From The Cheap Seats
*It is so good to be right in the middle of things again in college football. This sport virtually never fails to deliver, even in week one of the season. Whereas virtually every other sport I follow revolves around individual superstars, and while college football is far from short on star power, it is always about individual TEAMS and the stories that arise. I can't name a single player from Howard or UNLV, but I followed the game online late as the upset possibility of epic proportions became a likelihood, and I was as into it as I could possibly have been. There is always so much intrigue to be found across the country every week. Bravo, college football!
*While most of Notre Dame Nation (myself included) will be spending time looking around the Internet this week for information on the battle of Jake's as to whether Eason or Fromm will take the snaps against Notre Dame on Saturday night, I would be remiss in failing to point out the awesome moment that took place at the L.A. Coliseum on Saturday for another Jake. Jake Olson, blind since the age of 12, took the field and successfully snapped the ball on a PAT attempt in the Trojans win over Western Michigan. Congrats to the coaches from both squads and to the young man himself who fulfilled a dream of his. Dreams coming true for people overcoming serious obstacles just feel good. The kick itself must have been the most pressure-packed, otherwise nondescript kick in the history of football.
*My thoughts and prayers go out to everybody suffering through the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. I was reminded once again why sports is such a beautiful way of bringing people together and assisting in our healing sometimes. It is not even close to being more important than the human condition, but it can be awfully important to the human condition. My aunt and cousin are Houston residents and my whole family was fortunate enough to confirm their safety everyday. This past Friday, I was finally able to talk to my cousin. He did not want to even mention the words "Harvey" or "Hurricane." So, for the better part of two hours, we discussed the Notre Dame roster and broke down individual position groups like it was our jobs. What a wonderful distraction for him and what a great way to connect to my cousin. I sent him a copy of last week's "From the Cheap Seats" and asked him what he thought. He said he'd rather discuss the weather they have been having...
*The red zone performance by the Irish was obviously perfect, and I was so happy to see Justin Yoon ending many drives with a PAT rather than a field goal attempt, as I had outlined last week. However, when called upon in the future, Yoon is going to have to come through. Hopefully he can get over his yips or it will cost the Irish a game or two this season. I do not take any solace in the words provided by Kelly in the post-game that Yoon is striking the ball well. I know that he can kick the ball at least 44 yards in the air. Making contact with the football is never really my concern. I strike the golf ball well off of the tee, but it does matter that most of my drives are a threat to the owl population residing in the trees 50 yards off the fairway. If this were baseball, being a contact hitter might be a good thing. It's not. Here's hoping for a big bounce back week for Mr. Yoon and when he strikes the ball, it sails over the cross bar in between the two enormous uprights. That is still key.
*The Irish rushing game was such a sight for sore eyes. There are a few ways to get to a 49-16 victory, so the score itself would have been incredibly strong in healing some of the open wounds from last year. Rushing for over 400 yards on the way to 49-16 was an even greater elixir. I love the idea of lining up and bashing an opponent when you need to do it. 3rd-and-2 is now largely a running down, with an occasional pass to keep defense. "Three yards and a cloud of dust" is perfect on 3rd-and-2. Seriously. Do the math.
*I think that the presumption of huge improvement shown between games 1 and 2 can often be overblown, but with respect to Brandon Wimbush, I am guessing that it will be the case. In reality, it was the layoff between game 2 and game 3 of his career that left a little rust on the junior QB. He still looked incredibly good, but he was just getting the feel of the game again. He needed to get hit and get back up, which he did several times. If he can take fewer good-angle, full-on hits in the future, I will feel better. All-in-all, a very solid performance from a young man who has "spectacular" written all over his game.
*Speaking of the play where Wimbush absorbed his first hit, and I know what Doug Flutie meant, his comment that, "I believe Chip Long called that play on purpose," is not going to further his career as a hard-hitting game analyst.
*Alize Mack looked like he was playing in an all-star game. You can see that he is loaded with talent, but he looked confused as to where he needed to be and exactly whom he was to block, as if he had just met his teammates on Wednesday. Assuming that he was assigned to block somebody on the running plays, he came up a touch short for game one. In all honesty, though, I do have faith that he will shake off his rust and look like a player who is letting his athletic prowess take over.
*I will leave it to the football experts, but I have a hard time believing that with so much rushing yardage that the right tackle is such a large concern. Perhaps a platoon will work. I was concerned and remain so about it, but again, the numbers at least suggest that the position was not an outright liability.
*If you can't get past Quenton Nelson, you might as well attempt to remove his head from his shoulders, right? I couldn't help but laugh at the replays whereby the Temple player is pushing Nelson's head to the point where it looks like his neck is going to snap and Nelson maintains the block and plays like nothing unusual is happening. Then his head returns to normal and I realize that there is no way that thick neck is ever going to snap. I was so impressed by Nelson not even looking around for a penalty and seeming to act like those plays were just normal. That's a tough dude. See. Flutie has nothing on me.
*I am convinced that Dexter Williams is that fast with a lingering leg injury of some sort. I am have no reason to believe this other than my own observations. He would normally finish that long run he had to set up his own TD with some room to spare. He was certainly healthy enough to play, but I think that the staff might have been trying to protect him in game one. Anybody else see that?
*I am probably embarrassing myself here with a lack of information probably know by the rest of ND Football nation, but where was Miles Boykin on Saturday? Two questions in a row. Nothing better than an article that assigns homework.
*Geoff Collins will probably have a nice career at Temple, however, it is silly that he tried to out think the room by not naming a starting QB and leading the world outside of his locker room to believe that four QB's will likely play. Not even in the blowout did a second QB take the field for Temple. There was no tangible advantage he got from that. I will go so far as to say that it might him look clown'sh. That's not even a word.
*The secondary played a pretty solid game, but the back end still causes me a little concern.
*I am so pumped up for the Georgia contest this week. I am okay that what would ordinarily be a featured early-season game is flying under the radar a little bit this week as OU-OSU, Stanford-USC, Auburn-Clemson and Oklahoma State-South Alabama join the Irish-Dawgs on the slate. (Sorry, I can't help it. Seriously, Oklahoma State? Credit to Mike Gundy and his staff for keeping the team focused on Tulsa last week and not peaking ahead to the South Alabama game. Okay. I think I'm done.) The atmosphere should be amazing. The opponent is worthy but not a juggernaut. I never thought that I would see the Georgia Bulldogs in South Bend, Indiana, so I will soak it up all week. This is a celebration of college football. Go Irish!
*Justice and Liberty for the Baylor Football program. It stinks that it had to happen on Matt Rhule's watch and in his debut, but the football team needed to have some on-field embarrassment to match what it allowed itself to become off the field.
*I have no particular love for either team, but I was enthralled by the UCLA-Texas A&M game. Josh Rosen played so well down the stretch. They were both lucky and good in the epic comeback. Was anything settled between Kevin Sumlin and Jim Mora, Jr., as to whose seat is hotter. I guess Mora gets a slight pass for now, but his team was ill-prepared for that kickoff.
*TeVon Coney is one of the most physically intimidating human beings I have seen in an Irish uniform in a long time!
*Finally, it was so nice to see the defense for Notre Dame step up huge with three sacks, including the biggest play on defense in the game, arguably, when Coney sacked the Temple QB to make the field goal attempt more than a chip shot after sudden-change found Temple inside the 15 following the interception by Wimbush.