ISD Notebook
Coming into the game against USC, the 11th-ranked team in the nation, some wondered whether the Irish’s dominant run game would be enough to allow Notre Dame to win the game the way it has all season.
Yup, it was.
From the start, it was obvious the Irish were not going to change how they play. They were going to keep it simple and dominate the line of scrimmage like they have done all season. The Irish have two All-American linemen who make up the left side of their line and they took advantage of their dominance. Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey anchored the Irish line tonight, opening holes for all the Irish backs, racking up 377 yards on the ground.
Josh Adams, who has been excellent all season, notched another huge night, tallying 191 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Brandon Wimbush dashed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
Highlighting the dominance at the line of scrimmage and the tale of the tape for the Irish was late in the third quarter when Adams sprinted 84 yards to pay dirt through a hole made by the Irish offensive line made that was big enough a truck drive through.
THE RETURN OF WIMBUSH: Four total touchdowns, two through the air and two on ground is an easy way to wrap up the return for Wimbush. The box score shows he scored four total touchdowns, but it doesn’t show the strides he has shown since his first start against Temple.
Coming right out of the gate, after a Trojan turnover, the junior signal-caller showed off his arm hitting Equanimeous St. Brown in stride in the back of the end zone to give the Irish an early 7-0 lead.
At times, Wimbush showed he would rather take off and use his legs, but following the St. Brown touchdown reception, Wimbush perfectly placed a back-shoulder throw to KJ Stepherson for his second touchdown pass to give the Irish a 14-0 lead.
It is clear Wimbush is still a run first type quarterback, and he is still gaining confidence and comfort within the pocket. The New Jersey native showed promise, completing timing routes throughout and putting the ball on the money in many situations.
Wimbush finished the night 9-for-19 passing for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Despite completing less than fifty percent of his passes, if you watched closely, Wimbush looked more patient in the pocket looking downfield for open receivers before deciding to take off. Being able to complete the long accurate down the field passes forced the Trojans to respect his arm, which opened up running lanes for the extremely athletic signal-caller.
IMPLEMENTING STEPHERSON INTO THE GAMEPLAN: KJ Stepherson finally exploded after a four-game suspension to start the season and spot duty afterward.
After carrying the ball twice in the first couple of drives of the game for 24 yards, the sophomore wide receiver was able to haul in the back-shoulder throw in the end zone from Wimbush.
Prior to the game, Kelly said Stepherson’s role would increase and it clearly did. He ended the night as the Irish’s leading receiver, hauling in two more passes and finishing with 58 yards receiving.
SHUTTING DOWN THE STREAK: The Irish offensive line dominated the game throughout, but so did the defensive line. The game plan for the Irish was obviously to stop the highly-regarded quarterback Sam Darnold and thanks to an excellent performance by Notre Dame’s defensive line, he performed subpar.
It is clear when you make an opposing quarterback uncomfortable, they are going to have a tough game, and a difficult time getting anything going for their team.
Coming off the edge, sophomore defensive end Khalid Kareem used his speed to take down Darnold for a pair of sacks. But not the five sacks the Irish were credited with aren’t enough to describe the dominate performance from the defensive line.
Countless pressures, forcing quick decisions were the tale of the tape. From the start, it was clear the Irish were going to control the line of scrimmage.
On the first play from scrimmage for USC, Darnold bobbled the snap and wasn’t able to gain possession of the ball before the Irish defense swarmed him and forced a turnover.
A few drives later, Darnold forced a pass into a well called Cover 2 defense and Nick Walkins came up with a leaping interception. The USC signal-caller wasn’t under distress on this play, but it was clear the Irish were in his head and it forced him into the bad decision.
The Irish controlled every aspect of this game, but the two keys to their success came within the trenched where games are won.
SHUTTING DOWN THE USC RUSHING ATTACK: USC running back Ronald Jones came into the game expecting to get the big plays he is so used to getting. A speedster who always breaks off long runs, Jones finds the end zone regularly. Not tonight.
Going into the half the Irish held the Trojans to a lack luster –four yards on the ground.
Although Jones was able to find some space on a couple runs coming out of the half, he only accounted for 32 yards on 12 carries. The Trojan tailback came into the game tied for the longest streak on the FBS with 13 straight games with a touchdown and the Irish did more than break that streak, they destroyed it and made Jones a non-factor throughout.
This lackluster performance was due to a dominant defensive performance from the Irish front seven, as well as great open-field tackling and not allowing yards after contact.
SPECIAL TEAMS AND YOON: Special teams is an aspect of the game that is often overlooked, but in tonight’s game it had a very big impact on outcome of this game.
Irish punter Tyler Newsome had an excellent game, averaging 41.7 yards a kick while planting two punts inside the 20, making it hard for a Trojan offense to capitalize from good field position.
Placekicker Justin Yoon didn’t attempt any field goals in tonight’s game, but he connected on all of his extra point attempts going 7-for-7.
Highlighting the Irish special teams effort and a huge game-changing moment was when a Newsome punt was muffed by the USC’s Jack Jones, eventually ending in Drue Tranquill jumping on the loose ball and giving the Irish possession within the 10 yard line.
Notre Dame was able to convert on the turnover that gave them a 21-0 lead and a stranglehold on the game.