Irish honor seniors with victory over Deacs in 500th game at ‘House that Rockne Built’
Saturday became a banner day in the annals of Notre Dame football’s storied history.
It marked the 500th game in ‘The House that Rockne Built,’ an ode to the program’s legendary coach, who also led the team out of the tunnel in its first game at Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 4, 1930.
Oh, and the Irish (8-3) stomped Wake Forest 45-7, picking up a bounce-back victory to send the program’s seniors off the right way: chugging hot chocolate dunked with victory marshmallows.
Apparently, such utter dominance in the name of more than 30 seniors moved Marcus Freeman to tears.
Following the game, Notre Dame’s second-year coach stood at the media room podium with red eyes and occasionally shaky voice as he addressed what the current seniors and graduate students have meant to him.
“It’s a special group that, obviously, played their last game in Notre Dame Stadium,” Freeman said. “You think about the 500th game in Notre Dame Stadium. It’s something special. This place is special: the history, the people, the ones that have come before us to give us this opportunity to be here.”
Freeman’s emotional presser is one of many reasons why Saturday’s game is henceforth known as the Heartache Bowl.
Fighting Irish fans, many of whom have fallen in love with quarterback Sam Hartman, said their in-person goodbyes to the sixth-year senior.
The video board production crew even showed him on the jumbotron once he was pulled for a standing ovation whilst playing I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston (Clearly, NBC Sports showed the network would miss him as well, cutting to him on the sidelines about 457 times during the broadcast, per preeminent Notre Dame fan, Ty Hildenbrandt.).
Of course, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson emoted real heartbreak earlier in the week when he noted the anguish induced by seeing Hartman play for another program.
“Quite honestly, it's hard for me to watch Notre Dame football because that's the Wake Forest quarterback playing for them,” Clawson said. “He spent five years here and did a lot for our program. We're still close.”
Well, the “Wake Forest’s quarterback” started off slow but still went 21-29 for 277 yards and four touchdowns, putting aside his feelings for his once-upon-a-time teammates.
“There are normal distractions that the human element presents when you play a team, an opponent where you know every person on that side like Sam does,” Freeman said. “It's different. He was with those guys for five years, with that coaching staff.
“So, for him to be able to put that distraction away and perform the way he did is a testament to who he is and the confidence and consistency that he provides.”
It was his best game since the Irish trounced Central Michigan on Sept. 16. Hartman now ranks fourth all-time in career touchdown passes with 132.
“I’m just happy. When I come back here and RP (Ron Powlus) is showing me and my kids around, I’ll make sure he brings that up pretty organically,” he said. “That’s about it for me. It’s a credit to everybody.”
Overall, it was a big bounce-back game for the Irish offense, especially over the final two and a half quarters.
The score was tied 7-7 early in the second quarter, but Saturday proved to be a decisive victory on all fronts for the Irish. They outgained Wake Forest by 218 yards, with the offense putting up 450 yards and seven touchdowns in a momentum-building performance.
“You can be as courageous as you want but still have a lack of confidence inside because of the performance,” Freeman said. “So, it was much needed. It's a testament to how they prepared, the adjustments they made, the execution of the game plan.”
Rico Flores, Jr. led all pass catchers with eight catches for 102 yards. He’s the first receiver to go over 100 yards since the Fiesta Bowl in Freeman’s first game as a head coach.
Lastly, Running back Audric Estimé also grabbed his own piece of history, becoming the program’s latest 1,000-yard rusher and first since Kyren Williams eclipsed that mark by two yards in 2021.
Estimé carried the ball 22 times for 115 yards and a touchdown while also surpassing 2,000 all-purpose yards in his career.
The coaching staff let him stay in the game until well after a victory was in hand, knowing there’s a good chance Saturday was also the junior’s last game in Notre Dame Stadium.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” Estimé said, “but I know it could be my last time.”
Broadcast News
Jack Swarbrick walked out for the coin toss as an honorary captain. The long-time athletic director will step down in 2024.
This move coincided with the announcement that Notre Dame’s broadcast partnership with NBC has been extended through 2029.
The university will receive "somewhere in the $50 million range annually" in its extension with NBC, per Front Office Sports.
Play of the Game
In the second quarter, fifth-year senior Javontae Jean-Baptiste blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt from Wake Forest kicker Matthew Dennis.
“Coach Biagi told us we were going to have an opportunity this week,” defensive tackle Jason Onye said. “He kicks very low. After the PAT, we were expecting to block that field goal.”
It’s Notre Dame’s second blocked field goal of the season. They’ve yet to block a punt this year after leading the nation in this statistical category with seven in 2022.
Stat of the Afternoon
Nov. 18 is just a good day of the year to be Irish. The program remains undefeated on that date, improving to 17-0-2.
What’s Next
The Irish will wrap up the regular season in Palo Alto at 7 p.m. ET next Saturday on the difficult-to-watch PAC-12 Network.
Stanford (3-7) hosted Cal this Saturday evening. Notre Dame will be at least a three-touchdown favorite over a rebuilding Cardinal program.
Of course, the Irish still found a way to lose to a Stanford team that went 3-9 last season, so it’s still worthwhile to get a trial subscription to Fubo TV to watch the PAC-12 Network next weekend.
“We’ve just got to finish strong for those people,” Estimé said, “our supporters all of the world.”