A look at what the media is saying after Notre Dame's 52-0 victory against USF on Saturday.
Lou Somogyi, BlueandGold.com: Rapid Review: Notre Dame 52, South Florida 0
TOP 3 STORYLINES
• About 90 minutes before kickoff, Notre Dame announced eight players would be unavailable either because of previous injury or health issues. Four were starters or co-starters on defense: junior cornerback TaRiq Bracy, sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton, and a pair of Buck linebackers with junior Shayne Simon and sophomore Marist Liufau. Also sidelined was reserve junior vyper end Ovie Oghoufo.
On offense they included sophomore No. 2 quarterback Brendon Clark, junior reserve running back Jahmir Smith, and junior No. 2 slot Lawrence Keys III.
Ruled out earlier in the week was graduate transfer wideout Ben Skowronek, who injured a hamstring in the opener.
• Notre Dame had excellent field position throughout the first half, with its five touchdown drives covering 54, 43, 58, 53 and 25 yards, due in part to poor special teams play by the Bulls. Poor long-snapping by the Bulls led to the first Irish touchdown in the second half when another snap that went over the punter's head led to an eventual blocked punt by sophomore linebacker Osita Ekwonu and the touchdown recovery by freshman defensive end Jordan Botelho.
• In the second half, Notre Dame pretty much cleared the bench near the end of the third quarter. The first score occurred first on a 22-yard field goal by senior kicker Jonathan Doerer. Then, after a poor punt snap by USF, Botelho recovered the loose ball past the goal line. The final touchdown came with 2:15 left in the contest on a five-yard jaunt by senior Jafar Armstrong on fourth-and-goal.
TURNING POINT
This is difficult to say because the Irish were so dominant from the outset. Trailing 14-0, USF's lone first down in the first half came on a 42-yard run by running back Johnny Ford into Notre Dame territory, which provided a brief glimmer of momentum for the Bulls.
However, on fourth-and-three from the Irish 33-yard line, a makeshift fake punt run by receiver Jah'Quez Evans did not fool sophomore defensive end Isaiah Foskey, who did not bite on the play and ran down Evans for a nine-yard loss. That set up a 58-yard touchdown march that expanded the lead to 21-0 and pretty much deflated the Bulls.
Mike Goolsby, BlueandGold.com: Former Notre Dame Captain Mike Goolsby Analyzes Victory Versus USF
Instant Takeaways
“Defensively, it is always great to have a shutout. It is definitely a point of pride for a defense to walk out of there with no points scored. On the sidelines in those kinds of scenarios you almost have to create a game within the game. You almost have to create auxiliary challenges for yourself and in the defensive huddle. We also saw kids like Jack Kiser come out of left field who was not even really on the depth chart and he showed up.
“The offense looked crisp, I’m not gonna call it a hurry up but it did look more up-tempo. We saw Ian Book move outside the pocket which is something I have been calling for.”
“As the game kind of wound down, I was thinking ‘Well, this is our spring game.’ It was good to see some of the younger kids get out there and get some snaps. I think it was good for them to get some film out there.
“As convincing of a win as it was, there needs to be more turnovers created on defense. We saw two balls hit up in the air that should have been picked off. One was on a fourth down so it didn’t really matter, but still it was a dropped wide-open interception. When we talk about building a national championship team and championship-level culture, you have got to make those plays.
“I really think it could have been an even bigger blowout than the 52-0 we saw today. It was good though to see the running game get going, I am still looking for that inside running game to take flight a bit, but we are starting to come into form after week 2.”
Douglas Farmer, NBC Sports: Down a handful of players, Notre Dame bull rushes South Florida
PLAYER OF THE GAME
When Pro Football Focus rated Notre Dame’s offensive line the best in the country last weekend, it could reasonably be diminished by pointing out how few games there were, a weekend with only four between Power Five teams. All the same, the line played better against Duke than it seemed on the surface, especially once it got past the first quarter.
“I thought [offensive coordinator Tommy Rees] did a great job of being patient and sticking with the running game after not having the success early on,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said Monday. “We had great success in the second half.”
That success very much carried over, and given every back available found success, the credit should land with the offensive line, as well as Rees. Freshman Chris Tyree took eight carries for 65 yards and his first career score. Sophomore Kyren Williams ran 10 times for 62 yards, twice getting within the 5-yard-line only for Book to get the subsequent scoring chance. Sophomore C’Bo Flemister ran wild in the second half, finishing with 13 rushes for 127 yards and the above score. At the end of the festivities, senior Jafar Armstrong got in on the fun, finding the end zone on a 5-yard, fourth-down attempt.
The common denominator? The offensive line.
“They were really good today, and they continued where they left off in the third and fourth quarter last week, picking up movement” Kelly said after the first truly non-conference game in Notre Dame history. “We are starting to get our aiming points down pretty good on the outside zone and our inside punch play, and then once teams start over-committing to that, then you can see how clean the counters look.”
Tom VanHaaren, ESPN: AP Top 25 college football poll reaction: What's next for each ranked team
There had been some questions around the offense before the season started and the unit got off to a slow start in its first week against Duke. It adjusted, though, and showed some of its potential this past week against USF in a route. The real test for Notre Dame is a few weeks ahead with a tough stretch that starts with Louisville on Oct. 17 and includes games against Clemson and North Carolina. If the offense continues to get better, Notre Dame should be right in the mix for the ACC championship game.
SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION
Postgame Press Conference Videos
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