Welcome to another Notre Dame football home slate as Notre Dame takes on the Rice Owls to open the season in Notre Dame Stadium. It’s a hot and sunny day in South Bend and the Irish will be looking to get a lot of football players on the field throughout this contest.
I’ll be providing a running diary of all things Notre Dame vs Rice this afternoon.
Pre-game
For a team that only played 5 receivers last week, their receiver line for warm-ups almost stretches from the sideline to midfield. Absolutely huge numbers at that position, will be interesting to see how many actually play in this game. (Notably but not surprisingly, Quincy Porter is not among them. That road remains lengthy.
During the initial warm-up period without pads it struck me how much work on individual pass rush moves the defensive ends were working with the staff on. They’ve always done these types of drills, but this was an extended amount of time, not something I’ve seen get such a focus in the pre-game.
Spencer Porath good from 54 with no wind. So Notre Dame’s got that going for them.
Styles Prescod was working with the tackles during warmups, with Sullivan Absher at right guard. It appears Prescod’s foray into the lineup at guard is over.
Francis Brewu is with the one’s at DT in the absence of Jason Onye who is out with an ankle injury. I’d expect increased snaps for all if the defensive tackles as well, as it’s a hot day and they’d want to rotate anyway.
Obviously this is the home opener and fans are excited to get the season kicked off, but considering the opponent and what is normally the case for lesser teams, this is a very lively crowd. A bunch of excitement is in the air.
First Quarter
14:46, Notre Dame 7, Rice 0- The Owls began the game with a roll out pass to Leonard Moore that went incomplete, and second play was an option pitch where Adon Shuler destroyed the running back on the alley and forced a fumble that Boubacar Traore recovered and ran in for a touchdown. Let’s mark that down as a bad start for the Owls. They’ll want to do better.
11:36, Notre Dame 7, Rice 0- The Owls are a mess. They fumble a snap on 3rd and long and Notre Dame recovers at the Owls 38 where the offense will take the field. In other news, KVA got his first snap of the season on that 3rd down play, in place of Drayk Bowen. He was heavily involved in the fumble recovery celebrations.
10:30, Notre Dame 14, Rice 0- I hope the Notre Dame students are ready for an arm and chest workout in this one. Carr hits Faison on a 25 yard post route touchdown and it’s a two touchdown lead for the Irish. Beautiful throw and catch between the two captains who are very much in sync to start the season.
8:24, Notre Dame 14, Rice 0- KVA is back folks. He knifes into the backfield on a quick jet sweet for a tackle for loss and then ends the Rice drive with a tackle on the next play. He is ready to go.
3:51, Notre Dame 21, Rice 0- Carr to Faison is open all the time in this one, this time an 11 yard screen pass with some impressive run after catch from Faison. The drive however was more about Jaden Greathouse, who caught a sideline fade for 23 yards, which was a nice contested catch. Very important Notre Dame keeps him involved on offense and specifically on routes like that.
1:38, Notre Dame 21, Rice 0- Rice somehow has -8 pass yards, which is kind of impressive. It doesn’t help they keep looking to target Leonard Moore, with an incompletion and a sack from Bryce Young the result of their efforts. Maybe they figure he won’t be out there for very long so they might as well get their licks in while they can.
Second Quarter
13:43, Notre Dame 28, Rice 0- Notre Dame has 160 yards of offense and is averaging 9 yards per play. They can do whatever they want offensively. Some notables from the last drive is Matt Jeffrey catching a short throw and turning it into an 18 yard gain after making a couple players miss and another catch for Greathouse over the middle. The drive ended with a one yard plunge from Nolan James Jr. after a 15 yard run from him.
8:54, Notre Dame 28, Rice 0- Some notables for Notre Dame on that last defensive drive. Christian Gray came in at corner opposite DJ McKinney while Leonard Moore took a breather. They really don’t need to play Moore another down in this game, will be interesting to see if he comes back out. Also Rodney Dunham got into the game at defensive end, and he made a nice run stuff on an inside give. We’ve reached the “monitoring which backups are in the game” portion of the proceedings.
6:02, Notre Dame 28, Rice 0- Notre Dame has punted. The Irish drive was progressing nicely until a 1st down personal foul penalty on Jack Larson led to a dropped check down to Williams, a 2 yard run to Williams, and Mylan Graham getting crunched on a ball up the seam from Carr where the safety took a big shot to his mid section. Good on Graham for going up to get it in traffic knowing he’d get hit. Unfortunate for Graham who had a great sideline toe tap reception for 20 yards.
4:49, Notre Dame 35, Rice 0- Another Rice fumbled pitch debacle leads to KVA pouncing on the loose ball and Nolan James Jr. rushing twice for 6 yards and into the end zone.
1:59, Notre Dame 35, Rice 0- This defense is so dialed in to everything Rice is doing, it doesn’t matter who is in the game, they are on everything. It’s quite impressive to watch. Also of note, Guerby Lambert is headed to the locker room early, with what looks like a slight limp. Styles Prescod into the game for him at right tackle.
1:17, Notre Dame 42, Rice 0- Hello Micah Gilbert! After a long punt return by Jordan Faison, Carr rolls out and Gilbert adjusts his route off of a post and Carr finds him for a leaping grab in the back of the end zone. Not an easy catch against air, let alone in a game, so it’s a great sign for Gilbert and the passing game.
Third Quarter
15:00, Notre Dame 42, Rice 0- Starting the 2nd half on the offensive line is Joe Otting and Cam Herron at center and right guard, with Styles Prescod remaining at right tackle.
12:59, Notre Dame 49, Rice 0- The first two catches of Jerome Bettis Jr’s career come on a 5 yard stop and then a 59 yard catch and run down the sideline on a great throw from Carr and a nice job by Bettis of shielding the defender and then making a couple defenders miss for the long gain. Have to think CJ Carr is done for the day at 16-20, 253 yards and 4 touchdown passes.
4:21, Notre Dame 52, Rice 0- Noah Grubbs makes his first appearance at quarterback for Notre Dame.
And it’s a good one. 10 plays, 49 yards, only stalled by a false start and a decision to kick a field goal instead of go for it on 4th and 3. Grubbs looked sharp on the drive, going 4-5 for 46 yards with the one incompletion a near miss on the slot fade to Mylan Graham. He ran the offense efficiently and looked comfortable in the pocket. Good first appearance.
Fourth Quarter
12:03, Notre Dame 52, Rice 0- Elijah Burress is kind of electric, if I’m being honest. Notre Dame has a bunch of guys at receiver who you could make a case deserve to be on the field, not necessarily in favor of another, but is good enough to get on the field when the game matters. Which is a notable fact to me.
6:01, Notre Dame 52, Rice 0- Some really good reps for the likes of Teddy Rezac and Ethan Long in the back is mixed in with some positive play by Rice where they are moving the ball, before Rice QB Jacurri Brown tries to leap multiple defenders and is hit by Kahuna Kia and fumbles. It is recovered by freshman Rodney Dunham, who has been all over the field today, and the Irish preserve their shutout.
5:54, Notre Dame 52, Rice 0- Teddy Jarrard enters the game at quarterback for the Irish and he, like Grubbs, has a good showing for himself. He hits Devin Fitzgerald on a 20 yard in over the middle and then Logan Saldate short for a gain of 9. Jonaz Walton also excels on the drive, hitting a 15 yarder off the right side to go with a 6 yard run prior. He’s a good looking player out there with a very bright future at running back for Notre Dame.
Final Notre Dame 52, Rice 0
The game ends with a number of Javian Osborne runs and the clock running out on third down for Notre Dame. The Irish finish with a +350 yardage advantage over the Owls, and having forced 4 turnovers to their none. It was pretty much everything you’d want to see against an overmatched opponent like Rice and Notre Dame put this one away basically 7 minutes into the game. They were able to play both quarterbacks, nine receivers caught passes for 20 or more yards, they played all their backups on defense, and they even got Spencer Porath a field goal attempt in Notre Dame Stadium. There aren’t many perfect outcomes in football, but this one is pretty darn close for Marcus Freeman’s team.
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