Irish Pass Test In Opener
It was almost too good to be true. A good kickoff return from C.J. Sanders, a throw and catch from Brandon Wimbush to Equanimeous St. Brown and a Josh Adams long run to the end zone. It just took two plays but the Irish were off and running. Thanks to a scoring explosion in the first half, the Irish rolled over the Temple Owls 49-16.
Wimbush scored three total touchdowns, throwing for 184 yards and two scores and rushing for 106 yards and one score. Adams rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns as the Irish rushing attack gained over 400 yards. Logan Marchi had 245 yards passing and two touchdowns but the Owls offense was held in check all afternoon.
After not recording a sack until their third game last season, the Irish recorded three in their first game.
On a big third down play, Wimbush found Weishar after a scramble. The Irish then got a huge break after Tony Jones appeared to fumble but the play was overturned. The Irish crossed midfield on a Dexter Williams dive. Williams then broke free for 40 yards into the red zone. Jones then capped off the drive with a rushing touchdown around the left side to give the Irish a 35-10 lead with 1:22 left in the quarter.
The Owls started the ensuing drive at their own 30-yard line and Marchi found Kirkwood for a quick 16-yard gain. At the end of the third quarter, the score remained 35-10. The Owls chose to go for it early in the fourth and picked it up on an offside penalty by the Irish. The Owls got into the red zone after Brodrick Yancy made a nice second effort after a catch on third down. Yancy then scored two plays later on a wide receiver screen to make it 35-16 with 12:05 to play in the game.
Wimbush got over 80 yards rushing on the day after a 13-yard run down the right sideline. A couple of good yardage plays took the Irish into Temple territory but Jones was stuffed at the line on fourth down giving the ball to the Owls with 9:36 to go. The Owls went for it on fourth down on the ensuing drive and not only were they stopped but Armstead lost the ball and the Irish took over at the Temple 34.
Wimbush made a highlight reel run breaking a number of tackles for a gain of 24 to put the Irish in the red zone yet again. Adams punched it in on fourth down for his second rushing touchdown of the game to make it 42-16 with 5:44 left.
The Owls went into the hurry up offense as the game winded down and the offense got into a good rhythm. The Owls stalled and turned it over on downs. The Irish took over at their own 31 and on the first play of the drive Williams took the handoff 66 yards inside the five and then scored two plays later to give the Irish a 49-16 advantage with 2:29 to go.
The Irish had only 26 minutes of possession but due to the quick strike nature of the offense, they didn't need that much possession.
Temple started the third quarter with possession at their own 27. The Owls went three and out after a few negative yardage plays. The Irish took over at their own 36 after a Temple punt. After a few short yardage plays and a first down, Wimbush found Chase Claypool for 16 yards, just getting rid of it before being hit. The drive stalled and then Yoon missed his second field goal of the afternoon from 47 yards.
The Owls took over at their own 30 looking to cut into the lead. But the Irish defense came up big yet again as Drue Tranquil made a nice stop on third and short, forcing the Owls to punt. The Irish started their next drive at their own 21 with 8:30 to go in the third. Josh Adams continued his strong day with a 22-yard scamper to put him over 150 yards on the ground on the first play of the Irish drive. Being forced into a third and long, Wimbush was picked off by Temple cornerback Mike Jones.
The Owls took over at 19, threatening to cut into the Irish lead. The Irish stood tall as Te'von Coney sacked Marchi on third down forcing the Owls to take a field goal. The field goal however missed wide left and the Irish took over at their own 20 with 4:25 to play in the third.
The Irish defense totaled 11 tackles for loss as their defensive line controlled the trenches all game.
C.J. Sanders took the opening kickoff to the Irish 30 as the offense took over in decent field position. On the first play from scrimmage Wimbush hit St. Brown for 33 yards, setting up Adams' 37-yard touchdown just 33 seconds into the game.
Temple started their drive at their own 23-yard line. Adonis Jennings took a screen pass from Logan Marchi for 20 yards on the first play. The Owls picked up a first down on third down after a short burst from Nick Sharga. After an overthrow by Marchi the Owls punted on fourth down.
The Irish started the ensuing drive on their own 14 and Adams picked up a first down spinning off a few tackles. That one first down was all the Irish got as they punted it away. Temple started their drive at their own 22 with 10:07 to play in the first quarter.
The Owls went three and out and the Irish took over at their own 41-yard line. Wimbush took two QB keepers down to the Temple 38. After a penalty, transfer Cam Smith took a handoff for a first down inside the Temple 10-yard line. On third and goal Wimbush walked into the end zone after a scramble. The Irish took a 14-0 lead with 5:50 to play in the first quarter.
Isaiah Wright made a couple nice grabs on the ensuing drive for the Owls as they started to get some momentum. But the drive stalled around the 20 and they had to settle for a field goal with 2:23 left in quarter one.
The Irish started their next drive at the 28-yard line and Adams took the second handoff 60 yards down the left sideline to put the Irish in the red zone for the second time. On the following play, Wimbush fired a bullet into the arms of Nick Weisher for a touchdown to put the Irish up 21-3 with 1:13 remaining in the quarter. After a couple of runs by Armstead, it took the game to the end of the first with the score still 21-3.
Again, the Irish were able to force a punt after a good defensive stand. Chris Finke fair caught the Owl punt at the Irish 24. After a few short yardage plays, Wimbush took off for an 18-yard gain taking the Irish to the Temple side of the field. After a big play by St. Brown the Irish got into the red zone yet again. After a few running plays that went nowhere, Wimbush hit St. Brown on an end zone fade to up the Irish advantage to 28-3 with 11:09 left in the half.
The Owls started their next drive at the 20 as they had their work cut out for them down by 25. Jager Gardner took over in the backfield and took a few handoffs for positive yardage into Notre Dame territory. Armstead put the Owls in the red zone for the first time in the game after a 17-yard run. The Owls got into the end zone on a nice bootleg throw by Marchi to Keith Kirkwood to make it 28-10 with 6:09 remaining in the half.
The Owl defense finally came to play on the next drive, forcing the Irish into a three and out. Temple took over at their own 29-yard line. On third and long, Wright took a bubble screen all the way to the Irish 43-yard line weaving in and out of the tackles. After a few dropped passes, the Owls punted the ball away. The Irish took over at their own 11 with 1:11 to play in the half.
Wimbush took it himself for a 16-yard gain as the Irish went into the hurry up offense. Adams took a handoff up to midfield and then Wimbush hit a streaking Durham Smythe at the Temple 27 with just 23 ticks to go before half. After an incomplete pass into the end zone, the Irish settled for a field goal but Justin Yoon hit the right upright. The Irish took a 28-10 lead into the half.
Wimbush finished the half 9 of 16 for 133 yards and two scores and added 61 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Adams led the team in rushing at the half with 130 yards and a touchdown while St. Brown was the leading receiver with 72 yards and a score. For Temple, Marchi was 8 of 17 through the air for 127 yards and a touchdown. Armstead had 60 yards on the ground and Wright led the Owls with 64 receiving yards.
NOTES
Player of the Game: Wimbush. In his first start, Wimbush played nearly a perfect game as he took good care of the football and controlled the game from the get-go.
Up Next: The Irish will welcome the Georgia Bulldogs to South Bend next Saturday night at 7:30.