touchdown run.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
In the moment, it seemed to be just another long run like Williams’ 65-yarder, even if Tyree’s 45-yard dash actually reached the end zone. It did not give the Irish the lead, they already had it. But it did turn out to be the game-winning score, and its ease illustrated how Notre Dame could control Florida State.
Some run counters do not truly include the initial, misleading jab step; instead, they simply wait a beat to give the pulling blockers a chance to get to their spots. As fifth-year right guard Tommy Kraemer and Mayer crossed behind the line of scrimmage, Tyree bided his time. And then, poof.
Thanks to fifth-year receiver Javon McKinley’s downfield block, no Seminole came near the freshman speedster.
“They have really good guys blocking for them,” Kelly said. “There’s five guys up front. There’s receivers blocking for them, there’s tight ends that are blocking for them. We got a lot of guys that are doing a lot of really good work for the backs.
“Then they’re making good, decisive cuts, seeing things very well. It’s a combination of all those things. Good backs that are making really patient cuts, letting the offensive line do their work.”
There is one other piece to that combination, one so obvious it is ignored: the play calls leaning on the running game.
“When you are able to run like we were tonight, why would you want to stop something that’s working like that?” Book joked.
Heather Dinich, ESPN: How an up-and-down SEC will shape the College Football Playoff
After two weeks off because of a bye week and a coronavirus disruption, Notre Dame got off to a shaky start against a 1-3 Florida State team before ultimately pulling away 42-26. With Notre Dame, North Carolina and Clemson all still undefeated, the ACC is in a strong playoff position. ESPN's Football Power Index projects the Irish to win each of their remaining games by at least 50%, with the exception of Nov. 7 against Clemson (33.9%). Even if Notre Dame loses that game, it can still avenge the loss in the ACC championship game if it were to get there and face Clemson. The committee would consider both the ACC champion and Clemson.
Mike Norvell, Florida State Head Coach
"I thought our guys battled to the very end. We struggled to stop the running game, failed to convert on third downs offensively ... but I thought our guys did battle. Even at the very end.
"We've got to make tackles, we've got to make sure we're fitting out gaps. We had some missed opportunities in both of those areas. ... It provided some big-play opportunities when they broke through the forcing unit.
"We had some missed opportunities throughout it. We're all disappointed. You invested so much time, so much effort into a game to put yourself in the best position to win the contest, and we didn't do that. We definitely didn't do it consistently enough."
Brian Kelly, Notre Dame Head Coach
"First and foremost, winning is hard. Just to be here, talking about a victory is really satisfying given the fact about 10 days ago we had 36 guys that were unavailable to us. In short order, to prepare our team and have our guys be selfless and take care of themselves and put themselves in a position to win a football game today, I couldn't be more proud of our group, our coaches, our support staff.
"We gave the game ball out to [head trainer] Rob Hunt and Dr. Matt Leiszler. We couldn't have been here today without their extraordinary efforts to get our football team safe and healthy."
SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION
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