Notre Dame runs to a 52-17 win over Miami
The Irish passed the trap game test with flying colors on Saturday evening with a commanding 52-17 win over the Miami(Ohio) Red Hawks at Notre Dame Stadium.
The 22nd ranked Irish improved to 4-1 and have won three straight games after the loss to Georgia in Week 2. The Red Hawks dropped to 2-3 with the loss.
Brandon Wimbush had another strong game with 157 total yards and four touchdowns, three passing and one rushing. Josh Adams had 159 yards and two long touchdowns before exiting the game with a left leg injury. Equanimeous St.Brown was the leading receiver for the Irish with three catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Gus Ragland threw for 262 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Red Hawks. Alonzo Smith was the leading rusher with 10 carries for 66 yards and James Gardner was the leading receiver with five receptions for 115 yards and two scores.
Ian Book started the fourth quarter for the Irish as Wimbush took a seat after another strong game. Book found freshman receiver Michael Young on third down for his first completion. Book was used a few times on the drive for designed runs and he was pretty successful with it. After an incompletion, the Irish were forced to punt.
The Red Hawks took over at their own 27 with 12:20 to go in the game. A couple nice passes from Ragland got the Red Hawks to midfield as they tried to maintain some offensive momentum. But the momentum stalled and the Irish forced a punt and took over at their own 13 with 10:30 remaining.
After a couple negative yardage rushing plays, Book launched it deep downfield to Chris Finke for a 48-yard gain to get the Irish beyond midfield. An unnecessary roughness penalty pushed the Irish back but Book picked up a first down on a blistering run that picked up 26 yards. Two plays later, Deon McIntosh took a handoff around the right side and broke a few tackles on his way to a 26-yard touchdown putting the Irish up 52-17 with 8:10 to play.
The Red Hawks began their drive at their own 36 and picked up a few first downs on some nice runs by Jaylon Bester. The Red Hawks were forced to punt it away and the Irish took over at their own 25 with 4:29 remaining.
Notre Dame has forced 10 turnovers on the year and have converted 9 of those into touchdowns.
The Red Hawks began the second half with the ball and didn't muster much before Ragland found Gardner down the sideline for a 33-yard hookup to put the Red Hawks onto the Notre Dame side of the field. The drive stalled around the Irish 30-yard line as the Red Hawks chose to go for it on fourth down but were stopped by the swarming Irish defense.
McIntosh got the call to the start the half for the Irish due to the injuries to Tony Jones Jr. and Adams but he was unable to kick-start the offense as the Irish went three and out. The Red Hawks took over at their own 33 after the punt by Tyler Newsome. The Red Hawks got up past midfield on a pitch and catch from Ragland to Ryan Smith for 25 yards. Ragland continued his good drive with a third down strike to tight end Nate Becker.
A nice run by Alonzo Smith got the Red Hawks into the red zone but the drive stalled and Miami settled for a field goal. The 38-yard kick cut the Irish lead to 45-17 with 6:40 to play in the third quarter.
A kickoff out of bounds gave the Irish good field position at their own 35. After a short gain on first down, Wimbush took a run 19 yards, avoiding multiple tacklers and getting the Irish across midfield. A penalty and a quick rush by Wimbush got the Irish right outside the red zone. The Irish then attempted a 44-yard field goal but missed as Justin Yoon hit the left upright and the Red Hawks took over.
After a few short yardage plays, Smith took the handoff for 27 yards all the way down to the Irish 37-yard line. Bester added to the drive with 11 yards as the Red Hawks got into an offensive rhythm. The drive stalled abruptly as the Irish defense got another big stop on fourth down. The quarter ended with the Irish still in control with a 45-17 lead.
The Irish have averaged 46.3 points per game during their three game winning streak.
The Irish took the opening kickoff to their own 27 yard line. After a incomplete pass, Adams took the draw right up the middle and never looked back on his way to a 73-yard score to give the Irish the lead just 25 seconds into the game.
After a tough game against BC, Jon Doerer kicked off for the Irish and the Red Hawks took over at their own 20. Ragland got into a rhythm right away hitting Ryan Smith for 22 yards but the drive screeched to a halt after Greer Martini picked off Ragland and returned it all the way down to the Red Hawk 35-yard line.
The Irish failed to gain any yardage and went for it on fourth down. Wimbush found Chase Claypool over the middle for a 21-yard gain to move the Irish into the red zone. Wimbush then punched it in from a yard out, his eighth rushing score of the season to give the Irish a 14-0 lead with 11:36 to play in the quarter.
The Red Hawks took over at their own 27, down big early. Ragland found Gardner down the sideline for a big gain getting Miami into Irish territory. Ragland found Smith again on a huge third down to keep the drive alive. On another third down play, Ragland hit Gardner down the left sideline for a 34-yard touchdown pass to cut the Irish lead in half with eight minutes left in the quarter.
Adams was heavily featured on the next Irish possession as Wimbush struggled to get into a passing rhythm. Adams took a mesmerizing run 59 yards to peydirt to put him over 150 yards rushing for the game and it got the Irish lead back to 14 with 6:06 remaining in the quarter.
The Red Hawks struggled on their next drive but were helped by a pass interference penalty on Nick Watkins which gave them a first down. That was all they could muster as Ragland was brought down by Shawn Crawford which forced the Red Hawks into a punt. The Irish took over at their own 23-yard line.
The Irish went three and out as Wimbush was sacked on third down and he continued to have a tough start to the game. On their next drive, the Redhawks lost a fumble as Ragland lost control on a sack by Jerry Tillery and Jay Hayes recovered. The Irish took over at the Miami 33 and got into the red zone thanks to a penalty.
Adams got inside the ten yard line but appeared to injure his left knee and came off the field. His absence didn't matter as Wimbush found Claypool on an end zone fade to give the Irish a 28-7 advantage with just seconds left in the quarter. The Red Hawks went three and out on their next drive as Ragland continued to have a tough half.
The Irish started the ensuing drive from the 42, very good field position. Wimbush hit St.Brown on back to back plays to get the Irish drive moving and tried to find him again but the pass was incomplete. A pass interference penalty on the next play that got the Irish into the red zone.
St.Brown was a popular man once again as Wimbush found him on a crossing route for a touchdown to give the Irish a 35-7 lead with 12:50 to go in the half. The Red Hawks got a nice return on the kickoff and started their drive at their own 43.
Kenny Young got involved early and picked up 20 yards on a run down the sideline to put the Red Hawks onto the Irish side of the field. They got into the red zone on a short run by Young and then picked up a big first down on a quick toss from Ragland to Alonzo Smith. Ragland looked to get into a rhythm on the drive and it finished with another touchdown pass to Gardner to cut the Irish lead to 35-14 with 10:09 to play in the half.
The Irish began their next drive at their own 30 but failed to pick up a first down on their first three downs but a fake punt run by Jones Jr. on fourth down gained 32 yards, putting the Irish into Red Hawk territory. The drive stalled after that but Yoon kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the Irish a 38-14 lead with 6:09 left in the half.
The Red Hawks began the ensuing drive at their own 21 and picked up right where they left off as Ragland and Alonzo Smith were heavily involved in the offense as they got to the other side of the field. But the drive grinded to a halt and the Irish took over after a punt with two minutes to play before half.
The Irish took over at their own 19 and tried to take a few more points into the locker room. After a few short yardage plays, Wimbush aired it out to Miles Boykin for a 54-yard touchdown on a picture perfect pass. The big play gave the Irish a 45-14 advantage with 37 seconds to go in the half.
After a tough start, Wimbush finished the half with 124 passing yards and three scores, completing just 6 of 15. He also added a rushing touchdown. Adams had 159 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns before exiting with an injury. St.Brown was the leading receiver with three receptions for 42 yards and a score.
Ragland was 13 of 22 through the air for the Red Hawks with 159 yards and two touchdowns and an interception. Young was the leading rusher with five carries for 25 yards and Gardner was the top receiver with four catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
Player of the Game: Wimbush. Despite a rough start passing the ball, he rebounded to have a strong game. After starting the game one for seven, Wimbush finished the game 6 for 11 and his recovery allowed the Irish to take a stranglehold on the game.
Unsung Hero: Adams. He truly set the tone for the game, scoring within the first minute of the game. The Irish never looked back and Adams even added another long touchdown complete with a nasty stiff arm on a Red Hawk defender.
Up Next: The Irish travel to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels next Saturday at 3:30 PM