Notre Dame ate up Rice in the 2014 season opener on Saturday to the tune of a 48-17 rout. Everett Golson accounted for five touchdowns in his return to the starting lineup and the Irish offense showed the signs of being the high powered unit we have all hoped it would be this season. We’ll have plenty more on Notre Dame’s season opening victory, but for now, here are the highlights from their win earlier today.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
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Tezfla, you are the only guy who thinks like I do….let’s hammer Michigan. Why are all these people afraid of Michigan. They are not a good team.
Let’s kick their a$$e$!
If the D was scaled back for containment like BK says & if Russell will be back(in game shape) nxt week, i think we roll Michigan.
Golston and team speed makes all the difference on O. Excited about the position depth on offense. Quick DE’s might give Stanley a problem off the edge. People are speaking positive about Schmidt whom I like, but he missed at least four tackles in the open field demonstrating a lack of quick lateral movement. I think if we run against Michigan we can outscore them in a 38-35 type game. I think ND goes 9-3.
I was pleasantly surprised with the punt returns. Both Bryant and Riggs looked good (though I thought Riggs looked slightly better). It was nice to see the offense perform as advertised. The defense looks like it’s going to be a concern so it’s nice to know ND can win these games via a shootout. I have them winning 10 games this year. Go Irish!
What I liked: ND played with more speed than they have in a really long time, which seems to be a combination of athletes and the new surface. The return game was actually exciting, and kickoffs went deep into the end zone. Golson, with the exception of his really bad throw to Koyack (which will be an interception against almost all remaining opponents), looked as good as anyone could have hoped. Schmidt had a few big hits, which surprised me. Trumbetti is a beast and the D-line played better against the run than I had expected.
What I didn’t like: Obviously, the multiple breakdowns in the secondary are a problem. Golson seemed pressured a lot more than he should have been (there were very few “he has all day to throw” moments you’d hope for against a team like Rice). The defense didn’t get nearly enough pressure on the quarterback considering its new attacking style. There was a total lack of passing game to the running backs that we had been hearing about, although I’m hoping we saw a very limited version of the playbook.
Overall, it was a pretty solid performance and a great warm-up for next week. I worry about the defense’s ability to contain Gardner and cover Funchess next week, but we will find out Saturday night. Go Irish!
Jeez bj, what a debbie downer. you failed to mention that we actually dropped a td pass so we shouldve put up more points. but that still wouldn’t have been good enough for you? Should we put up 70? 80? What’s good enough for you?
I was most excited to see we had a few very good punt returns. haven’t seen that in 4 yrs.
Obviously golson looked good too…..thank god i dont have to watch Rees anymore.
I thought the offense looked better as the game went on. The defense needs a lot of work and it’s on the back end. The D-line look surprisingly good and Joe Schmidt looked good. I hope VanGorder gets these guys ready for next week.
Finally some north-south running and a kick return game! Would have liked to have seen that field goal made and dropped pass in the end zone caught but all good. Golson can make things happen but I think he is inconsistent right now. Hopefully he has gotten the bugs out otherwise there is a guy on the bench who I am confident could run that offense. Defense played better than I thought they would other than a soft pass defense. Will really need to tidy that up before next saturday nite. Is this a national championship team – no. That may be a year away. 8 – 4 would be a good realistic goal for this team and schedule. Anything beyond that record would be bonus. Great win vs a Rice. Next week they will have their hands full.
42 runs / 22 passes is not running the ball down their throat?
i still dont get why kelly doesnt run the ball down their throat, we seemed very lucky today, touchdowns from golson on numerous busted plays, a dropped touchdown passed, a porous offensive line, 79 was beat a lot, golson was under a lot of pressure, a missed field goal, cant afford those kinds of mistakes against m or standford or fsu, very lucky the irish today, god bless golson. they were far from dominating. whew!
Not to mention the turf they played on.
Geez bj,
You find anything positive from this semi-national playoff game. Oh, excuse me, the opening game of the season. They did a lot of things they couldn’t achieve offensively last year. Defense did better than what I thought and with some key players out, there is a going to be a learning curve. Oh by the way, I thought the FIELD TURF looked & PLAYED great!!!!
Go Irish!
Yes, ND was EXTREMELY LUCKY to win 48-17! Phew! That was a barn burner. I wish they would have done a few things right in that game, what with 500 yards of total offense etc. It was basically a loss.
The offense is only going to get better now that we have a QB that is mobile and can throw the ball. Didn’t like the pass defense…safeties need some work. D will get better. Punt retun team looked awesome as did the one two punch of Bryant and Folston. I feel that most teams are going to have trouble dealing with all our receivers with speed.
that was fun
nice win today! Last time we opened w/ a big win – over Navy – went on to 12-0!
Let’s do it again